wayfaring stranger (but not lost)

Is "defending Christian rights" truly Christian?

2011-12-31T14:00:00.000-08:00

With the rise of the Tea Party in the United States, there are many U.S. Christians who have rediscovered their republican and revolutionary heritage. Given that many (though certainly not all) of the Founding Fathers were Christian and expressed political views premised on Biblical truths, these Christians see divine inspiration in the original form of the Declaration of Independence, Constitution, and the first 10 constitutional amendments approved by the revolutionaries protecting personal liberties against government intrusion.

However, the Founding Fathers also held unbiblical views, or at least views that Christians today would acknowledge as not in line with Christian thinking. Jefferson edited the New Testament to exclude miraculous events and the deity of Jesus Christ, and many of the founders from the South lived off the sweat of slaves even though they expressed distaste for slavery. One view that all of them held, however, was a vehement passion for personal political and religious liberty, especially against monarchal tyranny.

This last view is best expressed in the phrase "Don't Tread on Me" which has regained popularity recently as an expression of anger against an increasingly intrusive federal government. The origins of the phrase lie with Benjamin Franklin who anonymously penned an essay, calling on the 13 colonies to unite in defense of their rights. Franklin compared the colonies to a rattlesnake that warns others against infringing on its rights and territory, and then delivers lethal strikes when those warnings go unheeded. During the war, a regiment from South Carolina used the coiled rattlesnake image on a flag with the motto, "Don't Tread on Me." As an aside, this used to be the title of one of my favorite Metallica songs, which actually stays pretty faithful to the attitude of the Founding Fathers.

Leaving the specifics of conservative and liberal politics aside, how does this fit with the viewpoint of the Bible and especially the New Testament? Not very well, I'm afraid. While God did use the judges to liberate Israel from Philistine oppression, He also commanded the Israelites through Jeremiah to be subject to the Babylonians. The relation between God-followers and the state becomes more clear cut in the New Testament. Jesus famously did not stand up for his own rights, but purposely subjected himself to unjust treatment at the hands of the Roman and Jewish authorities. Paul, while always availing himself to his rights as a Roman citizen, nevertheless did not appeal to any God-given rights when defending himself publicly. He submitted to years of incarceration at Caesarea and Rome, and eventually to beheading at the hands of Nero. The message of Jesus, Peter, and Paul, in both word and deed, could be summed up thus: "Submit always, obey when possible."

This attitude was carried on by the early Christians when defending themselves publicly against persecution. The early church never took up arms, as did the Jewish nationalists who rebelled against the Romans and eventually saw Jerusalem burned and depopulated in 70 A.D. Instead, the early Christians insisted on being excellent subjects to even the most unjust rulers, following the example laid down by Jesus and the apostles. In his First Apology, Justin Martyr appealed to the emperors, the Roman senate, and the entire empire on behalf of Christians falsely accused of incest, murder, and other criminal activity. He wrote:

So we ask that the actions of those who are denounced to you be investigated, in order that whoever is convicted may be punished as a criminal, but not as a Christian, and that whoever is shown to be innocent may be freed, committing no crime by being a Christian.

Justin sets a precedent for other apologists in the early church who advocate for what is right and just, and appeal to the law when possible, but never threaten retribution or physical defense of those rights. Instead, these Christians "entrusted themselves to Him who judges justly."

What should Christians in the United States do then when faced with injustice and infringement of their Constitutionally guaranteed liberties? I would say that it would be wise to stick with the pattern set down by Jesus, Peter, and Paul. This is not to say evil is good or that we should sit by idly when we see injustice. Perhaps even, there is a time when Christians should take up arms, though I think it would be up to the Spirit-influenced conscience of each individual whether to take that step.

Yes, America is drifting away from God and U.S. Christians today live in a dramatically different societal atmosphere than five decades ago. More and more, American society resembles the pagan society of the Roman empire before Constantine. This is both bad and good, depending on how you look at it. It's bad in that society inevitably suffers when hearts turn cold toward God. It's good in that hopefully Christians will have a chance to shine as a light in a dark house by advocating for what is just and right and by not operating according to the "principles of the world." For those inclined, I would recommend the essay "The Christian's political responsibility in light of the New Testament" by C.E.B. Cranfield.

Pasted below is a sermon I preached recently where I apply the advice that Peter gave persecuted Christians to our situation today.

How to Respond to Unjust Suffering - 1 Peter 2 and 3 (Sermon)

A message for those with low self-esteem

2011-12-28T09:53:00.001-08:00

This is a sermon that I wrote this past year, based on Jeremiah 1:4-10. In it, God declares that He has known Jeremiah and accepts Him, faults and all. God tells Jeremiah that He created him for a specific purpose, and that He will support Jeremiah and empower him to fulfill everything that He's called him to.Overcoming Low Self-Esteem - Jeremiah 1:4-10 (Sermon)

My review of The New Matthew Henry Commentary from Zondervan

2011-12-12T18:50:00.000-08:00

The New Matthew Henry Commentary from Zondervan

I purchased The New Matthew Henry Commentary from Zondervan for three of my friends recently. We are all pastors at the same church and I've benefited greatly from the original Matthew Henry Commentary during sermon preparation. Henry delivers the "old school" gospel. This was the book that basically served as seminary training for the English revivalist George Whitefield, who read a multi-volume series repeatedly when he was a teenager. I especially like Henry's commentaries on the Jesus' parables in the gospels.

Despite the value that I've derived from the commentary, I had previously hesitated from passing this on to my friends because the language is very old and the particular book I use, an unabridged, 2,000-page, 5.6-lbs beast from Hendrickson, has smaller type than my pocket bible. I have to use a special reading lamp when using the commentary to keep from going blind. Don't get me wrong--I still love it to death! I did major in English Literature in college, after all.

Anyway, the "new" version from Zondervan was released in late 2010 and promised updated, modern language. And, it's incredibly inexpensive, listing at just under $20 from Barnes & Noble.

So, the new books arrived the other day and I made an inspection. The good: 1) Nice quality. The paper is thin, but super-bright. 2) The text is very readable. Zondervan did a great job of handling the point-by-point style of Henry. 3) The updated language seems pretty faithful to Henry's original. The bad: 1) As I was afraid, the "updated" language also meant cutting a lot of wordiness, which I'm not going to defend. Yes, Matthew Henry was extremely wordy. And, he would leave no pebble unturned when examining the scriptures. However, a quick comparison of the commentary on Genesis 2 revealed that the editing job was indeed an abridgment, not simply an "updating" of the language into modern phraseology. The section I compared lost at least half of the words. Yes, some of the cut sentences were repetitious, but they explained what Henry was saying in a fuller sense.

If you're looking for an accessible Matthew Henry Commentary, this might be the one to go with. I'd say it compares very well with other abridged versions. I'm not ashamed to give this book as a gift. However, negative points to Zondervan for not being clear that this is an abridged version that loses a lot of the original material.

How God works in a sick and broken world

2011-11-03T22:26:00.000-07:00

Matthew 5:13-16

13 “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness,how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to bethrown out and trampled by men.

14 “You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden.15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put iton its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way,let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praiseyour Father in heaven.

We all seesymptoms of a sick and broken world around us. Eighteen people pass by a toddler bleeding in the middle of the street. Evil people enslave young girls to make money and gratify the lusts of perverse men. And, just like in ancient Israel, the richand powerful “grind the faces of the poor” and “covet fields and seize them, andhouses, and take them” from the weak and vulnerable.

It’s nowonder that Paul says that all creation is groaning as though in the pains ofchildbirth. What is the solution? Why doesn’t God do anything?

Read whatJesus said to His followers in His Sermon on the Mount. “You are the salt ofthe earth,” He said. “You are the light of the world.” Jesus called hisfollowers to preserve, flavor, and give light to a dark and decaying world.

The nameChristian means “little Christ.” When we follow our Master, our 師父, we become part of His solution.Definitely, there is a heaven and hell where God will balance the scales. But westill have a job to do while we are here on earth. We are to be salt and light.

What goodis it if salt loses its saltiness? What good his a lamp kept under a bowl? Howcan we be a solution for the world if we think and act the same as everyoneelse does? “If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are noteven the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your brothers, whatare you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that?”

No, we areto love our enemies and bless those who persecute us. If someone who has powerover you abuses that power, willingly submit to them. God makes the rain fallon the righteous and unrighteous both because He cares for them. He wants allmen to be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth.

Why is itthat so many who are not believers reject God? Isn’t it because His followersare no better—in some cases, worse—than these unbelievers? If salt loses itssaltiness, how can it be made salty again?

God wantsus to be perfect, just as He is perfect. In this way, His light will shinethrough us before men, just as a lamp gives light to everyone in a house. “Beperfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

Social justice in the Old Testament: Debt cancelation

2011-09-19T16:53:00.000-07:00

[This is an exerpt from a book I'm writing on social justice in the Old Testament.]

The seventh-year Sabbath taught another aspect of God’smerciful salvation: debt forgiveness. While their land enjoyed a Sabbath rest, Mosesrequired the Israelites to forgive the debts owed them by fellow Israelites.

At the end of every seven years you must cancel debts. Thisis how it is to be done: Every creditor shall cancel the loan he has made tohis fellow Israelite. He shall not require payment from his fellow Israelite orbrother, because the LORD’s time for canceling debts has been proclaimed. Youmay require payment from a foreigner, but you must cancel any debt your brotherowes you.[1]

Because they were prohibited from charging interest on loansmade to their countrymen, the Israelites already had a disincentive to lendmoney to those who needed it. But, the Sabbath year demanded even more,requiring the Israelites to not only offer interest-free loans, but tocompletely cancel the debts at the end of the Sabbatical cycle of years. From anatural, individualistic perspective, this command seems grossly unfair. Interest-freeloans seem indulgent by most standards, but interest-free loans with a highlikelihood of default are nonsensical in any time and place. However, asrecipients of God’s abundant grace, the Israelites were obligated to extendextraordinary grace to weak and vulnerable groups in their own society.

Moses continued, warning the Israelites from feigning aninability to lend.

If there is a poor man among your brothers in any of thetowns of the land that the LORD your God is giving you, do not be hardheartedor tightfisted toward your poor brother. Rather be openhanded and freely lendhim whatever he needs. Be careful not to harbor this wicked thought: “Theseventh year, the year for cancelling debts, is near,” so that you do not showill will toward your needy brother and give him nothing. He may then appeal tothe LORD against you, and you will be found guilty of sin. Give generously tohim and do so without a grudging heart; then because of this the LORD your Godwill bless you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to. Therewill always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to beopenhanded toward your brothers and toward the poor and needy in your land.[2]

These verses reveal the moral principle behind the commandto cancel debts. As with the commands concerning day laborers, gleaning, andthe tithe, Moses put the command to lend freely in the context of theIsraelites’ relationship with God. They were debtors to God, and must likewiseforgive debts owed them. Rich and poor alike, all Israelites understood theywere indebted to God. Not only had He rescued them from their Egyptian slavery,but He had also provided a covering for the sin that separated them fromHimself. God prescribed elaborate sacrifices meant to illustrate the atonementof people’s sin. Blood, representing life, was the required payment for sin inmost cases.[3]Because of these sacrifices, the sin that separated them from God was removed.Therefore, the Israelites alone among all people on earth could claim to have aGod that dwelt in their midst in the form of the tabernacle, and later, in thetemple in Jerusalem.

All this ritual was designed to demonstrate the indebtednessof the Israelites and their rescue from that debt by God. This debtor-saviorrelationship required the Israelites to relate to one another accordingly,including rescuing their brother or sister who fell into poverty with freeloans cancelled every seven years. More than a thousand years later, Jesus repeatedlydrew the same lesson, teaching, “Freely you have received, freely give,” “Giveand it will be given to you,” and “Forgive us our debts, as we also haveforgiven our debtors.” Jesus most fully illustrated the obligation of thedebtor in His parable of the unmerciful servant: A servant owed his master anexceedingly large amount of money. Graciously, the master forgave the debtentirely, saving the servant from ruin. However, the servant went on to meetone of his fellows who owed him a small sum and inflexibly demanded a prompt repayment.On hearing of this injustice, the master of the first servant grew incrediblyangry and threw the first servant into prison until he should pay back everypenny of his original debt.

In the same way, in light of their covenant relationship toGod, the Israelites cancelled loans on the seventh year out of obligation, notcharity. Charity implies giving when otherwise not required. But, only God isin the position to extend that type of free grace. As debtors themselves,Israelites who skirted the command to provide for those in need practicedinjustice. Failing to provide for the poor was a positive offense against Godand a breach of the covenant. Moses reminded the Israelites that if they failedin this regard, the poor could legitimately expect God to take up their causeagainst those who did not lend, not to mention cancel debts at the end of sevenyears.

[1]Deuteronomy 15:1-3

[2]Deuteronomy 15:7-11

[3]God made an exception for poor people who could not afford the more customarygoat, lamb, or pair of doves: “If, however, he cannot afford two doves or twopigeons, he is to bring as an offering for his sin a tenth of an ephah of fineflour for a sin offering.” A tenth of an ephah is about one-tenth of the amountof grain that Ruth gathered in her first day at Boaz’s field.

[This post is an excerpt of my work-in-progress book on social justice in the Old Testament. Feedback is welcome! More on Learning to Do Right.]

Social justice in the Old Testament: Sabbath rest

2011-09-12T17:18:00.000-07:00

[This is an exerpt from a book I'm writing on social justice in the Old Testament.]

After six days of creation, God rested from His work on theseventh day, establishing His pattern of Sabbath rest. Speaking through Moseson Mt. Sinai, God instructed the Israelites to follow His example by observinga day of rest on the Sabbath. This was the fourth commandment of the famous TenCommandments. Expounding on the Ten Commandments forty years after firstdelivering them, Moses specifically linked observance of the Sabbath with God’srescue of the Israelites from slavery:

Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy, as the LORD yourGod has commanded you. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but theseventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work,neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, noryour ox, your donkey or any of your animals, nor the alien within your gates,so that your manservant and maidservant may rest, as you do. Remember that youwere slaves in Egypt and that the LORD your God brought you out of there with amighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the LORD your God has commandedyou to observe the Sabbath day.[1]

Moses asked all members of Israelite society, from thehighest to the lowest, and even including the foreigners who lived among them, tocease from work for one day out of seven. While an irreligious, wealthyIsraelite landowner may have chafed at the cessation of work on his property,the Sabbath was a welcome respite for the slave of his household and for hishired workers—not to mention his oxen, horses, and donkeys! A believinglandowner, however, would welcome the rest as a reminder of God’s pledge toprovide for those who trusted in Him, rich and poor alike. As they rested fromwork on the Sabbath, Moses asked the Israelites to remember God’s care andattention to them in their misery. The Sabbath served to regularly remind theIsraelites had time to reflect on how much God had provided for them, rescuingthem from slavery and establishing them as an independent nation in a “land ofmilk and honey.” In addition, the Sabbath was a time to look forward to theultimate rest that the Messiah would bring.[2]

The Sabbath occurred every seven days, but every seventhyear was also a Sabbath in an analogous sense. Teaching the same lessons of trustand salvation that marked the weekly Sabbath, the seventh-year Sabbath requiredIsraelites to let their land lie fallow and allow it to replenish nutrients andregain fertility. Israelites that owned land and storehouses would not need tocultivate, sow, or reap during the Sabbath year because God promised to providea super-abundant harvest on the sixth year. The poor inhabitants of Israelwithout land or storehouses were allowed to freely pick olives, grapes, andother produce that grew unaided during this time.

Observation of this seventh-year Sabbath required specialtrust in God. All humankind experiences and understands the need to ceaselesslywork, whether out of greed for more wealth or simply to provide sustenance forourselves and our families. This toilsome need stems from the curse that befellour ancestor Adam: “By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food.” In hissecond letter to the Thessalonians, Paul put it in even more simple terms: “Ifa man will not work, he shall not eat.” Because of this need, it feelsunnatural to cease from our efforts to provide for ourselves. But God wants Hispeople to acknowledge the salvation that comes from Him alone and He asked theIsraelites to do this by resting on the Sabbath.

King Ahaz and King Hezekiah of Judah, father and son,illustrate God’s pleasure in those who rely on Him for salvation. When theAssyrian army threatened Judah, King Ahaz sought help from the other greatregional power, Egypt, instead of turning to God. Simultaneously, Ahaz offeredsacrifices to the gods of Damascus, reasoning that those gods had helped hisenemies overcome him. This complete lack of trust greatly displeased God, whospoke through the prophet Isaiah, “In repentance and rest is your salvation, inquietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it.” Godwanted the Israelites to learn to rest in Him, to cease from their labor andtrust God to provide what they needed. Ahaz’s faith-filled son, King Hezekiah,stood in stark counterpoint to his father. When faced with the same Assyrianthreat, Hezekiah trusted in God’s salvation instead of seeking alliances orother help outside of God’s will. As a result, God sent a destroying angel intothe Assyrian camp and annihilated the Assyrian army. The prophesies of Isaiahrecord God’s view of both King Ahaz and King Hezekiah, and instructed theIsraelites and modern-day Christians to trust God and not our own efforts. Boththe weekly Sabbath and the seventh year in the Sabbatical cycle taught and testedthe Israelites in their trust in God. The Sabbath command presented them with achoice to be feckless and faithless like Ahaz or steady and trusting likeHezekiah.

[1]Deuteronomy 5:12-15

[2]See Psalm 72 for an example of Israel’s Messianic hope, and Hebrews 4:1-3 andColossians 2:16-17 for the fulfillment of the Sabbath in Jesus Christ.

[This post is an excerpt of my work-in-progress book on social justice in the Old Testament. Feedback is welcome! More on Learning to Do Right.]

Social justice in Old Testament rules for gleaning

2011-07-09T16:10:00.000-07:00

[This is an exerpt from a book I'm writing on social justice in the Old Testament.]

Upuntil very recent times, the economy in the land of Israel was primarilyagricultural. This was especially true in biblical times. The Bible is repletewith references to sowing, reaping, threshing, and milling; and to vineyardsand olive groves. The annual harvests of grain, olives, and grapes representeda significant portion, if not the majority, of national economic production. InDeuteronomy 8:8, Moses describes the land of Israel as “a land with wheat andbarley, vines and fig trees, pomegranates, olive oil and honey.”

Inaddition to comprising a major part of the national economy, grain was an essentialdietary staple that played an important role in people’s everyday lives. Eachmorning, women ground grain by hand for that day’s bread.[1]When Jesus taught His disciples to pray, “Give us each day our daily bread,” Heused the bread baked each morning to symbolize God’s provision for His people.He emphasized the daily aspect of bread making, recalling the bread called manna that God provided for theIsraelites after they escaped from Egypt into the wilderness. The Book ofExodus says manna fell with the dew each morning like thin flakes of frost, andwas colored white like coriander seed, and tasted like wafers made with honey.Each morning, the Israelites gathered a daily supply of manna, which they wouldprepare by baking or boiling it. Any manna stored overnight would rot bymorning.

TheIsraelites who listened to Moses relay God’s instructions at the foot of MountSinai well understood the daily necessity of manna, the bread from heaven—theyhad likely gathered and baked cakes of manna that very morning and had eatenthem that day. But now, looking forward to the time when the Israelites hadestablished themselves in the Promise Land, God instructed the Israelites toprovide grain and other staple crops for poor and vulnerable groups in society.

Whenyou reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your fieldor gather the gleanings of your harvest. Do not go over your vineyard a secondtime or pick up the grapes that have fallen. Leave them for the poor and thealien. I am the LORD your God.[2]

Fortyyears later, in Deuteronomy, Moses characteristically expands on the commandgiven in Leviticus.

Whenyou are harvesting in your field and you overlook a sheaf, do not go back toget it. Leave it for the alien, the fatherless, and the widow, so that the LORDyour God may bless you in all the work of your hands. When you beat the olivesfrom your trees, do not go over the branches a second time. Leave what remainsfor the alien, the fatherless, and the widow. When you harvest the grapes inyour vineyard, do not go over the vines again. Leave what remains for thealien, the fatherless, and the widow. Remember that you were slaves in Egypt.That is why I command you to do this.[3]

Mosestold the Israelites not to harvest to the extreme edges of their fields, nor togo over their fields a second time to pick up what was left over after theharvesters had bundled the sheaves of grain. In the same way, Moses prohibitedthe Israelites from beating their olive trees a second time or returning torecover what fruit remained after picking their grapes from the vine.

Mosesgave several reasons for this instruction. First, the remaining grain, olives,and grapes would provide sustenance and gainful employment for people who livedon society’s margins: poor immigrants, orphans, and widows. The Book of Ruthprovides an imperfect but instructive example of how this worked. One of thebook’s major protagonists, Ruth, is both a widow and an immigrant who lived inIsrael during the time of the judges, before any monarchy was established. Asthe author of the Book of Judges repeatedly notes, “In those days, Israel hadno king; everyone did as he saw fit.” A cursory reading of Judges depicts abrutish, lawless, and predatory society. Fortunately for Ruth, she immigratedto Bethlehem in Judah, where some people followed the instruction that God hadgiven to the Israelites, including a noble landowner named Boaz. She arrivedjust as the barley harvest was beginning and travelled out of the town and intothe fields to see if she could glean from an amiable landowner. As it happened,Ruth found herself gleaning behind the harvesters in the field of Boaz. It isworthwhile to note what Boaz tells Ruth when they first meet.

