Hebrews 11:32-40 & We Are the Lab Rats

We are the lab rats.  You know the cruel little experiment where if a rat fails to behave a specific way, say pushing a blue button instead of a red one he gets his food, but he gets shocked as well?  He keeps choosing option B over A, why?  “Why won’t he conform?”  “We will give you everything you desire if you just behave as we wish,” says the diabolical scientist that lives in his mother’s garage.  We are those rats.  To the world we are fools, we refuse their offers and are shocked, but if they had but tasted Jesus they would know our behavior the most logical of actions.  Our risk glorifies the Bread of Life, He is worth it.

I’m afraid of reading Hebrews 11:23-40 lightly, the same way that Philippians 4:13 is glibly quoted with no concern for the context.  Consider two scenarios:

Christian # 1 He lives in the States.  He has a great job and makes a sizeable income.  He attends church regularly and tithes.  He has never really suffered.  He has accomplished much.  He is easily deemed “successful” by all his friends.  They talk about how he is so blessed.  Is he?  He is materialistic and consumed with his image.  Always the best – the best clothes, the best car, the best TV.  He isn’t super extravagant, nor living above his means; he is just wanting to invest in good quality he will tell you – you know, being a good steward and all.   And yes, of course, he gives all the glory to God!

Christian # 2 Lives in a hostile Muslim country.  He is despised, hated, persecuted.  He has reaped hardly any fruit.  He barely exists day to day.  It is a task just to buy or find food.  Even though he receives funds from oversees they don’t always make it to him.  And having cash is no guarantee that it will be accepted.  He has little in this world.  Ultimately his wife and child are taken.  Is he cursed?

Who is victorious?  Consider their purposes.  If the ultimate goal is to glorify God as the supreme glory and joy of the universe, who is successful?  Who has treasured Christ above all things and who has “treasured” Christ as a means to things.  As Lewis said, He will not be used as a road.  Certainly Jesus is the road, the only road, but where is He taking us?  Not to rusty things, but to a glorious Father.  He is both the means and the end.  Who has glorified Him as such?

Suffering does not equal defeat.  Often, very often it is the means to victory.

Make like a lab rat, it’s the logical thing to do.  There is risk, the electricity is real, but the Bread of Life is all satisfying.

Tolle Lege: Love in Hard Places

Readability :  1

Length:  195 pp

Author:  D.A. Carson

D.A. Carson’s Love in Hard Places touched the whole of me.  It fed my mind, enflamed my heart, convicted my conscience, and compelled me to action.  Carson is in my humble opinion (though it is substantiated by many  of higher  acumen) the best New Testament Scholar currently living, and it shows in this masterful examination of the difficult command of God to love our neighbor as ourselves.  Carson deals with loving enemies big (those who would persecute us physically or mentally) and small (that annoying co-worker).  One chapter, a most rewarding one, is dedicated toward teasing out two especially difficult cases, racism and Osama bin Laden.  In all of this Carson never ceases to be gospel, Christ, and God-centered.  This is among my most favorite of books, I highly recommend it.

There is a sense in which the followers of Jesus are to see themselves, as it were, as an outpost within time, within the time of fallenness, of the consummated kingdom still to come.

[In response to the accusation that Christian brotherly love is a lesser kind of love] More to the point, in one crucial chapter in John’s gospel, God’s intra-Trinitarian love is set forth as the model and standard of Christians loving Christians.  “I have made you known to them,” Jesus tells his Father, “and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them” (John 17:26).  It is very difficult to deprecate the love of Christians, without simultaneously deprecating God’s intra-Trinitarian love and the very unity of the Godhead.

That is why, in the ultimate sense, only God has the ultimate right to forgive sins, all sins – for all sins have first and foremost been committed against him, as David himself recognized (Ps. 51:4).  This is not to deny that many others may be abused, violated, offended; it is to say that in the ultimate sense, what gives sin its deepest odium, its most heinous hue, is that it offends the God who made us and stands as our judge.

What this suggests, then, is that moral indignation, even moral outrage, may on occasion be proof of love – love for the victim, love for the church of God, love for the truth, love for God and his glory.  Not to be outraged may in such cases be evidence, not of gentleness and love, but of a failure of love.

