Love is Not the Answer

Our culture is all about “love." We place so much hope in it, yet our cultural understanding and definition of “love” is more floaty than it is concrete. As Pastor Joel pointed out a few weeks ago our culture generally talks about love as one of two things: romantic love or a love which is based on unconditional acceptance of everything and everything (except Christians). It is in these two definitions of love that our culture places its hope for the future. We are told, “Love is the answer to the world’s problem.” But there is no hope to be found in the secular understanding of love. Let me give a few examples of how this is playing out in our culture today.

Romantic love is viewed as that which can change people by bringing about permanent positive change. The television show, Once Upon a Time, has consistently put forward “true love’s kiss” as that which overcomes the problems of this world. This past week this “true love’s kiss” was between two women. Nevermind such an act is immoral and as such cannot be loving. 

Morality, right and wrong, has nothing to do with romantic love in our culture. If you “love” someone then that makes it moral!  “Love” as our culture conceives it is always morally right.  This perversion of romantic love revolves around our own ever-changing feelings and emotions. Such a foundation is far from stable. How can that which changes from day-to-day be the basis for “true love”? It cannot, because we are often tossed to and fro by our own emotions and circumstances. One day I may “love” my wife, and the next day she does not give that feeling anymore and I fall in “love” with someone else. There is no hope in such an understanding of love as it is all about my feelings, emotions, desires, and lusts. 

This is a dangerous lie. Romantic love is not ultimate and it will not cause someone to change. We see this evidence every day as marriages fall apart because a spouse believed that their “true love” would bring life-altering change to their spouse. This is a thoroughly destructive lie. We cannot make people change. Romantic love cannot make people change. Only God can change people (yes he often uses a Christian marriage to mature and change his people, but this requires a relationship with God). 

Christian women in particular need to hear this, “You cannot change your man. Only God can. You can love him and be an example of godliness, but only God can change him.” Single women (and men) need to hear this, “Do not go into marriage expecting it change your soon-to-be spouse. Such an idea is a recipe for disaster.” There is no hope for this world to be found in the secular idea of romantic love because it is actually more of a self-centered lust than it is true love.

The second type of love our culture bows down to is the all-accepting kumbaya-singing love of secular liberalism which accepts everything without passing any moral judgments (except for Christians because their moral standards are morally unacceptable). Over the last month two prominent figures have argued that the solution to our current issues, especially terrorism, is such a “love.” The first came from Pope Francis and the second from  Facebook founder Mark Zuckerburg.

While “Use the weapons of love” may make for a nice slogan, it falls utterly flat in confronting the moral ills of our world. It was not this type of morally ambiguous love which brought down Hitler. What has brought down evil empires and movements throughout history has been a strong moral understanding of what is right and what is wrong. Accepting everything dos not defeat evil, it furthers it. Contrary to this secular understand of love, it is by rejecting evil and clinging to good that evil is thwarted. In order for that to happen we must understand what is good and what is evil—that means we need a moral foundation. 

The answer is not secular love. The answer is found in the true understanding of love which is inseparable from holiness and moral judgments. As 1 John 4:10 explains, “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.” Love is chiefly displayed in Christ satisfying the moral standards of God on behalf of his people. Love always conducts itself in a moral manner. That means it cannot  accept evil, it must reject it for what it is (Romans 12.9). This is why the Christian has hope rooted in the love of God where our world is drowning under the false pretenses of the lies of this age. 

Hope for the Christian is found in two spots. Hope for the now, for individuals to change, is found in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. In his act of love we can be made into his image and walk in obedience and true love. You want to see change? You need to encounter the holy-love of Jesus Christ. You need the gospel. That is the only way for true lasting change is to be made a new creation in Christ. 

Hope for the future, for evil to come to nothing, is found in Christ’s return. The evil of terrorism and  the other injustices of this world will come to nothing and punished when Christ descends as a conquering king. Then true love will end evil as Christ ushers in his Kingdom of peace which will last forever (Rev. 19:11-21). When Christ returns, his love will be evident, and it will be displayed by the reality that it is not all-accepting but that his love is holy and pure. This love is the answer to our problems. This love changes people and this love will bring an end to evil through Christ’s victory over it. 

