The Greatness of Our God

Yesterday I wrote about Christen and the impact her life had on so many. And many of you responded to that post validating what was written there. Truly, her life was one that was well-lived. Today, I want to take the opportunity to sum up the many lessons I have learned by the grace of God in this past year.

I have written much about the goodness of God. And I will continue to write on that theme because I truly believe that if people, Christians or non-Christians, could grasp the depth of that truth, then whole families, towns, cities, states, and nations would be transformed.

But today, I write about His greatness.

I made a statement at Christen's funeral that has become a refrain for many, and one I, myself, continue to speak: God is going to receive greater glory from Christen's passing than by raising her up from her sick bed. When I made that statement, I knew it to be true. But I must confess to you all now that I made it purely on faith. At the time, I didn't really see it. Yes, there was an outpouring of love and many immediate testimonies. Still, I was waiting and watching and anticipating what God was going to do. Honestly, I was straining for it, wanting to see it with great desperation. 'Oh God, show Yourself in this!!!' was my constant prayer.

His loving and gentle hand came in, quieted my unrest, stilled my soul, and instructed me to focus on being with Him in my grief. To stop thinking so much about what He was going to do. By His grace, I was calmed and learned what it meant to remain in His love. To be quiet. Still. Silent. And let Him work on me. In me. Through me.

Dear reader, God rewards faith! As I focused on Him, He, being a good Dad, pulled back the curtain of His sovereignty just an inch and let me get a glimpse of how He was working. I saw a sliver of the big picture of His plan. I have had the amazing and humbling privilege of seeing and hearing all that God has worked in people's lives. I said "God will receive greater glory", and He has responded to that desperate, faith-filled statement by saying, 'See? Do you see what I'm doing? This isn't even a fraction of all I have in this. Do not fear or be discouraged. I am working it all out for good - yours and theirs. Remain in Me, and you will renew your strength.'

A few examples:

• My family members who have awoken from a spiritual slumber only to find God has given them a voice to influence generations of young people through their instruction both in the classroom and the ministry.
• The husband and wife who have twins but would have had triplets if not for losing one. They read the words of grief from this blog and wept together in their own grief. Months later, I had a beautiful conversation with the husband over the phone while on my way home from work, and we were mutually encouraged in how God was so good, so faithful, and so present in our lives.
• The books gathered and sent, along with Christen's photo and a short note about her, to Africa to help educate children there who had no access to something as simple as a book.
• The blog post about Christen's mothering, written by a friend for the purpose of advancing awareness of child sex trafficking in India.
• The dozens of Facebook direct messages I received that began with, "I've never met you or Christen, but..." which then went on to describe personal revivals, inspired faith, hope for tomorrow, and restoration from brokenness.
• The pastor that caught wind of this story, read up on this blog and Christen's, having never met either of us, spoke to his people about faith and joy and praise in the midst of suffering and grief, and saw his people unite in worship to an awesome God.
• The worldwide Church that united in prayer for Christen, me, and the kids. Every populated continent was represented in prayer. The unity of Christ's global Bride was evident in a way I've never seen.
• The married couple that looked at each other with fresh eyes, refusing to take any moment they have together for granted.
• The parents who hugged their kids just a little more and a little longer, who learned to grow in grace for their little ones.
• The woman who started reading Christen's blog and realized she was missing something: peace. And she learned that she could only find it in Christ, so she's been following Him ever since.

God did not have to reveal these examples (and the many more not listed). He didn't have to prompt them to message, email, text, call, or talk to me. He could have simply executed His will, great as it is. But He did. Because He's good and loving and gracious and merciful. It was His way of saying, 'Don't lose heart. I am working. I AM.' His grace for me at those times was beyond anything I could have expected. This was one of my lessons: God's grace is more abounding to His people than we often recognize. Be still in Him, and He will show us great things He's working in the world.

I learned that, when I was at the end of myself, He would show up to give me fresh strength. It was just enough for that day, but it was what I needed. Early on, I felt very much like 1/2 a person having to carry 2 people's loads. It was overwhelming. God showed up in the form of His people, surrounding me with love - love in helping with tangible needs as well as spiritual. He showed up in His Word or a song or the energy of my kids. He loved me with the truth as well. He did not allow me to pity myself or what I was facing. His constant, loving encouragement to me was, 'You have no option; you have to do this. So get up. Don't worry, you're not alone. I'm here.'

I learned what Christen meant when she asked, 'What about a supernatural grieving process?' As in, what can God really do with my grief if I am fully surrendered to His purposes? What He does is bring a peace that is unfathomable, a love that is incurable, a faith that is insurmountable, and a joy that is indescribable.

And that is the real miracle: He truly gives joy in the midst of sadness. It seems like such a contradiction. But take a moment and really think about it. God responds to the cry, the wail, of His people, and His response inherently involves His presence. What else but joy can be felt when His people are in His presence? At my lowest moments He was closest. He didn't have to say anything; I knew He was there with me, and that was enough.

I experienced this lesson in an overwhelming way just two days ago. It was January 8, the day before the one-year mark of Christen's passing. For most of you reading this, the day she passed, January 9, is 'the day', the truly difficult day when much is remembered and grieved afresh. For me, 'the day' was really the day before, January 8. You see, that was the day I had the early morning conversation with the doctor - the 'there's nothing more we can do' conversation. The day of tremendous battling. Prayer. Believing. Fighting with myself. Remaining composed so I could process what was happening and make appropriate decisions when asked. Weeping with those close. Exhorting and encouraging others. Reminding myself that this was all actually happening.

One year later, God chose to simply bear down on me all day, pouring more and more joy into my heart. I was ready to burst. "It's too much, Lord!" I cried. I didn't ask for it. In fact, I didn't realize the real significance of the day until it was over. He showed up with force from the moment my eyes opened. I read the Word, and it was satisfying. I had lunch with a friend, and it was edifying. I listened to some new music, and I praised Him for just being Him. He knew what that day meant, and He showed up, showed off, and confirmed that there is no stopping His unending, unyielding love for His child!

