10 Things We Would Stop Doing If We Adopted Paul’s Cross-Shaped Resolution

David Burnette:

1)   We would stop judging people, circumstances, and events based on outward appearances. Things aren't always as they appear. The God who brought about salvation through the death of His Son turns the world’s expectations upside down. (1 Cor 1:18-20) 

2)  We would stop trying to win God's approval through our obedience. Christ's death dealt decisively with our sins, and God now views us as righteous in Him. You cannot add to a perfect sacrifice. (Gal 2:21) 

3)   We would stop trusting in our own resources to bring about spiritual transformation. It took the crucifixion of Christ to save us, and it will take the power of the gospel to make us more like Jesus. The cross and resurrection are essential to the daily pursuit of holiness. (Rom 6:10-11) 

4)   We would stop worrying about being clever in our presentation of the gospel. Power belongs to God and His message, not the messenger. There is no smooth way to talk about a bloody cross. (1 Cor 1:17) 

5)  We would stop considering some people to be beyond God's reach. There is no one whose sin can outmatch the grace of God in the gospel. Christ's death is more than sufficient for the vilest offender. (1 Tim 1:16) 

6)  We would stop being surprised that our witness isn’t received warmly. At the heart of the gospel is the emphatic rejection of King Jesus. Why would his servants expect to be treated differently? (Jn 15:20) 

7)   We would stop expecting ease and comfort in this life to be the norm. Suffering, hardship, and opposition only make sense when you follow in the footsteps of the Man of Sorrows. (Lk 9:57-62) 

8)   We would stop worrying so much about the details our lives. God was willing to give His own Son for us. Why would he be unwilling to take care of everything else? (Rom 8:32) 

9)   We would stop thinking highly of ourselves and looking down on others. If the death of Christ was necessary for our rescue, what do we have to boast about? The cross levels the playing field, for all of us are debtors to God's infinite mercy. 

10)  We would stop fearing death. The crucifixion put death to death, so those in Christ now have the sure hope of the resurrection and eternal life. (Heb 2:14-15)

An Acute Sense of Fairness

This is the best video you'll see today.

"That's not fair!" I probably hear that about 50 times a day from my kids. They have an acute sense of fairness and justice. Turns out monkeys do too. Hilarious.

What Did Jesus Mean When He Said, "Judge Not"?

Sam Storms:

In brief, for many (if not most) students today, “There is no enemy other than the man who is not open to everything.”

The irony, of course, is that in judging us for judging others they are themselves violating the very commandment to which they want to hold us accountable! To insist that it is wrong to pronounce others wrong for embracing a particular belief or moral practice is itself an ethical position, a moral stand. To insist on uncritical tolerance of all views is extremely intolerant of those who embrace a different perspective.

Read the rest.

Get's Sam' new book here which looks very helpful.

Jesus' Insomnia and Ours

Powerful and important words here from Dr. Moore.

Russell Moore:

When the disciples screamed in the face of a storm, Jesus slept (Mk. 4:37-38). When Jesus screamed in the face of a cross, the disciples slept (Mk. 14:37,41).

Why could Jesus sleep so peacefully through a life-threatening sea-storm, and yet is awake all night in the olive garden before his arrest, crying out in anguish? Why are the disciples pulsing with adrenaline as the ship is tossed about on the Galilee Lake, but drifting off to slumber as the most awful conspiracy in human history gets underway?

Peter, James, and John rebuke Jesus for falling asleep on the boat: “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” (Mk. 4:38) Jesus rebukes them for falling asleep as he prays before the cross: “Could you not watch one hour?” (Mk. 14:37)

Jesus isn’t the anxious sort. He tells us, remember, to be anxious for nothing, to take no thought for tomorrow (Matt 6:25-34). So why is he awake all night, “greatly distressed and troubled” (Mk. 14:33). In the storm, Jesus dismisses the disciples’ terror with a wave of the hand. In the garden, he screams, with loud cries and tears (Heb. 5:7), until the blood vessels in his face explode.

It is because Jesus knows what to fear. Jesus knows to fear not him who can kill the body, but instead Him who can cast both body and soul into hell (Matt. 10:28). Jesus doesn’t fear the watery deeps, which can be silenced by his voice. But he knows that is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

Danger doesn’t keep Jesus awake; the judgment of God does.

The disciples are just the opposite, and I fear I am too. They are worried about relatively meaningless things, things that need only to be given over to the attention to Jesus. But they are oblivious to the cross that overhangs the cursed world around them, and within them.

