Randy Alcorn's Blog, page 191

Five Reflections on the Anniversary of 9/11

Today’s blog is excerpted from a lengthy article “19 Reflections on America’s Crisis,” which I wrote in the days following 9/11. (While this was originally written to Americans in the aftermath of September 11, 2001, much of it will also apply to challenges related to the present conflicts in Syria and Egypt and elsewhere around the globe. Our prayers continue for our suffering brothers and sisters in Christ in these places, and many others.)

1. God is all-powerful, fully in control.

God was not caught by surprise on September 11, 2001. He “works all things after the counsel of his will” (Ephesians 1:11). Including those terrorist acts? Yes.

In well-meaning attempts to distance God from evil, some Christians have said things like “God didn’t want this to happen” and “God has nothing to do with terrorist acts.” True, He is not to blame for them, but if indeed He works all things after the counsel of His will, then obviously we can’t say He has “nothing to do” with them.

Scripture says, “When disaster comes to a city, has not the LORD caused it?” (Amos 3:6). After losing all his children, Job doesn’t say, “God had nothing to do with it,” but “the LORD gave and the LORD has taken away” (Job 1:21).

Nations will rise and fall, terrible things may happen, but through it all, “God is our refuge and strength, an ever present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea” (Psalm 46:1-2).

2. Suffering in this world is normal; Americans, like everyone else, have no promise of ease or immunity.

“Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed” (1 Peter 4:12-13).

Our hope should not be the illusion that we won’t suffer. Our hope should be that one day God will end our suffering (Revelation 21:4). Our hope should be in the fact that nothing in this world or outside it—no tragedies or accidents or terrorist attacks or anything else—shall separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:38-39).

3. God knows what it’s like to suffer.

God has never dished out any suffering He hasn’t taken on Himself. As a man He suffered (Hebrews 2:17-18; 4:15-16). Jesus Christ took upon Himself all the sins and evil of the world (2 Corinthians 5:21). On the cross, He underwent what was . qualitatively an eternity of suffering in a time span of six hours.

Why? Because He loves us. No act of terrorism can take that from us—nor can it undermine the certainty of eternal life in Christ for all who trust in Him (1 John 5:11-13).

Where was God September 11? Where He always is—exalted in the heavens, indwelling the hearts of His children, comforting the afflicted, stretching out His nail-scarred hands in the offer of a redemption that costs us nothing, but cost Him everything. Where was God? Right there in the dust and ruins of broken planes and buildings and bodies, somehow accomplishing a purpose that will bring Him glory (Isaiah 48:9-11).

4. God has brought much good out of these terrible events, and will continue to.

 “We rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope” (Romans 5:3). As much as we don’t want to go through it, suffering often builds our character and strengthens our faith.

Joseph said of his brothers who sold him into slavery, “You intended it for evil, but God intended it for good” (Genesis 50:20). God is a master of turning evil on its head, and thwarting Satan’s intention by bringing about good.

If God can bring the single greatest good in human history, the redemption of mankind, out of the single most horrible event in human history, the crucifixion of Christ, then He can bring good out of everything. If God made what could be called “Horrific Friday” into what we call “Good Friday,” can’t He bring good out of other evils?

5. We should remind ourselves daily that this world, as it now is, is not our home.

That day as I sat in front of the television stunned, watching the towers fall to the ground, I prayed for the suffering people, then said aloud, “This world is not my home.”

In my church, five days later, we sang “God Bless America,” which is a good prayer. But at the end, when I sang “My home, sweet home,” there was an asterisk in my heart next to the word “home.”

The Carpenter from Nazareth, my bridegroom and a builder by trade, has gone to prepare a home for me. One day I will live on a redeemed planet Scripture calls “The New Earth.” That will be my home. My ultimate home is not America. Every day I move closer to the day I’ll leave this world. If America were my true home, then every day of my life I’d be headed away from home. But because Heaven, where Jesus is, is my home, every day I’m not moving away from home, but toward it.

People of the world don’t need our reassurance that America is unshakable, that democracy will prevail, that our economy will recover, that death and suffering will not touch them, or that America or any country is a safe place to live. What they need, while living in the wreckage of this sin-stained earth, is to realize that the world’s main problem is that it’s inhabited by people like us, sinners in need of redemption. These thirsty people need us to reach out our hands and extend to them, as cold water, Christ’s offer of citizenship in another world, a coming eternal home described this way at the Book’s end:

“Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away. He who was seated on the throne said, ‘I am making everything new!’” (Revelation 21:3-5).

         

Related Resources

Blog: Why Doesn't God Do More to Restrain Evil and Suffering?
Article: 19 Reflections on America's Crisis
Book: If God Is Good

photo 1 credit: Saucy Salad via photopin cc  |  photo 2 credit: PMillera4 via photopin cc

How Can We Encourage Christ-followers to Read?

