Author: Faithful Stewardship

DiM | “Trust in You” by Lauren Daigle

Faithful Stewardship 12 Comments

Presentation1CCM Radio Edition.

February 23, 2016. Today we’ll be taking a look at “Trust in You” by Lauren Daigle which currently sits at #15 on the 20theCountdownMagazine.

I first heard this song a couple of weeks ago while on my morning commute. Lauren Daigle has a wonderful voice with a unique sound. It’s beautiful. The problem here is with the lyric and what is being conveyed by it (both intentionally and, I think, unintentionally). In a musical industry promoted and pushed by the Word of Faith (WoF), Prosperity, and Presence heresy houses… there is at least in some sense a realization that the theology “doesn’t work”. I wish they’d repent of their false theology, but they keep pushing it. But what happens when all of the “decree and declare” and “sun stand still prayers” yield no results? What happens when we do everything we can to “bring down strongholds” only to lose a loved one to cancer, or drug overdose? One should reexamine their doctrine, return to the Word of God to see if what you are being told is Scriptural. This song almost seems to go there… but it doesn’t. It goes back to the proof texts of WoF and re-declares them in an odd way. When I hear this song, all I hear is “God, when you let me down and don’t keep your promises… I forgive you”. Maybe it’s my sinful nature that prevents me from hearing the overall message of this song in any other way. I’m open to the idea that I’m being overly dismissive of this song. Let’s take a look at it.

Lauren Daigle VEVO

 

Lyrics (via KLove)

Letting go of every single dream
I lay each one down at Your feet
Every moment of my wondering
Never changes what You see

I’ve tried to win this war I confess
My hands are weary I need Your rest
Mighty Warrior King of the fight
No matter what I face You’re by my side

(chorus)
When You don’t move the mountains
I’m needing You to move
When You don’t part the waters
I wish I could walk through
When You don’t give the answers
As I cry out to You
I will trust, I will trust
I will trust in You

Truth is You know what tomorrow brings
There’s not a day ahead You have not seen
So in all things be my life and breath
I want what You want Lord and nothing less

(chorus)
When You don’t move the mountains
I’m needing You to move
When You don’t part the waters
I wish I could walk through
When You don’t give the answers
As I cry out to You
I will trust, I will trust
I will trust in You
I will trust in You

(bridge)
You are my strength and comfort
You are my steady hand
You are my firm foundation
The Rock on which I stand
Your ways are always higher
Your plans are always good
There’s not a place where I’ll go
You’ve not already stood

(chorus)
When You don’t move the mountains
I’m needing You to move
When You don’t part the waters
I wish I could walk through
When You don’t give the answers
As I cry out to You
I will trust, I will trust
I will trust in You
I will trust in You
I will trust in You
I will trust in You

Publishing: © 2014 CentricSongs (SESAC) / Sony/ATV Timber Publishing (SESAC) / Word Music & Pocket Full of Rocks Publishing (ASCAP)

Writer(s): Words and Music by Lauren Daigle, Paul Mabury and Michael Farren

Discussion

We’re going to assume the “You” in this song to be the God of the Bible. I mention this because it isn’t clearly stated in the song, and that’s bad. The Name that is above All Names should be proclaimed in every Christian song.

Okay, so if you don’t see where I’m hearing “God, I forgive you’ it’s in the repetitive I will trust in You as it falls immediately after all of the expressions of disappointment. The Bridge is the best part of the entire song. These are all good confessions of Who God is. But the theology being expressed in the verses and chorus make me question whether or not Jesus Christ (the Rock) is the firm foundation of her faith. Let’s work through the disappointments listed:

