Tag Archives: Jesus

The Messiah: Eleven Meditations from the Book of Mark (Free)

Messiah Cross

You can start reading a PDF version of  right now.

In a two month period back in August and September of 2009 I published several articles on specific events in Jesus’ life found in the book of Mark.

Events that demonstrate his unlimited power over nature, sickness, and demons. Events that strike terror. That create awe. That even hardens hearts.

But hardened hearts indicate one thing: They knew Jesus to be dangerous.

Jesus is dangerous. And glorious. And worthy to be worshipped. He’s not tame nor tranquil, but terrifying to the wicked and triumphant to the humble.

It’s these events that provoked Peter to declare, “You are the Christ.” And it’s these events that provoke the righteous to fall to the ground and declare, “You are our Savior.”

And that is the appropriate response to the one who came to earth to bear the punishment for our sinsMessiah_Meditations so that we might live. Jesus is God as man. In the end, that is who these events declare Jesus truly is.

And so I’ve pulled these articles together in one post. And I even had them transformed into a PDF version: .

Read the individual articles here.

Son of Man: Something You Will and Won’t See
Several things happened the day Jesus healed a crippled man. Several things nobody saw but believe in fact did happen. [Mark 2:1-12]

How the Conquered Storm Points to Christ
The story of Jesus stilling the tempest demonstrates Jesus’ unlimited power and the two ways we can respond to this power. [Mark 4:35-41]

The Demoniac Proclamation of Christ
There’s something quite potent to the story of the demon-possessed man that drives the heart of a Christian to it. [Mark 5:1-20]

The Scandal of Jesus in Nazareth
In the small, isolated village of Nazareth Jesus taught one Sabbath day. Everything as it should be. Except for one thing. [Mark 6:1-6]

The Messiah: Peter’s Confession of Christ
Peter confessed Jesus was Christ. Who do you say Jesus is? The answer will determine your eternal destiny. [Mark 8:27-30]

Discipleship: The Law of the Cross Prevails
What does it mean to follow Christ? In just 100 words Jesus taught his disciples the price they must pay to follow him. [Mark 8:34-38]

Transfiguration: An Otherworldly Peek at the Messiah
Jesus’ transfiguration had two very specific purposes. Here’s what you need to know. [Mark 9:2-13]

Anointed: A Reckless but Beautiful Act of Worship
Jesus said Mary’s one act of reckless worship was beautiful. What are you willing to risk for Jesus that he might describe as beautiful? [Mark 14:3-9]

Failure: Peter’s Denial of Jesus Christ
All four gospels record Peter’s betrayal. The purpose? To draw a vivid distinction between man and God. [Mark 14:66-77]

Crucifixion: The Messiah Mocked on the Cross
Obedient to the end, Jesus dies on the cross, rejected and mocked. But his death ushers in another world. [Mark 15:31-32]

Death: The Messiah Commits His Soul to God
Even in the depths of humiliation, Jesus was declared the Messiah. Declared by a person you’d never expect. [Mark 15:33-39]

Four Ways to Use The Messiah Book

Want some ideas on how to use The Messiah? Here are four.

1. Book.

Read it and move on. Pretty straightforward. You could take it a bit further and brag [or rag] on it–whether here, Scribd or your social media site of choice.

2. Devotional.

Print the book out and hunker down each morning with a chapter. Meditate on the messages like you might a page from Chambers’ My Utmost for His Highest.

3. Tract. 

The book is 30 pages of very short chapters, so it’s easy to read. And the content [the identity of Jesus] is perfect for introducing non-believers to the gospel.

4. Study Guide.

Print this book out and walk your study group or Sunday school class through it. Could stretch into an eleven week course.

Did I miss one? Let me know.

One More Thing

Some of you might want to know why I’m giving this book away for free. It basically comes down to this: Your attention is precious to me. I should be paying you.

In a way, with The Messiah, I am. So go .

I hope you enjoy it. And please, let me know what you think. I love hearing from you.

God Curses and Crushes Christ for Sinners

Last week I talked about how God hates sinners in the first 50 Psalms. How this tied into the statement “God hates the sin, but loves the sinner.”

And how that particular post was only half the story.

Let’s look at the other half today.

God Curses Christ for Our Sins

Christ did not deserve to die. But it was God’s will that Jesus die. And Jesus knew that he would die:

And He went a little beyond them, and fell on His face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will.” 

saying, “Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done.” 

Now My soul has become troubled; and what shall I say, ‘ Father, save Me from this hour’? But for this purpose I came to this hour. 

this Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of [a]godless men and put Him to death.

