It's not about me

"I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father but through me." [Jn 14:6]

Studying this passage this week, an unexpected teaching was given to me.  The evangelical message in John 14 is profound.  Jesus is the one and only Messiah, the Savior beside Whom there is no other.  Apart from Him there is no way for man to deal with his guilt, no way back to our Father in heaven, no life in this sad world of frustrations, and no truth that can satisfy our longing souls.

This is the message to the seeking soul who is not born again.  It is the message to the young Christian struggling to get into the new life in Christ.  It is the evangelistic message to the intellectual who thinks he or she can fathom God and THEN have faith:  Jesus is Himself truth.  Knowledge of good and evil, philosophy, history, art or science will never save anyone. Even full mastery of theology cannot satisfy a soul if he has no personal relationship with The Lord.

But another message has hit me, completely unsought. It is this: By his use of  I and me in John 14:6, Jesus made the work of salvation, that is, coming to the Father, all about HIM. The work of God is all about Jesus.  We don't come to the Father through The Church or the sacraments or the knowledge we attain about God, but through the Person of Jesus Christ.  And as evangelists, we do not bring people to God nor save them.  We simply bring them the Good News, through which they may believe and know Jesus, and through Him, be saved.

Perhaps the corollary of this is what most helped me:  It is not about me. I have often been cowardly, unfruitful and unhappy because I never learned that simple phrase, "It's not about me."  Perhaps this is the most common cause of that affliction Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones described as "spiritual depression", which leads to the anomaly he called "the miserable Christian".

I've been suffering spiritual depression for at least 10 years, and didn't see it. 

But yesterday as I was about to go out for some one-on-one evangelism, I found my thoughts all swirling about me and discouraging me.  It looked hopeless.  Frustration seemed inevitable.  My hopes and dreams of evangelizing one campus had borne only a few good results, but no great harvest.  So as usual, I was becoming depressed before even getting out of my car.  Somehow at just that moment, as I prayed for help, the Spirit said simply, "Christopher, this is not about you, it's about Jesus."

And the chains of ego were at that moment loosed and fell away.  Evangelism was a joy again, and whether the response of the students was up or down, I was steady.  Yes, I had to keep reminding myself, "This is not about me."  Giant Despair is always there trying to storm back into the house swept clean. But one little word felled him:  I AM THE WAY, THE TRUTH AND THE LIFE.

Indeed, Jesus' focus on "I" was appropriate. HE is the Savior. He is the one who counts in Christianity.  He is our God, not merely "a great teacher".  He did not come to help us become "self-aware", but that we might know God personally.  It is all about God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  And it is emphatically NOT about us.

But I fear that, as I have gone on 10 years in this habitual loop of negative feedback of discouragement, the entire Western Church is suffering the same.  We are so affected by the god of this age, Nike, the god of success, that even we Christians cannot break free of the frustration of serving such a false god.  Success is not what Jesus our Lord promised, but suffering, rejection like unto His own.  Until we understand and embrace that it is about HIM, NOT US, like Peter we deny our Lord again and again, live in frustration, and are spiritually depressed.

This is not what our Lord wants for us.  He Who is The Life promised us "life more abundant" [Jn 10:10].  He is the Good Shepherd who would have us follow HIM, and who appoints us to be under-shepherds for HIM.  Again, it is all for Him.  If we are fruitful or not, successful or not, eloquent or stammering, free to literally fly from place to place or tied up lying on our left side (as was Ezekiel), we are not discouraged because it is all about Him and making Him known and for His glory.

Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us,
But unto thy name be glory, O Lord!

The me-syndrome has plagued us long enough. It is time to throw it off and cure it.  There is just one simple way:  It's not about me.  Let this simple mantra rid us of the selfish thinking that leads to depression and frustration, and instead make known abroad His Name.  This is liberation, to truly feel and believe as John the Baptist:

"He must become greater, and I must become less."

May God reawaken the evangelistic zeal of His church as we embrace this simple and liberating attitude of Christ-centered focus.