  • When you don’t move the mountains I’m needing you to move. There is an expectation that with enough faith God will move the mountains in our lives. This is somewhat pulled from the account in Matthew 17:14-21, but what is the context? Should we contextualize the demoniac or the mountain as anything we decide we need to have happen? I don’t think we should do that. WoF theology twists this passage to present faith as a magic lamp that if we rub right we’ll get the Holy Spirit genie to come out and grant us wishes. Is that what Lauren is after here? Not directly, but the focus here is one of disappointment that something she’s prayed for God to remove yet remains.
  • When You don’t part the waters I wish I could walk through. Again we have an expectation of something happening that is loosely connected to the parting of the Red Sea, but not clearly defined. The parting of the Red Sea points to water baptism, to salvation in Jesus’ Name. WoF (of the Prosperity variety) teachers often continue to contextualize the parting of the Red Sea into some sort of present-day spiritual warfare thingy in our everyday lives. Is there something blocking your healing/promotion/prosperity? Well, it must be your Red Sea moment… God will part the waters if you have enough faith. The problem with such contextualizing is that it actually minimizes the Red Sea and falsely elevates our everyday trials and tribulations that we should expect because God’s Word tells us to expect them. James 1:2-4 (ESV) “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”
  • When You don’t give the answers As I cry out to You. There is an expectation that we should be receiving direct revelation from God. That we should be hearing God speak to us either audibly or via some deep impression in our “spirit” when we pray. The notion that prayer should be a two-way street isn’t taught in scripture. Yes God can speak in any way He chooses, but that’s not to say that is the role or purpose for prayer. And God did speak regarding prayer and we have His Words in Written form. Consult the Word of God directly and know it is God who breathed out those words.

So that’s the overall problem I have with the song. It is what rings loudest when I hear the song play on the radio. The singer is disappointed by her theology, but pushes on to declare she will Trust in Him. It comes across to me as an “I forgive you”. It leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I’ll confess I’ve been hurt by the failure of WoF theology and asked questions only to have the WoF thrown back in my face pointing to my lack of faith or lack of trust as the reason why something did or didn’t happen.

Verse 1. Modern-day evangelicalism is overly obsessed with our own dreams. It’s a real problem. Thankfully, she’s talking about letting go of the dreams… that’s a good start. But then she’s talking about laying them down at God’s feet? Oh, so it’s a sacrifice thing… like something you’re offering to God. Are we trying to eisegete Abraham’s offering of Isaac… because God told Abraham to sacrifice Isaac… and that was to foreshadow God sacrificing His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. Don’t eisegete any of that, please. We let go of our dreams not to appease God or to make Him favorable to us or our situation, we let go of our dreams because they are sinful, they come from our sinful hearts. The lyrics provided on KLove talk about her “wonderings”, but I can’t help but wonder if the word being sung or intended here is “wanderings”. As sinful creatures we are prone to wander, being lead astray by our own fleshly, sinful desires. That is why we need repentance and the forgiveness of sin regularly. When it is our faith and doctrine that starts to wander, we’re in danger of shipwrecking our faith and damning ourselves. That is why we need the Preached Word of God, we need to grow in knowledge and wisdom of the Word of God, that our faith might increase.

Pre-Chorus. There is that will of ours, striving to merit righteousness in some way. It is a good thing that she is confessing this as sin. I wish the metaphor of the Rest found in Christ were teased out a bit more. Yes, we find rest in Christ Jesus, but WoF treats it as a momentary reprieve or a stop at the charging station so that we can get back out there and do more good works… that’s not the picture of entering God’s rest. The picture of entering God’s rest is one of entering the Promised Land by faith in Christ Jesus. Yes, the LORD is a Mighty Warrior King, but He isn’t at our side, He’s out front. He has fought the battle, He has won the war on our behalf. He threw down the walls of Jericho. He killed Goliath while we all stood at a distance, condemned in our unbelief.

Chorus. We’ve already worked through this as my main issue with the song. I will add one more thing to this discussion. Faith isn’t a thing that we have apart from Christ. It’s not an effort of the will that can be prompted and urged or exercised through sheer will or zeal. Faith has to be anchored in Christ Jesus, otherwise it’s just belief, and can be tossed about by winds of doctrine. WoF heresy teaches folks to place their faith on what they declare or on promises that are nowhere given in Scripture. That’s not faith.

