Islam

On September 11, 2001, I must admit I knew next to nothing about Muslims or Islam as a religion. I knew about the invasion of the Turks during the Middle Ages into the Holy Land, and the West's attempt to remove them, more popularly known as the "Crusades," but I knew nothing about the religion itself. Like most, over the next few weeks, I heard a lot of things. That they were insane murderers bent on destroying others, especially Americans, especially Christian Americans.

Like many, I developed a rather untrue, unhealthy, and ungodly view of Muslims that year. For awhile, when I heard about Muslims, all I could see was an enemy...a threat.

But once the fervor wore off about a year or so later, I began to reexamine those prejudices and feelings. Say what you will about college life, but it does help a young man to reflect and examine his life and beliefs. (Really, the Church should be encouraging young people to do the same, but sadly most Church leaders are afraid to question or reexamine anything for fear of disturbing the status quo.)

As I began to really study Islam, where it started, who started it, why he started it, how its changed, and what it is today, I began to see there was a much bigger and more complicated picture than what was going on in Afghanistan with the Taliban and Osama Bin Laden.

I began to discover that not all Arabians are Muslim and not all Muslims were Arabian (in fact, most aren't), and that the vast majority of Muslims want nothing to do with terrorism. In fact, comparing all Muslims to the Al Qaeda terrorists is not unlike comparing all Christians to the Westboro Baptist cult.

The Gospel Coalition has been good enough to provide a beginner's guide to Islam in the hopes of helping Christians to dispel the myths and begin to build bridges between ourselves and the increasing number of Muslims we are now seeing migrate into the States. Bridges that will, God willing, bring the Gospel to these mostly kind but seriously misguided people.

http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/tgc/2013/07/05/10-things-every-christian-should-know-about-islam/

Love and Marriage

The culture shift towards diluting the God-ordained institution of marriage should call out Christians to all-out war. Not fighting with words of hate, but by standing by our spouses and building God-fearing families in a world that says such things are foolish and irrelevant. We say that God's way works and the World's does not. (1 Jn 2:15-17) Let us prove this by showing it to them. Put aside the petty arguments with your spouse. Stop ignoring your kids. Our marriages are the symbol of Christ and His Church. (Eph 5:32) Just as Moses ruined God's message by striking the rock instead of speaking to it, we ruin God's message when husbands do not love their wives and children and when wives do not respect their husbands.  (Pr 30:21-23, Eph 5:22-33) If we live as God commands, and build our families upon the Rock of Christ, then our enemies in the World will be put to shame. They will be ashamed when they have no real accusation to bring against us. (1 Pet 3:16) And some of them may yet escape the snare of the Enemy who has taken them captive to do his will. (2 Tim 2:24-26) Love the captives, rage against the captor. Remember our mission, to take the Gospel to all the world and to make disciples in the name of the Father, Son, and Spirit. (Matt 28:16-20) We are not here to win political battles, but living souls. This is a battle which will require sacrifice. We must love our spouses when they are unlovable, for Christ loved us while we were yet sinners and died for us. We must work hard and go the extra mile to raise our children: loving them, disciplining them, cherishing them, guiding them. This will mean sacrificing personal time, career goals, and heaven-forbid...money. But the victory will reach further than just our family, though that would be enough. It may make the difference in human souls.

"Our fight is not against people on earth. We are fighting against the rulers and authorities and the powers of this world’s darkness. We are fighting against the spiritual powers of evil in the heavenly places." - Ephesians 6:12

The Special Tree

 

Once upon a time there stood a tree planted in a great forest.

Day by day the tree stood in its place among its kin, its great boughs reaching for the heavens, its leaves swaying to the breeze.

"Perhaps I will stay here forever," thought the tree, "swaying forever with my kin in this beautiful forest?"

And the tree was happy.

Many years it stood, until men had need of its lumber. With axes they came and felled the tree to the ground. "Men have come to shape and make me to their will!" thought the tree. "I wonder what I will be made into?" pondered the tree. "A great ship tall and proud, bearing men across the sea?" "A strong house secure and warm, sheltering generations of families?" "The throne of a mighty king, supporting him in great matters?" So the tree sat as lumber, dreaming of what it might become one day.

