Tag Archives: salvation

Abandonment of Christianity: 2 Things That Occur

Leave a reply

**Part of the 10 Hard Truths about Being Born Again series**

A funny thing seems to happen on the way to becoming an atheist…

You become a better person.

At least that’s the perennial refrain I hear from those who’ve made the transition from Christian to atheist.

[Of course it’s debatable whether they were even Christians to begin with.]

But there’s just one problem…

Two things essentially rise from an abandonment of Christianity. Your sense of morality. And your bitterness towards God.

Naturally, when you lower the barrier for goodness, you’ll appear more moral. You really don’t have to exert yourself…just lower the bar, and BAM…

You’re a pretty decent guy. [Or gal.]

Yet, when anyone brings up God as the true standard for goodness, you stiff-arm what you imagine to be excessive demands.

Who knew you could be so ? And why? This hatred comes from a mind that’s conscious of it’s guilt.

If your own personal moral standard is in danger, the best thing to do is fight back. Tooth and claw. Guard your right to think, say or do what you want.

Of course, the ultimate insult to an atheist is that unbelief should be punished with eternal death. :

All think it harsh that they who do not believe in Christ should be devoted to destruction. That no man may ascribe his condemnation to Christ, he shows that every man ought to impute the blame to himself. The reason is, that unbelief is a testimony of a bad conscience; and hence it is evident that it is their own wickedness which hinders unbelievers from approaching to Christ.

And this is precisely why new birth is essential: Not only are you dead…but you also live in the dark. And hate the light. The light that exposes your sin.

And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.

For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed.

But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God. 

Jesus’ purpose was never to condemn the world. We do that ourselves when we reject Christ. Jesus’ purpose was to save the world.

He came to bring the gift of new birth. He came to invite you to join God’s family–to go from being a child of wrath to a child of God–initiated by repentance.

In the end, new birth brings about a conviction of moral poverty. It opens our eyes to see we are miserable and destitute of all power of doing good. And it brings about a rushing to the grace of God.

So, since we live in and love the dark, let’s learn that we can’t judge our works by any other standard than the light of the gospel. There’s just no other way.

Children of Wrath [Our Condition Apart from the New Birth]

Leave a reply

Part of the 10 Hard Truths about Being Born Againseries.

Me.

Not you. Not my wife. Not my father. Not my birth city. Nor my childhood friends.

Me.

That’s my main problem. Namely, my wicked heart.

My wicked heart that finds great pleasure in self-indulgence. That finds great pleasure in ignoring the pain of others. That finds great pleasure in emotionally torturing those close to me.

My wicked heart that’s hell bent on lying, cheating and stealing to get to the top. To write the best novel. To provoke people to like me. To love me. To praise me.

Didn’t know this about me, did you? Surprised? Guess what…it describes you, too. And unfortunately, because of this disposition to sin, you and I rest under the anger of God.

In :

Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.

In other words, whether we’re prone to sensual or spiritual wickedness…all men and women…are naturally children of disobedience.

And  also…by nature…children of wrath. God’s wrath.

Not that we we’re born children of wrath. Rather, that we grow into this wickedness…

See, “nature” in the Greek . Yes, we’re born with a bent for evil. A love for evil. And we grow into that love… against the coming day of judgment.

In other words, we’re identified as children of wrath by our behavior. Our actions. Our deeds of disobedience.

We are sons of death. Sons of perdition. And the . Thus, if we died in that state…we’d be judged…and damned.

So you ask the question, “Why do I need to be born again?” My answer is this: You are a child of wrath. You are subject to God’s anger…and the punishment that cascades from it…because you refuse to obey him.

And all this just because you are YOU.

The good news of the New Testament is that  of God.  Jesus even “delivers us from the wrath to come.”

Apart from Christ you are dead. Enslaved to sin. And an object of God’s wrath. In Christ, however, you are alive. Enthroned. And an object of grace…

This is why , “You must be born again.”

Are you?

Perfect Illustration of What Christ Did for Us

Leave a reply

 

See how Doug Wilson’s story of a teacher explains the difference between good advice and good news.

I confess: Navigating through the nature of God at times leaves me feeling detached and remote.

Far off from God.

Granted, you can’t put your finger on infinity. Eternality. Self-existence.