Beloved, this is as true for you as it has been for me. Take Him at His Word:

"Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.

What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died - more than that, who was raised - who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, 'For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.'

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord."  ~Romans 8:26-39

Mission Accomplished

One year ago today, Christen, my wife of 6 1/2 years, passed away after a brief but intense battle with brain cancer. Writing that sentence took about 30 seconds, but the weight of it has reverberated through each of the last 365 days. I'll write a post tomorrow about the things I've learned in the past year. For this post, I want to focus on the impact of her life.

Christen's mission statement read: "To live a Bible-saturated, Christ-exalting life to the glory of God and for the joy of all people."

Christen's focus in life was always that God would receive glory from all people, that all would come to know Him and His love and His peace and His rest. That people would find their meaning in Him, and that they would be satisfied only and perfectly in Him. She wanted men to honor God with their worship and sacrifice and service and provision and leadership. She wanted women to glorify Him with their hearts and their minds, to find their identity in Him and not in worldly (read: empty) opinions, to be confident in Christ. She desired that the Church would take her place as the spotless Bride of Christ - but in so doing she would get her hands dirty with those less fortunate and in need. She wanted people to truly engage each other in relationship, knowing that it would be messy and fulfilling all at once.

She fostered an environment of hospitality in our home. To a person, and to this day, whenever someone steps foot in our 3-bedroom, typical Chicago style apartment, they say, 'This just feels like home.' Christen was a great designer, to be sure, but the feeling goes beyond the decor. The atmosphere of this place says, 'Welcome. Here, you will be loved.' She invited people into our home frequently, knowing that it would be messy with the activity of two imaginative children, noisy and at play and demanding attention. And people accepted the invitation for the opportunity to see a woman sold out for her Lord, opening her life to them and honestly answering their questions. She gave guidance and counsel in this home. She spoke the Word in this home. She exercised grace and love for the benefit of those who crossed our threshold.

Christen was one of the few people I have ever met that honestly put to death her fear of man. This was a work of grace from God that took a few years, but before she passed she spent nearly 2 years in absolute freedom from the cares and concerns of trying to please people for the sake of increasing her own reputation and pride. She had such a confidence in who God had created her to be that it didn't matter what this or that person thought. She knew she was dead-center in the will of God, and she was therefore unshakable. As her  husband, I was consistently amazed and inspired by her. And there is a lesson to be learned from this: these years of freedom were also marked by her most effective years of ministry and her greatest growth in influence. This is not a formula for gaining stature. It's a validation of the biblical principle that when you follow hard after Christ, He brings an increase. The best part? She had no idea. She just went after Him, and He gave weight to her words and actions.

I've written elsewhere about her as a mother and a wife, as did she in her own blogging, so I won't spend a lot of time on that here. It will suffice to say that she was a loving and gracious mother who adored her children while not spoiling them. She loved, laughed, played, taught, corrected, restored, repented for and to, prayed, sang, and generally encouraged Audrey and Hudson with the intentionality of one who knew she was training world-changing disciples. As a wife, she loved me well no matter what mood I was in or what the present circumstances of our life were. She respected me and built me up, strengthening me to a point where even the hard things of life became not only manageable but enjoyable.

Since her passing, not a week has gone by where I haven't received a fresh word regarding how Christen's life has impacted a person, a marriage, a mother, or a church. Some realized they were asleep at the wheel, woke up, and have turned their lives around. Others saw the peace she maintained in all circumstances, didn't understand why, read her blog, and had their hearts opened to Christ and His saving grace. Married couples renewed their commitments to one another, vowing not to take for granted any moment they had to share with one another. Mothers looked on the raising of their children with greater grace and fervor. Church leaders saw how one life, however brief, could impact so many and took their leadership to new levels in God. Bibles were opened that had been shut for years. Church seats were filled that had been vacant. Prayers were prayed that had previously been silent.

And we who remain, we issue forth praise from our mouths to a great God who honored us with the privilege of knowing and learning from this great woman!

Wash Me Clean

My grandpa is a man of great stature in the little community where I grew up. He was an elected official, the circuit clerk, for 32 consecutive years. I ran across one of his original newspaper ads when he was first running wherein he offered to give anyone a ride to the polls. There were challengers at times, rough politics and mudslinging, but he maintained a simple principle: be honest, and people will trust you to make the right decisions. So respected was he that he was even the Illinois President of Circuit Clerks for a time. This man, all 5'5" and 135lbs of him, is a giant in the community.

Paul Dean Kernan. PK to his friends. I remember going to the country club with him, playing golf, watching him play cards (he's a shark), hearing all the talk of the older men. The mayor was my favorite, and he took a shine to me. My grandpa, high school educated, hanging out with the mayor in a country club, playing cards. Memories from my youth.

Grandpa was the old-school man. He was self-made, dressed sharp, walked to work, did his job well, provided for his family (wife and five kids), remained faithful to his wife, was strong and silent. Oh, but if he did speak up, the law was laid down. Classic.

I grew up knowing Grandpa didn't go to church. Grandma always did. She is a spiritual pillar in the church in which I was raised. But Grandpa, well, he always had a 'healthy respect' for God. He had nothing against Him. God was honest and fair. So was Grandpa. They had no quarrel in his mind.

Nearly 20 years ago, he was diagnosed with Parkinson's. Most of you know that Parkinson's has no known cure, and it wears out and tears down one's ability to use one's muscles. It is a progressive disease, so it takes its time. In typical fashion, Grandpa took the disease head-on. He retired and played golf every day. He walked. He continued to play cards. And he read. He read like no one I've ever seen. Three to four books a week, minimum. I realized he wasn't simply enjoying his retirement - he was doing everything he knew to keep his mind and body sharp. Yes, there were doctor's visits and medications to take. But he was determined to beat this thing, cure or no cure. Stubborn Irishman.

