Toby J. Sumpter's Blog, page 59

A Sermon for the Summer

Mk. 1:9-13

Prayer: Father, we give you thanks that you created the world and ordained seasons for our blessing and enjoyment. As we come into a new summer, we want to use this time well, for your glory, for the blessing of our families and neighbors, and for the building of your kingdom. So we ask for Your Spirit to apply this word to our lives, in Jesus’ name, Amen.  

Introduction

As the school year comes in for a landing, and we launch into another summer, it’s worth giving thought to what you might need to be on the lookout for. Like most good things, it takes thought and preparation to use and enjoy summertime well. Summer is worth preparing for.

The Text: It came to pass in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And immediately, coming up from the water, He saw the heavens parting and the Spirit descending upon Him like a dove.Then a voice came from heaven, “You are My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” Immediately the Spirit drove Him into the wilderness. And He was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan, and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered to Him (Mk. 1:9-13).

Summary: Here at the beginning of His ministry, Jesus was baptized, filled with the Spirit, and received a benediction from His Father (1:9, 11). The same Spirit that anointed Him and sealed the Father’s blessing to Him (1:10) immediately drove Him into the wilderness, where He faced temptations from Satan, as well as, perhaps various challenges with wild beasts (1:12-13). And when He was finished, the angels ministered to Him (1:13). It seems clear that the baptism of Jesus was His preparation for the temptation, but this whole period was His preparation for His entire life and ministry, and so we may take a few lessons from it on the theme of preparing.

Preparing for What’s Next

One of the principles of parenting is preparing your children for what they will face next. When your children are very young, you need to practice saying ‘thank you’ and sitting still for church before you face those situations. First you teach, then you require. Knowing your children well means talking to them about what their temptations are likely to be when they arrive at the next thing. So, what are the temptations likely to be this summer, for you and for your children? What temptations will you face on family vacation? What are the temptations of more free-time? What will you face at a family reunion, on a baseball team, at summer camp, at a summer job, at college next Fall, or with the kids home all day long with you? This is one of the ways we love one another: by thinking about and preparing for what is coming next.

In Deuteronomy, God prepared His people for the temptations of the Promised Land: “When you have eaten and are full, then you shall bless the LORD your God for the good land which He has given you. Beware that you do not forget the LORD your God by not keeping His commandments (Deut. 8:10-11, cf. Dt. 6:12). In our text, we also see how God the Father prepares His Son for a great trial: by blessing Him and speaking to Him and about Him with great love and kindness (Mk. 1:11). There’s an important place for the specific warnings and instructions, but here we see that one of the most important preparations is the preparation of love and kindness: “You are my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” This word of the Father becomes the central point of the temptation: “If you are really the Son of God…” Clinging to this word of the Father allowed Jesus to cling to the entirety of God’s word. And we should not miss the fact that this initial trial was also itself preparation for the much greater trial to come (Mt. 26:63, 27:40, 43).

And so this is the foundation of all Christian preparation: complete trust and rest in the blessing and kindness of God. How did Jesus withstand all the temptations and accusations? By standing firm in His Father’s word of blessing: You are my Son, in whom I am well pleased.

Practicing Kindness

“Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: and be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you” (Eph. 4:31-32). Bickering, arguing, unkind teasing, biting sarcasm can creep into homes sometimes imperceptibly. And frequently this means that parents are themselves guilty. Many times adults have enough self-awareness to keep their unkindness tethered to a wobbly pole we might call “good manners.” This doesn’t mean you aren’t being unkind, you’ve just gotten good at being unkind in and around and beside “good manners.” But kids are frequently not quite as socially adept, and therefore, their unkindness is more exposed and raw. And so it can seem very surprising and disconcerting when a forest fire breaks out in the back seat of the suburban. When your kids bicker regularly, you should think at least two things: first, they probably got it from you, and second, you may be doing it without knowing it. So do some checking – and remember, this is what Jesus taught us to do: remove the log out of your own eye first so that you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye, and remember, your children are your brothers and sisters.

So, how do you talk to or about your children? How do you talk to your spouse or friends about the kids? How do you talk about them, even when they aren’t right there listening to you? How do you talk to or about your spouse, your in-laws, your neighbors, co-workers, or boss? Frequently forest fires break out in the back seat of the suburban because there are sparks flying out of the front seat. How does the Father speak to and about His Son? And you might object that the Father had a perfect Son, and you’d speak that way all the time if you had a perfect family too, but the Bible is clear that we are called to imitate our perfect Father anyway: “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is heaven is perfect” (Mt. 5:48). There is a time to ask for counsel about a difficulty, but even that request should be made in imitation of the Father, full of kindness and delight. You prepare well for anything when you practice kindness. And among sinners, forgiveness is a central part of this kindness. But without a baseline of deep kindness, forgiveness can seem empty. Maintaining fellowship presupposes real joyful fellowship, kindness, and love. Otherwise, what are you restoring?

A Grab Bag of Other Temptations

Summertime can be an opportunity for the devil to tempt you sexually. This may be related to people thinking that it’s OK not to wear most of their clothes if they’re within 100 yards of a body of water, but if you know it’s coming, prepare yourself now. And this also goes for those who may be tempted to undress that way because, well, everyone else is doing it. The Bible is clear that lust begins in the heart, and is adultery in the heart, and this goes for those who are tempted to look and for those who are tempted to try to get the looks (Mt. 5:27-30). But this warning can also apply to courtships, engagements, unwise friendships, Netflix, and cell phones. And remember that Jesus said to cut off the hands and eyes that cause us to sin, which if you think about it, would be painful and awkward, and so it may mean ditching a friendship, finding a different job, or getting a dumb phone.

Related to lust is the sin of envy. Prepare your hearts not to envy the summer break of someone else. Some of you will go on vacations to the Bahamas and some of you will work 60 hours a week to barely pay your bills. Some of you will get new houses or cars or girlfriends, and some of you will still be in the beater you inherited from gramps and as single as the pope at the end of summer. Determine now that you will praise God for it all, and that you will rejoice with those who rejoice. Finally, be prepared for temptations to be lazy, either fighting sin or indulging your appetites. Drunkenness is a sin, even if nobody around you can tell that you’re drunk, and so is getting “drunk” on pot or pain killers (Eph. 5:18, 1 Thess. 5:7). And throughout the Bible drunkenness is not only a sin that could lead to trouble and judgment, drunkenness itself is the judgement of God. So determine to be sober-minded, alert, and watchful this summer.

