Randy Alcorn's Blog, page 153

J. B. Phillips and the Power of God’s Living Word

I have always loved J. B. Phillips, Ring of Truth and many portions of His New Testament rendition. Justin Taylor shared a great post about Phillips on his blog. What a great story of a man enlivened and transformed by the living power of God's Word:

J. B. Phillips (1906-1982) is perhaps best known today for his book, Your God Is Too Small. He was also a periphrastic Bible translator, working from the Greek text to put the New Testament into a breezy, British, mid-20th-century vernacular. In 1947 he published Letters to Young Churches. In 1952, he added the Gospels, followed by the book of Acts in 1955 (The Young Church in Action). In 1958 he published the entire New Testament in Modern English, with revisions in 1961 and 1972.

In 1967 he wrote a memoir describing the experience, entitled Ring of Truth: A Translator’s Testimony.

In it he describes his view of the text before he began his work:

I must, in common justice, confess here that for years I had viewed the Greek of the New Testament with a rather snobbish disdain. I had read the best of classical Greek both at school and Cambridge for over ten years. . . . Although I did my utmost to preserve an emotional detachment, I found again and again that the material under my hands was strangely alive; it spoke to my condition in the most uncanny way. I say “uncanny” for want of a better word, but it was a very strange experience to sense, not occasionally but almost continually, the living quality of those rather strangely assorted books. To me it is the more remarkable because I had no fundamentalist upbringing, and although as a priest of the Anglican Church I had a great respect for Holy Scripture, this very close contact of several years of translation produced an effect of “inspiration” which I have never experienced, even in the remotest degree, in any other work. (pp. 24-25)

Read the rest on Justin’s blog.

Heavenly Mindedness

Jonathan Edwards said, “It becomes us to spend this life only as a journey toward Heaven … to which we should subordinate all other concerns of life. Why should we labor for or set our hearts on anything else, but that which is our proper end and true happiness?”

In his early twenties, Edwards composed a set of life resolutions. One read, “Resolved, to endeavor to obtain for myself as much happiness, in the other world, as I possibly can.” Unfortunately, many believers find no joy when they think about Heaven.

In my book Heaven, I share a story about a pastor who once confessed to me: “Whenever I think about Heaven, it makes me depressed. I’d rather just cease to exist when I die.” “Why?” I asked. “I can’t stand the thought of that endless tedium. To float around in the clouds with nothing to do but strum a harp … it’s all so terribly boring. Heaven doesn’t sound much better than hell.”

Where did this Bible-believing, seminary-educated pastor get such a view of Heaven? Certainly not from Scripture, where Paul said that to depart and be with Christ was far better than staying on a sin-cursed earth (Phil. 1:23). My friend was more honest about it than most, yet I’ve found that many Christians share his misconceptions about Heaven.

Scripture commands us to set our hearts on Heaven: “Set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God” (Col. 3:1). And to make sure we don’t miss the importance of a Heaven-centered life, the next verse says, “Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things [alone].”

While the present Heaven is a pre-resurrected state, the ultimate Heaven, where God will forever dwell with His people, will be in a resurrected universe (Rev. 21:1–4). Because of the biblical emphasis on the resurrection (1 Cor. 15), I think God wants us to ponder not simply where we go when we die, but where we will live with Christ forever.

Jesus said, “In my Father’s house are many rooms… . I am going there to prepare a place for you” (John 14:2). He chose familiar physical terms (house, rooms, place) to describe that place. He gave us something tangible to look forward to — a home, where we will live with Him.

The Heaven Jesus described is not an ethereal realm of disembodied spirits. A place is by nature physical, just as human beings are by nature physical as well as spiritual. What we are suited for — what we’ve been specifically designed for — is the place God originally made for us: earth.

Scripture tells us we should be “looking forward to a new Heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness” (2 Peter 3:13). God has not abandoned His original design and plan for humanity to rule the earth for His glory. One day, He will reverse the curse and restore what was corrupted by sin. He will come down to dwell with His people on the new earth, bringing His throne, and Heaven itself, with Him (Rev. 21:1–4; 22:3).

What’s your attitude toward Heaven? Does it fill you with excitement? How often do you, your church, and your family talk about it?

If you lack a passion for Heaven, I can almost guarantee it’s because you have a deficient and distorted theology of Heaven (or you’re making choices that conflict with Heaven’s agenda). An accurate and biblically energized view of Heaven will bring a new spiritual passion to your life.

When you fix your mind on Heaven and see the present in light of eternity, even little choices become tremendously important. After death, we will never have another chance to share Christ with one who can be saved from hell, to give a cup of water to the thirsty, to invest money to help the helpless and reach the lost, or to share our homes, clothes, and love with the poor and needy.

No wonder Scripture makes clear that the one central business of this life is to prepare for the next. What we need is a generation of Heavenly minded people who see human beings and the earth not simply as they are, but as God intends them to be.

