The Gospel Coalition

Research shows many young white evangelical Christians are moving away from the Republican Party. Read about it here.

There are two types of anger: God-centered and self-centered. God-centered anger is when you get angry because God has been dishonored and his ways have been maligned. Self-centered anger is when you’re angry because you have been dishonored or your ways have been maligned.

The anger that marks our fallen world is self-centered, not God-centered. People get angry because their purposes have been upset, their desires have been squelched, their preferences have been ignored. They get mad because they have been disrespected, discomforted, or inconvenienced.

The church is to exhibit a different type of anger: God-centered anger.

When Paul tells us in Ephesians 4:26-27 to be angry, he’s obviously thinking of the God-centered sort, not the self-centered sort. He’s not giving us the right to get angry because our ways have been frustrated. He’s not talking about being mean-spirited, joyless, and out of control. He’s not giving us license to lose our temper because somebody personally annoys us or to hold a grudge because we are personally irritated. What he’s telling us is to be people who hate the things God hates for the reasons that God hates them.

Our world needs more God-centered anger. Sin and evil and immorality — all these things should arouse our anger. In fact, the world needs to see our anger at evils like organized racial violence, torture, genocide, child abuse, drug and sex trafficking, low educational standards, corporate greed, adultery, pornography, and so on. Sadly, the church is guilty of ignoring these evils, of not expressing God-centered anger at the way God’s image bearers—human beings—are being de-humanized, mistreated, and denigrated by one another. When the church ignores these things we inadvertently communicate to the watching world that God has no social conscience; that he doesn’t care about injustice. But the fact is that God is a God of justification and justice. He not only cares about the salvation of individuals but, according to Isaiah 1:17, he cares deeply about his people being ready and willing to “seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan, and plead for the widow.” God is angry when justice is not sought, when the oppressed is not rescued, when the orphan is not defended, and when the widow is not pleaded for. So when we see how sin causes human beings to treat each other in undignified, unjust ways, we should be incensed, not indifferent! Because God is angry at sin’s devastation, God’s people should be too. But why do these things make God angry?

Look at Mark 3:1-5. One day Jesus “entered the synagogue, and a man was there with a withered hand.” Meanwhile the Pharisees in the crowd “watched Jesus, to see whether he would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse him.” Jesus didn’t hold back:

And he said to the man with the withered hand, “Come here.” And he said to them, “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to kill?” But they were silent.

And notice carefully what comes next:

And he looked around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, and said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was restored.

Jesus, the God-man, was angry. And then we read immediately that he was grieved, seeing the hardness of the Pharisees’ hearts.

God’s anger is a grieving anger. It grieves because it sees the devastation sin has on human life. Jesus was angry because God’s ways were being maligned and God was being dishonored by these legalistic Pharisees. But his anger was fueled by grief — because in the lives of these hardened Pharisees he was able to see sin’s deadening effects. It was as if he was saying, “Why do you continue like this? Don’t you know, don’t you see, that you were created and designed for so much more than this?” It grieved him to see that, because of their sin, these Pharisees were shadows of what God originally intended for them to be—they were made to live for so much more.

In his book The Great Divorce, C.S. Lewis allegorically describes the difference between people who are running toward God—on their way to “heaven”—and people running away from God—on their way to “hell.” The people moving further and further away from God become more and more see-through, less solid. They begin to lose their substance, their coloring. Whereas the people moving closer and closer to God become more and more concrete and brightly colored. In other words, movement away from God makes you less and less of what God created you to be. While movement toward God makes you more and more what God created you to be. When we become less and less of what God created us to be because of our sin, it makes God grievingly angry because we were fearfully and wonderfully made to live for so much more! 

I point this out for this reason: Our anger should be a grieving anger as well. When we see immorality and injustice, our anger should be stoked because of the devastating effects these things have on human life and community.