Conclusion: Crush Your Summer

But the point of all of this is not merely to stay out of trouble. The point is actually that you put some thought into how you will use your summer to maximize the glory you can bring to God. As John Piper might put it, don’t waste your summer. You not only want to plan to avoid sin; you also want to plan to succeed, plan to accomplish, plan to draw closer to God, closer to your people, and grow in holiness. When September comes around, you want to look back and see progress in the fruit of the Spirit.

And one of the best ways you can ensure that you grow is to make sure you plan to eat. Remember, man doesn’t live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. So plan to binge on the Bible this summer. Don’t go light on Scripture. Be extreme in the Word. Guzzle it. Feast on it. Not because you haveto but because you getto. Because His Word is good. Because when we come hungry His Word is always ultimately kindness and blessing. 

All temptation is ultimately a test of whether you will trust the blessing of the Father or not. Every temptation, going all the way back to the garden of Eden, is a question of whether God really said… And specifically, is God really good? 

In a sinful world, where we have all sinned, we are even more tempted to doubt God’s goodness because we have sinned. Sure, Jesus could trust God’s word of blessing because Jesus was perfect. I’m not perfect. You’re not perfect. We are not perfect. We don’t deserve God’s blessing now.

Right, and this is why we are Christians. The perfect Son went to the cross for all our sin. He suffered for our sins, so that we might stand before the Father and hear His benediction pronounced over us. Jesus obeyed perfectly and died for ours sins, so that the blessing of the Father might be ours. And so hear this from the Father who knows all that you have every thought, said, or done: you are my beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased. Do not look to the side, do not look down. Do not look at your failures. Look to Christ who is our righteousness, who is our goodness, and hear God’s blessing over you. 

This is the kindness of God, and may this kindness fill your hearts, your mouths, your homes, your cars, your vacations, your work this summer. And whenever you hit a bump or fall down, remember this: the kindness of God is still there waiting for you, welcoming you back. 

Closing Prayer: Our Father, we are such frail and forgetful people, but you have called us to yourself. You have washed us and clothed us and blessed us, and so we want to walk in the reality of that grace. So pour out your Spirit upon us, so that we might fight sin and temptation faithfully this summer, that our hearts and homes might be more full of the fruit of the Spirit come September by your grace. And we ask all of this in the name of Jesus, who taught us to pray, singing…

Photo by Ethan Robertson on Unsplash

What I Do On Tuesdays (Sometimes)

So I had some fun yesterday, and in case you missed it or in case you saw it but didn’t have the time or energy to peer into the party, don’t worry, I’m here to help you with a little synopsis of the doings. Consider this a FAQ page for Toby’s skirmish with the abortion abolitionists last Tuesday.

All of the fun started when I posted the following:

“The pro-life movement needs to be scrappy, joyful, & persistent. We should run all of the plays from 20 week bans & born-alive protections to heartbeat bills & complete abolition bills. Let’s run all the plays, not satisfied until human life is protected from conception.”

For some of you, this might sound extreme (complete abolition bills? — is that wise?), and for some of you this sounds like me going wobbly (20 week bans? — isn’t that sanctioning the murder of unborn babies through 19 weeks?). And a bunch of you thought the whole thing was just wonderful and grand and cheered. But interestingly, as the comments began coming in, the pushback was entirely from those who want to run only one play: complete abolition bills and nothing else.

Now, let me preface the following with a sincere word of thanks to my interlocutors yesterday on FB. I’ve seen Facebook comments sections that turn into real cesspools of vitriol, and there was really nothing like that in my comments yesterday. Perhaps a comment or two veered towards being a bit snippy, but for Facebook standards, the whole thing was a jolly good time (at least for me!). So I want to be clear that while I’m being playful and a bit jocular here and throughout, I’m really grateful for the whole exchange and while abolitionists often seem to have only one volume setting (“screech”), there wasn’t any of that in the comments that I noticed yesterday. The following is an amalgamation of a number of the questions I tried to address, but I do not intend to poke anyone in particular, just having fun with the whole thing.

FAQs on Toby’s Skirmish with the Abolitionists

Why in the world would you post something like that on Facebook? It was Tuesday.

No, seriously, why would you do that to yourself? Seriously, it was Tuesday and I had a sermon to write, but why not?

Ok, so really, why did you post that on Facebook when you knew good and well you were likely kicking an abolitionist hornet’s nest? Well, I believe firmly that good fences make good neighbors. I’m happy to have friends who differ with me, and I’m happy to work alongside people who disagree with me, but I think clarity about where we stand is helpful as we work together to end abortion in our land. And it was Tuesday.

So don’t you understand that 20 week bans and heartbeat bills are just “regulating” immorality? Since when is it OK for Christians to just regulate evil instead of wholesale banning it? Well, actually Moses regulated divorce because of the hardness of people’s hearts and God hates divorce, and while all idolatry was/is sinful, the Bible records that some kings were faithful to God even though they didn’t remove the high places (1 Kgs. 15:14, 2 Kgs. 12:2-3, 14:3-4, etc.). But I also reject the term “regulating” when the goal is systematic dismantling. If I show up every year to steal another piece off an idolatrous shrine, I deny that I’m “regulating” idolatry. I prefer to call it a slow motion nuke.

So if you support a 20 week ban, you’re saying that it’s OK to kill babies at 19 weeks, right? No.

But seriously, can’t you see that if you support a heartbeat bill with exceptions for rape and incest, you’re saying it’s OK to kill babies before they have a detectable heartbeat or if they were conceived by rape or incest? No, I don’t see that at all. Murder is always wrong. Period. Full stop. And exceptions for rape and incest are illogical and immoral. So if we pass the bill with exceptions this time around, next year we push to get the exceptions repealed.

So how can you defend legislation that merely regulates or limits the murder of babies? Because every rock I can throw at the idol of abortion is worth throwing. Every limit I can place on the murder of the unborn is a step toward the complete end of abortion.

