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.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

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

The Origins of Halloween and the Christian Response

Have you ever wondered where the holiday "Halloween" came from? Did you know that this holiday has origins both in Pre-Christian paganism and the Roman Catholic Church calendar? Did you know that the Protestant Reformation began on October 31st almost 500 years ago? As a Christian, it is important to understand the origins of this holiday and to place it in proper perspective. Therefore, this post will help to provide a Christian perspective to this interesting holiday.

Pre-Christian Pagan Origins

Halloween is originally based on the pagan

Gaelic festival entitled, Samhain (pronounced: sa:win). This was a harvest festival based on ancient Celtic polytheism. Samhain marked the end of the harvest, ending the "lighter half" of the year and beginning the "darker half". Some scholars believe that this festival was the beginning of the Celtic new year. Samhain in many ways resembles a festival of the dead; because during this celebration, the Gaelic people believed that participants could commune with those in the spirit world. In fact, the border between this world and the Spirit world became so thin during this celebration that they believed some would be caught up in the spirit world. The Gaelics had the custom of marking this festival by setting off many bonfires and wearing costumes and masks in an attempt to copy the spirits and placate them.

Association

with the Catholic Christian Calendar

The Catholic Church during its spread throughout the Roman Empire after Christianity became legal in the 4th Century had the practice of "Christianizing" pagan holidays so that Christianity would be more palatable to pagans. Thus, the Roman Catholic Church took the Roman festival of Lemuria and changed it into what is called "All Saints Day". Lemuria was a feast in the religion of ancient Rome during which Romans performed rites to exorcise the malevolent and fearful ghosts of the dead from their homes. This festival of the dead was celebrated around May 13th and became the Catholic All Saints' Day (which is still celebrated by Catholics today). This new "Christianized" holiday All Saints' Day commemorates all those who have attained the "beatific vision of Heaven." In other words it commemorates all of those who have made it out of purgatory into paradise. You can tell why this is a Catholic holiday. In the 8th Century, All Saint's Day was moved from May 13th on the Catholic Calendar to November 1 to coincide with the Gaelic festival of Sawhain (thus attempting to Christianize this festival as well - a Catholic version of killing two birds with one stone). Another holiday was then added on November 2nd entitled All Souls' Day, which is a day set aside by Catholics to pray for the faithful departed who are still consigned to Purgatory to pay for their venial sins. Thus, Catholics pray for their departed loved ones in a hope that they may assist in bringing them out of purgatory into heaven. Another name for All Saints' Day (on November 1) is All Hallows' Day (Hallow = Saint). Then, October 31st became known as All Hallow's Eve, which was then shortened to Hallow-even, thus Hallowe'en. Many of the pre-Christian pagan festivities were retained and celebrated during this Hallow's Eve day in, but then the Christian (Catholic) celebration was observed on the following two days.

October 31 and the Protestant Reformation

For Protestants, however, this day takes on a more unique significance. On October 31st, 1517, Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany, sparking the Protestant Reformation. Ironically, Luther's main concern in his 95 Theses was the use of indulgences (coin / money offerings given to the church) to bring loved ones out of purgatory. This, of course, is similar thinking to the concept of All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day. John Tetzel, the great Indulgence Salesman who prompted Luther's 95 Theses, was famous for saying, "Once a coin in the coffer rings, a soul from Purgatory springs." Due to the newly invented printing press, the nailed "95 Theses" was quickly printed and distributed throughout Germany and brought Luther into the radar of the Catholic Church. When Luther did not back down, he was asked to defend himself at the Diet of Worms in April of 1521, where he would not recant and only escaped death due to the protection provided by Prince Frederick and his exile to Wartburg Castle. Because Martin Luther sparked the Protestant Reformation on October 31st, 1517, many Protestants celebrate this day each year as "Reformation Day". It is a day of remembrance (officially celebrated mainly by Lutherans) held usually on the Sunday before October 31st. However, many other Protestant (including Evangelical) denominations have recently started seeing Reformation Day as a good alternative to Halloween.

Halloween Today

Halloween today has become largely a "secular" holiday that includes some seemingly innocent traditions as dressing up in costumes, trick-or-treating, jack-o-lanterns, fall festivals, bobbing for apples, haunted houses, and the like. However, the commercialization and increase in the TV media of the holiday has made Halloween a big business (sales each year average around $6 Billion). Cable-TV channels usually have special programming during the month of October leading up to the holiday that focuses on horror movies. Primetime drama and comedy programming on network television usually have Halloween themed shows. I realized the pervasiveness of this when just this evening I saw that the show Outsourced (an NBC comedy that follows an American who works as a manager in India for a call-center) had a Halloween based show tonight where there was a Halloween party in India. I need to research the practice of celebrating the holiday of Halloween in India.