Theologians once spoke of the “beatific vision,” Latin for “a happymaking sight.” That sight was God Himself. Revelation 22:4 says of God’s people on the new earth, “They will see his face.” God is primary, all else is secondary. Joy’s tributaries are the overflow of the swelling river of God’s own goodness. He says to the one He welcomes into His presence, “Enter into your Master’s joy.” Anticipating the eternal joy of His presence allows us to get a head start on Heaven by rejoicing in Him here and now.

Longing for that new earth, “the home of righteousness,” Peter says, “So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless, and at peace with Him” (2 Peter 3:14).

Knowing that our destiny is to live as redeemed, righteous people on a redeemed, righteous earth with our righteous Redeemer should be a powerful incentive to call upon His strength to live righteously today.

photo credit: Ryan Byers via Unsplash

Nine Questions to Diagnose Theology Idolatry

Since I was a new believer, at age 15, I have loved theology. What I’ve always loved most is that it helps me get to know God better—His person, His plans, the way He works in His redemptive purposes.

Some are quick to minimize doctrine—“all that matters is loving Jesus.” But the more you know about Jesus, the more grounds you have to love Him. The doctrines of the deity and humanity of Christ, part of the larger field of theology called Christology, are vitally important not only to sound doctrine, but also to loving our Savior and Lord by getting to know Him better.

But theology, sadly, can also become an idol—as is everything that we put above God. Love theology, but be aware that if you care more about doctrine than about God, something is desperately wrong. Marshall Segal spells it out clearly and powerfully:

Is Theology Your Idolatry?

We have often loved what we’ve learned about God more than God himself.

The Bible warns us about the dangers that come with our knowledge of God, especially for the theologically refined and convinced. “You cannot serve both God and theology.” Good theology is a means to enjoying and worshiping God, or it is useless.

Has your theology turned into idolatry? Has your knowledge of God ironically and tragically drawn you away from Him, not nearer to Him? Here are nine questions that might help you diagnose theology idolatry in your own heart and mind.

Read the rest.

photo credit: Mikhail Pavstyuk via Unsplash

A Call to Fathers to Pass a Biblical Worldview onto Their Children

All the paths of the LORD are steadfast love and faithfulness, for those who keep his covenant and his testimonies. Psalm 25:10 (ESV)

Fathers are to be the primary influence in their children’s education. A man’s success as a father is largely determined by his commitment to inspiring and training his children to develop a right worldview.

Who is God? Who is mankind? What is God like? Does God have a plan? Do even bad events serve God’s purposes?

In light of the great number of young people who reject their faith, we must encourage our children to think through these questions. Warm feelings toward the Christian faith won’t sustain them when they find their faith attacked. But deeply rooted beliefs built on God’s truth will allow them to hold fast to their faith.

Many kids are in college before they are faced with the questions, “If you were all wise and all powerful and all loving, would you permit children to starve and be abused? Well if you wouldn’t, doesn’t that suggest that there is no God, or if there is one he lacks either love or power or wisdom?”

A professor’s eloquence may persuade your child that he has identified something you and your church are unaware of and would cause you to lose your faith if you only knew. If you have not been proactive in helping your child develop a deep faith based on a thorough knowledge of Scripture’s truth, what will keep your child from doubting God?

Fathers, do you study Scripture in order to understand the world? Is your life consistent with God’s Word? Are you deliberately passing on its teachings to your children?

Ray Ortlund on Strength in Integrity

I like the insights of Ray Ortlund and appreciate his thoughts here about integrity:

Strength in Integrity

“Whoever walks in integrity walks securely.” (Proverbs 10:9)

“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.  Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. . . . Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.” (Ephesians 6:10-13)

The word “integrity” is the key word in Proverbs 10:9. A secure walk is not a matter of clever politics but of personal integrity.  But what is integrity? This Hebrew word suggests completeness, wholeness, fullness. So, no compromises, and no breaches or gaps or refusals in the face of duty, but rather, saying Yes to the Lord moment by moment. There is a completeness to our life in Christ, with no compartmentalization.  The Lord gives all, and he claims all. When we yield all, we walk securely.

Proverbs 10:9 reminds me of Ephesians 6:10-13 and the whole armor of God, and “having done all.” So yesterday I tweeted: “No short-cuts, no half-way Christianity, will stand.” In our age of the ironic inversion of our true grandeur, I do not accept the mocking erosion of who I am as a knight in the service of the King.

What then does that resilient Christianity look like, at least for me? As I thought it through, I came up with a checklist for whole-armor Christianity, as I work out my own salvation:

1. Union with Christ, his centrality in my story, with his complete all-sufficiency for all my need today.

2. Utter loyalty to the whole Bible, with apologetics but without apology.

3. Prayerful dependence on God’s wisdom and power, treating God as real moment by moment.

4. Honesty, openness, confession of sin, enjoying forgiveness in Christ as my constant reality.

5. Full authorization as a husband, father and pastor, accepting no diminishing of my offices but fulfilling my roles with a whole and joyful heart.

