Gregory Koukl's Blog, page 148

Greg Koukl - Does God "hate sin but love the sinner?"

Does God "hate sin but love the sinner?"

It’s Time for Youth Pastors to CH.A.T. With Their Students

I wrote earlier this week about my time in Indiana with pastor Don Helton from the Grove Youth Ministry of College Park Church. As we sat and talked in between presentations to his students, we shared our passion and our strategy for equipping young people to respond to the challenge they will ultimately face in the university setting. Don shared an approach that he and pastor Joe Wittmer take with their ministry to high school students. While they are committed to line-by-line expository teaching through the major books of the Bible, they supplement this teaching with something they call CH.A.T. Over the course of the year, Don and Joe take the time to teach their students about Church History, Apologetics and Theology. Their intentional approach to teaching these three important topics to young people struck me as unusual in our current youth ministry culture. Stop and think about it for minute; do you think your church is intentional in its approach with young people in these areas? I think we can take a lesson as a culture here and start to CH.A.T. with students on a regular basis:

Church History:
Don and Joe are teaching within a Reformed Tradition, so Church History from their perspective often focuses on the teaching of the Reformers. It’s critically important that our young people come to appreciate the rich and robust intellectual capacity of those who have preceded us. In an age of Internet immediacy, it’s easy for young people to get caught up in the now, and forget that many wise thinkers have already struggled with some of the issues they might see as unique to their own situation. Most of our young people are completely ignorant of our vital Christian family history. We wouldn’t want our kids to be ignorant of the history of their biological grandparents, why would we allow them to be ignorant of their theological grandparents?

Apologetics:
As a Christian Case Maker, I was happy to hear that Don and Joe valued the role of apologetics in their paradigm. We also talked about how the role of Church History (particularly concerning the ancient Church) can assist us in making a case for the early dating, accuracy and reliability of the gospels. I’ve written a lot about this in my book and used the history of Ignatius, Polycarp and Clement to help us make a case for gospel reliability. When I was a youth pastor, my  provided me with the opportunity to train my students in apologetics for months prior to the mission. Christian Case Making became a vital part of their DNA as high school students, and it equipped them to handle the challenge of the University setting.

Theology:
Only half of the attack on Christianity is coming from outside the Church. Sometimes the more formidable challenges are coming from within the Christian community: from pastors and teachers who are twisting God’s Word or simply failing to uphold the orthodox beliefs of Christianity. Young people who are not trained to consider and process theological claims are likely to fall for the latest teaching that comes down the road. Every youth pastorate should include an intentional effort to teach students theology. When I was a youth pastor, my  required me to train my students in areas of Christian orthodoxy because we were about to witness to Mormons who embraced significant heresies related to the nature of Jesus, God, Heaven and Salvation. You can’t see heresy coming unless you first understand what is true about orthodoxy.

When Don first told me about their intentional approach to “CH.A.T.ting” with their young people, I was encouraged and impressed. It’s a simple template that is time tested and effective, but it is challenging. Committing to this approach is going to require us, as youth pastors and speakers who are focused on young people, to find a way to contextualize our teaching so it engages the students we want to reach. Perhaps even more difficult, this approach will require us to raise the bar on our own knowledge and expertise. But the increased effort on our part will produce fruit in the lives of our students. It’s time for all of us to have a little CH.A.T. with our young people.

Radio Sunday

Greg is out of town teaching, so we're rebroadcasting some great interviews.  Tune in live to listen (no podcast).

Challenge Response: Biblical Law Is Absurd and Outdated

Here's my response to this week's challenge about the claim that Leviticus' prohibition of homosexual behavior is outdated and irrelevant.

 

Confusion about Grace

As I was looking into the LDS Church’s second anointing
(which I wrote about yesterday),
I came across a response
to the idea (written by a Mormon), which I think illustrates very well the
problem I described in my
post—that is, the difficulty we (Mormons and Christians) have in
communicating theological ideas to each other because we use the same terms so
differently.

