Rob Bell's New Book

The blogosphere is blowing up with talk about Rob Bell's new book Love Wins, which releases tomorrow. I'm hoping to find the time to read this review of the book from Kevin DeYoung.

Piper and Warren, Part 2

Last week when I mentioned John Piper's invitation to Rick Warren to speak at Desiring God's National Conference in September, a commenter wanted to know a bit about who Rick Warren is and why there would be concern over him speaking at this conference.

I hadn't responded yet to that comment, but after reading this post from Tim Challies, I think he answers better than I could have. It is fair-minded and charitable, and I believe it's wise and discerning, as I would expect from Challies.

If there's still a lack of clarity about Warren, let me know and I will try to respond in some more detail.

John Piper and Rick Warren

John Piper has invited Rick Warren to speak at Desiring God's 2010 National Conference in Minneapolis (and Warren has accepted). To be perfectly honest, given what I know of Piper and Warren, one might have thought this to be an April Fool's joke; but it isn't.

Last night, Piper explained the decision, which is sure to cause many Reformed-type people to question (or downright attack) him. There is a lot of very engaging, thought-provoking content in this clip. Check it out and let me know what you think:

Do people really think this is GOOD news?

From R.C. Sproul's chapter in Preaching the Cross:

The Roman (Catholic) view of justification starts with baptism. The benefits that accrue from baptism can be lost by committing mortal sin, but they can be recovered by penance. The regained justification lasts until another mortal sin is committed, and the cycle repeats. According to the Roman view, a believer's destiny is determined by the purity of his heart at the time of his death. Even if the believer does not die in a state of impenitent mortal sin, there may be impurities on the soul, necessitating purgatory until the impurities are cleansed...

The soul of the believer may be in purgatory for only a week if he or she is near to sainthood, but more likely the believer will remain there for several hundred years -- perhaps even two million, three million, or four million years -- until, in that place of purging, the believer is so cleansed from impurities that finally, when God looks at him or her, he sees an inherent righteousness."

According to Sproul, all this is presented in the most recent Roman Catholic catechism.

I can't imagine hearing worse news than this. The Church dealt with this bad news 2000 years ago in Acts 15, a passage I'll have the privilege of preaching on this Sunday. Their conclusion:

"Now, therefore, why are you putting God to the test by placing a yoke on the neck of the disciples that neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear? But we believe that we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they will."

In other words: when Jesus said, 'It is finished!', He meant it.

Now that is good news!

A secret about the Secret

One of the hot books a couple of years ago was The Secret, by Rhonda Byrne. The book was a runaway hit, selling millions of books. Here's the Secret, according to Byrne:

The earth turns on its orbit for You. The oceans ebb and flow for You. The birds sing for You. The sun rises and it sets for You. The stars come out for You. Every beautiful thing you see, every wondrous thing you experience, is all there for You. Take a look around. None of it can exist, without You. No matter who you thought you were, now you know the Truth of Who You Really Are. You are the master of the Universe. You are the heir to the kingdom. You are the perfection of Life. And now you know The Secret. (Page 183)

I was reminded of this today as I prepared for Sunday's sermon on Acts 12. In it King Herod went on a rampage, killing and arresting Christian believers. Finally, some inhabitants of Tyre and Sidon appeared before Herod. As they courted his favor they shouted, 'The voice of a god, and not a man!'. Then Luke tells us:

"Immediately an angel of the Lord struck him down, because he did not give God the glory, and he was eaten by worms and breathed his last." (Acts 12:23)

I'm not sure what is new or groundbreaking about The Secret; its 'truth' is ancient as mankind. The thirst to be god runs deep within every human heart. Herod believed in the Secret with all his heart, and God Almighty struck him dead. In an instant, the man who thought he was a god became weaker than a worm. And that was just the beginning of his agony.

It's the God who can do that to the mightiest of men who is worthy of worship. How vain it is, then, to buy into the Secret and worship the image we see reflected back to us in the mirror. That has been tried before, and it does not lead to a happy ending.

My desire is not to condemn Rhonda Byrne. Rather, let us pray that her eyes would be opened to her folly before it is too late.

The Great Enemy of Gospel-Centeredness

Yesterday, thanks to the wise words of a friend of mine, I was reminded of something I had written last year on the Seeking Him blog. As I have searched my own heart, this seems to me to be such a great danger that it is worth being reminded of again and again. Here's what I wrote (a year ago yesterday, oddly enough):

Beware of being a Pharisee about the Gospel.