SoBoaz said to Ruth, “My daughter, listen to me. Don’t go and glean in anotherfield and don’t go away from here. Stay here with my servant girls. Watch thefield where the men are harvesting, and follow along after the girls. I havetold the men not to touch you.”[4]

Boazimplies that Ruth would not be welcome in some fields, or worse, that evil menwould mistreat or kidnap a lone woman found in the countryside. This was wiseadvice given the social degradation in Israel at the time. Ruth’s mother-in-lawreinforces Boaz’s warning, saying, “It will be good for you, my daughter, to gowith his girls, because in someone else’s field you might be harmed.”[5]In the midst of lawlessness, Boaz faithfully followed the Mosaic Law, allowingRuth to gather food for herself and her mother-in-law. And, because of Boaz’sobedience, Ruth had a respectable way of earning a living. The Bible says thatafter working from morning till evening and threshing the barely she hadgathered, it measured approximately 20 quarts or 22 liters—a substantial amountthat would feed her small family for some time. In addition, Ruth and hermother-in-law could use the barley to barter for necessary goods, as was commonin the ancient world without an easily accessible standard of currency.[6]

Accordingto Moses, the second reason for God’s instruction was to ensure God’s blessing.Leave something behind, Moses told the Israelite landowners, “so that the LORDyour God may bless you in all the work of your hands.” By purposefully refusingto take maximum profits during the harvest, the owner of the field, grove, orvineyard would realize even greater profitability from their enterprise. God’smessage here is counterintuitive unless put into the context of God’s covenantwith His people Israel. God called the Israelites out of Egypt so that He couldmake them a nation that reflected His just, loving, and holy character. IfIsraelite society functioned according to God’s moral precepts, they wouldreceive His blessing.

Youhave decreed this day that the LORD is your God and that you will walk in hisways, that you will keep his decrees, commands and laws, and that you will obeyhim. And the LORD has declared this day that you are his people, his treasuredpossession as he promised, and that you are to keep all his commands. He hasdeclared that he will set you in praise, fame and honor high above all thenations he has made and that you will be a people holy to the LORD your God, ashe promised.[7]

So,although the gleaning provision was wasteful from an individual point of view,it was very efficient in terms of accomplishing God’s purposes for Israelitesociety, specifically His desire for justice which includes salvation for theweak and oppressed. Moreover, God promised supernatural fruitfulness for theindividual landowner so that he would receive more than he gave up. As Proverbs11:24-25 reads, “One person gives freely, yet gains even more; anotherwithholds unduly, but comes to poverty. A generous person will prosper; whoeverrefreshes others will be refreshed.”

Today,Christians can make similar economic choices that may seem somewhat inefficientfrom an individualistic point of view, but are efficient from the standpoint ofseeing justice done in society. When purchasing a product or service, we shouldnot seek the best price and value, but also take into consideration thebusiness practices of the companies that we buy from. We should be aware of theeffects of our purchases on others, especially the poor and vulnerable. Is yourlaptop assembled in factories that treat their workers poorly for the sake ofprofit? Does the disposable electronic toy you bought for your nephew containraw metals mined from strip mines that destroy forests and pollute rivers?

Intoday’s hyper-efficient market economy, Christian consumers need toconscientiously leave some margin for the sustenance and gainful employment ofvulnerable people by purchasing products and services from companies thatoperate in a responsible manner. Companies exist to make a profit, not tofollow ethical rules. Left to themselves, companies will maximize profits anyway possible. It is the responsibility of consumers to give companies a profitincentive in operating responsibly, even compassionately.

Thethird reason Moses gave for leaving a portion of the crop for those who neededit was because the Israelites had themselves been in a helpless, hopelesssituation. Many of the Israelites camped at the foot of Mount Sinai listeningto Moses likely bore scars laid on them by their Egyptian taskmasters. Becausethe God of justice “heard their cry” and saved them from oppression, they nowenjoyed freedom unknown to generations before them. God also called them outinto the desert where he fed them with manna each morning and quail eachevening, teaching them to trust in the God of mercy and grace for everything inlife.

Mosesreminded the Israelites of the justice and mercy they received from God:“Remember that you were slaves in Egypt. That is why I command you to do this.”Likewise, the Israelites should act with justice and mercy toward weak,vulnerable, and oppressed people in their midst. In the same way that God savedthem from cruel slavery, the Israelites could help save poor immigrants,widows, and orphans from danger and wicked people, just as Boaz saved Ruth. Inthe same way God provided manna for the Israelites in the desert, theIsraelites could provide sustenance and gainful employment for those who neededit by following God’s harvesting instructions.

[1]This is the reason why God prohibited the Israelites from taking millstones asdebt collateral in Deuteronomy 24:6, “Do not take a pair of millstones—not eventhe upper one—as security for a debt, because that would be taking a man’slivelihood as security.”

[2]Leviticus 19:9-10, seealso 23:22

[3]Deuteronomy 24:19-22

[4]Ruth 2:8

[5]Ruth 2:22

[6]Israel did not use a currency until after the Exile.

[7]Deuteronomy 26:17-19

[This post is an excerpt of my work-in-progress book on social justice in the Old Testament. Feedback is welcome! More on Learning to Do Right.]

Deriving principles from the Old Testament

2011-06-28T10:15:00.000-07:00

[This is an exerpt from a book I'm writing on social justice in the Old Testament.]

The Old Testament reveals the nature of God and His expectations for societal interactions. It is an amazing, coherent narrative showing how God chose one nation—the Israelites—out of many nations to demonstrate to all people who He is, who humans are, and how God and humans relate to one another. God’s dealings with the Israelites in the Old Testament are for our instruction today. Paul used examples from Israel’s history to warn the church in Corinth against idolatry, and then explained, “These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings to us, on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come.”[1] Following the example of Paul, Christians today can examine the history of God’s relationship with the Israelites and derive principles that are applicable in modern situations.

Identifying the principles taught in the Old Testament does not require extraordinary spiritual insight. There is no secret “Bible code” that Christians must learn before interpreting the Bible. Ordinary Christians endowed with discernment by the Holy Spirit—and, perhaps, some basic historical context provided by a study Bible—can understand and apply the principles laid out in the Old Testament. However, Christians must read the scriptures responsibly, just as they would read any other text responsibly: in context and faithful to the author’s intent. For example, when reading correspondence between two people, one would first want to understand who is writing to whom, the occasion of the letter, and the intent of the author before trying to discern the “meaning.” The same diligence is required when reading the Old Testament. Unfortunately, many Christians skip the work of reading the Bible responsibly and jump straight into interpretation and application devoid of context. Doing so, they derive “meanings” that neither the author nor the recipients of the book would never have imagined.[2]

To properly interpret the Old Testament, we must understand that its authors, although inspired by God, were not mindless robots taking divine dictation. They always had a purpose for writing, an intended audience, and a message to convey. Even in the case of the prophetic books, we can safely assume that the prophecies and historical interludes were recorded in the books with a specific audience and message in mind. Sometimes the audience and message were roughly contemporary to the events described, as with Deuteronomy, Nehemiah, or Ezra. Other times, such as with Chronicles, the author and audience lived and wrote centuries after the histories recorded, compiling existing written or oral accounts.[3] But, in general, the authors were Israelites writing to other Israelites about what happened in the past, with the aim of helping the audience understand the character and requirements of God for their contemporary situation, especially in light of God’s special promise to the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

Acknowledging the author, audience, and message of the Old Testament does not diminish its divine message, but instead clarifies and even elevates it. Taken together, the Old Testament is extraordinary in world literature, with a consistent theme that stretches across a millennium. It begins with Moses, who recorded the history of man’s beginnings, the relationship between God and Abraham, the lives of the other patriarchs, and the law (or, instruction) given by God. Moses’ aim in recording all this was to remind the Israelites of their special role in history and of God’s expectations for them as they established their new nation in the Promised Land. Many centuries later, after the Israelites had been carried into exile by the Babylonians, the authors of Kings and Chronicles wrote histories of the kings of Judah and Israel to help Israelites understand their national tragedy—why God allowed the scattering of the Israelite nation. The prophets before and after the exile recorded God’s direct messages to the Israelites, reminding them of His covenant with their nation, the disastrous ramifications for their breaking that covenant, and the promises of mercy and blessing to come.

With a perspective that takes into account the author, audience, and message, every Christian today can read the Old Testament expecting to learn something about who God is, how He wanted the Israelites to relate to one another, and how He responded when they failed to follow His commands. And, once the Christian understands what a particular Old Testament book meant for the original audience, they can then begin to answer the question, “What does this passage mean for me today?” By studying the examples given in the Old Testament in this responsible manner, Christians can derive principles—understood in the light of teaching in the New Testament—that they can then apply to current situations.

[1] 1 Corinthians 10:11

[2] The exception is the New Testament authors who were inspired by the Holy Spirit in a unique way, or when the Holy Spirit reveals personally applicable messages to Christians in a way that is consistent with the rest of the Bible message.

[3] Take Chronicles, for example. Eight generations of descendants are listed after the post-exile governor Zerubbabel in 1 Chronicles 3:19-24. That would indicate an authorship for Chronicles around 400 B.C., whereas the events recorded in Chronicles occur centuries before.

[This post is an excerpt of my work-in-progress book on social justice in the Old Testament. Feedback is welcome! More on Learning to Do Right.]

Child sacrifice as analogous to abortion

2011-06-22T12:06:00.000-07:00

[This is an exerpt from a book I'm writing on social justice in the Old Testament.]

A study of child sacrifice in the Old Testament yields some basic lessons that Christians can apply to the modern debate surrounding abortion. The Old Testament repeatedly conveys God’s abhorrence of child sacrifice. God commanded the Israelites through Moses, “Do not give up any of your children to be sacrificed to Molech [a Canaanite god], for you must not profane the name of your God. I am the Lord.”[1] God says that child sacrifice is antithetical to true worship, and that the Israelites profane His name if they practice it while claiming to be His specially chosen people. Despite this clear command, the Israelites did eventually sacrifice their children to Molech. The author of Chronicles condemns various Israelite kings for sacrificing their own children and for allowing their subjects to do so. Later, prophets warn the Israelites against child sacrifice, reminding them of God’s command given in Leviticus. The command is clear, yet the Israelites repeatedly fall into this sin.

The Book of Jeremiah provides a glimpse into the possible motive for the Israelites murdering their own children—something contrary to nature. Influenced by their Canaanite neighbors, the Israelites had begun sacrificing their children to idols in the hope that they would receive good harvests or other favors.[2] [3] “They have built the high places of Topheth in the Valley of Ben Hinnom to burn their sons and daughters in the fire—something I did not command, nor did it enter my mind,” God says through the prophet.[4] To the Israelites in Jeremiah’s time, sacrificing their children was a way to make their lives better: relief from famine, victory over an adversary, or success in a business venture. It is too easy for modern-day readers to condemn the Israelites as bloodthirsty idol-worshippers. When they sacrificed their child to the gods, Israelite parents made a pragmatic decision that weighed the lives of that child against their own welfare or the welfare of their family. In the midst of a drought and looking at the child they intended to kill, many Israelite parents must have thought, “What good would it be for this child to grow up in our house if we have nothing to feed them?” Unless there is evidence to the contrary, the reader must assume these parents shed profuse tears of grief as their child burned.

By observing the issue of child sacrifice in the Old Testament and interpreting the relevant passages in context, Christian readers today come away with a message that is tremendously applicable to the modern issue of abortion. Although people today do not abort their children in sacrifice to a physical idol, they largely share the same motivations as the Israelites did in 600 B.C. To be generous, most women who abort their children, or fathers that urge an abortion, believe it will be the best solution to what is often an admittedly difficult problem. An unplanned pregnancy in today’s society can upset plans for college, family finances, or career aspirations. Weighed against these consequences, parents today may decide to abort their child—contrary to their natural instinct to protect and love a unique life bequeathed to them by God.

Christians who regard the Bible as the word of God cannot question the immorality of abortion: it is directly analogous to the child sacrifice in the Old Testament that God unambiguously condemns. Every human life is a sacrosanct gift entrusted to a natural family, whether planned or not, or convenient or not. But, Christians diverge when it comes to applying the teaching of Scripture in a representative democracy. Based on their understanding of God’s righteousness standard, Christians that adopt the “pro-life” position believe that they must do everything they can democratically, including peaceful protest, to minimize the number of elective abortions where the life of the mother is not in danger. Christians adopting the “pro-choice” position agree with biblical teaching that abortion is immoral, but they maintain that the government cannot legislate morality and that abortion is a personal matter for the mother to decide. Dictates of conscience, however, require Bible-believing Christians advocate the former position, as is argued in the previous chapter.

[This post is an excerpt of my work-in-progress book on social justice in the Old Testament. Feedback is welcome! More on Learning to Do Right.]

[1] Leviticus 18:21

[2] We see an example of this motive in 2 Kings 3:26-27. With his army defeated and his capital besieged by the Israelites, the king of Moab offered his firstborn son on the city walls as a propitiation to the gods.

[3] These Israelites still worshipped the God of their ancestors, Yahweh, but saw nothing wrong with worshiping the gods of the nations that surrounded them as well. King Solomon set the precedent for this syncretistic worship several hundred years earlier. 2 Kings 11:4-5, “As Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods, and his heart was not fully devoted to the Lord his God, as the heart of David his father had been. He followed Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and Molech the detestable god of the Ammonites.”

[4] On three separate occasions in Jeremiah, God emphatically denies that He ever wanted the Israelites to sacrifice their children. God told them that, if they sought His favor, then sacrificing their children would by no means induce Him to bless them. Jeremiah 7:31, above, and also repeated in 19:5 and 32:35.

God’s justice includes salvation for the weak and oppressed

2011-06-10T22:32:00.000-07:00

[This is an exerpt from a book I'm writing on social justice in the Old Testament.]

In the same way that Christians can find biblical principles in the Old Testament to answer the specific question of abortion, they can find the principles of justice and righteousness that help clarify biblical teaching on social justice. Following the pattern shown in the preceding section, the place to start is in the law given to Moses. What the Old Testament is to the Bible, the Mosaic Law is to the Old Testament. The instruction that God gave to the Israelites in the Torah is the background necessary to understand Old Testament history and prophesy. In it, God lays out the terms of His covenant with the Israelites and the teaching to which they must adhere as a society.

The law is the touchstone for understanding social morality and is replete with provisions meant to ensure an equitable society. If asked about these provisions, many Christians today would think of the commands that ensure fairness and impartiality. For example, the law not only prohibits stealing outright but even includes details such as the prohibition against moving a boundary marker between properties. In the judicial process, the law forbids both perjury and partiality. The law also includes sundry other stipulations for fair conduct between husbands and wives, and masters and slaves. Perhaps no other command sums up the fairness prescribed in the law as the phrase “eye for eye, tooth for tooth” recorded in Leviticus 24:17-22:

“If anyone takes the life of a human being, he must be put to death. Anyone who takes the life of someone’s animal must make restitution—life for life. If anyone injures his neighbor, whatever he has done must be done to him: fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth. As he has injured the other, so he is to be injured. Whoever kills an animal must make restitution, but whoever kills a man must be put to death. You are to have the same law for the alien and the native-born. I am the Lord your God.”

All the provisions aforementioned describe a strict standard of justice in a purely legal sense, and for this reason the two tablets containing the Ten Commandments are displayed in courthouses throughout the United States. However, God’s standard of justice is not only characterized by fairness, but also by generous mercy and grace.[1] The social justice provisions in the Mosaic law go beyond fairness and impartiality—they teach the character of God as one who protects the weak and vulnerable from oppression and fills the hungry with good things. As Moses explained to the Israelites:

For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes. He defends the case of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the alien, giving him food and clothing.[2]

Truly, God is fair and impartial in His judgments, but thankfully He is more than that. He is merciful and gracious, with a special eye for those who are desperate to receive His salvation and peace. If God was only concerned with strict justice in a legal sense, He never would have sent His Son Jesus to die as an atoning sacrifice for people’s sin. It is because of His loving kindness that He sent His Son to save needy people from their deserved punishment. Jesus Himself taught that God’s special favor was consummated in the incarnation of His Son, but that this favor was for the poor and needy, the weak and oppressed, and all who desperately hoped in Him.

He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. And he stood up to read. The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:
“The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
Because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, To release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him, and he began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”[3]

“The year of the Lord’s favor” in the passage refers to the Year of Jubilee, an important social justice provision in the Law of Moses that provided an economic salvation for poverty-stricken Israelites, but Jesus referenced it to describe his own ministry to the weak and marginalized. He later expanded this merciful characterization of His ministry, saying, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous [or, rather, those who consider themselves righteous], but sinners [who acknowledge themselves as such and admit their need of a Savior] to repentance.”[4] By examining the social justice provisions in the Mosaic Law, Christians can understand God’s standard of justice and righteousness as more than legal fairness or religious purity.

Unfortunately, many Christians miss the message of mercy and grace portrayed in the Law of Moses and instead focus on what it teaches about God’s holiness and wrath against sin. In the worst cases, Christians see the God as exhibiting different natures in the Old and New Testaments—punishing sin in the Old and extending mercy in the New.[5] But, more commonly, Christians simply do not understand the full extent to which God reveals His grace and mercy in the Old Testament, especially through the commands He gives in the Mosaic Law. As a result, they see sins of commission such as stealing, sexual deviance, or idolatry as clear breaches of God’s command in the Old Testament, but not the equally condemned sins of omission, such as the neglect of those in need or failure to protect the weak.

Christians living in representative democracies today must consider the totality of what the Old Testament teaches about the character of God if they are to advocate for policies that adhere to His standard of justice and righteousness—not just fairness and impartiality in a legal sense, but also protection for the weak and provision for those in need. They cannot fulfill their unique role as salt and light to society if they advocate a lop-sided view of God’s justice that zealously protects private property while paying only lip-service to social equity. They must balance the view that “God helps those who help themselves” with the realization that God delights in helping those who are unable to help themselves. Notice, again, how Moses describes God at the outset of his reiteration of the Law:

For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes. He defends the case of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the alien, giving him food and clothing.[6]

Here, Moses holds God up as the ultimate arbiter—and, indeed, source—of true justice. There is no higher authority to which one could appeal, nor any need for appeal. God is, in His nature, the final and inflexible standard of justice and righteousness. Yet, in the same breath, Moses declares God’s intervention on behalf of a special segment of society—a bias for the disadvantaged and marginalized. This brief statement by Moses encapsulates the essential truth about God’s justice: that His mercy is not contrasted against His absolute justice, but instead is an integral part of that justice.

Christians who seek to advocate for the biblical standard of justice and righteousness need to understand how God’s justice includes salvation for the weak and oppressed. To do so, we must look back to what the Old Testament reveals of God’s character, starting with the Law of Moses.

[This post is an excerpt of my work-in-progress book on social justice in the Old Testament. Feedback is welcome! More on Learning to Do Right.]

[1] As James put it in James 2:13, “Mercy triumphs over judgment!”

[2] Deuteronomy 10:17-18

[3] Luke 4:16-21, referencing Isaiah 61:1-2

[4] Luke 5:31, with amplification from the author.

[5] The Second Century heretic Marcion, for example, rejected the Old Testament and Jewish elements in the New Testament because he saw them as contradictory to a message of grace. Today, some Christian “grace” preachers make the same mistake.

[6] Deuteronomy 10:17-18

Social justice in the Old Testament: God's justice for day laborers

2011-05-30T00:03:00.000-07:00

[This is an exerpt from a book I'm writing on social justice in the Old Testament.]

Compared to our modern economy of global corporations and labor markets, the economy of biblical times was relatively simple. The Law of Moses anticipated four economic classes of people among the Israelites once they settled in the Promised Land: estate owners and their families, servants who lacked freedom but were considered to be part of the family, hired workers who retained their freedom and lived on a wage, and finally foreigners who had made their home among the Israelites.[1] In Leviticus and Deuteronomy, the Mosaic Law prohibits employers from delaying the payment of wages due to hired workers. Lacking the property and equipment needed to operate their own enterprise, these poor but free men hired themselves out to estate owners who needed help working their land.

References in Job and Isaiah indicate that hired workers agreed to contracts as short as one day or as long as one year.[2] Genesis records that Jacob agreed to seven-year labor contracts with his rich uncle, Laban. However, the provisions in Leviticus and Deuteronomy aim at protecting the former class of hired workers—the day laborers who lived a hand-to-mouth existence and who counted on their daily wage for sustenance. These men, and perhaps women, lived on the fringes of society and, lacking the security of property or stored wealth, suffered the most in times of national duress, such as famine or war.