6. Readiness to suffer and die at any time in the course of my service.

7. Sincere and costly commitment to the true good of everyone within my influence.

Walking in this integrity, I walk securely, fully armed against the schemes of the devil, entirely equipped to serve my family and my church in a full-orbed way.

photo credit: Irene Dávila via Unsplash

God’s Plan for Us Includes Happiness in Him

This interview with Lifeway Facts & Trends was originally posted on lifeway.com.

Facts & Trends recently spoke with Randy Alcorn, author of an important new book titled Happiness. Alcorn’s latest book has been gathering acclaim. Popular bloggers Tony Reinke and David Murray have declared it their 2015 book of the year. And for good reason. Alcorn makes a strong biblical case for the rightness and goodness of happiness for all God’s people.

Why did you write a book on happiness? And how do you define happiness?

Among Christ-followers, there’s a tendency to minimize happiness and make it sound unspiritual because people in the world are trying to find happiness in sin. I argue in the book the problem isn’t they’re trying to be happy. Rather, God wired us to seek happiness. The problem is we seek happiness in the wrong places, rather than in the right place—in Christ.

The Bible tells us explicitly the gospel is very much about happiness. Consider Isaiah 52:7, which says, “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness.” Paul clearly refers to Isaiah 52:7 in Romans 10:15 as he references the gospel, demonstrating this “good news of happiness” is in fact nothing else but the gospel of salvation in Jesus Christ.

The gospel is about bringing a deliverance from sin, of course. But the result is to be not only our holiness but also our personal happiness. True holiness (not the false, Pharisaical, self-exalting kind) and true happiness (not the false, superficial, sin-seeking kind) are two sides of the same coin. Happy holiness is God’s ideal for us.

Webster’s Dictionary defines happiness as—wait for it . . . “the state of being happy.” The Dictionary of Bible Themes gives a more biblical definition of happiness: “A state of pleasure or joy experienced both by people and by God. . . . True happiness derives from a secure and settled knowledge of God and a rejoicing in His works and covenant faithfulness.”

So, would you say the Bible teaches that God is happy?

Short answer: Yes. The apostle Paul wrote of “the gospel of the glory of the blessed [makarios] God with which I have been entrusted” (1 Timothy 1:11). At the end of 1 Timothy, he refers to God as “he who is the blessed [makarios] and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords” (1 Timothy 6:15).

As I explore in Happiness, numerous language scholars and lexicons attest that the Greek adjective makarios, translated here as “blessed,” actually means “happy.” First Timothy 1:11 and 6:15 actually speak of the gospel of the “happy God” and the God “who is the happy and only Sovereign.”

“In your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore” (Psalm 16:11). As love and holiness are found in God’s presence because God is loving and holy, so joy and happiness are found in God’s presence because God is joyful and happy. How could it be otherwise? 

Does God want us to be happy?

Yes, I believe God desires us to seek and find our happiness in Him, the Source of all joy. Contemplate these words: “The Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.” (Numbers 6:25-26) Isn’t this a call for God to endow His people with happiness?

If we grasp just how happiness-saturated Scripture is, it will radically affect our perspective as God’s children and greatly expand our outreach to the world. Whatever else the plan of God and the gospel of Jesus encompasses, without question it includes our happiness.

Of course, if we compare the value of our happiness to the value of God and His glory, our happiness is infinitely outweighed. But the same is true of everything else. Just because God and His glory are infinitely more important than our families, friendships, churches, and jobs, that doesn’t mean any of those are unimportant. Indeed, God Himself tells us they are important. 

Is it selfish to pursue happiness? 

This distorted notion that wanting to be happy is inherently selfish, and therefore immoral, is believed by many Christians. It’s true that Scripture warns of a self-love that is obviously wrong (2 Timothy 3:2). But when Jesus tells us to love our neighbors as ourselves (see Matthew 22:39), He isn’t arguing that we shouldn’t love ourselves, only that we should extend our instincts for self-care to caring for others.

Some parents believe looking after their children’s happiness means constantly saying no to their own. But if they don’t take care of themselves, failing to cultivate and model happiness in God, they’ll deprive their children of happiness, too.

Flight crews routinely announce, “If you’re traveling with a child or someone who requires assistance, in the case of an emergency, secure your own oxygen mask first before helping the other person.” Those instructions may sound selfish, just as it sounds selfish to say that one of our main duties in life is to find happiness in God. But only when we’re delighting in our Lord do we have far more to offer everyone else.

Does a person’s happiness depend on their circumstances?

Yes and no. In our fallen world, troubles and challenges are constants. Happy people look beyond their circumstances to someone so big that by His grace, even great difficulties become manageable—and provide opportunities for a deeper kind of happiness. Part of being a Christian is experiencing the underlying and overarching happiness in Christ that goes beyond circumstances. Our happiness is dependent not on temporary circumstances but on our eternal perspective.