Godly, grieving anger is far different from the kind of perceived anger commonly associated with Christians. Lots of people think of Christians as embittered, angry people, especially in relation to highly charged social issues such as abortion and homosexuality. They view Christians as being frustrated because things just aren’t going our way—our conservative political agenda is being thwarted.

I remember being at a conference years ago when, during the panel discussion between the various speakers, one of the speakers (an editor of a conservative political-theological magazine) was expressing his frustration with many of the political “left-wingers” in an unnecessarily sarcastic and condescending way. When he was finished, John Piper (one of the other speakers sitting on the panel) spoke up and said to the man with the utmost seriousness and precision, “For a long time I have appreciated your ministry. You are an astute observer of our culture. I read your magazine every month. It’s always insightful. But there’s one thing missing from your ministry.” The other speaker looked at Dr. Piper and asked what it was. Piper looked at the man dead in the eyes and in front of 5,000 people said, “Tears!” In my heart I cheered! 

The world so often senses our anger — but do they ever sense our grief? They think we’re angry simply because we’re not getting our way, but I’m afraid they don’t feel our sorrow over sin’s negative, de-humanizing effects. Our anger is not communicated in a “You were made for so much more than this” type manner. They hear our anger without grief and conclude, “They’re not angry because they want what’s best for us; they’re angry because they only want what’s best for them and they’re not getting it.” No wonder they tune us out.

When we see the restlessness and wreckage in people’s lives because they’re not in relationship with God and they’re living sin-filled lives, it should stoke our anger — an anger that arises because we love them and grieve to see them living for something so destructive when God created them to live for something beautiful and satisfying.

Self-centered anger is not a grieving, love-fueled anger; God-centered anger is. So does your anger rage because your love for God and your love for others is radical? When people see us hating what God hates because our love for God and people is real and deep, then and only then will they pay attention to our message.

Colin Duriez has appeared as a commentator on several mainstream documentaries, has authored biographies of C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien, and studied for several months under Francis Schaeffer in Swiss L’Abri before reading English and philosophy at the University of Ulster in Northern Ireland. He writes books, edits, and lectures.

His most recent book Francis Schaeffer: An Authentic Life is a biography of Dr. Schaeffer which draws on over 150,000 words of specially collected oral history to reveal who he was and how he became one of the foremost shapers of modern evangelical Christianity.

Here are some of the endorsements:

Francis Schaeffer was an amazing man—intellectually brilliant and set on truth, emotionally intense, devoted to God and compassionate; like Jeremiah, perplexed by the world, not because he didn’t understand it but because he did. As one of his editors, I came to know him well, but only after he emerged as a writer. For me Colin Duriez fills in the fascinating details of his early years. Yes, this was the man I knew—one who was surprised by God as his influence grew from his pastoring small churches to teaching thousands in auditoriums around the world, from conversations one on one or with a handful of students to intellectual sparring with elite secular scholars and pundits. Duriez knows his subject; Schaeffer, the Jeremiah of the twentieth century, walks and talks again in these pages. James W. Sire

An excellent biography of this influential thinker, mingling personal memories and theological analysis. A must for Schaeffer’s admirers and those wanting to develop his heritage today. Alister E. McGrath

You can read an interview with Mr. Duriez on his new biography of Schaeffer here.

Anyone (like me) who owes a debt of gratitude to the ministry of Francis Schaeffer will want to add this to their summer reading list.

My friend Collin Hansen (Christianity Today editor and author of the book Young, Restless, and Reformed) wrote an article on why the flagship megachurch Willow Creek is adusting its focus from seekers to saints. He opens the article by writing:

Imagine that the Democratic Party, after years of research, concluded that government really is the problem. “Forget the New Deal!” party leaders would announce. “People really do want to lift themselves up by their bootstraps!” That’s about as plausible as the recent revelation from Willow Creek Community Church, America’s second largest church and a longtime model for evangelical churches wanting to reach non-Christians. This spring, Willow announced that instead of focusing on attracting new believers, it is shifting its focus to maturing those who already believe.

Read the whole article here.