So you’re against bills that would completely abolish abortion? No, I fully support them.

But you don’t think we should completely abolish abortion? No, I do think we should completely abolish abortion.

But you really don’t like people who want to completely abolish abortion? No. I have good friends who are abolitionists. I just think that some in the abolitionist camp need to ease up on their rhetoric and cultivate more gratitude for brothers who fight differently than they do. But I’m generally appreciative of abolitionist energy brought to the fight.

But how can you support abolition bills and heartbeat bills at the same time? Watch me. I’m doing it right now.

Yes, but you’re not doing it very well. Thanks. 

But seriously, it’s not possible to support both. Um, yes it is.

No, you can’t. Yes, you can!

But if you offer the same politicians the option of a 20 week ban and complete abolition, they will take the 20 week ban every time. Great, and then next week we offer them a 15 week ban and abolition. And the week after that, we offer them a heartbeat bill and total abolition, and so on, until we get total abolition. The liberals have been playing this smashmouth incrementalist game for decades. There’s no reason we can’t play it.

How can you consider it any kind of victory to pass a 20 week ban? Well, it depends which state was considering it. I would oppose such a thing in Alabama right now, since they just passed their virtual abortion ban. But if we could get a 20 week ban to the floor of the NY legislature for debate, I would consider that a big step forward. And part of the step forward would be the opportunity to explain how abortions are performed on 20 week old babies, show them ultrasounds, show them thousands of 20 week old babies that have survived premature delivery, and of course, most importantly preach the gospel.

Don’t heartbeat bills wrongly communicate that life only begins at the detection of a heartbeat? Nope. God is the author of life. Life begins at conception. Heartbeat bills are victories because it forces everyone in the country to talk about the fact that 6 week old babies have heartbeats. Keep saying it CNN! Thank you, Slate! 

But aren’t you still allowing some people to think that life only begins when you can hear a heartbeat? No, because the very next question is: why do 6 week old babies have heartbeats? When do they become human beings? And what does God say? And what does science also confirm?

But you know that heartbeat bills are virtually worthless because the abortion doctors have to self-report and there are no sanctions for abortionists who don’t comply. Yeah, I hear you, but I still think having everyone talk about 6 week old babies having heartbeats is a huge step forward — clump of cells, what? But it’s also a legislative start. Next move would be to test it. Urge godly magistrates to enforce it. Maybe it becomes clear that it needs more teeth. Meanwhile, somebody else is running the full ban, right on its heels. The goal is to keep the opposition completely off balance, confused, and in disarray.

Don’t you know that the pro-life movement is full of compromisers and cowards? No, I don’t know that. I suspect that there is a bottleneck in certain places, with a number of career pro-life management types that are trying to control the movement according to their lights, with millions of Christians below doing honest, sacrificial work trying to end abortion. We need to figure out how to distinguish obstructionists from good hearted pro-lifers who may sometimes be misguided. Friendly fire really can be a problem here. Abolitionists also need to learn how to communicate deep gratitude for the pro-life movement of the last 40 years — even if they want to make strategic course corrections. The line that says they’ve only given us 60 million dead babies is a slander and lie. Many of those who have stood on the front lines of pro-life ministry over the last 40 years are old enough to be your parents and grandparents. And the fifth commandment applies here. I have no doubt that when the smoke clears and the dust settles on the atrocity of American abortion, millions of faithful pro-life saints will be rewarded by Jesus for their labors (and a few will be sent the other way for their cowardice and complicity). But I believe it will be shown that the faithful labors of many simple saints carved out the space and held a hard fought line that made it possible for future waves of believers to step up and finish the job they began. We are the Pro-Life Generation. The tide is turning.

But aren’t pro-life politicians frequently the people holding up good abolition legislation? Yes, and that should be addressed as it arises. And so-called pro-life politicians need to be asked more regularly “What will you do to help us end abortion in our state/nation?” But I also think we need to recognize the good work of pro-life politicians in Alabama, Georgia, etc.

Isn’t it a problem that so many of these current bills are solely aimed at trying to get Roe v. Wade repealed? Yes, it is a problem, but not the sort of problem that we should be terribly bothered by. And this is because we underestimate the power of momentum. The first few states to stand up might say they are only looking for a SCOTUS ruling, but what happens when 25 or 35 states have done the same? I pray the further this goes along, the more bold we will become. And I’ve said elsewhere, what we ought to be praying for is the courage for our leaders to stand up to SCOTUS and the feds regardless of their rulings on abortion. The original ruling was illegal and immoral and unjust, and such rulings are not morally or judicially binding. Christians need to embrace a holy non-compliance on any decree from Caesar that we must abort babies, recognize homosexual unions are “marriages,” or consider a man wearing a dress a “woman.” God, give us courage.

Gideon had too many men and David only needed one smooth stone, isn’t running the abolition play the best and cleanest play, why complicate things by allowing for other bills? Two things here: first, this is how God usually works. God loves cliffhangers, stories that seem unlikely and impossible, because God loves resurrection and God loves to magnify His grace and wisdom. So I think we should run all the plays, driving hard and cheerfully toward the complete banning of abortion in our land because we should be open to God working through all of these plays to keep the opposition guessing, off-balance, and flustered. It’s like air war, ground war, psychological war, chemical war, and various flanking maneuvers. This is just basic military tactics. But second, we should not lose sight of the fact that abortion is only one small part of the giant we’re up against. The giant we are fighting is all of the systems of unbelief in our world. Abortion is like this giant’s ugly big toe. We really only need one small, smooth stone, and that stone is the gospel of Jesus, His free grace for ruined sinners, His pardon for all the felons, His death for all our sins, including the sin of abortion. And that single, smooth stone will bring down the giant of unbelief because Jesus has purchased the whole world with His blood. And in the meantime, “running all the plays” means stomping on the giant’s big ugly toe in every way we know how.

So you were pretty disappointed with how the discussion went with all the angry abolitionists? Disappointed? Ha! Not a bit. I thought it went fabulous. I made my points, they made theirs, and I didn’t see anybody lose their temper. I still don’t agree with the abolition-is-the-only-way line, but I hope they know that I’d happily support their bills and join them in calling out obstructionists, but I hope they’ll ease up a bit on attacking the rank and file pro-lifer, even if they’re running a “regulation” play instead of an abolition play. I had a great day yesterday.

