Randy Alcorn's Blog, page 200

Humility: Recognizing Who We Really Are

In this 3 minute video and the following transcript, I share some thoughts about humility.

Romans 12:3 says, “Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment.” This is what humility is—it’s recognizing who we really are. What Scripture has to say about who we really are is not a great compliment. We’re sinners. Even before we were sinners, we were still small, finite beings, and we always will be.

But it’s okay to be small. What’s not okay is to be a sinner. But that’s the state that we’re in through our own choice. That’s our very nature. Yes, Scripture says we all sinned in Adam, but we are all sinners in our own lives.

Humility is recognizing our own unworthiness and the fact that I literally deserve to go to Hell for all eternity. If I come to grips with that, then I don’t have high expectations that everybody should celebrate how great I am, because I am not great.

Now, at the same time, we could go overboard with that and spend our whole lives thinking about what rotten people we are and not celebrate what Christ has done for us. In Christ, we are cleansed of our sin. Scripture says, “He has made him to be sin for us, he who knew no sin, that we may be made the righteousness of God in him” (2 Corinthians 5:21). In this same context, Romans 12 goes on to talk about each of us having spiritual gifts given to us from God to serve for the good of the body. There is the humility of service that comes from using our gifts, so we’re not celebrating these great gifts that we have, but instead we’re using them to honor Christ and to serve as He did. He’s the One who came not to be served, but to serve and to give His life a ransom for many.

Christ is our model of humility. Philippians 2 talks about how He lowered Himself. This is our privilege: to be humble servants of God. If you’re a servant of God, and somebody treats you like a servant once in a while, you don’t claim your rights and get indignant about the fact that you were treated like a servant. Hey, you’re called to be a servant! And it’s a high calling. Jesus was called to be a servant and has given us an example that we should follow in His footsteps.

When a great athlete does something admirable, but they’re the ones to rave on and on about their greatness, it doesn’t appeal to us or to God. That’s not humility; that’s pride. Pride pushes us away from God; humility draws us toward God. Humility puts us on God’s side, so to speak, where we agree with God about our true condition and our true need for Christ. Even as Christians, we need Christ today just as much as we did the day we came to faith in Christ. That’s something we should never forget.

      

Related Resources

Book: Eternal Perspectives
Blog: A Life of Humility
Article: The Moral Perfection of Christ

Photo Credit

Ladybug: kovik via sxc.hu | Scrubbing hands: bark via photopin cc

The Poison of Ingratitude

I’ve mentioned before my appreciation for Ann Voskamp’s One Thousand Gifts. This passage from her book was one of many that stuck out to me.

Ultimately, in his essence Satan is an ingrate. And he sinks his venom into the heart of Eden. Satan’s sin becomes the first sin of all humanity: the sin of ingratitude. Adam and Eve are, simply, painfully, ungrateful for what God gave.

Isn’t that the catalyst of all my sins?

Our fall was, has always been, and always will be, that we aren’t satisfied in God and what He gives. We hunger for something more, something other.

Standing before that tree, laden with fruit withheld, we listen to Evil’s murmur, “In the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened…” (Genesis 3:5 NASB). But in the beginning, our eyes were already open. Our sight was perfect. Our vision let us see a world spilling with goodness. Our eyes fell on nothing but the glory of God. We saw God as He truly is: good. But we were lured by the deception that there was more to a full life, there was more to see. And, true, there was more to see: the ugliness we hadn’t beheld, the sinfulness we hadn’t witnessed, the loss we hadn’t known.

We eat. And, in an instant, we are blind. No longer do we see God as one we can trust. No longer do we perceive Him as wholly good. No longer do we observe all of the remaining paradise.

We eat. And, in an instant, we see. Everywhere we look, we see a world of lack, a universe of loss, a cosmos of scarcity, and injustice.

We are hungry. We eat. We are filled…and emptied.

And still, we look at the fruit and see only the material means to fill our emptiness. We don’t see the material world for what it is meant to be: as the means to communion with God.

We look and swell with the ache of a broken, battered planet, what we ascribe as the negligent work of an indifferent Creator (if we even think there is one). Do we ever think of this busted-up place as the result of us ingrates, unsatisfied, we who punctured it all with a bite? The fruit’s poison has infected the whole of humanity. Me. I say no to what he’s given. I thirst for some roborant, some elixir, to relieve the anguish of what I’ve believed: God isn’t good. God doesn’t love me.

