Legal and/or Moral

I would like to look at a couple of verses today that I have been meditating upon in light of a full gambit of social issues. From the Supreme Court's decision to allow due process in gay marriage to Tom Brady and "inflate gate," to MTV's soft-porn music award show, the morality war is fighting battles on all fronts. I've noted a distinct pattern in two passages that I've color coated for visual clarity.  

Psalm 51:4, "Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are proved right when you speak and justified when you judge."

Isaiah 5:20-23, "Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter. 21 Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and clever in their own sight. 22 Woe to those who are heroes at drinking wine and champions at mixing drinks, 23 who acquit the guilty for a bribe, but deny justice to the innocent." 

In Psalm 51 we have the repentant song of David. He had committed adultery against his other wives (that was kind of weird writing that statement), manipulated Bathsheba's then husband into coming home and sleeping with her so he wouldn't find out she was pregnant by another man, and eventually David (passively) killed him by putting him on the front lines of a war.

When David was confronted by the prophet Nathan he didn't deny it. He didn't point to the culture and try and justify it. He didn't point to his own authority and challenge it. He understood where the definition of morality - right and wrong - comes from. 

Isaiah writes another song that demonstrates how far the people had left the spiritual moorings of their faith. It was a call to come back to the God who determines those moral foundations. 

When society becomes its own god determining what is right and what is wrong it will disintegrate. It is not a society that evolves into what is best for all humanity; it devolves into a base planet where everyone does what is right in his or her own eyes. Laws mean nothing.

I watched a movie where a seminary professor in the late 1800's traveled by time machine into the modern day era. (Yes, it was a bit corny but it had a good message). He was about to pay for a hot dog and a little girl came up behind him and stole it. He finally caught her in a park and said, "Little girl, don't you know its wrong to steal." She said, "Who says!" Point made. In a world where their is no god who makes up the rules? Every changing society?

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said that you cannot legislate morality but it sure is a good way to keep an man from being hung. This works as long as the law reflects the heart of God. What is moral at the moment is the subjective preference of the majority. What happens when the laws do not reflect the morals of the secular majority or even the secular vocal minority? They will keep changing. We have laws that are becoming reflective of an anti-God world. Often these are done for the sake of "love" or "fairness" or "equality" - all the things that find their true bearing in the person of God, not a devolving society. 

I was listening to a couple of sports commentators talking about Tom Brady and "inflate gate." One of them said, "Just because something is legally justified doesn't make it morally right." Wow! What a statement! What a clarification of the real issue. 

We are increasingly living in a society that is calling what God has defined as good evil, and what God has defined as evil as good. This is taking place from the chief justices of the Supreme Court all the way down to the local pastors in God's churches. They are replacing light with darkness. They are convincing people that bitter is sweet and sweet is bitter, up is down, down is up, right is left and left is right, the sky is green and the grass is blue. 

The world will keep moving to a place of utter self-absorption and selfishness. Many have tried the "utopian" ideal but they are left with the sinfulness of man to contend with. There is a way that seems right to a man but the end leads to death (Proverbs 14:12).

My exhortation is to the Church. Have we asked the question, "Why do I believe in a specific moral position?" Is it because it is stated in the Scriptures and modeled by Jesus or is it simply a religious preference?  Sometimes it is hard to cut away our own cultural preference from what we believe is the moral way of God. Let us pray for the conviction of the truth found in the Scriptures and ask for wisdom to navigate the coming moral storms.