Though a New Testament example, the Prodigal Son described by Jesus in Luke 15:11-32 provides an excellent picture of this type of worker. Alone in a foreign land, his money exhausted, the son hires himself out to a local landowner as a swineherd. His position is so low and precarious that he envies the pigs for being able to fill their bellies. Another apt New Testament example is another of Jesus’ parables: the Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard in Matthew 20:1-16. In that parable, the owner of a vineyard hires day laborers from the marketplace and agrees to pay them a denarius (a day’s wages) for their work at the end of the twelfth hour, or six o’clock in the evening.

Indeed, nearly every society since biblical times has included some people without the property, equipment, or trade skills needed to employ themselves. In economic terms, these people lack the capital required to start their own business. Serfs in mediaeval times or Irish peasants under the English aristocracy had no access to land of their own. Instead, they worked the land of other men in exchange for a share of the harvest. Currently in the developing world, large numbers of workers from rural areas continue to flock to cities where they manufacture or assemble goods for large overseas corporations. Depressed wages and weak or unenforced labor laws make the situation of these hired workers precarious, and they are compensated only a small fraction of the value of the goods they produce.

Even today in the United States, many people work to receive an hourly wage without any capital share in the company they work for. Labor-friendly laws and an economy that is driven by specialized skills and knowledge put most hired workers in the United States on equal footing with even the most powerful employers. To find people in the United States facing similar circumstances to the hired workers in Jesus’ parables, do not look for office-park cubicle farms. Instead, line up early in the morning at temporary employment agencies. Or, they wait in groups at the edge of the parking lots at home improvement stores. There, you’ll find desperate people hoping construction contractors or homeowners will hire them to work at low-skill tasks such as painting, fence repair, or landscaping. Or, look to the fields during harvest time, when entire families in agricultural areas will hire themselves out to farmers for long days of picking fruits or vegetables. Or, look in the homes of the wealthy where immigrant women work as nannies and maids. None of these people are slaves, but they are poor and desperately need work. The money they earn that day will mostly be spent within days on food, shelter, and clothing.

It is about these types of people that Leviticus 19:13 says, “Do not hold back the wages of a hired man overnight.” Moses expands on the same command in Deuteronomy 24:14-15:

Do not take advantage of a hired man who is poor and needy, whether he is a brother Israelite or an alien living in one of your towns. Pay him his wages each day before sunset, because he is poor and counting on it. Otherwise he may cry to the Lord against you, and you will be guilty of sin.

First, Moses clarifies that to hold back wages from a hired man is to take advantage of him. Without collective bargaining and all other things being equal, employers hold an advantage over employees, especially those who have little financial or social influence and who depend on their daily wages for basic necessities. Moses indicates these people have no other support or recourse except to cry out to God. They have no money saved up, no patrons in the community to champion their cause, and would be powerless to demand justice themselves. It is for the sake of these powerless and vulnerable people that God gives the command to the Israelites. Although there is no specifically prescribed penalty for an infraction of this law, God Himself will bring retributive justice against the unjust employer.

Jacob’s service to his uncle Laban reveals something about unequal relationships between employer and employee. Although Jacob enjoyed some advantages compared with the day laborers referred to in Leviticus and Deuteronomy, Laban had become a powerful landowner who considered everything Jacob earned as belonging to himself. Laban took advantage of his more powerful position to unscrupulously lessen his compensation ten times over twenty years. Finally, Jacob had had enough and decided to flee back to his father’s country and out of under his oppressive employment to Laban. When Laban pursues and overtakes him, Jacob finally pleads his case:

I have been with you for twenty years now. Your sheep and goats have not miscarried, nor have I eaten rams from your flocks. I did not bring you animals torn by wild beasts; I bore the loss myself. And you demanded payment from me for whatever was stolen by day or night. This was my situation: The heat consumed me in the daytime and the cold at night, and sleep fled from my eyes. It was like this for the twenty years I was in your household. I worked for you fourteen years for your two daughters and six years for your flocks, and you changed my wages ten times. If the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac, had not been with me, you would surely have sent me away empty-handed. But God has seen my hardship and the toil of my hands, and last night he rebuked you.[3]

God’s intervention and family ties kept Laban from taking from Jacob twenty years’ worth of labor. Many centuries later, God tells the Israelites that He will similarly intervene on behalf of oppressed workers. Where we are left to infer a moral standard in Genesis, here God makes it clear: He ardently desires just employment practices where employer and employee negotiate on equal terms.

Jesus’ Parable of the Great Banquet, told in Luke 14, emphasizes God’s special grace extended to those on the lowest rungs of the societal ladder. The master in that parable, his invitation having been rejected by those of means, commands his servant, “Go out to the roads and country lanes and compel them to come in, so that my house will be full.” As the commentator Matthew Henry notes, these people are “the vagrants, or those that are returning now in the evening from their work in the field, from hedging and ditching there.” In other words, Jesus implies that God’s grace is effectual for those who, because of their desperate situation, would welcome it as a day laborer would welcome a rich and free banquet at the end of the day. Jesus’ message reaffirmed that those who are powerful and rich in this world, as a result of their self-absorption and self-importance, will not receive God’s grace though it is equally extended to them. Those who have little in this world, as a result of their desperate need for salvation, will receive God’s help.

With this same idea in mind, James the brother of Jesus writes: “The brother in humble circumstances ought to take pride in his high position. But the one who is rich should take pride in his low position, because he will pass away like a wild flower.” But, James scathingly rebukes the rich landowners who have forgotten God’s defense of the needy. Recalling the provision for day laborers in Deuteronomy, he writes:

Look! The wages you failed to pay the workmen who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty.[4]

[This post is an excerpt of my work-in-progress book on social justice in the Old Testament. Feedback is welcome! More on Learning to Do Right.]

[1] This list is taken from Leviticus 25:6.

[2] Job 7:1-2, 14:6; Isaiah 16:14, 21:16

[3] Genesis 31:38-42

[4] James 5:4

Social justice in instruction for the Sabbath and debt cancellation

2011-05-09T14:54:00.000-07:00

[This is an exerpt from a book I'm writing on social justice in the Old Testament.]

God established His pattern of Sabbath rest when, after six days of creation, He rested from His work. Speaking through Moses on Mt. Sinai, God instructed the Israelites to follow His example by observing a day of rest on the Sabbath. God linked observance of the Sabbath with His rescue of the Israelites from slavery. Expounding on the Ten Commandments forty years after first delivering them, Moses said this about the fourth commandment:

Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy, as the LORD your God has commanded you. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your ox, your donkey or any of your animals, nor the alien within your gates, so that your manservant and maidservant may rest, as you do. Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and that the LORD your God brought you out of there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the LORD your God has commanded you to observe the Sabbath day.[1]

Moses asked all members of Israelite society, from the highest to the lowest, and even including the foreigners who lived among them, to cease from work for one day out of seven. While an irreligious, wealthy Israelite landowner may have chafed at the cessation of work on his property, the Sabbath was a welcome respite for the slave of his household and for his hired workers—not to mention his oxen, horses, and donkeys! A believing landowner, however, would welcome the rest as a reminder of God’s pledge to provide for those who trusted in Him, rich and poor alike. As they rested from work on the Sabbath, Moses asked the Israelites to remember God’s care and attention to them in their misery. The Sabbath served to regularly remind the Israelites had time to reflect on how much God had provided for them, rescuing them from slavery and establishing them as an independent nation in a “land of milk and honey.” In addition, the Sabbath was a time to look forward to the ultimate rest that the Messiah would bring.[2]

The Sabbath occurred every seven days, but every seventh year was also a Sabbath in an analogous sense. Teaching the same lessons of trust and salvation that marked the weekly Sabbath, the seventh-year Sabbath required Israelites to let their land lie fallow and allow it to replenish nutrients and regain fertility. Israelites that owned land and storehouses would not need to cultivate, sow, or reap during the Sabbath year because God promised to provide a super-abundant harvest on the sixth year. Poor inhabitants of Israel without land or storehouses were allowed to freely pick olives, grapes, and other produce that grew unaided during this time.

Observation of this seventh-year Sabbath required special trust in God. All humankind experiences and understands the need to ceaselessly work, whether out of greed for more wealth or simply to provide sustenance for ourselves and our families. This toilsome need stems from the curse that befell our ancestor Adam: “By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food.” Paul put it in more simple terms: “If a man will not work, he shall not eat.” For this reason, it feels unnatural to cease from our efforts to provide for ourselves. But God wants His people to acknowledge the salvation that comes from Him alone. When the Assyrian army threatened Judah, King Ahaz sought help from the other great regional power, Egypt, instead of turning to God. This lack of trust displeased God, who spoke through the prophet Isaiah, “In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it.” God wanted the Israelites to learn to rest in Him, to cease from their labor and trust God to provide what they needed. When Ahaz’s faith-filled son, King Hezekiah, faced the same Assyrian threat, he trusted in God’s salvation instead of seeking alliances or other help outside of God’s will. As a result, God sent a destroying angel into the Assyrian camp and annihilated the Assyrian army. The prophesies of Isaiah record God’s view of both King Ahaz and King Hezekiah, and instructs us as the readers to trust God and not our own efforts. Both the weekly Sabbath and the seventh year in the Sabbatical cycle taught and tested the Israelites in their trust in God.

The seventh-year Sabbath taught another aspect of God’s merciful salvation: debt forgiveness. While their land enjoyed a Sabbath rest, Moses required the Israelites to forgive the debts owed them by fellow Israelites.

At the end of every seven years you must cancel debts. This is how it is to be done: Every creditor shall cancel the loan he has made to his fellow Israelite. He shall not require payment from his fellow Israelite or brother, because the LORD’s time for canceling debts has been proclaimed. You may require payment from a foreigner, but you must cancel any debt your brother owes you.[3]

Because they were prohibited from charging interest on loans made to their countrymen, the Israelites already had a disincentive to lend money to those who needed it. But, the Sabbath year demanded even more, requiring the Israelites to not only offer interest-free loans, but to completely cancel the debts at the end of the Sabbatical cycle of years. From a natural, individualistic perspective, this command seems grossly unfair. Interest-free loans seem indulgent by most standards, but interest-free loans with a high likelihood of default are nonsensical in any time and place. However, as recipients of God’s abundant grace, the Israelites were obligated to extend extraordinary grace to weak and vulnerable groups in their own society.

Moses continued, warning the Israelites from feigning an inability to lend.

If there is a poor man among your brothers in any of the towns of the land that the LORD your God is giving you, do not be hardhearted or tightfisted toward your poor brother. Rather be openhanded and freely lend him whatever he needs. Be careful not to harbor this wicked thought: “The seventh year, the year for cancelling debts, is near,” so that you do not show ill will toward your needy brother and give him nothing. He may then appeal to the LORD against you, and you will be found guilty of sin. Give generously to him and do so without a grudging heart; then because of this the LORD your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to. There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your brothers and toward the poor and needy in your land.[4]

As with the commands concerning day laborers, gleaning, and the tithe, Moses put the command to lend freely in the context of the Israelites’ relationship with God. They were debtors to God, and must likewise forgive debts owed them. Rich and poor alike, all Israelites understood they were indebted to God. Not only had He rescued them from their Egyptian slavery, but He had also provided a covering for the sin that separated them from Himself. Because of this provision, the Israelites alone among all people on earth could claim to have a God that dwelt in their midst in the form of the tabernacle, and later, in the temple in Jerusalem. God also prescribed elaborate sacrifices meant to illustrate the atonement of people’s sin. Blood was the required payment for sin in most cases. However, God made an exception for poor people who could not afford the more customary goat, lamb, or pair of doves: “If, however, he cannot afford two doves or two pigeons, he is to bring as an offering for his sin a tenth of an ephah of fine flour for a sin offering.”[5]

All this ritual was designed to demonstrate the indebtedness of the Israelites and their rescue from that debt by God. This debtor-savior relationship required the Israelites to relate to one another accordingly, including rescuing their brother or sister who fell into poverty. More than a thousand years later, Jesus repeatedly drew the same lesson, teaching, “Freely you have received, freely give,” “Give and it will be given to you,” and “Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.” Jesus most fully illustrated this principle in His parable of the unmerciful servant: A servant owed his master an exceedingly large amount of money. Graciously, the master forgave the debt entirely, saving the servant from ruin. However, the servant went on to meet one of his fellows who owed him a small sum and demanded a prompt payment. On hearing of this injustice, the master of the first servant grew incredibly angry and threw the first servant into prison until he should pay back every penny of his original debt.

In light of their covenant relationship to God, the Israelites cancelled loans on the seventh year out of obligation, not charity. Charity implies giving when otherwise not required and only God is in the position to extend that type of free grace. As debtors themselves, Israelites who skirted the command to provide for those in need practiced injustice. Failing to provide for the poor was a positive offense against God and a breach of the covenant.

[This post is an excerpt of my work-in-progress book on social justice in the Old Testament. Feedback is welcome! More on Learning to Do Right.]

[1] Deuteronomy 5:12-15

[2] See Psalm 72 for an example of Israel’s Messianic hope, and Hebrews 4:1-3 and Colossians 2:16-17 for the fulfillment of the Sabbath in Jesus Christ.

[3] Deuteronomy 15:1-3

[4] Deuteronomy 15:7-11

[5] A tenth of an ephah is about one-tenth of the amount of grain that Ruth gathered in her first day at Boaz’s field.

God’s sovereign choice

2011-04-29T18:09:00.000-07:00

At that time Jesus said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this is what you were pleased to do.
“All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
Matthew 11:25-30

Over the last couple years, my writing energies have gone into sermons, Bible study lessons, and my book. I haven’t had much creative juice left over for this blog, but today’s going to be different. I’d like to share something that has helped clarify my understanding of God’s sovereign choice and who is the “elect.”

Recently, I taught from Matthew 11:25-30, quoted above, and it seems to me to perfectly encapsulate the Bible’s seemingly paradoxical teaching about who God calls and to whom He reveals Himself. This passage teaches three things:

Jesus says that divine revelation (“these things”) is hidden from a certain group of people but graciously revealed to another group. He then says that this is God’s sovereign choice.
Jesus emphasizes that the only way to know God is through grace. Specifically, the people who know God must be chosen by Him.
Jesus gives an open call to everyone who suffers from the burden of sin and desires His rest. The solution is a servant-master relationship with God, and an infilling of the Holy Spirit that will enable people to fulfill the requirements of God joyfully.

Going back to the first point, there are two groups of people. One group cannot receive God’s revelation—it is hidden from them. The other group receives God’s revelation graciously. In both cases, this is God’s sovereign will. The second point emphasizes the first. Who are those from whom God hides divine revelation? It is the “wise and learned,” probably in the same sense that Paul uses those words when describing how people received the scandalous message of the cross: “Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?” (1 Corinthians 1:20) Both Jesus and Paul said that God’s revelation is hidden from people who will not receive it because of their self-sufficiency.

Who does God choose to reveal the divine message to? To “little children,” or those who receive from God as a little child trustingly receives from his or her father. This is God’s sovereign choice. God does not choose to hide and reveal the gospel message arbitrarily. No, but He hides it from those who will not receive it, and He reveals it to those who will receive it. Before the creation of the world, God foreknew those who would willingly receive the gospel message by faith. He chose, elected, and predestined these people “for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with His pleasure and will.” (Ephesians 1:5)

If you’re confused at this point about whether God has chosen you, there’s one way to find out. Read the next verses in Matthew 11. After emphasizing God’s sovereign choice, Jesus calls out to everyone who carries the burden of sin and seeks relief: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” Your response to this call will tell you whether you are God’s chosen or not.

Some Christians get so caught up in God’s sovereignty that they miss the point. They are so concerned with God being in control that they think He arbitrarily predestined some to salvation and others to damnation. That’s wrong because Jesus says that we can know who God hides the message from and who God reveals it to. Basically, God gives to those who will receive. The way that they receive is not through any learning or merit, but simply by childlike faith. This is His good pleasure.

An objective basis for justice

2011-04-27T17:09:00.000-07:00

[This is an exerpt from a book I'm writing on social justice in the Old Testament.]

Not only Christians but all people who vote in a representative democracy do so according to their conscience, or what they think is just and moral. Whether they acknowledge it or not, all voters decide issues based on moral beliefs or principles. That able-bodied people should work to earn the food they eat, for example, is a moral belief that may influence how a citizen votes. Every political philosophy is predicated on some fundamental moral principles. For some, legal precedent lends moral legitimacy to their position. The fathers of the American Revolution saw the Magna Carta in 1215 A.D. as the forerunner of the Constitution of the United States, for example. For Karl Marx, history legitimized his moral positions. In his Communist Manifesto, Marx pointed to a long and repeated history of class antagonism as the justification for communist revolution. The Communist regime currently in power in China increasingly relies on the pragmatism and moral tenets of Confucianism to justify its undemocratic rule, its Marxist idealism tempered by the failures of the Great Leap Forward and Cultural Revolution. The philosopher Ayn Rand claimed to have based her extremely individualistic, amoral brand of politics on reason alone, but even her reasoning led her to moral beliefs—namely, that selfishness is good and state coercion is evil.

What differentiates the Christian moralist from the non-religious moralist is that the former claims revelation from God through the Bible whereas the latter appeals to other authorities. For the Christian, the Bible reflects the character of God who is Himself the standard of justice and righteousness. The principles of justice and righteousness found in the Bible are not simply a “Judeo-Christian heritage” equal in status to other cultural heritages. They are not legal precedent, historical norms, or philosophy. Instead, these principles are collectively a divinely revealed standard of right and wrong. The Christians’ task is to search out God’s standard of justice in the Bible and to give it preference over political ideology, popular sentiment, and personal benefit. Certainly, both the Christian and non-religious voter naturally tend toward self-interested political positions. But for the Christian, God’s principles found in the Bible serve as a bulwark against greed and selfishness. Their attitude should be the same as the Psalmist, who wrote, “Turn my heart toward your statutes and not toward selfish gain.”[1] Ideally, the Christian voter can be counted on to vote and advocate for what is right according to God’s standard and not just for what benefits them personally.

[This post is an excerpt of my work-in-progress book on social justice in the Old Testament. Feedback is welcome! More on Learning to Do Right.]

[1] Psalm 119:36

Social justice in the Old Testament rules for tithing

2011-04-21T22:27:00.000-07:00

[This is an exerpt from a book I'm writing on social justice in the Old Testament.]

The Book of Genesis records Abraham giving to Melchizedek, the king of Jerusalem, a tenth of all the plunder he captured from Kedorlaomer, a Mesopotamian king.[1] The author of the Book of Hebrews tells us Melchizedek was a type of Jesus, pointing out the meaning of his titles in Hebrew: “King of Righteousness” and “King of Peace.” In giving to Melchizedek, Abraham understood that he was offering to God worship and a token of acknowledgement that God enabled him to defeat Kedorlaomer’s coalition of kings, and rescue his nephew Lot, with little more than 300 men. This is the earliest biblical recording of a tithe given to God, although an annual tribute from a vassal to a sovereign was commonly practiced in ancient culture.

Several hundred years after Abraham, Moses formally instated the tithe as a lasting ordinance. Each year, the Israelites were to set aside a tenth of all their harvest, as well as the firstborn lambs, cattle, and other livestock as an offering to God at the temple in Jerusalem. There, they ate a portion of it in a feast of thanksgiving for God’s provision with the rest going to the Levites whom God had set apart for religious service.

Be sure to set aside a tenth of all that your fields produce each year. Eat the tithe of your grain, new wine and oil, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks in the presence of the LORD your God at the place he will choose as a dwelling for his Name, so that you may learn to revere the LORD your God always.[2]

Moses said the purpose of the annual tithe was to remind the Israelites of their special relationship with God. He had chosen them out of all nations, not because they were powerful or numerous, but because of His promise to their forefather Abraham. He saved them from slavery in Egypt and provided for them while they wandered in the desert, teaching them to revere and rely on Him. The Israelites’ tithe, therefore, was given in the same spirit as that of Abraham’s tithe paid to Melchizedek—it was given as recognition of divine providence from first to last.

The Israelites’ special relationship with God and their reverence to Him implied coordinated social action on behalf of the needy in the land. As recipients of His mercy, they were obligated to extend mercy to those in need. Moses instructed the Israelites to set aside the tithe every third year and to store it in the nearest town as a sort of food pantry for poor immigrants, orphans, and widows, in addition to the Levites.

At the end of every three years, bring all the tithes of that year’s produce and store it in your towns, so that the Levites (who have no allotment or inheritance of their own) and the aliens, the fatherless and the widows who live in your towns may come and eat and be satisfied, and so that the LORD you God may bless you in all the work of your hands.[3]

The purpose of this third-year tithe was twofold. The first purpose is obvious: that the hungry would eat and be satisfied. Moses asked the Israelites to set aside what amounted to roughly three percent of national gross domestic product, amortized over three years, to provide for the most vulnerable groups in society. Just as God provided food for all the Israelites in the desert, He would now provide for the poor and needy in the established nation of Israel through the third-year tithe. The second purpose was to fulfill the moral requirements of the covenant. As their sovereign and king, God commanded the people to provide for the needy. To God, giving the third-year tithe was not a matter of charity, but a matter of justice. As the Israelites obeyed God by seeing justice done, God would fulfill His promise to bless them.