An undercurrent of all these secular trends in Halloween is a fascination on death and ghoulish behavior. This fascination tends to do one of two things. It either tends to trivialize and mock death, thus taking the consequences and finality of death lightly, or it over-emphasizes and dwells too much on death making it overly gruesome and horrifying, feeding the secular (and non-Christian) fear of death. Another issue is that there is an abundance of occult and pagan practices that are either overtly practiced on this holiday or at least alluded to and toyed with. Neopaganism, although a small phenomenon, is making a comeback. Many are opting to go all the way back to the pagan roots and celebrate the pagan ritual of Samhain just as the Gaelics did over 1500 - 2000 years ago.

How should Christians deal with Halloween?

To say the least, a Christian response to the complex holiday of Halloween is tricky. The secular buy-in to this holiday is quite pervasive. Trick-or-treating and costume wearing is almost a community rite that is expected to include Christian participation. Christians (especially Evangelicals) have chosen to respond in various ways:

1. Total Refusal to Participate due to the tie-in to ancient paganism and the occult.

2. Further "Christianizing" through various ways:

a. Judgment Houses - where the church sponsors a haunted house that provides a glimpse into Heaven and Hell and is used as an evangelistic tool.

b. Fall Festivals: sponsored by churches to be a family friendly alternative (or addition to) trick-or-treating and is used as evangelistic opportunities.

c. Trunk or Treat - another evangelistic idea that ties into the tradition of trick-or-treating.

3. Deciding to celebrate Reformation Day instead of Halloween.

4. Playing along with the community in the holiday. Trick-or-treating with kids and handing out candy, but not going "all out".

5. Full acceptance and enjoyment of the holiday.

What is the best response? First, every Christian parent should be aware of the origins of the holiday and the dangers of the occult and ghoulish overtones in Halloween. Secondly, Christians should support any evangelical work that their church decides to do on this holiday to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ and provide a family friendly atmosphere to enjoy the holiday. Thirdly, as a Baptist and a Protestant, I believe we should set aside this day to also remember the heritage of Martin Luther and the significance of Reformation Day, commemorating October 31, 1517. Finally, we need to take the opportunity that Halloween gives to us to teach our children and fellow Christians the proper, Christian perspective on death. Death is an enemy, but it has been defeated and vanquished, not by divination, the occult, or pagan rituals, but by Jesus Christ. It is His death on the cross and His resurrection three days later that conquered the sting and fear of death. As it says in I Corinthians 15:54-58, "Death has been swallowed up in victory. O Death, where is your victory? O Death, where is your sting? Now the sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ! Therefore, my dear brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the Lord's work, knowing that our labor in the Lord is not in vain."

DFBC Fall Festival

The Dresden First Baptist Church Children's Ministry will be having our annual Fall Festival this Saturday from 5:00pm - 8:00pm. I encourage all of our AWANA clubbers and families to attend. See you there!

AWANA starts this Wednesday

The new club year of AWANA begins this Wednesday night at 6:00pm! We are very excited at DFBC and have a great year planned. I hope that all of our clubbers from the year before will make it out this Wednesday! We will have a great time of games, fun, and fellowship. We will also have a pizza party with watermelons and snowcones. I am sure that we will have a blast this week. You will not want to miss it!

See you there!

Sermon Tonight - Dresden First Baptist Church

Tonight, I will be continuing the Mark Sermon Series. This evening, we will be studying the miracles of Jesus found in Mark 1:29-45. The title of the sermon is, "Principles from Jesus' Mighty Acts".

I want to thank Brother Don and the church for allowing me the opportunity to preach on Wednesday nights this summer. I have thoroughly enjoyed the time with church members in lifting up prayer requests to the Lord and finishing up the 1 John series and beginning the Mark series.

I am happy to report that Brother Don will be back on Sunday after recuperating from his back surgery. He will be continuing his series in Jeremiah. We still need to be in prayer for Bro. Don while he gains more strength each day. Matt McCulley also had hernia surgery and he is recovering as well.

Looking forward to seeing everyone tonight. Blessings...