Over the years I’ve bought and read thousands of good books. I cannot divorce God's works of grace in my life from great books. I love a good movie, but I find that for me television is incapable of having the deep and profound positive effect on my spiritual life that books do.

That's one reason I'm so concerned about the plunging literacy rates for young people, especially boys. In a day when we are drowning in popular culture and TV shows and video games, may we and our children and grandchildren break away from obsession with the trivial and become creatures of the eternal. Those who don't grow up to be readers will not be readers of God's Word. That’s why with my graphic novel Eternity one of my goals was to tell a good story with compelling art that draws in young readers who hopefully will move on to some of my other books, and many more as well.  

I’m including in today’s blog part of an article by George Thomsen, manager at the award-winning Harvest Bookstore, a non-profit Christian bookstore located on the campus of Harvest Christian Fellowship in Riverside, California. (Greg Laurie pastors there, and I’ve had the privilege of speaking with him twice at their church, and will do so again October 27.) This is probably my favorite bookstore in the country!

George has become a good friend of mine over the years. His depth and breadth of knowledge about books is astounding. His great passion is for the Christians to become readers, and readers of both Scripture and great books. Here’s a portion of what George wrote to his fellow bookstore owners and managers, regarding the importance of encouraging reading:

Books as Tools for Transformational Ministry

by George Thomsen

One of the most interesting business books I have ever read is The Experience Economy by B. Joseph Pine II and James H. Gilmore. …They explain that at some point all people desire commodities, products, service or experiences that will change them for the better. That is why they join a health club, take vitamin supplements, go to conferences and retreats, etc. 

…It has occurred to me how much we as Christian retailers are involved in the business of transformation. What is more transformational than the Gospel of Jesus Christ? Absolutely nothing! Not only do we sell Bibles, gospel tracts and other witnessing tools that are used in spreading the good news in the work of proclamation and salvation, but we also sell books that are useful tools in the process of our sanctification.   

In Romans 12:2 the apostle Paul writes to the church “do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind….” Listening to faithful preaching, reading God’s word, engaging in Godly conversation with other believers and the reading of good books are great helps in this process of renewing our minds. Aside from the benefit of spiritual development, there are a multitude of other transformational benefits that can be derived from reading including increased intelligence, stress reduction, improved analytical thinking, better memory, increased vocabulary, better concentration and focus—just to name a few… 

So now I find myself asking…why do we not do more as retailers, publishers, pastors or trade associations to promote reading? After all, reading requires time, effort and commitment.  Visual media like television and the internet, if not regulated, can be huge distractions that take away from valuable reading time. I know this from my own experience. And when I think about it I can honestly say that never has a television show delivered a transformational benefit, though some movies have come very close. Yet like most of you, books have made a huge difference in my life. 

So it seems in my estimation that we ought to be evangelists for the discipline and pastime of reading. It has been said, “You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink.”  But I prefer the expanded version which includes the phrase “but you can make him thirsty.” So how can we…create a thirst for what we have to offer? It is one thing to market books to people who are already readers, but what about “evangelizing” those who aren’t?

Several years ago I had a wonderful time speaking with Bill Grieg of Gospel Light Publishing about this (he is the one who really got me thinking about this). Bill made me aware of a campaign called “Get Caught Reading” that was sponsored by the American Association of Publishers that still exists today. It is like the “Got Milk?” campaign that was launched by the dairy association. Promotional posters of celebrities who have been “caught reading” are available for download by retailers. There are celebrities like Shawn Johnson, George Foreman, Laura Bush, Abraham Lincoln and even Bob and Larry…

There is a lot an individual retailer can and should do in their local community to be sure. Yet, this in itself will not be enough. Somehow we as an industry and the church need to work collaboratively on a national campaign that makes people aware of the benefits of reading and encourages Christians to become readers.

Somehow we need to involve the church as well. Generally, pastors are readers and want a congregation that is active in transforming their minds towards godliness. Yet, how often do these influencers exhort their people to read? How can we as an industry harness the tremendous power of social media and create a community involving authors, pastors, editors, publishers, stores and churchgoers that is excited about and engaged with others about reading?

…While I don’t have the answers, I know the answers are out there among us. Authors probably already do this better than anyone. Years ago CBA (the Association for Christian Retail) had a “What goes into the mind comes out in a life” slogan. Yet I am not sure that it was direct enough and it was short-lived. I would love to see our industry (and the church) as a whole take this on as a challenge.  

Thanks George, and thanks to countless other Christian bookstore managers, for all you have done for the selling and reading of gospel-centered books!