And the tree was happy.

But one day men came for the tree's lumber. "We will make a device of cruelty and suffering from you," they said, "Criminals will be put to death on you." How could this be? All those years in the forest, growing tall and strong to end this way? An instrument of cruelty and shame. An instrument of death.

And the tree was very sad.

The tree was carried out to the man who would die on him. "Do not be sad," He said, "for you are My most special tree." "I am special? What will I do?" asked the tree. "You will lift me high on your branches, and I will show God's love to all the world." He said, "And when they remember you, they will remember Me." So the two walked up the hill, and the tree held its Maker while He gave His life to save the world.

And the tree was happy.

- Jason Cohoon (Inspired by The Dream of the Rood and The Giving Tree)

Eschatology Part Four: Red Flags

 

This is part four of an expanding three part series, start with part one here. Part One: It's none of your business. Part Two: No one is right. Part Three: Know the Bible. Part Four: Spot Red Flags. This next part assumes you've read the entire Bible at least once. If you haven't, it is unlikely you will be able to put any of these to use. I encourage you once again to go back to part three and read the Bible first. So now that you have a working Eschatology based solely on your examination of Scripture combined with prayer and meditation, you are ready to examine the various mainstream claims out there, such as post-millennial, pre-millennial,  and amillennial to name just a few.

Trouble is that navigating these claims can be difficult given that proponents of them are sometimes ignorant, deceptive, or otherwise deluded regarding their view. Below, I've listed some of the "red flags" that should make you skeptical of the claims the person is making. That doesn't mean the claim is totally false, but it does mean you might want to disengage that particular person when it comes to Eschatology and seriously scrutinize that particular claim for falsehoods.

1. Overzealousness 

One of the most common red flags you'll encounter is overzealousness, or someone who places too heavy an emphasis on Eschatology. As we've discussed in earlier installments, this doctrine is not among those essential to the faith, and not even among those critical to daily Christian living. It is definitely a peripheral issue at best. A healthy discussion of Eschatology should be welcome, where two believers compare and contrast their views, sharing scripture and trying to work together to discern the truth of the matter. If, however, a person turns this discussion into an attempt to "convert" you to their view, it may be time to disengage. That person has taken the matter too far, and division is likely to be the end result. We are to be united together for the sake of the Gospel, not divided over just how Christ will return. Even the angels rebuked the disciples as they stared into the sky after Jesus' ascension in Acts 1:11, telling them not to worry about His return but to get to work for the Gospel. We should take the words of those angels to heart my beloved. We should also check ourselves as we work out our beliefs on Eschatology that we too not become too married to our view.  There have been times where I have been the overzealous one. Each time I was convicted and had to repent of placing too much importance on my eschatology. 

2. Proof Texting 

This red flag occurs when a person uses hand-picked passages from Scripture in order to prove their doctrine. I'm not saying that there aren't great "go-to" Scriptures to remind us of important Biblical principles, but basing an entire doctrine around a handful of passages is not wise at all. Any sound doctrine will have the support of the entire Bible. Let me say that again: any doctrine that is sound and true will have the support of the whole council of God found in Scripture. That doesn't mean there won't be a passage or two that sounds confusing, but it does mean the greater story and plan of Scripture will support and confirm the doctrine. If a doctrine is not evident in Scripture without taking a handful of passages out of context, then it is not a sound doctrine. Beware of this red flag in particular. It can really tie a person into theological knots. You will be helpless against it unless you already know the whole Bible, which is one of the reasons I told you to read it all in Part Three. 

3. Rationalizing 

Rationalizing is when someone tries to prove or disprove a doctrine based on how they do or don't understand it. It usually begins with statements like; "Don't you think God would.." or "Don't you feel like God would never...". It is an argument based entirely on human logic and usually is accompanied by an appeal to one's emotions with things like, "A loving God would never..." and so forth. We know that we are not to base doctrines on clever human arguments, as Peter warned, but on the sound teaching of Scripture, as Paul instructed. Making an argument purely from human logic or human emotions is foolish, because God tells us in Isaiah "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD."  