So are you planning to kick the abolitionist wasp nest again today? Nah, it’s Wednesday, bro. Maybe next Tuesday.

Photo by Alexander Kaufmann on Unsplash

Wine, Tobacco, and Pot

[Note: These are the notes for an assembly talk I gave at Logos School last week.]

Introduction

This talk can be broken into two parts: first, I simply want to outline what the Bible says about alcohol and wine. The second part extrapolates from those principles to outline what the Bible says about tobacco and marijuana. The reason for this is that the Bible says an awful lot about alcohol/wine and virtually nothing about tobacco and pot. As Bible-believing Christians we want to stick close to the text of Scripture.

The Gift of Wine

The Bible teaches that wine is a good and dangerous gift. Wine is like a firearm. It’s good and has an important and right use, but it can also cause great harm. Psalm 104 says that God made “wine that makes glad the heart of man, oil to make his face shine, and bread which strengthens man’s heart” (Ps. 104:15). Likewise, the blessing of God is described as wine: those who trust in the Lord, “your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will overflow with new wine” (Prov. 3:10). Lady Wisdom invites us, “Come, eat of my bread and drink of the wine I have mixed. Forsake foolishness and live…” (Prov. 9:5-6). Wine can be a symbol of wisdom. Wine can also be a symbol of salvation: In Ecclesiastes, Solomon says, “Go, eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a merry heart, for God has already accepted your works” (Eccl. 9:7). In Song of Songs, the bride says, “Your love is better than wine” (Song 1:2). “And in this mountain The LORD of hosts will make for all people A feast of choice pieces, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of well-refined wines on the lees… He will swallow up death forever, and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from all faces; the rebuke of His people He will take away from all the earth; for the LORD has spoken” (Isa. 25:6, 8). “Ho! Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat. Yes, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price” (Isa. 55:1). Finally, when Jesus came, He came drinking wine (Lk. 7:34). He famously turned water into wine at the wedding in Cana of Galilee (Jn. 2:9-10). And when Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper, He instructed His disciples to drink wine in celebration of his death, and we know the early Christians obeyed because some of them were getting drunk at the Lord’s Supper (1 Cor. 11:20ff).

The Danger of Wine

And this leads to the warnings that are found throughout Scripture: “Wine is a mocker, strong drink is a brawler, and whoever is led astray by it is not wise” (Prov. 20:1). “He who loves pleasure will be a poor man; he who loves wine and oil will not be rich” (Prov. 21:17). Wine can cause all sorts of trouble: “Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has contentions? Who has complaints? Who has wounds without cause? Who has redness of eyes? Those who linger long at the wine, those who go in search of mixed wine. Do not look on the wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup, when it swirls around smoothly; at the last it bites like a serpent, and stings like a viper. Your eyes will see strange things, and your heart will utter perverse things” (Prov. 23:29-33). Wine can pervert justice: “It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine, nor for princes intoxicating drink; lest they drink and forget the law, And pervert the justice of all the afflicted” (Prov. 31:4-5). Partying with wine can be a good way to try to ignore the Lord: “Woe to those who rise early in the morning, that they may follow intoxicating drink; who continue until night, till wine inflames them! The harp and the strings, the tambourine and flute, and wine are in their feasts; but they do not regard the work of the LORD, nor consider the operation of His hands” (Isa. 5:11-12, Isa. 28:7). The New Testament is clear: “Do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit” (Eph. 5:18). Elders and deacons are both required to not be given to wine (1 Tim. 3:3, 8, Tit. 1:7). Likewise, older women are not to be given to wine (Tit. 2:3). Wine can also be a picture of judgment in the Bible, and God causes the wicked to become drunk with His judgments (Ps. 75:8, Rev. 16:19). So we can conclude that drunkenness is not merely a sin that may bring God’s judgment and trouble, drunkenness is also itself a form of God’s judgment.  

The Gift of Medicine

The Bible also teaches wine has a medicinal use: “Give strong drink to him who is perishing, and wine to those who are bitter of heart. Let him drink and forget his poverty, and remember his misery no more” (Prov. 31:6-7). Paul encouraged Timothy to drink a little wine for his infirmities: “No longer drink only water, but use a little wine for your stomach’s sake and your frequent infirmities” (1 Tim. 5:23).The soldiers offered Jesus wine mixed with gall as a form of anesthesia before crucifying Him, but when Jesus tasted it, He refused it (Mt. 27:34, Mk. 15:23). 

Pot & Tobacco

So what does this mean for pot and tobacco? Well, the Bible doesn’t say anything about these plants directly. But we can reason from scripture to pretty good answers. The basic shape of the argument is that God created everything good in itself and that it is a good gift for something, but in a fallen world, everything can be misused and become harmful. So the question we ought to ask is: what did God create marijuana for? What did God create tobacco for? When we use the gifts of God the way He designed for them to be used, we can give thanks for them (1 Tim. 4:1-3). But if a purported use of God’s creation causes people to sin, we can rule that use out. So for example, Paul urges the Thessalonians to be watchful and sober, not like those who sleep and get drunk at night, but sober like those ready for war (1 Thess. 5:6-8). Marijuana has an almost immediate chemical reaction in a person’s body causing a mind-altering condition that cannot honestly be called “sober” or “clear headed.” Like some drunkards, many people report being able to function while “high,” but that isn’t the same thing as being watchful and alert. Likewise, the New Testament forbids the use of “pharmekeia,” sometimes translated “sorcery” in our modern Bibles (Gal. 5:20, cf. Rev. 9:21, 18:23), but the first two lexical meanings of the word are “administering drugs” and “poisoning.” In the ancient world, certain drugs were associated with consorting with demons and pagan worship practices, hence the word can be translated “sorcery.” Peter warns of the same: “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Pet. 5:8). Christians should have deep suspicions of using any sort of mind-altering drugs, since God requires us to be alert, watchful, and sober. But we should also be aware of the danger of harming our minds permanently as well making ourselves vulnerable to sin and attacks of the devil and demons. We can add to all of this the principle of wisdom justified by fruit, and while the moderate use of wine has been part of Christian civilization for millennia, no such culture has ever developed around pot. The fruit has been laziness, promiscuity, psychological side-effects, and (perhaps) even violence. So while it seems obvious that there are legitimate material uses for hemp, and there may be legitimate medicinal uses for marijuana, there is no godly recreational use of it. Since tobacco does not have mind-altering side-effects it does not fall afoul of the injunction against clear-thinking, but we should still be cautious since its cultural fruit has been mixed.