P. S. For those in church leadership interested in more perspectives, Mike Leake shares “7 Ways to Create a Reading Culture in Your Church.”

         

Related Resources

Blog: An Alarming Trend: The Illiteracy of Boys
Article: The Power of Books and How to Use Them
Book: Eternity graphic novel

Reading photo credit: Garrett Gill via photopin cc

Get Caught Reading credit: www.getcaughtreading.org

Where do you turn to in Scripture when you are under stress?

In this video interview with EPM staffer Julia Stager, we discuss stress and finding help in Scripture:

Julia:

Stress is a part of everyone’s everyday life. I know it’s part of my life every day. It’s not a question of whether I’m stressed; it’s a question of how stressed I am. Where do you turn to in the Bible when you’re under stress?

Randy:

I think of 1 Peter 5:7 where it says, “Cast your cares upon Him, because He cares for you.” God is intimately involved in our lives. He cares for us. He’s there for us. I think about His indwelling Holy Spirit. Not only the Holy Spirit, but Christ Himself—the hope of glory, the Son of God—indwells us. His promise is, “I will be with you always.”

In terms of Scripture, I go to the last five chapters of Job. They are very much like staring into the Grand Canyon or being out under the night sky and just looking up at the stars, because of the greatness of God. For instance, in Job the Lord says, “Who is this that darkens my counsel with words without knowledge? I will question you, and you shall answer me. Where were you when I laid the Earth’s foundation? Tell me if you understand. Surely you know.”

He goes on to say to Job, “I’ll ask you, for you have lived so many years.” God was being sarcastic with Job (which is a way we can justify our sarcasm with each other. This is what we’ve been looking for!).

But to me, it’s a huge reminder that God is so big. The thing I would say is, don’t think so much about yourself. Think about God.

Julia:

Absolutely. We have such an opportunity to trust God in this life. I can barely see two steps ahead of me. So if I try to see two steps ahead of me, I’m going to get distracted and become vulnerable to attacks from the enemy. But if I just focus on the present and trust in God’s provision for us (like He says He will), then my stress level usually comes down.

Randy:

Exactly. And you just hit on another characteristic of God—His omniscience. He knows everything. He knows the end from the beginning. And He promises He will work all things together for good for those who love Him. And that means, in the midst of the most stressful thing we have ever experienced or will ever experience, God is in it, and He will use it for our good.

Now that brings an eternal perspective when you’re under stress.

         

Related Resources

Blog: How has God used stress in your life?
Audio: Randy and Nanci's Q&A on Stress at Mom's Group
Book: Help for Women Under Stress

FamilyLife, Redefining Marriage, and the Most Loving Thing We Can Do

After the Supreme Court declared DOMA to be unconstitutional this past June, Dennis Rainey shared a letter about FamilyLife’s controversial radio broadcast on this issue. He wrote, “In more than four decades of ministry I’ve never seen the overwhelming amount of feedback, both positive and negative, to our special radio program two weeks ago concerning the DOMA decision.” (DOMA is the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, which defined legal marriage in federal law as being only between one man and one woman). After sending out an email advertising their upcoming broadcast, FamilyLife received numerous responses taking issue with their stance:

“…I strongly disagree with this email that you sent out.  What about love and acceptance and equality for everyone?  I hope one day that people will stop being judged for who they love."

“I celebrated the Supreme Court rulings yesterday with my amazing gay Christian friends. I felt tears well up in my eyes because this represents justice to me.  The assumption that because I am a Christian, I must be upset about today, took me by surprise. These emails do not represent my heart and my convictions, so I have unsubscribed.”

“There appears to be passionate and growing support for so-called ‘same-sex marriage’ among those who profess faith in Christ,” Dennis wrote. Still, there were others who appreciated the email and broadcast:

"I pray every day for this country and our president. Things sure have changed in a short time in our country. Though I am saddened, I know God is in control and I ask God to be a lamp unto my feet each day. I pray for a grass root change. Thank you for being strong and courageous in times like this. "

Here are some quotes from Dennis’s letter, followed by my thoughts.

Who would have thought that a ministry that teaches God’s design for marriage and family could be labeled, “bigoted”?  That the idea that God created marriage as a lifelong covenant relationship between a man and a woman would now be decried as “hate speech”?  Human speculation now trumps divine decree.

The Bible makes clear that God’s very best for all of our lives involves our purity and obedience to Him. This includes forsaking all sexual sins, heterosexual and homosexual, outside of the marriage covenant between a man and a woman. If this message is “hate speech,” as it is called by some responders, then the Bible is hate speech, and no one can preach the whole Bible without being guilty of hate speech.  