Still, it’s fair to recognize positive life circumstances can prompt real and emotional joy and happiness. This is an important correction to the modern sentiment that being happy due to positive circumstances, including the welfare of loved ones, is somehow unspiritual. True, circumstances change and our happiness should be grounded on Christ, who doesn’t change, but that doesn’t make it inappropriate to rejoice in favorable circumstances.

How can we be happy when there’s so much evil and suffering in the world?

Romans 8:28 says, “We know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” By recognizing and believing in God’s sovereignty, even over Satan’s work, our perspective is transformed.

The gospel’s good news is because of Christ’s death and resurrection, happiness, not sorrow, has the last word—and it will have the last word forever. This secure future invades our present, so that even while death and sorrow remain, the new normal in Christ isn’t sorrow but happiness.

We certainly live in a world filled with suffering and death. But as believers, we understand God is with us and won’t forsake us, and one day we’ll live on a redeemed Earth, a place full of joy and delight. Yes, the day hasn’t yet come when God will “wipe away every tear from [His children’s] eyes” (Revelation 21:4). But it will come. Anticipating this reality has breathtaking implications for our present happiness.

Should we only find happiness in God? Or is it OK to be happy with our family, friends, work, pets, flowers, and forests?

God is primary; all other forms of happiness—relationships, created things, and material pleasures—are secondary. If we don’t consciously see God as their source, these secondary things intended for enjoyment can master us.

But by recognizing God as primary, we maximize our enjoyment of the secondary with no danger of idolizing it. The better I know Jesus, the more I see Him all around me—in people, animals, places, and objects. When I find happiness in playing with and hugging our golden retriever Maggie, I am finding happiness in God, who I recognize as her Maker and the gracious Father who entrusted her to our care. I’m in no danger of making Maggie an idol, a God-substitute, when I recognize and praise Him for her and thank Him for the joy He imparts to us through her.

When we invite God into our happiness, we become aware of how He invites us into His. The happiest times of my life are when I’ve entered into the happiness of God—not only through Bible study, prayer, and church, but also when reading a good book, laughing with a friend, running, biking, and enjoying the wonders of creation. 

What can we say to people who seek happiness in sin instead of in Jesus?

Scripture recognizes there are “fleeting pleasures of sin” (Hebrews 11:25). An injection of heroin or an immoral act can bring moments of pleasure—but not deep and lasting happiness. Sin can for the short term make us happy, but it won’t leave us happy. In fact, it’s the biggest enemy of happiness because it results in a broken relationship with God.

But instead of backing away from happiness or trying to correct those who love the word happiness (which almost everyone does, except some inside the church), we should embrace it, realizing that Jesus is inseparable from happiness.

If someone declares a desire to be happy, we should never say, “You just need to obey God and forget about being happy.” Rather, we should say, “God wired you that way.” Then we can ask, “Have the things you’ve thought would make you happy always worked out for you?” The answer is probably no.

That’s the time to suggest, “Maybe you haven’t looked in the right place.” We can then present the Bible’s bad news, which explains the sin problem that makes them unhappy. Then we can share the good news of the gift of God that can reconcile them to their holy Creator and thereby make them eternally happy.

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Helping One Another Forsake Sin and Follow Jesus

The most commonly quoted (and often misunderstood) verse in churches is no longer John 3:16 but Matthew 7:1, “Judge not.” Ironically, people who routinely violate what the verse is really saying quote the verse to justify their own failure to assist other people in following Jesus. Hence, they interpret “Judge not” as if it were “Care not” and “Help not.”

All too often, as believers we don’t realize that the greatest kindness we can offer each other is the truth. Our job is not just to help each other feel good but to help each other be good. We often seem to think that our only options are to: 1) speak the truth hurtfully; or 2) say nothing in the name of grace. This is a lie.

Jesus came full of grace AND truth. We should not choose between them, but do both. We are told that we should be “speaking the truth in love” to each other (Ephesians 4:15). We should share the truth with humility, as an act of grace, reminding ourselves and each other that we desperately need God’s grace every bit as much as do those we’re offering it to.

Let’s say, for example, that you meet and befriend a young couple who are fairly new at your church. They are living together and say they want to follow Christ. You face a choice. Do you tell them what God says about sex outside of marriage, or do you assume it’s none of your business and say nothing?

I believe that when people who are living together visit our churches or small groups or homes, it’s not our first job to try to correct their behavior, but instead to demonstrate the grace and truth of Jesus Christ. I don’t believe we should expect Christian behavior among nonbelievers or even nominal believers. Where we should expect Christian behavior is among those who declare they are Christ’s followers and identify themselves with the church, the body of Christ. In such cases, if we fail to graciously tell them God’s truth about sex and marriage, and fail to assist them in making right choices, then we fail to help them fulfill their own stated goal of following Christ.