[This post is an excerpt of my work-in-progress book on social justice in the Old Testament. Feedback is welcome! More on Learning to Do Right.]

[1] Genesis 14:18-20

[2] Deuteronomy 14:22-23

[3] Deuteronomy 14:28-29

"Standing in the gap" through democratic means

2011-04-07T11:04:00.000-07:00

[This is an exerpt from a book I'm writing on social justice in the Old Testament.]

Throughout history, Christians have been at the forefront of social issues, advocating on behalf of the weak and oppressed, and doing what they could to right wrongs through peaceful means. More often than not, these Christians worked for good against established authorities and powers, just as the Old Testament prophets often stood against the rich and powerful on behalf of the poor and weak. In the New Testament, James provides one of the earliest examples of Christian advocacy of social justice. Citing the Law of Moses, James launches into a prophetic condemnation, typical of Old Testament prophets, of entrenched interests who exploit the working poor:

Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming upon you. Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes. Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last days. Look! The wages you failed to pay the workmen who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty. You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter. You have condemned and murdered innocent men, who were not opposing you.[1]

This type of strident advocacy was sure to upset comfortable people who probably otherwise would have given little thought to their unjust business practices. Several centuries later, John Chrysostom, the famous preacher and bishop of Constantinople, used his pulpit to warn against the excesses of the rich and powerful in that capital city. Speaking on Jesus’ parable of the Sheep and the Goats in Matthew 25:31-46, Chrysostom delivered a lyrically beautiful, but terrible message to the elite of the empire:

You eat in excess; Christ eats not even what he needs. You eat a variety of cakes; he eats not even a piece of dried bread. You drink fine Thracian wine; but on him you have not bestowed so much as a cup of cold water. You lie on a soft and embroidered bed; but he is perishing in the cold … You live in luxury on things that properly belong to him … At the moment, you have taken possession of the resources that belong to Christ and you consume them aimlessly. Don't you realize that you are going to be held accountable?[2]

John Chrysostom confronting Empress Aelia Eudoxia, a painting by Jean-Paul Laurens (1880s).

In speaking up for people who lived on the margins of society, Chrysostom earned the wrath of Empress Eudoxia. Unwilling to blunt his message, Chrysostom was soon banished to the Caucasus where he died from the rigors of travel and climate. Christians who disrupt the norm by speaking out against injustice can expect the same type of critical response today. While leading non-violent protests against segregation in Birmingham, Alabama, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was publically denounced by several Christian ministers who characterized his actions as too radical and disruptive.[3] In his Letter from a Birmingham Jail, Dr. King responded, explaining the need for strident but peaceful advocacy on the part of Christians.

There was a time when the church was very powerful. It was during that period when the early Christians rejoiced when they were deemed worthy to suffer for what they believed. In those days the church was not merely a thermometer that recorded the ideas and principles of popular opinion; it was a thermostat that transformed the mores of society. … They brought an end to such ancient evils as infanticide and gladiatorial combat.[4]

Writing from his jail cell, Dr. King argued that Christians must not stand by idly as witnesses to injustice. Besides civil disobedience, Dr. King relied on democratic means to effect change. Quoting Micah 6:8 in a later speech, he urged civil rights protesters to vote for God-fearing government representatives for the overall good of society.

Let us march on ballot boxes until we send to our city councils, state legislatures, and the United States Congress men who will not fear to do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with their God. Let us march on ballot boxes until all over Alabama God’s children will be able to walk the earth in decency and honor.[5]

Dr. King’s sentiment is the same as the Apostle Paul writing to Timothy and the church at Ephesus:

I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercessions and thanksgiving be made for everyone—for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth.[6]

Although Paul wrote at a time when Christians did not have the right to vote for their leaders, Christians living in democracies today can apply this advice to themselves first by praying for their elected government officials, but then also by praying for God to help the electorate decide who to vote into office and what policies to support or oppose. The renowned New Testament scholar C.E.B. Cranfield writes that Christians today can find guidance for their democratic responsibilities in verses such as 1 Timothy 2:1-4 quoted above, even though the historical context is much different than the situation for many believers today. Commenting on Romans 13:1-5, Cranfield writes:

The proper exposition of Paul’s words involves for the Christian living in a democracy the translation of them into the terms of a different political order. Such a Christian can, and therefore must, do much more for the maintenance of the state as a just state. His “subjection” will include voting in parliamentary elections responsibly, in the fear of Christ and in love to his neighbor, and, since such responsible voting is only possible on the basis of adequate knowledge, making sure that he is as fully and reliably informed as possible about political issues, and striving tirelessly in the ways constitutionally open to him to support just policies and to oppose unjust.[7]

Expounding on 1 Timothy 2:1-4, Cranfield notes that “the purpose of civil government and of the state in God’s intention is a purpose of mercy toward men,” specifically individual men, women, and children for whom Jesus died. [8] This scope of this mercy is not limited to a single country, but extends throughout the entire world. In each person in need of assistance, Jesus is present to be either honored or neglected. The realization that the government exists for the sake of precious people should cause the Christian to soberly consider his or her democratic responsibility. Measuring policies and legislation against God’s merciful purposes in government, Christians will remember that “persons are infinitely more precious than property.” In practical terms, this means the Christian voter will not limit his or her concerns to the local sphere, but will side with generous and unselfish policies that look to alleviate global hunger or ensure the personal liberty and dignity of those without a voice—“the underprivileged, the misfits, and the lame dogs of society,” as Cranfield puts it. And, while not a pacifist, in times of war the Christian will never forget that even the lives of the enemy are precious to God.

Social justice advocacy is not a replacement for the gospel of Christ. Certainly, Christians must transform society by promulgating the gospel of Jesus Christ, which leads to an inner change in people that is incomparably more effective than outward coercion. Yet, once the inward change takes place, spiritually reborn people will then become God’s representatives in society, speaking and working on His behalf. They have the same anointing, or divine authority, of Jesus, who came to preach good news to the poor, bind up the brokenhearted, proclaim freedom for the captives, release from darkness for the prisoners, and proclaim a day of vengeance for God against both spiritual and physical oppression.[9] Christians’ reborn nature compels them to take action for a more just society, the Bible guides them, and the Holy Spirit empowers them to do so.

[This post is an excerpt of my work-in-progress book on social justice in the Old Testament. Feedback is welcome! More on Learning to Do Right.]

[1] James 5:1-6, where James echoes the law in Deuteronomy 24:14-15, “Do not take advantage of a hired man who is poor and needy, whether he is a brother Israelite or an alien living in one of your towns. Pay him his wages each day before sunset, because he is poor and is counting on it. Otherwise he may cry to the Lord against you, and you will be guilty of sin.”

[2] On Matthew, Homily 48:8

[3] The U.S. Civil Rights movement led by Christians such as Dr. King may provide an example where the advocacy against injustice may have averted divine retribution. Although it is true that the movement stirred violence resulting in deaths, including that of Dr. King himself, it could be argued that the success of the civil rights movement avoided greater bloodshed and societal disruption. Had the Civil Rights Bill, Voting Rights Bill, and Fair Housing Act never passed into legislation, can anyone doubt the severe societal repercussions that would have followed?

[4] Martin Luther King Jr., April 1963, Letter From a Birmingham Jail

[5] Martin Luther King, Jr., March 1965, Our God Is Marching On!

[6] 1 Timothy 2:1-4

[7] C.E.B. Cranfield, Romans: A Shorter Commentary, p. 321

[8] This paragraph and the following quote drawn from Cranfield’s essay, “The Christian’s Political Responsibility According to the New Testament,” first published in Scottish Journal of Theology 15, (1962), pp. 176-192.

[9] Luke 4:16-21

Christians as prophetic mediators for society

2011-04-01T09:19:00.000-07:00

[This is an exerpt from a book I'm writing on social justice in the Old Testament. Read the previous entry here.]

Not only do Christians advocate biblical positions out of principle, but they also do so because they believe that society will prosper and have peace when adhering to God’s standard of justice and fairness. Christians believe that God promises blessing for societies that follow His principles and punishment for those that reject those principles. A primary motive of Christian political advocacy, therefore, is a genuine concern for the general welfare of society. This concern is what led Charles Finney, a 19^th century American revivalist, to exhort his church congregants to join in an effort to repeal the Fugitive Slave Bill, which required citizens of Northern U.S. States to aid in the capture of fugitive slaves:

Have not all Christian men political duties to perform? Ought they not to search out these duties, and settle in the fear of God all the great questions they involve, and then meet their political responsibilities in the fear of God and for the welfare of the nation?^{^[1]}

According to Finney, Christians under democratic systems must not only attempt to understand political questions, but dispassionately and reverently measure the laws and policies of their government against the biblical standard of justice and righteousness and then advocate for the appropriate political change. The motive of this advocacy is twofold: the reverence of God as the true arbiter of right and wrong (“the fear of God,” as Finney writes), and also the peace and prosperity of society (“the welfare of the nation”).

In this sense, Christians in modern democracies have a responsibility similar to Old Testament prophets as prophetic mediators between God and society.[2] God sent these prophets to warn the Israelites—and sometimes, other nations, such as in the case of Jonah and the Ninevites—against immorality and injustice. Nearly every prophetic book in the Old Testament included some warning to society accompanied by a call to repentance and reformation. In one memorable example, in Ezekiel 22:23-29, God speaks through the prophet condemning the violence and injustice that permeated Israelite society at that time. Then, in verses 29-30, God says:

I looked for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it, but I found none. So I will pour out my wrath on them and consume them with my fiery anger, bringing down on their own heads all they have done, declares the Sovereign LORD.

God says He looked for someone to stand up against immorality and corruption, and against the injustice perpetrated by leaders and common people alike against the most vulnerable elements of society—in this case, the poor and needy and foreign immigrants. God sought a mediator between Himself and society would work to right these wrongs by warning the Israelites and reminding them of the law given to Moses and principles of justice laid out therein. This mediator’s purpose was to avert the retributive justice of God on the nation. Jonah plays this mediator role to the Ninevites, who were the most powerful nation on the earth at the time, feared by all for their ruthlessness. An Israelite, Jonah reluctantly preached a warning message in the city of Nineveh itself with surprising success:

On the first day, Jonah started into the city. He proclaimed: “Forty more days and Nineveh will be overturned.” The Ninevites believed God. They declared a fast, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth. … When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he had compassion and did not bring upon them the destruction he had threatened.[3]

The idea that God visits judgment on nations for injustice was expressed eloquently by President Abraham Lincoln in his second inaugural address, given near the end of the Civil War. Instead of vilifying Southerners and blaming the Confederacy for the costliest and bloodiest war in American history, President Lincoln repented for the terrible evil of slavery on behalf of the nation and admitted that the national suffering was an appeasement of divine justice. Because the United States had failed to repudiate slavery, despite the efforts of prophetic mediators like Charles Finney, God was exacting what His justice demanded.

Yet, if God wills that it [the Civil War between the Union and Confederacy] continue until all the wealth piled by the bondsman's two hundred and fifty years of unrequited toil shall be sunk, and until every drop of blood drawn with the lash shall be paid by another drawn with the sword, as was said three thousand years ago, so still it must be said “the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.”[4]

God does not demand retribution, but He demands justice; if there is no justice, then He will bring a just retribution. The Bible consistently depicts God as a righteous and holy Judge who is simultaneously gracious, ready to extend compassion to those who repent and turn from evil. As He said through Ezekiel, “I looked for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it.” By advocating policies that adhere to the “true and righteous judgments of the Lord,” as Lincoln put it, Christians cooperate with God in seeking to avert a just retribution upon society. This retribution is not necessarily supernatural, but can be understood to mean the very natural results of egregious inequality and injustice—a breakdown in family relationships, numbed consciences, loss of civility, increased crime, vigilantism, worker strikes, social unrest, and even civil war.

The Book of Judges describes what happened in Israelite society when they abandoned the principles of justice and righteousness laid out in the law given to Moses. Very often, skeptics point to the outrageous injustices portrayed in the Book of Judges as evidence against biblical morality. Because these episodes of fratricide, kidnapping, rape, and mass murder are in the Bible, skeptics blithely assume that God sanctions such actions. However, the Bible includes these tragedies to illustrate the natural consequences for society when it deviates from God’s law. God did not desire Israelite society to tear itself apart in this way—quite the contrary! Appropriately, the last verse of the book reads, “In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit.”[5] The inference is that charismatic leadership was not enough; the Israelites needed a just government to enforce God’s principles of justice and righteousness.[6] The example of Judges is contrasted with the Book of Ruth that follows, an uplifting story set during the same period. The Book of Ruth shows how some exceptional communities still adhered to the Mosaic law by providing for the poor and needy in society.

[This post is an excerpt of my work-in-progress book on social justice in the Old Testament. Feedback is welcome! More on Learning to Do Right.]

[1] Charles Finney, August 1852, Guilt Modified by Ignorance, http://www.gospeltruth.net/1852OE/520818_guilt_ignorance.htm

[2] Of course, Christians have this role to play only because of Jesus’ unique work. As 1 Timothy 2:5-6 reads: “For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all men—the testimony given in its proper time.”

[3] Jonah 3:4-5, 10

[4] Abraham Lincoln, March 1865, Second Inaugural Address, http://avalon.law.yale.edu/19th_century/lincoln2.asp

[5] Judges 21:25, also repeated in 18:1 and 19:1.

[6] Deuteronomy 17:14-20 describes a king who follows the law of God in his personal conduct and in his rule.

Advocating a "Christian position" for social good

2011-03-27T20:43:00.000-07:00

Recognizing the need to maintain their unique role in society and the limitations of earthly governments to change hearts, Christians still have compelling reasons to advocate political causes. Unlike the Israelites in the Old Testament or Christians in past centuries, many Christians today live in secular democracies where they have the privilege of electing representatives in government. For example, citizens of the United States aspire to have a government that is “of the people, by the people, and for the people.” As such, every citizen has a civic responsibility to educate themselves, engage in public discourse, and to vote according to their best judgment. On this basis, Christians advocate a “Christian position” for the social good. Although many secular critics may accuse Christians of wanting to impose theocracy, or religious government, most politically active Christians do not advocate the enforcement of religious legal code—there is no Christian equivalent for Muslim Sharia law. Rather, they advocate policies and platforms that they believe are just and right based on God’s standard of justice and righteousness depicted in the Bible.

[This post is an excerpt of my work-in-progress book on social justice in the Old Testament. Feedback is welcome! More on Learning to Do Right.]

[1] Psalm 119:36

A different take on the universalism debate

2011-03-24T12:11:00.000-07:00

Ps. David Platt argues that while theoretical universalism is troubling, what is worse is "functional universalism" where orthodox believers don't act on what they hold as truth.

The role of government and Its limitations

2011-03-20T00:15:00.000-07:00

Today, the Christian church still struggles to reclaim the uniqueness that differentiated the Jesus, his disciples, and the early church from the society they lived in. Jesus warned against salt that lost its flavor and against light hidden under bowls. When Christians cannot distinguish between the kingdom of God and the kingdoms of this world then they mistakenly believe that God favors one nation over another, or one political party over another. They compromise their unique message by thinking “It’s my country, wrong or right” or otherwise excusing the ways in which their nation or party deviates from God’s standard of righteousness and justice. They self-servingly highlight scriptures from the Bible that support their partisan viewpoints while ignoring or misinterpreting those that might undermine their ideology. Moreover, they see the success of their nation or party as the success of God’s kingdom—and see their rivals as opposed to God’s kingdom. This view leads Christians to label nations or political opponents as “heathen” or as opposed to the kingdom of God. But, if they do that, then they misidentify their enemy. As Paul wrote, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”[1] Like Jesus, Paul emphasized the otherworldliness of God’s kingdom—that it was not set up in opposition to earthly kingdoms, but rather existed on a completely different plane over and above them. In fact, Paul taught that all earthly governments are established by God and that earthly rulers wield authority as God’s servants.[2]

Earthly government has a proper place, according to Paul’s writings and life example. Paul taught that God establishes governments to maintain peace and order, and to enforce justice. Even though he was frequently jailed for the practice of his faith and eventually martyred under a cruel tyrant, Paul understood and respected government authority. Paul instructed the churches under his care to offer prayers for government leaders so that they could live peacefully.[3] He insisted on his rights as a Roman citizen, such as the right to a trial before flogging and an appeal to Caesar, a right he exercised when the Jewish leaders accused him before the Roman Governor Porcius Festus.[4]

In general, governments, political leaders, and nations can be relatively good or evil—that is, they can be relatively good or evil compared with one another. However, no earthly government can be measured as absolutely good compared against God’s absolute standard of justice and righteousness. And, contrary to Jesus’ teaching and example of submission and service, all worldly governments rely on subjugation and coercion to restrain evil. As Paul wrote:

“For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and he will commend you. For he is God’s servant to do you good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing. He is God’s servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer.”[5]

According to Paul, earthly governments wield authority punish wrong or immoral actions and can commend righteous actions, but they have no power to change people’s hearts for good. Indeed, capitalist, democratic forms of government tend to succeed because they do not rely on people’s better natures, but instead assume people’s self-interestedness, both as individuals and as groups of like interest. Capitalism harnesses people’s greed and selfish ambition to make society more productive. Much in the same way, modern democracy contains harmful natural tendencies through elaborate checks and balances in government, but does nothing to erase those tendencies. Politicians understandably pander to voters’ self-interest. After all, no one expects people to vote according to what is right for all mankind, especially when that might mean losing benefits for themselves. Winston Churchill famously summed up the advantages and deficiencies of democracy by saying, “Indeed, it has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.”

Christians must understand the proper role of government and its inherent limitations. When an earthly government takes up Christianity as its own cause, it still operates according to the principles of this world, which are subjugation and coercion. This does not change even if Christians control the government and dictate all its policies. Certainly, Christians play a preserving role by advocating laws and policies that align with God’s standard, as shown in the next chapter, but they must not put their faith in these imperfect and temporary kingdoms. Instead, Christians must put their faith in God’s heavenly kingdom, which is established as believers yield their lives to God, operate according to His kingdom’s principles, and shine as examples of His righteousness and justice. One day, Jesus will return and replace all earthly governments with His eternal government. Till that day, Christians live as sojourners here on earth, act as salt and light to society, and secure their victory through submission and service, not subjugation and coercion.

[This post is an excerpt of my work-in-progress book on social justice in the Old Testament. Feedback is welcome! More on Learning to Do Right.]

[1] Ephesians 6:12

[2] Romans 13:1-7

[3] 1 Timothy 2:1-4

[4] Acts 16:37, 22:25 and 25:10-11, respectively

[5] Romans 13:3-4

An alternative example: Celtic Christianity

2011-03-14T09:33:00.000-07:00

[Continued from How Christianity became aligned with politics under Constantine.]

Perhaps things could have gone differently. Saint Patrick’s mission to the Irish in the fifth century gives a glimpse into what might have been possible had Christians under the Roman Empire resisted the temptation to align themselves with an earthly government and operate according to the principles of the world. A Celt who lived under Roman rule in Britain, Patrick was abducted by marauders as a youth and spent years as a slave swineherd in the fields of Ireland. In his solitude, he formed a close fellowship with God through constant prayer. Eventually, he escaped and found passage back to Britain, became a priest, and returned to Ireland on a holy mission to spread the gospel in that land. Thomas Cahill, in his How the Irish Saved Civilization, writes how he and his converts helped to transform Irish society:

With the Irish—even with the kings—he succeeded beyond measure. Within his lifetime or soon after his death, the Irish slave trade came to a halt, and other forms of violence, such as murder and intertribal warfare, decreased. In reforming Irish sexual mores, he was rather less successful, though he established indigenous monasteries and convents, whose inmates by their way of life reminded the Irish that the virtues of lifelong faithfulness, courage, and generosity were actually attainable by ordinary human beings and that the sword was not the only instrument for structuring society.[1]

Patrick’s non-violent, politically unadulterated, and courageously resolute message subdued the wild, warlike, and druidic Irish who the Romans could not conquer. Cahill compares the conversion of Ireland with that of the Roman Empire and argues that while Christianity transformed Irish society, Roman society transformed Christianity:

Through the Edict of Milan, which had legalized the new religion in 313 and made it the new emperor’s pet, Christianity had been received into Rome, not Rome into Christianity! Roman culture was little altered by the exchange, and it is arguable that Christianity lost much of its distinctiveness. But in the Patrician exchange, Ireland, lacking the power and implacable traditions of Rome, had been received into Christianity, which transformed Ireland into Something New, something never seen before—a Christian culture, where slavery and human sacrifice became unthinkable, and warfare, though impossible for humans to eradicate, diminished markedly. The Irish, in any case, loved physical combat too much for inter-tribal warfare to disappear entirely. But new laws, influenced by Gospel norms, inhibited such conflicts severely by requiring that arms be taken up only for a weighty cause. Ireland would not again see a battle on the scale of the Tain till Brian Boru would rout the Vikings in the eleventh century.[2]

Roughly a century after the death of Patrick, Ireland had been conquered by Christianity operating according to principles of submission and service and Irish monks began spreading peaceful, apolitical, and non-conformist Christianity in a Europe.[3] For several centuries, these monks infiltrated the barbarian tribes that had overrun the Roman Empire. The growing number of monasteries they established confounded regular church authorities with the number of converts that flocked to them. In these places of refuge, converts found a Christianity that was not only unique from the old order of Roman culture and political power but also radically different than the Germanic paganism of tribal kings. These monasteries were truly “cities on hills which could not be hidden.” Sadly, by the seventh century, unorganized Celtic Christianity was nearly entirely subsumed into the hierarchical Roman church.[4]

[This post is an excerpt of my work-in-progress book on social justice in the Old Testament. Feedback is welcome! More on Learning to Do Right.]

