Felix's Folly

I just finished reading through Acts, and was really struck by this passage. It describes Paul's interaction with Felix, the Roman governor of Judea. Felix was married to a Jewish woman and was at least somewhat familiar with "the Way". Paul had been imprisoned and was under Felix's authority, and Felix decided to check into this newfangled Christianity he'd heard about.

After some days Felix came with his wife Drusilla, who was Jewish, and he sent for Paul and heard him speak about faith in Christ Jesus. And as he reasoned about righteousness and self-control and the coming judgment, Felix was alarmed and said, "Go away for the present. When I get an opportunity I will summon you." (Acts 24:24-25)


Fascinating. Felix couldn't wait to hear about this Jesus fellow and all the neat things he did. I bet he really enjoyed hearing about God's love, and all about grace, and how he works all things for good to those who love him, and maybe even about heaven. Oh, how interesting and intellectually stimulating and compelling all this was! Felix may have even been emotionally moved and felt downright 'worshipful'.

And then Paul had to ruin it by bringing up that pesky "righteousness and self-control and the coming judgment". Once the inescapably personal demand for repentance and warning of God's wrath came, Felix was outta there. Not very seeker-sensitive there, Paul.

Obviously Paul did the right thing in preaching the whole counsel of God, the whole gospel. What good would it do to entertain Felix with stories about Jesus, to tickle his itching ears and satisfy his curiosity, if he was never called to true faith and was left dead in his sin? How many of our churches need to follow Paul's example here and resist the temptation to entertain the lost, stop leaving the call for repentance unspoken for fear of offending them and driving them away, and boldly preach the whole gospel?

But this isn't about them. It's about us. You, and me, and everyone who sits in the pews on Sunday and listens to the word of God being proclaimed and expounded. What do we do with it? Do we enjoy it as long as it's an entertaining story, or intellectually stimulating discourse on God's sovereignty and man's responsibility, or a message about God's wonderful promises to his people - and then, like Felix, check out when the demand to repentance and holiness comes? Do we receive the message only until it personally challenges us to get rid of our hidden idolatries, root out our pet sin, and actually obey God by living in radical love? Are we content to soak up the fascinating knowledge of all the deep things of God, so long as it leaves us completely unchanged?

What do we do with a message like this? We can be happy to learn about the theory of being lukewarm, acknowledge the theoretical need to repent, and gain some conceptual understanding of honoring Jesus rather than making him vomit. Or we can examine our lives for evidence of lukewarmness, repent, and live to glorify Jesus. Like Felix, many choose the former. How about you? How about me? We know the truth - what will we do with it?

Is it too late?

Recently I read through the books of Isaiah and Jeremiah. The two prophets had very similar messages for Judah, but being over a hundred years apart their messages took on a different spin.

Isaiah prophesied during the time when the northern kingdom of Israel was judged by God, conquered by Assyria, carried into exile, and re-settled with the half-breed Samaritans. He begged and pleaded with the southern kingdom of Judah to repent and be faithful, lest God judge them as well. The response was at least good enough (particularly when Hezekiah was king) that God postponed the judgment for a century or so.

Which is where Jeremiah came in. He preached a message essentially the same as Isaiah's - Repent! Believe! Worship God alone! - but his message was thoroughly rejected by almost everyone. His book actually records more respect for the prophet coming from foreigners (such as the conquering Babylonian pagans) than from any Jew except Baruch (and maybe Gedaliah). As the rejection mounts, the message shifts focus from an Isaiah-like "Repent or God will judge us", to something more like "It's too late to repent - judgment is coming!". During the last few years before judgment finally came in the form of the Babylonian army and a 70-year exile, Jeremiah's message was focused on how best to survive and endure the impending judgment, and no hope of avoiding it remained. They had reached a point where it was simply too late to repent.

There's no doubt that America as a nation has some major sins on our record. We are fully deserving of God's judgment (some would say we're already experiencing some of it), and there are calls for repentance that we seriously need to heed. The godlessness of our nation requires a response no less than Assyria in Jonah's day. And yet, even as the calls for repentance go out, it's becoming easier to suspect that we're more in the Jeremiah stage, where we're so far gone and so hardened that we simply will not repent, that it's too late.

