Talk about Bad Theology

Below is an excerpt from a post from Dallas Willard. The italics in the quote are directly from the post, but the bold part is my addition.

"

"But I still struggle with how I should view those who have other beliefs. I'm not sure I am ready to condemn them as wrong. I know some very good Buddhists. What is their destiny?"

I would take her to Romans 2:6-10: "God will give to each person according to what he has done. To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor, and immortality, he will give eternal life. But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger."

What Paul is clearly saying is that if anyone is worthy of being saved, they will be saved. At that point many Christians get very anxious, saying that absolutely no one is worthy of being saved. The implication of that is that a person can be almost totally good, but miss the message about Jesus, and be sent to hell. What kind of a God would do that? I am not going to stand in the way of anyone whom God wants to save. I am not going to say "he can't save them." I am happy for God to save anyone he wants in any way he can. It is possible for someone who does not know Jesus to be saved. But anyone who is going to be saved is going to be saved by Jesus: "There is no other name given under heaven by which men can be saved.""

This kind of thinking is amazingly dangerous and I would say even borders on heresy.

1) If someone comes to you and says: What about my buddhist/muslim/atheist friend who is really good, won't they go to heaven? Your answer is very scripturally: Unless they repent and believe (Mark 1:15, Acts 19:4, Romans 10:9-10) they shall not be saved. There is absolutely only one sacrifice for sins (Hebrews 10:12), not multiple. In fact this is the entire point of Romans 1-3. In particular Romans 1:18-32 labors the point that God is knowable and that those who reject the God of the Bible do so knowingly and purposely. What kind of god is God who rejects those who are nice but reject Him? A righteous, holy, perfect, and just God. He is the ultimate one deserving of worship. It is Him alone who made the universe and everything in it. He alone holds the universe together even now. Worshiping any other, including ourselves, is the height of idolatry. In fact, God is infinitely merciful to allow all of us who previously worshiped other than He to live long enough to accept His Lordship.

2) Willard's whole point that people can be super good and just not know Jesus and therefore be hosed out of getting into heaven by an unfair God completely ignores the entire contents of Romans 1-3. Paul is making the point as strongly as possible that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. There is none. NOT EVEN ONE!! who is perfect enough to get into heaven. That is except for Jesus of course. Remember that even a single sin separates us from God because is perfect. Once we're less than perfect we cannot be in His presence, and He can't stand to have us in His presence. Imagine if you said/did one dumb thing to the CEO of your company or to the President. You would be forever removed from his presence for your incompetence. Those at the top don't want to have you there to taint them. God of course is thousand, billion times more holy then mere men and cannot have sinners near Him. The only way we get to be in the presence of the Father is through His amazing mercy, shown through the willingness of God to kill His Son on our behalf to bear our burden in our place. Then we have the righteousness of Christ instead of our own, and suddenly we're adopted into the Family and made to be His children.

3) He says Christians get anxious about this point. No we don't. We get saddened for those who don't know the Lord and are too stubborn to look at the sin in their life and repent. We long for those we love to realize that their works are not sufficient to save them, and that only Jesus can do so. We long to tell them the truth that they may be saved instead of languish in false hope.

4) His strange laundering statement at the end that anyone who is going to be saved will be saved by Jesus regardless of their knowledge of Him is completely and totally ridiculous double-talk. Now at this point if he tried to bring up Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses and their lack of knowledge of who Jesus is, I'd at least give him some credit that he was trying to argue from the Bible. Thankfully God doesn't leave us hanging with His Theology. Romans 4 makes it clear that Abraham was saved by faith in the Promise of the Messiah. And Jesus makes clear in Matthew 5 that Moses wrote about Him. But to say that anyone today who doesn't hear about Jesus is excused, but will still be saved by Jesus is nonsense and confusing.