So when someone says “I want to follow Jesus” but is living in sin, I think we should point to what Christ commands of us, and remind them that He gives the power and strength to obey Him. Scripture says that the grace of God “teaches us to say ‘No’ to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age” (Titus 2:12). God’s grace is not only for forgiveness of sin, but empowerment to live in holiness.

I was teaching the book of 1 Corinthians at a Bible college. We got into sexual purity in 1 Corinthians 6:18-20. A couple in their thirties came up after this session and said, “We’ve never heard this before; we’ve been living together for eight years. We just came to Christ two years ago, and we’re very involved in our church. Are you really saying sex outside of marriage is something Jesus doesn’t want us to do?”

I commended them for wanting to follow Christ wholeheartedly. When we opened Scripture it was clear to them they needed to get married right away, and no longer live together until they did. But they felt confused and even betrayed that no one in their church had talked to them about this.

Many years ago Nanci and I were in a home Bible study in our church. The group had been meeting three months when someone mentioned in passing that one of the couples wasn’t married but was living together. I called the group leader and asked if this was true. He said yes. I asked if he had told the young man—who’d come to Christ at least two years earlier—that this wasn’t honoring to the Lord. He said he hadn’t mentioned it because he didn’t want to hurt them. He hoped eventually they would figure it out, but it was the group’s job to love them, not judge them. I said I agreed we should love them. And when you love someone, you don’t want them to sin, because sin is never in their best interests. Sin brings judgment, and we do not want those we love to fall under the judgment of God, but rather to embrace the forgiving grace He went to the cross to offer them.

I explained that now that I knew about this, I would need to go to the young man and share with him the truth. The leader and another guy from the group came with me that night. We called the young man and invited ourselves over, and while his girlfriend and the baby were with one of the ladies in the group, we sat down with him in his living room. He was super nervous. It wasn’t comfortable for any of us. What’s right often isn’t.

I asked him if he knew how much we loved him and his girlfriend. He said, “Sure.” Our group had helped them out in various ways. He knew.

I told him I wanted to share some Scripture with him. Then he looked at me and said, “Are you going to tell us we should get married?”

I said, “Yes.”

The words poured out from him. He said, “We really want to. We feel so bad we haven’t. We’re trying to read the Bible and we feel like we’re just a couple of losers. When we go to church, we feel like hypocrites. But we don’t have the money to have a decent wedding, and I can’t afford a ring. She’s so ashamed that we’re not married. It’s awkward because of our baby. And to be honest, I wondered if anyone was ever going to talk to us about it.”

Bottom line, we put our arms around this brother and challenged him to be a real man, God’s man, and honor Jesus and lead his girlfriend, and make this right. He prayed and asked God’s forgiveness for having sex outside of marriage. A burden was lifted from him. Together, we developed a plan for how they could move out from each other just for a few weeks until we could get them married. We laughed and hugged and this brother felt loved and incredibly relieved. Instead of being shamed, which was the leader’s fear, he had his shame removed.

Our small group immediately set up a wedding at our church. On short notice, the women in the group got the girlfriend a dress and everything else, and we found people at church to volunteer food and a cake. Their parents flew in from other parts of the country and everyone cried and celebrated. I had the honor of marrying this couple, and holding their precious baby in the ceremony. It was one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever been part of. I cannot tell you how honored and special this couple felt. God’s people had loved them by helping deliver them from the sin and guilt that entangled them, and bring them to purity and peace.

The sheer joy of that young couple floods my mind when I hear people talk as if they are taking the spiritual high ground by “not laying a guilt trip on Christians who are living together.” We can gently point out sin to each other without using a flame-thrower. God tells us to speak the truth in love, and if we are withholding the truth instead of speaking it, we are not being obedient or loving.

If you love someone who says they want to follow Jesus, you don’t ignore sin that is destroying their lives. You go to them humbly and prayerfully, and represent Jesus and help them fulfill their stated goal of honoring Christ as Lord. God calls us to bring love and grace and liberation to those whose sin is destroying them. Of course, exactly the same applies to other sins, including gossip and gluttony and slander and envy and sowing discord among brothers.

photo credit: Artem Nosenko via Unsplash

Heaven, Christians, and Hypocrisy: A Discussion with an Unbeliever, from the Novel Deception

In this excerpt from my novel Deception, Detective Ollie Chandler, who is an unbeliever, has some tough questions about Christianity for his friends Jake and Clarence, both followers of Christ. Ollie is the viewpoint character, so he speaks from his perspective:

I decided to stir things up.

“Why would anyone want to go to heaven? When my grandmother spoke about heaven, it was the last place I wanted to go. Who wants to be a ghost anyway? My idea of utopia was a place like earth, where you could have fun and ride bikes and play baseball and go deep into the forest and dive into lakes and eat good food.”

