Randy Alcorn's Blog, page 23

Jesus Warns Us Because He Loves Us

Note from Randy: There are a lot of people who think that warnings and commands of Scripture are restrictive, hampering our freedom. We want to be free to do whatever feels best to us (regardless of how wrong we may be about what’s best for us).

But as a loving father, God builds boundaries to protect us from sin and from our lack of wisdom. In my book The Purity Principle, I write about how God’s guardrails are His moral laws. They stand between us and destruction. They are there not to punish or deprive us, but to protect us. And if we stay within the boundaries He has put up for us, we experience not frustration, but joy. Not bondage, but freedom.

A smart traveler doesn’t curse the guardrails. He doesn’t whine, “That guardrail dented my fender!” He looks over the cliff, sees demolished autos down below, and thanks God for guardrails!

I can’t express how much I love this article about how the warnings of Jesus are an expression of His love. It’s a message that we all, young or old, need to hear (I sent it to my grandsons and some young men on the tennis team I help coach). My thanks to Pastor Ben Cunningham for writing and sharing these insights. 

Jesus’s Love Warns

By Ben Cunningham

When I was in my early 20s, my family took a trip to Yellowstone National Park. One afternoon, we saw the Lower Falls of the Yellowstone River, the largest waterfall in the Rockies, twice as high as Niagara Falls. As we walked out to the main overlook—a steel platform girded with four-foot rails and crowded with camera-toting tourists—I saw another overlook that seemed to have a better view.

The trouble was, this second overlook was blocked by a fence with signs warning, “Extreme Danger. Do Not Climb.” My immediate thought: How bad can it be? Surely some despotic safety committee put this up. Repressive signs just steal the excitement. So, I climbed the fence, walked out to the ledge . . . and the ground gave way beneath my feet.

The warning on that fence had a purpose. Jesus’s warnings do too.

Two caricatures of Jesus rule the modern imagination. A stern, moralizing Jesus who speaks mostly in criticism and critique, and a mild, permissive, and therapeutic Jesus who prefers to console no matter the occasion. One too harsh to be heard, the other with little to say. Many are caught in the whiplash between these two representations, fully enthralled with neither, stuck trying to discern who the true Jesus is.

But warning isn’t the opposite of love; it’s an expression of love. Just consider how Jesus ends his famous sermon in Matthew 7.

Warnings on the Mount

Why did Jesus end the Sermon on the Mount with a warning? We can imagine a more appealing conclusion. Why not close with the end of Matthew 6, heralding God’s generous provision as the cure for anxiety? Yet Jesus wraps the greatest address ever recorded with a series of signs that read, “Extreme Danger. Do Not Climb.” The final two warnings are to beware of false prophets (7:15–23) and to not build your house on sand (vv. 24–27).

Here and elsewhere, Jesus differentiates himself from false prophets, the kind condemned in Jeremiah 6 who “healed the wounds of [God’s] people lightly, saying, ‘Peace, peace, where there is no peace.’” When Jeremiah spoke this message, Jerusalem was under siege. He tells us the mark of a true prophet is to name the threats, to reinforce the urgency of trust and obedience, and to raise the stakes on the imperative of undivided love for God and neighbor.

False prophets won’t take such risks. They offer what John Stott calls an “amoral optimism,” a “denial that God was the God of judgment as well as of steadfast love and mercy.” They offer a false sense of security propped up by a refusal to name the weight of sins and sorrows.

True prophets, by contrast, warn. They preach for a decision. Far from dissolving the dividing lines between good and evil, justice and injustice, holiness and sin, they reinforce them. This is what Jesus does when he climbs the mountain and begins to preach. He reveals a God more gracious and compassionate than the false prophets dared dream, yet his message includes warnings. Jesus warns with severity and frequency. He warns as the conclusion to his greatest sermon of all.

Warnings Rooted in Love

Why does Jesus warn? Because he loves us. In the face of real danger, warning is the definition of love. Not to warn is indifference. Only an unloving God wouldn’t warn. Jesus warns because he knows both the true depths of sin’s destruction and the true heights of God’s mercy. He knows the threats that lay siege to our lives are profound and that their defeat necessitated his death. So Jesus speaks with warnings of perfect love.

Immediately after his warning against listening to false prophets, Jesus gives the sermon’s final words in the parable of the two houses (Matt. 7:24–27). He doesn’t mention differences between the two houses in themselves. Jesus assumes perfect symmetry in the blueprints. Both houses are built for shelter, and both are threatened by the storm. One thing makes the difference between endurance and destruction: the foundation. It’s listening to Jesus or not. “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock” (v. 24). This house stands when it’s sieged. The other was built on a lesser foundation, and “great was the fall of it” (v. 27).