Conclusions

Sometimes Christians have argued that it is necessarily sinful to smoke tobacco or drink because the Christian’s body is a temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 6:18-20). In context, Paul was specifically talking about sexual immorality, not forbidding an occasional beer or cigar. On the other hand, the fact is that drunkenness and the thoughtless use and abuse of other created gifts are frequently associated with sexual immorality and idolatry. “You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot partake of the Lord’s table and of the table of demons. Or do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than He? All things are lawful for me, but not all things are helpful; all things are lawful for me, but not all things edify. Let no one seek his own, but each one the other’s well-being” (1 Cor. 10:21-24). 

There’s a huge difference between sharing a cigar with your father and grandfather and the men of your church family in honor of the birth of a child and smoking cigarettes behind the barn in rebellion. There’s a huge difference between having a champagne toast to God’s goodness at a wedding and chugging cheap beer at 2am at a frat party. Whose table are you eating at? Whose table are you communing at? Is it the Lord’s table or the table of demons? Are you sharing communion with God’s people or with people who are leading you away from God?

So as you consider these things, ask these questions: Can I honestly give thanks to God for this use of His creation? Does this use of God’s creation draw me closer to God and to His people or further away? Is this use of God’s creation making me more vigilant against temptation to sin or less vigilant — are you becoming more sure or less sure of your convictions? Am I encouraging other people toward Christ and obedience to Him or am I merely seeking my own pleasure?

And remember in all of this to honor your father and mother. You are not your own, you were bought with a price, therefore glorify God in your body. 

Photo by Nguyen Pham on Unsplash

On Reading Well

Just finished Karen Swallow Prior’s book On Reading Well and want to commend it to you. The book is organized by 12 chapters, each contemplating how a work of literature illustrates or illuminates a particular virtue. 

Drawing from a rich tapestry of historic theologians and thinkers, Prior’s book is a wonderful introduction to the field of virtue ethics – ethics considered as becoming a truly more virtuous person. 

My favorite chapter was on the virtue of love in The Death of Ivan Ilych by Leo Tolstoy. I haven’t read Death, but I will now. I really appreciated Prior’s work distinguishing and exploring related themes to love such as sympathy, compassion, tenderness, sentimentalism, empathy. For example, she quotes Flannery O’Connor, “When tenderness is detached from the source of tenderness, its logical outcome is terror.” And such tenderness “leads to the gas chamber,” since, Prior explains, tenderness will do anything to avoid pain. “Tenderness prefers death over suffering.” Whereas real charity/love “chooses to ‘suffer with,’ the literal meaning of compassion” (153). Surely we have numerous examples of this terrible tenderness in modern advocates of abortion and euthanasia.

A close second favorite chapter would probably be the chapter on patience and the book Persuasion by Jane Austin. Having just read Persuasion recently, I found Prior’s points repeatedly ringing true, and I appreciated some of the ways she pushed the themes into the corners and challenged me to think about the connections between patience, suffering, and passion.

Other highlights included her unapologetic appreciation for Pilgrim’s Progress (and the virtue of diligence) and it’s wonderfully puritan roots, despite the fact that Pilgrim’s Progress seems to be falling out of favor even among many of the theological heirs of the puritans. Perhaps this indicates our lack of true diligence!

I appreciated her notes on satire, as well a number of etymological connections I hadn’t previously noticed: for example the linguistic connection between kindness and kin, and humility and earthiness. There were occasional places where I sensed that I would have a different take on some current cultural issue or other, and a few places where I thought a really neat insight deserved to get a little more play in light of current cultural issues. But these were passing and very minor.

The overall work is just a delight to read. In a world that is often difficult to read well, we need more thoughtful, devotional, and encouraging works like this so that as we learn to read well, we might also learn to live well.

Photo by João Silas on Unsplash

John Dewey, Austin Storm, New St. Andrews College, and Me

So comments I made at the recent 2019 New St. Andrews College graduation have generated some reasonable questions and discussion.

One objection came from Austin Storm who is concerned that I’ve run afoul of Aaron Renn and I’m perhaps leading NSA down a path toward a John Dewey-esque utilitarian charm school.

In a related Facebook post, Austin also reassures his perplexed audience that many people have assured him that productive conversations are taking place about his concerns offline. I’m not sure who the “many” are that are having “productive conversations” offline, but I’ve only been party to one single conversation about my comments (other than the scattered and customary “thank yous” one gets on such occasions). That one conversation certainly was productive and concluded with what I believe was appreciation and understanding for my comments. Second, Austin allows that my comments were likely impromptu and merely represent an over-exuberance related to something I read recently. Truth be told, the comments were not impromptu. They were written down beforehand (see below), and careful thought was put into their composition. Austin is correct that the thoughts were inspired by George Gilder’s book Men and Marriage, which I gladly commend to your reading (again). 

For those who are interested, here are the comments I read to the graduating class of 2019 in full:

“It’s my honor to address the 2019 NSA graduates with just a few short comments: In reality when we say that we aim to graduate leaders who shape culture what we mean centrally is that we aim to graduate men and women who will marry and raise children in the joy of the Lord. You see, one of the things we have forgotten in this dark age is that God created human beings, male and female, in order to build and plant and shape the world. Your education at NSA aims most essentially to teach you how to be men and women, to teach you how to image your Maker as male and female, so that you will be equipped to be faithful husbands and wives, and fruitful fathers and mothers. The center of leading and shaping culture is through marriage and childrearing. Of course, this will necessarily require other vocations and callings, but those vocations and callings find their meaning and significance in a world of families and homes, in a world where love is made flesh in marriage and children. 

