Life Here and There

One of the issues I struggled with deeply in the past is Calvinism… election… predestination, pick your term (but two are biblical for sure). I love the way Spurgeon addressed the question once about how he reconciled election and free will, simply stating that he didn’t have to reconcile friends.

Today I stumbled on a new post on the J. C. Ryle Quotes website and I’ve fallen in love with his viewpoint on the issue as well…

The plain truth is, that God’s scheme of salvation is like a ladder let down from heaven to earth, to bring together the holy God, and the sinful creature, man. God is at the top of the ladder and man is at the bottom. The top of the ladder is far above, out of our sight, and we have no eyes to see it. There, at the top of that ladder, are God’s eternal purposes, – His everlasting covenant, His Election, His predestination of a people to be saved by Christ. From the top of that ladder comes down that full and rich provision of mercy for sinners which is revealed to us in the Gospel.

The bottom of that ladder is close to sinful man on earth, and consists of the simple steps of repentance and faith. By them he must begin to climb upwards. In the humble use of them he shall mount higher and higher every year, and get clearer glimpses of good things yet to come.

~ J.C. Ryle
via J. C. Ryle Quotes

The one clarification I would make is that we shouldn’t mistake Ryle’s words as meaning that salvation is a long-term process. Ryle, Spurgeon, Calvin and I would all agree that conversion is the miracle of a moment while sanctification is the process of a lifetime.

In the year 2000, Angie and I bought our first home. It was sweet! We took one day with the realtor. About the fifth or sixth and final house we looked at that day was the perfect fit. We headed to the realtor’s office and filled out an offer form and included with it our earnest money – a whopping $500 (big money for us at the time)!

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Based on 2 Timothy 4:6-8

ONE GREAT TRUTH: It is possible to live life without regrets, but only as we understand God’s unfolding plan of redemption in our lives.

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Today marks our tenth anniversary as a married couple. I’ve done quite a bit of reflecting back on that very special moment when we were pronounced husband and wife by my father-in-law. I showed up at the church a few hours before the wedding and it was pouring down rain. I wanted to wait until it slacked off and until I could be sure I wouldn’t see Angie a moment too early. She was inside wondering if I was re-considering!

I wasn’t re-considering, and I haven’t since. I wouldn’t trade the last ten years for anything in the world. We’ve had a precious daughter, served a couple of great churches as Pastor and wife, Angie has earned two degrees (I’m on the very long-term educational plan), and we’ve made a whole lot of great friends along the way. We’re thankful to God for the fruitfulness of these years and can’t wait to see what God has in store for the decades to come.

A marriage, when lived out biblically, is designed to show the world how much Jesus loves His church and how much they can accomplish together in the redemption of lost mankind. I wouldn’t dream of putting forth the image that we have one of those perfect, never-had-an-argument, syruppy-sappy, always romantic relationships. If you do that, nobody believes you anyway and you probably get on everyone else’s nerves. Nonetheless, I’m proud of the marriage we have. We don’t ever have to question one another’s faithfulness and commitment, and we’re slowly learning to communicate and to compliment one another in a way that glorifies God. I’m so very thankful for all God has blessed us with… to Him be the glory!

In this decade, conservative Christianity has lost some great giants of the faith. I was reflecting on the passing of Jack Hyles, long time Pastor of First Baptist Church in Hammond, Indiana. He was an interesting character with a unique leadership style. Far too many young Pastors went to their ministerial deaths trying to imitate his every move. Nonetheless, his impact on the independent Baptist movement and on the kingdom of God in general are immeasurable.

Then I think of W. A. Criswell. He pastored one of the most influential churches in the world, First Baptist Church in Dallas. He once spent almost eighteen years preaching through the entire Bible. His defense of the faith, his exposition of the Scriptures, and his charismatic style made a lasting mark on Baptist life and thought.

Another giant among men who has passed away this decade was Adrian Rogers, Pastor of Bellevue Baptist Church in Memphis, often called the flagship church of the Southern Baptist Convention. Like Criswell, Rogers’ impact upon the nation’s largest non-Catholic denomination was immense, serving as president of the Southern Baptist Convention three terms. His preaching was practical and poignant, but his wisdom in leadership was what elevated him above the average preacher.

On Sunday, May 6, two other leaders were taken on to heaven. Dr. Lee Roberson, Pastor of the Highland Park Baptist Church in Chattanooga, Tennessee and founder of Tennessee Temple University, went home to be with the Lord. Within an hour of his passing, Dr. Viola Walden also slipped into her eternal home. She had been personal secretary to Dr. John R. Rice since he began The Sword of the Lord. At age 91, she was at her desk at work on the Friday before she died.