New Sermon Series

This past Sunday, I was privileged to preach at DFBC during the evening worship services.
We studied I John 5:18-21. This was the final sermon in the series / exposition of I John. It took from April 2009 - June 2010, during the off and on times I have been able to preach at DFBC to get through the 19 sermons, but we have done it. I hope that the church has been edified. Starting Wednesday, I will be starting a new series on the Gospel of Mark. It is my prayer that God be glorified in this new series. I am looking forward to it!

This Wednesday's passage will come from Mark 1:1-3.

1The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, (A)the Son of God.
2(B)As it is written in Isaiah the prophet:

"(C)BEHOLD, I SEND MY MESSENGER AHEAD OF YOU,
WHO WILL PREPARE YOUR WAY;
3(D)THE VOICE OF ONE CRYING IN THE WILDERNESS,
'MAKE READY THE WAY OF THE LORD,
MAKE HIS PATHS STRAIGHT.'"

Ever Wondered Why we Have a Valentine's Day?

Have you ever wondered why there is a Valentine's Day? I thought I would share the Wikipedia article on the origins of Valentine's Day. As you can see, there is little about "romantic love" that is associated with the founding of the holiday. It is all about Christianity and honoring martyred saints of the Roman Catholic Church. Food for thought.

Numerous early Christian martyrs were named Valentine. The Valentines honored on February 14 are Valentine of Rome (Valentinus presb. m. Romae) and Valentine of Terni (Valentinus ep. Interamnensis m. Romae). Valentine of Rome was a priest in Rome who was martyred about AD 269 and was buried on the Via Flaminia. His relics are at the Church of Saint Praxed in Rome, and at Whitefriar Street Carmelite Church in Dublin, Ireland.

Valentine of Terni became bishop of Interamna (modern Terni) about AD 197 and is said to have been martyred during the persecution under Emperor Aurelian. He is also buried on the Via Flaminia, but in a different location than Valentine of Rome. His relics are at the Basilica of Saint Valentine in Terni (Basilica di San Valentino).

The Catholic Encyclopedia also speaks of a third saint named Valentine who was mentioned in early martyrologies under date of February 14. He was martyred in Africa with a number of companions, but nothing more is known about him.

No romantic elements are present in the original early medieval biographies of either of these martyrs. By the time a Saint Valentine became linked to romance in the fourteenth century, distinctions between Valentine of Rome and Valentine of Terni were utterly lost.

In the 1969 revision of the Roman Catholic Calendar of Saints, the feastday of Saint Valentine on February 14 was removed from the General Roman Calendar and relegated to particular (local or even national) calendars for the following reason: "Though the memorial of Saint Valentine is ancient, it is left to particular calendars, since, apart from his name, nothing is known of Saint Valentine except that he was buried on the Via Flaminia on February 14." The feast day is still celebrated in Malta where relics of the saint are claimed to be found, and also throughout the world by Traditionalist Catholics who follow the older, pre-Vatican II calendar.

The Early Medieva acta of either Saint Valentine were excerpted by Bede and briefly expounded in Legenda Aurea. According to that version, St Valentine was persecuted as a Christian and interrogated by Roman Emperor Claudius II in person. Claudius was impressed by Valentine and had a discussion with him, attempting to get him to convert to Roman paganism in order to save his life. Valentine refused and tried to convert Claudius to Christianity instead. Because of this, he was executed. Before his execution, he is reported to have performed a miracle by healing the blind daughter of his jailer.

Legenda Aurea still providing no connections whatsoever with sentimental love, appropriate lore has been embroidered in modern times to portray Valentine as a priest who refused an unattested law attributed to Roman Emperor Claudius II, allegedly ordering that young men remain single. The Emperor supposedly did this to grow his army, believing that married men did not make for good soldiers. The priest Valentine, however, secretly performed marriage ceremonies for young men. When Claudius found out about this, he had Valentine arrested and thrown in jail. In an embellishment to The Golden Legend provided by American Greetings, Inc. to History.com and widely repeated, on the evening before Valentine was to be executed, he wrote the first "valentine" himself, addressed to a young girl variously identified as his beloved, as the jailer's daughter whom he had befriended and healed, or both. It was a note that read "From your Valentine."