As I feel sorry for someone who will never walk again, I feel very sorry for those who want to be married, but have no desire to be married to the only ones God permits them to marry, those of the opposite gender. But my sorrow and empathy do not negate the objective teaching of Scripture. It is never loving to mislead people into thinking that God permits what He does not, or that it is in our best interests to try to be happy by doing whatever we desire to do.

The Supreme Court may be the highest court in the land, but it is asserting itself above the ultimate authority of all creation.  The Supreme Court is tampering with the divine DNA of the most basic units of civilization—marriage and family.  Like every civilization that has gone before us, I’m afraid our country is on a path to learning that when we ignore God and His word, we invite His displeasure.

It concerns me when those who profess to be Christians simply redefine what it means to be a Christian to accommodate whatever the culture currently believes.  The Bible is no longer their authority, but the current and ever-changing wind of social preference. Teaching that the commandments of God are written in pencil, they buy their social popularity by passing out erasers.

Even where society legalizes homosexual marriage, this does not mean God recognizes it as a marriage. If society legalized marriage between an adult male and a six-year-old girl, God would not recognize it as marriage, or change His judgment that it’s perverse. If society legalized marriage between a man and his sister, this would not thereby change God's revealed will concerning the sin of incest. Hebrews 13:4 tells us, “Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous.”

To give special status or rights to those choosing the homosexual lifestyle is to approve and endorse that behavior, and inevitably to spread it. To do so is morally wrong. It is also the worst possible thing we can do for homosexuals, who need to hear that in Christ there is the way out of bondage to sin. They do not need to be encouraged to plunge deeper into it.

We have apparently lost some friends because we continue to uphold the definition of marriage found in Genesis.  No one likes to lose a friend.  It’s even harder when the friend is angry with you.  But there are times when your convictions may collide with the views of a friend.  And in those moments, you have to decide where you stand.

As for me and my house, we’re standing with what we believe the Bible clearly teaches.

I appreciate Dennis Rainey’s words here. Many people have been angry at me because I don’t believe I have the wisdom or power to revise the nature and commands of God. I do not trust the current beliefs of my culture more than I trust God.

It may appear to be judgmental and unloving for a Christian to believe that only a man and a woman can enjoy a true marriage as defined by God. But like Dennis and the rest of the FamilyLife staff, I really do believe the Bible, and therefore I can't hold to these positions no matter how passionately people may make a case for them.

The truth is that Jesus condemned lust, both heterosexual and homosexual (Matthew 5:28). In Matthew 19:9 Jesus condemned “porneia,” a broad word that covers all sexual sins condemned in the Old Testament, and others not addressed there. Greek scholars say this includes prostitution, bestiality, incest, child molesting, homosexual relations, and all heterosexual relations outside of marriage. So Jesus really did speak against homosexual relations without using that exact term.

Likewise, Jesus’ apostles, who wrote the God-breathed New Testament Scriptures, consistently spoke against homosexual behavior right along with other sins (Romans 1:26-27; 1 Corinthians 6:9; 1 Timothy 1:9-10; Jude 7).

When it comes to the issue of being “judgmental”, people commonly cite Matthew 7:1-2:

“Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”

Yes, Jesus is saying, “Don’t judge.” But the context is king when we’re interpreting Scripture—and in verses 3-5 He goes right on to say:

“How can you say to your brother, “Let me take the speck out of your eye,” when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”

It’s clear that “Judge not” does not mean you can’t see a speck in your brother’s eye or that in seeing it you have no responsibility to help your brother remove it. On the contrary, He’s saying yes, see that speck in your brother’s eye, but take the log out of your eye first so you can help him.

We are not to go around condemning people and making ourselves seem superior to them. But at the same time, we’re to recognize what God says in His Word. If God’s Word says that adultery is a sin, and He clearly does, I am not being judgmental if I say, “If I committed adultery I would be sinning.” Likewise, without a judgmental or self-righteous spirit, I can look at a person committing adultery and conclude that they are sinning. I’m simply believing what Scripture says.

If I have a relationship with that person, I need to go to them and say, “Because I love you, for your own sake I urge you to repent and turn to Christ.” You might say, “Now that’s condemning them and judging them.” No—that’s believing what God says is true and then trying to help the person because sin is not in their best interest. It can't be. It never has been and never will be.  

The truth isn’t something we should protect people from—it’s something God gives for our protection. We owe it to each other to do what Scripture commands: "Speak the truth in love" (Ephesians 4:15).

I’d encourage you to read Dennis’s full letter, which includes four ways FamilyLife is working and reaching out in the days ahead.

