David Westerfield > Weblog

Happy New Year!

Wow, 2008 went by fast with a lot of dramatic events. I pray this year is productive for the church in ministering the Gospel to a dying world, that the Lord would continue to prod us all toward holiness and, that by His grace, we would find the final freedom and acceptance in the promises of the Gospel that would make us productive for His glory. Have a great year!

For everyone's information, I am currently in the process of converting over this current blog to a new blogging platform that will make writing on here much more versatile and simplistic. This is going to take some time as I have some design considerations to mull over and I have to convert over 682 entries (164 of which are already done). All that to say, I may not write anything for a little while until I get that done and get the new site up and running.

A Honest Criticism of My Own Life

(Original): http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/art ... l?id=69230
(Archived): http://www.westerfunk.net/archives/theo ... 0Humility/

After reading this article by Keller, and reading more in The Discipline of Grace by Jerry Bridges, I feel like too many times, what I write on here fits the mold of what Keller and Bridges describe, and this is deeply convicting to me. After reading Keller's article, I feel like for a second I had an outside perspective of the way others may be perceiving how I come across as well as the way I truly am sometimes.

As I posted recently on here, my blog compromises only a small fraction of my life. But regardless, how I come across may be exactly how some people view me all the time: arrogant, frustrated, self-righteous, etc. I don't feel like this most of the time, but in all honesty before people reading this, I am that sometimes. This is sin and I deeply need the grace and mercy of Christ provided in His cross and resurrection to cleanse me.

Should we be theologically accurate and pursue the knowledge of God revealed to us with great vigor? Surely. But is it a controlling factor in my life to make sure we are all being theologically accurate and what I perceive to be "doing things right?" Sometimes, yes. It shouldn't be. I do still feel convicted at the same time to try and help people as much as possible with particular points. But I can really become super-critical sometimes and this is just pure error on my part.

Christ must be the center. He is the exalted One who set aside His honor and glory in order to take my wickedness and its just penalty in Himself so that I could be free and counted righteous. How can I not respond in a similar way now? My only hope is the grace of Christ, that He would work in me the very humility Keller describes.

Driven By Purposes or Promises? - Michael Horton

Babylon the Great and Our Souls' Final Satisfaction

"And the merchants of the earth weep and mourn for her, since no one buys their cargo anymore, cargo of gold, silver, jewels, pearls, fine linen, purple cloth, silk, scarlet cloth, all kinds of scented wood, all kinds of articles of ivory, all kinds of articles of costly wood, bronze, iron and marble, cinnamon, spice, incense, myrrh, frankincense, wine, oil, fine flour, wheat, cattle and sheep, horses and chariots, and slaves, that is, human souls. 'The fruit for which your soul longed has gone from you, and all your delicacies and your splendors are lost to you, never to be found again!'" - Revelation 18:11-14

This is the culmination of judgment that will come upon the earth at the end of time. The Lord strikes the economic prosperity of the world, bringing it into utter devastation for its idolatry and extreme extravagance that is served as a god through exchanging the glory of God for junk. (Lest you think I will be correlating this to our modern day economic situation, think otherwise).

Of particular interest is the verse that says, "The fruit for which your soul longed has gone from you, and all your delicacies and your splendors are lost to you, never to be found again!" If your god is stuff, this is a frightening prospect because you find (or attempt to find) your ultimate satisfaction in possessions and if this gets taken from you to this degree, you will want to die, or the ever so great "weep and mourn."

But this passage also got me to thinking about John Piper's book God is the Gospel in which he asks a simple question to Christians and non-Christians alike concerning heaven:

The critical question for our generation-and for every generation-is this: If you could have heaven, with no sickness, and with all the friends you ever had on earth, and all the food you ever liked, and all the leisure activities you ever enjoyed, and all the natural beauties you ever saw, all the physical pleasures you ever tasted, and no human conflict or any natural disasters, could you be satisfied with heaven, if Christ were not there?

Now I have no idea how God will make heaven or what it will contain. But I've heard a few people make comments in the past that the best game of golf will be played in heaven, and that they could just play all day long. Maybe they will, maybe they won't. But the enthusiasm for such an activity over against the real joy in heaven, Jesus Himself, is sometimes concerning to hear.

But it's no surprise if pastors and teachers are presenting heaven merely as a place of satisfying our insatiable, materialistic, idolatrous desires for stuff. Sure I'm positive that the marriage supper of the Lamb is going to be the blowout of parties. No doubt. But is that why we want to go heaven? Or for mansions? Or for young skin? Or is it because Jesus is there? And continuing Piper's quote he sets forth a challenge for teachers of the Word as well:

And the question for Christian leaders is: Do we preach and teach and lead in such a way that people are prepared to hear that question and answer with a resounding No?

Man I hope so. That strikes a bit of fear in me to be honest, since I teach high school students. John Piper's question really hones in on and highlights your motives for heaven and shows us teachers how we may or may not be presenting it in the best light. Not that it's fool proof or beyond being criticized by the Word of God, but I believe that both we who learn from teachers (like me) and those who teach (like me) can gain a lot of insight into the motives of our hearts concerning heaven by pondering these simple questions.

What I pray for those reading this (professing Christians or non-Christians) is that we not be told on judgment day, "The fruit for which your soul longed has gone from you, and all your delicacies and your splendors are lost to you, never to be found again!" I pray our desires are increasingly being centered upon Christ alone, having seen His goodness and having been set free from eternal death by His blood; in the hope that we will enjoy Him forever, not just stuff.

Though this is a pronouncement of judgment upon a time of the earth in the future, it aptly applies to this thought: if your idea of heaven is just getting stuff, and Christ was the only one there when you arrived, would you love it more or less? This is a convicting thought and if you feel the weight of your own sin after reading this, fear not: repent and turn to Christ and He will accept you because of His perfect life lived in your place, His death in which He suffered your deserved punishment for that very sin, and His resurrection in which He gives you a new life both now and forever. But He does this all in order that we may glorify and enjoy Him forever first and foremost.

May we all focus more upon the heaven in which Christ rules in power and tenderness and less upon our small, materialistic conception of it. Though there will certainly be material greatness in heaven according to Scripture itself, our souls' final delight must be rooted in Christ before this even.