As I explained yesterday, it seems that most LDS Church members
are not aware of the second Endowment (a temple ceremony where members who have
been deemed worthy are sealed to all the highest rewards of exaltation
in the afterlife—godhood, etc.—that they’ve been striving for), and this
anonymous blogger was expressing his skepticism about the validity of such a
ceremony, even if it exists. Listen to how he explains his objection:

I personally believe that a
person's calling and election is NOT made sure through a second endowment. I
believe this because we are saved by grace, and not works, lest any man should
boast because of works. Thus, Prophets cannot seal this great blessing through
temple work. This blessing only comes from Jesus Christ himself verbally
telling you that you are sealed up in promise….

I want you to know that only Jesus
Christ is the fountain of living waters. I believe these living waters
represent total forgiveness of all sins and the love of God.

This doesn’t sound so far off from something we might say,
right? Christ gives total forgiveness. We’re saved by grace, not works. Were we
to stop there and not dig deeper, we might leave thinking we’re in agreement. But
then he continues:

I do not think that [Jesus] would
count any ordinance sealing a person's calling and election made sure as
valid. A man is not saved by his works or his covenants, we are saved by
grace after we have faith enough to live. A person whose calling and election
is made sure still has debts to pay, but it is made sure because Christ knows
most assuredly by the person's faith that they will pay their debts most
absolutely. 

Achieving the same greatness as God
has is not instant, it is a process even after you are promised to become
greater than anything you can imagine.

Do you see the problem? How is “saved by grace, not works”
and “total forgiveness of sins” compatible with the idea that a person “still
has debts to pay” and “will pay his debts most absolutely”?

When this blogger says, “A man is not saved by his works or
his covenants,” he can’t mean it’s not possible for a ceremony in the
temple to be required, because the
covenants Mormons make in the first Endowment, along with the ceremony in which
they’re sealed
to their spouse for eternity, are all necessary
for exaltation to the highest level of heaven and godhood. And every day,
baptisms are performed for the dead so that they will be able to progress to
a higher level of heaven. Clearly, works are done, by people, in temples, that
count towards their becoming worthy of exaltation. So what can he mean?

Here’s what I suspect he’s thinking: It’s not a work of man
that awards our blessings. Rather,
only Christ can bestow blessings on
us—both the blessing of having the commandments and ordinances we need to follow and the blessings that we receive if we
follow them. The giving of the laws we need to follow is called grace, and the giving
of the reward is called grace, simply because they come from God and we
couldn’t have come up with them on our own. The fact that works must be done in
order for God to deem a person worthy of receiving a blessing does not
contradict their idea of grace. The works themselves didn’t create the blessings, only God creates
and gives the blessings. That is what
they call grace. This is how they reconcile the talk of grace in the Bible with
the list of works in the “plan
of salvation” they follow.

So conditional covenant-making (making promises and
fulfilling requirements) in the temple does not violate the idea of grace for
them. I don’t think it would have bothered this blogger at all if there were an
additional covenant ceremony God required in order for us to be found worthy of
the ultimate blessings. What he objects to is the idea that a ceremony
performed by men can seal (i.e.,
guarantee) the receipt of blessings when only God can announce the giving of
such a thing. As long as God gives
the blessing, as long as the reward itself is not something we could create on
our own, regardless of what works are required to be worthy of receiving it, their
idea of grace is preserved.

As for the term “faith,” when he says, “We are saved by
grace after we have faith enough to live,” he’s talking about faith that the
plan of salvation is the God-given way to live and progress to exaltation, not faith in Christ’s
sacrifice (except as far as it makes the plan of salvation possible). As he
explains, Christ knows we will continue to pay our debts through the plan of
salvation if we have sincere faith in His intention to reward the followers of this plan.

You can see the communication problem.

They Had Their Entire Lives Ahead of Them

This is why there's only one question that matters: What is the unborn?

 

(HT: Justin
Taylor)

A Second Endowment Ceremony?