         

Related Resources

Blog: Are homosexual sins worse than other sins?
Q&A: I am a Christian homosexual who has always been in a monogamous relationship. Why can’t this be as acceptable as a heterosexual married couple committed to only one person?
Book: The Grace and Truth Paradox

Rings photo credit: michaeljzealot via photopin cc

What is a father’s primary responsibility?

In this video interview with EPM staffer Julia Stager, we share some thoughts on a father’s primary responsibility to his children:

Randy:

I think a father’s primary responsibility is to show his children what God is like. Your daughters and your sons need to see what true fatherhood is, and you as a father will be the one who shows them what God is like (that is, if you are faithful to show them what God is like). When your children hear the word “Father” in relationship to God, they will draw conclusions, truly or falsely, about what He is like based on what they think of you.

Deuteronomy 6 says, “These commandments I give you today are to be upon your heart.” So first, the father has to have this knowledge of God in his own life. Then it goes on to say what he’s supposed to do in relationship to his children (keep in mind that if a father doesn’t really have it in the inside, he can’t give it to his children): “Impress them [these commandments] on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home, when you walk along the road, and when you lie down and when you get up.” Then it says, “tie them as symbols, put them around your house.”

So what Scripture is saying is impress them upon your children. And that word impress really means “engrave.” It’s like children are wet cement and with your finger you are writing in it. As you know if you’ve done this with wet cement (which as a child you weren’t supposed to do, but I did!) it becomes permanent. That’s how you engrave into your children.

But the great thing is, this engraving is done causally as life goes on. It’s not just during family devotions. Family devotions are great, but it’s more than that. It’s as you walk in the way.

Julia:

Absolutely. As a father, you’re living in the same household as your children, and they are observing you at all times. Just like you’re saying, it’s not that you only have a responsibility during certain times of the day, but during all times of the day.

Randy:

Exactly. One of the ways that fathers can model godliness to their children is to apologize and ask forgiveness. Yes, God never has to apologize to us and ask our forgiveness. But we need to model what that’s like in our Christian lives so that our children can look at us and see us admitting we’re wrong. That’s part of being Christlike.

         

Related Resources

Blog: The Importance of Fathers
Article: The Father as Model and Mentor
Books: Heaven for Kids, The Resolution for Men 

Background photo credit: Lost Control via photopin cc

Incredible Pictures from the Astronomy Photographer of the Year Competition

“The heavens declare the glory of God” (Psalm 19:1). So too do the accomplishments of mankind whom He created in His image, and made to reflect his glory. Even people who don’t recognize God build telescopes, explore the heavens and take magnificent photos such as these. Whether or not you acknowledge God, your creativity, ingenuity, eye for beauty and technical skills are all gifts from His hand.

If you believe in Christ, look at these photos and worship Him (thanks to my good friend Diane Meyer who, knowing my love for astronomy, sent me this link). If you don’t believe in Him, consider whether these testify to a world and a universe and people created by design, or randomly occurring and evolving over billions or millions of years. I once believed the latter, because that’s what I was taught. When I heard the gospel as a teenager, everything changed.

And after forty years of knowing Him, I would never go back to the hollowness of what I once believed.

         

Related Resources

Blog: Eagerly Anticipating the New Heavens to Come
Video: When did you put your faith in Christ?
Book: The Promise of Heaven

Photo credit: European Southern Observatory

Will God take care of our children?

A lot of people have been experiencing anxiety due to shootings. Will God always take care of our children?

In this video and the following transcript, I share some thoughts:

I think when you look at what’s happening at schools and life in general, and with children being abducted, these are things that every parent is going to ask. I really wish I could give an answer that says, “Yes. God will always take care of your children and protect them from all harm.” But that’s not reality. That’s not the world we live in. We live in a world that is under the curse.

I think it is possible for people to end up blaming God when bad things happen in their own lives and to their children because they’ve had false expectations, as if God promised nothing bad will ever happen to them or their child.

What God does promise is that He’s bigger than all the bad things that can ever happen to us. He also promises that He loves children. Look at Jesus—the way He took children onto his lap and said, “Unless you become like one of these, you won’t enter the kingdom of God.” He said to His disciples, “Allow the children to come to me.”

So Scripture clearly teaches God’s love for children, His sovereignty, and His ability and commitment to cause all things to work together for good. But that’s not the same as promising nothing bad will ever happen to our children.

         

Related Resources

Blog: Why does God take some people to heaven so young?
Resource: What does Romans 8:28 really mean?
Book: 90 Days of God's Goodness

Photo credit: Ben Earwicker - Garrison Photography, Boise, ID, www.garrisonphoto.org

Did Jesus have a sin nature?

First, we need to define sin nature. The “nature” of a person or object is commonly thought of as its essential qualities or attributes; that which makes it what it is. Therefore if something has a “sin nature” sin is a defining attribute of that thing.