Bridge. This is the best part of the song. These are good confessions of Who God is. These are reasons to trust in Him, but not for the kinds of things that WoF theology promotes… the sorts of signs and wonders that led to the disappointment of the singer in the first place.

Verse 2. Her second verse seems like a throw-back to her song “First“. We still have some confessions of the Sovereignty and Omniscience of God. There’s even a continuation of the thought from the first verse of letting go of our own dreams or plans. That’s good.

Conclusion

I struggle with this song. There’s so much missing here, there’s no clear Gospel message. The focus of the song is the singer working through disappointment and committing herself to trusting in Him. I just want to tell Lauren, “let’s look in the Word for encouragement and understanding of the trials of this life”. Because the song doesn’t stand on its own, it isn’t approved. My first inclination is to disapprove the song based on the sense of the song being some sort of forgiving God for not doing something kind of message. My children sometimes do this to me, my daughter especially. She’ll do it in the middle of being scolded for one thing while asking for something else she knows she can’t have. /sigh. So, it’s our sinful human nature at work. So, since I cannot objectively disapprove of this song, it will remain in the middle-ground, and I encourage the reader/listener to exercise Biblical discernment.

Romans 16:24-27 (ESV) Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages but has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith— to the only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ! Amen.

In Christ Jesus,
Jorge

Friday Sermon | 4 Spiritual Laws?

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frisermonToday I want to share an episode of Issues, ETC where Pastor Bryan Wolfmueller tackles the Evangelical Cliché: “God Loves You and Has a Wonderful Plan for Your Life”. If you’ve been to a college campus or had dealing with Campus Crusade for Christ (or CRU), you should be familiar with this cliche as the first of Bill Bright’s “4 Spiritual Laws“. This is NOT a good way to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It’s a sales technique for getting someone to sign up for a membership to something they don’t really understand they need.

Pr Wolfmueller addresses the core of the cliche and works through these so-called “4 Spiritual Laws”.

 

In Christ Jesus,
Jorge

Gospel Wednesday | Mark 7

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GWWelcome back as we continue working through the Gospel According to Mark. Last week we covered Mark 6, where we saw Jesus rejected by Nazareth, we saw Him send out the Apostles to preach, we saw Christ feed the multitudes in the wilderness, and we saw Him walk on water and heal many. We saw Mark sort of close out a theme at the end of chapter 6, and we will see Mark begin another arc in his Gospel account.

Today, we’ll resume reading, beginning in Chapter 7 of the Gospel According to Mark.

Mark 7:1-13 (ESV) | Traditions and Commandments

Now when the Pharisees gathered to him, with some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem, they saw that some of his disciples ate with hands that were defiled, that is, unwashed. (For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands properly, holding to the tradition of the elders, and when they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash. And there are many other traditions that they observe, such as the washing of cups and pots and copper vessels and dining couches.) And the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, “Why do your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with defiled hands?” And he said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written,

“‘This people honors me with their lips,
but their heart is far from me;
in vain do they worship me,
teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’
You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men.”

And he said to them, “You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition! For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’ But you say, ‘If a man tells his father or his mother, “Whatever you would have gained from me is Corban”’ (that is, given to God)— then you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or mother, thus making void the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And many such things you do.”

Dear fellow discerning Christian… when someone calls you a Pharisee to silence you from pointing to the Word of God to correct, reprove, rebuke, and to teach… don’t back down. Don’t be silent. Don’t let the individual get away with such sloppy attempts at playing the Pharisee card. The Pharisees were not guilty of holding to the Law of God; rather, they were guilty of passing their own commandments, their own traditions, their own law and calling it the Oral Law or the Tradition of the Elders. Later (approx 200 A.D.) this oral law (Mishnah) would be included in the Talmud, when Judaism had to completely change now that the temple was no more. What modern-day Jews practice now is nowhere near the Judaism of the Bible. The Covenant with Moses has been superseded by the New Covenant with the Messiah of God, Jesus Christ, God the Son.