This last verse of Martin Luther's hymn A Mighty Fortress is our God poetically paints a great picture for us in our fight toward a more eternal, Christ-centered portrait of heaven:

That word above all earthly pow'rs -- No thanks to them abideth; The Spirit and the gifts are ours Thru Him who with us sideth. Let goods and kindred go, This mortal life also; The body they may kill: God's truth abideth still -- His kingdom is forever.

How Fascinating - Unintended Pragmatic Results

"Most Americans who have an opinion about Warren like him and his best-selling self-help tome, 'The Purpose Driven Life.'" - Fred R. Conrad

(Original): http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/28/opinion/28rich.html
(Archived): http://www.westerfunk.net/archives/chri ... ecularist/

Who do you think this quote came from? A uber-critical, dry, boring, non-evangelistic Reformed guy, criticizing Warren's work as self-help? Or maybe it's a 'fundeementaleest' who views everything through the grid of his own backwoods traditions (KJVO, alcohol is sin, etc)? Nope, this is coming from a educated, city-dwelling, far-left liberal secularist. I find it absolutely fascinating he would label Warren's book self-help. And I don't disagree really. Self-help Christianity about sums it up. The message of the book is find your purpose in life, God's way. You initiate, you are the starting point for all that is in your life. If that is how the world takes it, could that be considered a gospel, when confronted with their own powerlessness, failures in sin, everyday, and the catastrophe it leaves in its wake? "Here are some helpful steps on HOW TO do ____," just doesn't help any one, especially as it relates to Christianity who has the true answer: we're helpless and need Christ to redeem us.

I am critical of Warren's strategy and book, but try to be generous and point out positives at times for the amount of good I have seen, which I do affirm some good has come out of it. The Lord works in ways that are unknown to us many times, even when we see something is flawed and potentially poisonous. The Lord used TBN in my life to hit me with the reality of God's grace through Scriptures they were presenting on the screen one summer night in '96. So many times, what we think is foolish is what God can use to bring people to faith. And yet at the same time, we also have 2000 years of church history showing things we can do better by learning from our mistakes and the tragedy left behind.

So in light of this quote, the world, the very people the book has been geared toward, assign Warren's book the category of self-help. People in our culture, many of them who are antagonistic to Christianity, view Warren's book not even as a "verion" of another good news story (a gospel) amongst the plethora that are out there convincing people of their supposed truth. But they view it as self-help. Interesting.

I mean if they are going to reject the Gospel, fine. But don't reject it because you think the message of Christianity is self-helpism. It is the opposite of this! This saddens me and is exactly why this strategy irks me: the world then begins to think that Christianity = law. "Do this and you shall live." "Do this and lose weight." "Take this and feel better." "Buy this and be satisfied." "Choose Jesus and find purpose, or healing, or financial stability, or freedom from addiction, freedom from porn." Everything except Lord, Master and Savior. Is Jesus Christ and His Gospel merely being reduced to a consumer product to be picked up whenever one feels like it? Apparently the world thinks so. This is pelagianism at its finest.

You see, let's talk pragmatically for a second about an unintended result of seeker-sensitivity. In an effort to be seeker-friendly with the Gospel and Scripture to make Christianity more attractive to the unregenerate sinner, the very opposite effect is happening. They find this version of "Christianity" repugnant, but in a different way, not because they hate the spoken Gospel, but because they are tired of self-helpism. That is the essence of religion and secularists are tired of it. Instead of being attracted to the Gospel or not, they are instead attracted to another version of self-helpism, only under the guise of Christiany, using its terms, lingo and imagery all the while making Christianity and particularly God a PEZ dispenser.

The world doesn't see Warren's book as a gospel (good news) but they see it as more self-help (more law!) amongst a host of other self-help books that are already out there (some of which in all reality are way more fascinating - check Barnes and Noble). "Do X to get Y." Or, sign on with Jesus to get the purpose for your life. It's subtle, but all that amounts to is law (Michael Horton). The Gospel says rather that Jesus has done all of this on your behalf, through faith alone, granted itself by God as a gift. You no longer have to do X to get Y, because Jesus has achieved Y on our behalf in His life's work, death, resurrection, and ascension, established by grace through true, authentic faith.

This is why we need to not hide the hardness of the Gospel as well as the greatness and beauty of it in Christ, by making all the language politically correct and "friendly": the world doesn't care anyway about that, but rather views it as just more law. They are quickly finding out how irrelevant such self-help type books are to their lives and John Piper's quote from a sermon from several years ago out of Romans 9 is coming to pass (yes I know, I know I quote this a lot, but it just hits the nail on the head):

"There is a sad irony in the seeming success of many Christian churches and schools. The irony is that the more you adjust obscure Biblical doctrines to make Christian reality more attractive to unbelievers, the less Christian reality there is when they arrive. Which means that what looks like success in the short run, may, in the long run, prove to be failure. If you alter or obscure the Biblical portrait of God in order to attract converts, you don�t get converts to God, you get converts to an illusion. This is not evangelism, but deception. One of the results of this kind of 'success' is that sooner or later the world wakes up to the fact that these so-called Christian churches look so much like them and the way they think that there is no reason to go there. If you adjust your doctrine to fit the world in order to attract the world, sooner or later the world realizes that they already have what the church offers. That was the story of much of mainline Protestantism in Europe and America in the 20th century. Adjust your doctrine - or just minimize doctrine - to attract the world, and in the very process of attracting them, lose the radical truth that alone can set them free.

Many observers today are making note that what the liberal mainline churches did 60 years ago, evangelical churches are doing today. For example, Steve Bruce writes in his book, God Is Dead: Secularization in the West: 'The mainstream Christian Churches are declining in popularity, and the conservative Protestant churches are losing their doctrinal and behavioral distinctiveness.' (Quoted in Philip Jenkins, "The Real Story of Secularization," in Books and Culture, 8/6 [Nov.-Dec., 2002]: 11)

There are thousands of pastors and churches today that do not think that clear, Biblical, doctrinal views are vital in the life of the church or the believer. They believe it is possible to grow a healthy church while leaving the people with few and fuzzy thoughts about what God is like. But ignorance about God is never a mere vacuum. The cavity created by ignorance fills up with something else.Edward Norman, in his book, Secularization: New Century Theology, goes right to the heart of the problem when he describes what that something else is: 'Christianity is not being rejected in modern society - what is causing the decline of public support for The Church is the insistence of church leaders themselves in representing secular enthusiasm for humanity as core Christianity.' (Ibid, p. 10)

At first the world is drawn to a religious form of "enthusiasm for humanity," but then it wears thin and they realize that they can find it more excitingly on TV."