Hebrews 4:15 tells us Jesus is “without sin.” Since He is without sin, sin cannot be one of His essential qualities or attributes. You cannot have a sin nature, and be without sin. Christ’s nature is not sinful. Hebrews also tells us about Jesus’ pure nature. He is “holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens” (Hebrews 7:26).

Part of the misunderstanding is that a human nature is synonymous with a sin nature, or that one must have a sin nature to be genuinely tempted. Both points are wrong. The proof is Adam was fully human, and though he had no sin nature he was genuinely tempted. So the Last Adam, Jesus, had no sin nature and was genuinely tempted, the difference being that Adam sinned and Jesus didn’t.

There have always been cults, such as the Christadelphians, that teach Jesus had a sin nature. However, some mainstream Christians see the sin nature of Jesus as necessary because He was “like us in every respect,” a “real man” and “tempted in all ways like us,” as Hebrews says (Heb. 2:17-18; 4:15). So how could these verses be true if He didn’t have a sin nature?

Some argue that the sin nature is passed on to a child through the father, not the mother. They point out that we are all said to have sinned in Adam, not in Eve (Romans 5:12), even though Eve sinned first. Humans have 23 pairs of chromosomes: one member of each pair inherited from the mother and the other from the father. This suggests that when the Holy Spirit overshadowed Mary (Luke 1:35), and Jesus was conceived in His mother, God miraculously supplied the other 23 chromosomes to make the matched pair with Mary’s. These would normally have come from a human father.

If it is true that the sin nature is passed on by the father (there is no biblical proof of this, it is only a supposition based on the human race sinning in Adam), in the case of Jesus there was no human father to pass it on. This might be (we can’t be sure, but it’s possible) what allowed Him to be the only human being conceived since Adam and Eve’s fall not to have a sin nature.

Theologian Bruce Ware argues for this position:

Notice, it is the sins of the fathers visited upon the third and fourth generation. Notice, when Adam and Eve sinned in the garden, Eve sinned first and Adam is held accountable for it. And notice the virgin birth of Christ. This accomplishes, in my judgment, at least two things. One, he was fully God and fully man. So the Holy Spirit took the place of a human father and brought about this conception so that the one born would be called the Son of God (Lk 1:35). The second thing was, it prevented the sinful line of Adam from being passed on from the father. Every other human being born, you and me included, had a dad; at least at the point of conception there was a human father involved and sin is passed on. Not with Christ; there was no human father.

Karl Barth taught that Jesus had a FALLEN nature, as all people do, but not a SIN nature. But that’s a distinction hard to make. Obviously He lived under many of the effects of the Fall, including stress and suffering and mortality, but that’s not the same as having a fallen nature.

This is a good article about the extent of Jesus’ humanity.

Note from Randy: Julia doesn’t think there is a strong biblical argument for the idea that the sin nature is passed on through the father. I asked her to explain why, and she makes some very good points to consider. Here’s what she says:

I don’t believe this view is correct for a couple reasons. First, there’s no biblical evidence that male chromosomes are especially sinful or are the source of sin nature while female chromosomes are not. Would not then a woman born of a man only have tainted DNA to pass on? Or is it that females have sin in our entire DNA except our gametes? And how would that DNA be protected or separated from the sinful DNA? Isn’t it all just very odd? Sin isn’t a physical trait; it’s a spiritual state. And then there’s the question of female cloning (a cloned female would be sinless? Or is there sin nature in female chromosomes after all?) Not to mention the difficulties in defining “male” in light of sex chromosomal disorders/mutations, hermaphrodites, etc.

Romans 5:12 doesn’t answer how sin spread from one man to the rest of humanity, just that it did. I believe that being in Adam’s family (i.e. human) is what causes death to be passed on to all – fallen men and women beget fallen men and women. A few verses later Romans 5:18 makes the same point in a different way, explaining the spread of sin like a much more instantaneous state-of-all-humanity event (by one trespass all people are in condemnation) as opposed to the continual seeding of sin by fathers into humanity (see also 1 Cor. 15:21-22). Also, Ephesians 2:3 says we were all by nature children of wrath, not by our “father’s nature.” Granted, this is an argument from silence, but it makes the point that believing sin is passed through the father is foreign to Scripture. Additionally, there is no Scripture pointing to the virgin birth as an explanation of Jesus’ sinlessness. He’s not sinless because He was born of a virgin; He’s sinless because He’s the God-man.

The virgin birth shows us the beauty of God taking the initiative of incarnating Himself as the means of salvation for mankind; it’s the beginning of Jesus’ earthly life that would culminate in overcoming death and defeating sin while being like us in every respect.