I lose sleep quite often over the things Jesus tells me I should not worry about: my life, my possessions, my future. Such is not of the Spirit. Why is it easier for me to worry about next week’s schedule, and to lose sleep over that, than over those around me who could be moments away from judgment? Why am I more concerned about the way my peers judge my actions than about the Judgment Seat of Christ?

The Spirit of Jesus joins us to him in his Gethsemane anguish. We groan with him for the revealing of the sons of God, for resurrection from the dead (Rom. 8:23-27). We like him, through the Spirit, come to terms with the crosses we must carry. And, through it all, we cry with him, “Abba, Father!” (Mk. 14:36; Rom. 8:15).

The next time you find yourself unable to sleep due to worry, ask whether you’re in the Galilee waters or the Gethsemane garden. Ask yourself whether your wakefulness is of the weakening flesh or the awakening Spirit.

Books by Russell Moore:

• Tempted and Tried: Temptation and the Triumph of Christ
• Adopted for Life: The Priority of Adoption for Christian Families & Churches
• The Kingdom of Christ: The New Evangelical Perspective

Cat Lovers Deserve To Die

@AdamJeske -

First of all, I like cats, and some wonderful people close to me (like my daughter) are cat lovers. Bear with me.

Second, this is one of my more explicitly religious posts. Bear with me.

You may have heard of a mysterious ad campaign this week. Posters appeared across the country with headlines like:

HIPSTERS DESERVE TO DIE

THE SMUG DESERVE TO DIE

THE TATTOOED DESERVE TO DIE

THE GENETICALLY PRIVILEGED DESERVE TO DIE

CAT LOVERS DESERVE TO DIE

These posters caused outrage. “What the heck?” Who can say that? Who’s behind this?

“We knew that one would be polarizing,” said Denise Kohnke, vice president of strategy for Laughlin/Constable who designed the ads. “The absurd thing is no one deserves to die.” Then a website was unveiled: www.noonedeservestodie.org.

The outrage struck me. But Kohnke’s quote and the website name struck me more. No one deserves to die?

Read the rest.

Adam and his wife Chrissy have a new book coming out that you'll be hearing about from me in the near future.  It's called, This Ordinary Adventure: Settling Down Without Settling.

Amazing Story of Redemption - Brian Banks

Rick Reilly:

It's not every day that the Washington Redskins call up a man convicted of rape and ask him if he'd agree to a one-day workout, but it happened Tuesday. 

Oh, and the Kansas City Chiefs called Tuesday, too. And the Miami Dolphins. And they were three days behind the Seattle Seahawks, who will work him out on June 7.

Why are all these NFL teams eager to check out a convicted sex offender, a man who served five years in prison and wore a GPS ankle bracelet for another five?

Because Brian Banks didn't do it.

A judge in Long Beach, Calif., threw out his kidnapping and rape conviction last week after looking at a videotape of his accuser admitting she lied. After 10 years, he was suddenly a free and innocent man.

"My mouth hurts from smiling so much," Banks told me Tuesday night. "Unbelievable."

Read the rest.

On Revival

“Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful. Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven; give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.” Luke 6:36-38

Ray Ortlund:

Surely, this is one of our Lord’s ordained pathways into revival.

He is not saying we can earn a good measure of divine blessing. But his grace leads us into more than a position of mercy before God. His grace also leads us into participation in the mercy of God: “Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.”

A merciful heart feels for the offender. A merciful mind enters the experience of the offender, to understand his or her weakness. A merciful will chooses a generous outlook. Our Father is like that. That is what we believe and teach. And gospel doctrine always creates a gospel culture.

Read the rest.

On Justice and Breivik

Al Mohler:

The world is watching closely as the trial of Anders Behring Breivik takes place in Oslo. The trial is now an international spectacle. But, much more than Norway’s justice system is on display. That Oslo courtroom is also revealing what remains of an understanding of criminal justice and criminal responsibility when the Christian worldview fades away. The post-Christian condition is fully on display in that courtroom. The man who committed the worst single-handed mass murder in Europe since World War II is on trial — and the maximum term to which he can be sentenced amounts to less than 3.3 months for each of the 77 people he murdered.

Read the rest.

The Staggering Mercy of God

This book has been a very interesting read.  I find that I am learning something new about the Bible on every page.  You should get a copy.

As salvation comes through judgment, readers of Genesis are given key insight into the nature of God. The promise that the serpent’s head will be crushed comes leavened in the statement of judgment against the serpent. It is important to note that had there been no transgression, there would have been no judgment. Had there been no judgment, there could be no mercy. It would not be needed.