Again, maybe we should engage the world with some timeless historic Christianity and just tell it to them straight, instead of cowering back from the clear language of Scripture. Why do we feel we need to invent new language anyway? God's already given us what we need in Scripture. I believe it is sufficient for the evangelistic task at hand. Just a thought.

A Beautiful Picture of Justification

"Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him. And the Lord said to Satan, 'The Lord rebuke you, O Satan! The Lord who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is not this a brand plucked from the fire?' Now Joshua was standing before the angel, clothed with filthy garments. And the angel said to those who were standing before him, 'Remove the filthy garments from him.' And to him he said, 'Behold, I have taken your iniquity away from you, and I will clothe you with pure vestments.' And I said, 'Let them put a clean turban on his head.' So they put a clean turban on his head and clothed him with garments." - Zechariah 3:1-5

I came across this passage recently in my reading plan. This is such a wonderful illustration and picture of what being justified in God's presence looks like. Notice Satan is there to accuse Joshua. By all means, Joshua was guilty of his own sins, being displayed in this passage by the filthy garments he was wearing. And then the angel of the Lord removes his dirty garments and puts clean garments on him instead, garments that he himself had not made clean by any effort of his own. It was all an external work on his behalf, given to him as a gracious gift.

The ultimate fulfillment of this passage is when Christ comes into this world, God Himself, puts on our filthy garments on the cross (though He Himself had pure, white garments), takes the punishment we deserved on the cross for those iniquities and sins that our clothes are stained with, and then gives us His pure and white garments instead. It's called the Great Exchange, for certainly it is exactly that. What a wonderful Gospel portrait in the Old Testament!

Satan is standing there before God, ready to accuse His people, day and night. And yet, God justifies us, makes us clean, taking our filthiness and its punishment on Himself, and then declares us to be righteous by clothing us, covering us in His perfect work. Wow, what a weight that is lifted off for our wickedness. I pray this picture of God causes you to rest in Him and His Gospel of Jesus' work to save us from our deserved condemnation.

The Downside to Blogging

One thing I have increasingly observed and noticed among people who comment or send me messages is that they perceive my blog to be my entire summed up thinking. In all reality, this site is like 1/10 (perhaps an even higher ratio, like 1/15) of my total summed up spiritual life. That is to say, my blog is simply a sounding board for whatever the subject is I happen to be thinking through at the moment. I could honestly care less if anyone reads it, it's just more of a public diary of thoughts. Yet this does not mean this is the only thing I'm thinking about concerning my life in Christ. I'm just writing on whatever the particular subject is I happen to find important. It seems some people perceive bloggers as sitting behind a keyboard, brows furroughed, gritting their teeth, sweating in angst. Many are, but I don't think I'm one of them. I'm supremely happy in Christ and joyful in the Lord and what He's accomplished for me. It's what drives the things I do. Do I struggle with anger, my own misery? Surely.

But people perceive me as being supremely negative, especially as it pertains to apologetics posts, when of nencessity, apologetics is logically denouncing another view as false from Scripture or reason. Some relativistic secularists seem to think that's just too negative though and we need to be more positive and uplifting. Tell that to Jesus when reading the Gospels and He's speaking parables. We talk all well and good about being like Jesus and yet ignore the fact that part of that is speaking into the world that it's views are just wrong. Jesus was a very serious person in His earthly ministry. It's not arrogant to say that something is wrong based on Scriptural evidence because it's true.

Unfortunately, the positive-thinking movement has crept into the professing church as well. But apologetics, that is upholding the truth of Scripture and defending it, is by nature itself negative because you are calling out views that don't jive with Scripture. Our culture hates this because it assumes something they don't believe: that absolute theological truths exist. Yet Jesus Himself, the apostles, the prophets, did this incessantly because truth is absolute and Satan spreads lies like a wildfire to eclipse the Gospel and he must be refuted. That is a part of witnessing I might add. Entire books of the Bible are supremely negative (Jude, Isaiah, Jeremiah?) in denouncing the culture or group at hand, that they are straying from the Lord and deserve His judgment. They are apologetic works: defending the faith. Call that negative, I call it being faithful to the command of the great commission to uphold the truth and preach the Gospel.

Am I better than those who don't pursue such things? Absolutely not. I'm not justified by my blog or things I say or think, but Christ's work alone is the only thing that does this. I'm a sinner of sinners, and fight with my depravity on a moment by moment basis, seeking imperfectly to bring myself into submission to His will, by His grace. Yes, I make mistakes on here and in my life. Yet my sin does not disqualify me from speaking things that are true, because again, it is Christ alone, and not myself who justifies me by His blood. Apologetics and witnessing and evangelism is merely pointing the way to the truth, not ourselves. I'm not pointing out I'm right and everyone else is wrong. I'm pointing out that God's Scriptures are true and everything else is wrong, and in cases where people deem me too negative, I take heat for it. Jesus said you would be hated by the world when you take a stand. Seems the Scriptures are true on that too.

All that to say, when reading a post, know that that's not all I'm thinking about and that's not all I'm doing with my spiritual life. People can't see what goes on in the rest of my life or my heart for that matter from a silly blog site that is only a fraction of my life.

One of My Favorite Songs From Boards of Canada

Boards of Canada - Poppy Seed (Remix of song by Slag Boom Van Loon)

The player will show in this paragraph

I like this song because of the emotional sense of seriousness and urgency it conveys. And I just think it grooves.