Thoughts

So Jesus answered and said to them, "Have faith in God. For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be removed and be cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says."  [Mar k 11:22,23]

I've gradually come to the painful conclusion that I am in no wise great.  For all the talk of greatness in my church, of doing great things by faith---and I have contributed much to such talk---it is increasingly obvious to me that, now 51 years of age, I am not destined for greatness.  Hopes to write symphonies and musicals have never moved me to actually compose.  Ideas for books and essays never work their way out of the brain and into the pen.  Ideas for planting churches have not borne fruit.  Even attempts to raise disciples have largely failed.  It's not for encouragement that I write this, neither for myself nor for you, dear reader.  But I despair of doing things the longer I live.  Young people are more unwilling than ever to learn from me, however much I imagine myself able to teach them.  I should not be surprised. None of it is original. It is merely the old story.

I am encouraged that in a small way I am able to participate in a mild revival at a local church here in Charlottesville.  I don't know what will come of it, but I am indeed thankful to be able to share in that work, mainly be helping out with worship and music.  And I am very grateful that the music I contribute is both appreciated and tolerated. For rather than complaints about it being "old music", or poorly prepared, or that I use organ rather than piano, and now piano rather than organ, it is truly welcomed by all, especially Mrs. "Philistine", who much prefers the organ, and most, who prefer "old" music (being mostly themselves old).

But when I think I have not preached the gospel much, and so many souls all around me are unchallenged by its glories, especially on college campuses, my heart weeps with shame: shame that I am, despite my big talk, so small in courage and obedience; shame that my compassion for the lost is so unlike my Lord Jesus; shame that still, after so many years following Him, what I will to do I do not, and what I will not to do I do.  How fine it is to listen to those who have planted churches and watched them grow, or fed many sheep and raised up missionaries and sent them out, or written beautiful songs, books and plays. How moved listen to others' marvelous sermons, esp. R.C. Sproul and Martyn Lloyd-Jones, only to find I am so unlike them in effort, faith, love, compassion and obedience.  Has the Lord given me so much, that I am spoiled and useless?  Am I not among the elect, whom He has indeed called?  Shall I face the judgment saying, "I wanted to do something, but didn't have enough of the Spirit's empowering to do anything.  Lord, it's your fault I did nothing with my life."?

No!  Rather, I must go and do for the Lord, whether I have the strength or no, trusting only that HE gives the increase, no matter who plants or waters or reaps.  I must plant, water, or perhaps reap, I don't know.  But I can no longer stand by idle. Even at the 11th hour, I must go and engage the work of my gracious Lord.

Lord, open the door for me to preach boldly and openly, as well as minister in the church, teach your word one-to-one, care for my family.  Lord, fill me with that wonderful knowledge of God which is the essence of faith.  Make your word burn like fire in my soul, until I may preach it without restraint or hesitation, though yet with fear and trembling, for the sake of those who have not heard, but must hear, and by hearing, also may believe in your Son.   In these Last Days, raise up others also who will go out and preach and teach your word, even at Calvary Baptist and other churches.  Save many, esp JK, SK, MK, AB, MS, and other UVa students. INJA

Make me to know how frail I am

Psalm 39:4 says,

"Lord, make me to know my end,
And what is the measure of my days,
That I may know how frail I am."

To those who will live forever, this life is indeed very short, only a vapor, not an enduring solid.

But why would David want to know what his end will be?  Why would anyone want to know how long he was destined to live, at which time he would have to die?  No one wants to know, except the one who has a solid faith in eternal life.  Only Jesus Christ has promised this.  The Old Testament saints had some idea of eternal life.  David certainly taught such ideas.  The translation of Enoch and Elijah (without death) also argues for an eternal life.

But Jesus promised it explicitly.  Not only did He promise it, but he demonstrated it by his own resurrection and ascension.  No other religion can make such an iron-clad guarantee of eternal life to those who believe.  But that is our end, endless; and the measure of our days is without measure.

Praise be the the Lord Jesus Christ!  To know that our end is only passing from here to There is wonderful. We are not going away, just going home to Him who is our Maker, and to be forever with our Redeemer.  And the end that we face here, death, is only a beginning, the beginning of life that is not temporal or mortal, but everlasting!