To a Dear Friend

"STEWART WU, M.D. Stewart Wu, M. D. was born in Guangzhou Province, China, on December 8, 1928 and passed away in Chicago, IL, on June 21, 2015. He grew up in China, where he attended Pui-Ching Boys School and Lingnan University in Hong Kong. He came to the U.S. in 1949 to attend Oklahoma Baptist University followed by the Wake Forest University Bowman Gray School of Medicine. Dr. Wu and his wife, Fannie, settled in Valparaiso, where he practiced as a surgeon.He served on the board of several Christian mission organizations, many of them focused on evangelism or aid to China, and offered free medical clinics at churches in both Valparaiso and Chicago's Chinatown. Following his retirement in 1996, he devoted his time and energy to mission work. At home in Valparaiso, he hosted Bible studies in his home every Sunday afternoon for international students attending Valparaiso University, becoming a beloved mentor and surrogate uncle for many students and university faculty and staff. In China, Dr. Wu traveled, often with recruits from Chicago, to remote villages where people living in primitive conditions had little or no access to medical care. There he offered both healthcare and soul care, explaining the story and sacrifice of Jesus Christ to a people he dearly loved.  He is remembered as a kind and gentle, self-effacing and generous man, who was devoted to God and family. All his life, he obeyed the Great Commission given by Jesus to his followers in Matthew 28:19: "…go and make disciples of all nations…" He will be sorely missed." 

As a young man in ministry, Dr. Wu took me under his wing. He was at least thirty years my senior and I found it a bit weird that he would take a liking to a white farm kid new to the ministry. I wasn't the one who initiated the relationship. He sought me out. I had no interest in the Asian community at that time and it was all quite foreign to me. But...who wouldn't love a trip into Chicago to visit the non-tourist side of China town. He always told me that it was to get some Chinese spices for his wife but I knew better. He liked the food. I told him on one of our forays into town that he better not have a heart attack and die because I would never find my way out. I also remember the first time we did go into one of those back alley grocery stores...the one's where the ducks were freshly killed right out front and hung in the store window - the clerk hosing down the blood into the street sewers. Talk about culture shock! Then came lunch with food I could never pronounce - food I had never eaten before nor I think, since then. Shark fin soup and barbecued rooster feet were not on the main menu in my mother's kitchen. 

I often wonder if Dr. Wu had a divine secret from God regarding my life's journey. He ended up introducing me to the three most preeminent Chinese leaders in North America and to author and apologist Dr. Samuel Ling who gave me a four volume commentary on ministering to Chinese in America. Boy did that come in handy about 16 year later. Lesson:  Never give away your books and take note of important people that you "randomly" meet. Almost three years into serving the people at Chinese Faith Baptist Church and I am thankful for the divine humor of it all. 

Looking forward to seeing you at the trumpet call of God and the return of our Savior, Dr. Wu. For old times sake I'll have to go to a good Chinese bakery in honor of you sometime soon. I'd go for some dim sum but I still wouldn't know how to order. 

Grace and Truth

John 1:14,  "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth." 

I don't think anyone was surprised by the Supreme Court's decision last week. When a secular system is set to redefine a sacred institution it will most likely be in favor of the secular populace. I am not upset about the ruling. I am upset with the Church in America (myself included) who for the last one hundred years has sat silently by and watched our country slide into a secular state and a redefined Christianity.  

I vividly remember back in the early 1990's Answers in Genesis founder, Ken Hamm, coming to our church in Indiana. He expressed then the idea that the Church in America was failing in its mission. He said that the Church is fighting the wrong battles then and I concur now.  

Is marriage an important matter? Clearly it is. But its not as important as telling people that God loves them, they have been created in His image for a divine purpose, and that they can be forgiven and at peace through Jesus Christ. It's not as important as defending the divine inspiration and truth of the Bible (where our morality finds it record of origin and is practically defined). 

People get married at the Justice of the Peace/Courthouse all the time. I don't care. Truth be told more people are simply living together than getting married anymore. Quite frankly, I wonder if the institution itself is on a road to extinction. I do care if it is someone who professes to know Christ because what we do in life is sacred and set apart for God's glory and as a witness to our world. 

In a church that I pastored years ago I had a young couple who just started attending and then suddenly left. They were not married and claimed to be believers.  But...sin entered into their relationship and she became pregnant. They were too ashamed to tell anyone and decided to leave the church and get married at the courthouse. I called on them on a Friday and learned of their decision to get married that day. I told them to meet me at the church. I asked my church secretary to round up some flowers and a few more witnesses (those in the building at the time) and we had ourselves a wedding - a proper wedding. 