If we want to enjoy a lifetime of faith, where the trajectory isn’t a fall from early euphoria into apathy or malaise but rather a rise into godly character and joy, then we must heed Jesus’s warnings. And not only heed them—love them. For they’re warnings rooted in love.

Signposts of Life

Back at Yellowstone, high above the waterfall, as the earth underneath my feet plummeted into the river below, I turned and slammed my hands into the dirt. By God’s grace, I was able to hang on. Trembling, I stumbled back to the fence and climbed over. I was shaken to my core. When I got back on the path, my perception of the warning signs had been transformed. I no longer thought, What a repressive fence, but rather, Thank God this is here.

We should respond similarly to Jesus’s warnings. They aren’t fences of repression; they’re fences of joy. Signposts of life, not death. The ground will give way beneath a life built on anything else. Thank God, our Rock is immovable, and when his warnings are heeded, no sieging storm will overcome us.

This article originally appeared on The Gospel Coalition , and is used with permission of the author.

What Is Christian Apologetics, and Why Does It Matter?

Note from Randy: Sean McDowell is an Associate Professor in the Christian Apologetics program at Talbot School of Theology at Biola University, as well as the author, co-author, or editor of over twenty books. He also hosts a great podcast that tackles questions about God, morality, and contemporary culture.

I’ve been on Sean’s podcast with him (see here and here), and in the process, we’ve become friends. We are likeminded about the importance of helping younger people—and also older ones—go deep in their understanding of the Christian faith and learn how to defend it against the forces opposing it. (Sadly, that now includes most colleges and universities, including some which profess to be Christian.)

I’m delighted that Sean will be speaking at my home church for an apologetics conference, May 3-4! My prayer is that God will use him in powerful, eternity-impacting ways. Sean’s sessions will cover the questions, "What is truth?" "Is the Bible reliable?" "What about Jesus?" "Why does this matter for my life?" (If you’re in the Portland, Oregon area, or can come here, you can learn more and register for the Reasons to Believe Conference, hosted by Good Shepherd Community Church.)

The following article from Sean gives a brief explanation of what Christian apologetics is, and why it’s so important. In a world where ideas are so often grounded in quicksand and are contrary to sound doctrine, may God’s people be firmly based in God’s Word, and able to give a solid defense of our faith!

Christian Apologetics Is Not Saying You’re Sorry

As a professor of Christian Apologetics at Biola University, I help prepare students to answer tough questions raised against the Christian faith. One day someone from outside the Biola academic community called our university to ask why we offer classes on apologizing for the faith. She thought apologetics meant teaching students to say they were sorry for their beliefs! While her question was well intentioned, she didn’t grasp the nature of apologetics and its role in the Christian life. Christians certainly should apologize for their faith, but not in the way she had in mind.

Apologize…for What?

The word apologetics does not mean to say you’re sorry. Instead, it refers to the defense of what you believe to be true. This is exactly what my father and I do in the updated and revised Evidence That Demands a Verdict. We lay out the historical evidence for the Bible, the deity of Christ, the resurrection, and more.

Theologian Clark Pinnock explains the nature of apologetics in this way:

The term derives from a Greek term, apologia, and was used for a defense that a person like Socrates might make of his views and actions. The apostle Peter tells every Christian to be ready to give a reason (apologia) for this hope that is in him (1 Peter 3:15). Apologetics, then, is an activity of the Christian mind which attempts to show that the gospel message is true in what it affirms.  (Clark Pinnock, “Apologetics,” in New Dictionary of Theology, edited by Sinclair B. Ferguson, David F. Wright, and J.I. Packer)

New Testament Examples of Apologetics

The New Testament uses the Greek Word apologia, often translated in English as “defense,” eight times in the New Testament. Consider three examples:

Acts 22:1: “Brothers and fathers, hear the defense that I now make before you.”
Philippians 1:7: “It is right for me to feel this way about you all, because I hold you in my heart, for you are all partakers with me of grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel.”
1 Peter 3:15: “But in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, as always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet you do it with gentleness and respect.”

First Peter 3:15 uses the word defense in a way that denotes the kind of defense one would make to a legal inquiry, asking, “Why are you a Christian?” A believer ought to give an adequate answer to this question. The command to be ready with an answer is directed toward every follower of Jesus—not just pastors, teachers, and leaders.

In other words, every Christian is an apologist. All believers are called to proclaim and defend Christianity. Simply put, although we are not called to say sorry for our beliefs, we are called to “apologize” for them.

This article originally appeared on Sean’s blog , and is used with permission.

Photo: Unsplash

Christ’s Resurrection Is the Amen of His Promises

The physical resurrection of Jesus is the cornerstone of redemption. Without it and what it means—an eternal future for fully restored humans dwelling on a fully restored Earth—there’s no Christianity.

