The Trinitarian Theology of Keith Green | The Scriptorium Daily: Middlebrow
What is love?
“And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone.You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’”And he said to him, “Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.” And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.”Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.”
(Mark 10:17–22 ESV, emp mine)
When the rich man comes to Jesus, Jesus loves him. But look at that love. We might expect Jesus to love him by saying, “You’re money is an issue, come follow me and we’ll deal with that.” Or, we might expect Jesus to say, “You’re all sinners, so don’t get too worked up over this law stuff.” From much of what we hear taught today, the only way to love the unrepentant sinner is to not confront their sin. Yet, Jesus does the exact opposite.
It is loving for Jesus to confront this man’s sin. He draws a clear line in the sand: the man must leave his beloved wealth in order to follow Christ. Anything less is absolutely unacceptable. How is this love? Because it doesn’t give the man a false sense of security, or a false sense of salvation. Jesus knows the standard is real repentance, and knows it would be doing this man a disservice to pretend something less was acceptable. Lowering the bar might even cost this man salvation.
We tend to lower the bar in our own lives. We rationalize and excuse our own sin. We also lower the bar for others. Professing Christians are allowed to continue in unrepentant sin without anyone loving them enough to tell them they’ve sinned. Rebellious Christians are allowed to continue on indefinitely, because the church doesn’t love them enough to say, “Enough is enough.”
Don’t lower the bar. Love yourself and others by passionately pursuing personal holiness.
Pajamas Media » Five Societal Trends That Signal Our Nation’s Decline
Here are five societal trends that will further exacerbate the pessimism of two-thirds of American adults who believe our nation’s future is bleak: National poverty is higher now than in all 51 years of record keeping. There is an increasing number of high school drop-outs. The American workforce is steadily becoming less educated. Four of out of every ten births in America are to unmarried women. Only 53% of Americans pay federal income taxes.
via Pajamas Media » Five Societal Trends That Signal Our Nation’s Decline.
It seems to me that each of these indicators of societal decline connect with the decline of Christianity. Here is a brief explanation.
America is getting poorer? Christianity teaches the sanctity of work. Work is a God-given and blessed endeavor. Further, the New Testament forbids providing welfare to those who can work but choose not to. Could America’s increasing poverty be a result of rejecting this work ethic?
Increasing number of high school dropouts. Liek with work, Christianity generally encourages education. Universities sprung forth from this, and it was Christian’s who saved many ancient works from passing into the dustbin of history. Also, men like Newton pursued Science out of a conviction that studying Creation glorified God. Perhaps abandoning the tenets of Christianity means there is no longer a strong cultural basis for education.
4/10 births are to unwed woman. This doesn’t even need comment.
For me the bottom line is this: Western Civilization grew over thousands of years of discipleship. It will not be reclaimed in a moment. The church must return to instilling Christ’s teachings in the hearts and lives of Christians, who will instill it in their children and so forth, so that society can regain her Christian foundation.
Not over yet
Combat operations are officially over in Iraq. But don’t tell the U.S. Air Force, which is still flying tens of thousands of missions over Iraq.
via U.S. Air War Soars in ‘Post-Combat’ Iraq | Danger Room | Wired.com.
Continue to pray for the Airmen and their families as they continue to execute their assigned missions.
Sunday, September 19th
Christianity and Yoga
A rather interesting look at Yoga and Christianity.
Reflection: How does 1 Corinthians 8 address a similar issue? What might 1 Corinthians 8 tell us about this article?
AlbertMohler.com – The Subtle Body — Should Christians Practice Yoga?.
Persecution.com
A handy tool from Voice of the Marytrs. It’s an interactive map of world wide persecution.
Cal Thomas on Revival & Glen Beck
Revivals don’t ratify the earthly aspirations of humanity, including selfish political agendas. They are about glorifying God. Too many modern Christians have it backward. In a real revival the Lincoln Memorial event would have been a result, not an attempt to cause a revival. People would have assembled who had already repented in private. They would not have bemoaned a decline in American “morality,” but instead have fallen on their knees or faces and cried out in genuine repentance and humility.
via WORLDmag.com | Community | Blog Archive | Genuine revival.
Christianity is very much about personal repentance. When the Christian is more concerned with the sins of the ‘nation’ or Politicians than our own, personal sin, we become the people Jesus warned us about.
“Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.”
(Matthew 7:3–5 ESV)
And Glenn Beck Shall Lead Them | Christianity Today | A Magazine of Evangelical Conviction
At his rally last weekend on the Washington Mall, Fox News host Glenn Beck brought 240 clergy onstage. Harkening back to the Revolutionary War, Beck called the group a “Black Robe Regiment.” He said the clergy “all locked arms saying the principles of America need to be taught from the pulpit.”
via And Glenn Beck Shall Lead Them | Christianity Today | A Magazine of Evangelical Conviction.
As politically conservative as I am, I don’t thing the pulpit is the place for the ‘principles of America.’ Further, the tradition of Western Civilization which gave us the ‘principles of America’ came from Scripture–the Judeo Christian ethic. Perhaps, if Mr. Beck and Co. desire a revival that leads to traditional public virtues, we need to preach repentance and disciple the repentant.
Christianity should alter the way we understand with and interact with the world around us. That includes our politics. However, preaching politics doesn’t renew minds nor transform lives. Also, Christ’s Kingdom is not of this world–America was founded on Christian principles, but that does not make us Christ’s Kingdom.
Want to transform the moral fabric of society? Then, “preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching.” (2 Timothy 4:2 ESV)
Brandon Markette 