My God, My God, Why Have You Accepted Me?

Holy Week is a time for Christians to refocus on the Cross of Jesus Christ. We are called to do this daily, yet Easter magnifies this need in our lives. As we seek to refocus on the Cross this week, I would like us to ponder the words of Christ from the Cross, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matt. 27:46)

We know these words too well that sometimes we gloss over them without thinking through what they mean. Theologians call this the Cry of Dereliction, a cry of abandonment.  How could the Father “forsake” the Son? How could the perfect unity of the God and Son which existed from eternity past be disrupted? How could the sinless God-man take upon himself our sin? These are the questions which lie behind the Cry of Dereliction.

At that moment on the cross the Father poured out the wrath justly due to us upon the sinless Son of God. That perfect unity between Father and Son became separated so that which was separated (us) may be united again. So it was that Jesus willingly separated himself in some mysterious way from the Father. It is this unexplainable separation which leads  Jesus to cry out in agony. This cry is at the heart of Easter and it is at the heart of the Christian faith. 

I would like us to ponder this familiar statement from a new perspective—what does it mean for us? What do those words have to do with our relationship to God? Recently I came across the song, Mystery of Mercy by Andrew Peterson. In this song Peterson takes this famous cry and rewords it to apply it to us, “My God, my God, why hast thou accepted me?” This is the other side of Jesus’ cry of being forsaken—we were accepted through no merit of our own but because he was forsaken. Jesus was cut-off and separated so that we might be brought-in and united with God.

In our society we often think highly of ourselves. We may think, “Of course God will save me! Why wouldn’t he?” But the message of Jesus’ words from the Cross led us to the exact opposite conclusion—why would God save me? What could possibly motivate such an undeserving action of mercy? 

We should ponder this question during Holy Week, “My God, why have you accepted me?” And as we ask this question we should hear the cry of our Savior from the Cross in response, “My God, why have you forsaken me?” It is truly a mystery of mercy that the perfect Son of God was cut-off and separated so that wicked people like you and me are accepted in Christ. It is all of grace and as odd as it may appear, Christians should find great comfort in Jesus' cry of abandonment. May our hearts meditate on this wonderful reality throughout Holy Week that we are accepted because Christ was forsaken

Is Repentance a Work?

Over the last couple of weeks in my Sunday School class has been going over 1 Corinthians. The class has returned time and again to the question, “How (or if) can we know someone is actually a Christian?”

This past Sunday was no exception as we covered chapter five where Paul commands the church to remove a sexually immoral man from the church. Why did he do this? There are many reasons, one of which was that the man’s life displayed a lack of repentance which demonstrated he may not be saved. This is a shocking statement.

It amazes me that we are very quick to assert someone is a Christian (even if there is no fruit) and yet we are very slow to consider that someone may not be a Christian (even if there is very clear bad fruit). I am not sure what drives this tendency. Perhaps it is a desire to always assume the best? Perhaps it is a genuine desire to see people saved? I am not sure.

Yet in 1 Corinthians 5 it is clear the guilty man is not repentant, rather he is arrogant in his sin, and this leads Paul to demand his removal. This prompted a question from the class, “Isn’t requiring repentance in order for someone to be considered a Christian akin to works-based salvation?” 

This is a good question which deserves a better response than the one gave on the spot Sunday morning. I do not believe requiring repentance makes salvation works-based (for Jesus required repentance) but rather that true repentance is a grace from God. 

It is probably best to address this issue by answering the following questions: What is the relationship between faith and repentance? How do we get both faith and repentance? And what do works have to do with all of this? 

As we answer these three questions it will become clear repentance is not a work, but works are vitally important and we are saved by grace alone through faith alone. Let’s look at these questions. 

What is the Relationship Between Faith and Repentance?

Theologians have long recognized that true repentance and true faith always come together. You cannot have the one without the other. For some reason American Christianity tends to almost exclusively talks about faith to the neglect of repentance. We will call people to believe, to have faith, and yet we do not call for them to repent with near the same consistency. Biblically speaking, you cannot have true, saving faith without also having repentance. 