If this event is historically true, it makes all other religions false, because Jesus claimed to be the only way to God. To prove this, He predicted He would rise three days after His death. And He did. John Boys (1571–1625), the Dean of Canterbury, put it beautifully: “The resurrection of Christ is the Amen of all His promises.”

The major Christian creeds not only affirm the past resurrection of Jesus, but the consequent future resurrection of His people. They state, “I believe in the resurrection of the body.” But I have found in many conversations that Christians tend to spiritualize the resurrection of the dead, effectively denying it.

Ironically, there are believers who would die rather than deny the resurrection, yet they don’t understand or believe what the doctrine of the resurrection actually means! Despite the centrality of the resurrection in Scripture and church history, many of them have never been clearly taught its meaning, so they imagine they’ll live forever in a disembodied state made for angels.

But this viewpoint is self-contradictory. A nonphysical resurrection is like a sunless sunrise. There’s no such thing. Resurrection means we will have bodies! If we didn’t have bodies, we wouldn’t be resurrected.

Christ’s resurrection body demonstrated what our own will be like: “See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have” (Luke 24:39).

John S. Whale wrote, “Belief in the resurrection is not an appendage to the Christian faith; it is the Christian faith.” The Apostle Paul considered the resurrection essential to the Christian faith. It’s no coincidence that Paul’s detailed defense of the physical resurrection was written to the church at Corinth. Corinthian believers were immersed in the Greek philosophies of Platonism and dualism, which perceived a dichotomy between the spiritual and physical realms.

Paul said if Christ didn’t rise from the dead, we’re still in our sins—meaning we’re bound for Hell, not Heaven: “If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied” (1 Corinthians 15:17-19).

Our ministry sometimes hears from readers who are surprised by the implications of what the resurrection means, or who say, “I never understood this before!” Not long ago, a commenter on my Facebook page wrote, “Only God knows what form we will take. Just having the faith and belief that we are going to a better place is consoling. Hallelujah if we are given opportunities for reunions!”

Another person responded, “It’s explained scripturally that we will have resurrected physical bodies. We aren’t spirits in [the eternal] Heaven.”

The first commenter said, “Where does it say that? I have been really struggling believing that my spouse won't know me or my sister or parents, etc. Praying for some remembrance of our earthly life!”

Our EPM staff followed up by sharing several articles, including:

The Spiritual Body: A Real Body

Meet the Resurrected You

Will We Recognize Each Other in Heaven?

Where in Scripture Are We Reassured That We Will Have the Comfort of Making up Lost Time with Loved Ones in Eternity?

If we don’t get the doctrine of the resurrection of the body right, we’ll get nothing else right concerning our eternal future. (And our grief over the deaths of our believing friends and family will be far more difficult if we can’t anticipate embodied reunion with them on the physical New Earth!)

It’s therefore critical that we not merely affirm the resurrection of the dead as a point of doctrine but that we understand the meaning and eternal implications of the resurrection we affirm. This includes the fact that the resurrection has implications for not only humans, but also animals and forests and lakes and rivers—for all God created. As Anthony Hoekema explains, “The kingdom of God…does not mean merely the salvation of certain individuals…it means nothing less than the complete renewal of the entire cosmos.”

“We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.  Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies” (Romans 8:22-23, NIV).

“Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out,  that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus, whom heaven must receive until the time for restoring all the things about which God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets long ago.” (Acts 3:19-21)

Photo: Unsplash

Why Good Friday Isn’t Called Terrible Friday

On Good Friday, Jesus experienced the terrible burden of atonement, the trauma of dying on the cross, and the anguish of being temporarily alienated from His Father when He became sin for us (see Matthew 27:46; 2 Corinthians 5:21). But this suffering was ultimately overshadowed by His joy in our salvation: “For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame” (Hebrews 12:2).

The unhappy suffering and death of Jesus ultimately guaranteed the death of death (see Revelation 21:4) and the elimination and reversal of the curse (see Revelation 22:3). It also guaranteed the eternal happiness of all who believe and trust in Jesus and His unfathomable suffering on our behalf, all for our eternal good and His eternal glory.

So why isn’t Good Friday called Bad Friday? Because what happened on Sunday, Christ’s resurrection, redeemed what happened on Friday. Therefore, we can now see the crucifixion and all its horrors in retrospect. Out of the appallingly bad came the inexpressibly good. Had Jesus been delivered from His suffering, He couldn’t have delivered us from ours.

And by the way, since God brought the greatest good out of His Son’s suffering, can’t He also bring good out of ours? Isn’t that exactly what Romans 8:28 promises, that “we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose” (ESV)?

The Gospel accounts of the Crucifixion and Resurrection depict Christ’s deep unhappiness in Gethsemane and His anticipation of the Cross. Joy and happiness are overshadowed by sorrow and grief—until the release of death. What follows His death for Jesus is joy, but for the apostles it is overwhelming grief.