I know these two things appear contradictory, and they are. A Pharisee is by nature not gospel-centered, and truly embracing the Gospel crushes the roots of a Pharisee. Yet I have seen in my own heart the subtle way that a genuine desire to promote the glory of the Gospel can turn into a cold-hearted, arrogant condemnation of those who don’t meet my standards of gospel-centeredness.

When I say beware of being a Pharisee about the Gospel, I mean beware of looking down upon others and casting judgment upon those people who you think are not as gospel-centered as they should be. In reality, none of us are as gospel-centered as we should be. But I’ve sensed in me a tendency toward pride, an attitude that we have now ‘arrived’ because we know the centrality of the gospel for all of life. We hear sermons and grumble that they are not gospel-centered enough. We look down on certain church leaders or authors or small-group members because ‘they just don’t make the gospel central enough.’

The Gospel tells us that there is absolutely nothing we can do to merit the favor of a holy and just God…and even passion for the gospel can be something we use to try to win God’s approval and make ourselves feel superior to others. Nothing is farther from the true spirit of the gospel than to use the gospel to elevate yourself or your knowledge above those of other people.

In the same way that many ‘Calvinists’ turn off other Christians to those doctrines because of their condescending attitude toward those who don’t believe like them, so also can genuine lovers of the gospel distort the gospel by being condescending toward those who aren’t as ‘gospel-centered’ as they think they are. Few things will make the gospel as unattractive as a person who uses it to feel superior to others who they regard as ‘unenlightened’.

So beware of this, brothers and sisters. I have been placing a high emphasis on the centrality of the gospel lately, urging others to make the main thing the main thing. With all my heart, I believe that is right, and should be contended for at all costs. Yet I have seen in my own soul this tendency toward becoming a Pharisee about it. It is ugly, and it is an awful distortion of true gospel-centeredness. It will only hinder the spread of the gospel we so long to see cherished.

For the sake of the gospel, let’s resist it at all costs!

Love and Free Will

In Paul Young's The Shack, the author puts these words in the mouth of Jesus:

"To force my will on you," Jesus replied, "is exactly what love does not do. Genuine relationships are marked by submission even when your choices are not helpful or healthy."

This is a common argument among theologians and scholars, who claim that in order for God to genuinely love His created people, He must never impose His will on them but must always preserve their freedom to either embrace or reject His love. But this seems to me untrue, both on the grounds of Scripture (John 6:44, for instance) and common sense.

Imagine you are this child's parent. You have expressly told him NEVER to go near the street without an adult, but there he is. How do you respond? What does real love and a genuine relationship with your son compel you to do in this moment? Do you say, 'Well, since love must allow you freedom of will even when your choices are not helpful or healthy, I guess I must let you venture out in front of that car coming to end your life.'

No loving parent would do such a thing. If this were your child, you would impose your will on that child and forcibly remove him from the road, so as to save his life. That is what genuine love does with rebellious children.

I am glad that is how God has loved me. Instead of allowing me to destroy myself for the sake of preserving my autonomy, He sovereignly, decisively moved upon my will and drew me to Himself, opening my eyes to see glory in the face of Jesus Christ, when once He looked foolish and ugly.

O how precious is the sovereign, omnipotent love of Jesus Christ! Without it there would be only everlasting torment and misery.

A Test in Discernment

William Paul Young's book The Shack has had mega-success since it was released, selling millions of copies around the world. Some Christians have celebrated the book as life-changing in the way it has helped them to understand God. Other Christians have simultaneously condemned it as heresy and destructive to the Church.

In this interview, Paul Young frankly discusses some of his theological perspectives that fueled the writing of his book. The questions he answers cover the Fatherhood of God, universal redemption and penal substitution, to name a few.

Christians who have read the Shack or not will profit from listening to and thinking through Young's remarks in this interview. As you listen I would encourage you to ask yourself how you would respond to some of the things Young says. As Christians we ought to know why we believe what we do, and ought to be able to give evidence from the Scriptures to support our beliefs. And in my opinion, Young says some things in this interview that seem to attack doctrines that are at the very heart of Christianity. Doctrines that need to be defended with both compassion and conviction.

So listening to this interview is, then, a valuable exercise in using biblical discernment. It is somewhat lengthy, but I believe it is a worthwhile investment of time.