God’s timing, sovereignty, and wisdom are all unquestionable attributes. I know that His intention was to take them home, to give them a final rest with the saints. But from our perspective, they seem like missing links in modern Christianity. My great question would be, who will replace them? Who will be the anchors of the church in the next half century? Have we reached the end of an era of Christianity that will never be revived again?

Some would say that the face of Christianity must change. I’ve listened to far too many upstarts criticize the elder leaders among us as “behind the times.” I have a different perspective. Though we’re moving swiftly through the information age with little clue what lies next, we can still rely on twenty centuries of a very faithful pattern. Namely, God has always raised up men who have challenged their generation to think biblically.

Consider Paul, Peter, and Polycarp who faced Rome without trepidation. Think of Athanasius, who stood virtually alone to combat Arianism. Dwell upon the reformers who, with all of their shortcomings theologically, stood against the established church leadership of their times to call Christianity back to sincere and emboldened faithfulness to God’s Word. And think of the evangelistic-missionary age with the Spurgeon’s, Torrey’s, and Moody’s.

Until Jesus comes again, He’ll be building His church out of the stock of saved humanity. He’ll be calling forth leaders to stand in the gap for the land. And they will respond, for Jesus promised it would be so. With all the “missing links” the real question that remains for us is, are we willing to continue the tradition? Will we be surrendered to a life of holiness and passionate, Spirit-filled zeal? To say that the survival of God’s kingdom depends in any way on our abilities would be negligent of the self-sufficiency of God. But to recognize that the future of God’s Kingdom depends upon our availability simply serves to remind us that God has chosen to use people in the redemption of this lost and sinful planet. Will you stand in the gap?

Today, Jesus got an ovation, and it was awesome! There is something about applause during a sermon that makes me extremely uncomfortable in my own skin, yet today it was highly appropriate. The verse was Revelation 1:7, a strange text for Christmas Eve, though very appropriate when the context is compared to the night before the first Christmas.

John relates the truth of the second coming of Christ to a lost world. Billions of Christ-rejectors will “wail because of him” on the day when “every eye shall see him.” Then John closes the verse with the words “Even so, Amen!” Jesus is coming. Everyone will see Him. Most will wail. Let it be so!

I can’t help but believe that we are on the eve of the second coming of Jesus Christ. In fact, I believe a heightened expectancy of His return should mark the committed Christian life. I would further describe this expectancy as anticipation, the kind you felt on Christmas eve just before going to sleep for a long winter’s night.

On the other hand, I realize the terror that will wash over the world when He comes. Imagine the turmoil of a world which lost millions of Christians unexplainably, especially considering that millions wearing the Christian label were also left behind and a few not found in church on Sunday vanished away.

Imagine a world that has experienced seven years of the harsh wrath of God toward sin. Economic upheaval, worldwide famine and disease, political tyranny will have dominated the news. Then… the sovereign God sends His Warrior-King to fully and finally disseminate His justice. The whole earth will issue forth a funeral lament. Why in the world would John say “Amen!” to this kind of an event?

Believers in Christ get to say “so be it” to the return of Christ because all of the injustices committed against us from the persecution of the Caesars to the Sudan will be avenged at last. Righteousness will rule. Our redemption, which currently “draweth nigh” will be full. And more than all of these, our Lord will be glorified when “every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord, to the glory of the Father.”

We are on the eve of His coming, as was the world in 4 b.c. Do you want to applaud? Repent? Believe? Say Amen? It all depends on where you stand with the God of the universe. He’s coming tomorrow, why not invite Him into your life today? Receive Him and say, “Amen, even so, come Lord Jesus!”

What a great day! We saw our highest Sunday School attendance since April and enjoyed a wonderful day with Bro. Grady Higgs. The morning message was especially impactful to me personally. There are times when the Pastor needs to hear some bold preaching and it was “high time” for me as Bro. Grady expounded Romans 13:11-14. I was moved to consider my own shortcomings in the evangelistic arena. So often we think we’re doing okay until God’s Word points out just how much more room for growth we actually have.

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“And the Lord shall scatter you… And there ye shall serve gods, the work of men’s hands… But if from thence thou shalt seek the Lord thy God, thou shalt find him, if you seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul.” -Deut. 4:27-29

Imagine saying on your wedding day, “Honey, I know in advance you’re going to cheat on me, but if you come home and love me again with all your heart, I’ll take you back.” Or imagine saying on the day of your child’s birth, “Little darling, I know in advance that you’re going to rebel against all of my values, reject me and run away. You’ll dissapoint me and embarass me, but if you come home again and love me with all your heart, I’ll take you back in.”