For instance, when you see something truly ghastly like this. Lord, have mercy.

Seven Letters for Seven Churches

Our church recently started going through Revelation, and we should be in there for a year or more. It's truly fascinating stuff, a book that we are truly blessed to read and take to heart (1:3). As the title says, it is the revelation of Jesus Christ.

To go along with this study, my small group is memorizing the first three chapters. These chapters contain the introduction where John encounters the resurrected, glorified Christ, who is seen walking amongst seven golden lampstands which represent seven churches. As sovereign ruler of the universe and particularly of the churches, Jesus has a few words for them - some of commendation, some of condemnation. While all the messages are different, each begins and ends the same way. First Jesus declares something about himself and the authority behind his words to the churches. Then each letter closes with a promise "to the one who conquers". It's worth taking some time to reflect on these statements of Christ's glory and the incredible promises he holds out to those who persevere in the faith.

Jesus is:

• Him who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks among the seven lampstands;
• The first and the last, who died and came to life;
• Him who has the sharp two-edged sword;
• The Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and whose feet are like burnished bronze;
• Him who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars;
• The holy one, the true one, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, who shuts and no one will open;
• The Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God's creation.

The one who conquers:

• Jesus will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God;
• Will not be hurt by the second death;
• Jesus will give some of the hidden manna, and Jesus will give him a white stone, with a new name written on the stone that no one knows except the one who receives it;
• Jesus will give him authority over the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron, as when earthen pots are broken in pieces, even as Jesus has received authority from his Father. And Jesus will give him the morning star;
• Will be clothed thus in white garments, and Jesus will never blot his name out of the book of life. Jesus will confess his name before his Father and before his angels;
• Jesus will make him a pillar in the temple of his God. Never shall he go out of it, and Jesus will write on him the name of his God, and the name of the city of his God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down from his God out of heaven, and Christ's own new name;
• Jesus will grant him to sit with him on him throne, as Jesus also conquered and sat down with his Father on his throne.

Reflect and consider how great and awesome our Lord is, and how wonderful the inheritance of those who remain faithful to him.

Stuff Someone Else Said

"A false teacher isn't revealed just by the error he preaches, but also by the truth he leaves out."

James MacDonald, sermonizing on Revelation 2:2

Comfortable Darkness

About a year ago the wife and I took a tour of Israel. One of the things that really hit us hard was the spiritual lostness we encountered throughout the country. Whether it was the Jews still openly putting their faith in symbols or people worshiping relics, even when filled with awe and wonder at many sites there was often revulsion at the gross idolatry.

But the worst feelings came when we ventured into muslim-controlled areas of Jerusalem. Both of us had spent time in muslim countries before, and we felt the same sense of extreme darkness in Israel as we had previously. There's just something about being immersed such utter lostness, such open, unapologetic rebellion against God, it's an oppressive type of spiritual warfare you can feel constantly pressing on you. It's a really tough thing to describe, just a non-stop loathing of God and his people that continually wears on you, as if it's physically assaulting you. The constant heartbreak for those utterly trapped in evil, compassion mixed with despair, continually praying for many that surround you and are totally lost in darkness, it's downright exhausting.

One night at dinner we were discussing this with a few people, about how thoroughly our hearts were breaking for the muslims who were so thoroughly lost. One of the women made a really insightful observation that honestly stung quite a bit. I wish I could remember the exact quote, but it was roughly "the darkness we're not used to always seems darker than the darkness we're familiar with". Ouch.

Here's the thing. Being surrounded by muslims, seeing them openly mock Jesus, knowing their passionate hatred for God's truth, it was easy to be moved to compassion and anger and prayer. They are so utterly, obviously lost in sin. But how many people am I surrounded by every day who are every bit as lost? Why is it that being surrounded by muslims moves me to tears for their rebellious plight, yet I can see hundreds of people every day who are just as desperately rebellious and feel next to nothing? Is it just because their particular rebellions - materialism, humanism, practical atheism, whatever - are somehow less serious? Are their sins somehow less offensive to God, more acceptable and less severe?