I have just now learned something about Mormonism I never
heard about before today: the second Endowment ceremony (or second anointing)—the
“calling and election made sure.” It’s a temple ceremony offered only to
married couples who have proved their worthiness over time and been personally
invited by the prophet. The ceremony is not well known by members, and those
who are invited to receive it are not allowed to tell others of their change in
status, which I suppose explains why it isn’t much talked about.

I still need to do some more research into this, but here’s
what it appears to be about: While the blessings of the covenant Mormons enter
into through baptism and the first Endowment are conditional (that is,
exaltation to the highest level of heaven and advancement to godhood depend on
obedience to their commandments and ordinances), those who receive the ceremony
of second anointing are sealed unconditionally
to the highest blessings. The receipt of the blessings has been “made sure.”
Here are some words
from Bruce R. McConkie (who is now deceased, but formerly held the office of
Apostle in the LDS Church) describing the concept:

[5] What is meant by having
one's calling and election made sure?

To have one's calling and election
made sure is to be sealed up unto eternal life; it is to have the unconditional
guarantee of exaltation in the highest heaven of the celestial world; it is to
receive the assurance of godhood; it is, in effect, to have the day of judgment
advanced, so that an inheritance of all the glory and honor of the Father's
kingdom is assured prior to the day when the faithful actually enter into the
divine presence to sit with Christ in his throne, even as he is "set
down" with his "Father in his throne." (Rev 3:21.) (Doctrinal New Testament Commentary,
3:325-353)

A man who went through the ceremony described his
understanding of it this
way:

With the second endowment, the
conditions are removed as you have already proven your faithfulness and
entitlement to the blessings. Therefore, you are sealed up to the highest
degree of the celestial kingdom unconditionally. Any sins committed afterward
may render you liable to the buffetings in the flesh, but they will not prevent
you from attaining your exaltation. The only sin that is unpardonable is
denying the Holy Ghost (or in some passages the shedding of innocent blood).

While our goal as Christians is not to “[b]ecome
as God is, enjoying to the full every characteristic, perfection, and attribute
which he possesses and which dwell in him independently,” as McConkie describes
his expected blessings, I’m nevertheless excited to see that something exists
in Mormonism similar to the security and rest we experience as God’s adopted
children.

Here’s why I’m so happy to find this:
Communicating Christian theology to Mormons is very difficult. We use many of
the same words but ascribe different meanings to those words. The result is
that one is never quite sure if the gulf of understanding has been crossed. One
minute they seem to agree, and in the next, they’re saying the opposite.

But here is a point of contact! A
concept in Mormonism of certainty about receiving all eternal blessings! What
do they think of this idea? Do they long for it? How would they feel if they
received it? I can’t wait to ask them this! For this is what we Christians have
already, and we didn’t achieve it through our works, as Paul explains in
Ephesians 1-2:

In [Christ], you
also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your
salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of
promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the
redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory.

Having believed, we were sealed in
Him. God “has seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus”
(2:6) and “has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places
in Christ” (1:3)—both statements are past tense. Christ has permanently
obtained all blessings for us, and as God’s adopted children (1:4-5), we are
certain heirs of them.

And now I know the concept is out there,
in their own religion, for Mormons to ponder and be captivated by—a glorious,
but distant, guarantee of secured blessings, out of reach for most. Now we can
tell them the good news that Christ has already reached it for us.

Why The Pre-Jesus Mythologies Fail To Prove Jesus Is A Myth

I can still remember the first time I took high school students to Berkeley on a missions trip that put them in direct contact with prominent local atheists and atheist students groups on the campus of UC Berkeley. In one of our first lectures with an atheist presenter, the students were told that Jesus never lived and was nothing more than a re-creation of prior mythologies. The speaker used Mithras (the ancient Persian and Roman god) as his “case in point”. He listed a number of striking similarities between Mithras (whose worship began several centuries prior to the birth of Christ) and the person of Jesus. Luckily, I was familiar with the claim and the true nature of Mithras; I was able to help our students sort through the evidence. Movies like Zeitgeist have popularized the atheist objection that was offered by our atheist visitor in Berkeley, but if you take the following steps, you too can make sense of the evidence:

Take a Closer Look at the Mythology
Pre-Christian mythologies are far less similar to the story of Jesus Christ than critics claim. The gods of mythology were not born of a virgin as Jesus was born to Mary, they did not live a life that was similar to Jesus in detail, they did not hold the titles attributed to Jesus, and they were not resurrected in a manner that is remotely similar to the resurrection of Christ. Primitive mythologies simply fail to resemble the Biblical account of Jesus when they are examined closely.