[1] Thomas Cahill, pg. 110, How the Irish Saved Civilization

[2] Cahill, pg. 148

[3] Cahill, pg. 151, “Ireland is unique in religious history for being the only land into which Christianity was introduced without bloodshed.”

[4] Nora Chadwick, in her history The Celts, eulogizes: “The disappearance of the idiosyncratic Christianity of the Celtic Church was inevitable, owing to the absence of central organization; but it is impossible to reach the end without a feeling of regret. A Christianity so pure and serene as that of the age of saints could hardly be equaled and never repeated.”

How Christianity became aligned with politics under Constantine

2011-03-09T18:21:00.000-08:00

In 313 A.D., the role of Christians in society started to change. In that year, the Roman Emperor Constantine gave official sanction to Christianity for the first time and afterwards gradually added official state support, including building churches and sponsoring the production of biblical books. While Christians saw this turn of events as miraculous, especially as it came on the heels of one of the most brutal persecutions in history, it may have simply been a shrewd political move on the part of Constantine to secure support from the growing number of believers as he struggled to gain sole control of the empire. Whatever his motives, the official sanction of Christianity changed the dynamic between Christians and society. Whereas before, becoming a Christian meant ridicule, suspicion, and the potential for real harm, it now meant gaining not only an acceptable but even favored status. The change of status for Christian bishops was even more extreme—their position, once fraught with danger, began to entail power and authority in the secular realm.

One of the adverse effects of this conjoining of church and state was that it became difficult to distinguish between political and spiritual authority. Church leaders sometimes wielded political power, and sometimes political leaders exercised power over the church. Once he gained control of the empire, Constantine convened church councils deciding major theological doctrines, including the council of Nicaea in 323 A.D. Eventually, in 381 A.D., the Emperor Theodosius made “Catholic Christianity” the official religion of the Roman empire and aligned bishoporics with political territories in the Roman empire so that there was one governor and one bishop for the province of Asia, for example. Soon after, pagan worship was suppressed, and in 385 A.D., the newly Christian government for the first time executed Christians that deviated from the government-endorsed orthodoxy.

Roman coin (c. 350 A.D.) showing the military standard first adopted by Emperor Constantine containing the Chi-Rho, or the first two Greek letters of Christ.

In less than 80 years, the church persecuted by the state morphed into the state-sponsored persecuting church. How could such a thing happen? The Christians who experienced Constantine’s Edict of Milan and those who came after forgot that God’s kingdom and earthly kingdoms exist on two separate planes. Though an earthly government is hostile to Christianity, it cannot hinder the advancement of God’s kingdom as long as the church operates according to the principles of the kingdom. By following the commands of Jesus to submit and serve, Christians can overcome every obstacle. In his first epistle, Peter wrote to the persecuted church in the Roman province of Asia, telling them: “Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every authority instituted among men, whether to the king, as the supreme authority, or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right … However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name.”[1] Christians in the early church understood that when they submitted to earthly authorities, they were in fact submitting to God who instituted those authorities, and that they would overcome even as they suffered persecution.

In the euphoria following the Edict of Milan, faithful and well-intentioned Christians such as Eusebius of Caesarea hailed Emperor Constantine as a savior. At the very end of his Ecclesiastical History, finished in 324 A.D., Eusebius describes the consolidation of the Empire under Constantine and the resulting elevation of the Christian religion:

But the mighty and victorious Constantine adorned with every virtue of religion, with his most pious son, Crispus Caesar, resembling in all things his father, recovered the East as his own, and thus restored the Roman Empire to its ancient state of one united body. … All fear, therefore, of those who had previously afflicted the Christians was wholly removed. They celebrated splendid and festive days with joy and hilarity. All things were filled with light, and all who before were sunk in sorrow, beheld each other with smiling and cheerful faces. With choirs and hymns, in the cities and villages, they celebrated and extolled first of all God the universal King, because they thus were taught, then they also celebrated the praises of the pious emperor and with him all his divinely favored children. There was perfect oblivion of past evils, and the past wickedness was buried in forgetfulness. There was nothing but enjoyment of the present blessings and expectation of those yet to come. Edicts were published and issued by the victorious emperor, full of clemency, and laws were enacted indicative of munificence and genuine religion.[2]

Official support from the most powerful empire in the world led believers to believe that the cause of Christ had won a tremendous victory. Certainly, Christians could be excused some relief and even elation that the Roman Empire which crucified Jesus now claimed to submit to him. However, these Christians could not foresee the ramifications of aligning their faith with a particular political identity (in this case the Roman Empire). They could not foresee how the state church would create official dogma out of simple creeds stating apostolic faith, or how the church would eventually burn heretics who refused to submit to that dogma. When bishops of apostolic churches agreed to align their sees with political jurisdictions, they failed to understand how that would one day give rise to hierarchical church leadership headed by patriarchs in Rome and Constantinople. The apostolic churches that served together as stewards of tradition and orthodoxy could not imagine that consensus and appeal to Scripture would one day yield to monarchal rule by church patriarchs—that the term “catholic” would no longer denote allegiance to universally accepted doctrine but instead allegiance to doctrine promulgated by the bishop of Rome. The Christians who won converts through their bravery in martyrdom would have recoiled at the thought of crusades against infidels claiming hundreds of thousands of lives.

Despite their good intentions, the Christians who celebrated Emperor Constantine’s support identified the kingdom of God with an earthly government and thereby lost the uniqueness that distinguished them from the rest of society. Instead of living as though they looked forward to the coming of God’s kingdom, they started living as though that kingdom was already established here on earth. Using its unprecedented freedom and power, the church began subjugating pagan religions and eventually coercing allegiance to the Christian faith.

[This post is an excerpt of my work-in-progress book on social justice in the Old Testament. Feedback is welcome! More on Learning to Do Right.]

[1] 1 Peter 2:13-14, 4:16

[2] Eusebius of Caesarea as translated by C.F. Cruse, Ecclesiastical History, Book 10, Chapter 9:6-8

How the early church related to society

2011-03-07T10:58:00.000-08:00

The early Christians who lived before Emperor Constantine understood what it meant to be salt and light and to operate according the principles of God’s kingdom. They stood in stark contrast to the rest of Roman society. Whereas it was common practice for pagans to abandon their unwanted infant children, leaving them to die in the wilderness or trash heaps, or to take strong drugs to abort their unwanted unborn babies, Christians not only disapproved of such practices but even actively rescued abandoned children and took them into their homes. They refused to take part in public celebrations of cruelty and debauchery. The Epistle to Diognetus, a Christian apology written sometime toward the end of the second century, describes the unique role of Christians in society in dramatic terms:[1]

For Christians are no different from other people in terms of their country, language, or customs. Nowhere do they inhabit cities of their own, use a strange dialect, or live life out of the ordinary. They have not discovered this teaching of theirs through reflection or through the thought of meddlesome people, nor do they set forth any human doctrine, as some do. They inhabit both Greek and barbarian cities, according to the lot assigned to each. And they show forth the character of their own citizenship in a marvelous and admittedly paradoxical way by following local customs in what they wear and what they eat and in the rest of their lives. They live in their respective countries, but only as resident aliens; they participate in all things as citizens, and they endure all things as foreigners. Every foreign territory is a homeland for them, every homeland foreign territory. They marry like everyone else and have children, but they do not expose them once they are born. They share their meals but not their sexual partners. They are found in the flesh but do not live according to the flesh. They live on earth but participate in the life of heaven. They are obedient to the laws that have been made, and by their own lives they supersede the laws. They love everyone and are persecuted by all. They are not understood and they are condemned. They are put to death and made alive. They are impoverished and make many rich. They lack all things and abound in everything. They are dishonored and they are exalted in their dishonors. They are slandered and they are acquitted. They are reviled and they bless, mistreated and they bestow honor. They do good and are punished as evil; when they are punished they rejoice as those who have been made alive. They are attacked by Jews as foreigners and persecuted by Greeks. And those who hate them cannot explain the cause of their enmity.[2]

To use Jesus’ analogy, the Christians described in this passage were like a city on a hill that could not be hidden. To society, the way in which they lived seemed paradoxical. They lived peaceably everywhere, following local customs and laws, but refusing to murder their children or participate in licentious behavior. They fulfilled all their civic duties, but remembered that they were foreigners in this world and citizens of the God’s kingdom. Moreover, as representatives of the kingdom of God, they operated according to the principles of submission and service—even if it meant death. Because of their unique message and shining examples, an increasing number of people from across all spectra of society came to have a transforming relationship with Jesus.[3]

Following the example of Jesus, these early believers avoided identifying the Christian faith with political movements and nations. In 66 A.D., possibly just several years after the martyrdom of Peter and Paul in Rome and before the close of the New Testament canon, Jews in and around Jerusalem rebelled against Roman authority, provoked by the sacrilegious actions of the procurator Florus. Jewish Christians refused to join in the rebellion and fled the city before Roman legions under Vespasian and Titus besieged and finally destroyed it in 70 A.D. These Christians followed the teachings of Jesus, who taught that the kingdom of God was established through submission and service, not by subjugation and coercion. They remembered Jesus’ words recorded in the gospel, “Those who live by the sword will die by the sword.”

Throughout the second and third centuries, Christian apologists reasoned with Roman authorities that Christianity taught people to live as peaceable, submissive, and even patriotic citizens, and therefore posed no threat their rule. These Christians understood that God’s kingdom is not established in opposition to earthly kingdoms. Sometime around 150 A.D., Justin Martyr appealed to Emperor Antoninus Pius:

And everywhere we, more readily than all men, endeavor to pay to those appointed by you the taxes both ordinary and extraordinary, as we have been taught by Him; for at that time some came to Him and asked Him, if one ought to pay tribute to Caesar; and He answered, ‘Tell Me, whose image does the coin bear?’ And they said, ‘Caesar's.’ And again He answered them, ‘Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's.’ Whence to God alone we render worship, but in other things we gladly serve you, acknowledging you as kings and rulers of men, and praying that with your kingly power you be found to possess also sound judgment.[4]

Again, in 176 A.D. or 177 A.D., Athenagoras wrote to Emperor Marcus Aurelius:

For who are more deserving to obtain the things they ask, than those who, like us, pray for your government, that you may, as is most equitable, receive the kingdom, son from father, and that your empire may receive increase and addition, all men becoming subject to your sway? And this is also for our advantage, that we may lead a peaceable and quiet life, and may ourselves readily perform all that is commanded us.[5]

Tertullian, writing in 197 A.D., described the prayers offered for the empire:

Without ceasing, for all our emperors we offer prayer. We pray for life prolonged; for security to the empire; for protection to the imperial house; for brave armies, a faithful senate, a virtuous people, the world at rest, whatever, as man or Caesar, an emperor would wish.[6] [7]

Even as they grew more numerous, Christians refused to operate according to the principles of subjugation and coercion by seeking political power. Later in the same apology cited above, Tertullian said that Christians were by then numerous enough to topple the Roman government that persecuted them simply by withdrawing from society, but that they instead helped to maintain Roman rule:

We are but of yesterday, and we have filled every place among you—cities, islands, fortresses, towns, marketplaces, the very camp, tribes, companies, palace, senate, forum—we have left nothing to you but the temples of your gods. For what wars should we not be fit, not eager, even with unequal forces, we who so willingly yield ourselves to the sword, if in our religion it were not counted better to be slain than to slay? Without arms even, and raising no insurrectionary banner, but simply in enmity to you, we could carry on the contest with you by an ill-willed severance alone. For if such multitudes of men were to break away from you, and betake themselves to some remote corner of the world, why, the very loss of so many citizens, whatever sort they were, would cover the empire with shame; nay, in the very forsaking, vengeance would be inflicted. Why, you would be horror-struck at the solitude in which you would find yourselves, at such an all-prevailing silence, and that stupor as of a dead world. You would have to seek subjects to govern. You would have more enemies than citizens remaining. For now it is the immense number of Christians which makes your enemies so few—almost all the inhabitants of your various cities being followers of Christ.[8]

These examples shed some light on how Christians in the first three centuries practiced a peaceful type of insurrection, one not directed against the Roman empire but against sin and rebellion in the human heart. They corrected identified their enemy, which was not flesh and blood, but rather evil spiritual powers and sin that held people captive. By following the principles of submission and service they overcame their true enemy while winning over their human persecutors. As Tertullian wrote at the end of his apology, “The oftener we are mown down by you, the more in number we grow; the blood of Christians is seed.”[9]

By living as illuminating examples of God’s righteousness and justice, these Christians helped to preserve society. Again, Tertullian argued that Christians acted as mediators between God and society by the virtue of their lives and their prayers. He wrote: “And, for all that is said, if we compare the calamities of former times, they fall on us more lightly now, since God gave Christians to the world; for from that time virtue put some restraint on the world's wickedness, and men began to pray for the averting of God's wrath.”[10]

[This post is an excerpt of my work-in-progress book on social justice in the Old Testament. Feedback is welcome! More on Learning to Do Right.]

[1] An apology is a “defense of the faith,” defending Christianity as true and good against its critics.

[2] Epistle to Diognetus 5:1-17, Bart D. Ehrman, The Apostolic Fathers, Vol. 2

[3] Read Paul’s letter to the mixed church at Colosse to see how people from all backgrounds set an example for society. Colossians 3:11 reads “Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.”

[4] Justin Martyr, First Apology, Chapter 17

[5] Athenagoras, A Plea for Christians, Chapter 32

[6] Tertullian, Apology, Chapter 30

[7] 1 Timothy 2:1-2 specifically teaches, “I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession, and thanksgiving be made for everyone—for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.”

[8] Tertullian, Apology, Chapter 37

[9] Tertullian, Apology, Chapter 50

[10] Tertullian, Apology, Chapter 40

Christians as salt and light in the world

2011-03-04T16:16:00.000-08:00

Jesus explained the unique role of Christians in society by calling them the salt and light of the world.

“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men. You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead, they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:13-16)

The primary sense of this scripture is that Christians must preach the true gospel of God and that they should live their lives in accordance with the gospel. In a secondary sense, these verses could read that Christians must help preserve the world from evil and to shine as examples of God’s righteousness and justice. Just like salt preserves meat from spoiling, Christians are in the world to preserve it from moral degradation and injustice. Jesus is saying that Christians, through their unique message and actions, exert a good moral influence on society that checks a natural deteriorating process. Jesus also says that Christians are like a light that exposes evil and illuminates what is right and wrong according to God’s standard. Just like people in a dark room need the light of a lamp to see objects around them, society needs the moral instruction and godly examples of Christians to see God’s standard of justice and righteousness.

As salt and light in society, Christians instruct others about God’s standard of righteousness and justice found in the Bible. Their conscience, pricked by the Holy Spirit through God’s word in the Bible, commands that they decry societal injustice. Christians must be first to raise moral objections when the powerful oppress the weak, first to expose injustice and corruption, and first to seek redress for the oppressed and protection for the vulnerable. Of course, Christians must be salt and light not just in what they say, but also in their life example. To effectively illuminate God’s standard of righteousness and justice, they need actions that correspond with their words. Thankfully, Christians can be proud of their heritage in both advocacy and action. For example, Christians not only advocated for the abolition of slavery in the United States but helped to establish the Underground Railroad that helped slaves escape from Southern plantations.[1] This advocacy on behalf of the weak goes on today as Christians speak out against abortion on behalf of those who have the least voice of all—unborn children. Many others adopt children who need families, work to stop human trafficking, bring hope to those in prison, and care for the poor and needy because of their Christian faith. In doing so, these Christians act as salt and light helping society see, hear, and understand the standard of righteousness and justice found in the Bible.

[This post is an excerpt of my work-in-progress book on social justice in the Old Testament. Feedback is welcome! More on Learning to Do Right.]

[1] Unfortunately, some Christians also twisted the Scriptures to suit their own prejudice or self-interest, such as those in the slave-holding South who argued that Africans should be subject to Whites because of Noah’s prophesy that Ham was to be the slave of Shem. Later, other Christians argued against miscegenation on grounds that God commanded the Israelites not to intermarry with other nations. This type of travesty should serve as a warning to Christians to remain true to the Scriptures and seek out their true sense apart from political ideology.

Growing close to God in difficult times

2011-02-14T12:12:00.000-08:00

This is a sermon I preached a couple weeks ago. Since then, several people in our congregation have encountered very difficult circumstances. My conscience is stricken with the thought that perhaps this sermon was to help people prepare for difficulty. Even though God is sovereign over all circumstances and always has good things prepared for those who love Him, it's stomach-twisting to see people you care about go through hard times and be limited in how you can help. Lord, please have mercy on Your people! Help us to depend on You and stand firm with faith until we see Your deliverance!

Growing Close to God in Difficult Times (Sermon)

Gospel message for Valentine's Day

2011-02-08T14:14:00.000-08:00

This is a short message that I use for Valentine's Day events.

Valentine's Day Gospel Message (Sermon)

Jingoism vs. the love of God

2011-02-04T13:28:00.000-08:00

I had heard about the Back to Jerusalem (BTJ) movement when I read The Heavenly Man, an account of the ministry of Brother Yun in China. Today, I came across an article on BTJ in the Washington Post and couldn't help but see the stark contrast between how Chinese Christians view the Islamic world and how U.S. Christians view the Islamic world.

Chinese Christian missionaries are training for jobs in Muslim lands, learning Arabic, and relocating their families to these areas in order to build churches and train disciples. There is no word among them about the threat of Muslims in China or elsewhere. No doubt they would strongly condemn terrorism and have no affinity for extremists such as Al Qaeda, but if they do, that's not the story they lead with. You never feel that these Christians view Islam as a threat or Muslims as enemies. Instead, the only sense you get is that these people feel deeply the love of God for the lost. They are acting as true salt and light to the world.

Compare that with much of the alarm among U.S. Christians that Islam is taking over the Western world. Legislation barring Sharia Law in Oklahoma (what the heck?!), rumors that the President is covertly a Muslim, and threats to burn the Koran are the most extreme examples of this alarm. If U.S. Christians do acknowledge the need for evangelism to the Muslim world, they do so only quietly after catching their breath, having wasted it screaming about the Islamic threat. It's hard to imagine these people conceiving a vision similar to BTJ. They certainly are not salt and light as Jesus described.

In my opinion, the basic difference between Chinese and U.S. Christians in how they view the Islamic world is the definition of the kingdom of God. Instead of framing their worldview in terms of the universal kingdom of God against a general world system (selfishness, hatred, and rebellion against God), they conflate the kingdom of God with earthly kingdoms, much as Christians did after the Emperor Constantine embraced Christianity in 312 A.D. Many U.S. Christians conflate Christianity with America, democracy (as long as it doesn't elect Hamas or the Muslim Brotherhood), Second Amendment rights, and capitalism. This is wrong and unbiblical.

Roman coin (c. 350 A.D.) showing the military standard first adopted by Emperor Constantine containing the Chi-Rho, or the first two Greek letters of Christ.

Jesus was clear about his distinction apart from the Roman emperor, the king Herod, the Sanhedrin, and every other worldly governmental power at the time. When cross-examining Jesus to determine if he was guilty of sedition, the Roman governor Pilate asked if Jesus claimed to be a king. Jesus replied, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place.”

What Jesus understood, and many U.S. Christians do not, is that God’s kingdom is uniquely over and above, and not in competition with, any earthly kingdom. God’s kingdom is not in opposition to worldly kingdoms because they exist on different planes. Later when Pilate asked Jesus, “Don’t you realize I have the power either to free you or to crucify you?” Jesus answered, “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above.” All authority belongs to God, and there is no earthly authority that God has not established. The rise and fall of governments and nations will always be in God’s hands. In contrast to the impermanence of worldly governments, God’s kingdom even today continues to expand and brighten, like the rays of the sun breaking at dawn, and no power, earthly or spiritual, can stop it.

