Blog Moved

My blog has moved to my new website: joshuatmoore.com powered by WordPress effective June 13th, 2011. All blog entries and comments have been transferred to the new site.

Thank you!

The Christian's Reward

I have a pondering that I will continue to ruminate for weeks to come. One of the dangers that Christians always face in our lives is the temptation of legalism. One of the lasting statements that impacted me in my seminary courses was this: "there are two manifestations of the flesh. First, and more obvious, is the natural inclination to sin and follow after worldly desires and impulses. The second one, however, is less obvious, yet all the more prevalent. The second manifestation of the flesh is the natural tendency towards self-righteousness and the belief that we can gain righteousness and God's blessing on our own merits." This, of course, is legalism, pure and simple.

One of the aspects of the Christian life that has been bugging me lately is the question concerning how our works and personal righteousness will be rewarded in heaven. How are we rewarded in heaven? Is there a correlation between binding and loosing in heaven? In other words, is there an eternal significance tied to our works on earth? Will our eternal authority, pleasures, privileges, and STAKE (so to speak) be contingent upon our holiness in this life? If this is the case, does this jive with the gospel? What is the Scriptures teaching concerning our reward in heaven?

One of the old-time Southern Gospel hymns that I sang growing up was entitled, "Mansions Over the Hilltop". Here is an example of the power of translation. For, the King James Version states in John 14:2 that Jesus says, "In my father's house, there are many mansions." Hence this consideration, "How big is my mansion going to be?" Is that contingent upon my walk with Christ? Is that contingent upon my personal holiness and devotion? The HCSB translates the verse this way, "In my father's house, there are many dwelling places." The NIV translates it, "In my father's house, there are many rooms". It seems in the context of this passage, that Jesus is referring to the house of God. Using this imagery, we can see that God's house is BIG. It does not follow then, that Jesus would be saying that there are mansions within a house, for usually a mansion is not a part of the house, it is the house. In our sense of the term, the mansion would be the whole (whereas a room would be the part), just as a house would be considered the whole. Therefore, it makes sense to see that the mansion in view here is the MANSION of God; and it has a BUNCH of rooms! This passage indicates that Jesus is going to prepare a place for YOU, believer, in the house of God. It seems in evangelical Christianity, there is a lot of emphasis on Christian reward - streets of gold, mansions in glory, jewels in the crown, bliss, and happiness.

However, I would contend that this fascination on PERSONAL reward and glory in heaven misses the point of the gospel. For, what is the true reward of the Christian? Should it not be considered that the GREATEST reward that can be given to us by God is ETERNAL LIFE? The gospel of Jesus Christ is this: we were created to have a relationship with God that was pure and holy, where we completely do his will for his glory in perfect harmony and relationship and live forever. However, we rebelled against God and suffered the consequences of sin and death. Christ Jesus, the God man, came to this earth to be our substitutionary death and punishment for sin so that we can have a restored relationship with God and to have eternal life. We have received our adoption as sons of God through our faith in Christ Jesus in the power of the Holy Spirit. Yet, we await the consummation of Christ's return to be fully glorified in our relationship with God and in our inheritance of eternal life. The gospel points to us that the KEY reward that we have in heaven is perfect relationship with our Creator and ETERNAL LIFE! Think about this: does it not make sense that the GREATEST fulfillment in life is to have life eternal and a relationship that fully and perfectly glorifies and honors God in all that we do, in which we are fully and perfectly satisfied in our selves, our work, and our relationships?

The Christian's reward of Eternal Life and Perfect Relationship with Yahweh God is what will make heaven, heaven. Everything else will pale in comparison. Jesus was telling his disciples that he was about to leave, and Thomas wanted to know where he was going. Jesus responded that he was going to prepare a place for us. This place is a place where we will never see death again and we will live forever in perfect peace and harmony with the God who created us and loves us.

I'm back!

I have taken a long hiatus from writing blog posts due to the need to finish up my Masters of Divinity degree from Southern Seminary. Now that this degree has been completed, I can resume writing in this blog and will be more active in the social networking scene. It is amazing how long it has been since I have posted anything on Twitter or Facebook before finishing up at Southern. I am looking forward to this new chapter in my life.


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The Divine - Human Relationship - putting things in the right perspective

I am reading Bruce Ware's God's Greater Glory: The Exulted God of Scripture and the Christian Faith for my Systematic Theology I class. In my reading today, I came across a paragraph that puts our relationship with God truly in perspective. This should do nothing but humble us:

Understanding rightly our relationship with God must begin with the supremacy, the superiority, the sovereignty, and the self-sufficiency of God. Our urge to have a relationship with God just like we do with a good friend falters right here! Like it or not (and, by the way, by God's grace we should and shall like it if we do not now), this is not a relationship among equals, nor is it even a relationship with one older and wiser than myself. Rather, this relationship is radically unlike any human relationship, and one for which no explanation exists on the human level. Why would the divine partner in this relationship care to be in relationship with another? For in this relationship, one Member of the relationship knows absolutely everything (and this is not a hyperbolic expression in this case), and the other knows far less than he thinks. One Member has perfect foresight and knows every detail of what the future holds, and the other has difficulty knowing where to lay hands on his keys before he heads to the car. One Member has such perfect wisdom, insight, and discernment that there never has been a time in his entire history (a long one at that!) that his plans have proved misguided or his judgment has been askew, while the other member of the relationship through himself wise once when he figure out a clever shortcut to take, until he ended up on a long dead-end road! One Member possesses every quality or perfection in his being both infinitely and intrinsically, while the other possesses only a miniscule amount and only then because any and all of it has been graciously given to hin by the One who has it all! One Member cannot make a rock bigger than he can lift, because his power to do anything he chooses simply cannot be limited, while the other has difficulty most mornings making it out of bed, much less getting in his coffee and devotions and morning run. One Member is absolutely honest, completely trustworthy, never breaks a promise, always keeps his word, is always on (his) time, and always does his work exactly right, every time, while the other...well, let's just say that they other doesn't fare well here. (Bruce Ware, God's Greater Glory, 164.)

Thank you to the DFBC Children's Committee

I want to give a HUGE thank you to the children's committee at Dresden First Baptist Church. They put on what I think is the best Fall Festival yet at Dresden First. It was highly attended and everyone seemed to have a blast.

I know how much effort and planning and logistics goes into making this event happen every year and I simply want to say THANK YOU!

And the most popular baby boys' name in England is...

You may already know this but were you aware that the most popular baby boy's name in England is now Mohammed.

Check out this article:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/10/27/mohammed-britains-most-po_n_775145.html

This is very interesting and shows the state of Christianity in England. We need to pray for a revival of Evangelical Christianity in England, the country that gave us Baxter, Wesley, Newton, Wilberforce, Whitfield, and so many others.

Quote that convicts me

"The person who prays more in public than in private reveals that he is less interested in God's approval than in human praise. Not piety but a reputation for piety is his concern." - D.A. Carson