“Sounds to me like the new earth,” Clarence chimed in from the backseat.

“Exactly,” Jake said. “The Bible says the heaven we’ll live in forever will be a new earth, this same earth without the bad stuff. God doesn’t give up on His original creation. He redeems it. And we’ll have these same bodies made better. The Bible teaches the exact opposite of what you’re saying—we won’t be ghosts. We’ll eat and drink and be active on a redeemed earth.”

“So you’ll still be Jake Woods?” I asked.

“Yeah—without the bad parts. We’ll be able to enjoy creation’s beauty and rule the world the way God intended us to. Baseball and riding bikes? Why not?”

Clarence leaned forward. “The thing you want is exactly what God promises. Earth with all the good and none of the bad. Heaven on earth.”

“Wish I could believe that.”

“What’s stopping you?” Jake asked.

“Same song, different verse. A world of injustice and suffering is part of it. Another part is hypocrite Christians.”

“Okay,” Jake said, “suppose there is a God and Jesus really died on the cross for people’s sins. Suppose He rose from the grave and offers eternal life to everybody who trusts Him.”

“That’s a lot to suppose.”

“And suppose there really is a devil. Now, if you were the devil, what would you do to keep people from believing in Christ?”

“Never thought about it.”

“I know what I’d do. I’d get people to claim they’re Christians when they aren’t. I’d get them to do terrible things in Christ’s name. Then I’d try to persuade unbelievers to focus on those terrible things done by so-called Christians, instead of on the wonderful things done by Jesus. Then I’d try to get Christians to be self-righteous hypocrites who don’t care about the needy, but only themselves.”

“You’re blaming the devil for what Christians do? Like the Crusades?”

“I’m saying the devil’s behind lots of evil, yeah, but so are people. And I’m saying people can claim to be Christians even though they aren’t. And sure, people can be real Christians and mess up, big time. But true, humble followers of Jesus are everywhere, and if you knew them, Ollie, you’d be drawn to Christ. If not for Clarence’s sister being murdered, you’d never have met Obadiah Abernathy [Clarence’s dad]. You wouldn’t have been touched by him because you wouldn’t even know he existed.”

“He was one of a kind,” I said.

“Actually,” Clarence said, “there are plenty of good-hearted, humble, and lovable Christians like my daddy. All the attention falls on false Christians or loudmouths or hypocrites. But the gospel’s about Jesus.”

“The fact remains: Some Christians are mean and hateful. I’ve met them.”

“So have I,” Clarence said. “Read some of those Christian blogs, and look at how they love to gang up on people, kicking them with their words when half the time they don’t know what they’re talking about.”

“Christians can be jerks,” Jake said. “We’re unanimous on that one. Sometimes they’re just nominal Christians. Other times they may be real Christians full of flaws. I have plenty myself.”

“At least you admit it,” I said.

“But it makes no sense,” Jake said, “to reject Jesus because some of His followers are hypocrites. The Bible never says that to be saved you have to believe in Christians. It says you have to believe in Jesus.”

“I still don’t want to be associated with judgmental hypocrites.”

“It’s pretty judgmental to call all of us Christians hypocrites, isn’t it?” Clarence asked. “Speaking of which, if you discovered other detectives were withholding evidence because they thought it had been planted against them, wouldn’t you say they were wrong for covering it up?”

“Yes, but—”

“By your own standards you—Oliver Justice Chandler—have been unjust. That’s hypocrisy, isn’t it?”

“Well, I don’t claim to be godly.”

“You claim to love justice, don’t you? Yet you violate standards of justice. Lots of people, including you, don’t live consistently with what they profess to believe. Christians don’t have a monopoly on hypocrisy. The justice you believe in is good, even when you violate it, right? Well, the Jesus that Christians believe in is good, even when we violate His teachings. Even when we’re hypocrites.”

It’s scary when Jake and Clarence make sense.

photo credit: Thong Vo via Unsplash

11 Questions to Ask Ourselves About Debt

It’s one thing to trust God to provide for our present needs (Matthew 6:33). It’s another to presume upon Him by dictating (via a decision to incur debt) the terms of His future provision. By choosing to go into debt, we twist God’s arm to provide not only for our needs, but also our wants.

Do we believe God knows best what our needs are? Debt spends money we don’t have. So isn’t our decision to go into debt proof that we believe we need more than God has given us? If we don’t have the resources to buy something, and if we feel such need for it that we’re borrowing to get it, aren’t we saying God has failed to meet our needs?

If God knows best, and if He knows what we need, then why hasn’t He provided sufficient funds? Is He encouraging us to pray for provision rather than take things into our own hands by borrowing? In this age where we seem unwilling to wait for anything, does God want us to learn what it means to “wait on the Lord” (Psalm 27:14; Isaiah 30:18)?