What Is Christmas About? - The Good News of An Objective Salvation

In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria. And all went to be registered, each to his own town. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn. And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear. And the angel said to them, "Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger." And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!" When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us." And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them. - Luke 2:1-20

(And Jesus, God Himself, come in flesh, came to save us from the eternal punishment of our sins against God, by taking that punishment in Himself on the cross, confirming it by rising again from death. And this salvation is made effective for us through our belief and trust in Christ alone for that very salvation, trust that He bore our sins, and lived a perfect life in our place because it is impossible for us to do so):

"None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one." "Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive." "The venom of asps is under their lips." "Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness." "Their feet are swift to shed blood; in their paths are ruin and misery, and the way of peace they have not known." "There is no fear of God before their eyes." Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.

BUT NOW (!) the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it� the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, 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. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. - Romans 3:10-26

Come and fall on your knees before Christ and ask Him that, by His grace, you would see that He is the Author and Creator of all things and the Author and fulfiller of our salvation, having suffered, died and resurrected on behalf of any of you who would believe.

Christless Christianity - Michael Horton

Check out this site www.christlesschristianity.org and get the book. Good stuff.

Isn't It Ironic? Don't Ya Think?

I find it ironic and funny to see so many emerging/emergent types so freely and publicly proclaim their "humble" service to others, I guess as if to say, "Look, I'm doing my part to help the poor and disenfranchised, what about you?" Sounds like the very selfishness, self-righteousness, pride, and Phariseeism they hate in much of the Christian right.

These are two Post-Evangelical Chaos Posters that speak to this very issue:

For the record, I find most "motivational" and "demotivational" posters kind of cheesy and worn out as a medium, but still find many of these fairly funny. Check them out ... even if you're offended at points because you see someone on there you happen to like (.e.g. Bono, Crowder, Driscoll), you've got to admit ... some of these are pretty darn funny.

John Piper Caught Throwing West-side Gang Sign

Now we know where his true convictions lie: on the West Side! Corny, I know, but I thought it was funny someone actually got him to do it.

Original link: http://www.baller21.com/wp-content/uplo ... -signs.jpg

The Worldview of New Age Business Leadership Guru Lance Secretan

This is a brief clip of one of Lance Secretan's presentations to a group of corporate employees. Notice how at the beginning of this clip, he disregards anything Christianity had to offer in history as an explanation for natural and supernatural reality. He doesn't even mention all of the thousands of Christian thinkers who have contributed greatly to the progress of "humanity" who believed Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. These voices are simply ignored. Sure, he mentions Jesus as a good moral teacher, and even quotes Him in the presentation. Yet Secretan cherry-picks what he wants from what Jesus said without dealing with the portions of Scripture where He claims to be God Himself, the only way to salvation, the greatest Person in all of history. This is ignored, for to deal with these texts simply denies his own worldview perspective of reality.

At the very beginning of this clip, he makes clear that (at least according to his understanding) 6000 years ago, we lived on the premise of mystery, magic, myths, fairy tales, etc. It is assumed then that Christianity is included in this category of mystery and mythology. And therefore, its explanations of reality are theoretical, mythical. They simply don't apply to us anymore. The Gospel is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God.

Then, as history progressed beyond this kind of mythical thinking, we lived in the age of rationality and science. We explained everything through the scientific method and mathematical proofs. People came to say, if you can't show me a scientific proof, I won't believe it.

But now at this point in history, we know there are some things that simply can't be measured by science, which is to say, the supernatural does exist. I agree with this. But the question I have is where exactly is Secretan proposing we head now? Where do we go from here?

Secretan won't say it, but this is where his ideology is rooted: The Noetic Sciences. http://www.noetic.org/ (a friend tipped me off to this information). It comes out in his presentations and is clearly rooted in pagan mysticism, but with a modern twist: the "backing" of what he claims is science. What are the "Noetic Sciences" you ask? It's the mending together of science and the supernatural. It's essentially utilizing your psychic intuitions, your supernatural abilities, something he claims can be proved through scientific methods. It's really an entire worldview, a religion in essence, a way of viewing reality, a way in fact that is antithetical to the claims of Christianity. It is the suppression of truth in unrighteousness as all false religions are.

Now how do I know Secretan is a member of this group? He was on the list of Canada's Who's Who of 2003 which directly links him to this group (which a friend also tipped me off to): http://books.google.com/books?id=aNuphN ... ;ct=result

For those of us who are believers in Christ alone and His work for our salvation, we must be leery of this kind of teaching and those people who would seek to deceitfully take our eyes off of Him and His Gospel. Secretan makes (some seemingly) plausible arguments and at points even invokes the name of Jesus and quotes from the gospels as proof of his points. Yet, he is performing what is known as eisegesis, that is coming to Scripture with a preconceived belief and mining it for quotes (out of context) to support that belief. He twists the words of Scripture to fit his own preconceived notion of what is true about reality basically. This is a distinguishing mark of a false teacher.

Many people I know who confess to be Christians have whole-heartedly, or at least in part, endorsed Secretan's teaching. But I'm telling you now, it is antithetical to the claims of Scripture. The only supernatural forces we have to contend with in reality (not fiction or myth) is God and His angels, and the devil and his fallen angels. The devil is in the business of blinding us to the truth about God and will go about it through whatever means possible, this included. Therefore any dealings with the supernatural outside of Christ and belief in His Gospel for sinners is a direct dealing with Satan and His fallen legions of angels. This is no exception, though many would believe it to be so.

The truth of the matter is Christ is God come in the flesh, fully man, fully God. He came to sacrifice Himself in our place for our direct rebellion against Him, taking our deserved punishment in Himself on the cross on which He was crucified. He did this in order that we could be reconciled to God forever, because in His justice, He had to punish us for our sin against Him. His justice could not be disregarded. And so the only way for us to be saved was for God to incarnate Himself as human, live a perfect life on our behalf, die the death we deserved on the cross. Then three days after His death, He rose from the grave, proclaiming victory over sin, death, hell, and Satan. After appearing to the apostles and more than 500 other people, Jesus ascended into heaven where He now sits at the right hand of God, interceding for those who believe in Him.

Jesus will return again in power to judge all men and rule over all the earth, forever. He offers pardon in advance of His coming and will save all who call upon His name for salvation. Turn away from your sinning and unbelief which you know deep down is a direct violation of God Himself and His glory, believe in Him and rest in Jesus Christ alone for your salvation.