Tim Keller has put together a summer reading list that might (should) interest you. I had to laugh when I read the list because I am currently on vacation with my family and brought with me some of the very books Tim recommends (be looking out especially for the Andy Crouch book that is coming out in a couple months. I received an early copy and it is groundbreaking work, in my opinion). Happy reading! 

On the Bible:
Craig Blomberg’s The Historical Reliability of the Gospels (IVP, 2nd edition, 2008.) This makes the case that the Biblical account of Jesus is not legend but historically trustworthy. Blomberg incorporates insights from Richard Bauckham’s Jesus and the Eyewitnesses, an important work but much longer and more difficult to read.

On the Cross:
J.I.Packer and Mark Dever, In My Place Condemned He Stood (Crossway, 2007.)
This volume assembles several older essays by J.I . Packer. They are classics and had a profound influence on my understanding of Jesus’ death.

John Stott, The Cross of Christ (IVP, 2006)
This volume along with the Packer book will give you a very complete and Biblically rich understanding of the Cross.

On the Resurrection:
N.T.Wright, Surprised by Hope (HarperOne, 2008)
It’s always a little dangerous to recommend a book I haven’t read yet, but I suggest it because it is basically a shorter and more accessible summary of his bigger classic The Resurrection of the Son of God, which is wonderful but very long and academic.

On Church History:
Mark Noll, Turning Points: Decisive Moments in the History of Christianity (Baker, 2001, 2nd ed)
This is maybe the best, short, accessible overview of Christian history. It doesn’t try to survey every century, but chooses 10 major turning points (the split between the eastern and western church c.1000AD, the Reformation, the Great Awakening, etc)

On faith and culture:
Andy Crouch, Culture-Making: Recovering our Creative Calling (IVP, 2008)
This is coming up during the summer, so order it and read it before Labor Day. It’s one of the best books yet on how Christians can integrate their faith with their work.

Philip Bess, Till We Have Built Jerusalem (ISI Books, 2006.)
This is a fascinating set of essays by a Christian architect laying out a Christian vision for a ‘new urbanism,’ the belief and practice that cities are the best social arrangement for human flourishing. Bess is the Director of graduate studies at the Notre Dame School of Architecture.

Devotional:
John Newton, The Letters of John Newton or Cardiphonia: The Utterance of the Heart (various editions)
Either of these editions of John Newton’s letters are classics of spirituality and devotion. He was the former slave trader who was converted and became a minister and wrote the hymn ‘Amazing Grace’

General:
C.S.Lewis, Mere Christianity (Harper, 1952)
You may not want to admit that you have never read this book—so stop being a hypocrite and read it! And if you have already read it, read one of the other big CSL classics: The Screwtape Letters or The Great Divorce or even The Narnia Chronicles.

“God’s people are like bells; the harder they are hit, the better they sound.”
-John Bunyan

(HT: Justin Buzzard)

There are endless varieties of spiritual options available to us today but the one that seems to be in vogue at the moment is a phenomenon that has recently been described as “Metrospirituality.” Theologian David Wells describes the characteristics of this latest spiritual trend.

Metrospirituality is a Yuppie movement which is combining Eastern mysticism, from sources like Buddhism and Hinduism, and Western consumerism. Respecting the environment means buying a hybrid car and respecting one’s self means connecting with one’s own inner power and they are putting this together in a single spiritual package — Jamba Juice, meditation, kindness, and aromatherapy all rolled into one! 

Metrospirituality proves that many deeply spiritual people are functionally admitting that they “still haven’t found what they’re looking for.” The reason for this is, of course, that God has made us for himself and our hearts are restless until we find our rest in him. True spirituality is an internal possession of an ever-deepening relationship with God the Father, through God the Son, in God the Spirit. It is an internal connection between God the Creator and us his creatures. Anything less than relational union with God is a false spirituality that cannot save or satisfy us.