These topics at first blush are unbelievably impractical, impersonal, ineffable and intimidating.

No wonder Job once argued that there was no arbitrator between man and God:

In truth I know that this is so; But how can a man be in the right before God? If one wished to dispute with Him, he could not answer Him once in a thousand times. 

It’s at these times when a story like Doug Wilson’s Teacher illustration brings the sheer practicality of God and redemptive history home for me.

The Illustration

In a recent video John Piper shares the illustration in question. It’s an illustration on the difference between good advice and good news.

For those to lazy to  [I sometimes fall into this category], let me summarize the illustration.

Picture a young man before his trigonometry teacher. It’s the first day of class. He’s anxious about passing. She gives him advice on how to succeed: Study hard. Memorize your tables. Do your homework.

He follows her advice. However, at the end of the semester, at the final exam, this young man is hunched over a blank piece of paper.

The teacher passes, notices the blank paper. More good advice looks like this: Relax. Answer the easy questions first. Build off of those. Think harder.

On the other hand, good news look like this: The teacher says, “Scoot over. I’ll take the exam for you.”

That illustration characterizes the gospel. The climax of redemptive history. And it distinguishes between good advice and good news.

The Essential Meaning of the Illustration

It also articulates what’s meant by propitiation, substitutionary atonement, justification by faith alone.

And it reminds of us of the solid ground we stand on. It will be Christ’s righteousness–not our own–that is going to count for us on Judgment day.

In the end, Wilson’s illustrations is an image of the vivid, concrete anchor we have in Christ. The flesh and blood hope we have in the face of an unfathomable, holy God. And the compelling vision that stirs our soul to worship, work for and wonder at him who loved us so much that he sent his only son to die for us.

It grounds us in the spiritual reality that sometimes eludes us. Please share the story.

31 Biblical Facts about Man’s Spirit

Leave a reply

Given the space I devoted yesterday to spiritual death, I thought I’d follow up today with a post on the biblical case for man’s spirit.

Here we go.

1. Man has a spirit. 

2. Man’s spirit is immortal. [See the heading ]

3. Man’s spirit can be divided from the body and destroyed. .

4. God’s spirit contends with man’s spirit. [Some translations say “abide.”] 

5. Can be sad or vexed to the point a person can’t eat. 

6. Man’s spirit can be encouraged and motivated. 

7. Can be in anguish. 

8. Can turn against God. 

9. Can search for meaning and truth. 

10. Man’s spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. 

11. Can be revived by water or food.  and 

12. Can be faithful and steadfast in the Lord. 

13. Can be rebellious. 

14. Can faint and melt in despair and fear. 

15. Can be reborn. 

16. Can be grieved and troubled and alarmed. 

17. Can be drug down by lethargy and stupor. 

18. Can be fervent. 

19. Can be meek and gentle. 

20. Can be present though the body is absent. 

21. Can be holy. 

22. Can be restless. 

23. Can be filthy. 

24. Can be lifted out of sorrow. 

25. Can be in unity with others. 

26. Can worship God. 

27. Can rejoice. 

28. Can be an example to others. 

29. Leaves body at death. 

30. Can be dead through sin. 

31. Can be made alive in Christ. 

Naturally, this is not an exhaustive list, so…what’d I miss that you think I should include? Looking forward to your thoughts. Brutal and all.

Dead: Our Condition Apart from the New Birth

1 Reply

 

Part of the10 Hard Truths about Being Born Againseries.

You are either dead or alive.

If you’re reading this, I vote alive. But there’s another way in which you could still read this and be dead.

Because, in the wake of a tangle with a non-believer the truth of their condition becomes so apparent to me:

Apart from the new birth they are dead. Spiritually dead, that is.

This explains why conversations with non-believers can be so frustrating. It’s like talking to a vertical corpse. [I’m sure they feel the same way about me.]

More importantly, though, and this is my point, if I get sucked into the slipstream of argument and debate and don’t move to a graceful articulation of the good news–I’ve failed.

What Does It Mean to Be Spiritually Dead?

At a recent conference  what it means to be dead apart from the new birth:

1. We are by nature children of wrath. 

2. We love darkness and hate the light. 

3. We have hearts that are hard like stone. 

4. We are hostile towards God, unable to submit or please him. 

5. We are unable to accept the gospel 

6. We’re unable to come to Christ.  and 

7. We are slaves to sin. 

8. We are slaves of satan. 

9. No good thing dwells in us. 

To anyone who cares, this is bad news.