If I’m ruthlessly honest, I may have said yes to God, yes to Christianity, but really, I have lived the no. I have. Infected by that Eden mouthful, the retina of my soul develops macular holes of blackness.

      

Related Resources

Blog: Choosing Gratitude: A Must Read
Book: The Grace and Truth Paradox

Photo credit: magalex via sxc.hu

What’s a Marriage? Does It Matter Whether There’s a Man and a Woman?

Mary Kassian answers the question of how a marriage is properly defined. I appreciate her thoughts. 

Christianity.com: Why must marriage be defined as being only between a man and woman?-Mary Kassian from christianitydotcom2 on GodTube.

      

Related Resources

Blog: Perspectives on Louie Giglio, the Homosexual Issue and What It Means to Be a Christ-Follower in This Culture
Booklet:  Sexual Temptation: Establishing Guardrails and Winning the Battle
Article: Is The Homosexual Lifestyle Worthy Of Minority Status?

What is your opinion of positive thinking?

In this 2.5 minute video and the following transcript, I share some thoughts about positive thinking.

Positive thinking is something that’s talked about a lot in this culture. Here’s what Scripture says:

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things  (Philippians 4:8).

This passage could strike us as an example of positive thinking. But I think it’s actually an example of true, reality-based thinking. In other words, God says to us that certain things are true, and some of those things that are true are very bad news. It’s hard to think positively about sin, and let’s not try to put the best face on the reality of our sin that separates us from God. There’s no good face to that. That’s not positive thinking.

Biblical thinking says, “I come to grips with the negatives in life, and not by denying them.” I don’t deny I have cancer if I have cancer. I don’t deny I have struggles in my marriage relationship if I do. I don’t deny that I’m really struggling in my walk with God. Positive thinking is not what I can grab onto that gets me through these difficult things.

It’s God who gets me through. I need to place my faith in Him, and choose to focus on things which are ultimately and eternally positive. The promise of God in Romans 8:28—that He’s going to cause all things to work together for good for those who love Him—is a great thing to focus on. That’s not “positive thinking” as if I’m trying to convince myself that it’s really true. No, it really is true! Let’s meditate on that thing that really is true.

Ultimately, as Christians, we should be the greatest positive thinkers. Why? Because we believe in a God of sovereign providence, of redemption, who’s come into this world, who paid the price for our sins, and who promises one day He’s going to wipe away the tears from every eye and there will be no more curse. That is a very positive message.

      

Related Resources

Video: Romans 8:28—Why does God allow what He allows?
Blog: The Eyes of Faith
Book: 50 Days of Heaven

A 6-minute video drama based on Safely Home

I was very moved by this video produced by Matthew Holbrook and the high school ministry of Grace Church of Orange. Matthew writes:

I lead the high school ministry at Grace Church of Orange and our group has an outreach ministry where we share the gospel through a series of 4-minute musical dramas. Over the years, we have developed over 50 such dramas. A couple of years ago, we developed and performed one that was inspired by Safely Home.

I came to Christ while in high school, and it’s very encouraging to see high schoolers focus their attention on following Christ wholeheartedly. While the background songs you hear in this video have great words, the true power is in the wordless actions of the drama that tells the life-changing cosmos-shaking story. Not just one related to my novel Safely Home, but one lived out daily among God’s persecuted people across the world. Watching this made me think of Revelation 12:11-12 and its words about people of faith and courage:

And they have conquered him [Satan] by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death. Therefore, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath, because he knows that his time is short!

Thank you, Matthew, and the youth of Grace Church. Hope the rest of you are as touched by this as I was:

      

Related Resources

Article: Is there still persecution of Christians in China today?
Blog: Safely Home the Musical Drama
Book: Safely Home Anniversary Edition

 

Bulging Wallet Syndrome

No, this blog is not about reducing wallet size by giving away your cash. A writer friend recently shared that he had been diagnosed with “Wallet Sciatica,” intense pain caused by his large wallet. It reminded me of something from my past. Maybe this blog will save you or someone you know from some pain. But for me, it just makes me smile remembering like it was yesterday the story my dad, a tavern owner, told me when I was a kid and first started carrying a wallet:

I had horrible back pain for years. It got to the point that I would twist around while driving trying to get relief. I couldn’t do heavy lifting, could hardly bend over any more. I went to the doctor and he couldn’t figure out what was causing it, and just gave me pain killers, with no hope of ever getting better. So one night a guy was sitting at the bar at my tavern. He was drunk, and getting drunker. He saw me wincing in pain and said, “What’s wrong?” I told him about my back problem. He said, “Show me your wallet.” I wasn’t going to pull out my wallet for a drunk, but he was a customer so finally I showed him my thick wallet. He said, “That’s your problem. Put it in your front pocket and in a few months you’ll be fine.” So I did. And it was. Haven’t had a backache since.