Jesus calls these Pharisees out for their hypocrisy, yes, but it isn’t of the form that we usually consider today where someone says “don’t steal” while they live a secret double-life as a cat-burglar. No, this is more insidious… they teach a whole bunch of rules (that they can outwardly keep) and make the claim that they are teaching how to live lives pleasing to God and that this stems from an oral tradition that reaches all the way back to Moses and complements the Written Law. There’s the hypocrisy, the Law is a closed book to them, they don’t see Christ in the Scriptures and cannot recognize Christ standing before them as a result, yet they remain standing in the place of teachers of the law and teach their own traditions which only serve to bolster their own “righteousness”. Much like our modern-day self-appointed vision-casting leaders who teach their own dreams and impressions and read themselves into every text, completely missing Christ about whom all the Law, the Prophets, and the Apostles wrote/taught. And they teach their own traditions (while claiming they are new and innovative) hypocritically, for they do not in any way complement the Scriptures, in-fact, they contradict the Gospel of Jesus Christ. That, my friend, is a Pharisee.

Mark 7:14-23 (ESV) | What Defiles a Person

And he called the people to him again and said to them, “Hear me, all of you, and understand: There is nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him.” And when he had entered the house and left the people, his disciples asked him about the parable. And he said to them,“Then are you also without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him, since it enters not his heart but his stomach, and is expelled?” (Thus he declared all foods clean.) And he said, “What comes out of a person is what defiles him. For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”

The Law of Moses did have designations of things that were clean and things that were unclean, and there were strict prohibitions in the Law of things that made a person ceremonially unclean if touched (like a dead person) and there were procedures that needed to be observed for a person who had become ceremonially unclean to follow in order to be allowed back into the camp, to be made ceremonially clean. These were but type and shadow of Christ. The traditions of the elders had added to the Written Law and obscured and subverted it. Jesus, being the Son of God, the Word made flesh, cut right through the noise and made it clear that what truly defiles a person comes from within the heart, not by what the person ate. For whatever a person eats passes through the body and is expelled. I love how plainly and directly He addressed it, too. The tradition of hand washing was powerless to prevent what the Elders taught. It was meaningless. It was a vain tradition, empty of power. Furthermore, the problem of sin was not something that strict dietary laws could avoid, for the true source of sin lay not outside in the world, but in the very heart of man. No tradition or ceremony could address that. Mark didn’t give us a detailed record of what transpired after this engagement, but what he moves to next gives us an understanding that what is required is Faith in the Son of Man.

Mark 7:24-30 (ESV) | The Syrophoenician Woman’s Faith

And from there he arose and went away to the region of Tyre and Sidon. And he entered a house and did not want anyone to know, yet he could not be hidden. But immediately a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit heard of him and came and fell down at his feet. Now the woman was a Gentile, a Syrophoenician by birth. And she begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter. And he said to her, “Let the children be fed first, for it is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” But she answered him, “Yes, Lord; yet even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.” And he said to her, “For this statement you may go your way; the demon has left your daughter.” And she went home and found the child lying in bed and the demon gone.

This Gentile woman, heard of Jesus, and believed. She had faith because she heard of Him. And it was great faith, for she was not deterred by Jesus point-blank telling her that His primary mission was for the children of Israel, she knew that crumbs of the table were sufficient. The LORD blessed her that day, delivered her child, and granted her child rest. I find it beautiful that the story ends with her little one lying in bed, free from the demon. We find rest in Christ alone.