This was the mission God gave to Adam and Eve in the beginning, and it is this same mission renewed and fully equipped by Christ in the Great Commission. The gospel we preach is the good news that the curse has been broken so that we can be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it. Of course, even though the curse has been broken, the curse still remains until Christ returns. Sin and death, barrenness and betrayal still surround us in many forms, but the good news is that the curse is losing. And God does occasionally gift and call certain men and women to lifelong singleness for the Kingdom, but in the ordinary course of things, the foundational institution of civilization is the family. Economy, literally means “law of the house.” The church is built by households coming to faith and submitting to King Jesus. Nations are built by families banding together for safety and protection. To fully embrace your calling from God to be a man, to be a woman is to embrace a calling of culture shaping. To embrace your calling to be a husband, to be a wife is to build a house, and building a house is building culture. To embrace your calling to be a father, to be a mother is quite literally to make people. And people are the central building blocks of culture. You may write books, you may run companies, you may teach or paint or compose, but the central task of shaping culture is being men and women and building families who serve and worship the Triune God. May God bless you, Class of 2019. We are proud of you and look forward to seeing what God does through you.”

Now, I’m fully aware that I’m running through a minefield here. There are ditches on every side, ways of getting this wrong in several different directions, and so I wrote these words with those various pitfalls in mind. And as we work through Austin’s objections, I hope to point out a few of those hazards along the way.

But first and primarily, the concern that I’m drifting toward a John Dewey-esque utilitarianism: let me congratulate Austin on being the first to ever raise concerns that I’m heading that direction. To be accused of the sort of rhetorical sloppiness that might be confused with the ravings of the father of modern American education is amusing, to say the least.

But the simple answer to Austin’s query is that the only way I could be confused with Dewey is if someone was so confused that they thought of marriage and childrearing as a roughly utilitarian task. A few weeks ago, Chris Wiley was in town and at some point during his talks pointed out that millennials can be prevailed upon to make beer or coffee or artisan kitsch of all sorts, but the one thing they won’t make is babies. But people are the central, foundational artifact that the human race makes. And people are only made, under the blessing of God, within the covenant of marriage, by one man and one woman. 

While I certainly don’t go in for that “families are forever” schlock, and I fully believe what Jesus said, that we will be like the angels in heaven, neither marrying nor given in marriage, the one thing we know for certain about heaven is that it will be full of people. I happen to believe that some of our other artifacts will also be part of the resurrection. Paul alludes to different kinds of seed being raised in the resurrection, and he assures the Corinthians that their labor is not in vain (1 Cor. 15). But the one thing that people make that will last forever is people. People have souls that will never die. This is the central and foundational cultural artifact of the human race. To be interested in “culture” is to be interested in people. To be interested in leadership in “shaping culture” must include a robust and hearty pursuit of a making people. And people are made in families. Ergo, families are the center of culture-making and culture-shaping. 

The mission statement of New St. Andrews College is to “graduate leaders who shape culture living faithfully under the Lordship of Jesus Christ.” Written into our college’s by-laws is also a specific emphasis on masculine leadership, along with the corresponding feminine virtues in women. Short charges cannot say everything, and I decided to assume the centrality of the gospel, the foundation of salvation by faith alone in Christ alone, and the overarching goal and mission of glorifying and worshiping God — though I did intentionally speak of raising children in the “joy of the Lord” and closed with the goal to build families “who serve and worship the triune God.” But after salvation comes, after Jesus has removed the curse of sin, we are set free to be what? In the first instance, to be male and female. Before you do anything else, you are either a man or a woman, and you are saved in that body. So your first cultural act is to live out your biological sex. This is foundational, central to anything and everything else you will do in your life. NSA has a mission of graduating leaders who shape culture, first of all by living faithfully as men and women.

As I stated in my address, this ordinarily includes becoming husbands and wives, and bearing children. Here, I intentionally used the word “ordinarily” and I also included two lines noting exceptions: the curse of sin and the occasional, extraordinary calling from God to serve the kingdom in life-long singleness. But the ordinary calling is to marriage and childrearing. To Austin’s concern that Aaron Renn would give me a rhetorical red card for my “frustrating emphasis” inward toward the family and not enough outward toward a man’s mission, I say two things: first, part of the reason for my rhetoric was precisely because I was addressing a co-ed audience. Austin complains that my comments had an added “weirdness” due to my co-ed audience, but I think what he meant to say was that my comments had an added brilliance because they were carefully crafted for my co-ed audience. But second, to the claim that my comments in any way devalued vocation outside the home, I specifically noted that vocation was “necessary” but that vocations find their “meaning and significance in a world of families and homes.” Please note carefully that I did not say that a man’s work has meaning because he himself is married. I worded this section carefully. I said that work has meaning “in a world of families and homes, where love is made flesh in marriage and children.” We’re talking about shaping culture, building culture broadly speaking. 

If it’s helpful, consider the fact that a man is not qualified to be an elder or deacon unless he has ruled his own house well. For how will a man govern the church of God if he has not governed his own house well (1 Tim. 3, Tit. 1)? So, what is the foundational, central cultural leadership upon which other spheres of cultural leadership are built? In the ordinary course of things, family. But this is the exact opposite of utilitarianism, and it is the polar opposite of John Dewey’s Statist utilitarianism. For some reason Austin didn’t include the last part of that quote just above, “where love is made flesh in marriage and children.” How do you do that? How does a man love a woman? How does a woman bear a child? How is love made flesh? With Solomon, we say, these things are too wonderful for me. You can’t do the math. You can’t diagram that. 

And so this is why I would say to Austin or anyone with his objections, that this reduces the value of a liberal arts education: Ha. It only reduces the value of a liberal arts education if you have already reduced the value of masculinity, femininity, marriage, and childrearing. It would only seem to reduce the value of a liberal arts education if you thought that charm school would be sufficient preparation for marriage and childrearing. It’s true that some evangelical colleges, in their androgynous confusion, really do struggle to understand why they educate women and often give half-hearted and slightly apologetic (in both senses) complementarian answers. But New St. Andrews College does not struggle with that complex in the slightest. We aim to graduate men and women who understand that the highest calling in this world is to submit to the Lordship of Jesus over their biological sex, to submit to His Lordship by pursuing marriage honorably, and to submit to His Lordship by bearing and raising children in the joy of the Lord, as He blesses. Included in this high calling will necessarily be many other missions and vocations outside the home, but the cultivation of the home is the center from which those missions go out, the center those vocations serve and provide for. And in those homes that are flourishing, you might be surprised what they are talking about, what they are studying together, what they are building, what they are singing because a rigorous liberal arts education has trained them how to truly live.