Or is it just that I'm more comfortable with this type of sin? Is it that I've been immersed in this type of rebellion against God for my whole life, so it just seems natural and I barely take notice of it? I can very quickly get worked up about muslims despising Christ's work, but my neighbors who live as if there's no God, somehow that doesn't seem to bother me. The darkness around me every day is every bit as dark, but apparently it's just something I've gotten used to. I may even regard it as a more respectable type of sin, a way of hating God that somehow doesn't offend me or break my heart.

I say this to my own shame. What I want now is for my spirit to be provoked within me by all manner of sin, and not just by strange idols. To be so consumed by a passion for God that all rebellion, all sin, is clearly seen for what it is. To have my heart break for lost neighbors and friends and family. To see beyond the cultural issues that make muslim and hindu and buddhist and animist sin so obvious, yet make Western-style humanistic atheistic materialism seem not so bad. To see and proclaim the gospel as the solution to all this sin, no matter what form the idolatry takes. My neighbors are no less lost than the most virulent Christian-hating persecutor, and both need Jesus and the truth of the gospel more than anything. May I see that every day and live in light of that truth.

Esau: Don't Be Like Him

Sometimes a few sentences tell you all you need to know about a man. Consider this little snippet about Esau from Genesis 25:

Once when Jacob was cooking stew, Esau came in from the field, and he was exhausted. And Esau said to Jacob, "Let me eat some of that red stew, for I am exhausted!" (Therefore his name was called Edom.) Jacob said, "Sell me your birthright now." Esau said, "I am about to die; of what use is a birthright to me?" Jacob said, "Swear to me now." So he swore to him and sold his birthright to Jacob. Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew, and he ate and drank and rose and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright.

Esau and Jacob were twin sons of Isaac, an extremely wealthy man who had inherited the Abrahamic covenant of God's blessing. As the older son, Esau was entitled to the birthright - that is, when Isaac died, Esau would get a double share of the inheritance. For some families the birthright didn't amount to much, but when your father is possibly the richest in the world, a double share translates to a ton of wealth.

But one day Esau had been out hunting, and when he got back to the camp he was hungry. His deceitful brother Jacob offered an utterly ridiculous trade - some lentil stew for the birthright. Can you imagine, say, two of Warren Buffet's kids making a trade like this? "Sure, I'll buy that bowl of chili for thirty billion dollars. I'd be stupid not to!" It's not even like Jacob was out in the middle of nowhere - he hung around the camp and was cooking. Which means Esau could have easily just called one of their many servants and had food brought to him (and probably something better than lentil stew). Honestly, it's tough to imagine that Jacob wasn't kidding when he made the offer, and tough to believe he kept a straight face while doing so. How absurd can you get, asking for immeasurable riches for a measly bowl of stew?

Esau traded in a heartbeat.

No wonder the text says he "despised his birthright." There's simply no other way to explain such a foolish trade. No rational defense for Esau's idiocy can possibly be offered - even the slightest bit of thought reveals this trade to be beyond lunacy. We read this and wonder how Esau could possibly do something so stupid.

And yet, how many of us have done infinitely worse?

Consider this warning from Hebrews 12. Esau's reprehensible trade is an illustration of the sheer lunacy of making an even worse trade:

See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no "root of bitterness" springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled; that no one is sexually immoral or unholy like Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal. For you know that afterward, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no chance to repent, though he sought it with tears.

The book of Hebrews is a massive warning to Jewish believers who, largely because of persecution, were considering abandoning the faith and returning to the old system. The author systematically shows the superiority of Jesus to the old system, proves that since Jesus came the old system is obsolete, and warns about the exclusivity of Jesus - if you abandon him, there is no hope to be found anywhere else. Writing to those who have lost family, property, power, freedom, and reputation, he encourages them to continue in faith, that is, to be so assured of their glorious future in Christ that current troubles pale in comparison, to count the riches of Christ as more valuable than all the pleasures of sin, and to persevere whatever the cost. Continue in Jesus because he's worth it, and to turn back is to abandon all hope.