Before we go into debt, we should ask ourselves the following questions:

1. Is debt our way of getting around depending on God? (Why trust God to provide when we can get a loan?)

2. Is debt our means of short-circuiting the God-created means of acquisition—including work, saving, planning, self-discipline, patience, and waiting for divine provision?

3. What message are we sending to God when we go into debt rather than live on what He has provided? What are we really saying when we take out a loan? How does it reflect on our view of God? What are we saying about His sovereignty, goodness, wisdom, or timing?

4. What effect will going into debt today have on our ability or willingness to tithe and give voluntary offerings tomorrow?

5. What effect will today’s decision to go into debt have on tomorrow’s freedom to follow God wherever He wants us to go?

6. By taking out a loan that commits us to make payments over a number of years, are we presuming upon God? (Certainly, if we will require more income to make the payments, we’re presuming on God. We may “know” that we’ll receive a promotion and pay raise in September, but God hasn’t guaranteed it. Plans change, companies go out of business, and employees fail to get “certain” promotions.)

7. Although our income today might be enough to make debt payments over the next twenty years, is it right to assume that we’ll continue to generate the same level of income? (Many people’s income increases over the years, but many others’ decreases. Many incur increased financial commitments beyond their control, such as health-related expenses or caring for an elderly relative. People get laid off. Has God promised that can’t happen to us?)

8. Are we mortgaging the future to pay for the whims of the present? Are we mortgaging God by supposing to commit Him to pay off something He may disapprove of?

9. Is debt our way of getting around depending on God? of circumventing prayer, patience, and waiting on God to provide?

10. If we “must” go into debt to provide for our “needs,” is it because our “needs” are really wants in disguise? Have we spent so much money on our wants that there’s not enough left for our needs? Have we robbed God and forfeited His financial blessing by failing to give Him the firstfruits?

11. Have we really exhausted all other avenues to avoid going into debt? Have we given up expensive activities, hobbies, and memberships, and liquidated valuable possessions? (Often, we think we have no choice but to go into debt, when in fact we’re making many unnecessary choices that drive us toward it.)

One of the strongest arguments for not going into debt is that we’re not God. We’re not sovereign, omniscient, or omnipotent. James 4:14 warns that we cannot know what will happen tomorrow. And if we don’t know and cannot control all that the future holds, how can we be sure that we can pay off new debts? We can be certain that God will provide for our basic material needs if we seek first His kingdom (Matthew 6:25-34), but where does the Bible promise that God will provide for all the debts we incur though our own greed, impatience, or presumption?

If we are seeking first His kingdom, will we put ourselves in bondage to debt?

Photo credit: Death to the Stock Photo

When It Comes to Book-Reading, Let’s Raise the Bar and Expand Our Minds

I write a lot of smaller books, and in some of them I try to put the cookies on the lower shelf. This is true, for instance, of my book Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Heaven, The Treasure Principle, and my booklets Heaven, If God Is Good, and God’s Promise of Happiness.

However, I also write more meaty books, such as Money, Possessions and Eternity, Heaven, If God Is Good, hand in Hand: The Beauty of God's Sovereignty and Meaningful Human Choice and Happiness. One reason I write in-depth books is because I believe we are dumbing down not only our culture, but also our churches. I think teachers, writers, publishers and pastors sometimes greatly underestimate people's ability to study and think.

If we always put the cookies on the lower shelf, young people (and older people too) won’t learn to reach for anything higher. We popularize everything, and as a result, books and Bible studies and discussions of substance are becoming progressively unpopular. Not because they aren’t important and stimulating and enriching but because in a culture dominated by television, movies, video games and social media, our attention spans are decreasing and we’re shrinking both intellectually and spiritually.

I taught at a Bible college in the 1980s, and fifteen years later I taught again for a few years. I was shocked at the noticeable decrease in the students’ abilities to read and write—a far larger percentage of them seemed much less capable of producing quality work. What was the difference? Surely it wasn’t that their capacity for serious thought and self-expression had really diminished—somehow, serious study and thought had seemed to take a nose dive. Many teachers have witnessed the same trends.

More than ever, I believe there’s a need for pastors and teachers and writers of all sorts to encourage and not to ignore or dismiss people’s potential to be intelligent, informed, and studious and to love reading deep Bible and theology. Here’s a couple of great examples of this. Check out this picture that Tanya sent me of her 14-year-old son finishing my book Heaven. I love that he’s profiting from a book full of theology and quotations from church history!

@randyalcorn My 14yo is finishing reading "Heaven." Thank you Mr Alcorn! "Happiness" is next on his list #SolidTruth pic.twitter.com/4D2rIOQTTx

— Tanya Dean (@TanyaDean119) December 16, 2015

And Heather sent me this picture of her 11-year-old daughter:

@randyalcorn my 11year old loving your book. Thank you! pic.twitter.com/VO986WTJyg

— Heather Oltmans (@HeatherOltmans) December 3, 2015

Over the years, I’ve had some great responses from young people who’ve read my more serious and comprehensive books, both fiction and nonfiction. I once had a junior high boy come up to me at church and tell me he’d read my novel Dominion, a murder mystery which deals with racial themes, six times! (It’s the largest book I’ve ever written, and he knew it as well or better than I did.)