Resurrection happiness soon shines its light, pushing sorrow into the shadows. Death is conquered, and our eternal happiness secured. What would otherwise have been remembered as Terrible Friday or Horrific Friday is transformed into Good Friday because Christ’s resurrection works in reverse upon death. The hidden purpose in Christ’s suffering is no longer hidden—it becomes a spectacular cause for happiness. This is the gospel’s Good News!

As Easter worked in reverse to make Good Friday good, so our resurrection will work in reverse to bring goodness out of our most difficult days. In the end that will never end, life conquers death, joy triumphs over suffering. Happiness, not sorrow, has the last word—and it will have the last word forever.

Photo: Unsplash

What I’ve Learned about Grieving with Hope in the Two Years Since Nanci’s Homegoing

Tomorrow, March 28, marks two years since Nanci entered the presence of Jesus, after a four-year battle with cancer. I’ve been reflecting on what God has been teaching me since her death and its first-year anniversary.

Google “Grief recovery,” and there are over one million hits. It’s an interesting term. You recover from a cold, a virus, or a broken arm. I don’t think you really recover from the huge loss—the amputation, so to speak—of someone central to your life. 

There is something in me that does not want to ever “get over” my loss of Nanci. Yet I also recognize that God has been doing a work of grace in my life over the last two years, and bringing me comfort that allows me to go forward without her. Greatly helped by the anticipation of being with her again in the presence of Jesus! (I really like the photo above, as it captures Nanci's delight. And as I think about her joy, it helps me tremendously through times of grief. The photo of us together on that ride is an example of our shared delight, that so warms my heart as much now as it ever has.)

God has also graciously allowed me to encourage and be encouraged by other grieving people, many of whom have contacted us through our website or on social media. One of the things I’ve been thinking about is what it looks like to grieve in light of the certain blood-bought hope of the gospel. (Which is very different than the “hope” that is just wishful thinking.)  

After I spoke at Shepherd’s House Church in Phoenix, Arizona, where Costi Hinn pastors, I recorded some videos with Costi, to be featured on For the Gospel. He asked,“What would you say to a Christian who is mourning the loss of a loved one?”

As I mention in the video, I’ve heard it said, “There’s no wrong way to grieve.” I disagree. (Certainly, there are different ways and lengths of time to grieve. We should not rebuke or lay guilt on the brokenhearted!)

The Bible says this about grief: “And now, dear brothers and sisters, we want you to know what will happen to the believers who have died so you will not grieve like people who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus returns, God will bring back with him the believers who have died” (1 Thessalonians 4:13–14 NLT, emphasis added).

Doesn’t this mean grieving as if we have no hope is the wrong way to grieve? And that grieving while embracing Christ’s rock-solid promise of His second coming and our resurrection—and that of all who love Him—is the right way to grieve? (See Biblical Hope Is a Solid Certainty.)

Ponder this portion of Romans 8, which brings perspective to grieving:

For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. (Romans 8:22-25)

Healthy grief recognizes the reality of the loss, but it has eternal perspective. It also recognizes, slowly but surely, that this present life goes on, and even gets better over time. “For everything there is a season. . . . A time to cry and a time to laugh. . . A time to grieve and a time to dance” (Ecclesiastes 3:1,4 NLT). “The hope of the righteous brings joy” (Proverbs 10:28).

God took Nanci out of this world, but He has not chosen to take me yet. He has sovereign reasons for this. Since her death, I have been grieving, but I’ve also been writing, traveling, bike riding, and playing tennis with high school kids that I coach, including my grandsons. I gather with fellow believers, at church and elsewhere, meet with a small group of men, and weekly have dinner with old friends. Along the way grief comes and goes. I don’t push grief off the couch, but neither do I allow it to claim the couch and push me onto the floor. (Early on grief will sometimes do that, but with healthy grieving over time that will become the exception not the rule.)

I also don’t expect my grief to cross a clear-cut finish line where one day I say, “OK, that’s done, no more grief.” I expect to always miss Nanci but not to always be heartbroken. In fact, even now most days I am not heartbroken. (But others who grieve still are, and I’m neither better nor worse than they, because we’re all different, and my grief isn’t the measure of theirs.)

The single greatest help to my grieving well is that I have come to truly sense Jesus with me. He is my friend and is with me and walking alongside me. The friendship of Jesus is the most comforting reality in my life. I sense His presence not only as I read my Bible and pray, but also as I walk our dog Gracie—Nanci and I picked her out together—and write and eat and meet with friends and watch a good movie.

This loss is not what I would have chosen, but my loss is Nanci’s gain, and Nanci is Heaven’s gain. I have not resented my Lord even for a moment (though if I did, I know He would be quick to forgive). His scarred hands and feet, which I think will be the only disfigurements in the resurrection, are the only reminder I need to trust Him.