This doesn't mean I am not frail.  My health, be it ever so strong, can change in a moment.  One wrong step could do me in, or one innocent habit, unchecked after many years, could be fatal.  Trusting the wrong medication, these days, can be a life and death decision.  This shows how frail our knowledge is too.  Drugs once thought to be safe turned out to be disastrous over a long period. Who predicted that having knowledge of nuclear power would prove to create so much fear and greed and war and anxiety in the world. 

But we must know that we are frail, both physically and in knowledge. And I think that perhaps this knowledge alone gives man the humility that can save his soul, and the world.  God so loved the world that He gave His only Son.  This wasn't to come and puff us up with self-reliance and pride and humanism. It was to show us how frail we are, how doomed to destroy all that is good, and ourselves in the process, if we do not retain the knowledge of God.

Lord, send forth the knowledge of thyself to people in this generation, through me and all those who call you Lord, by the proclamation of the gospel of your Son Jesus Christ.  AMEN

Testifying that the world is evil

"The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me because I testify of it that its works are evil." [Jn 7:7]

The good, kindly, sweet Jesus, who everyone so affectionately regards as being the embodiment of God's love only, has often been quoted saying things that some would (indeed some have tried to) remove from the Scriptures, sayings such as:

"And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life." [Matthew 25:46]

Now we have in John 7 Jesus himself affirming such sayings and owning them entirely, and offering this as the full explanation as to why the world hates Him: because He testifies that its works are evil.  Why would he tell people their deeds are evil?  This just isn't done if you want to be a public figure, which is of course what everyone wants. Even Jesus' own brothers completely misunderstood Him, thinking it was also what He wanted.  It was not. He wanted to glorify the Father; that was the sum of our Lord's desires.  And inasmuch as it was the Father's will, he wanted to redeem those whom the Father would give to Him.

But to go around telling people that they're evil is the wrong way to win souls, if you listen to Christians today. They will every one of them advise you the same, as you begin any sort of preaching or evangelism.  Tell people they're sinful, corrupted and going to hell, or point out any single thing they're doing as something condemned in the Scriptures, and you are, to hear so many well-meaning Christians, hurting them.  But Jesus did this.  So did Peter, Paul, James, John, and almost every other sincere preacher, evangelist or teacher of Scripture since.  Obviously there is a huge difference in berating and mindlessly lambasting people of sin, and speaking the truth in love as the Lord did.  And I'm totally encouraging the latter, not the former.

But we've raised up a generation of preachers who are so fearful of doing the one that they do neither at all. In fact, they are so desirous of being public figures that they don't at all know how to preach like Jesus, because to do so is to be hated.  For "just as they hated me, they will hate you," said our Lord.  All the more if we preach as He did, will they hate and vilify us.  All the greatest preachers were lampooned and attacked, usually by other Christians, until their fruit was matured after 20 or 30 years.  The ancient prophets and early Christian saints were martyred for their testimony and preaching.

And in this age, where accusations of "hate speech" are the latest ruse of the Devil for silencing Christians, we can't afford to say anything that anyone anywhere might construe as a criminal act, as justice is all but dead in such situations.  There was a time when a black man who was accused of anything was as good as lynched; times have changed, but people still want their lynchings. Now they are more than willing to lynch Christians who decry sin, especially the sacred cows of sexual sins.

Thus, I think it only appropriate to decry a few. "E-ville" would seem to be the most fitting pronunciation of evil for our online era.  And what greater sin that the mental fondling of the idols taking place in the world of online pornography.  I admit I know how vile it is. But cannot but shake and shudder when I see it, knowing it to be the very breath of demons pouring into the eyes of the soul, a darkness illuminated by The Light of the World, and shown for the filth it is.  Who can justify it?  Yet many Christians do so, at least to themselves, with no thought for the Holiness of God, and the Son of God they are trampling under their feet while indulging in their lust.