Jesus warned against salt that lost its flavor and against light hidden under bowls. When Christians cannot distinguish between the kingdom of God and the kingdoms of this world then they mistakenly believe that God favors one nation over another, or one political party over another. They compromise their unique message by thinking “It’s my country, wrong or right” or otherwise excusing the ways in which their nation or party deviates from God’s standard of righteousness and justice. They self-servingly highlight scriptures from the Bible that support their partisan viewpoints while ignoring or misinterpreting those that might undermine their ideology.

Moreover, they see the success of their nation or party as the success of God’s kingdom—and see their rivals as opposed to God’s kingdom. This view leads Christians to label nations or political opponents as “heathen” or as opposed to the kingdom of God. But, if they do that, then they misidentify their enemy. As Paul wrote, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” Like Jesus, Paul emphasized the otherworldliness of God’s kingdom—that it was not set up in opposition to earthly kingdoms, but rather existed on a completely different plane over and above them.

“Help Fight Religious Leftists”

2011-02-03T10:34:00.000-08:00

A great post on the dangers of political ideology in the church begins:

There it was, on the outside of the funding appeal letter, “Help Fight Religious Leftists from turning churches into cockpits for political mobilization.” My first response was to file the letter in the trash can by my desk. My next was to read it. Why? I once served on the board of the organization that sent this letter and these types of extremely partisan political appeals actually prompted my resignation. So, I reasoned, “See what they are telling constituents now. See if you find hope or more of the same in their present appeals for your money.”

Hat tip, Kruse Kronicle.

On conviction and civility in political discourse

2011-01-25T12:22:00.000-08:00

"We are both evangelical Christians who believe that our treatment of the poor, weak, and most vulnerable is how a society is best biblically measured. Yet we usually find ourselves at opposite poles politically and often differ with each other. We believe these political differences are normal and even to be expected among citizens expressing their faith in the public arena, for God is neither a Democrat nor a Republican."

So begins an incredibly needed article by Chuck Colson, the social conservative advocate that helped spearhead the Manhattan Declaration, and Jim Wallis, the left-leaning founder of Sojourners Magazine. The article doesn't tout a left or right position, but explains the need for civility in public discourse, especially when coming from Christians.

I receive a lot of email that quite honestly makes me nauseous in its hyperbolic rhetoric, but it comes from people that I love. This article from Colson and Wallis puts perfectly the reason why I react so strongly to those over-the-top messages. Please read it!

"When we disagree, especially when we strongly disagree, we should have robust debate but not resort to personal attack, falsely impugning others' motives, assaulting their character, questioning their faith, or doubting their patriotism."

The Drum Major Instinct Revisited

2011-01-24T11:06:00.000-08:00

This is a sermon that I preached on last Sunday, reflecting on Martin Luther King Jr.'s sermon "The Drum Major Instinct" and the recent furor over Amy Chua's "Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior" article in the Wall Street Journal. The main thrust of the sermon is that Christians are called to be first in love and service, not in worldly distinction.

The Drum Major Instinct Revisited (Sermon)

Social justice in the Old Testament: Second and third chapters (in draft!)

2011-01-10T13:18:00.000-08:00

I've finished the second chapter in my book on social justice in the Old Testament, and am half-way through the third chapter. Read both below, or my first chapter here.

If you have any experience self-publishing a book, including marketing, editing, and formatting tips, please share your best practices! My goal is to create something that I'll be proud of and that will add something to our collective understanding of God's principles of justice and righteousness, and the Christian role in advocating those principles.

The second chapter covers the motives for Christians to get involved in political advocacy; those being dictates of conscience and a desire for the general welfare of society.

Motive for Christian Political Advocacy

The third chapter begins an exposition of the social justice provisions in the Mosaic Law, notably stipulations governing day labor, harvesting, tithes, debt-cancellation, and the famed Year of Jubilee.

The Law God Gave to Moses

Thailand Revival Meeting Video

2011-01-03T11:40:00.001-08:00

I travelled to Thailand last November to film this video. Our church sends our senior pastor out to minister to other churches in Thailand four times each year, and we wanted to document what goes on over there for the Seattle congregation. I am quite proud of the film because I shot all the footage and put it together in Windows Live Movie Maker myself.

The reward for a good deed

2010-12-29T21:19:00.000-08:00

The Chronicles of Narnia are among my favorite fiction because they teach us so much about the Christian life. In the series, I like The Horse and His Boy the best. In that book, the main protagonist, an orphan named Shasta, flees Calormen seeking to save himself, his friends, and Archenland, where, unbeknownst to him, his father is king. This part comes as he has just finished racing across the desert and from a giant lion:

"Are--are--are you," panted Shasta. "Are you King Lune of Archenland?" The old man shook his head, "No," he replied in a quiet voice, "I am the Hermit of the Southern March. And now, my son, waste no time on questions, but obey. This damsel is wounded. Your horses are spent. Rabadash is at this moment finding a ford over the Winding Arrow. If you run now, without a moment's rest, you will still be in time to warn King Lune. "Shasta's heart fainted at these words for he felt he had no strength left. And he writhed inside at what seemed the cruelty and unfairness of the demand. He had not yet learned that if you do one good deed your reward usually is to be set to do another and harder and better one. But all he said aloud was:"Where is the King?" The Hermit turned and pointed with his staff. "Look," he said. "There is another gate, right opposite to the one you entered by. Open it and go straight ahead: always straight ahead, over level or steep, over smooth or rough, over dry or wet. I know by my art that you will find King Lune straight ahead. But run, run: always run."

I ran cross-country in school and enjoy climbing for the reason that both activities require endurance, both physical but mental. I remember being roped up, about 500 vertical feet from the lip of Mt. Rainier's crater, when one woman in our group decided to turn around. Of course, she felt bad afterward for not enduring and no one could blame her, but what a pity! In the Christian life, we need endurance. We may have times of respite, but for the most part, we're running for the finish line. Our race will not end until we reach the goal for which our Lord Jesus has called us heavenward.

"Suppose one of you had a servant plowing or looking after the sheep. Would he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, 'Come along now and sit down and eat'? Would he not rather say, 'Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink'? Would he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do? So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, 'We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.'"

In Luke 17:7-10, Jesus explains the duty that Christians have as servants of God. We cannot congratulate ourselves for running the race in obedience to Him--we are only doing our duty. Yes, Jesus came as a servant, but that only makes our servanthood more imperative. "No student is above his master," and if Jesus was obedient and ran the race well, we should strive all the more to be like Him. In Luke 17, Jesus noted that the usual reward for a good deed is to be assigned another harder, better one. Only after we have done everything should we expect to rest. In the meantime, we are unworthy servants who are only doing their duty.

The Christmas story if Joseph and Mary used Facebook

2010-12-22T16:16:00.000-08:00

Rick Warren tweets @ me; distant relation to fame goes to my head

2010-12-17T14:31:00.000-08:00

Yay! I'm tangentally connected to fame! It's totally going to my head. Next time someone gives me lip, this is what I'm going to say: "Do you even know who you're dealing with?! Rick Warren tweeted directly 'at' me! Do you know who he is? Forbes magazine ranked him as one of the top 20 most influential tweeter person! And he tweeted at me!"

Tim Keller wrote my book

2010-10-27T16:19:00.000-07:00

Dang it. I really like Tim Keller. He's a C.S. Lewis for our generation. And, his new book (releases November 2) pretty much covers what I planned on writing about social justice, except he probably does it a lot better than I would have. Oh well ... as long as the message gets out, I'm happy. I will likely read Keller's book and then write something that augments it.

Amazon page for Keller's "Generous Justice" here: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0525951903/deyorestandre-20

Review that covers how Keller walks a political tightrope in his book: http://markmeynell.wordpress.com/2010/10/21/the-gauntlet-laid-by-tim-kellers-generous-justice/

Thoughtful article by Keller in a Presbyterian magazine: http://byfaithonline.com/page/in-the-world/the-beauty-of-biblical-justice

Writing a new book on social justice in the Old Testament

2010-10-21T15:55:00.000-07:00

So I've been working on a new book examining the principles of social justice in the Old Testament. The first couple chapters are pretty much done (see the first chapter below) and I've got some good idea of what the next four or five chapters will consist of. So far, I've been writing it on the bus to and from work and at nights (with our new baby daughter in the bouncer beside me). If you have any experience self-publishing a book, please give me ideas! My goal is to create something that I'll be proud of and that will add something to our collective understanding of God's principles of justice and righteousness, and the Christian role in advocating those principles.
The Unique Role of Christians in Society

What is revival?

2010-10-18T16:23:00.000-07:00

[This is an article that I wrote for our church newsletter a couple years ago.]

Revival is core to what New Hope International Church is about. We want to see people, families, churches, and cities in revival. According to the dictionary, revival means to move from a seemingly dead state to a live one. For Christians, revival means to move from man-made religion to a vibrant relationship with God, with undeniably miraculous results following.

The specific term "revival" comes from English and American history and describes periods where the Holy Spirit acts principally to stir people's spirits. As a result of these episodes, Christians' passion for God is renewed and the lost are inexplicably converted. As masses of people repent and are transformed by the love of God, the society around them changes for the better. The "Second Great Awakening" in the 1800s gave birth to the abolitionist movement (to end slavery) in the United States, for example.

But revival is much more than a historical term. Revival is also prophesied about in the Bible, especially in Ezekiel when God promises to replace Israel's stony hearts with hearts of flesh, and in Ezekiel's vision of the valley of dry bones that are made into a living army (read Ezekiel 36:22 - 37:28). When reading these verses, we find that God emphasizes that He is the one who revives His people. This is an essential aspect of revival that we must understand—true revival is the obvious product of God, the Sovereign Lord, not man. It is not manufactured or engineered. It is not learned through teaching, dependent on human resources, or honed by market research. Revival only occurs when God moves freely in His church. This means there is nothing we can add of ourselves to revival—any human manipulation will only serve to obstruct and distract from the move of God.

Revival is part of God's plan to prepare His church for the end times and Jesus' return. Although God is always at work in His church, His relationship with the church is a tremendous story that winds through history. In the same way that God periodically moved to spiritually revive the nation of Israel (followed with physical blessing) in the Old Testament, God also pours out deliverance, power, and love to His church in certain places and times.

What is a revival church? You can't have a church in revival without people in revival. Revival starts in our own hearts. It starts when each person repents of sin and desires God. The Bible gives us a recipe for revival in James 4:8, "Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded." Although we cannot dictate when God will bring revival, we can prepare for revival by repenting and hungering for the things of God.

We believe that each person in a revival church needs to have an intimate relationship with God that radically changes the way they relate to their family, coworkers, and friends. In a sense, each member of a revival church should become a "carrier of revival." This is consistent with history and the biblical model of revival. The first-century Christians saw tremendous revival because of how individual believers lived and evangelized. Their success had very little to do with church organization and came in spite of opposition from Roman authorities. The success of more modern revivals was also dependent on individuals. Even though we know the names of past revivalists, the reason those people's ministries were powerful was because of the radical change produced in their hearers' lives—revival is not just a meeting, but a lifestyle.

Also, a revival church seeks the genuine move of God by allowing the Holy Spirit to operate freely. This is more difficult than it sounds—when God moves, He often breaks man-made traditions, pays no attention to denominational organization, and offends people's sensibilities of what is proper. Jesus' own ministry is an example of how the move of God goes "against the grain" of established, institutional religion. In the same way, more modern moves of God have encountered opposition because of unconventional methods. George Whitefield and Jonathan Wesley, for example, drew criticism because they preached in open fields to accommodate large crowds and because their hearers sometimes had physical manifestations of God's inward work. From open-air preaching to holy laughter, God uses new (but biblically consistent) methods to touch people's hearts.

Because God uses new methods to bring revival, we at New Hope International Church are careful not to "put God in a box" by strict adherence to man-made traditions and practices. This mindset is most evident in our Sunday services, where we try to structure the service to facilitate, not constrict, the move of the Holy Spirit through prayer, worship, and preaching. We are not ashamed of unorthodox methods if those methods deliver people from sickness and the bondage of sin, and produce the life-change that is characteristic of revival.

Another key to being a revival church is to obey the specific call of God, whether on a church level or an individual level. God has a particular fit for each local church in the Body of Christ, and a particular role for each person to play within his or her local church.

We believe God has called our church to bring revival to the nations, which means:

Encouraging revival in our own church and community
Supporting our pastor's calling to spread revival and work as an apostle to other revival churches

Today, our society is ripe for revival. People are disgusted with institutional religion, ensnared by sin, bound by sickness and poverty—and at the same time longing for a more authentic experience of God. If we act as a human-run organization, depending on wisdom borrowed from the world and our own ability, our church cannot hope to meet this need. Instead, we at New Hope International Church aim to be a revival church that is open to the authentic move of God, recognizes and obeys the call of God, and continually fosters a lifestyle of revival among our members.

Social justice discussion over at Gentle Wisdom

2010-05-11T17:26:00.000-07:00

My blog friend Peter Kirk has taken up the issue of social justice in the Bible over at his Gentle Wisdom blog, which gets vastly more readership than this one. I encourage everyone who's interested in the discussion to check out Peter's post on the topic, as I expect some good comments from people.

The Basis for Social Justice in the Bible

2010-05-08T18:17:00.000-07:00

It’s coming up on five years since I began this blog (May 12, 2005). Back then, one of the things that I thought I’d be posting on was about how Christians should be a non-partisan voice in politics, advocating not a right or left position, but rather an independent biblical position. I still believe that. I believe that Christians should look to the Bible not to find support for their political position, but look to the Bible to find out where they should stand politically.

We Christians in the United States point out that the Declaration of Independence is based on biblical principles. We protest when the Ten Commandments are taken out of courthouses because we believe the principles found in the law given to Moses are a good basis for our country’s laws. In my opinion, Christians are right to point to the Bible when looking for principles of good government and societal interaction. The Bible provides guidelines for fairness and establishes basic rights, such as the protection of personal property.

Yet, I’ve had consistent pushback from Christians close to me when I suggest that biblical principles advocating social justice deserve our equal attention. People have told me, “We don’t live in a theocracy. Those laws don’t have any bearing on our government today.” Or, “Economic policy is not a moral issue like protecting the unborn or families.” Or, “Yes, Christians should be concerned about social justice, but it’s our duty as individuals and the less the government is involved in society, the better.”

The Law God Gave to Moses
However, I can’t see how these social justice provisions are any different from other biblical principles that we apply to government. Specifically, I’m referring to things found in the law given by God to Moses that are given to ensure general equality, or social justice. For example:

If using “poor and destitute” day laborers, Israelites were to pay their wages at the end of every day “before sunset because they are poor and counting on it.” (Deuteronomy 24:14-15)
During the harvest, Israelites were not to go back over their fields a second time or glean the edges of their fields. They were not to beat their olive trees twice, or go back a second time after picking grapes from the vine. All the gleanings were left to the “foreigners, orphans, and widows.” (Leviticus 19:9-10, 23:22; Deuteronomy 24:19-22)
Every three years, the entire tithe of Israel’s harvest was to be given to Levites, as well as “to the foreigners living among you, the orphans, and the widows in your towns, so that they can eat and be satisfied.” (Deuteronomy 14:28-29)
Every seven years, all debts were to be cancelled among the Israelites and all male Israelite slaves who had sold themselves released. God specifically warned against reticent lending when the time for cancelling debts grew near, because “If you refuse to make the loan and the needy person cries out to the Lord, you will be considered guilty of sin.” (Deuteronomy 15:1-11)
Every 50 years (or, the seventh debt-cancelling cycle), the Israelites would celebrate the Year of Jubilee, when not only would all debts be cancelled, but all land would be returned to its original family assignments. This did not apply to houses in walled towns, but only to land in the countryside that could support agriculture. I believe this provision had an incredibly powerful leveling effect in Israelite society because the ability to produce and accumulate wealth was based on the land. If someone lost their land, they would be reduced to a day laborer or tenant farmer with little hope of escaping their situation. In agrarian economy, the Year of Jubilee ensured there was not a huge gap between rich and poor, where the rich get ever richer. God did not prohibit wealth, but He did make vast inequality impossible. (Leviticus 25:8-55)

The Law Helps Us Understand the Character of God
These provisions in the law of Moses did two things. First, they taught the Israelites (and us) about the character of God. These social justice provisions show He is concerned for groups of people who are vulnerable in society. Throughout the Old Testament, God repeatedly expresses His concern for three groups of vulnerable people: foreigners, orphans, and widows. The foreigners are vulnerable because they are a minority and likely escaping difficult circumstances in their home country (war, famine, persecution, etc.), similar to how Jacob's family entered Egypt to escape famine. Orphans are vulnerable because they have no family, and widows are vulnerable because they do not have a husband to protect and provide for them. If the Israelites were beneficiaries of God’s grace while unfortunate in Egypt, they should extend the same grace to the unfortunate among them in the Promised Land. Deuteronomy 24:17 reads:

“True justice must be given to foreigners living among you and to orphans, and you must never accept a widow’s garment as security for her debt. Always remember that you were slaves in Egypt and that the Lord your God redeemed you from your slavery. That is why I have given you this command.”

Leaders Must Uphold Justice in Society
Second, these provisions ensured a just and stable society. True justice aligns with the character of God. When justice reigns, God blesses society. When justice is perverted, God sends curses. The prophets God later sent to Israel rebuked them for injustice, especially oppression of the vulnerable foreigners, orphans, and widows. Consider Ezekiel’s rebuke of Israelite princes and officials (and the lying prophets who were complicit):

“Your leaders are like wolves who tear apart their victims. They actually destroy people’s lives for money! And your prophets cover up for them by announcing false visions and making lying predictions. They say, ‘My message is from the Sovereign Lord,’ when the Lord hasn’t spoken a single word to them. Even common people oppress the poor, rob the needy, and deprive foreigners of justice.” (Ezekiel 22:27-29)

The sin of the leaders was that they unjustly benefited from economically oppressing vulnerable people in society. Earlier in Ezekiel, God says Jerusalem surpassed Sodom in corruption, but the sin cited is not immorality (although that was a problem, too) but rather economic injustice. “Sodom’s sins were pride, gluttony, and laziness, while the poor and needy suffered outside her door.” (Ezekiel 16:49) God punished Sodom because they were wicked, wealthy, and unconcerned for the poor and needy living among them.
Because the leaders and people of Jerusalem perpetuated injustice and violated His commandments (see Ezekiel 22:27-29 above), God sought people who would stand up for and advocate on behalf of oppressed groups. By speaking up for the vulnerable, these people would protect their society from God's wrath. Continuing in Ezekiel 22:30-31, God says:

“I looked for someone who might rebuild the wall of righteousness that guards the land. I searched for someone to stand in the gap in the wall so I wouldn’t have to destroy the land, but found no one. So now I will pour out my fury on them, consuming them with the fire of my anger. I will heap on their heads the full penalty for all their sins. I, the Sovereign Lord, have spoken!” (Ezekiel 22:30-31)

Defining What Is Right and Wrong
In God’s eyes, society is made corrupt not just because of idolatry and sexual immorality, but also because of injustice and oppression. In the law given the Israelites through Moses, God forbade idolatry and sexual immorality—and also oppression of vulnerable people in society, specifically foreigners, widows, and orphans. If justice was not upheld, and especially if injustice was abetted by kings and officials, then God would judge the Israelites.

God sent Jeremiah to warn King Jehoiakim of Judah against violating social justice provisions in His law. God held up Josiah, Jehoiakim’s father, as an example of a ruler who assured blessing for the nation by upholding justice.

“And the Lord says, 'What sorrow awaits Jehoiakim, who builds his palace with forced labor. He builds injustice into its walls, for he makes his neighbors work for nothing. He does not pay them for their labor. ... But a beautiful cedar palace does not make a great king! Your father, Josiah, also had plenty to eat and drink. But he was just and right in all his dealings. That is why God blessed him. He gave justice and help to the poor and needy, and everything went well with him. Isn't that what it means to know me? says the Lord." (Jeremiah 22:13-16)

Isaiah warned King Ahaz and other leaders in Jerusalem against making laws and issuing decrees that resulted in the rich becoming richer at the expense of the poor and disenfranchised.

“What sorrow awaits the unjust judges and those who issue unfair laws. They deprive the poor of justice and deny the rights of the needy among my people. They prey on widows and take advantage of orphans. What will you do when I punish you, when I send disaster upon you from a distant land?” (Isaiah 10:1-3)

The Practicality of God’s Justice
God cares about how laws affect vulnerable people in society. In the Mosaic law, God included special provisions to ensure unfortunate people received care and did not fall into a “poverty trap” that kept them from improving their situations. The Year of Jubilee was especially important because the land was vital to people’s economic livelihood. God instituted this practice to prevent the formation of a permanent class of landless poor people who would be forever dependent on the tithe and gleanings.