The justice of God is put on display as he judges the serpent. The mercy of God is demonstrated as he announces—from no compulsion or constraint—a future salvation that humanity has neither merited nor requested. God freely declares that the seed of the woman will crush the head of the seed of the serpent, and in this salvation that comes through judgment—judgment that results from the human transgression and promises final justice on the evil of the serpent—comes the first picture of free mercy in the Bible. Adam and Eve are responsible for their actions. They are guilty. They deserve death. God does not owe them mercy, and they have only sought to avoid justice by shifting blame (Gen. 3:10–13). They are not seeking God; they are hiding from him (3:8). They do not ask for mercy; they do not take responsibility for what they have done. Even if they ask for mercy, God is under no obligation to grant it.

This mercy, then, arises only from God. This is not something that humans deserve, not even in part. Of his own goodness, displaying his own intrinsic character, God announces that the woman will have seed—which means that the promised punishment of death will not be immediately enacted on the phys- ical bodies of the human couple. Not only will their physical lives continue, but they will have seed: offspring. Not only will they have seed, but their seed will triumph over the snake. Salvation comes through judgment, and God makes known his character in justice and mercy. His justice is as exacting as his mercy is surprising.

- Jim Hamilton, God's Glory in Salvation through Judgment: A Biblical Theology, p. 77,78

Governing all does not mean governing all in the same way

John Piper:

The sons of Judah, Er and Onan, were wicked men, and the Bible says, the Lord killed them.

“Er, Judah’s firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord put him to death.” (Genesis 38:7)
“What Onan did was wicked in the sight of the Lord, and he put him to death also.” (Genesis 38:10)

But what are we to understand from the statement that God killed them, since God governs all life and death? None dies but by God’s plan.

“The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.” (Job 1:21)
“The Lord kills and brings to life; he brings down to Sheol and raises up.” (1 Samuel 2:6)
“There is no god beside me; I kill and I make alive; I wound and I heal; and there is none that can deliver out of my hand.” (Deuteronomy 32:39)
“In his hand is the life of every living thing and the breath of all mankind.” (Job 12:10)

It seems to me that the point of saying God put Er and Onan to death is to stress that there was an unusual directness about it. God interrupted the more normal processes of life and dying (which he controls) and took them away by a more direct act. 

Thus we learn that it is not meaningless to believe that all events are governed by God, and yet to pray that he intervene in extraordinary ways. Governing all does not mean governing all in the same way.

Do We Need Ultimate Judgment?

I talk to people about Jesus frequently. They say to me things like, “R. C., if you find believing in Jesus meaningful, if that turns you on, if it gives you some kind of solace or what- ever, then that’s fine for you. But I don’t feel the need for Jesus.”

What are they saying? It’s like somebody who says he doesn’t feel the need for a fireman because his house is not on fire. Who needs a fireman when there’s no fire? Who needs a Savior when there’s no clear and present threat of judgment? People today simply do not believe that there will be a day of judgment. But if we believed it, really believed it, the energy of our evangelism would increase a hundredfold.

- R.C. Sproul, Saved from What?, p. 23

I think most people can resonate with the Biblical idea of "the day of judgment".  Who wants Hitler to not have to give an account for his horrific life?  He gets to commit suicide and that's it?  Game over?  In my experience, that rattles the cage of most unbelievers.  We just can't handle the idea of personal judgment and thus have the innate need to suppress the idea that judgment will come upon us individually.  That is the rub.  In our world we know we need judgment in a general sense but certainly not in a personal one.

Why Is God's Judgment So Shocking To Us?

I have been preparing to preach on Acts 5 and the story of Ananias and Saphirra on Tuesday night for our church's college/young adult gathering. This verse has stood out to me as significant.

Acts 5:5-6 - When Ananias heard these words, he fell down and breathed his last. And great fear came upon all who heard of it. The young men rose and wrapped him up and carried him out and buried him.

This is just divine, on the spot, judgment. Seems pretty shocking doesn’t it? Ever asked yourself why that is our usual reaction?

Our presumptuous natures are quickly exposed. We simply assume that God is gracious.

This text should shine a huge light on the grace of God for us. You know why? All of us should end up like Ananias when we sin. Do you know anyone who has been killed on the spot by God? Not me. I can’t name a situation like this. Do we know anyone who probably deserves to be treated like Ananias? I do. I only need to look about as far as my own nose.

Our starting point as a people is not to ask, “God, why are you so good to me?” Our starting point is usually to take God graciousness for granted.

Do you ever get out of bed in the morning and thank God for the breath and life that he gives you that you don’t deserve?

John Piper has reminded me to marvel at the fact that God allows the sun to shine on a wicked city like Albuquerque. Day after day after day. All you have to do is turn on the news and see that if God was going to bring judgment on a city, Albuquerque would be first in line.