If the world was really such a wonderful place, I might doubt that men's deeds are all that evil. But when I see the wars, thefts, murders, and so many vile people living in idolatry, I cannot but tremble that we are doing so little to win them, and doing even less to influence them with godly lives.  We are salt that has lost its saltiness, and is not even fit for the dunghill. [Lk 14:34,35]

May God help us not to seek the pleasure of the world, but choose rather to suffer with Christ.  For this is what has been granted to us. [Phil 1:29] May the God and Father of our Lord Jesus help us to restore that good news that is:

Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord. [Acts 3:19]

forsaking that half-gospel which omits the diagnosis of sin altogether.  Lord, increase our love for you, and desire to seek first your kingdom and your righteousness.  AMEN

The Amazing Edible Jesus

John 6:41-71

In this passage, our Lord makes the claims that He came down from heaven, that He alone has seen the Father, and that he will raise up the dead on the last day.  Who Jesus Christ is:  that is the central question of the Christian faith.   And so in vv.41-42 the people complained that he said "I am the bread which came down from heaven." And they asked that quintessential question: "Who is this? Isn't this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How is it then that He says, `I have come down from heaven'?"

What are we called as Christians to preach?  It is the gospel, that Jesus is the Christ.  We might want to argue the finer points of theology. But the Twelve didn't have that kind of knowledge, and they were amazing, because they understood this one thing well, that Jesus is the Christ, the son of the Living God, and that he has the words of eternal life. [68,69]  They continually preached Jesus to the best of their knowledge, and taught and shared and proclaimed Him, as well as living righteous lives full of good works.

What do I want?  That was Jesus' first question to his disciples, wasn't it! "Where dwellest thou?" I want to dwell with Christ, to know Him, and to proclaim Christ to everyone, teaching, serving, even healing them just as Jesus did. Yet in my heart, there are a thousand other desires amalgamated in with this pure gold. Not least is the desire to have a richer knowledge of the Scriptures, of theology, the original languages of the Scriptures, etc., which I think must always be kept secondary. HE is primary.

When we've had our fill of milk, then candy and cookies, we learn to appreciate mature food as our tastes mature.  Paul experienced this spiritually after he had spent a lifetime studying Scripture, theology, philosophy. At last he resolved "that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead." [Philippians 3:10,11]  And his preaching was not with artful rhetoric, but with Christ and his death and resurrection.  He certainly taught theology to those who were believers. And so should we. But his passion was to "preach the gospel where Christ is not know". 

So what of this invitation of the Lord's, to eat his flesh and drink his blood?  Of course He means his word.  "The flesh profits nothing, the Spirit gives life."  And in the next breath, "The words I have spoken to you are spirit, and they are life." [63]  Clearly it is the Lord's invitation to live by His word, to eat it daily, meditate on it day and night, and to be like a tree planted by streams of living water.

Lord, grant me not only to dwell on your word always, but proclaim it to a lost generation.  Send me into all the world if I cannot serve you here.  But grant that I may stay with You, Lord Jesus, and know You, and feed always upon the living bread of your word.  Enable me to give this word to many others. IJNA

This is the work of God...

Jesus answered and said to them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent."

I think I am greatly comforted that God has work for me to do, and that in its most basic form, that work is to believe in Him. 

Abraham believed the Lord, and it was credited to him as righteousness.  And when he really, really believed, God swore to make his descendants.  Consider Gen 22:12,

Do not lay a hand on the lad, ... now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, you only son, from Me. ... By Myself I have sworn, says the Lord, because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son---blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants will possess the gate of their enemies.

The Lord, it seems, was finally convinced and ready to pour out his blessing, with an oath, upon his servant. Does this mean God needed to see evidence of Abraham's faith before doing anything with him?  "Now I know" seems to mean just that.  God, who knows all things, wanted to see the evidence of Abraham's obedience. 

And so, after so many years, I need to simply believe, working out my salvation, that is my assurance and faith in the God who saves me, with fear and trembling, and making sure both my calling and election.  Indeed, overcoming unbelief is the most difficult work of God.  And the Lord who called me to "go and preach the good news to all creation" is still waiting to see if I truly believe.  He knows my heart, sure; "Thou knowest all things, Thou knowest that I love thee".  Yet He ever responds, "Feed my sheep."