I believe these social justice provisions in the Mosaic law reveal biblical principles that we can apply to government today. I don’t believe the Bible gives us specific solutions to problems, but does provide biblical principles from which we can form a solution. In the same way that Christians refer to the Bible when addressing social issues like homosexual marriage, I believe we can also learn from the Bible when addressing socio-economic issues. In the same way that Christians advocate on behalf of the most vulnerable members of society—unborn children denied the basic right to life—we can also advocate on behalf of the vulnerable groups that are repeatedly listed together throughout the Old Testament—the poor and needy, especially foreigners, orphans, and widows.

Learning to Do Right
Isaiah warned the Israelites against masking their apathy toward injustice with religious activity. In Isaiah 1:10-17, God says:

“’Listen to the Lord, you leaders of “Sodom.” Listen to the law of our God, people of “Gomorrah.” What makes you think I want all your sacrifices?’ says the Lord. ‘I am sick of your burnt offerings of rams and the fat of fattened cattle … Learn to do good. Seek justice. Help the oppressed. Defend the cause of the orphans. Fight for the rights of widows.” (Isaiah 1:10-17)

God told the Israelites that true religion included looking out for the weakest members of society. Certainly this means we must act individually and as church families to help the poor and needy in our community, but it also means that we must advocate on behalf of vulnerable members of society. The Bible makes clear that injustice often involves economic oppression by powerful interests against groups without a voice. We must learn to do right and seek justice for these people. If we do so, we will be the people God is looking for to stand in the gap in “the wall of righteousness that guards the land.” Christians today do not live in a theocracy like the Israelites did when given the law of Moses, but we can apply biblical principles to government in regard to social justice the same way we advocate on behalf of the unborn and to protect families.

How God prepares us for His work

2010-03-11T16:37:00.000-08:00

This sermon talks about how God works in our lives to break down our reliance on our natural self. It uses the life example of Peter, showing how God taught him to fear his own thoughts, ability, and will. This teaching is based on Watchman Nee's Release of the Spirit.

How God Prepares Us for His Work (Sermon)

What I've learned about preaching so far

2010-02-15T17:19:00.000-08:00

I'd like to write a post about preaching, compiling some of the experiences, books, and revelations that have helped me over the last decade or so. I first started preaching and teaching when I was a student leader for our church's campus ministry at the University of Washington, and was really terrible at it. My friends in the small group would tease me during Bible study by audibly counting the number of times I said "you know" as a pausing phrase. Once, I believe they counted up to over a hundred. :-)

My mentor, Dwayne, would also interject while I was teaching a lesson and ask things like, "So, what does this mean for me?" He was trying to get me back on track when my thoughts went backpacking in the mountains, or I wasn't paying attention to the perplexed or bored expressions on people's faces.

I was so terrible at preaching and teaching that the memory of this time makes me realize how patient God is in readying us for His work. Maybe others are ready to launch into ministry soon after their conversion, but for people like me, God needs to prime the pump early and for a long time before He starts getting good results. (I'm being somewhat facetious, but mainly want to remind myself of how we need to be patient with ourselves and with others.)

I started making good progress in my preaching ability when, after graduation, I moved to Washington, D.C., to help plant a church. At first, I was scheduled to preach twice a month, and then later three times a month. This was in addition to leadership meetings, discipleship meetings, and small group Bible studies. Because I knew that good preaching was a key to the growth of our Sunday service, I looked for ways to improve my preaching. This included rhetorical skills (thinking of ways to convince the listener) and delivery, but also the spiritual side of preaching, which many non-preachers don't really understand. You see, Paul says that his preaching was not just with fine words and human wisdom, but it came with fear and trembling on his part, and with a demonstration of the power of God. This last element is the work of the Holy Spirit either by signs and wonders that attest to the divine inspiration of the message, or by the conviction in the hearts of the hearers.

One of the biggest helps to me was Charles Spurgeon's Lectures to My Students, which is a series of talks that he gave to seminary students that prepare them for ministry. Charles Spurgeon, of course, is known as the "Prince of Preachers," and he writes in his lectures about the selection, content, format, and delivery of a message in addition to the spiritual preparation necessary for an effective preacher. Another influence during this time was The Spiritual Man by Watchman Nee. He emphasized the necessity of doing everything through the power of the Holy Spirit, and taught me to always fear using "soulish" power that looks good to unspiritual eyes, but does not result in lasting spiritual fruit.

I kept up this regimen of preaching and teaching several times each week for nearly five years. This alone wouldn't necessarily have guaranteed any progress on my part, but because I can happily say that I sincerely was concerned for my hearers and wanted to improve, that I was able to make this opportunity fruitful by God's grace.

Since moving back to Seattle and preaching in my pastor's stead whenever he is out of town, I've learned a bit more. I have much more time in between Sunday sermons to think about things, a time that I'm thankful for and believe helps me to come up with more messages that have been "marinated" in thought longer than if I preached more often. I've made it most of the way through Dr. Martin Lloyd Jones' Preaching and Preachers. Like Spurgeon's Lectures, that book distills a lifetime of practical preaching advice. I also learned a lot from Arnold Dallimore's biography of George Whitefield. Whitefield's passion and sincerity was such that he moved Benjamin Franklin to empty his pockets to give to an orphanage and gathered crowds of upwards of 20,000 who would listen without the aid of a speaker system.

However, the most important lesson I've learned so far is that I have so much room left for improvement. My pastor in Seattle has been a tremendous inspiration. When he founded the church 20 years ago, he had to preach in Thai because his English wasn't fluent. But, today, because of his perserverance and dedication to excellence, he delivers very powerful messages in both languages as needed. My pastor also actively seeks more of God's power in his ministry. In many places in the Bible, God promises that those who seek will be rewarded.

The key powerful sermons, I believe, is spiritual authority that comes from God and flows through the preacher, not unlike the authority that the people who heard Jesus marveled at. Yes, there are things we can do to convey our message clearly, be relevant, and keep people's interest. We can also avoid things that annoy, distract, or otherwise interfere with the message. But the key thing, I believe, is spiritual power. I can see the progress that my pastor and others have made in this area and believe that God can use me in a similar way if I allow Him. My prayer is that God will use me as His mouthpiece.

The importance of church planting in world evangelization

2009-12-18T15:50:00.000-08:00

This is a sermon I wrote this month. Church planting is a topic near and dear to my heart, and I am convinced that it is intrinsic to how the New Testament church went about fulfilling the Great Commission. The sermon studies the examples of Priscilla and Aquila, who helped to start the churches in Corinth and Ephesus, and also hosted a church in their house when they eventually moved back to Rome.

Study Bible Smackdown

2009-11-25T13:59:00.000-08:00

Last year, someone gave me the New Living Translation (NLT) Study Bible as a present and I've absolutely been loving it. This year, my wife and I decided to pass on the love and give some study bibles as gifts to other people. That led me to the Christian book store, a place of peril for my financial well-being. (Actually, I got a screamer of a deal, using my 30% off rewards punch-card on top of a 20%-off Bible sale going on that day. But it just meant I could buy Bibles for more people, so actually didn't save me any money.)

While I was at the store, the sales guy asked if I had seen the new English Standard Version (ESV) Study Bible, which just came out this year. I hadn't, but was pretty impressed with the layout, cross-reference, and commentary. It's pretty much aimed at a Reformed/Neo-Calvinist audience, though, and you can really tell when you head over to their Web site and check out the endorsements from people like John Piper.

I decided to stick with the NLT Study Bible to give as gifts, but bought an ESV Study Bible for my own use. (Thanks to wife for saying yes!) Having both of them at home, I can say with certainty that I still reach for the NLT more often. It's just a joy to read the New Living Translation. (I carry a slimline NIV from Zondervan in my bag and use that when not at home.) That readability, combined with the awesome notes, has really helped me to enjoy the Old Testament. I admit that reading the OT before seemed a bit of a drag.

To me, the ESV Study Bible seems more appropriate for hard-core study, not only because the commentary seems more theologically oriented, but also because the ESV translation is more literal and often uses technical Christian terms. I think it's useful and am glad to have it, but it's more of a reference book for me.

The NLT Study Bible combines the readability of the New Living Translation with a more scholarly approach in the study notes section that discusses alternative literal translations. This is a big plus, because I admit that the NLT does sacrifice some precision for the sake of being easy to understand. So, all in all, I heartily recommend the NLT Study Bible to anyone looking for a down-to-earth study Bible that combines excellent readability, good scholarship, and insightful study notes.

http://www.esvstudybible.org/
http://www.nltstudybible.com/

No compromise: A personal testimony

2009-10-15T16:36:00.000-07:00

It’s been about 15 years now that I asked God what He wanted of my life and He answered, “No compromise.” I was still in high school and at our church’s summer retreat. Ps. Richard Holland was our guest speaker and introduced us to revival. I was on the floor, having been “slain in the Spirit,” and felt the presence of God over me. Because I felt He was near, I asked him what He wanted. I knew what I had wanted up to that point, but now I wanted whatever God wanted for my life. I lay quiet for a while, conscious that He was there and waiting for Him to speak, oblivious to the prayers, shouts, and songs around me.

“No compromise,” He answered, after what seemed like a long time. What He said—the exact words—was very clear to me, clearer than any “word” I’ve received directly from the Lord since then. Not only were the words clear, but the meaning was exactly clear as well. God unfolded what those two words meant for my Christian life: I was not to compromise His standard in any area of my life. He didn't want me to live up to what others thought was acceptable, but He wanted me to live up to His own perfect example. It was as Jesus said during His Sermon on the Mount, “Be perfect therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

Of course, I’ve failed many times to live up to the perfect standard of God. I’ve compromised many, many times. But, even with all my failures, I am glad those were the words God gave to me 15 years ago because I know that God has called me with the highest calling. God doesn’t want me to compromise in love. He doesn’t want me to compromise in holiness. He doesn’t want me to compromise in discipline, effort, conviction, and commitment to His work. He doesn’t want me “on fire” only on Sundays or only during our annual church camp, but He wants me on fire for Him and His work all the time. “Never be lacking in zeal,” as Paul wrote. Of course I fail to live up to His perfect standard; but He never does, and so as long as I refuse to give up, He will continue to finish the work He started in me.

Moreover, these words “no compromise” mean that God Himself is my standard and not other people. I am not called to follow in the footsteps of any man, except that those lead me further in the way of Christ. Paul wrote to his disciple Timothy for him to not let anyone look down on him because of his relative youth, but to “set an example for all the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith, and in purity.” In other words, Paul told Timothy not to set his standards according to those who he naturally should have looked to (the elders in Ephesus), but to set his standards according to the calling of God in his life.

As I’ve matured spiritually (though I admit I still have so, so much to learn), I’ve come to understand that God doesn’t measure us relative to other people, but according to what He has called us to individually. If we compromise His calling in our life and excuse ourselves by comparing ourselves favorably to others, we will be surprised on that Last Day, because God will hold each one accountable for what He’s spoken to them individually and what He’s given them individually. To those who much had been given, much we will be demanded. So, don’t compromise.

Chilling reading on eugenics and family planning

2009-09-08T16:38:00.000-07:00

I stumbled upon this Google Books version of Margaret Sanger's The Pivot of Civilization, in which she lays out her case for "family planning" as a way to implement eugenics on a broad scale. She's the founder of Planned Parenthood and writes some really scary stuff about eugenics. (Check out chapter four on "The Fertility of the Feeble-Minded," for example.) It's frightening to realize how much of her vision has come to reality with legalized abortion. And, if proposed health care reform includes subsidies for family planning, her vision will be even more true. It's scary stuff.

The grace of god

2009-09-04T10:59:00.000-07:00

This is a sermon I wrote last year. I don't see the grace of God as simply a ticket to heaven or pass for our sins. Yes, it's relieved our fears, but also teaches our hearts to fear Him. I dare not let His grace go in vain (as Paul said) or miss the grace of God (as the writer of Hebrews said). At the same time, I know that if I do fail, then God gives us even more grace so that we can repent (as James said). The key is to truly humble ourselves before Him (as both James and Paul said). This is what I mean when I talk about the grace of God.

I really, really want an iPhone

2009-08-27T10:09:00.000-07:00

I've never been a texting guy or signed up for a mobile data plan, but I have to admit that the iPhone is a thing of singular beauty. I feel really bad about admiting this, but it's the truth. I'm supposed to be a PC guy, and really I still am at heart. But the iPhone has so many cool apps and just looks awesome.

Dealing with reality on rationing

2009-08-13T14:11:00.001-07:00

According to Merriam-Webster's Dictionary, ration is defined as: "a share especially as determined by supply."

I understand the arguments against healthcare rationing because no one likes being told there's not enough of something to go around, especially when it comes to your life or that of your loved ones. But you have to ask yourself, don't we have healthcare rationing right now, except that it's done by the market and insurance companies? When you have to decide between better coverage and a higher premium, that's rationing. Whenever you apply for a treatment or operation and are rejected, that's rationing.

So I guess my response to all these arguments against rationing is that it doesn't matter whether it's public or private, there's still going to be rationing of healthcare--there always has been and always will be. Our time would be better spent arguing over what should be rationed and how it should be rationed.

The hammer and sickle ... and marketing

2009-08-05T15:11:00.000-07:00

One thing that stuck with me reading Marx's Communist Manifesto in high school was the idea that some professions contributed materially to society more than others. Farmers, factory workers, skilled laborers, and professionals like doctors and scientists all produced things or services that helped people and met basic needs. But some professions, like traders, bankers, and shop owners, produced comparatively little material benefit. Still other classes, like land owners, contributed absolutely nothing. Unfortunately, in a capitalistic society, the ones that reap the most profit are usually the ones that contribute the least.

I believe that Leo Tolstoy wouldn't have been entirely unsympathetic to this basic argument, as he often admired his serfs who worked the land, and would even join them at harvest time with a sythe.

And here I am today, working in business-to-business marketing. I only can see very tenuous links between what I do now and its benefit to society. I suppose that, by helping my clients market their products and services more effectively, I am making the marketplace more competitive. That, in capitalist theory, should make the overall market more efficient, and thus drive down the prices of the products and services for our clients' customers or help them derive greater benefit at the same price. I suppose that some of my clients' business customers produce something of material benefit to society, but in reality many of them might be professional services firms, or work in bourgeois industries like fashion or media.

The point to all this being that I can't really see how my job materially benefits society. If there is any benefit, it is far, far removed from me.

Don't worry, I am not a communist. I don't think communism is a realistic solution to the world's problems. In the end, the thing this present world needs more than anything is God's gift of salvation through Jesus Christ. Looking at things that way, my marketing job helps feed my family so that I can spend the rest of my time telling people about the saving power of Jesus. And that, I believe, is definitely a direct material benefit to society.

The cross and Pentecost

2009-08-01T11:35:00.000-07:00

I really like Mark Driscoll's books. He's the pastor of Mars Hill church here in Seattle and, to me, is one of the "faces" of American Christianity for the next generation. I've previously read his book about his call to ministry and starting Mars Hill, Confessions of a Reformission Rev. His latest book, Death by Love is a look at the theology of "neo-Calvinism," especially its view of the atonement. As usual for Driscoll, it's gritty and refreshingly straightforward, applying the suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus to people's everyday lives.

He also takes a slight dig at charismatics in the book. (In Confessions, he actually had a chapter titled: Dear Jesus, Could You Please Rapture the Charismaniac Lady Who Brings Her Tambourine to Church? I couldn't help smiling at that one.) His criticism is that charismatic theology is centered on the Pentecost, whereas Reformed theology is centered on the cross of Jesus. At first, I dismissed that criticism as ill-informed, but after some thought, I definitely am starting to appreciate the distinction. He's not saying, and he wouldn't be right if he did, that charismatics don't look at the cross or appreciate the cross. We do, certainly. Speaking for charismatics, I can say that I very much appreciate the cross because it was where Jesus won our victory.

However, I'm going to defend our attention to Pentecost by pointing out that the disciples had not received everything they needed after the cross. In fact, Jesus makes a point of telling them to wait in Jerusalem:

"After his suffering, he showed himself to these men and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: 'Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.'" ~ Acts 1:3-5

From a charismatic perspective, we see the cross as purchasing for us the power that Jesus poured out on the church (and continues to pour out) at Pentecost. Pentecost is not the centerpoint, but it is an absolutely vital conclusion to Jesus' victory on the cross. At the cross, Jesus made it possible that his disciples could receive the empowerment of the Holy Spirit that they in fact received at Pentecost.

To understand the importance of this empowerment, consider Isaiah 61, which Jesus applied to Himself, saying, "The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor ..." Charismatics apply this verse to themselves as well because the Spirit is now on us, and He has anointed us. Jesus suffered, died, and rose again so that His Spirit would be poured out on the disciples, enabling them to preach and set the captives free through the power of the Holy Spirit. In this view, the Pentecost is the second important reason Jesus came to suffer and die (the primary reason being all the points that Driscoll mentions in his book on the atonement).

To be fair, I want to point out that Driscoll was not making a point of denying the importance of Pentecost. He certainly was not saying that charismatics are unorthodox, and even pointed out that a growing number of Christians with a Reformed theology are in fact becoming charismatic in practice (for example, Sovereign Grace Ministries). And I don't think I actually have much to argue with him about. If anything, I'm just sharing my own thinking and perspective on the relation between the cross and Pentecost, from my charismatic perspective.

John Piper on Obama's abortion views

2009-07-31T10:32:00.000-07:00

John Piper gave this sermon after the Presidential inauguration, but I only heard this clip now. It's a tremendous hammer blow to me, because I did vote for Obama and am extremely saddened to hear that his healthcare proposal includes subsidies for abortion. I believe that goes against the word and spirit of his promise of working to reduce the number of abortions in America.

Missing the wife and kid

2009-07-30T16:39:00.000-07:00

It's been two weeks now since I left my wife and daughter in Malaysia. They're due back in a few days and I'm missing them both badly. It's true that it is not good for man to live alone, and it's true that he who finds a wife finds a good thing.

I am Boo Radley

2009-07-27T11:19:00.000-07:00

My wife and daughter are still out of town, so I've been reading To Kill a Mockingbird again so I don't go crazy with loneliness at home. (Even when I'm out and about, even when I'm with friends, I still feel lonely without my family.) It's been a bit surreal reading the story again because we're currently having a heat wave in Seattle. This whole week it's supposed to be in the 90s and unusually humid. I can imagine I'm in Maycomb, Alabama.

I bought styrofoam boards and cut them to fit my windows or blocked the windows with cardboard to insulate the house in the daytime, then put a box fan in the window at night. It's still hot, but bearable.

I feel like Boo Radley, an invisible protagonist in the story, who spends his days shut up in a lonely old house with the shutters always drawn.

Bible study lessons on Scribd

2009-07-16T21:45:00.000-07:00

Discipleship Characteristics

The document above is just one of the bible study lessons that I've shared on Scribd recently. I've been really encouraged because lots of people have been viewing and downloading the documents that I've spent a lot of time preparing. I'm so glad that these documents can be a benefit to the church around the world! One of the lessons, Overcoming Low Self-Esteem, has been downloaded 19 times since going up two weeks ago.

Not only does Scribd make it easier to share lessons with the world, but it also facilitates the sharing of important resources within the local church. They recently introduced a "Share on Facebook" function that I hope continues to improve, for example. This technology will also make it easier for people to browse our staple of lessons available, which we currently host on our church server where it is hard to navigate and update.

Not taking freedom for granted

2009-07-03T10:45:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to write a quick post to say Happy July 4th! Although a God-given right, freedom doesn't just happen for many people in the world. One of my friends is in Burma right now, where the government there bans public gatherings and persecutes ethnic and religious minorities. (Well, they've actually proved themselves to be not so friendly to the majority Buddhists, either.) Watching news of the protests in Iran, I was asking myself if I would be brave enough to go out and face possible imprisonment or even death to fight for a fair vote. So we should be glad, thank God, and thank the men and women who some 200 years ago decided that the fight for freedom was worth risking their lives, fortune, and sacred honor.

Who you are first, then what you do

2009-07-02T09:10:00.000-07:00

I finished Donald Kagan's "The Peloponnesian War" a couple weeks ago and am still shell-shocked. Kagan's career as a historian has focused on the 27-year conflict between Athens and Sparta, which has fascinated political and military historians ever since because of its epic scale and the way it set the mold for so many "great" wars between two superpowers and their alliances.

For me, however, one of the most compelling things about the history is what it tells us about the men involved, and how they responded to opportunities and challenges. (Sorry, but historians in the 4th century B.C. don't seem to have paid much attention to women.) It was sad to see principled, brave men die for naught, and scheming, self-seeking men carry out their plans. I was heartbroken to read the Spartan commander Brasidas died carrying out a brilliant tactical strike that capped a brilliant strategic campaign. He was daring in war and generous in victory, but held fast to conservative values and loyalties when politicians at home tried to enforce an unjust peace. After his death, the peace did not hold and his view of the future was borne out. I read about Thrasybulus, the Athenian general who steadfastly defended democracy in his city from threats without and within for many years. Even when Athens eventually lost the war and the Spartans installed the terrorizing, oligarchic regime of The Thirty, Thrasybulus led a successful resistance that began with only 70 men. On the other hand, there were many men who obviously sought nothing more than their own personal glory. These men served their city in many cases, but would also work against its best interests when it suited them.