If you don't know Jesus, Please, Please, Please read the Bible and pursue whether the claims of Christ are true. Talk to me about them, talk to someone else. Just find out if it's true or not. Because if you're thinking that somehow you are going to deal with your sin/guilt problem on your own or through some mechanism other than Jesus' death on the cross, you will have a very, very painful realization when you die.

Resources to follow up Sunday Sermon

Hey everyone. Don't know if you had a chance to catch Hopper's sermon from last week (9/5/2010). He may not agree, but I think his main point was: We need to be ready to share the gospel in one of 3 venues even if we lean towards only one of those venues. His three venues were: (1) Intellectual discussion (2) Miraculous conversion (3) Service opening I personally lean towards (1) b/c that's the way the Lord has gifted me. I can do the other two, but I'm weaker at them. Not saying of course that I'm perfect, far from it (just ask my wife and close friends ;).

One of the neat things about Acts 16, that Hopper referenced, is that in both of the examples of people who were recorded as specifically believing, Lydia & Jailer, they were able to come to faith because Paul was able to explain to them what they needed to do to be saved and provided other details of the gospel that they could understand. Do you or your community group members know how to share the gospel and what some basic tenants of the faith are so that they can 'give an answer'?

Below is a list of resources I've used to help me do that. (This list is not an all encompassing list. Just meant to get you started.) Feel free to try them out or comment below as to whether they or other resources have been useful to you. Some at BACC may not even like some of these resources. That's ok too. Again feel free to post other options.

Basic Systematic Theology

• Essential Truths of the Christian Faith - by R.C. Sproul (Book has 2 to 3 page explanations of a doctrine and the verses to support it. Great for first timers)
• Christian Beliefs: 20 basics every Christian should know - by Wayne Grudem (this is the short-short book, not the short-long or the long-long book ;)
• Systematic Theology - by Tommy Nelson (sermon series from mid 90s from a favorite pastor of mine at Denton Bible Church)
• Drive By Theology - by Todd Friel (short 15 min lessons made for commutes)

Basic Gospel presentation

• What is the Gospel? by Greg Gilbert (Great little 100 page book on the gospel)
• Terrified - by Todd Friel (20 some Audio examples of witnessing encounters teaching you the right and wrong way to get into conversations with people)

Solo Deo Gloria --doug ><>

Jesus is more than a teacher

I recently discovered that someone has put up a site with daily updated "My Utmost for His Highest" by Oswald Chambers devotionals. This is one of my all time favorite devotionals, as Oswald constantly calls me back to humility in Christ. When I submitted myself to the full Lordship of Christ in college, this devotional was one of the key growing things that the Lord put in my life to teach me about Him.

Today's devotional was called: The Doorway to the Kingdom.

Basically the devo says that if we look at Jesus, merely as a teacher, then He commands too high of a standard for us to follow. Without submitting to His will and taking on the Spirit to help us, we cannot achieve what He requires and will be hopelessly frustrated. He ends the devo beautifully by pointing out the gospel and our need to believe that we are wretched, hopeless sinners in need of the free grace offered in Christ's wrath-averting sacrifice for our sins.

As a teacher of the Lord I need to be always aware and careful not to put burdens on my students. I need to not add box cars to their train without providing the engine of the gospel for them to rely on for pulling the demands of holiness. As Oswald says:

"He came to make me what He teaches I should be"

Hebrews 1:10-15 Jesus still better than Angels

Hebrews 1:10-14 ¹⁰And, "You, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth in the beginning, and the heavens are the work of your hands; ¹¹they will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment, ¹²like a robe you will roll them up, like a garment they will be changed. But you are the same, and your years will have no end."¹³And to which of the angels has he ever said, "Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet"? ¹⁴Are they not all ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation?