All of a sudden, friends of his started passing away. Age and health took their toll, and he went to too many funerals. His eyes opened to his mortality, and he wasn't quite sure how to process it.

The first Easter Christen and I were in Chicago, we were part of a production, a passion play, that our church put on called 'The Story of Love'. As loving and determined as ever, my grandparents made the 4-hour trek to join other members of my family in the audience for one of the performances. It was a powerful time, and my pastor stood to preach the gospel. Christen and I were to one side of the stage, having sung for the musical portions. As Pastor made the invitation for people to receive Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, the strangest thing happened: Grandpa raised his hand, stood up, and prayed. He had never done any of those three things in church. Ever.

Suddenly, Grandpa started attending church with Grandma. His hands had a pretty good tremor at that point, but he still drove to church, got in and out of the pew, and stood for worship and prayer and the reading of the Word. He would even belt out some of his more favorite hymns. The change in him was amazing, though he talked about it very little. Ever the stoic, classic man.

The Parkinson's reared its head more and more in the following years. He lost the ability to digest food properly, and then the ability to chew and swallow. A liquid diet was instituted, and Grandma makes sure he gets his food every day. While his mind remains sharp, he lost most of the ability to use his tongue for speech.

When Christen passed, it hit Grandpa much like it hit the rest of us: hard. Now, not only were friends passing but also a granddaughter-in-law who doted on him (and maybe flirted with him a little...he still had that charm). I didn't have a lot of opportunities to talk with him during this time, but I know Grandma kept him updated on how I was doing.

I had the opportunity to go speak to the congregation where I grew up over Labor Day weekend at an outdoor service in the middle of town. It was a beautiful day, and Grandpa and Grandma, loving and determined as ever, came out and sat right in the front row. My message was simple: Jesus is enough. Whether we have it all or have lost it all, He's enough. Afterward, I stood by the stage praying for people as they came up. Suddenly, someone from my family (my mom? Grandma?) came over and said, 'Go to Grandpa.' I walked over to Grandpa, still seated. The man whom I had loved and admired, who embodied integrity and character, sat broken before me, weeping. He couldn't communicate anything; he just wept. I quickly asked the Lord for wisdom, knelt down, and took his hand. Then I prayed. I prayed one more prayer on top of the nearly 50 years of prayer that had come before for this man. I prayed whatever the Spirit put in me to pray. And as I prayed, I had the deep impression that walls were being ripped apart in Grandpa's heart, that the remaining pieces of resistance and pride and sin were being ejected from his body in that moment by the power of God. This was a new man.

And this old Irishman had enough in him to make a request a few weeks later. Grandpa told Grandma he wanted to be baptized. Grandma called the pastor over to their house, and he and Grandpa talked through what baptism meant, what he would be declaring by going through it, and ensured he understood all the points. Grandpa assured this young man that he understood, and he was ready to do it. He wanted people to know what had happened in his heart.

As loving and determined as ever, I made the 4-hour trek to my hometown, to my home church, and I witnessed Grandpa get baptized in the same pool where I once was baptized. And as he rose from the water, he turned and faced the congregation, clasped his hands over his head and shook them. He couldn't say the words, but the sentiment was obvious:

'VICTORY!'

How to Study the Bible: Is the Bible Historically Reliable?

With so much to cover and so many topics I'd like to talk about, I put Theology Thursday to a vote. The outcome of the vote determined what would be covered in the coming months. The first subject to be tackled is How to Study the Bible.


Last week, we learned how the Bible came together. This week, we're going to dig in to the question of the Bible's reliability. Is the Bible, as we know it, a historically accurate and reliable document?

The argument here is whether or not the actual words contained in the Bibles we have are 1) what the original authors wrote and 2) were written in an accurate way so as to transmit the historical truths they claim to tell. Basically, is the Bible true or a simple mythology?

The stance that opponents to the validity of the Bible take is one of questioning how the text was recorded over time. Many would hold that the accounts of the life of Jesus were not written down prior to the second century, well over 100 years after He had lived. They go on to claim that, in accordance with the oral tradition of the time, the accounts of Jesus grew in mythology over that time span and were eventually written down in such a way as to make Jesus more a legend than an actual historical figure. Think Babe Ruth and the famed 'called shot'. Did it happen? Or was that just a tall tale weaved in the media?

In order to counter their arguments, we must take a look at how historical documents are proved and accepted as accurate in general and then apply the same tests to the New Testament (I focus on the New Testament because, just like last week, the Old Testament is generally left alone in these debates. However, the same process could easily be applied to the Old Testament, and I am sure it would check out.). Based on everything I have read on this topic, there are three tests to guide us in our understanding of the validity, reliability, and historicity of the Bible: the bibliographic test, the internal evidence test, and the external evidence test.

Bibliographic Test
As defined by Josh McDowell, this test "is an examination of the textual transmission by which documents reach us. In other words, not having the original documents, how reliable are the copies we have in regard to the number of manuscripts (MSS) and the time interval between the original and extant copy?"

For those who don't know this, we do not have in existence today an original copy (called an autograph) of any book or letter included in the New Testament. Therefore, we have to know that what was copied down was done so faithfully and within an acceptable period of time to be considered reliable.

To do this, let's do a comparison between the New Testament and a few other documents. These other documents are plainly accepted as accurate and acceptable historical documents, worthy to be taught in high schools and colleges alike as true to what the original author wrote and intended. We will consider when the original is said to have been written, when the first copy we now have in possession was written, how many such MSS exist today, and what level of accuracy the copies share (these statistics are pulled from several sources, listed at the end of this post).