That is a hard-to-follow obedience.

It is meant to be hard. To be worth more than anything on this earth.

As Matt Chandler said in the Explicit Gospel, Jesus Christ is where God’s severity and kindness meet.

An unusual kindness. A kindness demonstrated by God cursing His own son:

Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us—for it is written, “ Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree.” 

By bearing God’s wrath on the cross for believers’ sins, Christ took upon Himself the curse pronounced on us.

All of us.

We are all under a curse. Because God’s holiness demands it. Just one violation of the law and we are under that curse, and we become the sinners God hates, crushes and cuts off.

Fortunately, that is not where the story ends.

God Crushes Christ for Our Sins

Read those fourteen Psalms again.

Do you feel the magnitude of grief that overwhelms your soul? The sickness of sin that builds as you read?

Do you feel safe? Hopeless? Cursed?

Do you understand what is meant by the severity of the Lord? What’s at stake if we neglect that wrath? And do you comprehend how much sweeter, in comparison, is His kindness?

Keep in mind that God’s kindness towards us meant that he would have to crush Christ:

But the Lord was pleased
To crush Him, putting Him to grief;
If He would render Himself as a guilt offering,
He will see His offspring,
He will prolong His days,
And the good pleasure of the Lord will prosper in His hand.

As a result of the anguish of His soul,
He will see it and be satisfied;
By His knowledge the Righteous One,
My Servant, will justify the many,
As He will bear their iniquities. 

Jesus’ pain and death–to suffer the consequences of the wrath of God–was meant to redeem our sins. This is propitiation–the gift that satisfied God’s wrath for our sins.

6 Gifts Propitiation Gives Us

That gift bore other gifts in our favor:

We are freed from the slavery of our debt to sin to become a purified people. “Who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds.”

We are freed by one who perfectly kept the law–something we could never accomplish. “Knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ.”

We are a people who appear sinless before God. “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus.”

We are a people who appear sinless only because Christ is in us. “But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption.”

We are citizens of a new country. “For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” 

We are a people who avoided eternal punishment–and enjoy the promise of eternal redemption. “And not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood, He entered the holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.” 

Gift upon gift we receive. None do we deserve. None. This is the sweetness of God cursing and crushing Christ on our behalf.

It should produce in us a reckless but beautiful act of worship.

Why I Waited Until Today

Let me be frank with you. It was not easy dropping the “God Hates Sinners” post on Friday and waiting all weekend to publish the follow-up.

That post was a heavy-duty diagnosis left hanging over your head.

I’m sure it annoyed some. Upset a few. Frustrated others. Why would I misrepresent God? Give an incomplete story? (Or perhaps even a false one at that.)

I didn’t do that on purpose. I don’t blog on the weekend so I had to wait until today.

But I don’t apologize for the waiting.

Most of us know the ending. The good news. That we have peace with God through the death of Christ.

But I wanted to help you get a deeper glimpse of what Jesus’ death meant.

I wanted to help you see the epic nature of the cross of Christ.

The magnitude in which it reaches–touching the very essence of an infinite and omnipotent and holy and just God reaching across the unending darkness to rescue a finite and weak and corrupt and lawless being.

And hopefully the two-day delay let you meditate on that truth.

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Never Tell a Child They Are Personally Worth the Sacrifice Jesus Made

True, I’m a curmudgeon. But this is a gospel-backed rant.

Most contemporary Christian songs make God out to be a supernatural soccer mom. It’s the kind of stuff you hear at high school rallies.

Why this slant in the  modern church? Because everything else in our culture makes much of us.

Advertisements. Movies. Psychology. Self esteem is a dog that can hunt.

Just the other day someone asked me how I expected children who have experienced abuse and depression to deal with feelings of worthlessness if we don’t bolster their self-esteem?

Could we really expect them to live the abundant life in Jesus Christ if they didn’t know they were personally worth the sacrifice Jesus made?

Great questions. Here’s my reply.

The Gospel Is about God Loving a Worthless People

I’d start with . “We love him because he first loved us.”

Then I would tell them that we are all corrupt. Sinners. Liars. Thieves. Adulterers–emotionally, physically and spiritually.

So by our very natures we can not love God. Because we don’t want God. So God loves us, which sows the seed of love for him in us.

I would also tell them that God is patient–long-suffering.

He endures with “vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory” (), and wishes none would perish.

Yet, there is a point in which his mercy will end. It may be his unsurpassable attribute, but it is not his inexhaustible one.

For man does not know his time. Like fish that are taken in an evil net, and like birds that are caught in a snare, so the children of man are snared at an evil time, when it suddenly falls upon them.