Observation/Interpretation

• Jesus created the earth and heavens. Therefore He is greater than angels b/c they don't create things. I'd also like to point out how powerful this makes Jesus. I mean imagine all the intricate details of life and the universe. He set up all the rules of physics, chemistry, biology. And He did it in a way that was intrinsically beautiful. What an amazing God we serve.
• The current physical parts of creation will eventually break down and be destroyed (2nd law of thermodynamics), but Jesus will remain.
• Jesus is immutable. He never changes in His Godhood. He doesn't come up with new crazy ideas, He doesn't forget us. Jesus never changes, therefore He is better than angels.
• Jesus is now and will live forever. His years do not end like physical beings.
• Jesus sits at the right hand of the Father where His enemies are laid bare. He is the conqueror and enjoys the fruits of His labor. What a cool word picture by the way. To so utterly crush your enemies that they are your footstool.
• Angels after all are merely sent out to serve those who are Christians. Jesus' role was much greater than mere service alone.

Application

• I must worship Jesus. He is so powerful and awe inspiring. He never changes and yet created change in the universe. Amazing.
• I can trust in Jesus' unchangeability and therefore rest, knowing that my salvation is secure.
• I can hope in Jesus' future destruction of sin and the devil and look forward to a day when I don't have to be tempted to sin any more
• I should read more scripture and use it to teach others and improve my understanding of who God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit are.

Email Apologetics 5 (gospel illustrations in Genesis)

This is another post in the series of emails between my friend and his dad. In one of my friend's dad's emails he says the following sentence:

"I hope that God sees me fit for mercy and on the appointed day welcomes me into the Holy Presence."

How can God see him as fit? If its by works, not by grace, of which he would have some part in, then he's not going to get in. (Eph. 2:1-10). How do we teach him how often in scripture God points to His salvation of the people instead of their work? How about showing him these examples?
Genesis 3 (in particular vs 7 & 21): Man tries to cover his sin ineffectively with a fig leaf. God instead covers it effectively with an animal skin. God kills the animal and makes the clothes, not man!
Genesis 7 (in particular vs 16): God destroys the world b/c of people's sin, but saves Noah. He tells Noah how to build the ark, and then when Noah is inside, God shuts the door for him. The ark is an illustration of Jesus that protects us from God's wrath. And God was the source of all of it.
Genesis 22 (in particular vs 13-14 ): Abraham is to kill his son Issac. Abe logically believes that God will raise him from the dead. Instead God provides a ram to be sacrificed instead. God provides, not man. And the son of the promise is effectively slain but raised from the dead. I know this one is a little harder to see.
Genesis 28 (in particular vs 12): Jacob (soon to be renamed Israel) sees a ladder between heaven and earth with angels ascending and descending. This ladder is Jesus. He connects earth and heaven as only God can. Man doesn't create this ladder. Jesus even refers t this incident in John 1:50-51.
Genesis 37,41-45: Joseph is the son of promise who is hated by his brothers and sold into slavery, aka death. The son rises out of prison and rules all of Egypt and is able to provide for his family. Just like Jesus who was hated by His Jewish brothers, slain, and who raised on the 3rd day and now provides mediation and salvation to us who repent and believe in Him. And by the way in both cases man does nothing. God makes it all happen.

I can keep going to include Moses leading the people across the red sea, something in possible that man couldn't do. Or Joshua who rolls back the Jordan to a town called Adam so that we can clearly see that sin is rolled back to Adam in Christ. Or Ruth, a foreigner, who is granted a kinsman redeemer and welcomed into the true people of God. All of these happen b/c God does the work not man. God won't see us fit on the final judgment day. Only by claiming Christ and His work will we get in.

By the way if you think he's struggling with the veracity of the Bible and he'd listen to a lecture on it. This is my favorite one. If you haven't listened to this before, its well worth your time.

Hebrews 1:7-9 Jesus saves better than angels

Hebrews 1:7-9 ⁷Of the angels he says, "He makes his angels winds, and his ministers a flame of fire." ⁸But of the Son he says,"Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom. ⁹You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness;therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions."