The Doctor: The Saint’s Marvelous Salvation

There is nothing more marvelous about one person being saved than another; there is nothing more marvelous about a man who has been a terrible drunkard being saved, than a man who has never had a drop of drink in his life; there is no difference at all, none whatsoever.  But, you see, people are interested – ‘Oh, was it not a wonderful testimony?’ they say.  ‘Did you hear it?’ My Friend, I could easily prove, if you pressed me, that it is much more difficult to save the person who has not been a drunkard, because he does not know that he is not righteous.  The drunkard does know it, he is terribly aware of it, poor fellow.  – D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Romans Vol. 2, p. 200

Hebrews 11:29-30 & A Missionary, A Reformer, and A Murderer

By faith the people crossed the Red Sea as on dry land, but the Egyptians, when they attempted to do the same, were drowned.   – Hebrews 11:29

When John Paton went to the New Hebrides Islands they had already killed and eaten two missionaries.  On the Island of Tanna where Paton would first minister they had driven previous missionaries off in fear.  His wife and son would die of fever in a year.  He would remain on this Island for 4 more years despite numerous and consistent death threats.  They would come to him saying “Missi [short for missionary], our fathers loved and worshipped whom you call the Devil, the Evil Spirit; and we are determined to do the same… Now, our people are determined to kill you, if you do not leave this island; for you are changing our customs and destroying our worship, and we hate the Jehovah Worship.”

He would argue with them, and tell them that if they did Jehovah would be angry with them.  He would warn them that if they killed him a British Man of War would come by and attack them, and that the traders would no longer visit them.  After such an encounter they would ease of a little for a short time.  Finally the situation grew so threatening that he had to leave.

By faith he experienced deliverance many times, and by faith he suffered the loss of wife and child.  Our faith does not mean deliverance from every pain, but the ordering of all our pains for our good and His glory.  Paton saw little fruit on Tanna, but other missionaries would harvest that ground that by sweat, prayers, and deep suffering he had tilled.  Also many would dedicate their lives to spreading the message of Jesus to the hardest parts of the earth as a result of reading Paton’s autobiography.  Ultimately John was not delivered from much suffering and pain, but he was delivered from one island to go to another.  He would next go to the Island of Aniwa and see virtually the whole Island turn to Christ.

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By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they had been encircled for seven days. – Hebrews 11:30

Luther was devastated.  The Reformation had caught wind and enthusiasts with more zeal than knowledge began to try to assert their position by violence.  Luther did not wish to advance his cause by human might or wisdom.  He knew it could not be.  His was a victory by faith in the heralded word of the gospel. He wrote:

Give men time.  I took three years of constant study, reflection, and discussion to arrive where I now am, and can the common man, untutored in such matters, be expected to move the same distance in three months?  Do not suppose that the abuses are eliminated by destroying the object which is abused.  Men can go wrong with wine and women.  Shall we then prohibit wine and abolish women?  The sun, moon, and stars have been worshipped.  Shall we then pluck them out of the sky?  See how much he [God] has been able to accomplish through me, though I did no more than pray and preach.  The Word did it all.  Had I wished I might have started a conflagration at Worms.  But while I sat still and drank beer with Philip and Amsdorf, God dealt the papacy a mighty blow.  – From Here I Stand by Roland H. Bainton

Or as he said in his famous hymn:

Did we in our own strength confide, our striving would be losing;

Were not the right Man on our side, the Man of God’s own choosing:

Dost ask who that may be? Christ Jesus, it is He;

Lord Sabaoth, His Name, from age to age the same,

And He must win the battle.

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By faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient, because she had given a friendly welcome to the spies.  – Hebrews 11:31

Tom Papania was a grandson to one of the original mobsters who brought the Mafia to the United States.  He was hard, even criminals were intimidated to look into his eyes.  He lied, he stole, he killed.  He was ready to kill himself one evening when the phone rang.  It was a friend inviting him to church.  The pastor could see into his soul and commented to Tom that he was a hurt little boy who needed love.  Tom felt exposed and went back that evening planning on killing the pastor.  Instead he found Jesus and went on to be a prison evangelist.  (Stolen from Richard D. Phillips’ Jesus the Evangelist)

Ultimate deliverance, victory, and salvation are never found outside of faith in Jesus.  By faith in Jesus these are already ultimately ours.