Obviously, none of us have the knowledge of the future that God has. We can know that things won’t always be perfect. We can guess that people will let us down. But imagine knowing every single dissapointment everyone in your life would ever bring you. Would you go ahead and befriend them, marry them, or bring them into the world? God’s knowledge includes our every act of idolatry, our every thought of impurity, and our every wrong motive. Yet just as He promised to the nation of Israel, He promises to us, “If you’ll seek me with all of your heart, you’ll find me.”

The term “seekers” has been abused by the modern church. We’ve gotten the impression that a “seeker” is simply one who has lost his way a little or one who is struggling to understand God. For many, a “seeker” is simply one who’s self-esteem is impaired and needs to have it restored in order to find God. But a “seeker” according to Deuteronomy is one who has walked in spiritual adultery. A seeker is one who has fled the presence of the all-consuming God in rebellion and reprobation. A seeker is one who has committed acts which insult the holiness and character of God. Yet God says, “Seek me!”

God is ultimately seeker-sensitive, but He doesn’t lessen His holiness to become more like sinners. He doesn’t market His truth like the latest fiction novel. He pleads instead for poor, lost, hell-bound sinners to “turn ye,” to “look ye,” to “seek ye the Lord…” His invitation is open. Anybody that seeks Him finds Him. Think of Cornelius, think of Apollos, think of the Ethiopian eunuch. Each was an example of one who sought God and found Him.

But then, consider the other half of Scripture. Hosea lost his wife to unfaithfulness and sought her out. When he found her, he purchased her off the prostitution auction block, took her home, and committed to forgive and love her again. Consider Zacchaues who was found up in the tree, the woman at the well, and the earliest apostles on the banks of the Jordan. God Himself is the greater Seeker!

He’s been in hot pursuit of you from the time you were conceived, not in your mother’s womb, but in His imagination from eternity past! He’s chased you through your sin, through your wandering, as you’ve sought Him and as you’ve sought to lose Him. The Bible begins with one sinner named Adam, hiding from God. From that moment flows a history of God’s seeking for the redemption of all of humankind back to Himself. And the story of redemption continues with you today. He’s purchased you with the blood of His very own Son, that you could turn to Him, seek forgiveness, and come into His family.

”And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three sabbath days reasoned with them out of the Scriptures, Opening and alleging, that Christ must needs have suffered, and risen again from the dead; and that this Jesus, whom I preach unto you, is Christ.” –Acts 17:2-3

In the 1970’s, America saw a wave of cultural confusion known as “the counterculture.” Spawned in part by the New Age movement and fueled by social discord, this movement sought to reshape America’s basic moral values. It attacked the very foundation of what America stood for by questioning the role of God in our nation and gave to us a new morality in which people were free to make destructive choices and feel good about doing so. Today, the counterculture of the 70’s is simply the culture.

I believe that it’s time for a new counterculture, on that will accomplish the reverse of what occurred in the 1970’s and restore God’s image and role as the necessary Father of a good and moral society. Paul never feared to confront the pagan culture of his day. The Scriptures say he “reasoned” with them, which means he argued a case for Jesus and disputed their false claims. He also “opened” which means that he expounded the meaning of Scripture fully. He further “alleged” the truth of Christ meaning that he placed the historical Christ alongside of the Scriptures he was reading. Finally he “preached” or proclaimed the gospel loud and clear.

The Church in America must learn never to fear the culture around us nor be bullied into the corner. We cannot remain silent. We have a case to be made. Never believe that Christianity is not reasonable or rational. When you were saved, you did not subscribe to a myth or join a cult, you did the one thing in the world that actually made sense – you humbled yourself in submission to the God of the universe, accepted His Son as your means of redemption, and you were born again by His miraculous power.

The world in general will hate us as we make our case for Christ, but oh how many will see the light of the gospel and be saved! We must have a new counterculture. Instead of giving in and going with the flow and simply shaping our churches into the image of the common night club, we must be different an distinct, upholding a perfect Bible, a saving Christ, and a new holy expectation for God’s people.

“For to me to live is Christ…”—Philippians 1:21a

What defines your life? What holds the primary interest and attention of your heart? What is it that receives your greatest devotion and determines the direction of your future? Is it Christ? Paul essentially proclaimed, “For my entire life is defined by my relationship with Jesus.” If others could describe you in a phrase, would their words include Jesus at all?

These are serious questions. For most of us, religion is a novelty, church is an activity, and service is a nuisance. Charles Spurgeon wrote, “If Christ be anything He must be everything. O rest not till love and faith in Jesus be the master passions of your soul.”

It’s time we break free from the burden of self-centered living and begin to live with Christ at the center of our lives. He’s the first cause of our existence as well as the Savior of our souls and He promises complete and final redemption for all those who will say, “Jesus, be everything to me.”