A few years ago I was in Starbucks with our music director, Brandon. As we waited in line to get our afternoon caffeine kick, the young barista behind the counter overheard us talking about our church, which at that point was only a year old, and we started chatting. Brandon soon invited her to visit our church one Sunday. She responded in typical postmodern fashion, saying, “I’m into spirituality, but I’m not really into organized religion.” Brandon, who has a wonderfully quick wit, replied, “Don’t worry, we’re really not that organized.”

This article by Peter Jones entitled The New Spirituality: Dismantling and Reconstructing Reality shows that while it is not an “organized religion, this spirituality is the reappearance of the massive system of ancient world paganism and, as such, represents the greatest threat to the church since the Greco-Roman pagan empire.” He concludes that the situation is urgent and that the church must pay attention.

This world you and I live in is marked by a radical commitment to thievery. Every single day, attempts are made to steal your time, your talents, and your money.

Think about this: The advertising industry spends untold billions of dollars each year trying to steal your time by making you believe that relaxation, not work, is what you were meant to live for, ultimately. Maybe you’ve seen this bumper sticker: “I say we fish six days and work one.” I’m not a fisherman, so I’d probably be more sympathetic to the one that goes, “I say we surf six days and work one.” That’s the thinking that results from the endlessly proclaimed falsehood that we all deserve a break today — a long one — and that our time is best spent if it’s idle. Sit back, relax, enjoy the ride, take as many vacations as you possibly can, because that’s the real goal of human life — not working, not investing yourself for others and for the good of society as a whole, not making the most of every opportunity as the Bible teaches us. Rather, we are told to pursue personal comfort and convenience regardless of the cost. The good life is a life spent leisurely.  To be sure, workaholism is a real danger in our day, but even the tendency of workaholics is often fueled by the promise that if they work hard enough they might make enough money to retire early so that they can spend their time doing what they were really meant to enjoy: time off.   

Think too of the billions of dollars spent every year trying to convince you to expend all your talents and money on yourself here and now instead of investing long-term in others for others. Because life is lived for the moment and today is really all that matters, don’t think about the consequences of your decisions or how they’ll affect tomorrow. Advertisers are relentless in their attempts to steal your money by giving you the line that you can’t be happy without their product. They keep proclaiming that in order to be happy, you need to buy what their selling, that more stuff can bring you fulfillment like nothing else can. 

According to American Consumer Credit Counseling, the total U.S. credit card debt in the first quarter of a recent year was approximately $60 billion. This ends up being about a $8,000 in credit card debt per family in America. This shows that the world around us wants you to believe that it’s all about “now”, and they have a never-ending strategy for persuading you to believe it. But God has equipped you to make a lasting, significant contribution to society in various ways. He’s given you different gifts to be exercised not only within the community of God but also in long-term service to the world. The world strongly influences us in a thousand ways to take a short view of life—eat, drink, and be merry tonight, because tomorrow may never come. Christians, on the other hand, are to take a long view of life—living intentionally so that we make contributions to the common good of society which last long after our individual life in this world is over.

Living in a world where attempts are made every day to steal your time, talents, and money makes people feel cheap and used. People become objects that are to be marketed to, not loved and invested in. In that way it dehumanizes us. Every human being is simply a potential buyer, so we should market ourselves in such a way to cause others to live for us, rather than being committed to live for others.

The bottom line is that the world’s ethic is marked by taking, not giving. But the church can step in here and become an alternative society, a breath of fresh air. Paul instructs us to distinguish ourselves by being a community of givers, not takers — having “something to share with anyone in need.”

For instance, it’s fashionable (basically automatic) in our world to view getting a raise first as an opportunity to elevate your standard of living: get a nicer car, buy a bigger house, a home entertainment center, more expensive clothing, etc. But in the Bible what we find is the principle that to whom much is given much is required. In other words, more income does not first mean increased spending, but increased giving. Choosing to view something like a financial raise in this way is radically unfashionable—and to the watching world, radically refreshing!

