:: Giving Thanks ::

[Written to the students in our university-aged ministry]

I'm sitting in Starbucks (my "office-away-from-office"), planning for next spring, researching for our post-Thanksgiving "Forever" talk, and responding to emails, and just found myself smiling. I am lucky enough to have the coolest job in the world. And it's because of you all. Each of you plays a huge role in the excitement that gets me out of bed in the morning; you feed my passion for university-aged students as I see you live more and more for the glory and purposes of God; you make me excited for the future of companies, politics, media, and ministry as you take God into your future. I am so thankful to you and to God that I get to be a small part of your college years.

I have a great family, and a wife who's amazing beyond words; I've got a good group of friends, who I can turn to and share life with - good, bad, and ugly times, and everything inbetween. I've got great folks to lead with, a good home (which is currently in the first stages of looking a lot like Christmas!), enough food to eat, plus everything I need and more. I have freedom, relative safety, and health. Sure, there are bumps along the way, and there are moments of pain and hardship... but generally, life is pretty good. I have much to be thankful for, for the Lord's provision.

But above all of this - beyond all of these amazing things which for which I'm thankful, I have hope, joy, peace, love, and salvation. I have a God who reveals himself to me and died for me; I have a savior who redeemed me to a perfection I couldn't achieve or attain; I have a promised future that is far better than all the things I mentioned above! So as I sit and smile, thinking about all I have to be thankful for in this life, I find myself even more thankful for all that I have in eternity. And that's the "drive-you-to-your-knees-in-gratitude-and-worship" type of thankfulness, you know?

What about you? As you disperse across the country (and for some of you, beyond) this week, what do you have to be thankful for? If it's friends; if it's family; if it's someone who's blessed you... thank them. But for all these things, and for so much more... thank God. "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights..." (James 1:17). Enjoy your holiday, get some needed rest, stuff yourself silly, and enjoy some good company, and some great laughter. But don't forget to be thankful. Really, truly, "drive-you-to-your-knees" thankful.

"I thank my God always when I remember you in my prayers..." (Phil 1:4).
Happy Thanksgiving.

:: To laugh or to cry? ::

I can never decide whether it's a more "fun" or saddening day when preachers who are more heretical than biblical land in the national press. "Fun" because it's (maybe sadistically) amusing to laugh at the ridiculousness of the quotes, scenarios, and ironies in these these folks. But FAR more sad because these are some of the most prominent preachers in America (and the world), which means, sorrowfully, (a) this is the version of Christianity that people are widely seeing - and rightfully judging and (b) so many people are being led astray by them...

OK, I'm not writing to be overly divisive (although great quote from last week: "better to be divided in truth than united in heresy"), and I don't have time right now to get into a proper response to these folks, so I'll get off the soapbox.

ANYWAY, here's a recent article from Newsweek's "beliefwatch" page, by Lisa Miller, regarding Joel and Victoria Osteen, and ironically - and funnily and sadly - titled "What's God Got to Do With It?" ...Enjoy(???).

:: Sin vs. Temptation ::

(Download a .pdf version of this article here)

As we covered the ever-exciting topic of sin, death, and our separation from God this past week, I mentioned that many people will use the following verse to claim that God could not have created, ordained, designed, or had any part in, or even knowledge of sin: “Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am being tempted by God," for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one.” (James 1:13). I made the brief claim that this verse is irrelevant to that issue, because sin and temptation are two very different entities. Because of time, all I was able to say was that sin is an internal nature in each of us, while temptation is that which comes from outside us, and which inflames the sin within. So with that as a basis, let’s expand and explain that idea.

Sin is our internal nature

“Sin” (capital “S”), is the nature that we’re born into: it’s our essence; our personhood; each of us are born in Sin (Psa 58:3; Psa 51:5). And that’s enough to condemn us; to separate us from God; to receive God’s righteous judgment: we need not “do sin” in order to be declared sinful; by the fact that we’re human and decedents of Adam and Eve, we are all IN Sin (Gen 3; Rom 5; Exo 10:17)! Now, the outflows of this Sin nature are various “sins” (lower-case “s,” or “actual sins”) which are heart issues that push us to seek ungodliness rather than God: lust, pride, self-glory, and so forth are all various sins, but they flow from our Sin nature (Gen 4:7; Jhn 8:34; Rom 3:9; etc.) – as a sidenote, this is why God can command us not to “sin” (actual), even with the reality of our Sin nature (Psa 4:4; Eph 4:26; Jhn 5:14; etc.). Finally, the outflows of these “sins” are actions, thoughts, deeds, words, passions, pursuits, etc: this is the aspect of sin that we can see. But these “works of sin” (as we’ll call them for the purpose of distinction) are not the heart of the issue.