Since Nanci died, I have stayed twice at our favorite place in Maui, which Nanci called her “Happy Place.” She is now in a far happier place, but it has brought me great happiness to go visit all the beaches and restaurants and snorkeling spots that meant so much to us. People ask me if it has been hard. Only slightly, but the joy of remembering our wonderful times there far outweighs the sorrow.

My loss of Nanci, big though it is, really is temporary. My gain of Jesus is eternal. Nothing will ever take away from the fact that Nanci and I walked this earth together and one day will walk the New Earth in Christ’s presence. That will truly be our “happiest place.”

Some people can no longer live in the same house or sleep in the same bedroom where their loved one died, because the memories are so painful. They put away photos and personal items. I feel for them, but it’s not that way for me. My memories are vivid, but the good ones far outweigh the bad ones, and remembering the good ones are therapy for my heart. For instance, Nanci had a particular coconut skin lotion she loved and the smell was on her skin and in her clothes. I bought several bottles of it after her homegoing, and I keep one of them open on her side of the closet. (Our daughters moved out most her clothes, two months after she died, but I chose a small number of outfits to keep that had special meaning.) Sometimes I open that closet door because I love that smell—it reminds me of her, and I enjoy being reminded of her. Everyone’s different. As long as you are moving forward in your grief, and not stalled or entrenched in it, it’s positive. While moving forward, for me it’s healing to look back and remember.

I have favorite photos of her spread around the house. One is a photo of her in the ocean kissing a giant sting ray (on a supervised boat trip where doing so was safe). Another is of her relaxing on a big pool float out in the sun with blue sky. She and I were near each other all those years captured in the photos on our walls, nearly all of which I took. If they usually made me feel bad I’d need to put them away. But as long as they make me feel good, I’ll keep them visible.

There’s hardly a day that goes by without me pondering God’s sovereign plan in leading me to write the books that I’ve written, which accounted for why Nanci and I have talked so much about:

Living in light of eternity
Heaven and the New Earth
Suffering
Happiness

In Money, Possessions and Eternity and again in If God Is Good, I talked about the unbiblical nature of prosperity theology. Nanci and I never believed we were immune from bad health, or that we somehow deserved healing more than others, or that we could “name it and claim it.”

More than anything else I’ve been telling people, “Take the opportunity right now, while you still can, to discuss the fact that we get old and sometimes get sick and always die. So let’s help eternity and deep spiritual truths sink into our minds and comfort us.”

Many people will die suddenly, from heart attacks or car accidents. Nanci and I had the warning, and while it was a tough four years, we walked it together. I had the privilege of serving her and demonstrating my love. I was glad to cancel speaking engagements and set aside book deadlines. And we spent that time together. I have no regrets.

Until I enter Christ’s presence, I embrace Paul’s words: “I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me… Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:12-14).

Hebrews 11 says of Abel that though he is dead, he yet speaks. One of the ways Nanci speaks to me is through the Scripture she put up around our house, including a stencil of Lamentations 3:22-23 I see in our bedroom every night and morning:

Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed,
    for his compassions never fail.
They are new every morning;
    great is your faithfulness.

On our refrigerator there are five passages of Scripture Nanci printed out and looked at daily. Now sometimes I still look at them. I suspect that when I die those verses will still be there on our fridge. No matter what you’re facing today, I hope they encourage you too:

I will give thanks to you, LORD, with all my heart;
    I will tell of all your wonderful deeds. (Psalm 9:1-2)

Come, let us sing for joy to the LORD;
    let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation.
Let us come before him with thanksgiving
    and extol him with music and song. (Psalm 95:1-2)
Enter his gates with thanksgiving
    and his courts with praise;
    give thanks to him and praise his name.
For the LORD is good and his love endures forever;
    his faithfulness continues through all generations. (Psalm 100:4-5)

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6-7)

Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)

What Happiness Can We Anticipate on the New Earth?

At the end of Peter Jackson’s film adaptation of Tolkien’s The Return of the King, Bilbo Baggins—extremely old and decrepit—is invited to board an Elven ship to sail from Middle-earth to Valinor (a sort of Heaven). He smiles, and a youthful energy returns to his eyes as he says, “I think I’m quite ready for another adventure.”

For the Christian, death is not the end of our adventure. Rather, it’s our exit from a world where dreams and adventures shrink, and our entrance into a far better world where dreams and adventures forever expand.

The best part of our resurrected lives on the New Earth will be seeing God. “No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. They will see his face” (Revelation 22:3-4, NIV). Based on this and other passages, ancient theologians often spoke of the “beatific vision,” from three Latin words that together mean “a happy-making sight.” Because God is the fountainhead of all happiness, and because He’s forever happy in His triune oneness, to gaze on Him will be to enter into happiness.