So I would tell my children not to drag their feet. Never put off repentance and surrender to another day.

Hell is a reality that you should never hide from your child.

The Gospel Transforms Worthless People

Futhermore, I would never tell a child that they were personally worth the sacrifice that Jesus made for them. That is to take the prerogative away from God, and to suggest that there is something in us worth saving.

and squashes that idea.

Think about it: God didn’t choose the Israelites to possess the land for their inherent worth. In fact, he chose them in spite of their stiff-necked ways.

He could have chose any nation. For some reason he chose the Israelites.

Think about what who had five husbands. Normal people don’t have five husbands. We can speculate she grew up in abuse. We can speculate she loathed herself.

But he didn’t tell her she was loved by God or a special person. He pointed her to the truth about her sin and about her savior.

And think about what he said to the woman caught in adultery. “Go, and sin no more.” Nothing about her shame or lack of self-worth. Just repent because God does not condemn you.

The Gospel Is Superior to Any Counselling Method

Sure, raising children and caring for those abused or depressed involves practical means like encouraging them and teaching them how to overcome depression…but NEVER at the expense of the gospel.

To do otherwise would only treat the symptom while ignoring the disease.

Besides, first century saints didn’t have our sophisticated counselling methods.

They didn’t need them.

Paul said, “I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile” ().

So, in the end, I would expect children who have experienced abuse or depression to enjoy the abundant life in Jesus Christ in the same way that we all enjoy it. Through the gospel.

Here’s What I’m Not Saying

Using strong language will obviously provoke some people to believe that I think humans are no different from animals.

That’s far from the truth.

Humans are distinct from animals in at least 10 ways–but the most important differentiation is that we bear the mark of God.

We are creatures created to bring glory to God through our grace-affirming subjugation of the earth by the gospel. But that worth is an alien worth–imputed to us from our Creator.

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Meet the Man Who Created the Sabbath

Part of a weekly series on Matthew. This week: Matthew 12:1-8.

The Pharisees had a tough time seeing it. Something greater than Jonah. Something greater than Solomon.

They made the same mistake when they accused Jesus and his disciples of plucking grain and eating it on a Sabbath.

Jesus, like he did when tempted by Satan, went to Scripture to demonstrate their hypocrisy.

He said to them, “Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, and those who were with him: how he entered the house of God and ate the bread of the Presence, which it was not lawful for him to eat nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests?

In essence, Sabbath laws do not restrict deeds of necessity, service to God, worship or acts of compassion.

What was prohibited was work for the sake of profit.

Therefore a priest could perform his duties. A child weak with hunger could glean for food. A man with a withered hand could expect restoration.

In fact, refusal to do good on the Sabbath is tantamount to doing evil. “So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin” (James 4:17).

Sabbath laws should give way to means of religion. And means of religion should always give way to circumstances of mercy.

And if the Sabbath must give way to means of religion, should not both give way to the One who created them?

This Is the Man Who Created the Sabbath

Jesus then drives a stake in the ground: “For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”

A straightforward claim that he was indeed God. Messiah.

No man ever claimed to be lord of the Sabbath.

Not Moses. Nor David.

Only Jesus.

Keep in mind: he didn’t come to abolish the Sabbath.

He came to preside over it. To redeem it from the oppression of the religious. To undo the straps of the yoke. And to breathe an air of love and liberty into it not known until then.

This is why he said:

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

As Messiah, Jesus’ campaign of liberation included the Sabbath. In fact, his intention was to bring a taste of our future eternal bliss to us by restoring the Sabbath to its natural state.

A little bit of heaven on earth.

So, when we turn the Sabbath into a theater of hurry or confusion or indulgence, we abuse it. Jesus’ design was that it would become a theater of saints at the feet of their Lord. At rest. At peace. At worship.

Let’s make sure we keep it that way.

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Propitiation in Plain English

 

Haunted. Convicted. Blessed. Condemned. These are words that often describe people’s response to Jesus’ death.

But before we can even talk about that, we first need to establish what Jesus’ death accomplished.

We need to talk about propitiation.

What DID Jesus’ Death Accomplish?

Propitiation. Big word. Probably means nothing to you. But this is the New Testament term for what Jesus’ death on the cross accomplished for you.

You can find propitiation four times in the New Testament:

Whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. 

And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world. 

In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 

Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. 

What Does Propitiation Mean?

In a nutshell, propitiation means a gift that satisfies God’s wrath.