With that backdrop, he introduces Esau as a model of what not to do. Esau looked at all the incredible wealth that could one day be his. He looked at a bowl of soup that would satisfy his hunger for a few hours. And he decided he would rather have the soup. Utter foolishness - and a perfect picture of what we do when we abandon Jesus.

We could have eternal glory and riches in heaven far beyond our imagination. Yet we decide we would rather enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time. We would trade eternal glory for a few months of illicit sex. We would abandon heaven for a little money. We would deny God so we can enjoy a better reputation among peers or family or the intelligentsia. We denounce our faith to avoid persecution and live more comfortably. In all this, we are making a trade far worse than Esau's lunacy.

What is your bowl of stew? What is so precious to you that you would gladly abandon eternal joy and embrace eternal wrath? What in this world could possibly be so great that you would deny Jesus to have it?

Discernment and Yardwork

One of the most sorely lacking disciplines in American evangelicalism today is the discipline of discernment, simply knowing the difference between right and wrong. The proliferation of prominent false teachers and faulty gospels (prosperity gospel, oneness pentacostalism, openness, etc) speak to the general disinterest among professing Christians towards sound Biblical teaching. In fact, one of the fastest ways to find yourself on an island is to question a popular teaching or teacher by comparing their ideas to scripture.

It's not a fun thing to do my any means, but it's completely necessary if you care about your own spiritual development or your church's health. In fact, one of the strongest warning passages in the Bible harshly rebukes those who do not "have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil" as immature unrighteous infants. So God takes the practice of discernment very seriously, and it's worth taking some time to look at here.

But first, some musings on my life as a homeowner.

After we got married two years and a couple days ago, Tricia made the move out to Chicago with me. We stayed in my tiny one-bedroom apartment a few feet from the train tracks for a couple months, then took the plunge and bought our first house. This of course introduced me to a whole new world of responsibility - maintenance, especially the yard.

We had looked at this house several times before buying it, and it seemed that some landscaping work had been done by the previous owners. But because we were looking in late fall and early winter in Chicago, we never actually saw the yard before buying it. Every time we looked, it was covered in snow. Even the day we moved in, there was a major blizzard. It wasn't until around March that all the snow finally melted while we were there (it may have gone away a few weekends while we were out of town, and promptly snowed again), whereupon we discovered additional landscaping in the back yard. Nice.

Here's the thing though. That spring, when plants started growing in the landscaped area, we had no idea what was what. We had never seen what plants were supposed to be in there, so we didn't recognize which sprouts were good and which were weeds. So that first year while we were learning to recognize what belonged and what was an invader, we had to let things grow a bit longer before trying to pull the weeds. This year, now that we know the good plants and some of the weeds look awfully familiar, we can get the evil ones rooted out much faster. And new types of weeds we didn't have last year - well, they're clearly not the good plants we want, so they're easy to spot and make go away.

That's not to say weeding is easy now. Far from it - it's one of the most persistently annoying things we have to do. Getting them all up takes effort, and it hurts, and some of them have nasty thorns, and there's a lot of other things we'd rather be spending our time on, but if we want our garden and flowers and stuff to be healthy and productive, we need to eliminate the weeds that choke the life out of them. It's hard work, but it must be done.

Oh, and the weeds keep growing back. This is especially true if you just pluck what's above the surface and don't dig down to get the root. If you just deal with the visible surface, it'll keep growing back in the same place over and over and over and over and over and over... No, if you really want to get rid of it, you need to dig out the root. Find the place where it draws its strength, and attack it with a vengeance. That'll stop it from growing back there immediately, and just as importantly keep it from reproducing and spreading.

But no matter how well you clear your yard, weeds will come back. All it takes is one kid in the neighborhood blowing dandelion seeds in the air, and you'll find them. You can have a pristine yard with nothing but full healthy grass, but if you let your guard down at all, you'll have nasty weeds before you know it. Diligence is key. It's not enough to root out the weeds once and be done with it. It's something you have to continuously watch for, and every time it looks like they're coming back, you need to put a stop to it before it takes root and reproduces. Know what your lawn and garden are supposed to look like, and aggressively attack anything that doesn't belong.

Oh yeah, discernment? See above.