Author              Date Written      Earliest Copy          Time Span        # of MSS       Accuracy
Homer              ca. 900 BC          ca. 400 BC            ~500 years        643                95%
Caesar              ca. 50-58 BC       ca. AD 900            ~950 years         10                Too few MSS
Tacitus              ca. AD 100          ca. AD 1100          ~1,000 years      20                Too few MSS
Plato                 ca. 427-347 BC   ca. AD 900            ~1,200+ years    7                  Too few MSS
Aristotle            ca. 384-322 BC   ca. AD 1100          ~1,400 years       5                  Too few MSS
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
New Testament ca. AD 60-90      ca. AD 130           ~100 years         20,000+        99.5%

What this means is that, based on the number of copies we have of the pieces of the New Testament, the time between when it was first written and from when we have a copy, and the accuracy of the copies to each other, we can certainly say that the text we have is the text that was originally written (and for those disconcerted with the 99.5% accuracy, the discrepancies are over grammar, spellings, style, and/or accidental omissions/duplicates - nothing in question has any weight to bear on doctrine or teaching).

Internal Evidence Test
The bibliographic test tells us that the text we have today is faithful to what was originally written. We must now turn to the words themselves and test whether or not those words are credible. This is the internal test.

There are several considerations to make when testing the internal credibility of a document. At the outset, it must be understood that a document is 'innocent until proven guilty' - in other words, a document claiming to present facts must be assumed to do exactly that unless it blatantly records falsehoods or is inconsistent in its own claims. In this, we have seen over and over again how archaeology and historical criticism support what was written in the New Testament.

Next, we must look at who wrote the New Testament. The authors consistently claim to either be direct eyewitnesses or to have recorded what an eyewitness has testified to be true. This is seen in Luke 1:1-3, 2 Peter 1:16, 1 John 1:3, and John 19:35. Therefore, the people who wrote the books and letters in the New Testament were not simply recording hearsay; they were recording the facts as they, or someone close the them, saw them.

Still, it would only be fair to allow for criticism from contemporaries. After all, if one eyewitness reports one account and another reports something to the contrary, we are faced with a he-said-she-said scenario, and the truth becomes very difficult to prove. The fact is that there were people alive who also witnessed the events of Jesus's life, death, and resurrection, and some of those people were not sympathetic to the apostles' cause - they were, in fact, opposed to it. Thus, if what was being written and propagated was in any way inaccurate, those opposed could simply have risen up and written a refutation to the apostles' claims. The apostles even opened themselves to this kind of criticism, as seen in Acts 2:22 and Acts 26: 24-48. None such came.

Last, the relationship of Old Testament prophecy to the life of Jesus as recorded in the Gospels indicates a God-ordained consistency simply unparalleled in any other major religious text. Without going into all the details, there were literally hundreds of prophecies fulfilled by Jesus Christ, including those found in Isaiah 7:14 (cf. Matthew 1:18-23), Micah 5:2 (cf. Luke 2:1-7), Hosea 11:1 (cf. Matthew 2:13-15), Malachi 3:1 (cf. Luke 2:25-27), Psalm 22:16 and 22:18 (cf. Luke 23:33 and John 19:23-24, respectively), and Isaiah 53:10-12 (cf. Acts 2:25-32).

External Evidence Test
Again, Josh McDowell defines this test by stating that "[the] issue here is whether other historical material confirms or denies the internal testimony of the documents themselves."

Within the Christian world, Papias (Bishop of Hierapolis, friend of the Apostle John, as preserved by Eusebius) and Iranaeus (Bishop of Lyons, disciple of Polycarp who was a disciple of the Apostle John) together testify to the authorship of the Gospels. They state that John wrote his gospel, as did Matthew, and that Mark wrote his based off of the testimony of Peter and Luke his based off of the teachings of Paul (and other eyewitnesses - cp. Luke 1:1-3).

Outside of the Christian world, we have already mentioned how archaeology and historical criticism have verified the facts of the Bible as they are laid out. People, places, leaders, and events, as they are described in the New Testament, have been verified over time by the historical record and the physical evidence (as it is uncovered).

Further, ancient, secular historians wrote of Jesus and verified not only His life but also some of His deeds. Here are a few quotes (pulled straight out of the Mark Driscoll resource listed below):

Flavius Josephus, from Jewish Antiquities:
Now there was about this time Jesus, a wise man, if it be lawful to call him a man; for he was a doer of wonderful works, a teacher of such men as receive the truth with pleasure...And when Pilate, at the suggestion of the principal men among us, had condemned him to the cross, those that loved him at the first did not forsake him; for he appeared to them alive again the third day, as the divine prophets had foretold these and ten thousand other wonderful things concerning him. And the tribe of Christians, so named from him, are not extinct at this day


Pliny the Younger, from The Letters of Pliny the Younger (this one addressed to the emperor Trajan):
They (Christians) also declared that the sum total of their guilt or error amounted to no more than this: they had met regularly before dawn on a fixed day to chant verses alternately amongst themselves in honour of Christ as if to a god...


These as well as many other Jewish and Roman historians document and give credence to the truths as presented by the authors of the New Testament.

Here's the big idea:
The Bible we have, and specifically the New Testament, is a historically valid and reliable document, and the text therein constitutes a true testimony to the events surrounding the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth, called the Christ.


Sources:

Easy read: Mark Driscoll, On the New Testament; Josh McDowell, More Than a Carpenter
Medium read: Josh McDowell, The New Evidence that Demands a Verdict; Lee Strobel, The Case for Christ; Dan Story, Defending Your Faith

Next week: Why Study the Bible?

How to Study the Bible: What is the Bible?

With so much to cover and so many topics I'd like to talk about, I put Theology Thursday to a vote. The outcome of the vote determined what would be covered in the coming months. The first subject to be tackled is How to Study the Bible.