Why? Because these are two sides of the same coin. Wayne Grudem describes this well in his Systematic Theology, “Conversions itself means ‘turning’—here it represents a spiritual turn a turning from sin to Christ. The turning from sin is called repentance, and the turning to Christ is called faith.” In order to be saved, to be converted, one must turn from his current path of sin (repent) and turn to believe in Jesus Christ (faith). The two acts must come together. You cannot turn from sin without turning to Christ and you cannot turn to Christ without turning from sin! In other words, you cannot turn to Jesus in faith without necessarily turning away from your sin (repentance). 

Perhaps a diagram will help. This is everyone before Christ:

Before Christ, we love our sin and hate God. Before Christ we were walking away from God and toward sin and death. There is no middle ground in this equation for all have sinned and all sinners are slaves to sin. In order for this to change, we must both repent (turn from sin) by believing and turning to God as illustrated in this chart:

This is you after you meet Christ. You have repented, that is you have turned from you old way of life, your old direction, and now you have faith as you walk in a new direction—toward God. But you cannot go toward God in faith without going away from your old way of life (repentance). 

Repentance and faith are two sides of the same coin. You cannot just have head or tails; otherwise you have a fake coin. The coin has both sides, both are necessary. Therefore if someone does not possess repentance, they do not possess faith. Conversely, if they do not have faith, then they do not have true repentance. 

The gospels display this for us perfectly. The first words of Jesus’ ministry in Mark are, “The time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1.15). How does Jesus summarize his ministry and the gospel? He commands everyone to both repent and believe. In no way is Jesus commanding a works-based righteousness. No, he is calling us to turn from our sin (repent) by turning to him (faith). 

In Matthew, this same message is condensed to, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 4.17). Is Jesus then only calling for repentance and not faith? No. This is just shorthand for “repent and believe.” You can’t turn from one thing without turning to something else. Faith is implied whenever repentance is mentioned.  This also means when Scripture calls us to believe or have faith, it is also implicitly calling us to repent. Why? Because the two come together. Jesus felt comfortable commanding repentance and he did so without promoting a works-based salvation. We should follow his example of calling for repentance and faith knowing this is not a works-based message. 

How Do We Get Both Faith and Repentance?

Since faith and repentance come together, how do we get them? How is faith and repentance not a work? Ephesians 2.1-9 is helpful:

And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world… But God, being rich in mercy… made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved… For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

Paul starts out with  everyone being dead in our sin. Why? Because we once walked the course of this world toward sin, this requires that we change our course (repent). But dead men cannot change themselves (think Lazarus). So God in his mercy has made us alive together with Christ setting us in a new direction (repentance and faith). This making us alive is a gracious gift from God, not based on works. It is by grace that we are saved, through faith. 

In other words, the fact we have faith (and repentance) is a direct result of God making us alive in Christ. Why do we have faith? Because we have been born again by the Spirit (John 3). Why do we repent? Because we have been made alive in Christ. All of this is done by grace, not of works so that no one can boast. 

This being “born again” is the same thing Grudem referenced as “conversion” or is sometimes called “regeneration.” This is what the prophet Ezekiel foretells in Ezekiel 36:26-27:

And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.

It is God who not only gives us a new heart, a heart of flesh, but he also gives us his Spirit so that we may obey. This is how we receive repentance and faith. God graciously gives us a new heart and his Spirit and all of sudden we change! We are born again! We turn from sin and death toward Jesus Christ and eternal life. This is repentance and faith and it is not based on works so that no one may boast. It is all of grace. Both are necessary and both come from God. 

What Do Works Have to Do With All of This?

Since neither faith nor repentance is a work, what role if any do works have in evaluating the confession of believer? Evangelicals tend to be very scared of works, so much so that if by works are even mentioned  some think we have crossed over into works-based salvation. But Scripture holds a much more balanced view of works. No you cannot be saved by your works, but works are nonetheless necessary.

In Philippians 2.12 we are commanded to “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.” This was written by Paul and none would accuse Paul of preaching a gospel of works. Yet it is clear that Paul, Jesus, and the other writers of Scripture were very comfortable calling people to work without saying that works saved people. How can this be?