Real life doesn't always have clear-cut lessons for us. Reading the book, I realized that victory or defeat is never fully within our control, and is very dependent on circumstances. What's more, your hard-won success in one instance can be easily erased by another's folly. I learned a bit about how real democracy often leads to really terrible political compromises and even tragedy, but also how it unifies the people and gives them greater resolve.

Most importantly, I learned this: We can't control the outcome of our actions. Focusing on solely on outcomes leads to an ends-justify-the-means mentality and corrupts who we are. Many people fall prey to this trap. Instead, we should focus on who we are and what we believe, like Brasidas and Thrasybulus. We still have equal chances of success or failure but are protected from losing our way in a moral sense and letting ourselves be defined by what we do.

Worship as you like, or not

2009-07-01T12:45:00.000-07:00

This is a painfully hillarious video. I could explain, but it gets to the point pretty quick so just watch it yourself. :-)

Zombie project at work

2009-06-30T16:14:00.000-07:00

I have a project that has been around for nearly six months. I feel like I'm in one of those zombie shooter games where the bad guys don't stay dead. The really sad thing is that I give this a 50% chance of still being around when I get back from vacation.

Cora's taking Chinese classes

2009-06-27T11:31:00.001-07:00

My wife says she has a strong American accent. I think it's cute. :-)

Fear and loathing in KL

2009-06-26T16:22:00.001-07:00

Oh ... my ... goodness. I've been griping about wanting to take a vacation for a while now, but certain stars are aligning the wrong way so that I'm more than a bit fearful of our upcoming family trip to Malaysia. The problem is that there are an estimated 1 million cases of (A)H1N1/swine flu in the United States and less than a hundred in Malaysia. The Malaysian authorities are understandably concerned about the virus spreading to their country from the United States. But this morning we got a call from a family member asking us if we were going to cancel our trip because of a rumored quarantine requirement for all visitors from the States. Really? They've got to be kidding me! (Thankfully, I've checked online and couldn't find any authoritative substantiation to that rumor, and sent an e-mail to the U.S. embassy in KL to check.)

Anyway, I am not looking forward to answering "swine flu" questions in Malaysia, and am a little anxious that people are actually going to eye us with suspicion just because we travelled from the United States. Never mind that despite those 1 million cases of the flu in the United States, less than 200 have died. Even the 3,000 hospitalizations mean that just 0.3% of all infected people actually end up in the hospital, and even then its mostly for monitoring.

Why is it that paranoia about swine flu seems to be even greater in Malaysia than here? Sheesh ... I'm exasperated and I'm not even there yet!

The post where I repent with hot tears

2009-06-22T17:38:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday was humiliating. The pastor preached on the parable of the Prodigal Son, emphasizing the love of the Father. He identified two audiences for Jesus' story: the prodigals who repented and found abundant love and grace, and the self-righteous Pharisees who accused the Father of injustice in His unconditional love. Especially cutting was the pastor's emphasis on how the older son described his brother. In both the NKJV and NIV, he says "This son of yours," and not "my brother." Oh, how that pierced my heart! I cried hot tears at the altar that Sunday.

How often have I viewed other sons and daughters of our heavenly Father in such terms?! How often have I said, "This so-and-so" instead of "my brother" or "my sister," or otherwise refused them the love and forgiveness that our Father in heaven offers so freely? I admit that I have been self-righteous, which prevented me from going inside to enjoy the blessings of God like the angry older brother who refused to join the celebration of his brother's return.

Bury me in the holy land

2009-06-19T17:26:00.000-07:00

Text reads: A man and his ever-nagging wife went on vacation to Jerusalem. While they were there, the wife passed away. The undertaker told the husband, "You can have her shipped home for $5,000, or you can bury her here, in the Holy Land, for $150." The man thought about it and told him he would just have her shipped home. The undertaker asked, "Why would you spend $5,000 to ship your wife home when it would be wonderful to be buried here, and you would spend only $150?" The man replied, "Long ago a man died here, was buried here, and three days later he rose from the dead. I just can't take that chance."

Death by PowerPoint

2009-06-11T09:51:00.001-07:00

Our company has been taking on more PowerPoint projects in the last couple years. We're traditionally a prose-oriented marketing communications company, so PowerPoint is kind of nice in that I get to exercise my artsy side. (I used to draw and paint a lot in grade school, and even seriously considered going to art school for college.) But as much as I like these projects and am grateful for the work, I admit to not a little bit of dread looking forward to next fiscal year, in which we've won a contract to create more than 35 presentations for just one client. I expect to be working on about half of these, which comes out to at least one a month. Oy.

A modern-day Marcion

2009-06-09T18:26:00.000-07:00

Recently, there's been a big blow up in one of the churches that our church is affiliated with in Bangkok. It's especially painful because members of my family attend that church and many of the founding members are old friends, including the pastor. The issue seems to be that the pastor--my friend--is teaching a new "gospel of grace" as espoused by Joseph Prince of New Creation Church in Singapore. People in that congregation started calling and e-mailing us about this several weeks ago and we were at a loss to know what to do.

To help clarify the issue in my own mind, I read through most of Joseph Prince's book "Destined to Reign" because it seemed incredible that Christians I knew well would actually teach some of the things they were accused of teaching. "Maybe they've misunderstood what he taught," I thought. But after reading the book for myself, I was shocked. I can hardly believe this guy is on millions of TVs in America every week.

Usually, I try to keep my public criticism of fellow Christians to a minimum, for each servant is accountable to his Master. However, in this case, I feel obligated to speak out because I know in my head and my heart that this doctrine is contrary to the teaching of Jesus Christ. I'm afraid many younger beleivers may be led astray.

Moreover, this guy comes from the same charismatic, Word-of-Faith spiritual heritage that I do. I believe that health, wealth, and success are God's overall intention for believers, available to us on the conditions of faith and obedience, and that Christians can expect God's supernatural intervention in their lives. So when I read that Joseph Prince takes this and adds his own unorthodox "grace gospel," I feel an extra obligation to weigh in.

I've written an eight-page summary of how Jospeph Prince's teaching differs from historical and biblical Christian teaching and posted it online here. The document cites pages in Destined to Reign that you can read for yourself using Google Books.

In short, Joseph Prince teaches that all guilty feelings are from the devil and a result of ungodly legalism. As a result, he says Christians should not examine themselves or confess their sin (beyond an initial confession when saved). He says repentance simply means changing one's mind and does not entail sorrow or remorse. He says many Christians in the past mixed the law with grace, and that God has called him to expunge the law from the Church and free Christians from guilt and condemnation.

It all sounds very similar to the second-century heretic Marcion, who thought the God of the Old Testament could not be reconciled with the God that Paul preached. (Marcion emphasized Paul, as does Joseph Prince.) Marcion created his own canon (actually a precursor to the orthodox canon list of the New Testament, in a way) that took out all Jewish elements and everything that had to do with law and the retributive God of the Old Testament, Yahweh. I'm not saying that Joseph Prince is so extreme as Marcion, but there are many similarities. Interesting to see how things are repeating themselves now, 1,900 years later.

Remembering this day, twenty years ago

2009-06-04T18:37:00.000-07:00

To me, the remarkable thing about the protests was not the crackdown, but the almost spontaneous galvanization of an entire country in support of liberty.

The camp promo video to end all camp promo videos

2009-06-02T20:53:00.001-07:00

This is the ... best ... camp ... promo ... video ... ever! My brother co-stars and my daughter and mom make guest appearances. My brother-in-law did the sound engineering. Way to go, guys!

Brian Welch's testimony

2009-05-28T17:35:00.000-07:00

This is the testimony of Brian Welch, who used to be lead guitarist for KORN before he accepted Jesus. It's an awesome example of how God can save anyone, no matter who or where they are.

Fasting Facebook

2009-05-28T17:04:00.000-07:00

Our church is doing a 40-day fast and pray. Instead of fasting food or drink, this time I'm fasting Facebook. My friend scoffed when I told him, and I admit it's not exactly like I'm really suffering like the recipients of 1 Peter. Actually, it's very likely beneficial for me because I'm much more productive.

But just a couple days into the fast, I can definitely say that I miss Facebook a lot. I want to log in and see the pictures my friends posted from our recent Memorial Day weekend retreat. I want to update my status to tell people about the Christian biographies I read. I want to check how people are interacting with our church's fan page, which I help administer.

Once our fast ends, I'm going to get on a plane headed for Malaysia for another two weeks. That will be at least 50 days without Facebook. To be honest, it's kind of depressing me. I feel so lonely, but I know it's ridiculous because billions of people lived, loved, and died without online social networking.

>sigh<

Just the fact that I'm missing it so much makes me wonder if I shouldn't just get rid of it altogether. Sure, there are the benefits, but am I becoming dependent on something that I shouldn't be dependent on?

Economic colds and pneumonia

2009-04-27T14:15:00.000-07:00

I saw this online ad and had to post it on my blog. It pretty much sums up how I feel about the mess we're in. As has been said by others better than myself, when the U.S. economy catches a cold, the developing world get pneumonia.

Homosexuality and race

2009-04-25T18:00:00.000-07:00

Over at Agent Intellect, my blog friend Jim S., currently pursuing a PhD in philosophy, explains why opposition to homosexual acts cannot be equated with racism.

Black dwarfs: A spiritual lesson

2009-04-24T18:36:00.000-07:00

Lately, I’ve been thinking about the dwarfs in the Narnia stories. They are interesting creatures, extremely skeptical and generally self-interested. Black dwarfs are especially so, and have a mean streak to boot. I’ve particularly been thinking about Nikabrik, the black dwarf in Prince Caspian. Nikabrik doesn’t care about Aslan or the human king who others regard as an answer to prophesy. He is motivated solely by negative experiences and emotions.

Eventually, when it seems all is lost in the war against the Telemarines, Nikabrik reveals a plan that involves resurrecting the White Witch by black magic. Of course, this plan is anathema to Caspian. In the ensuing struggle, Nikabrik is killed and lamented by Caspian, who says, “I am sorry for Nikabrik, though he hated me from the first moment he saw me. He had gone sour inside from long suffering and hating. If we had won quickly he might have become a good Dwarf in the days of peace.”

There is a lot of truth in Nikabrik’s story. Continual hardship can make us bitter, if we allow ourselves to be shaped by it. And, like in Nikabrik’s case, bitterness can cause us to lose our moral foundations, so that we are willing to embrace evil if it furthers our selfish goals.

What’s the antidote to this bitterness? Jesus said that whoever seeks to save his life will lose it. That was certainly the case with Nikabrik. But Jesus also said that whoever loses his life for His sake, and the sake of the gospel, will save it. That is, if we are willing to hold onto Jesus like the good Narnians held onto hope in Aslan against all odds, then that is our salvation. We need to realize that our real life is not physical, but spiritual. Everyone dies physically, but those who become bitter through life’s hardships die spiritually even before their physical death.

Rambos for Jesus

2009-03-20T17:10:00.000-07:00

I recently read C.S. Lewis’ Mere Christianity, where he likens the church to an underground resistance. (Remember, that book came out of BBC radio talks given while Britain was under siege and France was occupied by Nazi forces.) I’ve always felt that way about the church—we are being trained as an elite corps fighting behind enemy lines.

With that in mind, I’ve been writing a collection of Bible study lessons that I’ve dubbed Rambos for Jesus because the lessons are mean to equip spiritual Rambos (or “Holy Ghost Rambos” as my pastor calls them; he coined the term). The idea is that we should be Rambos who wreak havoc against Satan’s forces—things blowing up, lots of smoke and fire, disarray and chaos among the enemy. Of course, I mean all of this in a spiritual sense, for the Bible says that our warfare is not against flesh and blood. Instead, we are fighting a righteous battle on behalf of an oppressed population. Namely, the billions of souls who are bound by sin—both physically and spiritually.

To use another popular culture analogy, think of the movie The Matrix. In that film, Neo is the savior who comes to set people free from their computer overlords. In the same way, Christianity says that our lives here on earth are transitory, and that we are all by nature damned to eternal separation from God. But God has a plan of salvation for mankind, which of course involves Jesus paying the full debt of sin on the cross, but also involves a crucial second element—those who are saved going out to “show and tell” others about the salvation God made available. We show by signs and wonders performed through His Holy Spirit and demonstrating God’s love through good deeds, and we tell by preaching the good news and sharing our own story of God’s goodness.

I’ve never enjoyed the thought of the church reigning supremely over society. Sure, I appreciate the need to communicate in relevant terms and even to excel in areas of education, business, science, media and entertainment, and so forth. But the way I understand Jesus’ message is that it is about radical revolution that ends with Him returning, not be electing Sarah Palin in 2012. It’s sort of like when Constantine sanctioned Christianity as a state religion; in my view, the church got co-opted into the system it was supposed to be fighting against when that happened. Anyways, my point here is that we need to stay focused on the spiritual battle, and that means framing the battle properly. We are an underground movement at the moment, fighting against a spiritual enemy, in enemy territory, for the salvation of our fellow men’s souls. And that shouldn’t ever change until Jesus comes back.

Obeying your leaders: A very short commentary on Hebrews 13:17

2009-02-17T16:46:00.000-08:00

Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you.
~ Hebrews 13:17 (NIV)

Let me start this post by saying that I believe there is such a thing as biblical authority, and that it is healthy for believers to obey their spiritual overseers in the local church. What I want to focus on here is the nature of this obedience.

According to Vine's Expository Dictionary Of Old And New Testament Words, the Greek work translated here as "obey" is peitho. Elsewhere in the Bible, peitho is translated as: to yield, to believe, to be assured, to have confidence in, to trust, and to be persuaded by. The obedience here is the kind that comes from a trusting relationship between human beings.

In contrast, look at the Greek word hupakouo, which is also translated as obey in some parts of the Bible. According to Vine's, hupakouo is used for obedience in the following instances:
(a) to God by everyone and everything in Hebrews 5:9 and 11:8
(b) to Christ by natural elements in Matthew 8:27
(c) to disciples of Christ when they command a mulberry tree to uproot cast itself into the sea in Luke 17:6
(d) to the faith by new believers in Acts 6:7; and to the Gospel in Romans 10:16 and Christian doctrine in Romans 6:17 (as to a form or mold of teaching)
(e) to apostolic injunctions, such as in Philippians 2:12
(f) to Abraham by Sarah, as in 1 Peter 3:6
(g) to parents by children in Ephesians 6:1
(h) to masters by servants in Ephesians 6:5
(i) to sin by ourselves if unaided by God in Romans 6:12
(j) in general as slaves in Romans 6:16

Hupakouo is not about being persuaded or trusting in someone. No, it is about unquestioning, automatic obedience that comes from domineering authority. It's important to note that nowhere in the list does Vine's apply hupakouo to the obedience that should occur between church members and their spiritual overseers. The vital difference is a trusting relationship that produces a voluntary yielding and submission. Moreover, hupakouo is unquestioning, whereas peitho implies that the person obeying weighs the instruction in his or her mind, then deliberately decides to submit to a fellow human being. (Of course, our relationship with God is also trusting like a sheep with its good shepherd or between close friends, but our obedience occurs because He is our Lord and Master.)

What does this imply for obedience to spiritual overseers in the church? It means that we should consider the results of their faith. Hebrews 13:7 says, "Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith." We should know their lives and their conduct. This should produce a natural trust. If you obey your boss at work, it's likely hupakouo (though you're lucky if it's peitho). Or if you get stopped by the police, you're not supposed to care about how the officer manages his or her affairs at home. Peitho is different. We know our leaders and trust them.

Moreover, we consider what they say. Like the Bereans in Acts 17, we look in the Bible to see what they say is true or not. Otherwise, if we are not to consider what they say, how can we "be persuaded by" them as peitho implies?

I'm interested to hear the thoughts of people who have considered this question. What is the nature of obedience in Hebrews 13:17?

The role of apostles today

2009-02-12T15:54:00.000-08:00

Recently, the church-planting movement that I used to be part of split because of various scandals. I know that this must be a difficult time for a lot of people. With that in mind, and knowing that I'm offering what might be unwanted advice, I'd like to recommend a book that proved beneficial for myself in the past.

Apostles: The Fathering Servant was written by a pastor under Frank Damazio of City Bible Church in Portland. Also contributing to the book is Kevin Conner, who took over Waverley Christian Fellowship from Ps. Holland. Those who know the history of the church-planting movement will also know that Frank Damazio was a guest speaker at an early IPC meeting in Bangkok, and that the movement's founder received counsel from Ps. Holland in the movement's early days. (I also was blessed by Ps. Holland, and can trace God's call on my own life to his ministry in Seattle in 1996 during our church camp. Yes, that is the first time people "fell under the power" in Seattle during a service.) The point is that this book should carry some authority for people in the church-planting movement if they want to really consider where their roots are in the body of Christ.

The entire book is good, but there is an especially enlightening interview with Dick Iverson, the founder of City Bible Church. Ps. Iverson is considered to be an apostle. There are many good things that I owe to the movement I used to be part of, but the interview below helps explain why I decided to leave. I would also emphasize that I am not against apostles in the church today--far from it! I just believe that an apostle is not the CEO of a global corporation (or the head of a mafia). He is to be a spiritual father of churches, linked to them through relationship, not position.

Interviewer: So, would you say apostolic authority functions voluntarily?

Iverson: Absolutely! Absolutely! ... Some people teach that the apostle is at the top of the totem pole. He's worked his way up, and now he's just another Pope over certain churches. That's very dangerous. That's not the way even Paul operated. He did not have the ultimate authority in the churches he related to. If anybody should have, he should have. But he reminded the church at Corinth that he did not have dominion over their faith, but he was a helper for their joy (see 2 Corinthians 1:24). To me, that is the spirit of an apostle. "I'm not taking dominion over your life. I'm a helper." Some people see an apostle as being so dominant that when they walk into a church, the resident eldership just sits down and makes all the course adjustments the apostle requires of them. And then when the apostle walks out, he hands the reins of the church back to the leadership of that church. That's not only unbiblical, it is very dangerous. This idea of trans-local authority makes me very nervous.

Interviewer: Especially if it is functioning in a hierarchical chain of command rather than relationally?

Iverson: That's right! Exactly! Everything in God's kingdom has to do with relationships. We relate to God, we relate to the Holy Spirit, we relate to each other. You know, it's about family. Everything is relational. It's in the spirit realm, in the natural--everything is about relationships. So whenever you try to define an apostolic relationship in terms of hierarchy, things will break down very fast.

My own little rolodex of subject-matter experts

2008-12-11T16:53:00.000-08:00

I rarely update this blog anymore, but that doesn't mean I've given up on blogging. I'm just not (actively) authoring one myself. Instead, I'm reading other people's blogs and nuturing some really valuable connections. I've discovered incredibly amazing people through blogs. Some of them have become like my own little rolodex of subject-matter experts.

I've linked to a PR/marketing professional in China and formerly prolific blogger through Facebook. I can gather great insight into a field and geography that I find interesting. I'm connected (also via Facebook) to an environmental scientist for the U.S. Navy that also happens to blog about the intersection of Christianity and the environment. I wouldn't have met these guys if it hadn't been for their blogs.

What are the blogs that I read regularly nowadays, outside of those I read for work? (Yes, I consider some blog-reading to be part of my job.) Here's four that I check in on at least every couple weeks:

1. Imagethief. This guy is a PR/marketing flack from San Fran living in Shanghai and provides lots of good insight into what it's like for an American marketing professional to live and do business in China. The biggest plus, however, is simply his writing. Ab-so-lute-ly hilarious. I dare you to try keeping a straight face while reading a post. I'm not connected to Imagethief on Facebook, but would like to be.

2. Gideon Rachman. The foreign affairs columnist for the Financial Times in London, Gideon combines what I think is a nice outside view on U.S. politics with classic British drollness (is that a word?). Not sure if Gideon has a Facebook account ... that'd be interesting to check out.

3. Agent Intellect. I really appreciate my online friendship with Jim Slagle. He's from Portland and is studying for a Christian philosophy doctorate in the Netherlands. He has time and persistence to do the reading and studying that I wish I did. I especially value his thinking on how science, Islam, and philosophy relate to Christianity. Jim, you really need a Facebook account.

4. Gentle Wisdom. I was overjoyed to have found Peter Kirk's blog a few years back. Since then, his blog has become quite a bit more popular, judging from the comments sections in his posts. Peter is not only a Christian of the charismatic strain (as I am), but also studied physics at Cambridge and theology at London Bible College. He currently helps translate the Bible into little-known languages! (How cool is that?) We're also Facebook pals, and I reference him when I have a particularly pressing exegetical question to ask. It's like having my own personal Bible commentator. Thanks, Peter!

Anyway, I just thought I'd share these links. And if you'd like to connect with me on Facebook, I might be open to that. Just leave a comment to this post.