In order to ensure people get the most out of these posts, I'm going to try to keep these first few posts in the series relatively short. Truly, a LOT of ink has been justifiably spent defending the canonization of the Bible, specifically the New Testament (the focus of this week's post), as well as the validity of the historical text itself (next week's post). However, since these are more along the lines of foundational, I will simply boil down the positions as simply and clearly as possible so that we can move to the more practical and applicable posts, those focusing on why we should (and should want to) study the Bible and a few tips on how to actually go about studying it. Therefore, while there are a number of facts, statistics, citations, and book after book to be read and considered for this week's post, I'm going to focus on just a few sources (listed at the end of the post) and give the general thrust of the argument.

This week's question is What is the Bible? Specifically, how did we get the book we currently have? How did 'they' pick the books and letters that were included? First, I'll briefly give consideration to the Old Testament. Second, and the larger section, I will focus on the New Testament as it is what is most commonly disputed.

In traditional Protestantism, the Old Testament stops with Malachi, the last of the prophets. After this point, God did not send a prophet for 400 years until the coming of John the Baptist, who proclaimed the coming of Jesus. During these years of silence, called the Intertestamental Period, other books were written. These became known as the apocrypha. Initially, these books were effectively considered helpful additional books, but they were never accepted as holy Scripture until the Catholic Council of Trent in 1546. From that point, the Catholic (and some Orthodox) Bible added books to the Old Testament that were never so adopted by either Jews or Christians up to that point. Thus, we see the difference in the Catholic Bible (which includes the Apocrypha) and the Protestant Bible (which does not).

The other books of the Old Testament are referred in the New Testament as 'The Law, Prophets, and Psalms' or 'The Law and the Prophets' or simply 'The Law'. To quote Mark Driscoll, "Jesus also spoke of the Old Testament as existing from Abel (from Genesis, the first book of the Old Testament) to Zechariah (a contemporary of Malachi, the final book of the Old Testament)." The evidence for this is found in Luke 24:44, Matthew 23:35, and Luke 11:51. Even today, the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament are virtually the same, excepting the order of the books.

Frankly, there is little dispute over the Old Testament. The New Testament? Well, that's a different story. Let's deal with that now.

First, I want to define a word that I learned while researching for this post. The word is canon. No, not the weapon used to fire off the port bow (spelled cannon, for those keeping track at home). I always thought the word was synonymous with 'Bible', that it was just another way of saying 'the whole collection of books in the Bible'. While it has come to mean that in our time, the original meaning of canon refers to the 'rule' or 'measuring rod' by which the books of the Bible were selected. It is the norm against which books of the Bible were set to determine inclusion or exclusion.

Many people argue that the Bible was put together by a bunch of people hunkered down in a room hundreds of years after Jesus lived and after the texts had been written. They suggest that the writings were allowed to grow to legendary and mythic levels prior to being included in the Bible (we'll deal with this argument next week), and then only the books that verified what they wanted people to know about Jesus were included. After all, they had their institutions, reputations, and power to protect - so the argument goes.

However, contrary to this notion is what actually happened (insert sarcastic tone). As Driscoll writes, there were three primary characteristics in the inclusion of books into the New Testament:

1) They were written based on eye-witness account of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.
2) They were in accord with what is revealed as true about God in the rest of Scripture.
3) They were received by God's people and demonstrated God's power in changing lives.

Additionally, the apostles themselves validated the writings of the New Testament and placed them alongside the Old Testament in a peer-to-peer relationship. This is seen in the following passages:

2 Peter 3:15-16 - Paul's letters placed alongside Scripture, presumably the Old Testament
And count the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you according to the wisdom given him, as he does in all his letters when he speaks in them of these matters. There are some things in them that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as the do the other Scriptures.


1 Timothy 5:18 - Paul quoting Deuteronomy and Luke back-to-back as Scripture
For the Scripture says, "You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain (from Deut. 25:4)," and, "The laborer deserves his wages (from Luke 10:7)."


From the foundation of the New Testament church, this placing of New Testament books alongside the Old Testament Scriptures continued in what B.B Warfield refers to as a "line of such quotations...never broken in Christian literature."

Here is another, extended quote from Warfield:

What needs emphasis at present about these facts is that they obviously are not evidences of a gradually-heightening estimate of the New Testament books, originally received on a lower level and just beginning to be tentatively accounted Scripture; they are conclusive evidences rather of the estimation of the New Testament books from the very beginning as Scripture, and of their attachment as Scripture to the other Scriptures already in hand. The early Christians did not, then, first form a rival “canon” of “new books” which came only gradually to be accounted as of equal divinity and authority with the “old books”; they received new book after new book from the apostolical circle, as equally “Scripture” with the old books, and added them one by one to the collection of old books as additional Scriptures, until at length the new books thus added were numerous enough to be looked upon as another section of the Scriptures.


The big idea is this:
The New Testament was not 'put together' by people hundreds of years after it had been written. It had been put together and was generally accepted in the Church throughout the Christian world, and this collection was subsequently verified at the various councils years later.

Catch that - that's a big difference. The councils did not make up the list of what was in and what was out. They verified that which had already been put together, and evaluated the other books that had subsequently been (falsely) put forth as legitimate books, like the Gospel of Thomas and First Clement, based on the canon (remember: the norm or rule) which already existed in the collection already accepted by the people of God. The apostles placed their authority behind the teachings of the books and letters themselves while they lived, the early church fathers accepted them, and the Church at large embraced them as Truth.

Sources:

Easy read: Mark Driscoll, On the Old Testament and On the New Testament
Medium read: R.C. Sproul, Scripture Alone
Difficult read: B.B Warfield, Revelation and Inspiration

Next week: Is the Bible Historically Reliable?

Game On

I got mad at the devil this evening.

Allow me to explain:

As pretty much everyone reading this knows (and if you don't, you're in for a shocker), my wife Christen passed away on January 9. What most people don't know is what has continued to transpire in my more extended family since then. I'll give you both the good and the bad so that you have a more complete picture.