Four Consistent Reads

There are four things I think every Christian should consistently read about.  If they read no more than four books a year, those four books should deal with the following subjects:

  1. God or Theology proper – Read books on the attributes of God and the nature of God.  If worship is intense without this, it is false.  If it is apathetic, this is where to begin.  When people encounter God the last thing they are is bored.
  2. Sin – Know the bane of your soul.  If affections for Christ as your Savior are small I would venture that you know little of the horrors of sin you were rescued from.  If you don’t want to study sin, ask yourself why.  I believe the answer, the true answer, will be deeply convicting.
  3. Jesus Christ (His life, death, and resurrection), The Cross, Soteriology – It is no shame for a new Christian to have to learn some terminology that is foreign to them; it is a shame for aged Christians not to have an understanding of justification, redemption, propitiation, reconciliation, regeneration, and penal substitutionary atonement.  If you read only one book a year, make it a book about the cross of Christ.
  4. Christian Biography – Especially missionary biography.  Hero standards have been dumbed down.  Reading good Christian Biographies will elevate them.  Christian Biography is a great balm for both pride and discouragement.   Pride because when I think I have really done something a glimpse, just a glimpse of someone like John Paton will waken me to my foolishness; discouragement because they were just men.  What He has done once in a Whitefield he can do again through some humble servant.  Admire not the men of God more than the God of men.  Admire them not in themselves, but in their reflecting – they are all lunar, God is solar.

Tolle Lege: Finally Alive

I cannot too strongly celebrate the publication of this book. Owing in part to several decades of dispute over justification and how a person is set right with God, we have tended to neglect another component of conversion no less important. Conversion under the terms of the new covenant is more than a matter of position and status in Christ, though never less: it includes miraculous Spirit-given transformation, something immeasurably beyond mere human resolution. It is new birth; it makes us new creatures; it demonstrates that the gospel is the power of God unto salvation. All the creedal orthodoxy in the world cannot replace it. The reason why “You must be born again” is so important is that you must be born again.   – D. A. Carson, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School

When I was a boy my grandmother asked me, ‘Have you been born again?’ Though I didn’t understand what she meant at the time, that question led to my conversion to Christ. In this wonderful book, Pastor John Piper rescues the term ‘born again’ from the abuse and overuse to which it is subject in our culture today. This is a fresh presentation of the evangelical doctrine of the new birth, a work filled with theological insight and pastoral wisdom.   – Timothy George, Dean of Beeson Divinity School, Samford University

Regeneration, or new birth, meaning simply the new you through, with, in, and under Christ, is a largely neglected theme today, but this fine set of sermons, criss-crossing the New Testament data with great precision, goes far to fill the gap. Highly recommended.   – J .I. Packer, Professor of Theology, Regent College, Vancouver, Canada

I read the endorsements and reviews, I was skeptical.  Not that I wouldn’t enjoy a new John Piper book, but is it that good?  Yes. Piper’s powerful exposition of Biblical texts dealing with the new birth left me with an alloy of joy and awe that exclaimed, “What hath God wrought?”  I will defiantly read this book again; I need to read this book again.  That is always a good test for a book; upon putting it down, do I wish to take it up again?  This doctrine is precious, may I grow in my realization of how precious it is every day.  This book is a tool towards that end.

I want to say loud and clear that when the Barna Group uses the term born again to describe American church-goers whose lives are indistinguishable from the world, and who sin as much as the world, and sacrifice for others as little as the world, and embrace injustice as readily as the world, and covet things as greedily as the world, and enjoy God-ignoring entertainment as enthusiastically as the world—when the term born again is used to describe these professing Christians, the Barna Group is making a  profound mistake. It is using the biblical term born again in a way that would make it unrecognizable by Jesus and the biblical writers….

The Bible is profoundly aware of such people in the church. That is one reason why 1 John was written. But instead of following the Barna Group, the Bible says that the research is not finding that born again people are permeated with worldliness; the research is finding that the church is permeated by people who are not born again.

The Doctor: Gospel Responsibility

I say, therefore, that every time you and I hear the gospel our responsibility is increased.  The more we have heard the gospel the clearer our understanding of it, the greater is our responsibility.  The more we have grown in grace and advanced in the knowledge of the Lord, again the greater is our responsibility…  – D. Martyn Lloyd Jones, Romans Vol. 2, p. 109

Hebrews 11:23-28 & Moses vs. Ray Romano

I watch reruns of Everybody Loves Raymond occasionally, I laugh, but recently in the midst of the laughter I am disturbed, and I am glad that I am disturbed.  Ray makes me laugh, but he also makes me angry.  He is typical of most TV sitcom husbands, and unfortunately I think reality is not far from fiction.  Ray is spineless, he never leads, he always reacts; never do you see him courageously take the reins.  He is not led by principle nor love, but selfishness; he wants everyone to like him.  He never confronts because people’s perception of him is more important to him than truth and real love.  He never spends anytime with his children and acts like he is being tortured when he has to do so.  On the opposite side of the spectrum is rude Frank who could care less about what you think about him.  Here is the crazy thing though; they are both driven by selfishness.  Ray wants everyone to like him; Frank wants things done his way.