So, for the sake of example, I’ll repeat the personal example I gave Sunday: “Sin” is my nature; one outflow of that that I battle against daily – if not hourly! – is the “sin” lust. Lust can have many outflows, and while I have definitely not experienced all of these, here are some of the “works of sin” stemming from the “sin” of lust: porn, adultery (sex outside marriage), fornication (sex before marriage), daydreams, fantasies (“But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart” – Matt 5:28), masturbation, and homosexuality. Here’s the slide from Sunday, to help make this more clear:

So, say that I want to battle against my sin of lust: If, for example, I try to battle it by declaring that I will stop viewing porn, am I actually solving the issue? NO! Because I’m only working on the level of “works of sin”; I’m only dealing with the bottom level of this “sin pyramid” – I’m not dealing with the heart issue; only the outflow of it! And as we said Sunday, there will always be other outflows waiting in the wings. If I stick my finger in this one “leaky hole of the dam,” another leak will spring, and when I try to plug that hole, another will spring, and another. Make sense?

It is worth mentioning that God still punishes both our Sin and our sins. God’s only response to Sin is punishment. For the Christian, then, the glory in Christ’s death is that punishment was poured out on God the Son, and no longer rests on us. Christ died for our sins, and Christ died for our Sin, that we might live in his righteousness (1Pet 2:21-25) – which leads us to praise God for his grace; to thank Christ for his sacrifice!

Temptation is outward and inflammatory

As much as Sin is internal; our nature; who we are, temptation is the opposite: it is anything and everything used by the world and by Satan to inflame that nature within us, and keep us sinning: forgive the “middle English” language of this quote, but hear the heart of John Owen: “…that is a temptation to any man which causes or occasions him to sin, or in anything to go off from his duty, either by bringing evil into his heart, or drawing out that evil that is in his heart, or any other way diverting him from communion with God and that consistent, equal, universal obedience, in matter and manner, that is required of him… Be it business, employment, course of life, company, affections, nature, or corrupt design, relations, delights, name, reputation, esteem, abilities, parts or excellencies of body or mind, place, dignity, art – so far as they further or occasion the promotion of the ends before mentioned, they are all of them no less truly temptation shat the most violent solicitations of Satan or allurements of the world, and that soul lies at the brink of ruin who discerns in not” (John Owen, Of Temptation, 154[1]).

Throughout the New Testament, there is a stark difference between Sin and temptation:

• Jesus’ nature was not Sin, but he was tempted: Matt 4:1-11; Mark 1:12-13; Luke 4:1-13
• Temptation is something we enter into: “And when he came to the place, he said to them, ‘Pray that you may not enter into temptation.’” (Luke 22:40) – and upon entering it, we live out sin.
• “But because of the temptation to sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband” (1Cor 7:2) – “sexual immorality” would be the inflamed sin, but Paul warns husbands and wives to guard against temptation, lest they fall into that sin (see 1Cor 7:3-5 as well).
• “But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction” (1Tim 6:9) – what is the temptation? “The desire to be rich.” What is the result of this temptation? “Ruin and destruction.”
• And the most clear distinction is in Matt 18:7: “Woe to the world for temptations to sin! For it is necessary that temptations come, but woe to the one by whom the temptation comes!” – did you catch that?! “Temptation” leads us “to sin”! (repeated in Luke 17:1)
• Finally, here’s where this verse comes into play: “Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am being tempted by God," for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one” (James 1:13): Does God tempt us? No. Are we sinful by God’s ordained plan? Yes. Sin is internal and our nature; temptation is external and inflames our sin – in fact, that’s the point of James’ very next verse: “But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire.” (James 1:14).

It is worth noting, even if nothing but a sidenote, that God does, at times, test us and try us, to verify and strengthen our faith: God called Abraham to sacrifice his son (Gen 22); God brings about suffering, to test whether we find Him more valuable than whatever we’re losing in our suffering (Rom 5:3-5; 8:18); and God allows Satan to test and even to tempt us (Job 1-2).