Bible Reading Plan

Dear Church Members,

I hope that you have started the Bible Reading Plan for the 2010 Calendar Year. This year, we are following Robert Murray M'Cheyne's Bible Reading plan. This consists of four chapters a day - two from the New Testament and Two from the Old Testament. This will get you through the entire Bible in One Year! This month of January, we will be reading in the books of Genesis, Matthew, Ezra, and Acts. By the end of the month, we will have read through the entire book of Matthew, Ezra, Nehemiah, and Acts. There is also the option of having two of the readings each day to be family reading in a family devotional setting. This is a great way to get your family involved in the daily discipline of reading Scripture. I hope that this will be profitable to everyone.

Blessings, Joshua

Funny Picture at Southern Seminary

There is a Catholic Church in Louisville close by the Seminary called Holy Spirit Catholic Church. I like one of the signs that it has by the parking lot entrances. Thought everyone would like it.

At Southern Seminary in Louisville, KY

I am at school this week at Southern Seminary and I thought that I would share a couple of pictures of the campus. Every time I am here, I simply get in a "scholastic frame of mind". I love this campus, it is so beautiful to me.

Conversion Day

Today marks the twentieth anniversary of my public profession in the Lord Jesus Christ. To commemorate this event in my life, I like to each year read the full hymn of "O For a Thousand Tongues to Sing", which Charles Wesley wrote on one of the anniversaries of his conversion. The hymn actually has many more stanzas than we normally sing. Please read the full hymn below. Thanks be to God and the Lord Jesus Christ for such a gift of grace!

O for a thousand tongues to sing
My great Redeemer’s praise,
The glories of my God and King,
The triumphs of His grace!

My gracious Master and my God,
Assist me to proclaim,
To spread through all the earth abroad
The honors of Thy name.

Jesus! the name that charms our fears,
That bids our sorrows cease;
’Tis music in the sinner’s ears,
’Tis life, and health, and peace.

He breaks the power of canceled sin,
He sets the prisoner free;
His blood can make the foulest clean,
His blood availed for me.

He speaks, and, listening to His voice,
New life the dead receive,
The mournful, broken hearts rejoice,
The humble poor believe.

Hear Him, ye deaf; His praise, ye dumb,
Your loosened tongues employ;
Ye blind, behold your Savior come,
And leap, ye lame, for joy.

In Christ your Head, you then shall know,
Shall feel your sins forgiven;
Anticipate your heaven below,
And own that love is heaven.

Glory to God, and praise and love
Be ever, ever given,
By saints below and saints above,
The church in earth and heaven.

On this glad day the glorious Sun
Of Righteousness arose;
On my benighted soul He shone
And filled it with repose.

Sudden expired the legal strife,
’Twas then I ceased to grieve;
My second, real, living life
I then began to live.

Then with my heart I first believed,
Believed with faith divine,
Power with the Holy Ghost received
To call the Savior mine.

I felt my Lord’s atoning blood
Close to my soul applied;
Me, me He loved, the Son of God,
For me, for me He died!

I found and owned His promise true,
Ascertained of my part,
My pardon passed in heaven I knew
When written on my heart.

Look unto Him, ye nations, own
Your God, ye fallen race;
Look, and be saved through faith alone,
Be justified by grace.

See all your sins on Jesus laid:
The Lamb of God was slain,
His soul was once an offering made
For every soul of man.

Awake from guilty nature’s sleep,
And Christ shall give you light,
Cast all your sins into the deep,
And wash the Æthiop white.

Harlots and publicans and thieves
In holy triumph join!
Saved is the sinner that believes
From crimes as great as mine.

Murderers and all ye hellish crew
In holy triumph join!
Believe the Savior died for you;
For me the Savior died.

With me, your chief, ye then shall know,
Shall feel your sins forgiven;
Anticipate your heaven below,
And own that love is heaven.

Reclaiming a Merry Christmas

When did Christmas become like it is today? This is going to be a rambling post, but here it goes.

As a young boy and teenager, I did not mind the commercialization of Christmas, for I always enjoyed opening gifts at Christmas and cherished it as one of the greatest days of the year, one where my wishes for new toys, video games, clothes, candy, cash, and other great items came true. I would then spend the next week while off from school enjoying the gifts that I had received. It was always a highlight! Sure, as a Christian, I understood the deeper meaning of Christmas, that it was the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ and enjoyed the festivities at church each year. But as I have grown older, Christmas has become complicated. Now, I have a hard time answering the question, "What makes Christmas merry?" It seems that America's answer to this question would not line up with the biblical ideal.