We received this letter: “I am an 11-year-old girl from Mississippi and read Safely Home and it was life changing!” A 12-year-old boy wrote to me, “Recently, my sister, mother and I have finished reading Safely Home. …I think my favorite part was all the Bible-oriented comments that come gushing out of Quan whenever he talks with Ben. I also like the way you depicted Ben's conversion.”

I also love hearing from young adults. A student wrote about one of my biggest and deepest books: “Thank you for writing Money, Possessions, and Eternity. I am a 21-year-old college student. God definitely used it in instructing me to surrender my finances to Him.”

There are numerous examples of young people and uneducated people who’ve found their lives totally transformed by reading challenging books. I know a man who was a terrible student and a poor reader in his youth. But after he came to Christ as a nineteen year old, he forced himself to read, as difficult as it was. He read book after book, and eventually worked his way through Bible college and seminary, and became one of the most theologically grounded people I know. Why? Because he chose to read books of substance that challenged and greatly expanded his thinking. The more he read, the more he understood. Had he believed his poor grades in school reflected his intellectual abilities, he would never have become the mature thinker he is, and his pastoral ministry would have been far less impactful than it’s been.

At our church, there are various small groups studying through Wayne Grudem’s outstanding (and big) book Bible Doctrine. A number of people in the studies have found themselves cultivating a new taste and thirst for great theology. They’d never have discovered this joy if someone hadn’t put together the study and invited them.

A woman who isn’t known as a student or deep thinker has read and reread my book Heaven, which is not always easy reading, with all its citations from people from church history. She says it has changed her life. I’m sure there are quotations she probably had to reread and ponder to get their meaning. But she has done it gladly, and the payoff has been great. I’ve heard from others that reading Happiness has changed their lives—these are regular people that you wouldn’t expect to be motivated to read 440 pages with frequent quotations from church fathers and Puritans!

Many years ago, John Stott wrote an excellent book called Your Mind Matters: The Place of the Mind in the Christian Life. Our minds aren’t perfect, but they’re useable; and as we use them in biblical study and in reading quality books of substance, they should be increasingly renewed and sharpened. We’re commanded in Scripture, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind” (Romans 12:2). This change in thinking is our responsibility.  

Isn’t there room for movies and TV and kicking back and enjoying a lightweight novel? Sure, I enjoy these things myself. But I believe in an era dominated by superficial popular culture, there’s real value in expanding our thinking to God’s glory, and not just going broad but going deep. Deep is where the roots are, and they’re what keeps the tree or hedge or vine standing during hard winds and water that would otherwise erode and topple it. Likewise, deeply rooted beliefs—specifically a worldview grounded in Scripture—will allow us to persevere and hold on to a faith built on the solid rock of God’s truth.

We often forget that what ends up in the heart comes in through the head. The current tendency to minimize Bible study and sound theology in the interest of focusing on the heart is badly misguided. The anti-intellect, popular-culture-driven “all that matters is my heart” is wrong, but even if it were right, we would need to be cultivating our minds in order to cultivate our hearts.

Here are three things you can do to encourage intellectual growth in yourself and others:

Challenge yourself to read Christ-honoring books of substance. Ask God’s Holy Spirit to be your teacher, renew your mind, and warm your heart (see John 14:26; 1 John 2:27). Tony Reinke’s list of the 70 best books of 2015 is a great place for ideas to get you started. Consider making a 2016 reading goal for yourself. Trevin Wax has a list of ideas to help you set and keep your goal.
Encourage the young people in your life to read books that challenge their minds. Read to your children and with them and give them good books they want to read. Ask yourself, Am I helping my children stretch and develop their minds, or are my actions compelling them to just be content with not knowing and understanding? If we fail to do this, they will become mere products of movies, television, entertainment and social media. They’ll not become people of the Book, people of thought and substance.
Help develop a culture of reading in your local church. Check out this article for ideas.

Here are some helpful books on developing your mind to love God:

In addition to Your Mind Matters, as a young believer I read The Christian Mind by Harry Blamires, a friend of C. S. Lewis. More recently I read and enjoyed J. P. Moreland’s Love Your God with All Your Mind: The Role of Reason in the Life of the Soul. All great books, as are Loving God with All Your Mind by Gene Edward Veith and The Mind of the Maker by Dorothy Sayers.

As we read, and encourage others to do so, including our children, may God help us to renew our minds, set our minds on things above, and love God with all our hearts and minds. May we raise the bar of our thinking, not lower it, and experience the joy of discovery and the satisfaction of mental and spiritual growth. 

photo credit: João Silas via Unsplash