One of the greatest gifts we can give our children and grandchildren is teaching them the doctrines of the Resurrection and the New Earth. Don’t try to get children excited about becoming ghosts. God has made us to be physical beings living in a physical world—eating, drinking, playing, working, loving, worshiping, and laughing to God’s glory. That’s the promise of the Resurrection—eternal delight and joy in the presence of the God who redeemed us.

We normally think of going up to Heaven to live with God in His place. That’s indeed what happens when we die. But the ultimate promise is that God will come down to live with us in our place, on the New Earth. The final state will not be “us with God” but “God with us” (see Revelation 21:3).

Imagine the delight of Jesus’ disciples when He said to them, “At the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel” (Matthew 19:28, NIV).

Christ did not speak of the destruction or abandonment of all things, but their renewal. The word affirms a continuity between the past, present, and future earths. The old world and the renewed one are the same world but renewed and refurbished to an even greater version of its original self. God designed humans to live on Earth to his glory. Christ’s incarnation, life, death, and resurrection secured a New Earth, where life will be the way God always intended.

Similarly, Peter preached that Christ must remain in Heaven “until the time comes for God to restore everything, as he promised long ago through his holy prophets” (Acts 3:21, NIV). This cosmic restoration is not God bringing disembodied people to fellowship with Him in a spirit realm. Rather, it’s God returning humankind to what we once were—what He designed us to be. It means the entire physical universe will not just go back to its pre-Fall glory but forward to something even more magnificent.

God’s original plan included human beings living happy and fulfilled lives. Imagine sitting around campfires on the New Earth, wide eyed at the adventures recounted. Yes, I mean telling real stories around real campfires. After all, friendship, camaraderie, laughter, stories, and campfires are all good gifts from God for physical people living in a physical world . . . and the Bible tells us that’s what we’ll be and where we’ll be!

Perhaps an alarm is going off in your head: “But that’s unspiritual. We should only want to be with Jesus.” Well, seeing Jesus should certainly be at the top of the list. But that doesn’t mean the other things God promises shouldn’t be on the list—things that fully honor Him and flow out of His grace and kindness to us.

On that New Earth, we may experience adventures that make our current rock climbs, surfing, skydiving, and upside-down roller coaster rides seem tame. Why do I say this? It’s an argument from design. We take pleasure in exhilarating experiences not because of sin but because God wired us this way. We weren’t made to sit all day in dark rooms watching actors pretend to live.

The truth is, we’ll be far happier in this life if we understand it isn’t our only chance for happiness and adventure and fun . . . and neither is it our best chance. I’ve read books on happiness stressing that we must be happy right here and now, living in the moment, because this is all we have. But God’s people will have an eternity of present-tense happiness. This assurance of never-ending happiness is capable of front-loading joy into our lives today. If we come to understand the biblical doctrine of the Resurrection and the New Earth, we’ll find it’s exactly what, deep in our hearts, we all wish for.

Jesus will be the center of everything. Happiness will be the lifeblood of our resurrected lives. And just when we think, It doesn’t get any better than this—it will!

Excerpted from  60 Days of Happiness: Discover God's Promise of Relentless Joy .

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Our Work Done to God’s Glory Matters to Him, for all Eternity

Note from Randy: I was on Jordan Raynor’s podcast to talk about why our work matters for all eternity. (Listen to the episode here.) Now, Jordan has a new book out called The Sacredness of Secular Work, which does an extraordinary job being both personally relevant and, more importantly, biblically faithful. It’s clear and well written, with excellent illustrations. It’s not that often I read a book that deals with Heaven, the New Earth, or Eternal Reward when I feel like the author really “gets it.” Jordan Raynor has done his homework and really gets it. I think the smile of God is on this book, and I’m happy to recommend it.

Hope you enjoy this excerpt.

Wonder at God’s Work While You Work

On Christmas Eve 1968, a billion people sat in front of their TVs and radios—“more people…than had ever tuned in to a human voice at once.” The voices they were waiting for were those of the crew of Apollo 8—the first human beings to ever orbit the moon.

Until an hour before the broadcast, the astronauts weren’t sure what they would say to the earthlings back home. Given the date, they had considered “invoking Santa Claus” or “changing the words to ‘Jingle Bells,’” but these messages clearly lacked the gravitas this monumental moment called for.

Finally, with the world sitting on the edge of their seats, the astronauts went live and said this: “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” And for a moment, the world stared in wonder at the glory of God’s creation.

The crew of Apollo 8 could have easily used the broadcast to boast in humankind’s extraordinary achievement, but instead, they took time to wonder at God’s. And that moment was nothing less than praise that undoubtedly brought the Creator cosmic joy.