This was probably the most Proverb-like advice my unbelieving father ever gave me (he finally came to Christ at age 85). So I’ve always carried my wallet in my front pocket. It also comes in handy when you’re in crowded areas with pickpockets. And it goes to show that you can sometimes get good advice (without a doctor’s bill) from someone who’s drunk. But I wouldn’t count on it. :)

By the way, my dad never gave up his huge wallet, full of notes and newspaper clippings. It continued to bulge, but in a pocket where it no longer hurt him. As his son, I’ve carried on the tradition, occasionally finding in my wallet expired coupons and business cards given to me three years ago.

      

 

The Millennial Generation and Sexual Sin

The article I link to at the end inspired me to write this blog. It addresses the Millennial Generation’s acceptable sin—sex outside of marriage. For many years now I’ve seen this trend which is disturbing not only because God is dishonored, but also because young people’s lives are being destroyed. I know of evangelical churches where it’s a “given” that young people are sleeping around, if not in high school, by the time they’re in college.

In my book The Purity Principle I write:

Since the time we were young teenagers, many of us have heard lists of reasons for walking in sexual purity. God commands purity and forbids impurity. Purity is right. Impurity is wrong.

True? Absolutely. But it’s equally correct to say purity is always smart; impurity is always stupid.

There it is—what I’m calling The Purity Principle: Purity is always smart; impurity is always stupid. Not sometimes.

Not usually.

Always. You’re not an exception. I’m not an exception. There are no exceptions.

A holy God made the universe in such a way that actions true to His character, and the laws derived from His character, are always rewarded. Actions that violate His character, however, are always punished. He rewards every act of justice; He punishes every act of injustice.

That doesn’t mean God always intervenes directly. This moral law is like the law of gravity. God has set it in place. When a careless driver speeds on an icy mountain pass, loses control, and plunges his car off a cliff, God doesn’t suddenly invent gravity to punish the driver’s carelessness. Gravity is already in place.

In the same way, God doesn’t need to punish the pornography addict for every wrong choice. The punishment is built into the sin. Shame, degradation, and warping of the personality follow as a matter of course. Scripture describes those who have surrendered to their lust to live in immorality as “receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error” (Romans 1:27, NASB).

That’s the way God’s moral universe operates. We get to choose our own path. But with each path comes inevitable consequences.

The roads of life are sometimes hazardous. But God loves us enough to place warning signs: “Don’t commit adultery” and “No sex before marriage.” We don’t have to obey. We do have to live with the consequences.

This is something that young people, their parents and their churches need to come to grips with. One thing is certain—an unholy world will never be won to Christ by an unholy church.

Here’s the article I think all church leaders should read, and all leaders of church and parachurch youth groups:

The Millenial Generation’s Acceptable Sin

by Barton Gingerich

Every human institution and society has its own list of sins and virtues that contradict the law of God. With the rise of the Millennial generation in evangelical churches, a vice is creeping up into the realms of acceptance, indifference, or at least resignation: fornication (i.e. extramarital sex or unchaste living).

Continue reading

Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body. (1 Corinthians 6:18)

      

Road photo credit: Ben Earwicker, Garrison Photography, Boise, ID, www.garrisonphoto.org

Logos Hope: A Great International Opportunity for Short-term Service

My friend George Verwer, founder of Operation Mobilization (OM), recently shared about his visit to Logos Hope, a ship owned and operated by OM Ships. Logos Hope travels to ports around the world, acting as a floating bookshop. (They report that, on average, over one million visitors are welcomed on board each year.)

OM Ships also provides training for those who work onboard, as well as volunteer opportunities to serve by providing supply aid and community care in the places they dock. Their international crew represents over 45 nations.

George encourages those who are college-bound (and those of any age) to consider dedicating 1-2 years to volunteer on the ship: “If I were talking to an American thinking about going to Yale or Harvard, or a Brit thinking about Cambridge or Oxford, and they asked me, ‘Should I go to the ship or to the university?’, of course I would say both.”