Unlike the pagan conception of gods–moody, volatile and violent gods and godess, prone to punishing humans with disease, drought and death at the drop of a hat–God’s anger is not irrational or unpredictable.

Neither is God inactive in this appeasement like pagan gods. God Himself stepped out on His own and provided the sacrificial offering that covers human sin and makes reconciliation possible.

That’s propitiation. God took the first step towards us.

The Overwhelming Problem of God’s Wrath

Propitiation–and the idea of God’s wrath–may offend some people. [Like .]

They have a difficult time wrapping their head around the idea of a personal, loving God being so furious at them that they needed a sacrifice to avoid the terrible consequences.

However, there are two good reasons to face this truth about propitiation:

1. The problem of sin. God is without sin. We are steeped in sin. And though God loves us, he hates sin. In fact, God is so profoundly troubled by sin that he feels both sorrow and anger over sin. Detests it. The  is so severe that He hates them. Even hides His face from them. So, by definition, a loving, holy God is required to be angry at sinners who destroy that which he loves.

2. The problem of the Bible. Eh? This is what I mean: The Bible speaks of God’s anger, wrath, and fury toward sin more than His love, grace, and mercy.  to describe God’s anger in the Old Testament. And though less frequently, these words and concepts are .

Verses 18, 24 and 26 in Romans tells us that . And the place of God’s unending active wrath is hell, which  than anyone in the Bible as an eternal place of physical torment.

 that Jesus described hell like someone getting flogged, butchered or burned.

Incomprehensible debt. Unconceivable punishment. No picture could prepare us for the biblical experience of God’s wrath.

We have to deal with it.

Propitiation Is the Supreme Answer to God’s Wrath

But, because God is loving, merciful, and kind, He has chosen to save some people. So, to both demonstrate His hatred of sin and love for sinners, Jesus averted the wrath of God by dying on the cross as a substitute for sinners.

That’s why salvation is defined as . The anger of God is diverted from us to Jesus. What this does is show how  and thus replaced it with His own work on the cross.

If you think about it, one of the most poignant pictures of propitiation is the . The angel of death “passed over” all houses that had lamb’s blood on their door posts and lintel.

In the same way, if you are a repentant believer who trusts in Jesus, your sins are covered by Jesus’ blood–that is, his death–and God passes over you in his wrath and judgment.

Why Does Propitiation Matter?

There are a number of good reasons to allow this seemingly abstract truth to penetrate your soul.

1. Believers often punish themselves when they sin, thinking they are paying God back. . Punitive fasting. What propitiation teaches is that the penalties for our past, present and future sins are taken care of. They are covered. Our response when we fall into sin is to simply ask for forgiveness. That’s it.

2. Unbelievers often punish themselves because of shame and guilt. Think  and . Suicides and alcoholics. What propitiation does is wipe that guilt and shame away. Forever.

3. When we suffer, God is not punishing us. Sometimes it might be the case that he’s disciplining us so that we might grow in holiness. But never is he using suffering to punish us for our sins. That’s not what the Bible teaches.

And with Christmas looming, this doctrine seems all the more relevant to me. Think about it: The birth of Christ is the first step of propitiation.

Without the birth of Christ, we’d have no substitute. No sacrifice. No savior.

Your Personal Conflict with the Great Commission

 

Simply fulfilling my promise to write about Radical all week.

Suspend your belief for a moment. I want to change your view of history.

In January 1703, shortly after graduating and failing an audition for an organist’s post at Sangerhausen in January 1703,  didn’t take up his post as a court musician in the chapel of Duke Johann Ernst in Weimar…

But instead, while riding away from Sangerhausen, Bach felt a severe call on his life to travel to Tunisia to minster the gospel to the Arabs…

Summarily giving up his ambition to be a composer.

Revision of Van Gogh’s Little Life

Almost two hundred years later,  succeeded in his early vocational aspiration to become a pastor and preached the gospel from 1879 until his death to a small mining town in Belgium…

And neglecting his elegant (but tortured) artistic output that resulted in intoxicating paintings like  and ?

Naturally, even to conceive of such events means we have to revise history and do some heavy-duty speculating.

But here’s my point–what if every great Christian artist, writer, dramatist, composer or scholar simply shed their vocational ambitions to work strictly as a missionary, preacher, teacher or evangelist?

Would our culture be any less than it is without Bach’s sacred  or the sublime chaos of van Gogh’s ?

The answer, or course, is “no.”

For one thing, conceiving of history without Bach the composer and his rich legacy of liturgical works or Van Gogh and his dreamy, sad impressionistic paintings is pure fiction.

It’s the stuff of revisionist history best left in the hands of novelists who like to entertain.