You and I can do the same today as we take time to wonder at God’s work while we work. When we marvel at the natural materials God has given us to create with, praise him for the “coincidence” that helped us land that new hire, or simply stare at the sunset the Creator painted outside our office window, we can know that all of this brings God’s pleasure. Because we’re taking time to assign credit where credit is due—“ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name” (Psalm 29:2).

Let me give you an example of what this looks like for those of us who aren’t astronauts flying through the heavens. When I was writing my book The Sacredness of Secular Work, I was reminded of the scene in Moana where Maui steals the heart of Te Fiti. I couldn’t remember all the details of the scene, so I pulled open Disney+, found the movie, and clicked play. And the movie started playing at the exact scene I was looking for.

Of course, this wasn’t a coincidence. This was clearly God working while I was working. And by taking thirty seconds to stop, marvel at his power, and thank him for the reminder of his presence, I believe I brought him pleasure.

Now, you may be thinking, Jordan, that’s a wild (albeit ridiculous) story. But how in the world does that fleeting moment matter for eternity? How is it “not in vain”? Because God will remember.

Hebrews 6:10 says that “[God] will not forget your work and the love you have shown him.” He won’t forget a single thing we do in this life that brings him pleasure. And my guess is that those memories will fuel many of our interactions with Christ in the Eternal Heaven on Earth.

I want you to imagine with me for a moment that you are on the New Earth, working at your perfect, eternal vocation, when, all of a sudden, Jesus pulls up a chair and says, “Hey Jack, do you remember that time, back in the former age, when you hated your job as a server but you obeyed my command to work with excellence for my sake? I remember that. I’m so proud of you.”

Or maybe he’ll say, “You know, Olivia, I’ll never forget the look on my Father’s face when we saw you take the natural talents we gave you as an entrepreneur and develop them. You pursued excellence for my glory instead of yours, and we had a blast watching you do it!”

Maybe Jesus will visit the crew of Apollo 8 as they’re gearing up to explore the New Heavens and say, “You guys had every opportunity to orbit the moon and boast in yourselves. But instead, you boasted in me. Well done, good and faithful servants. Come and share your Master’s happiness.”

Obeying the Lord’s commands, pursuing excellence in our work, doing work that brings us pleasure, working with God and not just for him, taking time to wonder at the Lord’s work while we work—all of these things bring pleasure to God. And so they are not in vain, because God remembers them for eternity.

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Where Do Human Rights Come from?

A political commentator on MSNBC made the claim that if you believe human rights come from God, you aren’t just a Christian; you are a Christian nationalist. This is an amazing statement because if human rights don’t come from God, they can only come from people. Who else is left? Giraffes? Aliens? Nothing comes from nowhere.

Apparently, she trusts that people who don’t believe in God can somehow formulate a proper view of human rights. Ivan the Terrible, Genghis Khan, Hitler, Stalin, Mao, Pol Pot,  etc. all demonstrate how tragically wrong she is. Of course, people can say they believe in God and be racist murdering dictators, but in fact, it is their own views of selective human rights that give rights to themselves, and those loyal to them, and deny the rights of everyone else that they can use for their own purposes, including slave labor and holocausts. The Holocaust Museum in Israel, where they read the names of slaughtered children for hour after hour after hour, and walking on the killing fields of Cambodia with hundreds of thousands of human bones at my feet, cemented this in my mind. Period.

I remember reading an atheist decades ago who was saying how deeply grateful he was that many people believed in God, because he admitted that he had no basis whatsoever for human rights, and at least God-fearing people did, even though he believed they were wrong. He understood that if human rights are decided by humans, no human is safe.

Richard Wurmbrand, tortured in communist prisons, wrote, “The cruelty of atheism is hard to believe. When man has no faith in the reward of good or the punishment of evil, there is no reason to be human. There is no restraint from the depths of evil which is in man. The communist torturers often said, ‘There is no God, no hereafter, no punishment for evil. We can do what we wish.’”

We know murderers and rapists violate human rights. But how do we know this? We have a consensus about objective moral standards, and we even agree on many of them. But if God does not exist, then on what objective basis could human rights exist?

Rights must come from somewhere. The Declaration of Independence claims “all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights.” But what if no Creator exists? Imagine a declaration saying, “Human beings, even those dumber than toast and too weak to survive on their own, are equal and have the same rights as the smart and strong.” Leave out the Creator and you leave out human rights.

After quoting the Declaration of Independence, Francis Schaeffer wrote in A Christian Manifesto:

Who gives the rights? The state? Then they are not inalienable because the state can change them and take them away. Where do the rights come from? They [i.e., the authors of the Declaration of Independence] understood that they were founding the country upon the concept that goes back into the Judeo-Christian thinking that there is Someone there who gave the inalienable rights. . .