Observation/Interpretation:

• Jesus is better than angels because He is more permanent than they are.
• Angels are temporary compared to winds and fire, but Jesus (aka God) is forever and ever.
• Jesus is God by the way. Yup that's right God is Triune. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are all God and are distinct persons at the same time. Yup its also a mystery. I kind of like this mystery frankly b/c it means God is more than I can completely grasp. Which is a good quality of a real God. If I could grasp Him completely then I might as well be God.
• Jesus' kingdom is ruled in righteousness. Not like kings on earth where we know they have all used some amount of 'greasing the palms' to get into power.
• Jesus is in heaven and accepted by God b/c He hates wickedness and loved righteousness. He alone was able to completely represent man and still be deity. Thereby offering up a perfect representative sacrifice for us.
• Note too that God & Jesus hate wickedness. This means that those who do wickedness are included in that hate. Later on in Hebrews we'll see that its a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
• Jesus is more highly anointed than His companions b/c He alone is perfectly righteous.

Applications:

• I must worship Jesus and not angels
• I must trust in Jesus b/c He lasts forever unlike other things/people
• I want to be like Jesus and hate wickedness in my life, and love righteousness instead
  
• I want to share how great Jesus is with others b/c I want them to know of their danger, and know that God has a solution for them

Just as P.S. I want to point out that its people's individual sins that they have knowingly committed as an affront to God that He is angry with. Its not just the general sin of humanity. But it is everyone's individual treasonous rebellion that has earned His hatred.

Email Apologetics 4

I wrote this response:

On Mon, Jun 14, 2010 at 08:59 PM, Doug wrote:

Friend's dad,
This is a very good question: "What then would allow me, a sinner, to think that I have a "complete" picture?"

The short answer is that the Holy Spirit makes the picture complete for you, and me. He is the one that draws us to Him and helps us understand the scriptures.

Just some examples to illustrate my point.
1) You're completely right that the disciples didn't understand half (maybe 3/4's ;) of what Jesus said to them while He was alive. The main reason for which was because they hadn't been given the Holy Spirit yet. Once God was living in them and through them in the Spirit, they could recall all that Jesus had taught them and apply it.

2) John 6 and 10 (and Romans 8, Ephesians 1, etc...) teach that the Spirit draws us and changes our hearts to understand. Ezekiel 36:24-27 is a great OT passage that describes how the Lord changes our hearts and makes it possible for us to understand the mercy of God that we can attain if we confess our sins via repentance and believe in Him.

I don't quite get your meaning when you say: "Our perception(revelation) Of the Old Testament is different than the New." Are you saying that the OT and the NT teach different stories or represent different concepts of God? If so, I think this is a common misconception. One that my own uncle and I were discussing just this weekend as a matter of fact.

There are lots of ways to address this concern. Perhaps the easiest is when Jesus says in John 5 that '...Moses wrote about me...'. Jesus is making clear here that the intent of the OT was to be the womb or the incubator to explain the death and resurrection of Jesus. When Moses wrote the law, including the sacrificial system, he did it to illustrate Jesus because the ancient Hebrews (and us for that matter) wouldn't have understood Jesus' sacrifice without a picture of animal sacrifices to set the stage. The passover lamb is the best example of this. The lamb was without blemish and was sacrificed to protect the people, Just like Jesus 1500 years later. Romans 3 clarifies that God never intended for sins to be absolved by the lamb, but that its death pointed to Jesus.

So anyway, long story short, the best way to find out if what the Bible says is true, is it test it. I do this every day. I look at my life and I see the sin and desire to be selfish within me. I know that this causes a problem with me and God because it shows my betrayal of His rightful kingship. The Bible teaches me that the only solution to that sin problem is Jesus' death and my acceptance of it's power to save me, not through my efforts to get right with God.

Can I challenge you to read through the book of Romans and shoot some questions out to this email group as you go? I think it will cover many of your questions and perhaps raise some new ones.

Its a pleasure talking with you. I am continuing to pray for you.

--doug ><>