Here’s what I’m getting at.

The Tension the Great Commission Creates

I get a strong impression after reading David Platt’s Radical that he’d like to see us all abandon our political, social, academic or artistic pursuits and share the gospel.

That, my friends, is radical.

It’s an over-reading of his point, of course, even though he is a pastor and (I think) would be quiet happy if every one in his church–and all the readers of his book–would become evangelists or missionaries.

In fact, after you read the book there’s a small part of you wanders if you should liquidate your 401k and send it to World Vision…

Or sell your suburban home and move your family of four to a grass hut in Bangladesh…

Or scrap your dream of being a veterinarian and take the first flight to Ethiopia to save ten-year-old girls from sexual slavery.

David Platt and his book just might ruin your life in that way.

Extreme, perhaps.

But Jesus and his great commission was anything but superficial.

Which brings us to the tension with our cultural mandate: God’s decree that we subdue the earth by building schools, running governments and crafting art.

Questions the Book Will Stir Up

No question: There are those who will read the book and go to the extreme. Who will give it all up and make radical changes to their lifestyle to fulfill the gospel.

David Platt’s got the testimonies to prove it.

For the rest of us, we at least re-think how we spend our money.

In reality, all Platt asks you to do is bear your heart before God and ask: What can I do? How can I give it all?

And what does that mean?

Does that mean I remain here in the suburban U. S. and churn out blog posts or novels or paintings or musical scores–for your glory?

Or do you have something more radical for me? Read Platt’s book and, in truth, you will ask yourself those questions. What do you say?

One Final Thought

Sometimes I wonder what Calvin would’ve written if he’d not had his conversion, but instead pursued his ambition to live a leisurely literary life.

I gamble he might have been a French .

To this literary nut job, that sounds appealing.

Don’t get me wrong: I wouldn’t trade that history if it meant we gave up the Institutes. I’m just saying: Maybe it’s not so bad to let your imagination wander on occasion.

Who knows: You might stumble upon a brilliant idea. An idea you can offer up to the glory of God.

But maybe that’s enough? We’ll never know, will we?

David Platt vs the American Dream [Book Review]

 

Introducing the 20/60 best books on the gospel. A 62-week long series.

David Platt is taking a swing at our long-established national ethos. The one that says citizens of every rank can achieve a “better, richer and happier life.”

The one that says with hard work and a can-do attitude you can buy the perfect home with a picket fence…two cars in the garage…and a monster flat screen television pinned to the living room wall.

Unfortunately, it’s an ethos at odds with Jesus Christ.

Nasty Side Effect of the American Dream

Originally quoted by James Truslow Adams back in 1931, “” is rooted in the second sentence of the Declaration of Independence:

“all men are created equal…endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights including Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

It’s an idea that motivated immigrants of all stripes. That drives our bulldog entrepreneurial spirit. And feeds Olympic-sized dreams.

But it’s got a nasty side effect: conspicuous consumerism.

In other words, it breeds the sense that we are not people until we have the large house in an exclusive subdivision with a 28-foot boat parked at the marina.

In this version of the American dream, material goods and worldly success rule because it provide us with a sense of safety, satisfaction and security.

And unfortunately, Dr. Platt argues in his forthcoming book , it’s hijacked the American church.

The Tension Between Building and Mission Budgets

The American church is obsessed with budgets. Building campaigns. Entertainment value. Head count. Comfort level. Presidential hat tips.

A systemic problem considering the church wasn’t built to pamper us. It was built for something completely different.

Platt points out the tension between the American church and its original purpose with two headlines he saw recently in a local newspaper: One headline declared a church spent 1.5 million dollars to build a new sanctuary. On the same page that same church gave $5,000 to missions in the same year.

There’s something very disturbing about that picture. And it says something about us, too: Our American view of the gospel makes much of us.

Jesus’ gospel, on the other hand, makes much of God and his mandate to reach the lost and the poor.

It’s an obsession with missions.

Now, before you think Dr. Platt is a small-town pastor frustrated with larger churches and their enormous budgets and congregations that rival small cities–think again.

Platt is the pastor of Birmingham, Alabama’s 4,000 strong The Church. That means he’s coping with the same ills as most megachurch pastors.

And he’s finding it hard to live with this model, a model that is on a collision course with Jesus.

The Original Purpose of the Church

In  Jesus commanded his disciples to go and make disciples of all the nations.

One thing is clear: No one is exempt from this commandment. We are all responsible for spreading the gospel and training believers.

Look around a contemporary American church and what do you see? Not much training. Discipline. Or hardship.