On the good side, my family's spiritual vitality since Christen's passing has been at an all-time high. Frankly speaking, Christen's funeral service was a wake-up call to a few members of my family, namely my brother and one of my cousins. My brother has become nothing short of prolific in his writing about Christianity from the perspective of someone who's been asleep for awhile and has recently awoken, only to find that the world is far more interesting than the dream he was having while asleep. If you want to read some of his thoughts, I'd highly encourage checking out his blog, aptly named Cromulent Thoughts (any Simpsons fans reading this will understand that reference). He puts up weekly posts, and while they have some length to them, they are worth the read (and I don't say that flippantly).

On the bad side, there have been some additional medical issues that have arisen within my family. My grandpa, who is in his mid-80s and has been suffering from Parkinson's for the past decade or more, slipped and fell a few weeks back, hitting his head and necessitating a visit to the ER, a trip down to Peoria for a few days, and now a few weeks in a nursing home while he goes through some physical therapy. He will likely be back home in a few days, but that put the family on alert again. Additionally, just this past week, my dad got up in the middle of the night and essentially passed out a few times before he ended up in the ER. He'd been having some stomach troubles for a little while, but it ended up being more serious than anyone thought - he has a bleeding ulcer. He was in the hospital for a few days, returning home just this evening (as I write, it's Sunday, April 1). All of this is just on the medical side of things.

Before I go any further, let me be clear about something: I am not writing all of this to complain. I am not writing all of this to elicit sympathy or pity. I am most definitely not writing this to attract attention to me or my family.

I am writing this because this evening I got a glimpse into the enemy's strategy, and I got mad about it. Real mad. And not like a 'gosh, I wish you would leave me alone' kind of mad. More like a 'seriously, that's how you want to do this?' kind of mad. I got mad because he's a liar and a schemer and a deceiver. I got mad because, as one trying to fight the good fight (literally, war the good warfare), I recognized that one of his strategies was to overwhelm me into silence.

It must be understood that I don't necessarily believe that all the events that took place were aimed at me. I think there are plans of God and schemes of Satan that are far more complex than that, taking into account all the lives involved and their respective reactions to different situations. I do, however, believe that Satan has a particular strategy for how I process all of the events that have transpired. His goal has been to keep the shots coming until I've dug myself in so deep I don't want to come out. That I get so entrenched in all the stuff happening and take my eyes off of the bigger picture and the larger plans God has designed. Effectively, that I take my eyes off of Him entirely and stare fixedly at the walls of my fox-hole. I realized all of this tonight, and I realized that I had fallen into that trap. And I got mad.

You see, this is a war, not a battle. In a battle, you have to have good tactics in order to win. You have to have the right formation, the right timing, the right terrain, the right discipline. Anyone can win a battle under the right circumstances. In a war, however, you have to have the best strategy in order to win. It means you know the battles you can lose, the positions from which you can fall back, but also where you must hold and advance in order to win the whole war.

I've been focused on battles going on around me and lost sight of the war. In this, I had lost my passion for the things Christen and I had spent countless hours discussing and planning. I didn't realize, until tonight, that this is precisely how Satan wants me to respond to these circumstances. I have been on the defensive, as it were, reeling from one attack after another, trying to 'hold it together' while I retreated further and further into the immediacy of my life. In taking it 'one day at a time', I ended up allowing each day to hit me, focusing more on surviving it rather than thriving in it.

Jesus says that He will build His Church, 'and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it (Matthew 16:18).' That's a statement of attack. To be at the gates is to be storming the very stronghold of an enemy. The Church storms the strongholds of hell, tearing them down with weapons not of this world (2 Corinthians 10:4). Jesus is the 5-star General of this war, and it's His strategy that's already broken the back of Satan - the plan He and the Father planned out before the foundations of the world, that He would come, live as a man, do so perfectly, die unjustly yet sacrificially, rise powerfully, and save people graciously, mercifully, and lovingly. In doing this, the war was won. What I lost sight of is the fact that the victory has already been obtained in Jesus. Oh! what a victory! We, the Church, have the privilege of now moving into enemy territory, not as fearful civilians constantly on the defensive, but as 'more than conquerors', destroying the enemy's strongholds as we go and seeing those bound up in his dungeons loosed from their chains and set free - only to join in the constant advance of Christ and His Church.

I titled this post 'Game On', but I do not believe this is in any way a game. It is war. It is life and death. Satan has won some battles recently in my life, but in executing his clever tactics, he exposed his strategy and, by God's grace, I have seen the weakness in it. Satan is a formidable foe, to be sure, and one that I cannot defeat in my own strength or cleverness. In Christ, however, I can see him overcome and overthrown in my life and seek the same in the lives of others.

I recognize that I did not go into specifics regarding what was revealed to me this evening. Over the coming weeks and months, I will be writing more about the things Christen and I had been thinking through prior to her passing. It was our hope to see these things come to pass in the next year or two. In God's providence, that timeline has been thrown off course. I believe this will only strengthen what will come next. Armed with greater understanding, I will begin to think through (again) what she and I were working on. You will begin to see more posts over the coming weeks and months regarding particular church-y buzz words like 'mission', 'community', 'discipleship', 'evangelism', and the like. In reengaging these topics, I believe I will be getting out of my fox-hole and joining in the on-going destruction of strongholds as Jesus builds His Church.

What is the Church?

Here we go. I have officially bitten off more than I can chew in approaching this subject. There are far more qualified writers, pastors, and teachers, people who have spent their lives scouring the Scriptures for what constitutes 'the Church'. Here are a few definitions I have found in just a cursory glance around my library:

Mark Driscoll & Gerry Breshears, from Vintage Church:
"The local church is a community of regenerated believers who confess Jesus Christ as Lord. In obedience to Scripture they organize under qualified leadership, gather regularly for preaching and worship, observe the biblical sacraments of baptism and Communion, are unified by the Spirit, are disciplined for holiness, and scatter to fulfill the Great Commandment and the Great Commission as missionaries to the world for God's glory and their joy."