Though nothing in Scripture proves the “sin is from the father” theory explicitly wrong, there is equally nothing in Scripture proving it right, and I feel fine not believing in something the Bible doesn’t teach, especially when it doesn’t really make sense.

         

Related Resources

Blog: Sinless Perfectionism: Are we no longer capable of sinning as Christians?
Resource: What Would Jesus Do…Or What DID Jesus Do?

Background stock photo credit: Cernasite via sxc.hu

Biola University President Apologizes to Prolife Student and Takes a Stand

Some of you are aware of the events at Biola University in May. A fourth year nursing school student, Diana Jimenez, became aware of the truth about abortion, and was so moved and convicted that she sensed God’s leading to publicly display photos of aborted babies on Biola’s campus.

After she refused to stop displaying the photos, a campus security guard threatened to have her arrested, and this was caught on video. Subsequently, the director of the nursing program ordered her staff not to write letters of recommendation on Diana’s behalf, something which would likely stop her nursing career dead in its tracks.

Because of my love for Biola, where I spoke for a week last year, and my respect for Biola’s president Barry Corey, I contacted him in June. No doubt, many others did as well, some expressing similar and others radically different opinions than mine.

Knowing his heart from when I spent time with him, I wrote Barry a lengthy letter in which I shared arguments for students at a Christian university to be able to publicly display photos of aborted children without retaliation. If anything, such students, and a future nurse in particular, should be commended for being willing to speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves (Proverbs 31:8-9).

I wrote about American college presidents who were outspoken about the injustices of slavery, and who God used to inspire students and faculty to help rescue slaves through the Underground Railroad. I told him that I believe pastors and Christian leaders and college administrators and faculty need to lead the way in encouraging our young people to come to grips with and boldly confront the harsh and sickening reality of what abortion really is. I provided a link to a website started by young people, dedicated to not only telling but also showing their own generation, college students included, the truth about abortion.

I also told Barry, and want to tell readers of this blog, that I believed this had happened at Biola in the providence of God, since at most “Christian” universities a small percentage of the administration, faculties or students are prolife in any meaningful sense. Indeed, as unthinkable as it is from a biblical perspective, many of them favor abortion rights, which means the “right” to kill children before they are born. (I know this firsthand. I have spoken on some of their campuses and had the conversations.)

Without any defensiveness, Barry Corey graciously read and took the time to give a heartfelt and lengthy response to my letter. It’s not for me to publish his response, but I can say that I deeply appreciated what he had to say.  

I could only rejoice when I received a public letter regarding this issue, one posted on the Biola website, written by Barry on August 20. Even though he wasn’t involved in the incident or that misguided letter to the nursing faculty, he apologized personally to Diana Jimenez on behalf of the university and apologized publicly as well.

For a summary of the events at Biola, and key quotes from Barry Corey’s letter, I highly recommend this excellent blog by Jill Stanek (thanks, Jill), which details some other very significant things I haven’t said:

Biola president Dr. Barry Corey, pictured right, has issued a public letter of apology for retaliatory actions staff members of his Christian university took against pro-life student Diana Jimenez in June for showing graphic images of abortion on campus:

For actions on our part that were perceived to be heavy-handed and retaliatory, I have apologized to her and stand by this apology publicly. I acknowledge and regret our errors, and steps have been taken to correct them….

In so many ways, Diana is the kind of student with the deep Christian convictions I hoped to see when I came to Biola six years ago. In her convictions about saving the unborn, she represents what Biola is about—the desire to speak up against injustices that break the heart of God. Like Diana, Biola is and has been passionately pro-life.

A campus security guard was caught on video threatening to have Jimenez arrested, and the director of the nursing program, Dr. Susan Elliott, ordered her staff not to write letters of recommendation on Jimenez’s behalf.

Going a step further, Dr. Corey outlined in his letter a plan to educate all Biola students via the student newspaper, chapel services, and public displays on campus about the importance of showing the graphic reality of abortion.

In addition, Dr. Corey and his staff are working to ensure all Biola curricula is infused with pro-life teaching:

This year we are accelerating our work and adding leadership to our academic team for the specific purpose of making sure our stated values and theological convictions are evident in our curriculum and learning outcomes and of making changes where we see learning outcomes are not evident. This relates to the sanctity of life, as it is one of our six theological distinctives. We desire that each student graduating from Biola understands and can articulate the biblical message of the sanctity of human life, so that students demonstrate these values in their own communities….

We have begun to consider additional ways to emphasize the tragedy and trauma of abortion so that our students not only embrace the convictions those like Diana champion but also understand there’s help for them in times when they need it.

Dr. Corey’s letter brought tears to my eyes. It is a beautiful Christian example of how to respond when error is recognized and forgiveness and repentance are sought.