Look at churches overseas, though, and you get quite a different picture. Here’s how Platt described one underground church he visited:

A woman who lived in the city and knew some English shared, “I have a television, and every once in a while I am able to get stations from the United States,” she said. “Some of these stations have church services on them. I see the preachers, and they are dressed in very nice clothes, and they are preaching in very nice buildings. Some of them even tell me that if I have faith, I too can have nice things.”

She paused before continuing. “When I come to our church meetings, I look around, and most of us are very poor, and we are meeting here at great risk to our lives.” The she looked at me and asked, “Does this mean we do not have enough faith?”

Sharp contrast wouldn’t you say? He paints another humbling picture of this contrast when he compares the American church with the history of the SS United States.

Short History of a Luxury Liner

The  was originally designed to carry over 15,000 troops anywhere in the world at speeds of 40 miles per hour or faster.

It was the biggest and fastest combat ship of its kind. However, it never went into combat.

Instead, the Navy used it to carry presidents, heads of state and celebrities to enjoy 695 staterooms, 4 dining rooms, 3 bars, 2 theaters, 5 acres of open deck and heated pool while they sauntered across the Atlantic Ocean.

Platt writes:

“Instead of a vessel used for battle during wartime, the SS United States became a means of indulgence for wealthy patrons who desired to coast peacefully across the Atlantic.”

Replace SS United States with the America church and you have a startlingly real picture of what we’ve become.

This is hot tub religion. Not what Jesus intended.

Jesus vs the American Dream

Jesus intended the church to prepare Christians for battle. And to actually send them into battle. It’s purpose is to mobilize a people to accomplish a mission.

However, we seem to have turned away from a sense of mission to share the gospel with pagans and alleviate suffering and adopted the gospel of American consumerism dominated by “self-advancement, self-esteem and self-sufficiency.”

It’s our bliss versus their pain.

But the church never should’ve gotten to this point.  “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.”

In essence, Jesus Christ and the American Dream are NOT compatible.

What Platt Isn’t Saying

Understand: This is not a call to abandon abundance. No–it’s a call to rethink how we use it.  that God intends our plenty to supply the needs of others.

And it’s not a question of “What can we spare?” No. It’s a question of “What will it take?”

Over a billion people are headed to a Christless eternity. Over 28,000 children will die of starvation before the day ends.

The implications are huge: We don’t have time to waste our lives on the American Dream. Not if we all have been commanded to take this gospel to them.

In the end, Jesus said we will be betrayed. Tortured. Killed. This is the undeniable truth behind being a follower of Christ.

So if we want a safe, untroubled, comfortable life free from danger, then we should stay away from the biblical Jesus and continue to cling to the American Dream.

The Millennium: Can We Safely Neglect this Doctrine?

A quick look at the doctrine of the Millennium and the consequences of ignoring it.

I have to admit: Before I cracked open the books, I didn’t give the doctrine of Jesus’ thousand year reign a second thought.

Shoot–I hadn’t even given it a first thought.

But am I any less of a Christian?

And could I continue as a healthy, functioning Christian without this doctrine?

In other words, can Christians safely neglect the doctrine of the millennium?

Before we answer that question, let’s explore three different positions on this particular doctrine: amillennialismpostmillennialism and premillennialism.

Amillennialism

According to this position, we are in the millennium. At Christ’s death, God reduced Satan’s power so the gospel could be effectively preached in this age.

This position declares that Christ’s one thousand year reign [a figurative number by the way] is a heavenly–and not an earthly–kingdom.

That means  is being fulfilled as we speak. It also means that there WILL NOT be a future kingdom.

This is it.

This reign will continue until Christ’s return when unbelievers will be raised to judgment and believers to eternal bliss.

Postmillennialism

This view holds that Christ’s return will occur AFTER the millennium.

In the meantime, this view sees the power of the gospel gradually growing over a very long time [the millennium, again, is a figurative thousand years] so that the world becomes more and more Christ-like…culminating in his second return.

As you can guess, this doctrine becomes very popular during times of pervasive peace and prosperity when we see strong influences of Christianity dominating our society.

Premillennialism

This view sees Christ’s return BEFORE the millennium–but AFTER the tribulation. In other words, Christ’s return inaugurates his thousand year earthly reign.

At the beginning of this time Christ will cast Satan into the bottomless pit and believers will be raised from the dead.

At the end of this period Christ will release Satan from his prison who then attempts one last time to defeat Christ but is in turn summarily defeated.

Once Satan is defeated, final judgment will ensue–unbelievers to hell, believers to heaven.