We looked briefly at Ephesians 2.1-9, but verse 10 continues the train of thought by focusing on works:

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

We often neglect this verse, but it is clear that one reason God has saved us by grace is in order that we may do the good works he has prepared for his people. Indeed, we are called to “walk in them.” Notice, in Ephesians 2.1-10, we are saved by grace and this salvation leads us to do good works. These two realities do not work against each other, rather they complement each other. 

In this way, our works testify as to whether or not we have received the grace of God through repentance and faith. Or as James puts it, faith without works is “dead” (James 2.26). In other words, faith without works  is not faith at all. Or as James puts it another way: “Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works” (James 2.18b). Our works display whether or not we have experienced the gracious gift of repentance and faith through the work of Jesus Christ. 

God has prepared good works for those he has saved by grace. In this way  our works reveal our allegiance. They reveal whether we are walking toward God or away from him. Whether we have repentance and faith or not. 

Works are necessary in that they reveal the truth about our hearts. They are our fruits. Good trees bear good fruit and bad trees bear bad fruit, this is why Jesus said we will know them by their fruit—because works are important despite the fact that your works can never save you. Your works tell the others about who you really are. 

So we can say that Scripture directly commands all people to repent and believe and this is not accomplished by works. It is all of grace. But once you have been saved, once you have received grace, once you have encountered the Lord of the universe you will not be unchanged. Your works testify to this reality that God has saved you by grace and has prepared good works for you to walk in. 

By: Levi J. Secord

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The Messy, Sinful Church

My Sunday school class just started its way through the book of 1 Corinthians. This book is rather striking because of how messy and sinful the church in Corinth was. Paul rebukes this church for many sins: idolatry, sexual immorality, incest, prostitution, political in-fighting, abuse of spiritual gifts, false teaching, and taking the Lord’s Supper incorrectly. The church in Corinth stands as a remarkable example of how to not do church.

Despite all this mess, Paul addresses the church by saying, “To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints…” Paul calls this church wrought with sin “sanctified” (that they are holy) and calls them saints (holy ones). With everything going on in the church at Corinth how can Paul call them Holy? 

The answer stems from what theologians call the “already” and the “not yet.” What does this term mean? When Christ died and rose again he made his people holy, heinaugurated his kingdom so that it is here now (at least partially), but it is not yet fully here. The “already” and the “not yet.” This is where the Christian lives today.

Moreover, Christians live between two worlds, the old world and the new world, in that we have been made new creations in the image of Christ but we are not yet fully made in his perfect image. We are simultaneously holy-ones (saints) because of Christ, but we are not fully what we are going to be once we see him face to face.

I find great comfort in this reality that Paul addresses a sinful people as holy! He can do this because we are already “in Christ” (1 Cor. 1.4). So even though Paul will spend the better part of sixteen chapters rebuking and correcting this church, their standing before God does not change. It is by the blood of the Lamb of God that we are saved and that reality is already here. 

This is not all we see in 1 Corinthians! Paul does not say to this sinful church, “You are already holy because of Jesus, therefore it does not matter if you keep on sinning.” No, to say that would be to miss the point entirely. Paul calls this church, and you and me, to live according to who we already are in Christ. The fact Christ has made us holy is not an excuse to live sinfully, rather it is a call to live and strive for the “not yet.” To strive after that holiness which Christ has purchased for us. This is no call for perfection, there are no perfect Christians and there are no perfect churches; rather, this is a call for all Christians to practice continual repentance and faith. To live according to how we have been called in Christ Jesus. 1 Corinthians calls for us to live according to who we already are (holy ones in Christ) and to strive after the  not yet (perfection) because of who Jesus is and what he has done. 

Lord of the Rings & the Power of Sin

It was only a matter of time before I wrote a blog which included Lord of the Rings. It is my favorite fictional work. Why? Because Tolkien did an excellent job of portraying the human condition, the plight of man, hope, providence, and a clear morality. He does all of this within a made-up world full of fantasy and magic. I have found numerous applications of different truths Tolkien wrote into his works. Through his work I have come to know myself, the world, and even God better because his world reflects our own. This was intentional by Tolkien as he described his work as inherently Christian.