What happened? Well, in my own life, the realization that there has been a secular backlash against the political incorrectness of celebrating Jesus' birth came a couple of years ago. During that Christmas season, JC Penny had an advertisement that had the music to Joy to the World in the background. But it was not the Christian version. It was the song "Joy to the World" sung by Three Dog Night which starts, "Jeremiah was a bullfrog...". When I heard that, it hit me, Christmas is no longer about Jesus Christ in this country. This year, the similar effect on me occurred when I first saw the jewelry commercial on television where a couple is skating on a frozen pond and the man intentionally falls down to give a Christmas gift to his love as she comes to his aid. The song in

the background? "I've got you babe" by Sonny and Cher.

It seems to me (I could be way off base here) that the focus has shifted from the celebration of the incarnation of Jesus Christ and the focus on charitable giving and philanthropy to a focus on the gift giving within the immediate and extended family with little or no giving to those in need. Yes, we give side notice to the plight of the poor, but the focus is on what little Johnny is getting for Christmas from Santa. When did Santa Claus go from gift-giver of the poor to gift-giver to good boys and

girls divorced from its Christian origin? This I think is the key. The change in the legend of Santa Claus in the nineteenth and twentieth-centuries, especially in America, moved Santa Claus from the category of charity to the category of giving children the toys of their dreams and all they had to do was be good. Here is the problem with this picture:

Santa Claus' other name - Saint Nicholas is based on the Christian bishop, Saint Nicholas of Myra who died in 346 A.D. He is famous for two things. First, he was a defender of Orthodoxy who in 325 A.D. at the Council of Nicaea, tradition holds that he punched the heretic Arius after Arius repudiated the deity of Christ. Also, and this gets more to the issue of Christmas, he was renowned for his charity to the POOR. He is especially well-known for donating money to three destitute, young women's dowries so that they could get married, and thus he prevented them from a life of prostitution. The name of Santa Claus comes from the Dutch "Sinterklaas" which is a hybrid of the St. Nicholas tradition and the Norse myths surrounding the god Odin. I recommend that you go to Wikipedia.com and research the origins of Santa Claus.

But, before digressing into a Santa = Satan discussion, let's answer the problem of reclaiming a Merry Christmas. Here is a list of ideas that I recommend:

1. Remember that Christmas is a festival about the INCARNATION of CHRIST = God incarnate. This is the greatest event in human history. We should focus everything / filter everything around this central and glorious truth! Glory be to God!

2. Unapologetically say "Merry Christmas" to everyone - don't worry about political correctness.

3. Celebrate the spirit of giving by investing your time in participating in charitable activities - especially giving to the poor or participating with organizations that do.

4. Celebrate your family! Spend time with your family!

5. Don't get sucked into the commercialization of Christmas. Resist it. Give gifts with meaning and purpose.

I am sure that there are many more tips and recommendations to make a Merry Christmas, but the greatest way to make this Christmas merry is to celebrate your relationship with Christ. The most merry Christmas comes with being a redeemed follower of the Christ who was born on the night that split history.

Merry Christmas!

A Conversion of Sorts

I have recently made the plunge and have bought an Apple MacBook. The last time I owned an Apple was never, because I was in elementary school the last time I used one. My fondest memory of Apple computers was playing Oregon Trail. I cannot count the times I died of dysentery on the game - not even knowing what that was. It certainly is a change in computing. I am enjoying it so far. I am thankful that Microsoft has a version of Microsoft Office that is compatible with Apple Mac's.

I put the logo of Apple on the blog post for a reason. The logo is of an apple with a bite out of it. I seriously doubt that this is the motive behind the logo, but whenever I look at the image, I am reminded of the fallenness of humanity - that Adam and Eve took of the fruit from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil and sinned. Just thought I would throw that imagery out there.

James vs. Paul? The dynamic between Faith and Works

For those who were not at the service on Sunday, I preached on James 2:14-17. James 2:14-17 states this:

“What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.”


Is James contradicting Paul here? James goes on to say specifically Abraham and Rahab were justified by works in verses 21-26. Paul states in Romans 3:23-27 that we are justified freely by grace and the propitiation of Christ Jesus our Lord (“for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God and are justified freely by his grace, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.") Many in scholarship today and in the past saw no way to reconcile James and Paul. What about James and Jesus? James was a half-brother of our Lord, but some could say that James and Jesus both teach a justification by works and Paul teaches a justification by faith. Look at Matthew 5:17-20:

Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Therefore, whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of Heaven.