Warning: Be Careful with This Doctrine

Listen: As with any prophetic, future doctrine interpreting the exact meaning of the millennium is both complex and difficult.

Our conclusions will be less certain than with other doctrines…

And although I think a strong case can be made for one position over the others [I’ll explain in a minute what that is], I also think it is VERY IMPORTANT to extend a large measure of grace when discussing this topic.

Putting aside questions of positions for a minute, what are we supposed to do with this doctrine? What’s at stake if we neglect it? Can we achieve personal applications from it?

To help us think through this I’ve adapted a few questions from . When you get a minute, answer these questions in the comments section. My answers are indented.

Questions to Ask Yourself about the Millennium

Do you have any conviction about Christ’s return: Whether it is amillennial, postmillennial or premillennial?

Yes. I affirm it is premillennial. I believe the stronger scriptural case lies with premillennialism. Furthermore, I believe the other positions create problems they can’t solve like amillennialisms slip into two returns for Christ .

How does your present view of the millennium affect your Christian life?

This is hard. Because it is in the distant future. But I would have to say it compels me to make my salvation sure, stimulate the faith of other believers and evangelize unbelievers despite my fears.

What do you think it will be like to live in a glorified body with Christ as King over the world? What sort of emotions and attitudes might you experience?

To the first question, weird. I don’t think I could confidently talk about such a state. I have zero reference point–expect for Christ’s resurrected body. So it may be the same, except without sin, disease or death. As far as emotions, I can only say it will probably be a deep sense of gratitude.

Lastly, do you really look forward to such a kingdom?

I confess: Not until I brushed up on the topic. I do now, though. In fact, I have a growing desire to learn more, because if you think about it contemplating such a kingdom and our place in it can only cause a far-reaching hope that sinks into every corner of our lives–changing us in ways Christ intended.

What about you? How would you answer these questions? Leave your answers in the comments.

And naturally your answers will depend on what position you hold, but don’t be afraid to share if we don’t agree. I’d still love to hear from you. I want to grow together.

The Enemy [It’s Not Who You Think]

In view of this growing, hostile reaction to Christianity, you need to keep these three things in mind as you hash out your plan of attack–or retreat.

Books supporting evolution are not in short supply.

Stand just inside my local Barnes and Noble and you’ll see what I mean.

Lining a shelf of the new and notable science publications and you’ll see books like .

.

And .

Nothing unusual.

But it’s that last one–by none other than Richard Dawkins–that did it…

That got the gears going.

An Abundance of Books Easily Amuses Me

What surprised me most about this book was not that he wrote a book on the evidence of evolution…

But that he keeps on doing it. Systematically. Deliberately.

Naturally, his other books are just variations on the theme. The Blind WatchmakerThe God DelusionThe Selfish Gene.

Then there’s the hundreds more published by other authors. It’s a veritable cottage industry breaking into the big time.

But it’s also indicative of a sense of alarm about the future of evolution and the threat of superstition.

So, in the face of this sleepless opposition, what are Christians to do? Enter the Christian apologists.

Soon We Will Resort to Cage Matches

To be fair, neither is there a shortage of books AGAINST evolution.

For example, a month or two down the road Alistair McGrath, Phillip Johnson, Michael Behe, David Aikman–someone in the camp–will write a book called Evidence Against Evolution.

Or The REAL Greatest Show on the Earth: Evidence for Design.

No?

Well, I’m banking on history here, because this is nothing more than the thrust, counter-thrust, counter-counter-thrust, counter-counter-counter thrust of our current scientific-spiritual climate.

A climate brewing for the last forty years.

My observation boils down to this: We get our underwear in a wad, convinced our privileged nation is going to hell in a hand basket, and so we’ve got to roll up our sleeves and single handedly stop the steamroller called evolution.

Or atheism. Or pagan spirituality. Whatever you want to call it.

I’m Guilty, Too

Believe me, I hear that same voice every time a new book opposing Christianity is published.

Whether it’s by Ehrman, Dawkins, Young or Tolle.

I want to write the book that saws off the branch that evolution sits on. That pulls out the rug from under higher criticism. That drowns false prophets.

Vicious, I know.

And don’t get me wrong: This competition is healthy.

Yet in view of this growing, hostile reaction to Christianity, you need to keep these three things in mind as you hash out your plan of attack–or retreat.

Three Reasons Why You Should Chill

One, this shouldn’t surprise one thoughtful Christian at all. .

Second, evolution,  like all scientific views, has a shelf life.

In fact, it may surprise many to learn that most biologists at the start of the 20th Century .