Mark 7:31-37 (ESV) | Jesus Heals a Deaf Man

Then he returned from the region of Tyre and went through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, in the region of the Decapolis. And they brought to him a man who was deaf and had a speech impediment, and they begged him to lay his hand on him. And taking him aside from the crowd privately, he put his fingers into his ears, and after spitting touched his tongue. And looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be opened.” And his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly. And Jesus charged them to tell no one. But the more he charged them, the more zealously they proclaimed it. And they were astonished beyond measure, saying, “He has done all things well. He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”

Remember the Decapolis? It’s where the demoniac of the Gerasenes proclaimed what Jesus had done for him, and the people marveled (Mark 5:1-20). Jesus returned to this region once more. As a sidenote, growing up in church it really occurred to me how often Jesus went to the Gentiles in His earthly ministry. Fascinating. He came first for the Jew and then for the Gentile. Okay, back to the text, the people brought out a deaf man who had a speech impediment. I really need to learn Koine Greek but we know that this impediment is severe because later he was described as a mute who had been made to speak. Again, we see here that Jesus charged them to tell no one. They praised Jesus as a miracle worker, that He has done all things well. I take this as an indication that while they recognized the miraculous good work, they didn’t understand who Jesus is just yet.

But we do see something pretty cool here. The man was deaf and his speech was impeded. Jesus opened up his ears and loosed his tongue, so that he could speak plainly. When we are born, we are born spiritually dead. We have ears, but they are blocked by our sin and fallen state to the things of God. As such, our speech is impaired, we are muted by our own fallen natures unable to worship God, to please God, even to repent. Spiritually, we are born deaf and mute. Until the Holy Spirit opens our ears to the Truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Bible is a closed book to us, something we use to build our own false gods, our own means of righteousness to suit our own desires. But when the Lord opens our ears to the Word of God, granting us saving faith, we are set free to Worship the Only Living God. All praise be to the God of Mercy and Grace.

Conclusion

Next week we’ll be looking at another action-packed chapter in the Gospel According to Mark. Until then, I pray you make some time to study the Word of God. I pray the Holy Spirit open your eyes and ears to the Truth of God’s Word, both Law and Gospel, that by His Grace, through Faith you might enter into Christ’s rest. Preach the Word, repent, be forgiven, and forgive others their sins in Jesus’ Name.

Romans 16:25-27 (ESV) | Doxology

Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages but has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith— to the only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ! Amen.

Amen, Indeed.
In Christ Jesus,
Jorge

DiM | “Tell Your Heart to Beat Again” by Danny Gokey

Faithful Stewardship 10 Comments

CCM Radio Edition.

February 16, 2016. Today we’ll be taking a look at “Tell Your Heart to Beat Again” by Danny Gokey which currently sits at #12 on the 20theCountdownMagazine.

This song earned a disapproval immediately, but there is a good thought expressed in the song that is worth exploring, that of the need to heal and move out of our past. The video we are using isn’t the airplay version of the song, and it was recorded in a live-take, so some of the words might be slightly different from what you hear on the radio, but not enough to change its meaning. We are going with this version of the song because Danny retells the story of the background of this song. Sadly, that background wasn’t scripture, it was an experience.

Danny Gokey Studio Video (w/ Story Behind the Song)

 

Danny Gokey didn’t write this song. It was written by Randy Phillips of the trio Phillips, Craig, and Dean.

Lyrics

Shattered like you’ve never been before
The life you knew in a thousand pieces on the floor
Words fall short in times like these
When this world drives you to your knees
You think you’re never going to get back to the you you used to be.