What the New Birth Doesn’t Mean

However, though I count myself on the side of the spiritually living, there is a work of sin that remains in me even though I have been born again.

In fact, I don’t think I go a single hour without offending God.

But here’s the deal: That can either devastate me…or it can move me to adore and embrace Christ even more…

Because as bad as the bad news is, it is glorious to get it right because there is a glorious remedy: The new birth.

So, as Tim Challies said in his , “when we properly understand our own badness, we see Christ more gloriously.”

And don’t miss this: I don’t feel myself becoming gloriously more holy. No. I feel myself becoming gloriously more grateful. More humble. More passionate to share the undeserved gift I’ve received.

My Shameless Articulation of the Good News

Perhaps you’ve noticed by now, but there’s a pattern to my 10 Questions with an Atheist series. It looks something like this: First interview. Second, articulation of the Gospel.

Mind you, this isn’t by design. It’s by compulsion.

The first time it happened, I rolled out an unflinching dedication to readers who care enough to share the Gospel with the spiritually blind.

The second time it erupted into a simple, but elegant confession of my boundless gratitude for the Gospel.

Bottom line: It just feels so right to follow up an atheist interview with the proclamation that Jesus is my savior. Our savior.

Unbeliever: What I Want You to Know

If you are a non-believer, I want you to know this: I have no delusions about winning you over.

I know better than that.

There’s no silver bullet in my apologetics toolbox that will take you out of your atheism. That’s one of the reasons I don’t spend much time mastering classical or current arguments.

It fundamentally comes down to this: The Holy Spirit freely gives life. And it only happens through the living and abiding word of God.

It’s that Word that brings about faith–not a sophisticated cosmological argument–and it is only through that Word that we are awakened to receive Christ and believe him.

How to Lose Readers and Subscribers

Naturally, there’s a good chance that I lose some subscribers with a post like this. A good chance I turn away some readers.

Suicide in our market-driven culture, yes. But I don’t care. It’s Christ and Christ crucified.

In Jesus’ own ministry, he didn’t widen the Gospel–he narrowed it. And trust me, I wish it were different. My task–the preacher’s task–is impossible.

That’s why it needs to be empowered by God. Not me. Yet through me. Through my articulation of the Gospel God awakens dead souls.

And that is a remarkably humbling thing to know. Don’t you think?

The Unflinching Solution to Spiritual Blindness

Leave a reply

Part of the 10 Hard Truths about Being Born Again series.

People who reject Christ are blind: “In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the Gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” 

In the last several weeks I’ve seen this truth come to life over and over again.

In a sense, it grieves me. And in another, it humbles me.

It grieves me because I so bad want the light to shine in their hearts so unbelievers see Christ.

It humbles me because I can’t do anything about it.

Only a work of God can open their eyes. Only a work of God can give them life. Only a work of God causes the human heart to see the truth and beauty and worth and glory of Christ.

That work is called the new birth. And it has nothing to do with my desire. Or my effort. Yet…

In , speaking to Paul, Jesus says, “I am sending you to open their eyes.” The solution to spiritual blindness is plain: God opens the eyes of the blind through people who share the good news with love.

People like Al. Ryan Karpeles. . . Don at . . .

People who–in spite of rejection and ridicule–boldly proclaim the worth, the glory and the way of Christ.

I want each and everyone of you to know that your support and your witness means the world to me. You encourage me. You cheer me on.

More importantly, you make me proud because people will be born again through the living and abiding word, the Gospel of Jesus Christ, you faithfully share.

The Simple, Unapologetic Purpose of the Bible

Leave a reply

The central, dominating theme of the Bible is not science, style or philosophy…it’s something more practical, yet more dramatic.

What’s the purpose of the Bible? That’s the million dollar question.

Well, I know what it’s not.

The Bible Is Not Science

It may contain some cosmology, archaeology and anthropology. But the Bible is not science.

Science comes by way of research, theories and testing.

Science might be able to tell us something about man’s origins. But it could never tell us about man’s nature…

The Bible Is Not Literary

Anybody–and I don’t care how smart or savvy they are–describing the Bible as literature is missing the point.