John Piper, from "The Local Church: Minimum vs. Maximum":
"I would define the local church like this: a local church is a group of baptized believers who meet regularly to worship God through Jesus Christ, to be exhorted by the Word of God, and to celebrate the Lord's Supper under the guidance of duly appointed leaders."

Wayne Grudem, from Systematic Theology:
"The church is the community of all true believers for all time."


Charles Ryrie, from A Survey of Bible Doctrine:
"Taking together the features of local churches we see in the New Testament, we might propose the following definition: A local church is an assembly of professing believers in Christ who have been baptized and who are organized to do God’s will."


As is obvious, there are varying definitions of what constitutes the Church. Most definitions hold to some basic truths and either leave it broad for the sake of contextual application or attempt to get more specific in order to rein in certain extremes. Given all of this, I will simply throw my hat into the ring for the sake of discussion. Based on what I have seen and read, I think the most clear description of the church as it was when it was born is found in Acts 2:42-47:

"42 And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. 43 And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. 44 And all who believed were together and had all things in common. 45 And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. 46 And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their home, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved."


I have nine points to pull from this passage that, I am convinced, are to be part of the Christian church as we know her. Please bear in mind that this is not meant to be a detailed study on all the Church is or should be. It is not a specific methodology, either. Nor is it a commentary on the current state of the Western church versus the rest of the world. I believe the points are applicable in any setting at any time.

Further, I don't believe this passage is prescriptive, giving us precisely how all things should be done. Since the book of Acts was written by the resident doctor-historian Luke, it is descriptive in nature, showing us how the apostles were being led by God to lead this newly found Church in their particular context at their specific time in history.

With these caveats now expressed, here is what I understand to be the necessary and expected elements in any Christian church:

1) Teaching (v.42)
     The preached and taught Word is a requisite element to any organization wanting to be considered a Christian church.  It is central that God's Word be proclaimed for the sake of instruction, exhortation, conviction, and encouragement. I would add that preaching and teaching occurs in both large and small gatherings. Therefore, while the pulpit ministry is indispensable, there must be teaching and training to smaller groups for the sake of equipping 'the saints for the work of the ministry'.

2) Fellowship (v.42)
     Given where this is placed (next to teaching), 'fellowship' is not the same as 'hanging out'. It is the purposeful coming together of believers for the sake of mutual edification and sharpening. The conversation centers on how we are being molded and shaped by God as well as time in prayer with one another. Fellowship is the place for accountability, including correction and encouragement, in the context of deep relationships.

3) Meals (v.42, 46)
     The phrase 'breaking bread' is used twice in this passage, and therefore seems to indicate two purposes (after all, if each usage meant the same thing, it would be pretty redundant). In one sense (v.42), 'breaking bread' is a reference to Communion as it was during the Passover meal when Jesus first instituted the ordinance. The observance of Communion, remembering Christ's body broken and blood spilled for our sake and in our place, is a prescribed ordinance from the New Testament. It is to be observed regularly.
     In another sense (v.46) it is more likely to mean an actual meal, like when Jesus 'broke the bread' before feeding the 5,000. Sharing a meal involves hospitality. This hospitality extends to fellow believers and non-believers alike. Hospitality should mark the home of the Christian - openness, service, joy, conversation, friendship. This is one way to love our neighbors.

4) Prayer (v.42)
     The early church prayed. The Holy Spirit came during a prayer meeting (Acts 2:1), to paraphrase Pastor Jim Cymbala. The apostles devoted themselves to the study of the Word and prayer (Acts 6:4). The people gathered to pray when Peter was in prison (12:1-5). We also are to pray, and not just individually. Prayer must be part of both the personal and the corporate nature of the church. Thus, it is for the individual, family, small group, and large group. Prayer will saturate the healthy church.

5) Power (v.43)
     Some would use this verse to say that the ongoing, miraculous gifting of the Holy Spirit stopped with the final stroke of the pen in the book of Revelation, using the phrase 'through the apostles' as evidence. While this is a conversation for a post all on its own, one need only look to Paul's writings to the Corinthian and Galatian churches to see that the Holy Spirit was working powerfully outside of the apostles direct contact (1 Corinthians 12-14 and Galatians 3:5, respectively).
     Contrary to this view, I would suggest that a Christian church sees the power of the Holy Spirit at work in it. Primarily, this takes place in the salvation of people, as this is the greatest miracle that can be accomplished. Additionally, He empowers His people to 'will and to work according to His good pleasure'. Finally, the Spirit's power will also be at work in the miraculous gifting of His people at specific moments according to His sovereign will and for the sake of His glory. Examples of this include but are not limited to healing, prophesy, and visions.

6) Community (vv.44-45)
     In the early church, all things were shared. This included property, possessions, food, money, clothes, and the like. Some would say that's how it should be now. I will not here advocate communal living. However, knowing the needs of those close to you - the people you serve with in a ministry, the people in your small group, the people in your neighborhood - and working together to make sure everyone is taken care of is well within reason. And while prayer support is vital, and true fellowship essential, sometimes meeting tangible needs is every bit as important. This requires both a transparency on the part of those in need as well as a willingness to provide from those around the needy. It all boils down to love and trust for the relationships built through our first relationship in Christ.
     As Christians, we are supposed to be 'known by our love for one another'. The world doesn't necessarily see us pray for each other. The world doesn't see the late-night telephone calls and the lunch meetings for counsel. The world does see when the people of God surround someone with love and support through the meeting of physical, material needs. And they are amazed by it.