When it comes to money specifically, my friend Trevin recently wrote, “[Christians] can show that money is not Lord by demonstrating to the world that all money comes from God, by embracing a mindset that focuses on eternal investments over temporal benefits, and by showing the world that people matter more than possessions. The best way to subvert the idol of Mammon is by giving it away freely.”

Christians ought to be known as the most generous people on the face of this earth — the most generous with their time, their talents, and their money. Why? Because more than anyone else, Christians are to understand that they are owners of nothing and stewards of everything—believing that everything they have is a gift from God that they are to handle responsibly. The only thing you and I own — the only thing that’s really ours — is our sin. Everything else is a blessing from our Creator. Our resources, our time, our abilities — they’re all a gift from God.

The fact is, you are a steward of everything in your life — every dollar you earn, every good idea that goes through your mind, every feeling of compassion. All of your skills, resources, experiences, influence, and social capital—all of these things are to be stewarded well, invested back into the created order for the good of other people. We are to leverage our God-given resources for the common good, making this society a better place to live for everyone, not just us. As Christians, we’ll be held accountable for the way we invested all of the “assets” God has given us.

Christians, more than anyone else, ought to operate according to the words of the martyred missionary Jim Elliott who said, “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.” Surely, Mr. Elliott had these very words of his Savior in mind: “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:19-21). Christians ought to give joyfully remembering always that “for the joy set before him”, Christ gave everything that we might possess all.

If Christians really began living generously, investing all that we are and have in order to make this a better place to live for everyone, think about the witness that would be in our world. Every non-Christian in our community should be able to say about us, “I might not believe what they believe but this place would be a much less livable place without them here, because of the way these people invest their time, talents, and money in service to our community.”

That’s what God wants people to say about us, as we lay down our lives for others. Speaking of the world around them, Jesus commands his disciples to “Let your light shine before others so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 5:16). This, by the way, is a far greater witness to the world than being able to give five rational proofs for the existence of God, as important as that is.

Here again, the body of Christ is to follow Christ the head. Christ gave everything that we might possess all. We, too, are to give everything, and give joyfully, that others might possess all.

As you know, one of the main reasons I wrote Do I Know God was because I believe that one of the most strategic mission fields in the United States is the church. According to Jesus in Matthew 7:21-23, there will be many who go through life thinking they know God when in fact they don’t. This means that there are currently many people in church who aren’t “in Christ.”

This is why I was happy to read that the Southern Baptist Convention this week overwhelmingly adopted a resolution that urges churches to maintain accurate membership rolls and repent of any failure to do so.

The resolution on regenerate church membership would count believers who have been baptized and are born again while cleaning the rolls of inactive attendants…

My friend Steve jokes that, because of this discrepency regarding membership rolls in Southern Baptist churches, there are more Baptists in Texas than there are people. This resolution means Steve can’t say that anymore!

Read the whole report here.

At the 2007 Shepherds’ Conference in southern California, Pastor John MacArthur delivered a controversial message entitled, “Why Every Self-Respecting Calvinist is a Premillennialist.” In this book, Dr. Sam Waldron addresses the assertions of MacArthur historically, exegetically and theologically.

Here are some of the endorsements:

With charity, this book exposes the fallacies–historical, exegetical and theological–inherent in Dr. MacArthur’s presentation…Thank you, Dr. Waldron, for showing us how a theological refutation may be done with grace and kindness. James M. Renihan, Ph.D.

Samuel Waldron’s “friendly response” to John MacArthur’s “millennial manifesto” will go a long way toward setting the record straight about what Reformed amillennialists actually believe about the church and Israel…I highly recommend this book to all who are interested in this controversy. Kim Riddlebarger, Ph.D.

Samuel Waldron’s response to John MacArthur’s controversial sermon, “Why Every Self-Respecting Calvinist Is a Premillennialist,” is a gem. In a gentle spirit, and with an awareness of what is at stake, Waldron makes a persuasive case against MacArthur’s unlikely claim that true Calvinists must subscribe to the tenets of dispensational premillennialism. Cornelis Venema, Ph.D.