Here’s how temptation and Sin seem to interact: Sin is always our nature and essence. Thus, our propensity to sin (lust, pride, etc.) is always 100% present. At times, our sins (which stem from our Sin nature) are – or at least, seem – more dormant, less prominent, and in a sense, inactive. Temptation, whether produced by ourselves and the natural course of things, the world around us, or Satan and his demons, has the ability to enflame that dormant sin – to “wake a sleeping bear,” if you will – and cause our Sin nature to erupt in active, now prominent sin, which outflow in various “works of sin,” depending on the situation and whatever ongoing “thorn(s)” (sin[s]) God has given your particular “flesh” to keep you humble and reliant on him (2Cor 12:7).

Why is it important to realize the difference between sin and temptation? First, we can become weighed down by our Sin, and can become fatalistic toward it, thinking there is nothing we can do against it. Second, we can wrongfully blame God for all the evil outcomes of sin and temptation in our lives. Third, we can merely get lost in the confusion between these two entities and become frustrated to the point of not caring about either. Finally, on both the theological and the practical levels, we must realize the place of sin and the place of temptation as we battle and struggle against them, toward holiness. And that leads to the final section of this brief overview…

Can I overcome sin and temptation?

So here’s the question: if Sin is our very nature, our very essence, can we overcome it? And the answer is twofold: will we ever be rid of our Sinful nature? No. We were formed in Sin, we are sinners, and we will never be free from that. Even for those of us who are believers, whose Sin is covered by Christ, we are still sinners, and we still sin! So no, we will never be free from our Sinful nature (from our capital “S” Sin), until the day we are glorified in heaven, when we are fully restored to our original relationship with God seen in Eden, before Sin existed in this world (Gen 1).

BUT, we are called to battle against our lower-case “s” sin all the days of our life. This is the everyday battle for the Christian: “Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness” (Rom 6:13). The “members” in this verse refer to various parts of our body (including our physical body, our minds, our heart and passions, etc.) and the word for “instruments” is also translated “weapons” – this verse is a reference to the unseen, spiritual war going on in each of us: are we giving our bodies to sin, against God, or are we giving our bodies go God, against sin? Puritan author John Owen calls our task “the mortification of sin.” I really like that – we’re called to “kill” the sins we deal with – we’ll always have a Sin nature, but we’re called to daily battle to decrease our lust, our pride, our ________ (whatever sin[s] flow[s] from your Sin nature).

How do I do this? One of the huge ways is to guard yourself from temptation: the less you allow your Sin nature to be inflamed, the less you sin. John Owen has a great treatise called “Of Temptation” (available for free at http://www.ccel.org/o/owen/temptation - READ THIS GREAT TEXT!), in which he builds an entire theology of overcoming temptation from this verse: “Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Matt 26:41). The “watch” part, Owen claims, is to guard yourself; to remove yourself from temptation and tempting things/situations/etc. The “pray” part admits our obvious reliance on God for deliverance from that temptation.

As a practical example: if lust is the sin I’m battling daily, then I can know some of the temptations that will enflame that sin. So I can refresh my facebook page if a sexually-oriented advertisement appears; I can face the wall at Starbucks instead of facing out, where an attractive woman might catch my eye and lead my thoughts down an unhealthy path; I can use the internet only in public places, or when my wife is near (or for you, when roommates are near), to avoid the temptation of various sites; I can avert my eyes from billboards or commercials or sex scenes in movies – it’s easy to look at the ground (I mean, you know what’s happening on the screen; there’s no need to watch it!); I can even avoid sexually-oriented dialogue, jokes, etc. knowing that these things put images in my mind. I can “watch” – or “guard against” these temptations.

And all the while I can “pray” that God will deliver me, trusting the promise and faithfulness of a loving, sovereign God to lead me through it: “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it” (1 Cor 10:13). In doing these things, I avoid temptation. In avoiding temptation, I am avoiding the inflammation of my Sin nature, and I’m battling my sin, seeking its mortification in my life.

O God, that these truths will sink deep into us, and that we will all, daily, be seeking purity and holiness despite the nature we’re born in; that we might trust you, O sovereign LORD, in our deliverance; and that you would give us the strength to follow through with removing “our members” from sin in order to “give” them to You. Lord God, even as our spirit is willing, our flesh is weak, and so we beg you to do this great work in us, as we live to glorify you, and thus remove the sin from our live. For your name, and by your power, this is our prayer. AMEN.