Lord, give me faith to go and obey today.  And anoint me with Your Holy Spirit as I go in Jesus' Name. AMEN

The Christian's Labor - Jn 6:27

Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him. [John 6:27]

Jesus here bids us to labor, to work for true bread.  What kind of work is this, and how is it done?  Antinomians beware!  Our lives as Christians are not meant for slack and ease, but for work.

Now it is clear that we are saved through faith, "not of works, lest any should boast."  But true saving faith will change us into those who obey and serve God, not leave us in sins. We are certainly not Christ's if we have no good fruit and no good works to show for it.

"Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments." [1 John 2:3]

"If our faith does not make us hate sin and wean us from it", as Spurgeon once said, "it is not the faith of the elect."  God has saved us and made us His workmanship "for good works in Christ".  [Eph 2:10]

The Jews wanted to work. They were a people of good works.  They rightly asked, "What shall we do that we may work the works of God?"  But the answer did not suit them.

Jesus answered and said to them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent."

 There it is: believing in Jesus is the first and most important work of a believer.  Not believing everything, but believing in Jesus. The Christian faith isn't mere credulity or superstition. It has to have a single object, Jesus Christ, and all that He said and did, as well as all that is written in the Scriptures He preached.

Aha! That, then, is the work.  To believe, we must read and fill our minds with the Scripture, as He did.  Bible study emerges as a very important spiritual food.  For this reason the Apostles wrote things like, "Study to show yourself approved," and, "So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God."  The O.T. Psalmists taught the same: "Thy word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You!" and, "Blessed is the man ... [whose] delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night."
  The work of God is to believe all that is written. It is not a stretch to assume that if we believe it, then to pass it on to others is a natural result. Who wouldn't share such goodness from God, such abundant and pristine fruit, such an overflowing cornucopia of Truth and wisdom of ancient words, so freely given  ... if he really believed it?
But first and foremost, we must BELIEVE, not doubting, praying without ceasing, hoping, trusting, obeying.  Often, though it sounds odd, outward, mechanical service that is more out of duty and discipline can lead to and nurture the spiritual obedience that comes from faith.  I say this with reservations, because these can also mask a lack of faith and keep a Christian from maturing.  But God is served by those who keep his commands, even if they don't know the Law, much better than by those who know the Law and yet do not obey it. The house on the Rock stood firm because the builder put Jesus' teaching into practice, not because he was deeply spiritual.
God's work is ready. He has prepared good works for me. The fields are white unto harvest, but the fruit falls to the ground and rots because there are no workers.  Oh, Lord, send workers into thy harvest fields.  Here am I, send me! AMEN

Response to the Creation versus Evolution Debate on 2/4/14 between Bill Nye and Ken Ham

Who won?  I didn't see it put to a vote. It's probably for the best.  I don't tend to go with the majority, as a rule.  So I will proffer my own little judgement, with a prayer that each person will be persuaded in his own mind as to the truth.

One of the closing questions prompted Bill Nye to say that the meaning of "Survival of the fittest", a key philosophical premise of the theory of evolution, isn't physical strength or even mental strength, but the ability to "fit in".  I assume by "fit in" he means to not stand out, but to conform to ones environment. To me this was the most enlightening moment of the debate. I give Nye high marks for his honesty, though I don't believe it was intentional.

This definition of "survival of the fittest" has far reaching philosophical implications, as does evolution itself.  It may be just the kind of mentality that makes secularists and evolutionists, in general, so characteristically hostile toward creationists---willing to drive creationists out of academia and lump them all in a class opposed to science and academia, as one of the quotes early in the debate showed.  If we don't conform to the secular majority, we're doomed! And sure enough, Mr. Nye kept coming back to dire his message of: "Parents, don't teach your kids creationism or the USA will never have enough scientists and engineers to remain a great nation.  Teach them only evolution.  Teach them to fit in, so we all may survive."  Here is Washington propaganda at its finest!