4. Collectivism 

Collectivism is an argument that says because many respected and educated leaders believe in something, then it must be true. First, there have been many great and educated believers who have bought into great errors that we know to be false. Second, you can find many well respected and educated Christian leaders who believe in any of the popular eschatological views. Third, we are not to base our doctrines on the opinions of men, no matter how well respected or educated. Paul tells us in 1 Cor 3 to beware such thinking. We also see in Acts 17:11 that the Bereans were considered more noble because they did not take Paul at his word but examined the Scriptures carefully to see if what he said was true. Think about that, they did not take Paul the Apostle at his word, but insisted on checking the Scriptures to verify his claims. If we want to be noble in God's eyes, we should not base our doctrines on the opinions of men, no matter how great in this world.  My eschatological views are based solely on Scripture. There are many great Christian leaders who agree with me, but that is not why I believe what I do.

Again, it should be noted that just because a proponent of one view or another throws up one of these red flags in his argument, it does not mean his claim is totally false. You should not reject a doctrine out-of-hand because one of these red flags is used to defend it. However, if a person bases his doctrine on such red flags, you should be wary of it and examine it closely. You may also wish to disengage that person regarding that topic, since he is not operating on sound judgement.

It is also important to note that these red flags can appear when discussing any doctrine. It can be useful to spot such flags when dealing with any debated religious topic, not just eschatology.

I hope revealing these fallacies will help enable you to spot weak or even false teachings and to find the truth, not only about eschatology, but about all the mysteries of Scripture.

All to Jesus

Growing up, I ran into more than one person who made the following argument to unbelievers:

"Well, if Jesus isn't real and this all turns out to be false, I will still have lived a good life."

No. No you won't have. Paul argues it this way in 1st Corinthians 15:

¹² Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? ¹³ But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. ¹⁴ And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. ¹⁵ We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. ¹⁶ For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. ¹⁷ And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. ¹⁸ Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. ¹⁹ If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.  (Emphasis mine)

Most pitied. Why would Paul say that? Because the Christian life is not merely one of following good moral codes and elseways living as one wishes. Paul continues:

²⁹ Otherwise, what do people mean by being baptized on behalf of the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why are people baptized on their behalf? ³⁰ Why are we in danger every hour? ³¹ I protest, brothers, by my pride in you, which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die every day! ³² What do I gain if, humanly speaking, I fought with beasts at Ephesus? If the dead are not raised, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.” ³³ Do not be deceived: “Bad company ruins good morals.” ³⁴ Wake up from your drunken stupor, as is right, and do not go on sinning. For some have no knowledge of God. I say this to your shame.

Burn that last verse into your memory, for it is for our generation. Paul sacrificed his whole life for Christ. Everything he did was for Jesus. He endured persecution, beatings, trials, dangers, perils, and even execution all for the sake of Christ Jesus. Truly, if Christ was only a myth, Paul would have wasted his whole life when he could have been doing something else more useful and lived far more comfortably.

And that is the point. We should all live in such a way that we would be wasting our lives if Christ is not real. If you could take Christ out of your life and still find something worth living for, you are not living the way God desires.

All to Jesus we should surrender.

An Unexpected Sermon

In 2009 I sat in a classroom at University under the teaching of a certain professor. The last thing I ever expected was a sermon on the ways of men versus the way of God, but midway through a lecture on public speaking my professor broke into this speech (paraphrased):

"You have your way. God has His way. God's way don't seem to work, it don't seem to make sense to us. But it does work. I can testify to that. I've walked His way for many years, and it always works. Then you've got your way. It seems to work. It makes sense to you. But listen to me, it don't work at all. You won't get anywhere with your way, no matter how good it looks to you. It will leave you unsatisfied, but God's way won't. That's the truth of it. You can do it your way, ain't nobody gonna stop you, but it won't work. It just won't. Anyways, back to the lesson."

Simple, true. I have never forgotten it.