7) Large and Small (v.46a)
     They met at the synagogue and in homes. Some in the house church movement would say that the New Testament church exclusively met in homes, and therefore so should we. This is an oversimplification to what was taking place at the time the book of Acts was written. There was a necessity to meeting in homes at that time. Further, this text indicates that they did, in fact, meet in larger settings like the synagogue. Therefore, gathering together includes both large group settings, like a Sunday service and/or the occasional special event, and small group settings, like home-based Bible studies or Sunday school. I like the way the people at Mars Hill Church in Seattle refer to this: Air War (big gatherings) and Ground War (small groups).

8) Worship (v.46b-47a)
     Honoring God through our worship is a critical component to any church. Here we see that worship is both from gratitude for what God has provided as well as praise to Him for who He is. It is expressed joy, gladness, and gratitude toward God, the overflow of our hearts welling up with love. Our delight in God, indeed our worship of Him, is expressed from out of our mouths and our lives as the fulfillment of our pleasure in God being God. To quote C.S. Lewis (from Reflections on the Psalms):
     "But the most obvious fact about praise - whether of God or anything - strangely escaped me. I thought of it in terms of compliment, approval, or the giving of honor. I had never noticed that all enjoyment spontaneously overflows into praise...The world rings with praise - lovers praising their mistresses, readers their favorite poet, walkers praising the countryside, players praising their favorite game...I think we delight to praise what we enjoy because praise not merely expresses but completes the enjoyment; it is its appointed consummation."

9) Gospel (v.47b)
     The gospel is not simply a message. It is not merely 'good news', though it certainly is that. The gospel inspires mission, the purpose of the Church here on earth, the advancement of God's kingdom (Jesus builds His church, and the gates of hell cannot prevail against it). The Christian church embodies the gospel in such a way, through its impact on the local and global community and the individuals within that community, that there is fruit-bearing evangelism taking place, leading to salvation and the ordinance of baptism - the public declaration of the inward reality of salvation and surrender - being observed. It is telling of and living for Jesus in such a way that the harvest is reaped.

This topic certainly warrants far more discussion (which I welcome especially on Facebook), and I will be posting more as time goes on. For now, I hope that this helps to clarify what can be an ambiguous question regarding the nature of the Church. She is beautiful and being made more so until that day when Christ returns for His bride. Amen, come Lord Jesus!

Stepping Back in the Ring

Prior to Christen's passing, both she and I spent considerable amounts of time at our church doing various forms of ministry. By 'various', what I mean is that, between the two of us over the last 6 1/2 years, we started, led, and/or took part in nearly every facet of the church - from children's ministry to music to sound/tech to bookkeeping to maintenance to both being on staff at different times. As of December, Christen was the backup choir director, periodically leading rehearsals, teaching songs, and directing on Sundays. I was the primary bass player, playing for 2 services on Sunday as well as the mid-week prayer meeting. Christen frequently had women over to our place to learn about being a wife and stay-at-home-mom in the 'hands-on' kind of way, truly epitomizing Titus 2. I helped count and deposit the weekly Sunday offering.

Since her passing, I have stepped back considerably in my ministry involvement. One reason for this is obvious, the other possibly less so. The obvious reason is that I have needed to figure out how to be a single parent. This process is on-going, but some things have settled in to a degree of structure, allowing for some breathing room to think about ministry again.

The less obvious reason for stepping back actually goes back to the closing point I made in her funeral sermon - NOT settling for less than God's best. With the room to think and reevaluate that I now have (though I still have a long way to go), I am able to look at everything and determine what the best next step is as it regards ministry. As I approach this, I am keeping in front of me the core elements of what the Lord has thus far revealed to me to do - preaching, teaching, and writing.

All of this is really just backstory to write about what I experienced this evening: I attended the Advance young adult ministry gathering. This was not the first time I had been there; the first time was two weeks ago when I had the opportunity to speak to them. Tonight, I was able to simply attend. It was great. They are a relatively small group of people - say, maybe 30-40 men and women - but they love God and each other. They do consistent service for the homeless. And they encourage each other to grow in their faith and serve in the church. The word that kept coming to me as I sat in the meeting was humility. They are a people marked by humility. A simple gathering. Simple service. Simple fellowship. Nothing flashy or over-the-top. No multi-colored lights, just candles. No microphones, just speaking and praying. There's nothing wrong with lights or mics, but this was refreshing in its simplicity and humility. Just people coming together to learn and grow together. What does all this have to do with my service in ministry? I don't know yet, but I loved what I experienced tonight.

Jesus Loves the Church

I have had a song on my heart (and subsequently in my head) for the past four days. I can't get it out, and so I am going to share the lyrics with you with the intent being that we would see better how much Jesus loves His bride, the Church. This song comes from Derek Webb's album She Must and Shall Go Free, and album all about the Church. The song is titled 'Lover'. It is a song taken from Christ's perspective as He sings to the Church. The Bible states that God 'sings songs of deliverance' over us. I would not presume to know exactly what or how He sings, but I think the heart of that verse is well communicated in the lyrics to this song. Enjoy, and if you like, buy his album. It's worth it.

Lover

Like a man comes to an alter, I came into this town

With the world upon my shoulders and promises passed down.

And I went into the water and my father, He was pleased.

I built it and I’ll tear it down so you will be set free.

But I found thieves and salesmen living in my Father’s house.

I know how they got in here, and I know how to get ‘em out.

I’m turning this place over from floor to balcony,

And then just like these doves and sheep you will be set free.

I’ve always been a lover from before I drew a breath;

some things i loved easy and some I loved to death.

Because love’s no politician - it listens carefully.

Of those who come I can’t lose one, so you will be set free.

But go on and take my picture, go on and make me up.

I’ll still be your defender, you’ll be my missing son.

And I’ll send out an army just to bring you back to me.

Because regardless of your brother’s lies you will be set free.

I am my beloved's, and my beloved’s mine.

So you bring all your history, and I’ll bring the bread and wine.

And we’ll have us a party where all the drinks are on me.

Then as surely as the rising sun you will be set free.