Responding to the commentator I quoted at the beginning of this blog, Daniel Darling wrote:

Something a lot of journalists and pundits get wrong about the belief that natural rights “come from God.” This isn’t a signal that we want a theocratic state. It’s a belief that actually puts limits on what government can and cannot do. Governments, therefore, are stewards of liberty and cannot burden the conscience.

Even those who reject the claims of the Christian worldview should acknowledge that it does in fact offer a moral foundation upon which to base human rights, and to discern good and evil. And they should ask themselves whether, without realizing it, they sometimes borrow from the Christian worldview because their own worldview cannot provide a foundation on which to judge good and evil.

Without such a foundation, this world would be a frightening place to live in—as indeed it is wherever human rights are opposed or undermined. 

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Why a Reader Recommended My Heaven Book after Reading Just One Page

Reader Aaron Fullan (who’s an actor, composer, and content creator) tagged me in an Instagram reel sharing why he appreciated my Heaven book after reading just one page into the preface. I was surprised:

 
 
 

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Honestly, if you would’ve asked me if someone could recommend a book before he’s done with page one, I would’ve said that’s just crazy. But I think Aaron makes a great point with it! 😊

What a memorable line he shared: “God is the only infallible content creator.” And: “Quote the Bible more than your favorite theologian.”

Here’s what I say in the preface to Heaven, to which Aaron was responding:

Test This Book by Scripture

From the beginning, I want to make it clear that it’s vitally important that this book be true to Scripture. I believe that most of my conclusions, even those that significantly depart from current evangelical thinking, will stand up to biblical scrutiny. Inevitably, however, some may not. In the context of prophetic statements, the apostle Paul says, “Test everything. Hold on to the good” (1 Thessalonians 5:21). It’s up to you to test by God’s Word what I say, hold on to the good, and reject the bad.

Through biblical study and extensive reading, dialogue, and critique, I’ve tried to detect any conclusions that don’t pass Scripture’s test, to eliminate them before this book was published. But despite my best efforts, some errors undoubtedly have slipped through. I call on readers to be like the Bereans, who “examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true” (Acts 17:11). Don’t throw out the baby of truth with the bathwater of what you regard as my mistakes—but, by all means, do throw out the bathwater!

I invite you to contact me if you believe you have biblical grounds for disagreeing with anything in this book. I am open to correction—in fact, I seek it, and I will make any warranted changes in future editions. This revised version of the book contains a number of changes I made based on input from readers of the first edition. I am grateful for their questions and criticisms. (Keep in mind, though, when you write to me, that “I’ve never heard this before . . .” and “I’ve always thought that . . .” and “Our denomination teaches . . .” are not biblical grounds for disagreement.)

Many things in this book will be new even to readers who are veteran students of Scripture. New ideas are rightly suspect because they are often heretical. However, when biblical truths have been long neglected or ignored, attempts to present them may sound far-fetched. They may appear to be adding to or misinterpreting Scripture, when in fact they are simply portraying what Scripture has said all along but we’ve failed to grasp. In these pages I will introduce some biblical truths that I believe have been long ignored or spiritualized and thereby stripped of their richness and significance.

… I will try to make the case carefully and biblically. There is plenty in this book for everyone to disagree with. But I hope you’ll find that most of it rings true to Scripture and opens up exciting doors to imagining and anticipating everything that awaits God’s children in the magnificent world to come.

If We Realize We’re Undeserving, Suddenly the World Comes Alive

Jesus said to His disciples, “When you do all the things which are commanded you, say, ‘We are unworthy slaves; we have done only that which we ought to have done’” (Luke 17:10, NASB). He’s saying, in effect, “Lower your sense of what you deserve.”

God told Adam and Eve what would happen to them when they turned from Him and chose sin: “You will surely die” (Genesis 2:17, NASB). Based on that text alone, all we deserve and should expect is death. Only when we acknowledge this can we rejoice in the promises of life in Jesus, who said, “I am the resurrection and the life” (John 11:25).

If we realize we’re utterly undeserving, suddenly the world comes alive. Of course life under the Curse is hard. (That’s why it’s called the Curse.) Instead of focusing on everything that goes wrong, we’re thrilled at God’s many kindnesses, and our hearts overflow with thanks that we who deserve nothing but judgment, death, and Hell are given deliverance, grace, and eternal life. Day after day, God favors us not only with leniency but also with beauties, delights, and privileges we have no right to expect. (And comforts us in our sorrows, and promises to be with us always.)

People who receive a paycheck for services rendered can’t be as grateful as those who are given a pardon they know they don’t merit. Jesus said of the woman who gratefully poured oil on His feet, “Her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little” (Luke 7:47).

Doesn’t knowing that you deserve eternal Hell but instead will live with Jesus in Heaven, in unending happiness, put any day in perspective?

Browse more resources on the topic of happiness, and see Randy's books, including  Does God Want Us to Be Happy?

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