On Caroline Kennedy as Senator

Do I really need to comment on this? If she even gets selected as an option for the Senate seat, that will be the biggest power play in history of someone with a only a family name for credentials, who has absolutely no political experience, and no solid, proven work experience. She can't even talk to the media herself. She doesn't have a chance. And if she does, there are other undemocratic forces at play.

The 'I Am Second' Campaign - A Review

(Original): http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent ... db4dd.html
(Archived): http://www.westerfunk.net/archives/chri ... %20Second/

Being an evangelical Christian in our culture and at the same time being bombarded with these techniques of the evangelical church of which I am apart, in the name of witnessing on our freeways, makes it very hard not to say things that concern me. For the record, I do believe some positive can come out of this whole "I am second" campaign. I would not even presume to know what God is up to. But there are factors which are concerning about this strategy, factors of which are indicative about our own movements beliefs.

I posted recently that I myself need to be careful about my own personal criticism of the church at large, and I still hold to that. What I'm warning myself and others about is the tendency toward uber-criticism, that is, a critical spirit. My criticism can quickly turn to bitterness, anger, and frustration at what I'm seeing and it can consume me, much in the same way any other sin can. A legitimate concern (something good in itself) becoming an idol or obsession: this is sin. And boy are we sinners good at taking something good and corrupting it! I must watch over my own heart and it's quick slide into arrogance, as we all do in whatever our pet sins are. The heart is deceitfully wicked above all things, who can understand it? I surely don't.

Yet at the same time I must be honest and truthful with what is going on in the world around me (particularly as it concerns my own Christian grouping of which I consider myself apart) while not letting those things turn into uber-frustration at the expense of the glory of God and His sovereignty in all of it (my own personal holiness and sinfulness). Please understand that this is more of a call to first clearly understand the Gospel ourselves (continuing to do this our whole lives in studying Scripture) and then clearly proclaim that Gospel message to the world around us, unhindered.

In my understanding, I see no problem with a believer using this campaign as a spring-board to witnessing, much in the same way I had no problem with someone wearing a WWJD bracelet, while disagreeing with the heart of that message intended for sanctification. But the main goal of the authors of this campaign seems to exclude witnessing, or "proselytizing" itself.

Now, before I get to the founders' and investors' intentions, I must hit on a big warning concerning the campaign. When Brian McLaren endorses something that he posits in the article above as a more "multifaceted understanding of the Christian Gospel and is another expression of a very profound shift that is taking place," a red flag goes up immediately in my mind, as it should for all of us believers, seeing as how many at my own church are quickly getting caught up in this, particularly in the youth group. While not doubting the legitimacy of many of the testimonies on the site as to how God did indeed help them, McLaren's endorsement alone is super-concerning about the purpose of the campaign.

McLaren is not a historic evangelical in any sense of the word. He has rather quickly gone the path of theological liberals in the 19th and 20th centuries by making Jesus' Gospel one merely of love, while taking all references to an eternal wrath out of the picture, which thus necessarily guts his own gospel message (that is, what exactly is Christ saving us from then?). He denies the historic, Biblical doctrine of hell, which Willow Creek was quite shocked to find out in the middle of his message there not so long ago; to which they then had to clarify their own position on the matter later on.

McLaren's gospel is one of a savior who merely came to promote love and selflessness toward others (and went to the cross merely as an example to demonstrate the prime example of "non-violence" triumphing over violence), not a Savior who came to "give His life a ransom for many," (Mark 10:45) in absorbing the wrath of God we deserve in Himself on the cross and rising from the grave, as a matter of history, instead of mystery.

With that said up front about that which is a warning flare, here are some quotes from the article pertaining to the intentions of this campaign (and yes, I am well aware of the fact that reporters can cherry-pick as many things as they want in order to do their article. So if there is some clarification later on as to the intentions, please let me know or comment here and clarify away, I'm all for knowing what the truth is):

"The campaign isn't intended to proselytize a specific denomination as much as embrace a broader spirituality." - Norm Miller

"Embrace a broader spirituality?" Hmm. So ... what exactly are we doing it for then? When he says "denomination," I take that to mean the campaign isn't setting forth a particular message that would exclude people of all kinds of spirituality (you know, like the Gospel excludes those who disbelieve it). Using the word "proselytize" to describe what the campaign isn't doing is also concerning. In witnessing and Gospel preaching, aren't we trying to win people to Christ, in essence proselytizing them, by persuading them through Scripture and reason to repent of their sins and trust in Christ alone for their salvation?

If we aren't doing that with this, then we're just making people nice while allowing them to not even hear the Gospel. I can't buy into that. Neither could C.S. Lewis: "A world of nice people, content in their own niceness, looking no further, turned away from God [particularly as revealed in Christ and His Gospel], would be just as desperately in need of salvation as a miserable world � and might even be more difficult to save." (My insertion)

"The best thing is we aren't preaching to anybody, we are just putting these up and telling people how God helps them." - Norm Miller

Helps us, what? Receive pardon from the right-hand of God for the wrath and judgment we deserve through His suffering that very wrath on the cross in our place? No, it seems the ultimate message of this campaign is how God helps us from addiction, pornography, a reckless life-style, amongst a number of other things. Now of course, the benefits of the Gospel include all of the aforementioned things. He indeed frees us from the power of sin in our lives! But what is the main effect and message of the Gospel? Helping us out with our temporal, (mostly) self-inflicted suffering? Or being rescued from the objective wrath of God and bringing us into fellowship with Himself forever through the blood of His Son? Yes there are definitely side benefits of salvation. But what is the main course? That is what primarily needs to be preached.

"I Am Second is a mind-set to live out authentic, transparent lives." - Nathan Sheets

That's great, honestly. We definitely need more of that in our trite, three-inch-deep, entertainment-driven culture. But if Christ and His Gospel are not involved in this campaign and if we're not being transparent in clearly articulating the Gospel from Scripture, to what avail are we even doing this whole thing then? This all gets back to Michael Horton and his series this past year on Christless Christianity and how it's quietly creeping into the church, especially among many of our evangelical circles, and even among many Reformed circles as well, I might add. Check it out. It's well worth the reading and listening to get us all focused back on Christ and His work to save and change us forever.