Tell your heart to beat again
Close your eyes and breathe it in
Let the shadows fall away, step into the light of grace
Yesterdays a closing door you don’t live there anymore
Say goodbye to where you’ve been
Tell your heart to beat again

Beginning just let that word wash over you
It’s alright now, love’s healing hands will pull you through
So get back up, take step one
Leave the darkness, feel the sun
Because your stories far from over and your journey’s just begun

So Tell your heart to beat again
Close your eyes and breathe it in

Let the shadows fall away, step into the light of grace
Yesterdays a closing door you don’t live there anymore
Say goodbye to where you’ve been
Tell your heart to beat again

Let every heartbreak and every scar
Be a picture that reminds you, who has carried you this far
‘Cause love sees farther than you ever could
In this moment Heaven is working everything for your good

Tell your heart to beat again
Close your eyes and breathe it in
Let the shadows fall away, step into the light of grace
Yesterday’s a closing door you don’t live there anymore
Say goodbye to where you’ve been
Tell your heart to beat again
Your heart to beat again

…oh so tell your heart, to beat again…

Discussion

The basic premise of the song is faulty. It isn’t up to you to tell your heart to beat again. The anecdote about a surgeon telling the anesthetized patient “tell your heart to beat again” is quite compelling and moving, indeed it fits the definition of an “awesome story”. But the story is then used a springboard to suggest that this holds some sort of spiritual meaning, that the Great Physician has healed our hearts, BUT… but now it is up to us to tell our hearts to beat again. I have a real problem with that message. Despite that rousing story from an unidentified doctor who talked his way into an undisclosed operating room, this is not how medicine works, this is not how healing works, not of our physical hearts nor of our souls. Please note, I’m not saying the story is fabricated, just that I couldn’t verify any of it. Let’s look at the primary issue with spiritualizing this anecdote and the message of the song.

Synergism versus Monergism

The anecdote is being used to push a notion that God heals the heart but it doesn’t beat until we tell it to do so. Synergists give lip service to “salvation by faith alone” but they’ll tack on the need for works to complete the salvation. Synergism is baked into the core theology of many churches, but also works its way into Monergistic churches. Why? Because part of our sinful nature is the desire to get credit for what we do. We also want to compare ourselves to others and we can’t do that with “faith alone” so we look to works to establish a pecking order. So, while the doctrine of these othordox churches clearly confess monergism, synergism creeps in to rob the believer of his/her assurance of salvation. It’s not new to our century, such creeping was already taking place in the early church.

Galatians 3:1-9 (ESV) | By Faith, or by Works of the Law?

O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified. Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?Did you suffer so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain? Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith— just as Abraham “believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”?

Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham. And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “In you shall all the nations be blessed.” So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.

The right way to understand the role of good works is to view it as that which flows out from salvation rather than something that is needed to gain the assurance of salvation. When the Holy Spirit regenerates a person, granting saving faith at the hearing of the Word of Christ, that person is made alive in Christ. Fully. No need for that person to do anything, much less tell themselves to breath again, or their heart to beat again.

The stated purpose of this song in the two “background” stories isn’t presented as one of salvation. In fact, the original video from Randy Phillips targets those who’ve been hurt, who are broken-hearted. But such specifics didn’t find their way into the lyric, so we had to establish this groundwork first.

Healing of the broken-hearted

I mentioned earlier that this song did have something of merit in it, that is the idea of recovering from our past. Randy Phillips specified broken heartedness, and Danny Gokey left it a bit more broad, but the basic premise is that God has already healed your broken heart so you need to stop living in it. Now matter how softly one makes this suggestion, it is still something you have to do, which makes it Law. The answer to this problem isn’t in finding some formula or principle for how to do it; the answer is found in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Repent, and be forgiven in Jesus’ Name. Jesus also taught that we needed to forgive others as we have been forgiven. We cannot keep such a Law of our own, we must extend the Grace we’ve been given. Let’s read some Scripture on the topic.

Matthew 6:9-15 (ESV) Pray then like this:

“Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our debts,
    as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.

For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

Matthew 18:15-35 (ESV) | The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant

“If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.”

Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times.

“Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. And since he could not pay, his master ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made. So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’ And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt. But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii, and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay what you owe.’ So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’ He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt. When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their master all that had taken place. Then his master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’ And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt. So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.”