Take a Closer Look at the Strategy
Critics typically "cherry pick" from the mythological attributes of a variety of pagan gods and exaggerate the supposed similarities to construct a profile that is even vaguely similar to Jesus. Skeptics search for singular similarities to the Christ of the Bible and then assemble these similarities from a variety of gods spanning the centuries and originating in geographically diverse regions. Given this strategy, nearly any person from history can be said to be a recreation of preceding characters, either fictitious or historical. There is no single prior mythology that is significantly similar to Jesus.

Take a Closer Look at the Expectations
Many alleged similarities are extremely general in nature and would be expected from anyone considering the existence of God. The primitive cultures that were interested in God's nature reasoned that He would have the ability to perform miracles, teach humans and form disciples. These are universal expectations that fail to invalidate the historicity of Jesus. As Paul recognized on Mars Hill (Acts 17:22-31), men thought deeply about the nature of God prior to His arrival as Jesus. Sometimes they imagined the details correctly, sometimes they didn't.

Take A Closer Look at the Influence
It is unreasonable to believe that Christian conspirators would create a story designed to convince Jewish believers that Jesus was God by inserting pagan mythological elements into the narrative. Judaism is a uniquely monotheistic religion, and the God of Judaism provides strict prohibitions against the worship of pagan gods. It is unreasonable to think that the New Testament authors would utilize pagan mythology in an attempt to influence adherents of Judaism.

The more you examine the nature of the gods who were worshiped before Jesus, the more you will notice their dissimilarities and the dishonesty of trying to compare them to the historical Jesus. Take the time to examine the evidence, you’ll be glad you did.

Challenge: Biblical Law Is Absurd and Outdated

The challenge this week is a popular two-minute clip from The West Wing that attempts to prove to Christians that saying homosexuality is wrong is an absurd, inconsistent, and even hypocritical use of biblical law. (There is a bit of language at the very end of the clip, in case you wish to avoid it.)

While you may not be confronted with this precise clip by friends, the approach taken by the character in this scene is still very common, so it's good to think through how you'll answer this challenge when it arises. Try out your response in the comments below, and then we'll hear Alan's response on Thursday.

 

Time Management Tips

Here are some tips I gave on the

Time Management System

"Plan
Your Work, Then Work Your Plan"

This system trades on three
important principles:

Procrastination
kills.  Just do it!

A
place for everything and everything in its place.
Don’t
put it down; put it away.

Goals:

1.  Keep desk clear

2.  Have a place
for everything, including all "to do's"

3.  Never lose
track of any obligation, task, document, or idea

4.  Have a plan
to follow to accomplish the tasks of each day

Need:

File
folders, 1-31 for each day of the month and Jan-Dec for each month of the year
"In"
tray and "Today" tray
Software:



1Password, or equivalent
Things, or equivalent (organizes “To Dos”)

When a paper comes in:

Throw
it away or...
Act
on it immediately, then throw it away or...
File
it immediately in the folder for the month it applies to or...
If
it's for the current month, file it in the folder for the day it applies to and
make an action note in Daytimer or “To Do” list for that day or...
Make
an action note in the day or month that requires action, then throw it away
or...
Put
it in a permanent file for future reference.

When a task or appointment comes in:

Act
on it immediately or...
Schedule
it immediately for day or the month it applies to or...
Put
it in a long term goals/task file for future reference.