It was proper not because we were in a church or that they were standing before a pastor agreeing to some pre-written wedding vows with a pronouncement of "by the authority given to me by the state of...". It was proper because they were able to know forgiveness from each other and forgiveness from God through the Word of God. It was proper because it became sacred - a testimony to the creative act of oneness divinely flowing from the heart of God. Proper because the Creator God was not only the true officiant but the witness and welcomed guest. Proper because they understood that their union was more that a social contract; it was a picture of the God-head. They started their life together with God's blessings instead of the well-wishes of a county clerk or judge. 

As followers of Christ we have to be people of grace...and truth. I believe that it has to be in that order. When Jesus met the Samaritan woman at the well he offered her the gift of life - grace - before he revealed the truth about her sinful relationships. Grace and truth...

Grace draws people to the cross and the cross is where the Holy Spirit heightens the process of spiritual diagnosis. What did Jesus actually die for? Sin. What sin?  My sin. What sin? Stop speaking in generalities. Jesus died for my sinful pride. Jesus died for my lying tongue. Jesus died for my adulterous eyes.  Jesus died for my love of money. Jesus died for my...[put in every violation of God's law you can think of].  I have come to the cross and with tears have humbly fallen at his feet clinging to my dead Savior, my sin bearer. And yet, I have only touched the surface of my unholiness, of the depth of depravity that Jesus absorbed into his body and soul on my behalf. I have come knowing in my spirit that there is something intensely wrong between God and myself. I do not fully understand the magnitude of that truth but I know enough to plead for his mercy and grace. I have only started to understand the restorative work of righteousness connecting me to new life. 

But now something wonderful and equally difficult begins to happen. The Holy Spirit of God is set on making me holy. And so he begins to reveal things about my life, habits, practices, beliefs, relationships...that are not in keeping with holiness. He is convicting me of truths that I have been ignorant of or rebellious to. Grace....truth.  

I used to be disgusted by gay men...until I met one. I found out that he had the same universal dreams that I had. He wanted to be loved. He wanted a family. He wanted to be accepted in the church like every other broken sinner. He wanted me to know that he was struggling with his sexuality, his same-sex attraction, and had doubts about God's love in the midst of that struggle. We were both sinners saved by grace, wrestling with revealed truth, hoping that God's love was still extended in the midst of our personal failures. We didn't debate about whether this was genetic or chemical or social or freewill. We both just wanted to experience Jesus and acceptance. 

I didn't have to convince him that homosexuality was a sin. I didn't have to convince him that this world is broken on multiple fronts and in multiple layers. It is the complexity of the problem. We are trying to convince people of the truth before they can experience God's grace. We are trying to convince them of an ideal when they have no concept of what that is and why that is. Those issues are all grace and truth related. The problem, however, is that this "truth" is not a "truth" in our world and is an "inconsistent truth" in the Church. There is confusion about grace and truth. 

In my spirit, I can offer him grace because the most important subject is not homosexuality; it is Jesus and a person's relationship with him. I can offer him grace because I have Christian heterosexual brothers and sisters who are divorcing at alarming rates and often for unbiblical reasons. We can't even agree on this matter with unity. I can offer grace because I have confidence in the convicting, cleansing, guiding role of the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth, in this matter. 

Do I believe that homosexuality is a sin? I believe that any covenant marriage relationship or sexual relationship outside of the one God designed in paradise between a man and woman falls short of that ideal. This is not an issue of hate and denying the right to love. This is not a homophobic reaction to my personal preference. It is an attempt to follow the divine design that most effectively portrays and witnesses to the Creator God. It is about pointing people to Christ and allowing the Holy Spirit to convict and guide in these difficult issues. It is about floundering and often failing to figure out how to do both grace and truth when grace is welcomed and truth is painful, even truth said in love. 