So there’s nothing utilitarian about it. This is a high and terrible task. It’s glorious and wonderful and utterly impossible to manufacture. Anyone can get a job – that’s the utilitarian route. But not just anyone can be a man or a woman, a husband or wife, a father or a mother. 

But that is our mission to the glory of God by the grace of God. 

Sweet Home Alabama

Yesterday, Alabama Governor Kay Ivey signed into law what is considered by most to be the strictest ban on abortion in the United States. God bless Alabama. And God bless Governor Ivey.

I’ve written about this before, but it bears repeating given the recent spate of pro-life legislation victories. And that is that one of the idols that really needs defying in America is the idol of the Supreme Court. Remember an idol is not necessarily in itself wicked or evil. An idol is most often some part of creation that people are elevating to an improper status, trying to trick life out of some part of the creation rather than looking to the Creator for that life, liberty, and happiness.

In our case, for far too long, we have looked to the Supreme Court as though it is the final or ultimate arbiter of justice in our land. Constitutionally, this is not true. Our constitution clearly establishes three branches of government that check and balance one another. Not one of the branches is ultimate or final. The three branches have distinct jobs to do, but our system of government depends on the equal ultimacy of all three branches.

Related to this is the fact that the Supreme Court’s job is not to legislate. It is the job of the Legislative Branch to legislate. The Supreme Court may rule that a law is unconstitutional, but it may only do so based on what the constitution actually says. And if the Supreme Court rules against a law based on a hidden “penumbra” of meaning utterly unimagined by the authors of the original constitution, that ruling is not constitutional. Therefore, that ruling is — strictly speaking — illegal and therefore not binding and need not be obeyed by the States. The constitution is the law of the land, not the opinions of a majority of the Supreme Court justices.

Therefore, Roe v. Wade was constitutionally illegal and therefore non-binding on the states since there is no constitutional right to abortion to be found in the constitution (Sorry, Bernie and company!). Furthermore, the “rights” guaranteed by the constitution are clearly and explicitly listed in what is known as the Bill of Rights and subsequent amendments. Whatever rights are not explicitly guaranteed are left to the States to determine. The right to life is already clearly enshrined in the constitution and was arguably reaffirmed even for the unborn in the 14th Amendment. Nevertheless, even if an amendment was passed and ratified by the states explicitly granting the right of Americans to murder their babies, it would still be an illegitimate law since it flies in the face of natural law and the law of the Lord Jesus Christ.

And so as Georgia and Ohio and Alabama and other states pass their laws directly challenging Roe v. Wade (as they ought to), they also need to be gearing up to stay the course. And what I mean is that while it would be wonderful for the Supreme Court to reverse its Roe decision (and Obergefell, and others) and they must and they should, it is wrongheaded to think that the fate of these bills remains in the hands of the majority of SCOTUS. They may render their verdicts, but the constitution remains the law of the land. And this means that even if SCOTUS rules against a heart-beat bill, the states should shrug and say “but abortion is still illegal in our state.” The states should refuse to comply with illegal rulings from the Supreme Court.

To be clear: non-compliance is not the same thing as armed revolt. I am not arguing for the states to use armed resistance. I’m arguing for a studied, creative, joyful, and annoyingly unhelpful non-compliance. Pro-life states should just keep passing laws outlawing abortion and keep enforcing those laws cheerfully. If the Feds really want to force abortion clinics to remain open and protect the so-called “right” to abortion, make the feds do it. But the states should not help them in their murderous cause. If the feds want to force states to comply with SCOTUS rulings, let them. We need not resist their use of force. But we need not comply with their orders either.

When the Supreme Court orders that men must be allowed to marry men or that little babies must be torn limb from limb in their mothers’ wombs, they are pretending to be God. But they aren’t God. They have no right to declare such things. And therefore, the people, who’s job it is to hold their leaders in check, must refuse to submit to such illegal, monstrous, and profane opinions. And we must remember that they are mere opinions, the opinions of mere men. They are not constitutional law and they fly in the face of God’s word.

“But Peter and the other apostles answered and said: ‘We ought to obey God rather than men…'” (Acts 5:29).

May the leaders of Alabama and Georgia and Ohio and elsewhere gird up their loins to stand firm for truth and justice.

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The Wine of Mission Accomplished

The gospel accounts record that Jesus was offered wine just before His crucifixion, but He refused it. “They gave Him sour wine mingled with gall to drink. But when He had tasted it, He would not drink” (Matt. 27:34). “Then they gave Him wine mingled with myrrh to drink, but He did not take it” (Mk. 15:23). This was an offer of an anesthetic, an offer to relieve some of the pain of crucifixion. In both Matthew and Mark, the very next verse says that they crucified Him.

And if you think about it, this is a wonderful part of the gospel. Jesus not only endured betrayal, and false accusation. Not only did He endure the shame of an unjust verdict and penalty, as well as the mockery and derision of the crowds. He also endured the full brunt of the pain of crucifixion. He didn’t blunt the pain at all. Wouldn’t it have been enough for him to have died for our sins? Wouldn’t it have been enough for Him to be nailed to a cross and mocked and jeered? No, the full curse that needed to be faced, the full fury of God’s wrath for our sin needed to be faced fully alert, fully awake, fully conscious. 

But the gospel accounts also record that Jesus did eventually receive a little wine on the cross. They say, “He received some sour wine on a sponge, and then He cried out, ‘it is finished!’ And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit” (Jn. 19:29-30, cf. Mk. 15:36, Mt. 27:48-50). In other words, Jesus refused wine until He had finished His work. He refused wine until He had accomplished His mission. He refused wine until our penalty had been completely paid. 

And that is the cup that He offers us here. This is not wine for anesthesia. This is not wine for dulling the pain. Jesus refused that cup, and so it isn’t that cup He offers us here. No, this is the cup of victory, the cup of mission accomplished, the cup that proclaims, “it is finished.” What is finished? All your sins are washed away. What is finished? All your striving, trying to fix yourself, trying to earn God’s favor or prove yourself to other people. What is finished? All the darkness, death, pain, betrayal, injustice, evil.