How do we reconcile this? The words justify, righteous, and righteousness all come from the same root Greek word - dikaios. Justify in Greek is simply the verbal form of the word righteous. To justify is to make righteous. So when Jesus says that unless our righteousness / justification exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven and James says that Abraham and Rahab were justified by works and faith without works are dead, how do we reconcile that with Romans 3-6?

First, we need to realize that the way Jesus and James define and use the word justification is different than the way Paul uses it. James uses the term to refer to an expression of the faith that is in you. The justification is an evidence or a proof of saving faith. And thus, what Abraham did in his agreeing to sacrifice Isaac or Rahab in assisting the spies was to evidence the saving faith that they already possessed. Genesis 15:6 records that when Abram believed in the covenant that God made to him, Abraham believed the Lord, and God counted it to Abram as righteousness. The event referenced in James about the almost sacrifice of Isaac did not occur until Genesis 22. Therefore, Abraham was already justified by faith in Genesis 15, 7 chapters before he was "justified by works". You see how James is using this term differently - as an evidence or a proof. Regarding the Matthew 5 passage in the Sermon on the Mount, my ESV study bible notes (written Michael J. Wilkins) state this (this is not gospel but I agree with him):

"Jesus calls his disciples to a different kind and quality of righteousness than that of the scribes and Pharisees. They took pride in outward conformity to many extrabiblical regulations but still had impure hearts. But KINGDOM righteousness works from the inside out because it first produces changed hearts and new motivations (see Rom. 6:17; 2 Cor. 5:17; Gal. 5:22-23; Phil. 2:12; Heb. 8:10), so that the actual conduct of Jesus' followers does in fact 'exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees.'"

This is deep stuff - BUT IT IS CRITICAL. The idea of justification by grace through faith because of the propitiatory work of Christ on the Cross (Propitiation is another word for ATONEMENT) is so mind boggling that we many times cannot grasp the concept even after salvation. Last night during class as we were going through Romans, my professor Dr. Steven Carlson mentioned this (in paraphrase):

Works righteousness and the idea that you can earn salvation or favor from God through works is the default religious view of fallen humanity. After the fall, there was within us a desire to still commune with God and to get back to that relationship. The problem is that in our fallen state, we by default assume that it is through "being good" or "good works" that this comes about. Thus, every religion in the world assumes works righteousness leads to salvation except Christianity (and I suppose Hinduism / Buddhism, which simply denies that sin exists, which is why it is so popular today).

Many of us who have lived within an evangelical context read the previous statements and say, "Sure, we get that you are saved by grace through faith and not by works, what else is new?"

But the following is what I think the hidden danger of legalism in the church:

Are you a closet legalist? A closet legalist is one that believes in salvation by grace through faith and not by works but once saved does good works to either reap the blessings of God or stave off the chastisement of God. We may think this is a proper reading of Scripture, but it robs us of the God of Scripture. It makes our God out to be some cosmic ogre demanding repayment of a stifling debt or a divine Santa Claus “making a list and checking it twice to see who’s been naughty or nice!”

NO – WE DO GOOD WORKS, WE ARE CHARITABLE, WE ARE LOVING, WE ARE OBEDIENT BECAUSE WE HAVE BEEN BORN AGAIN, WE ARE A NEW CREATION, CREATED IN CHRIST JESUS FOR GOOD WORKS AND OUR GOOD WORKS IS OUR HIGHEST FORM OF WORSHIP THAT WE CAN GIVE TO A GOD WHO SAVES!!!!!! Any other faith, any other work/deed that is not rooted in CHRIST and for his glory is DEAD.


In the Heidelberg Catechism question 86 says this: “Since we are redeemed from our sin and its consequences by grace through Christ without any merit of our own, why must we do good works?” In other words, if salvation is by grace, why be good? The answer that the catechism gives is very instructive: “So that with our whole life we may show ourselves grateful to God for his goodness and that he may be glorified through us.” We offer service to the kingdom of God not to gain his affection but in loving thankfulness for his affection. (Question 86, pulled from Bryan Chapell, Christ-Centered Preaching, p. 314)

It is my prayer that Christian evangelicalism will have a revival during the coming decades that will reclaim the true Gospel teaching of faith-righteousness in Christ Jesus. We truly are a new creation, the old has gone and the new has come. All this is from GOD WHO THROUGH CHRIST RECONCILED US TO HIMSELF AND GAVE US THE MINISTRY OF RECONCILIATION (II Cor. 5:17-18).

Amen, Christ Jesus is Lord to the glory of God the Father from everlasting to everlasting!