Unfortunately we don't live in paradise. Unfortunately we have to figure out how to live in a fallen world where truth and grace seem to some a bit obscure and open for interpretation. Fortunately, our Savior died to restore that ideal and someday....we won't have to struggle with grace and truth. We shall see Him face to face. 

For a strong apologetic and biblical approach to the subject of homosexuality see Homosexuality:  Contemporary Claims Examined in Light of the Bible and Other Ancient Literature and Law by Dr. James B. DeYoung.  Published by Kregel, 2000. See also The Truth About Same-Sex Marriage:  Six Things You Need to Know About What's Really at Stake by Dr. Erwin Lutzer. Moody Publishers, 2004.

Yellow Finch

1 Corinthians 13:12, "Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known."

I have been amused lately by a little yellow finch (I think  - I'm not up on my birds; its yellow and its little and its the only little yellow bird that I know so...its a yellow finch).  

Every morning I sit out in my swing to do a bit of studying and I hear this ruckus. It is this little bird slamming into a parked car across the street. He starts from the tree and heads for the side mirror. It bangs into it a few times then floats up to the windshield wear he bangs a few more times. He's been doing this for the last week...every day. 

He has found a new friend, an enemy, or a mate. There is hope, fear, or relief. Unfortunately the relationship will go no further because...well...quite frankly, its his own reflection. What a stupid bird! 

Unfortunately, I find I have the same malady. How often do I bang my head against immovable objects (metaphorically speaking) thinking that they will produce something new?  Hope. Fear. Relief. All the while they are merely a reflection of me. There is nothing new here except that I see myself for the first time and...I don't recognize who I have become. 

I'm trying to figure out if that is a good thing...

It may just be for the birds. 

The Nature of Things

"The land produced vegetation:  plants bearing seed after their own kind and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good." 

I just finished a dazzling and dizzying work by Eastern Orthodox reformer, Alexander Schmemann, For the Life of the World.  Ever since I first felt the divine nudge to study Eastern Orthodox theology I have enjoyed the works of Schmemann and this work was not disappointing. Schmemann's main interest was in Eastern Orthodox liturgy and the reverse reflection of liturgy giving meaning to theological concepts rather than theology giving meaning to liturgical concepts. 

As good Baptists we celebrated communion on the first Sunday of the month (as we know the apostles did and with mini wafers and miniature wine goblets as chasers). I continue to struggle in how I represent this wonderful concept to my church family. It is easy to simply opt for the Zwinglian commemorative definition. We remember the death of Christ like we remember our monthly cable bill is due. My intent here is not to trivialize but to distinguish. I can't live without my cable ; - ).  

It does beg the question of whether I can live without communion (the Eucharist) and in even calling for the question reveals how little I and honestly, most of the church understand about this divine sacrament/ordinance. 

I could go up one more tier to the Calvinistic/Reformed position where Christ is somehow mystically present but it still doesn't press into the reality and necessity of participating in such a glorious act. 

Alexander, being Orthodox, holds to a transubstantiation position where the elements become the literal body and blood of Jesus. But I have misspoken and he would force me to reread his work if he were sitting next to me. Theology does not inform liturgy but liturgy informs theology. His point:  it is a divine mystery that is connected to the very nature, the true nature of things. And this language of mystery and worship (liturgy) is what defines the act and gives definitions to our feeble attempts with words. 

The bread, from the grain of the earth, reflects the divine Eucharist or Thanksgiving for which it was originally designed. It was to be used to bless man and produce thanksgiving from the lips of man. 

The wine or grape juice, the fruit of the vine, reflects the Eucharist for which it was designed. To bless and produce thanksgiving. 

The true nature of all things was to bless and produce worship. And from this position of liturgy, things, both human and non-human, find their point of reference and meaning. 

It is in the divine mystery of symbol that we are connected to the Creator, the person of Jesus. In my hand I hold the bread of Life that represents the blessing of God to man and my Thanksgiving for such a blessing. It is the idea that not only the bread and the wine have been restored to their true reality and nature but that through the love of Christ, I have too. 