Yes…the Bible deals with great human themes like sex, suffering and death. Yes, it contains some breathtaking literature. Yes, it handles knowledge with simplicity and deep insight. Yes, it stirs the soul.

Nevertheless, God didn’t intend the Bible as great literature. It’s written in a common, commercial language.

Much of it lacks polish. Grammatical accuracy. Emotional attribution. Thus, the purpose of the Bible is not in science OR style…

The Bible Is Not Philosophy

Of course, the Bible contains profound thoughts about being, knowledge and conduct. But it glosses over huge issues some philosophers spend their whole lives on.

Take evil and suffering for an example.

One of the things we learn is that the Bible teaches sin causes suffering and evil. But we’re never given a full explanation why sin, suffering or evil even exist in the first place.

Even Job in the end doesn’t learn the true point behind why he suffered so much.

Why the missing attention on these issues? I don’t know. All I know is that the Bible is more concerned with how to overcome evil and suffering than it is in the origin and purpose.

The Central, Dominating Thrust of the Bible

So what’s the purpose behind the Bible? The Apostle Paul gives the best answer.

Paul teaches us that the Bible has a practical, yet dramatic purpose. This purpose is moral rather than intellectual. It’s spiritual rather than physical. The supreme purpose of the Bible, , is to instruct its readers “for salvation.”

But salvation is far more than the forgiveness of sins. It includes the whole sweep of God’s purpose to redeem and restore mankind…to recreate the universe.

From the Bible we learn how sin entered into the world. We learn that death entered the world through sin. We learn the gravity of sin. The gravity of death. The gravity of alienation from God.

But the central, dominating thrust of the Bible is that God loves the very rebels who deserve nothing at his hands but judgment.

That is the purpose of the Bible.

Both Testaments Promote the Singular Purpose of the Bible

From cover to cover we learn the outworking of this salvation, this redemption. Where the Old Testament predicts and promises the source of this redemption, the New Testament identifies who it is.

The fundamental relationship between the Old and the New is that between promise and fulfillment. The Old promises. The .

The Simple Formula for Salvation

In the long run, Scripture doesn’t bear witness to Christ in order to satisfy our curiosity. It bears witness to Christ to draw from us a response of faith.

Think about it.

God’s purpose in and through the Bible is severely practical. He’s ordained it as his chief instrument for bringing men to salvation. The Bible points its finger unapologetically to Christ so that it’s readers will see him, believe him and be saved.

But these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name. 

The formula is simple: Scripture. Christ. Faith. Salvation. Scripture points to Christ in order to evoke faith in Christ in order to bring life to the believer.

Whenever you read the Bible, you must look for Christ. And you must read until you find Him. Until you believe Him. And until you are saved.

And then you keep reading. Forever. And ever.

Part of the Quick and Dirty Guide to the Bible series.

J. I. Packer’s Advice to New Christians

Leave a reply

J. I. Packer shares 5 helpful tips for new Christians.

Following hard on the heels of resurrection week, I thought it’d be a good idea to share some advice for new Christians from J. I. Packer.

This advice comes from a  Mike Anderson of The Resurgence did during a Christian booksellers conference.

[By the way, outside of the practical advice, my favorite part of this video is Packer’s soft-spoken Canadian accent.]

1. Read.

Packer recommends new Christians learn to love and adore the Bible. One way to do that is by reading it cover to cover once a year. Another good piece of advice is to tackle New Testament books John MacArthur style.

2. Pray.

The best way to nurture the sense of being in God’s presence is through prayer. That’s why Packer encourages new Christians to get into the habit of praying at all times.

3. Worship.

Next, Packer points out that new Christians should join a church. Why? Fellowship with other believers–whether in doctrine, deeds or doxology–builds a stronger, vigorous Christian life.

4. Discuss.

A new Christian should hunt down like-minded believers and talk about Jesus–his life, death and resurrection.

5. Rejoice.

Packer ends his short sermon by pointing out that the new Christian has much to rejoice in: He’s found the secret to life. And that it will only improve from here on out.

Your turn: What other advice do you have for new Christians? What helped you on your Christian journey?

Are you a new Christian? If so, you may want to consider buying Packer’s book . You can learn a lot from a man who’s been following Jesus for a long time.

Look forward to hearing your thoughts