He continues, “We believe the Bible is true…and this leads me to say that just the education and training aspect of the ship is worth more than anything you will get at some anti-Christian institution. So if you have to choose, I suggest the ship. …So many young people have no clue what the ship is.  It is not primarily for missionaries or those who want to be. Yes, it is for some and that’s great. It’s a life-changing, character-building work training experience to prepare people for whatever walk of life you going into.”

If you’re interested in learning more, go to www.omships.org.

      

Thanks to Stephanie Anderson for assembling most of the info in this blog.

LOGOS Hope: A Great International Opportunity for Short-term Service

My friend George Verwer, founder of Operation Mobilization (OM), recently shared about his visit to LOGOS Hope, a ship owned and operated by the German nonprofit ministry GBA Ships. LOGOS Hope travels to ports around the world, acting as a floating bookshop. (They report that, on average, over one million visitors are welcomed on board each year.)

GBA Ships also provides training for those who work onboard, as well as volunteer opportunities to serve by providing supply aid and community care in the places they dock. Their international crew represents over 45 nations.

George encourages those who are college-bound (and those of any age) to consider dedicating 1-2 years to volunteer on the ship: “If I were talking to an American thinking about going to Yale or Harvard, or a Brit thinking about Cambridge or Oxford, and they asked me, ‘Should I go to the ship or to the university?’, of course I would say both.”

He continues, “We believe the Bible is true…and this leads me to say that just the education and training aspect of the ship is worth more than anything you will get at some anti-Christian institution. So if you have to choose, I suggest the ship. …So many young people have no clue what the ship is.  It is not primarily for missionaries or those who want to be. Yes, it is for some and that’s great. It’s a life-changing, character-building work training experience to prepare people for whatever walk of life you going into.”

If you’re interested in learning more, go to www.gbaships.org.

      

Thanks to Stephanie Anderson for assembling most of the info in this blog.

Martin Luther on being a theologian, writer and preacher

As a student of theology, writer, and occasional preacher, I loved reading Martin Luther talking about learning theology, and about the “little books” some of us write and the little sermons we preach. Sometimes the reformers really make you smile. Luther writes: 

I want to point out to you a correct way of studying theology….

First, you should know that the Holy Scriptures constitute a book that turns the wisdom of all other books into foolishness, because not one teaches about eternal life except this one alone. Therefore you should straightway despair of your reason and understanding. With them you will not attain eternal life, but, on the contrary, your presumptuousness will plunge you and others with you out of heaven (as happened to Lucifer) into the abyss of hell. But kneel down in your room and pray to God with real humility and earnestness (as David did), that he through his dear Son may give you his Holy Spirit, who will enlighten you, lead you, and give you understanding.

Second, you should meditate not only in your heart, but also externally, by actually repeating and comparing oral speech and literal words of the book, reading and rereading them with diligent attention and reflection, so you may see what the Holy Spirit means by them. Take care you do not grow weary or think you have done enough when you have read, heard, and spoken them once or twice, and that you then have complete understanding. You'll never be a particularly good theologian if you do that, for you will be like untimely fruit which falls to the ground before it is half ripe. God will not give you his Spirit without the external Word.

…If you study hard in accord with [David’s] example, then you will also sing and boast with him, "The law of thy mouth is better to me than thousands of gold and silver pieces" (Ps. 119:72).

And it will be your experience that the books of the fathers will taste stale and putrid to you in comparison. You will not only despise the books written by adversaries, but the longer you write and teach, the less you will be pleased with yourself. When you have reached this point, then do not be afraid to hope that you have begun to become a real theologian, who can teach not only the young and imperfect Christians, but also the maturing and perfect ones.

If, however, you feel and are inclined to think you have made it, flattering yourself with your own little books, teaching, or writing, because you have done it beautifully and preached excellently; if you are highly pleased when someone praises you in the presence of others; if you perhaps look for praise, and would sulk or quit what you are doing if you did not get it—if you are of that stripe, dear friend, then take yourself by the ears, and if you do this in the right way you will find a beautiful pair of big, long, shaggy donkey ears. Then do not spare any expense! Decorate them with golden bells, so that people will be able to hear you wherever you go, point their fingers at you, and say, “See, See! There goes that clever beast, who can write such exquisite books and preach so remarkably well.”

Luther's Works, Vol. 34
Edited by Lewis W. Spitz
1960 (Muhlenberg Press)

“God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble” (1 Peter 5;5).