© 2008, Ben Connelly

All scripture quotes are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version © (Wheaton, Ill: Crossway Bibles, 2001); used by permission.

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[1] Quoted from Kapic, Kelly M. and Justin Taylor, ed.: Overcoming Sin and Temptation: Three Classic Works of John Owen (Wheaton, Ill: Crossway Books, 2006).

:: Introducing Solomon Summaries ::

So I’m re-entering the blogging world, after what was supposed to be a couple-week break that turned into a nearly-four-month one… oops. Anyway, a lot’s happened over the past several weeks, but more on that later.

For now, I’m proud to be introducing you to a new ministry, called Solomon Summaries. I’m writing this as part of a Blog Tour (promoted by Blog Tour Spots), which is kinda like when actors visit all the late night TV shows to promote their movies. Except instead of actors, they’re authors. And instead of TV shows, it’s bloggers. And instead of movies, it’s books they promote. So they might not actually be much alike at all, but either way, that’s what this post is about.

Here’s the deal: Solomon Summaries provides solutions for busy Christians who want to both maximize their limited time and increase their awareness of both current and classic Christian non-fiction books. This unique subscription summary service provides subscribers with a 10-page summary of a non-fiction book, a review of the book, and group discussion questions every week. If you’ve ever read Cliffs Notes (which summarize, and give high points and analysis, of all those books you were supposed to read in high school and college), you’re already familiar with this concept.

Founded by Heather and Chris Goodman, Dallas residents, ministers, and parents of six, Solomon Summaries encourages dialogue, helps readers decide which books to buy and read, and tickles minds with new ideas and concepts that might warrant further exploration by the reader.

In writing this, bloggers were provided with samples of two of their “Solomon’s Summaries” – one for C.S. Lewis’ Mere Christianity and the other for Ed Young’s The 10 Commandments of Marriage. Having read Mere Christianity a couple times, and being a huge C.S. Lewis fan, I was impressed at how well the Summary captured the essence of Lewis’ original intent: after a brief introduction to the text, and to Lewis, the book was synopsized in a couple brief paragraphs per each main point in each of Lewis’ four major sections – the entire book is covered in about 9 pages, broken up into outline form and with key quotes from Lewis interspersed.

Two great ideas within this summary are (1) the recommended reading: “If you like this book, you might also like…” with texts from both Lewis and other Christian writers, and (2) a section of 14 “Group Study Questions,” which would come in handy as one reads through Mere Christianity with friends.

I’ve never read Ed Young’s book, but the Solomon Summaries version seems to do two things amazingly well: first, it gives a clear picture of the main points in The 10 Commandments of Marriage, following the same brief synopsis format as the first text. At the same time, their stellar synopsis makes me want to grab the book itself to see Young’s further writings on each of these sections. And, to help with that endeavor, Solomon Summaries’ readers get a discount at CBD.com, the largest online resource for Christian literature!

As the founders say, this ministry is designed to be a resource for busy readers, who can get to know some of the greatest faith-based books without needing to read all 100-300 (or more!) pages. And from the two summaries provided, they seem to accomplish their mission well. The subscription service includes a new summary emailed to you each week - to sign-up, or for more info on Solomon Summaries, see their website here, and enjoy this great new resource!

** Study & Meditation... **

So last week I spoke to our church family about the disciplines of study & meditation. As part of this series, we're posting a follow-up blog entry each week, so here's what I wrote over there this week, on "pursuing the truth of God":

Sorry this blog post is a little later in the week than it's supposed to be; I truly apologize! But the reason it's so late actually ties in well to what we talked about Sunday, regarding pursuing God's truth and the study/meditation on Scripture. See, I'm honored to be currently working through the process of being ordained as a pastor, and one of the requirements for the process is to develop a "personal doctrinal statement" covering what I believe about every area of Christian faith, life, and theology... and that's no small task!

So after preaching Sunday, followed by the 20's+ Lunch and a college leaders' meeting, I packed up and headed out to hide myself away with a Bible, books, some good music, and my laptop, devoting the last few days to writing out my views on God, the Bible, salvation, the church, end times, and so forth. After 22 typed pages and three 12-hour days of too much caffeine, no phone calls (except for my wonderful Jess who's in CA!), very few emails, and not much sleep, I'm just about ready to wrap it up.