This notion of fitting in condemns the very independent thinking required of true scientists and engineers. With such a philosophy, naturally Bill Nye's primary concern is for the future economy of the State rather than objective truth. Objective truth is the domain of true scientists, not conformists, men like Copernicus, not Bill Nye. Copernicus was anything but a conformist. Why?  Precisely because he feared God above man.  Today those who believe in God are categorically viewed as scientifically illiterate.  But we are in good company.

This conformism, which Nye's evolutionary world-view stands upon, is one that, not surprisingly, the majority espouses.  It has gained the upper hand, albeit in contradiction with so many emerging proofs and abundant conundrums of its own making. These abound in the fields of astronomy and microbiology, medicine and geology. The flourishing life and vitality of Earth testifies to a planet that is still in the flower of its youth, not billions of years old, especially if that pesky Second Law of Thermodynamics is still in force, as it always has been.

There will always be questions as to the origins.  But let's not brand theories about origins as scientific "fact", as evolution is so mislabeled. Evolution is not fact, it is dogma, dogma argued entirely on incredulity toward the Creator. Teachers and their students are being forced to conform to this dogma, or forced out of the classroom. Nowhere is the conformity enforced more strictly.  And Bill Nye shows us why: It's a matter of nationalistic survival, rather than a quest for truth.  

Bill Nye has (unwittingly) put his finger on the answer to the question: "Is creationism a viable world-view for our times?"  His answer is, of course, "No."  And in one sense, he is right, not because his world-view is true or even demonstrable, but because creationism is a justification for God's sovereignty, while evolution is merely a justification for man's dominion.

Nye is right, but only because his goal is not eternal life, but mere survival. He aims to be in the Majority, not in The Right. Free-thinking people have always been persecuted and ridiculed by the majority, so scientists today who will not conform to the majority view pose a threat. So those who champion it will probably not survive long.  But as long as we proclaim what is true, the world will have no excuse before God on the Day of Judgment.

Power corrupts, so the saying goes.  If knowledge is power, then in many a fallen man, knowledge also corrupts. This is exactly the assertion of Romans chapter 1, where Paul of Tarsus states, "Professing to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man." The secularist has man as his god, man as judge, man as the only creator. To him, everything in the universe, even he himself, is undesigned and uncreated.  Man alone has supreme intelligence, and thus supreme power. Man is answerable only to man.  Christians like Ken Ham realize that what they are up against is a majority who feel cornered by the message of a God who will judge them personally for their unbelief and sins. The only way to escape this fear is to replace it with a new message that man is the ultimate animal, and no more.

These same brilliant scientists, many of them, love to speculate about aliens and far-off civilizations, and star-dust which fell to earth and caused man to become a living being. There were moments when it seemed such stories were just about to fall from Bill Nye's lips.  And he actually did say, "We are the products of this vast universe," as if he truly believes the most intelligent creature was fashioned by the rocks and empty space or by lesser animals climbing and fighting for survival over the aeons.  It's as if he's ready to believe the birds and reptiles and beasts somehow willed to be better, and by their sheer will, became human.  Pure mythology!

"Here are your gods, O Israel, which brought you up out of the primordial muck: the amoeba, the tiktaalik, the chimpanzee!"  This is the proclamation of Evolution.

Let's be clear then: to say, "I believe God created the world because the Bible says so," is not observable science; it's faith.   What Nye confesses is also a faith:  "I believe the world created itself because the majority says so. Those who will survive in this world are those who will fit in with the majority view."  Most creationists don't want to silence evolutionists, they just want them to teach creationism and let people judge for themselves. 

Indeed, Nye may be spot on! Time will tell.  Survival of the State usually trumps religion, or tries to, especially when a religion teaches the individual as answerable to God.  But if we have come to a day when truth is to be suppressed by man, and mankind handed over to a convenient truth of his own invention, it is certain that the Christian world-view will no longer be tolerated.  We are comforted as we see in this the fulfilment of prophecy, and that these anti-christ worldviews are nothing new, mere chaff which has not withstood the test of time.