Darwinism revived when a handful of scientists merged his theory with Mendelian genetics.

This is not an isolated event. The history of science is full of such turnabouts.

Whatever Happened to These Scientific Theories?

Ever heard of the geosynclinal theory? Of course not. It was buried alive by plate tetonics.

Geocentric view of the universe? Shoved aside by Copernicus and his trusty heliocentric view.

That phlogiston caused heat?  Well, oxidation burned this one at the stake.

Yes, Darwinism remains the consensus. [As do the others.] How long? A lot longer, I believe, than most because it is truly a great idea.

But that’s where it remains. As an idea.

Didn’t See This Coming

My final and third point is this: the –the region that covers South America, Africa and China.

What’s so special about it? It’s a region of the world that’s experiencing unprecedented growth in Christianity.

And here’s the kicker: This is occurring in the face of rigid anti-religious cultures.

It’s really quite astonishing if you think about what’s going on in China, for example.

 in a nation very unkind to Christianity.

And while not the poverty and persecution of the extremely repressive Cultural Revolution in 3 decades China’s gone from 3 million Christians to anywhere from 54 million to 130 million.

Conservately, that’s 18-fold jump in Christians. Go with the liberal number and we’re talking a 43-fold leap.

And get this.

This wave of Christianity is not led by foreign missionaries: Christianity in China spreads from person to person.

Government crackdowns and public scrutiny. Christians beaten, arrested and church leaders jailed. Converts remaining anonymous for fear of persecution.

As much as changed in China, much has remained the same. But Christianity spreads.

So, while we fight for legislation to protect our freedom of speech or prayer or our right to insist marriage should remain between a man and woman, our .

What Gives?

Quite frankly, we could use a little persecution. And not only of the academic sort.

In the West, we have lots of bandwidth to do much with. No surprise that Christianity comes in 356 colors.

And then some.

And neither is it a surprise that most Christians affirm the view that as long as people leave them alone they’ll leave them alone.

We are comfortable and want to stay that way.

Perhaps it would do us well be stripped of our freedoms. To be limited in our movement.

Perhaps creating laws that decreed publishing a book opposing evolution could lead to death. To make a stand against abortion punishable by torture.

I predict that much of what we know as the church today would run for the woods if this ever occurred…

Or commit outright treason against Christ. [I’m sounding rather alarmist myself, aren’t I?]

A Conclusion

In a nutshell, rather than wring our hands over the fear that the sky is falling in, our time would be better spent if we simply rejoiced and made discipleship of the nations a singular and solitary pursuit.

If we first sharpened our sense of sound doctrine and gospel truth.

And that we started with our own people.

Once we get back on that horse, then we can get on with the business of trampling evolution. Whacha think?

How to Deal with Religious Conflict

What beliefs create peaceful behavior and deal with the discord of religion? Here’s the answer. Part of a series on truth.

There’s no getting around it: Everybody has an exclusive set of beliefs.

Moralists look down their noses at unbelievers as filthy, undisciplined misfits.

Secularists snub religious people as psychopathic nut jobs.

And pragmatists demand we shed our religious beliefs when we debate matters of life.

All privileged–but partial–views we hold over others.

Which View Is Right?

What we need to do [and what really matters in the long run] is to discover which set of beliefs create peaceful, inclusive and loving behavior…

…will radically change you into agents of reconciliation for the world…

…and deal with the discord of religion.

I know this sounds counter intuitive, but the set of beliefs that will do that are found in Christianity–and the uniqueness of the Christian gospel.

Here are three major ways Christianity is unique to other religious views.

1. Origin of Salvation

The founder of Christianity is not a human–he is God. God who came in the flesh. All other religious founders are human.

2. Purpose of Salvation

 That God came in the flesh is important. Most Eastern religions tend to teach liberation from the flesh. And most Western religions tend to condemn the flesh.

However, through the birth and resurrection of Jesus Christ, Christianity teaches that the flesh will be redeemed and renewed.

3. Method of Salvation

All other religions teach you to perform the truth to be saved. They put salvation in the hands of humans. Christianity, in contrast, puts salvation squarely in the hands of God:

In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 

Jesus lived the life that we should have lived and died the death we deserved. He suffered for people who didn’t love him. And this is the highest act of love.

Is There One True Religion?

I believe so.

How can I say that in a flat, pluralistic world where every religious flower can bloom? And how does that deal with religious conflict?

In the next post I’ll explain how holding these unique truths of Christianity seals people off from religious superiority, transforms them into agents of peace and produces humble, patient and compassionate behavior…behavior that ultimately shuts down religious animosity.