"We are training people to take advantage of advertising that will help them live lives of intention." - Nathan Sheets

But again, what about Christ and His Gospel? Where is it? This came from one of the heads of a missionary organization? (Again, the reporter could have quoted only part of what he said, though I'm definitely leery that is the case). Living lives of intention? For what exactly? It's so slippery and jello-like. I'm sorry, but this sounds like Joel Osteen, prosperity gospel stuff, not pure, Scriptural Gospel.

Here is my over-riding concern with this campaign: clarity of the main intention and effect of the Gospel. It's not so much that it is theologically wrong that concerns me (though there are a few things). It is that the message is theologically vacuous (Horton), free of Biblical content that would offend the sinner, the very thing they need to hear the most, to which the Holy Spirit then awakens their eyes to the truth as He pleases and grants faith to sinner. And I definitely have a hard time adhering to anything McLaren is apart of for sure.

Can any good come of it? Surely it will. I would not even begin to presume to know how God will work through this. But if it is anything like the effect of WWJD (that is, looking to Christ merely as an example for your own personal sanctification (which is just more Law) instead of your Savior (which is the Gospel) for holiness) then it will have little impact on the Kingdom of God. But again, I could be wrong. It's just that we have 2000 years of church history (let alone the brief 200 years of chaos in America) where this same sort of thing has gone south and in fact eclipsed the Gospel of Jesus.

May we uphold the Gospel in truth and clarity. That is my desire and prayer for all of us, including myself. May we flee the temptation to cower back from saying what is clearly said in Scripture and not fold to our culture of niceness and positivity. Should we be loving? Of course! Should we be sensitive in so far as people's own trials are concerned that may be hindering them coming to Christ? Absolutely! Being cool and culturally relevant though is quickly going to mean choosing between the Bible or the world in short order.

Check out this article from Al Mohler on all of that:

http://www.albertmohler.com/blog_read.php?id=3023

A Great Summation of the Entire Bible and Particularly the Gospel

I found this on the front page of theopedia.org:

"The message of Christianity is that the God who created the heavens and the earth identified himself with the people of Israel and related to them in a way that pointed to the needed coming of the Messiah. This Messiah would atone for our transgressions, conquer the power of sin and death, empower us by the Spirit to obey from the heart, and gather his people unto everlasting joy. The Messiah came, was born of a virgin, lived and talked and worked in a way that identified him as the Only Begotten Son of God, and died on a cross. After three days Jesus triumphantly resurrected from the dead. He appeared to the apostles and over 500 other disciples. All who will turn in their hearts from sin and call upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, trusting in him for forgiveness and eternal life, will be saved from hell and enjoy personal fellowship with God and his people."

A Call To Move Forward - The Practical Results of Seeker-Sensitivity

As Carl Trueman on Reformation21.org and Al Mohler on almohler.com have pointed out recently, something is so fascinating with the recent wave of criticism by the left of Obama asking Rick Warren to perform the invocation at his inauguration (which I must give Obama credit on being a consistent relativist as opposed to others on the far-left): no matter how friendly, or nice, or palatable or seeker-friendly you make your message concerning what Scripture says about God's Law or the Gospel itself, those who are unbelieving and God-hating, those who are adamantly opposed to what is said still view you as a crazy, fanatical nut.

Warren even goes so far as to be a middle-of-the-road kind of guy politically speaking, I'm guessing with the hope with bridging a cultural divide. Yet it seems to not matter to those who hate Scripture. Now Obama is receiving a backlash of criticism from the far-left gay rights community for asking Warren to do the prayer, as well as those who simply believe in the normalcy of homosexuality, because Warren believes it to be sin according to Scripture. And in doing so, they believe Warren to be a "fundeemeentaleest," even though he has gone to great lengths to make his message more acceptable to a hostile, post-Christian (quickly becoming anti-Christian) culture.

What's my point? The seeker-sensitive strategy/methodology simply doesn't work on those who are dead in trespasses and sins. The methodology simply ignores the fact that we are all naturally God-hating and it is only the Holy Spirit who can change our hearts, not methods based on statistics. Just look at the criticism from the world. They think Warren is loony just like they think all Christians that hold to Scriptural authority are loony.

Maybe we should try God's methodology in church and in public proclamation and just preach the Word in season and out of season, regardless of what worldly culture does or doesn't want to hear, and thus get out of the way and let the Holy Spirit do His job in converting people. It seems even the world sees through the facade that is seeker-sensitivity and are viewing many Christians who hold to such methodology as simply not being forth-coming with their beliefs, like they are trying to hide them (which they are on many points of theology, not so much on other points).

This is not so much a criticism of Warren as it is a call for all of us evangelicals to move forward in our teaching and preaching, leaving behind these methods that simply don't work. I say we just stand up with courage and say what we believe (from Scripture) without hesitation and let the Scriptures stand. Seemed to work for the Apostles (mainly because it is the Spirit alone who changes people's hearts and saves them, not methods based on statistics). I believe it would work for us as well.

Illustrating Total Depravity

News as entertainment dominates our culture. It has for quite a while. This can be clearly seen in the recent Caylee Anthony story, the little girl who was allegedly killed by her own mother. Of course this is an unbelievably sad story and the pain caused by such a tragic act is tremendous for all parties involved. It should break our own hearts that this kind of wickedness happens, because it breaks the Lord's heart. I do not intend to minimize any of this with my comments. But I do intend to attack the obsession our culture has on this story and how as Christians we need to watch our own hearts that we not fall into such wicked fixation, intending to puff ourselves up in our own supposed righteousness that we are somehow better than Caylee's mother.

For the past year or so, ever since it broke, there has been an incessant fixation of the media upon this story. In particular, Nancy Grace has "Breaking News!" every night on her program concerning this case. I can't think of a time I haven't flipped past CNN that she hasn't been ranting on and on about this story. It's just sickening to me. We make celebrities out of murderers and every shred of "new" information that comes out of this story is somehow the greatest and biggest show-stopper in our lives, like it's a living and breathing soap opera that we are somehow attached to through TV viewing.

What's also fascinating to me is how appalled we can all be at the actions of Caylee's mother and yet neglect something just as tragic that is sinfully and illogically accepted as a cultural, legal norm: abortion. Sure, there are differences, but mostly in the fact that one is publicly displayed and the other is done in secret, behind closed doors, with the approval of the government and our tax dollars. At the root within each context though is something morbidly disgusting: pure, utter self-exaltation, the eclipsing and suppression of the glory of God in wickedness (Romans 1).