I bored you with that story (thanks for reading!) for only one purpose: you see, in developing my doctrinal statement, in covering all those topics, in hitting on as many points within each "area" of theology as I can, and especially in substantiating my beliefs as true, I only had one authority to which to turn. I couldn't rely on my own intelligence, because first, God's truth exceeds what I can comprehend and second, let's be honest, there's not much there worth relying on! I couldn't rely on my own emotions or logic because they're faulty and lead me to my perceived truth, which likely isn't truth at all. I couldn't rely on... (fill in the blank - anything within myself!).

Instead, I'm only able to base my theology on what God reveals to us in Scripture. Because if I'm developing a theology of God, I can't start anywhere but with himself and his word, in which he has spoken his truth - the truth! So for literally 36+ hours this week, I have been flipping pages in my Bible, trying to remember "where that verse comes from," seeing how "this verse connects with that one," dwelling on different words and concepts, questioning the order of terms and phrases, and in every sense of the word, studying and meditating on Scripture.

And let me be, just for this moment, an affirmation to you: there's stuff in there that is deep; there's stuff that's frustrating; there's stuff that's confusing. But even just in these last few days my view of God has become wider; my knowledge of him has become deeper; and my awe and reverence of him, because of the many-faceted sovereign goodness he has revealed, has become far richer. I think I'm figuring out a glimpse of what it means to "love the Lord your God with all your mind..." What would it look like if we all spent a little time in this great pursuit?

It's been a long few days. But let me assure you and encourage you, it's totally worth it!

Ben

** Summer Vacation... **

For a few of you who have mentioned it to me, you're right - haven't posted in a bit... My free time has been consumed with a couple sermons and even moreso, developing a "personal doctrinal statement" for upcoming ordination... which is really exciting, but as you might guess, is no small task! With a couple weddings added to that, give me a bit; but I'll be back! I'm still reading Tolle and Romans, and won't give up posting my thoughts on those two texts.

In the meantime, please pray for me, and for authors Robert Woglemuth and Mark DeVries: these two men might be interested in considering an interactive curriculum I wrote as a “marriage preparation supplement/workbook” for their book The Most Important Year… (Zondervan, 2003). They are reviewing his curriculum throughout this month/summer… That’s all I know right now, but please keep the process in your prayers. Thanks!

And just for fun, I got my first "bloggy" award - it's very prestigious, and is coveted by many. Check it out here... Thanks Tina!!

Dear Rome... (Romans 1:1-17)

Today we’d have written, “Dear Rome, howdy.”

What an introduction to this 16-page letter! Here’s an overworked tentmaker/minister, a man who is hated by his old Jewish friends for his new life and feared by some of his new Christian ones because of his old; a church-planter and missionary across the known world of the time; a man who had been beaten and who would soon be both shipwrecked and imprisoned (both, ironically, on the journey to Rome he wishes for in today’s text!). Here’s a guy who knew suffering; who faced hardship. And here’s a man who was passionate about God, knew his mission, and had an unyielding drive to accomplish as much as he could that Christ’s name be magnified across the world.

Am I that passionate for God? Am I OK with suffering?

In Paul, we indeed see a true servant of – willing to do anything for – Christ Jesus; we find an apostle – a messenger sending the greatest message ever; a man who is unashamed of the Gospel, for in it alone is God’s power for salvation by God’s grace, through the faith of believers.

Am I truly unashamed? Am I really willing to do anything for God’s message?

And in Paul, we see a man who cares deeply for a people group who, at this point, he’s never met. He thanks God for them; he prays for them; he longs – yearns, begs, desires, is eager – to see them; he wants to preach and encourage and love them with the truth of Christ. But God has kept him from doing so. And Paul is patient enough with God to wait. To step back. To look at the bigger picture. To realize God has work for him with the “Greeks and barbarians” before he can go to Rome.

Am I that passionate about ministry? Do I pray and thank God and love others that well?

And am I willing to stop and see the big picture and realize I’m where God wants me to be? Or do I just get frustrated when I want something and don’t get it when I think I should?

I’m trying to put myself in the shoes of a mid-20’s guy in Rome – or sandals, as the case may be – who opens the letter Paul just sent from Greece. “What an example this guy is! Could I live up to this example?” And noticing some wrinkles in my toga as I hang my head in shame, I think the answers to most of these are not what they should be. “The righteous shall live by faith” – which means I thank God that I’m declared righteous through Christ, but that I also need to work on my faith. Because right now I think I definitely don’t “live by it.”

And if that’s the case, just 17 verses in, I think it means Romans will be a pretty long letter!