The one scene that has continually been in my mind of late is Bilbo’s conversation with Gandalf about giving up the One Ring. The Ring can be adequately be explained as the manifestation of evil and sin in this fantasy world. Bilbo has held onto this sin for some time and it has affected him greatly. It has “grown” in his mind and his desire for it is never satiated. This is exactly what sin does to us. The longer we live with sin, the more power it has over us. Sin will never let go and it will increase our desire for it the more we give into it. Bilbo is almost completely under the power and influence of his lust for sin (the Ring).

Enter Gandalf. If there is a character in Middle Earth that most resembles the role of the pastor it is the Gray Wizard. His job is to go around and advise people to do the right thing, to speak prophetically to the world, and shepherd the people of Middle Earth in the right direction. For this role, Gandalf has made many enemies and is called things like “a disturber of the peace” and a “storm crow”. Through all of this, Gandalf remains steadfast in his battle again evil and sin even when others of his order become false teachers.

Gandalf approaches Bilbo to give up the Ring. He does this for several reasons, one of which is that he genuinely cares for Bilbo and he knows the Ring (sin) is destroying him.  It is in Bilbo’s response to Gandalf that we find an exchange which is very close to reality. Bilbo, like us, does not want to give up his sin, and he is quick to blame or attack anyone who might threaten his possession of the very thing which is killing him. Here is the exchange:

Bilbo: “After all, why shouldn’t I keep it (the Ring)?”

Gandalf: “I think you should leave the Ring behind, Bilbo. Is that so hard?

Bilbo: “Well no. And yes.”

Here we see how deceitful sin is and how it can control us. Bilbo feels he has a right to the Ring. He sees no reason he should not be able to do whatever he wants. He is so blinded by sinful lust that all he can think about is himself. This is the power of sin in our lives as well. 

Here’s the kicker. Gandalf asks, “Is it so hard to give it up?” Conceptually, the answer is no. But in reality, the answer is yes. You see Bible tells us not to sin. Conceptually, that is not a very difficult idea. How hard is it to not do something? But such thinking ignores the deceitful power of sin. It is hard to give it up, and it is hard to see past our own foolish and selfish desires.

As the exchange between Gandalf and Bilbo continues, Bilbo lashes out at his friend in anger, he blames Gandalf for Bilbo’s reaction, and even accuses Gandalf of wanting to steal the Ring for himself! This is not just fantasy, this displays the root many heart issues. We blame others for our sin and we often make any excuse under the sun in order that we  continue in our bad behavior unchallenged.

But here is the good news. The wise counsel of Gandalf wins out and Bilbo gives up his Ring. Sin is not all-powerful. It is not undefeatable. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is victory over the lies and power of sin. All we have to do is to listen to it, and obey it. We are called to leave behind the Ring (our sin) and walk in repentance. To own up to our faults and to trust the godly counsel we receive even when it is exactly what we do not want to hear. Bilbo was faced with a choice between death and life. He had been living with death for so long he thought it was his friend and life was his enemy. But by accepting the wise counsel of Gandalf, he chose life and left sin and death behind. 

As silly as fantasy literature can sometimes be, here is an illustration of an all too common problem in our world. Imagine if Bilbo had prevailed and kept his Ring despite the godly counsell he received from Gandalf, what would have happened to him? Well, the Ring (sin) would have achieved its purpose and Bilbo would have been defeated, captured, and he would have died in his sin. This is no mere children’s story. This is a mirror into the problem of mankind and we would be wise to see ourselves in it and to learn from it. 

What does this mean for the Christian? Listen to words of God! Turn from your sin so that you may find life. Invite counsel from godly individuals and then listen to it even if it is not what you want to hear. Do not live comfortably with death and do not be deceived by sin into thinking it is your friend when in reality it is killing you! Perhaps you do not want to hear that your “Ring” is not good for you, but you need to hear it! Christ came that we have life and victory over sin! Chose life, not death.