What is really the difference between Caylee Anthony's mother and the actions of a mother in an abortion clinic? One baby is outside of the womb, the other is within. But both are children sovereignly ordained to life by God, created in His image. And both have their lives taken by their mothers'. And yet how sick are we to contradictorily hold out Caylee's mom as such a disgusting, sick fanatic who deserves death and yet not feel the same way about mother's every day who kill their own children in a state approved manner? Is there any difference in the eyes of the Lord?

Now is there forgiveness for Caylee's mother at the right hand of the Lord in Christ just as much as the mother who aborts her own child in a clinic? Surely there is, if in faith they will both repent of their deeds and seek the Lord's mercy in Christ! But I'm asking this: as a culture, how is it we can approve of one kind of murder and be appalled at a different kind? Only the heart of man can hold to such immorally contradictory things. It seems there is a cultural orthodoxy at play here that needs addressing by the Word of God.

In both instances of murder, the mother and what she wants is the supreme value, not the child's well-being and continued existence. Selflessness toward our own children (the very selflessness Christ has toward us in the cross) has turned into gross selfishness, of the kind that is now approved by culture as normal and acceptable. This is the work of Satan, keeping our minds in chains and bondage to serve sin.

In both contexts, the mother desires to be free of the inconveniences of child-bearing. "I choose what's right for me" (which, is that not what was first said in the Garden of Eden in Genesis?). Why is Caylee Anthony's mom exempt from being accepted by our culture in this manner? Someone might say, "Well it's just wrong!" Based on what external rule? Why is THAT an unjust action and abortion isn't? Doesn't Caylee's mother have her "rights" as defined by our culture's view on abortion? Sure, explain away to me that a child is not a child in the womb. This is the pure evil rationalization of sin as something normal.

But then back to the obsession of our culture on the Caylee Anthony story; why is it we obsess over such terrible things in the media? There's probably a lot of reasons, some of which are related to a desire to see justice, which on a human to human level is good; we need that. But the primary reason seems to be that we get some kind of sick, twisted kick out of seeing the demise of others. We can feel good about ourselves from our arm chairs knowing that's not us (because deep down we know we're terribly flawed ourselves). "Look at THAT evil woman and what she did. How could she do that to her own child? Justice should be rendered!" Yet that is us. We are the murderers. We are the adulterers, the robbers, the liars, the idolaters. Even us Christians, who look at those who have abortions in disgust, we sin and murder and steal and idolize things every day within our hearts, or even externally. Are we any different? We are sinners all. Surely we should seek justice in society and continue thwarting those who uphold abortion as normal. But we are sinners in the same manner, just utilizing different means. The Scriptures are calling for humility from all of us, from whatever vantage point we are coming from, a humility that falls at the feet of Christ, seeking His mercy and purity.

Jesus' Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5 makes it abundantly clear that our sin is not merely external, but primarily internal. Once Jesus came, He showed that the Law of God given in the Old Testament was not merely this list of rules we hold to externally, but the Law of God is about the heart. Jesus said that if you are even angry with your brother in your heart, you have committed murder. If you guys even look at a woman lustfully, you have already had sex outside of marriage or cheated on your wife. In the Lord's eyes, if you have become angry at someone wrongfully, it is as if you already performed the act of Caylee Anthony's mother toward that person (though it is still alleged at this point). Most of the time, that is our own family members. Or if you have lusted after a woman in your heart, it is as if you have already slept with that woman who isn't your wife. So how much different do our hearts look from that of Caylee's mother? Or the guy at work who cheated on his wife and lost everything? In the Lord's eyes, there is no distinction.

Caylee's mother simply carried out what we ourselves have committed probably thousands of times in our hearts, probably every day. Does that mean she shouldn't be thrown in jail? Surely not, because then our society would crumble under the weight of immorality and injustice of external actions. But it does mean that when we see someone stumble and fall from their awful actions, we should mourn and be humble, knowing that should be us for our own wicked hearts disposition toward evil. We deserve death, eternal death for our thoughts and actions, even the angry or lustful thought against a brother or sister or neighbor.

Our culture simply misapprehends the depravity of the heart of man, as it has done since the beginning. Even in the church we need to study and revisit Total Depravity once again for it would humble us in the proper manner, for it shows us what Scripture actually says. These various situations above simply highlight the horrid reality that is sin within our own hearts. Total Depravity is an offensive doctrine to most people, even in the church. "I'm not possibly THAT bad." Ah, but the summation of our condition in Romans 3:10-18 disagrees with you. Will you hold to what you and our culture wants to believe about ourselves or what the infallible Word of God holds out as true for each and every one of us? Yes, our condition is that bad, which is precisely why we need not just a helper in Christ, but a Savior who can rescue us from this body (and soul) of death. And we need Him every day for the sustainability of our souls.

As believers may we humbly oppose such sick fanaticism that our culture holds out as entertainment and rather turn to Christ, humbly seek justice in society in all realms and find joy in doing that which pleases the Lord (not because we're better, but because we're not and yet have been saved by sheer grace).

And do this not because we have to earn anything from God who has already given us everything we need in Christ, but rather do it in response to His mercy, that He may receive glory. And do it as a witness to the Gospel, that we value Christ and His work on our behalf more than morbid entertainment fixation.

This doesn't stop at these kinds of shows though. This also involves all of the celebrity shows like TMZ, ET, MTV news, etc. These are the exact same thing as I've described. We shouldn't watch them just because we're better and others aren't. We do it because such fixating and obsessing over the calamity of others displeases and hurts the Lord and He is the One who bought us with His blood. How can we return to these things any longer?

We turn away from such filth because of the Gospel, not because we're better, because in reality, we aren't. We're broken sinners as well who need a Savior every single day. We turn away from such things because we've been saved by the right hand of God through Jesus Christ. A good and thorough understanding of Total Depravity shows us our desperate need and points us to the all-sufficient power of Christ to save and redeem us.

CNN Meteorologist: Manmade Global Warming Theory 'Arrogant'

Right on.