A hard teaching, indeed, but necessary for us to understand that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is the very heart and center of all of Scripture. Our hearts are wicked, stained by sin. By Grace our hearts have been made new and we’ve been made alive in the spirit by the Holy Spirit of God, but we still have our fleshly hearts to contend with. It is something we must crucify in Christ daily. Repent, and be forgiven. Forgive others, and when you fail that, repent and be forgiven again.

2 Corinthians 5:1-5 (ESV) | Our Heavenly Dwelling

For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling, if indeed by putting it on we may not be found naked. For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened—not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee.

2 Corinthians 5:16-21 (ESV)

From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

This is the healing of the Great Physician, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Beware of Victim-Blaming

My wife and I are particularly sensitive to the flip-side of the synergistic coin. It’s an ugly side that few are willing to discuss until they need to separate themselves from an individual, or defend themselves from having their false doctrine exposed. The flip-side of this coin is where we find the words, “God did His Part, God is not a liar, God is the same yesterday, today, and forever… therefore if you didn’t get your healing, or if you are still burdened by your past, it’s because you aren’t doing your part”. The dark underbelly of this coin is repulsive and runs contrary to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Every false religion in the world has law and works-righteousness. Christianity’s coin is unique and stands apart. Our coin has the Law of God on the one side and the Gospel of Jesus Christ on the other. The Law points to the Gospel, and the Gospel answers the Law. The Law exposes our sin, the Gospel grants repentance and forgiveness from sin.

Conclusion

The song doesn’t have any Gospel in it. Disapproval was certain, but there is a real need that the song is attempting to address, the need for healing, for forgiveness, and for hope. This song offers more Law for the hurting to keep, so it fails in its goal. What is needed is the Gospel of Grace, the Hope of Salvation, the peace that passes all understanding… even when the emotions are wrecked.

Romans 16:24-27 (ESV) | Doxology

25 Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages 26 but has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith— 27 to the only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ! Amen.

Amen.
In Christ Jesus,
Jorge

Friday Sermon | Question Evolution Day

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frisermonFebruary 12, 2016.

Today is the 5th Annual Question Evolution Day.

Question Evolution Day has several purposes. One is very basic, to support people who want to say, “I don’t believe in evolution, here are my reasons…” A second is to show people that there is indeed scientific evidence refuting evolution and supporting creation. Third, we hope to prompt people to consider evidence against evolution and supporting creation that they may have not known about before. Another purpose of QED is to equip Christians with resources so they can confidently stand up for the faith. Not only do we question the pronouncements of evolutionists, but again, we want them to honestly examine the evidence against evolution and supporting creation, and to question evolution themselves.

Here is a statement I believe most people can agree with:
We should have the intellectual, academic and professional freedoms, and freedom of speech, to express our views, without retaliation, suppression or repression. In our assessment of the scientific evidence, we see that it does not support evolution. Instead, the most logical conclusion is that there is a Creator.

In honor of QED 2016, we will be sharing a couple of podcasts discussing evolution from a Christian worldview. For Christians, there is absolutely no room for entertaining evolution in any way. There are many mainstream “Christian” celebrities who have capitulated to the false god of evolution, so we need to do our best to present what Scripture teaches.

Issues, Etc Podcasts on Evolution:

Intelligent Design (Duration: 28:30)
Dr. Jonathan Witt of the Acton Institute

“Intelligent Design Uncensored” by Dr. Jonathan Witt and Dr. William Dembski

Creation, Part 3: Creation and the New Testament (Duration: 40:30)
Dr. Joel Heck of Concordia University-Texas

“In the Beginning God: Creation from God’s Perspective” by Joel Heck

Alleged “Proofs” for Evolution (Duration: 26:30)
Pastor Joshua Schneider of Emmanuel Lutheran-Kahului, HI

 

John 1:1-18 (ESV) | The Word Became Flesh

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light.

The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.’”) For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.

In Christ Jesus,
Jorge