This is the grace of the cross. Do you need it? Then come and welcome to Jesus Christ.

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Men & Marriage

I’ve just finished up George Gilder’s essential read “Men and Marriage,” originally published as “Sexual Suicide,” and now I feel like Pooh Bear with my head full of bees. You really need to read this book and then work your way through the rest of the Gilder corpus. If it helps you any, CrossPolitic just interviewed Gilder recently about a number of his books. You can watch/listen here.

Gilder’s argument is basically a natural law case for the inescapability and goodness of the dominance of men, insisting that a society will only have stability and make real progress when the natural instincts and proclivities of man are tamed or disciplined by monogamous marriage. This book is about the relationship between marriage and economics, marriage and education, marriage and jobs, marriage and war, and lots more. There are places where I would differ with particular formulations, but on the whole, Gilder’s work (first published in 1973, and revised and re-published in 1986) is stunningly prescient and wonderfully incisive. Get it. Read it. Apply it.

What follows is simply a scatter shot list of takeaway points from the book to whet your appetite. Some are simple quotations and some are my extrapolations and Gilder shouldn’t be blamed for them, even if he inspired them.

“Women control not the economy of the marketplace but the economy of eros: the life force in our society and our lives” (P. 18). This is a true glory and power and “complements” the glory and power of men.

“Marriages become more “open” — open not only for partners to get out, but also for the powerful to get in” (P. 58). The “powerful” include powerful suitors, making adultery more possible/likely. The powerful also include governments, or other authorities. I believe there is a direct line between the breakdown of marriage and the civil government’s overreach and intrusion into the home and family.

“Monogamy is egalitarianism in the realm of love. It is a model of rationing. It means — to put it crudely — one to a customer” (P. 58). Ergo, polygamy, prostitution, pornography, and the “hook up” culture invite and reward power disparities. Turning sex into a marketplace gives the powerful the advantage — powerful as defined by wealth and prestige, influence and physical prowess.

“The feminists turn to the courts for coercive solutions when voters refuse to give them what they want. But coercive solutions are necessarily enforced by male power and ultimately hostile to women’s interests in politics. A social system based on physical force, even if disguised by court orders, will eventually become a patriarchy far more oppressive than any democracy dominated by men” (P. 109).

“Politics is ultimately based on force, and the most effective wielders of force are groups of men.” Political power is always ultimately coercive. Whatever power we grant to civil government, we are saying that the government may ultimately resort to violent force to enforce it. And this means that political power is inherently masculine (109).

“Under capitalism any man or woman with a new idea, however unpopular or ‘unqualified’ — even living in a foreign country that trades with the capitalist homeland — can challenge the special interests and privileges, the inappropriate job definitions and pay relationships, and the entrenched cells of fat and inefficiency that afflict the economy” (150).

“Women in the home are not performing some optional role that can be more efficiently fulfilled by the welfare state. Women in the home are not “wasting” their human resources. The role of the mother is the paramount support of civilized human society. It is essential to the socialization of both men and of children. The maternal love and nurture of small children is an asset that can be replaced, if at all, only at vastly greater cost” (153).

“Indeed, the essential capitalist act — the very paradigm of giving or investing without a predetermined outcome — is the bearing, raising, and educating of children” (198). In other words, we might say that public/government schools were one of the first steps in undermining marriage and men. It was a first soft-socialist step in relieving a man of the duty of overseeing the education of his children.

“Marriage is the key to the connection of fathers to this central process in the creation of life and the production of wealth. The golden rule and perennial lesson of marriage is: ‘Give and you will be given unto.’ It is the obvious message of motherhood. But societies thrive only to the extent that this maternal wisdom becomes as well the faith of fathers” (199).

Go get this book. It will challenge you and encourage you.

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How the Worship of Equality Stifles Progress

Whenever social conditions are equal, public opinion presses with enormous weight upon the mind of each individual; it surrounds, directs, and oppresses him; and this arises from the very constitution of society much more than from its political laws. As men grow more alike, each man feels himself weaker in regard to all the rest; as he discerns nothing by which he is considerably raised above them or distinguished from them, he mistrusts himself as soon as they assail him. Not only does he mistrust his strength, but he even doubts of his right, and he is very near acknowledging that he is in the wrong, when the great number of his countrymen assert that he is so. The majority do not need to force him; they convince him. In whatever way the powers of a democratic community may be organized and balanced, then, it will always be extremely difficult to believe what the bulk of the people reject or to profess what they condemn.

-Alexis de Tocqueville, cited in The Conservative Mind, Russell Kirk

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The Politics of the Apostles’ Creed

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth, and He created the first man out of the dust of the ground and formed the first woman from that man’s side. And God brought them together, and they became husband and wife, one flesh, and were given the blessing of a mission to be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it. 

And all of this goes together. There is a God and He made all things, and therefore He knows all things. He knows what all things are for. And He designed the world to be fruitful by the labors of man with a woman at his side, in the covenant of marriage, bearing children. This is the foundation of civilization. This is the foundation of all economics, all politics, all culture. This is like gravity, logic, math – this is reality, and every attempt to ignore this, deny this, subvert this, or openly destroy this is war with the world as it really is and therefore war with the One who made it all. 

We confess every week that we believe in God the Father Almighty Maker of Heaven and Earth. We confess this in the face of those say that we have no Maker, that the worlds evolved by accident and chance. We confess that God is our Maker in the face of those who deny that people bear His image from conception to natural death. We confess that God is our Maker in the face of those who deny that men and women are created male and female. We confess that God is our Maker in the face of those who say that marriage is merely a custom and it can be anything that makes you happy. We confess that God is our Maker in the face of those who say that motherhood enslaves women, or that children are bad for the environment. We confess that God is our Maker in the face of those who claim to be able to reorganize the world, redistribute wealth, and bring world peace.

We confess that God is our Maker because Jesus Christ is His only Son, and that by His death, burial, resurrection, and ascension, the power of sin and death has been broken, and by the power of the Holy Spirit, we have the forgiveness sins, communion with God’s saints, the sure hope of resurrection, and eternal life now and forever.

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