For the past seven weeks pro-life leaders John Ensor, M.Div., President, Passion Life Ministries; Scott Klusendorf, M.A., President, Life Training Institute; and Marc Newman, Ph.D., President, Speaker for Life – two of whom are Biola graduates – have been working with Biola to craft a better pro-life policy. As they wrote in a press release today:

Ultimately, the problem at Biola was not about the university’s statement of faith regarding the sanctity of human life. The real problem at Biola was that a fourth-year nursing student could complete that program, yet remain totally unaware of the grisly reality of abortion or the persuasive arguments that support a pro-life perspective. It took exposure to those images, displayed at a student-sponsored pro-life event which drew only a handful of participants, to awaken her to the need to rouse her fellow students to action. And if Diana’s ignorance of abortion was typical in Nursing, what about students in Music, Communication, English, or Biblical Studies?

The trio is hoping to work with Biola and other Christian universities on a larger plan:

We would like to see Biola, and other like-minded universities, take a further step to integrate an inter-disciplinary minor in Applied Bioethics to further equip and professionalize the next generation of pro-life advocates and ministry partners. Such a move takes time, but we are willing to work with Biola – or any interested Christian university – to create and implement such a minor. In fact, we already have a curriculum outlined.

I commend Dr. Corey and Biola for their examples of Christian maturity and the leadership role they are embarking upon among Christian institutions of high learning to stop the atrocity of abortion. I concur with Ensor, Klusendorf, and Newman:

Because of these extraordinary and unprecedented steps, we believe Biola deserves the whole-hearted support of the pro-life community. Few Christian universities take their Biblical convictions concerning life as seriously as does Biola. It is our fervent hope that these collective actions of confession and repentance will prove to anyone with doubts that Biola is a champion for Life. We ask for prayer and for reconciliation between Biola and the wider pro-life community. Our prayer is that God would empower us with a spirit of grace as we seek to work together toward our true task: to save the lives of unborn children created in the image of the God we serve.

One final note, according to the pro-life groups’ press release, several weeks ago the Biola administration overturned nursing Elliott’s directive.

I am also told Dr. Elliott has retired.

         

Related Resources

Blog: Biola University: A Place for Students to Nurture Their Faith
Blog: The Evidence Doesn't Lie: The Unborn Are Children
Book: Why ProLife?

 

How has God used stress in your life?

Nanci and I have definitely seen God use stress in our life. In this video, I share more:

Not that we wished for stress, because we never did. It came anyway. Certainly there was the stress of raising young children. We had two well-behaved little girls. But were they a handful? Sure, at times. You know how kids are. :) There’s the normal kind of stresses in life.

We found ourselves facing some things like my becoming an insulin-dependent diabetic. I have a disease that at times can have fairly serious symptoms. We’ve been able to live a normal life, but certainly there’s stress involved.

We had the stress related to my taking a stand on the abortion issue, in peaceful, non-violent disobedience at abortion clinics. I had the stress of seeing my picture on the front page of the Sunday Oregonian. Everybody was asking me, “What are you doing out there? You stand there with a Bible, and you’re reading outside of an abortion clinic?” I’ve had the stress of major lawsuits, and the stress of going to jail for a few days, being arrested seven times or so.

Those things took a toll on us. On the other hand, we really learned from them to say, “You know what? This is life in a world under the curse. One day this world will be delivered from the curse.” But it helped us to know that God has called us to do some things in life, and not all of them are going to be popular or easy.

Some of the things that have created stress are things that we’ve chosen, and we felt God’s leading to do so. Other stressful things God has brought into our lives or allowed into our lives (or whatever terminology you want to use). The fact is, God is sovereign and has a purpose and an intention. He has used those things to bring about perseverance and character-growth, to help us learn joy, love, and dedication to our family and ministry.

One of the stresses that Nanci and I found was the number of people who really questioned the choices that we made related to intervening for the unborn, even people at our own church. Some were wonderfully supportive; others felt we were doing the wrong thing. We learned that some of the stresses in life come from doing what’s unpopular. But at the end of the day, we had to practice what Peter wrote about—entrusting ourselves to a faithful Creator who judges justly (1 Peter 2:23). We had to say, let’s live our lives in the sight of the Audience of One and seek to please Him.

Realize that stresses can come. But in the end, God will use them to bring us into conformity to the image of Christ. God will also bring great good out of them—and in fact, Nanci and I can testify that He has brought great good out of the stresses in our own lives.

         

Related Resources

Blog: Trials, Trust and Growing Christ-like Character
Resource: How God Uses Stress for Our Good and His Glory
Book: Help for Women Under Stress

Photo credit: ajmac via sxc.hu