Maybe we should try working on actual problems that exist in our world instead of spending possibly trillions of dollars on a phantom. Lack of fresh water concerns me a lot more than nonsense elitist scientific "orthodoxy".

The Great Divine Conundrum

"O Lord, according to all your righteous acts, let your anger and your wrath turn away from your city Jerusalem..." - Daniel 9:16

In light of God's justice and righteousness in the Old Testament, how he poured out his wrath on the nations surrounding Israel and even on Israel herself, this verse is such a radical, seemingly contradictory statement. If you simply do a surface-level study of what justice and righteousness actually means in theological terms, and particularly what it means for us sinners, it is goosebump-frightening to consider its reality. It should make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up. Seriously.

Think back to, or look up, Isaiah 6, Ezekiel 1 and John's response in Revelation to see what the reaction to God's justice and holiness looks like. Or read this Jonathan Edwards sermon. It was one of His most famous. In it, Edwards expounds upon the awful wrath and fury of God we all deserve for our sin and how Christ is the only protector and shield from its horrors.

God is infinitely righteous, holy and perfect and can let no sin go unpunished. None. But, as is said in this verse in Daniel, according to your righteous acts, turn away your wrath? Shouldn't it be, "According to Your righteous acts let your wrath fall? For you let no sin go unpunished?" This is what Jonah seemed to think should have happened to Nineveh. Yet God spared them in great mercy. But how is it this passage in Daniel can ask of God to "be merciful in light of your righteousness"? This seems like asking God the impossible, and asking Him in light of this very justice and righteousness that should be our eternal dismay!

In Romans 3:21-26, Paul answers this conundrum and it is clear. How can God be just (meeting out all wrath due to our sin) and yet be merciful to His chosen, elect people? Paul's answer is radically groundbreaking.

But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it� the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, 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. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

The last few verses are what I want to focus on. God put Christ forward as a propitiation, a wrath-bearer, to be received by faith. Believe in Jesus Christ alone to take your sin and its fruit in Himself (instead of you on Judgment Day), and to give you His perfect record of obedience in exchange. There we have it, a summed up Gospel statement.

Now here is the reason God did this: it was in order to 1) remain just, and 2) that in pardoning many, He would be the justifier of the ungodly through faith. Christ died first and foremost to show that though God is merciful in passing over former sins, all the punishment for sin will be met out in its fullness, either in the unrepentant sinner, or within Christ's once-for-all-time sacrificial work upon the cross.

Before Christ came, God had relented His anger many times, against Israel and without, passing over their sins without a punishment. Yes, many times His wrath burned and took out entire cities, and yet many other times, God spared cities (like Nineveh). How in the world can He be just if He doesn't meet out full judgment on those who have earned and deserved His wrath? That's the very thing that Jonah desired to have happen to Nineveh. He wanted to see divine justice rain down (much because of his own nationalistic pride and unmerciful heart toward Nineveh). So how can God be merciful (to Nineveh for example) and yet still retain the glory and honor of His name that had been trodden under foot by the nations?

Only through the incarnation of Christ, living as we live, yet without sin, fulfilling the Law of God perfectly from our side, in our place, dying the hell-bound sinners death we deserved upon the cross, in our place, and rising from the grave, was this at all possible. For God to remain just in justifying sinners, He took His own wrath in Himself in the Person of Christ. God the Son took God the Father's punishment willingly so that He could still be just and righteous and yet we could still be set free from the bondage of sin and enjoy the glory of God forever!

This is one of the greatest things that happened at the cross. Jesus is the Great justice and mercy conundrum harmonizer. In Him all God's justice was satisfied toward those who would believe in Him through faith and then they go free from eternal punishment. It makes the picture of God being your shield and fortress spoken in the Psalms a lot clearer now huh? Christ is the shield and the fortress.

This still amazes me to this day, as I pray it always does and never gets old. God Justified me at the cross, it is a done deal. How can we not live to His glory after having not only seen but experienced this kind of love? It is astonishing. This is and should be the core motivation of our lives in every good work we do, whether Scripture reading, feeding the poor in order to share the Gospel, eating, drinking, leading a Bible study, hanging out, thinking, voting, and relaxing. Do all these things in light of God's mercy to us in Christ and do all of them to His glory, giving Him thanks and honor for sustaining any of it by the power of His Word in fathomless grace.

All of that to say that Jesus is the fulfillment and harmonizer of the ideas within Daniel 9:16. In Christ's wrath-bearing sacrifice, as a lamb slaughtered upon the cross, risen from the grave, God remains just and perfectly righteous while justifying sinners. Unbelievable! This is pure Gospel, pure good news for those who are whipped up and downtrodden, in bondage to sin and standing under the wrath of God at this very moment. Flee to Christ for refuge from the wrath to come but also refuge and true satisfaction in the here and now, in order that you may live a life that is honoring and pleasing to Him. He is the Great depression-healer, the Great loneliness-filler, the Great wrath-bearer, the Great Law-fulfiller, the Great filth-cleanser, by His blood. He is our everything for He is the Master of the universe, intricately and intimately controlling all the various arrangements of all that is, including our very lives.

The roots of this grace were laid long ago before Christ came in the flesh, long before Daniel, long before Israel came to be, long before Abraham, before Noah, before Adam even. The roots of God's grace go into eternity, into the very counsel of the Trinity. The justice, wrath, righteousness, grace, mercy, and love of God are the essence of His being and are brought into clear focus upon the cross of Jesus.

At the cross we see the absolute seriousness of our sin, that the Son of God had to take it in Himself in such an awful display of grotesqueness so that we might be saved. And here we see how great love this is that would go to such extremes, not merely to show us how much He loved us (as an example), but to actually step in the way of God's wrath for any who would believe in Him, in order that we may be rescued from it.

Seemingly contradictory ideas, justice and mercy, are brought into complete harmony in the Person and Work of Jesus Christ. How marvelous and how wonderful! I pray all who read this take the time to meditate upon this wonderful Gospel God has granted to us in the Person of Christ who was made a person like any one of us. That little baby that was born, fully God and fully man, came with a purpose, a purpose He Himself makes clear in Mark 10:45: "The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." This is the core reason for Christmas, the clear and loud proclamation of the Gospel. May we use this time to herald the good news of Christ, that salvation has come!