In my hand...this little square piece of often stale cracker and this little bit of juice represents a fully restored creation - declared and anticipated in its future reality through the willing sacrifice of the Son of God. 

Now that's better than cable television. 

Fence Posts

"But I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt. You shall acknowledge no God but me, no Savior except me" (Hosea 13:4). 

When I was preparing to teach a course on Theology of Mission I was struck by how many times this phrase occurs and especially how it was connected to "next steps" for the Jewish people. 

Their future actions or confidence in the their future actions were supposed to be anchored in the miraculous movement of God - the Exodus. 

This is the God who turned the Nile into blood, who brought flies and frogs and boils and darkness and death. 

This is the God who divided the waters, set the captive free, and destroyed the enemy in a watery grave.

How quickly they forgot this God of miracles.  How quickly man's inability eclipses God's ability. 

When I was a kid my dad dairied and later on as an adult I took up the farming profession myself. I am familiar with fences. They keep things in; they keep things out. They always seem to need fixing. 

When you put a fence in you start with an anchor post which is usually the size of a telephone pole and the next post on either side is anchored to that with twisted wire. From that point on the fence is stretched. So you can see how important it is to have a solid anchor. It is the place you point to as your beginning. 

It is also interesting to note that fence posts are generally set about fifteen to twenty feet apart. It's short enough to keep the wire tight but long enough to keep from digging too many holes. 

I have often thought about that process in my own faith, especially when doubt arises about my own abilities in the kingdom of God. Once again the fault lies in my inability to remember that "God brought me out of Egypt." He brought me through the desert of Sinai. He guided me along the Dead Sea and the Jordan River. He protected me and gave me victory over Og and Sihon. He delivered the city of Ai and the pagan kings. 

Each of these, although taken from the narrative of the people of Israel, are my story; the names and places are just different. This is a visual line of God's faithfulness, a line affirming his presence and power. 

When I begin to doubt or lose my way I only need to look back...and hopefully not too far...to see a faithful post that God has erected in my fence. He is building something. He was faithful there...and there...and there...and there...and there...  He gives me enough space to stretch and anchors me when I start to become weak. 

My life is a succession of stretching and posting, stretching and posting. Pull...set.  Pull...set. God is growing me; God is grounding me. God is growing me; God is grounding me. And all the while the greatest tension is on that corner post - God himself. He is anchoring it all. 

"I am the LORD your God who brought you out of Egypt." Unfortunately there I times when I think it was Delta or United. 

Arise, My Darling, My Beautiful One

"My lover said to me, 'Arise, my darling, my beautiful one, and come with me...'"  Song of Songs, 2:10. 

This week three people died that were close to those I care for.  I couldn't help but to remember a message that I gave for a dear woman in Alpena, Michigan. 

May it ministry to you as it did to me when I wrote it. 

Barb Thompson was a unique woman. The first time I wanted to make a house call to see her she told me not to come. A phone call every once in a while would be O.K.  Later I found out it was because her hair wasn’t done up and she couldn’t find her teeth. Then she made the mistake of being admitted to the hospital, a public hospital, where pastors don’t have to call but can drop in for a visit. Her hair wasn’t done then and her teeth were in a cup but she found out that I wasn’t there to see her hair or her teeth but her sweet spirit.

Barb had a strong faith in God but it didn’t mean that she never wavered or fell pray to doubt. Often the most stalwart Christians find themselves in a crisis of faith. “Is what I’ve been holding on to all my life going to sustain me through this?” It has brought me through life but will it get me through the process of death? On this side of suffering we proudly say “yes, of course!” But when in the throws of pain and suffering the pride and surety of what we know often leads to a greater humility and we pray, “God give me the faith that I need. A faith that is not in theory but one that will withstand the flames of pain, the darkness of night, the coldness of a solitary journey. This is, indeed, a path that I must walk alone; alone, without family and friends, even though their presence is here; alone but not without the hand of God. “For though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me. Thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.”