Men of faith look very different.  Moses was both a courageous leader and meek.  He would confront the people and also mediate for them.  The men of this chapter (and a couple of ladies) are heroes and the unifying characteristic is faith.  Ray may make me laugh, but he is no hero.  Here is my advice to any men who may be reading this post:

1)      Turn off the TV

2)      Pick up your Bible and get to know its characters better than you do Jack Bauer, Steve Nash, or Peyton Manning.

3)      Read Christian biography.

4)      Point other men (especially your sons) towards these men who shine as stars in a vast sea of darkness.

Too many men today have no clue what it looks like to be a man of faith.  And their sons won’t either if they won’t be one for them and point them too others.  Point out awesome displays of faith more than awesome tackles.  Get a man-crush on Moses and George Whitefield.   Get to know men of faith both Biblical and historical and imitate their faith.

Here are a few suggestions as to where to get started:

The Doctor: What Is the Chief End of Preaching?

What is the chief end of preaching?  I like to think it is this.  It is to give men and women a sense of God and His presence.  As I have said already, during this last year I have been ill, and so have had the opportunity and the privilege of listening to others instead of preaching myself.  As I have listened in physical weakness this is the thing I have looked for and longed for and desired. I can forgive a man for a bad sermon, I can forgive the preacher almost anything if he gives me a sense of God, if he gives me something for my soul, if he gives me the sense that, though he is inadequate himself, he is handling something which is very great and very glorious, if he gives me some dim glimpse of the majesty and the glory of God, the love of Christ my Saviour, and the magnificence of the Gospel. If he does that I am his debtor, and I am profoundly grateful to him.  – D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Preaching and Preachers, pp. 97-98

Hebrews 11:8-22 & The Opposite Way

Ever find yourself in the midst of a group with interest totally alien to your own?  They talk different, the lingo and terminology is odd.  Perhaps you are a jock thrown into the midst of a bunch of Dungeons and Dragons geeks.  Or perhaps you are the nerd thrown into talk concerning the latest playoff.  Sometimes the subject matter is so foreign to your little world that you think them bizarre, odd, weird.

As Christians we are that odd little group in the cafeteria that no one wants to sit next too.  We are an alien culture, going against the grain of this world.  This world is indeed heading to hell, and we are on an opposite trajectory towards heaven.   We are pilgrims, homeward bound.  We are not a sub-culture, doing the same things just in our own “clean” way.  We are light and salt in a world full of darkness and rot.  Don’t buy the sub-culture myth that is really the same darkness and rot underneath a linen garment; unlike Lazarus it is indeed dead and stinketh.

We live as strangers and exiles (v.13), we talk different (v. 14), we pass on the Twinkies and Ho-Hos of sin for the promises of homemade apple pie and ice-cream.  We can smell it, we can hear it, by faith; and thus we behave so wildly for He who has called us His beloved.  We do not settle for lovers less wild and the artificial flavors of their enticements.  We pass on lies for promises of substance.  We long for unfading glory, we wish to draw near to God, to please Him, to know He is not ashamed to be called our God (v. 16).

We seek an inheritance incorruptible.  Right now I am reading perhaps the most massive work ever written on spiritual warefare, Puritan William Gurnall’s The Christian in Complete Armour (1189 pages in the Banner of Truth addition, double column, approximately 10pt. font!).  It is an exposition of Ephesians 5:10-20.  It was originally released in three volumes, the second being dedicated to Thomas Darcy, Esq. and Sisilia Darcy, who were apparently well off.  To them he advises, “Value yourselves by your inheritance in the other world, and not by your honour and riches in this.”

This is weird, this is opposite, it is worth it.

Opposite Way by Leeland

Living in the same town

For all these years

Doing the same old things

Hanging with the same crowd

And it’s starting to get crippling

You’ve never felt in place

And you tell yourself it’s all okay

But something’s different today

You want to run the opposite way

And it seems like you’re locked in a cage

And you need to find a way of escape

When everyone is setting the pace

It’s okay to run the opposite way

The Father sent His Son down

The light of men

The cross He bore was crippling

Rejected in His own town

They couldn’t see the sun shining

He knelt in the garden and prayed

Father, let this cup pass from me

It’s not Your will for me to stay

Your will for me is the opposite way

And it seemed like He was locked in a cage

And He couldn’t find away of escape

But through the cross He conquered the grave

My Jesus ran the opposite way

Oh, and through the cross He conquered the grave

Oh, He ran the opposite way

Yeah, through the cross He conquered the grave

So you could run the opposite way