Planning:

1.  At
the beginning of every month plan the month ahead. 



Make
a monthly "to-do" list of the tasks you want to complete that month,
including items from your "master list" of short term and long range
ideas/goals/tasks you want to pursued that month. 
Schedule
everything electronically (in scheduling calendar on your computer or
hand-held device) or in pencil (in your Daytimer)—your goals, deadlines,
meetings, appointments, etc. 
Also
check your monthly folder for that month and place any items in the particular
day they need action on for that month. 
For example, if in January I receive plane tickets for a flight on
February 20, I will put those tickets in the February folder and forget about
them until February 1st. 
Then on February 1st when I’m doing my monthly planning I’ll
take the tickets out and place them in the folder for the 20th.  On the 20th I just check the
folder for that day and there are my tickets.

2.  If you use a Daytimer, you must double
enter your appointments.  Every
appointment is scheduled in the month-at-a-glance section and also as a detail
on the daily page.

3.  At the beginning of each day (or
ideally the night before), plan your work with a list according to your daily
schedule.  Be sure to do the most
critical/important/time sensitive tasks first (“big rocks first”).  You might want to list tasks in one
column and phone calls in another, both in the order they should be done based
on their importance.

4.  Stick with the list!  Plan your work, then work your
plan.  It may be most efficient to
do all of your phoning at one time at the beginning to quickly eliminate those
items.  It's also easier to make
east coast calls in the morning.

5.  Whatever is not finished by the end of
the day is either dropped or advanced to an appropriate day on your calendar in
the future.  Don't just push it
into the next day.  If it's not
urgent, move it later in the month when your schedule has more room.

6.  When new ideas, tasks, or obligations
come in, enter them either in the master idea file, the monthly to-do file, or
the day in the present month or a future month they need to be addressed.

7.  When new appointments are made, enter
them immediately.

8.  Any information about appointments
(phone numbers, directions, etc.) should be detailed in the daily diary section
or the memo section or daily record.

9.  Keep an extra section as a diary of
notes during the day.  Write the
date, then jot any notes of importance (phone numbers, brief details of a
conversation). 

10.  When new things come up, take brief
notes on paper if necessary and then enter them in your electronic schedule as
soon as possible.

The basic point is that in this system every name, number,
task, goal, appointment, or meeting has some place it can go in your system as
either a scheduled appointment, a scheduled task, or an unscheduled long-term
goal or task.  In the case of
paper, it can go in a long term topical file (e.g., “insurance papers”), a
future month it needs to be acted on, a day in the current month it needs action,
or a general idea file.

More thoughts:

Regarding
email, I try to respond to each item immediately and get it out of the
way.  If it relates to something
more long term I'll post the task in my calendar as a "to do" item or
print out the email and place it in one of the daily or monthly folders as
appropriate.  The key for me is to
read as little as possible, get rid of everything as soon as possible, and keep
my email empty.

Principles of Time Management

1.  “Big
rocks first,” i.e., work on the most important things, not necessarily the most
urgent things.

2.  Plan
your work (the night before, if possible) then work your plan.
3.  Clear
your desk at the end of every day, placing loose papers in their
appropriate folder or file.
4.  Don’t
put it down, put it away. 



Act on everything immediately—emails,
phone calls, etc.,—whenever possible to keep tasks from building up.  Don’t put off until later something
that can be resolved right now.
Make an instant decision on each paper that
crosses your desk (act on it, file it properly, or throw it away).


5.  Don’t
over-schedule.  Don’t put more
on your daily list then you can finish. 
You’ll never have the satisfying feeling of closure.
6.  Ask:  Is this the most important use of my
time right now?

7.  In a few moments of idle time ask:  What can I complete in the next ten
minutes?

8.  Break big projects into little projects,
smaller parts that you do one by one to accomplish the whole.

9.  Under-promise, then over-deliver.

10.  Aim for excellence, not perfection.

11.  Plan to be 15 minutes early for each
appointment.

Read this list weekly.

Just do it.
Do it now.
All things are easy to
industry.  All things difficult to
sloth.

Diligence
overcomes difficulties.  Sloth makes them.

“I daily become more
sensible that my work must be affected by constant and regular exertions rather
than sudden and violent ones.”—William Wilberforce