Barb Thompson was a unique woman and she wanted me to preach from a unique passage at her home-going; a passage out of the norm for me, but one that I have grown to love as well.  As I read this passage I want you to imagine Barb lying in her bed, laboring to breath, on the verge of moving from this world to the next.

The Song of Solomon or the Song of Songs, chapter 2, verse 8 begins,

“Listen! My lover! Look! Here he comes, leaping across the mountains, bounding over the hills. ⁹ My lover is like a gazelle or a young stag. Look! There he stands behind our wall, gazing through the windows, peering through the lattice. ¹⁰ My lover spoke and said to me, "Arise, my darling, my beautiful one, and come with me. ¹¹ See! The winter is past; the rains are over and gone. ¹² Flowers appear on the earth; the season of singing has come, the cooing of doves is heard in our land. ¹³ The fig tree forms its early fruit; the blossoming vines spread their fragrance. Arise, come, my darling; my beautiful one, come with me."

Barb chose a passage picturing, not a king calling to his servant, not a lord calling out to his vassal, but a lover calling out to his bride. Jesus, the lover of her soul, was calling out to Barb, “Arise my darling, my beautiful one, and come with me.” It was Jesus calling her home to heaven.

The Scriptures describe the groom not waiting afar but leaping and bounding over the hills to get to the one he loves. He always takes the initiative to come to those he loves. He is one looking for his bride. He said to Barb, “The time is perfect. The winter is past and the rains are over.” The times of life that seem to be barren and described as dormant or dead are passing. You are passing into eternal life, Barb, my love. The time of transition is over. The winter is turning into spring; to a newness the likes of which you’ve never seen. Look at the fruit of your life. As King Hezekiah said, “My life is like a tapestry cut off from the loom.” It is a finished masterpiece; the beautiful work of the master in my life.  Look at the newness and wonder that surrounds being with your beloved. Flowers have appeared on the earth.  Singing abounds. The birds are cooing in contentment. The trees are bearing fruit and the vines are casting forth their sweet fragrance. No more will you gasp for air, Barb, but you’ll breathe deep the fragrances of heaven. No more will you worry about the cares of life for yours will be perfect contentment. No more will your labors be met with weeds and thistles, with hardships and obstacles, but you’ll produce the perfect fruit of the spirit. “Arise my darling, my beautiful one, come with me.”

In the beginning God walked in the cool of the evening in the midst of his creation and called to his beloved. Sin had entered that world and instead of Adam and Eve longing to hear the voice of God, they hid from it. When the people of Israel were delivered from Egypt and gathered to Mount Sinai God wanted to call to them but they said to Moses, “You talk to him, you go to him.  We’ll wait here.” They were afraid.  A sinner meeting a holy God is a fearful thing.

How is it then that Barb could choose a passage like this for her memorial service? It was because the sin was cared for and the fear was gone. Barb believed in the cleansing redemptive power of the blood of Jesus, her Savior, her Beloved. She believed that perfect love casts out all fear. Why should I be afraid of someone who gave his life for me, to save me from sin and self? Why should I fear the lover of my soul? I long to hear the sweet voice of my beloved calling, “Arise, my darling, my beautiful one, and come with me.” 

May I ask you a very personal question this afternoon? What if you were the one lying on that death bed, struggling to breathe, knowing that your last breath would be near? Would you welcome the call to come away or tremble in fear? Why be afraid of the one who took the sting out of death, who robbed the grave? He called Barb to himself last Saturday and his voice is still calling today. It may not be because death is near but it is inescapable, and God, who loves you so incredibly desires to cast out that fear and give you hope, the hope of eternal life. It comes through embracing his son, Jesus Christ, as your savior, your redeemer, the lover of your soul. 

I know that many make professions of faith but never bear the fruit of such a profession. A true confession of knowing Christ always produces fruit. So may I ask you to do a little self-examining today? Are you depending on a prayer said many years ago regarding a Savior that you barely know or are you looking for the long awaited lover of your soul, your groom? So when the time does come, you, like Barb, will listen with anticipation to hear him say, “Arise my darling, my beautiful one, and come with me. Come home.”