God doesn’t have to be gracious. Do we really believe that? If he was obligated to give grace, it would cease to be grace right?

So may we have a revolution of our minds so that this story is NOT that shocking. May our starting point be that we stand in awe of any sin that is forgiven as opposed to taking forgiveness for granted. May we seek to remember that God is not obligated to forgive anyone. He doesn’t HAVE to do it. He LOVES to do it because he loves to shine a huge light on his mercy but always remember that he doesn't have to.

Mistaking God's Patience For His Approval

Michael Kelley has a good post that interacts with Piper's thoughts about the tornado that hit Minneapolis during the ELCA national convention. I thought this was an insightful comment:

We have the tendency to mistake God’s patience for His forgetfulness. Or approval. We sin, and nothing happens. We sin again, and nothing happens again. Eventually we start to trick ourselves into thinking that sin isn’t really that big a deal because no one’s getting zapped right after they do what they want to do. I’m not necessarily saying that the tornado in this case was “God’s judgment,” but I do think that because of this tendency to mistake God’s patience for His approval we’re often very surprised when consequences finally do happen.

Read the whole thing.

Is There No Wrath of God in the New Testament?

It is fallacious to regard this as essentially an Old Testament problem, and to set the "bloodthirsty" Old Testament over against the "gentle" New Testament. Possibly the phenomenon is more crude in the Old Testament than in the New, but of the two the New Testament is the more terrible, for the Old Testament seldom speaks of anything beyond temporal judgments.... whereas the Son of Man in the Gospels pronounces eternal punishment.

- John W. Wenham, The Goodness of God

Quoted in Dr. Christopher Wright's, The God I Don't Understand, p. 81


Many people see the New Testament as the more gentle of the two Testaments. In the Old, we have many scenes of blood, carnage and the justice of God is a frequent refrain. But consider the wrath of God that we see in the New Testament:

Romans 1:18: For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.

God is said to have killed people because they did not observe The Lord's Supper correctly:

1 Cor. 11:27 - 32: Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died. But if we judged ourselves truly, we would not be judged. But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world.

In Acts 5 we see the immediate justice of God poured out against the sin of Ananias and Sapphira:

Acts 5:1-11: But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property, and with his wife's knowledge he kept back for himself some of the proceeds and brought only a part of it and laid it at the apostles' feet. But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land? While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal? Why is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God.” When Ananias heard these words, he fell down and breathed his last. And great fear came upon all who heard of it. The young men rose and wrapped him up and carried him out and buried him.

After an interval of about three hours his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. And Peter said to her, “Tell me whether you sold the land for so much.” And she said, “Yes, for so much.” But Peter said to her, “How is it that you have agreed together to test the Spirit of the Lord? Behold, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out.” Immediately she fell down at his feet and breathed her last. When the young men came in they found her dead, and they carried her out and buried her beside her husband. And great fear came upon the whole church and upon all who heard of these things.

The book of Revelation is full of the wrath of God. Revelation 14 is one the scariest passages in all the Bible:

Revelation 14: 14-20: Then I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and seated on the cloud one like a son of man, with a golden crown on his head, and a sharp sickle in his hand. And another angel came out of the temple, calling with a loud voice to him who sat on the cloud, “Put in your sickle, and reap, for the hour to reap has come, for the harvest of the earth is fully ripe.” So he who sat on the cloud swung his sickle across the earth, and the earth was reaped.

Then another angel came out of the temple in heaven, and he too had a sharp sickle. And another angel came out from the altar, the angel who has authority over the fire, and he called with a loud voice to the one who had the sharp sickle, “Put in your sickle and gather the clusters from the vine of the earth, for its grapes are ripe.” So the angel swung his sickle across the earth and gathered the grape harvest of the earth and threw it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. And the winepress was trodden outside the city, and blood flowed from the winepress, as high as a horse's bridle, for 1,600 stadia.

But the most poignant picture of God wrath in all the New Testament is of course the cross of Christ. Most of us think of the cross as only showing us the picture of God's love for us (which is gloriously true - Romans 5:8) but we HAVE to see the wrath of God poured out as well or we will minimize our sin and defame the justice of God that is essential to his nature.

Romans 3:25
whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.

Hebrews 2:17
Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.

1 John 2:2
He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.

1 John 4:10
In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

(Click here if you are unfamiliar with the word, propitiation)

The NT is full of evidence of the wrath of God (there is many more passages that could have been cited). This is central to the gospel and never must be diminished. Don't let people continue in the belief that the OT = wrath and the NT = grace and mercy. Both Testaments are unified in their expressions of wrath and grace. It's one story with Jesus' righteous life and sin bearing death and resurrection as the centerpiece.