G.O.S.P.E.L. from Humble Beast Records on Vimeo.

After the Texas Rangers won their first ever American League pennant tonight, and after being awarded the American League Championship Series Most Valuable Player trophy, the media once again asked Josh Hamilton to speak. And once again he “hit it out of the park” from a Christian witness standpoint, and he did it in several ways.

First, as the trophy presenters turned their attention to Josh, while music to one of his favorite walk-up songs played over the loudspeakers (“Saved The Day” by Phillips, Craig & Dean; the song clip lyrics saying “You saved the day/ Oh God, You rescued me”), he initially grinned, shaking his head, as if to deny silently that the trophy should come to him, one man. Surely, in his mind was the acknowledgment that his fellow Rangers were just as responsible for the award as he. Realistic team athletes acknowledge this. Yet, more importantly, Hamilton’s non-verbal gesture was suggesting that the credit first be given to God, whose sheer mercy enabled him to be in that position.  But his humble commitments had only begun to appear.

Second, while representing the team tonight on stage accepting the accolades, Josh further demonstrated his Christian humility in some other noticeable and noteworthy manners. Initially, early on in the presentation, while Jackie Autry mentioned that “there were a lot of MVPs in this game for the Texas Rangers”, Josh pointed to his teammates, nodding to them that they were “most valuable players” as well. He then returned briefly to ducking his face beneath the brim of his ballcap as if to quietly endure the praise. After her complimentary speech, he then said “Thank you very much”, gently and graciously leaned over, hugged her, and kissed her on the cheek. These signs of meekness, though modest and decent, were nonetheless commendable.

Third came the MVP’s own words. The first question for him by host and interviewer Matt Winer inquired: “Four home runs, seven RBIs. You were supposed to be slumping back in the ALDS.  Seems like a long time ago now.  When did you know you had your timing and your stroke back?” Josh’s answer may have been unusual for professional athletes, but not for him. Before a watching world on numerous occasions, he has responded with the sincerity of a true believer and the simple grace of a recipient of God’s kindness. Once again, his performance in the press box matched his all-star behavior in the batter’s box as he declared: “First of all, all the glory goes to God [and] Jesus Christ”. Amidst the subsequent roar from fans, Hamilton lifted his head and looked to the crowd, pointing to heaven and nodding, raising his eyebrows as if to say, “You know it, people. You know where I get my strength, and who deserves the praise.”

After giving the Lord the honor, Josh rightly turned his attention to his worthy teammates. “Secondly, I love my teammates. I love’em so much.” Again shaking his head in mild demurral, he continued: “Any of these guys could’ve gotten this award. I’m happy to have it. But at the same time, these guys, um, I don’t want to talk about myself. I want to talk about them, ‘cause WE are the reason we’re here.” As the audience judiciously clapped and screamed, Winer followed up: “Why are you here as a group, then? Why is this group here, then?” Josh then paid tribute to his team’s perseverance, a Christian virtue with which he’s doubtless familiar. Turning and looking the interviewer in the eye, he replied: “This group’s here because they don’t know how to fail.” Drawing attention to other virtues like camaraderie and love, and while reflectively, affectionately looking at the guys across the field, Josh continued: “The chemistry of the team is something like I’ve never known anywhere. All the guys love each other. And we support each other.” Amidst his modest words, he added, “And we love the fans”. And the fans loved him back with another round of cheers and hearty applause.

As the camera panned to his team, proud smiles beamed from their faces for their center field slugger. Then, THE pitch came. He was asked how gratifying it is for him to be receiving the award and heading to the World Series, after all he’s been through personally. Under the blazing spotlights of The Ballpark in Arlington, with over 51,000 fans in attendance celebrating, and millions watching via television and the internet, and all of us Christians holding our spiritual “breaths”, Josh replied: “I’ll be honest with you. In the ninth, A-Rod was up, and I’m tearing up out there, trying to hold it back in case he hits a ball to me. But it means a lot, everything I’ve been through and what God’s brought me through to this point to this group of guys, I’m so excited. I feel blessed.”

CRACK! Under the pressure, the great hitter took a clean, honest cut, straight from his heart, and our hearts soared like a ball headed for right field, the “right” field. In a likely refusal to accept deification, he courageously and candidly revealed his vulnerability regarding his human emotions. In addition, he “done right” (as we say in Texas) by humbly acknowledging God’s gracious deliverance for him personally, as well as crediting his teammates for what they’ve meant to him as a fellow player, for their accommodating support and achievement. Both Josh’s play on the field and his stand for morality and sobriety has earned their respect, and the players chose to douse each other again with ginger ale on the field, allowing him to participate with no qualms.

Well, let me say that, in my humble opinion, our 29-year-old brother showed tremendous poise before the glaring limelight of a watching, adoring, and tempting world. He gave credit to God first, a feat in itself. Yet, he also managed to uphold other Christian virtues such as humility, love, respect, unity, support, camaraderie, and perseverance. Quite astounding! And he did all this without erring into the vices of conceit, blasphemy, dishonesty, or idolatry. To sum it up, he followed the commands to “Love God” and then to “Love your neighbor”, and he did so humbly.  Despite nervously chewing his gum and his strained attempt at marshalling his heart-strung voice to speak, Brother Hamilton successfully carried himself in a manner worthy of his Lord and Savior. Well done, bro. You are rightly named Joshua, as you once again displayed the qualities of a courageous, and yet unpretentious, humble leader. May the LORD bless you always to testify faithfully and meekly to God’s grace in your life. Keep giving Him all the honor. “All glory to God [and] Jesus Christ!” Amen.

To watch the ALCS MVP presentation, go here:

http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=12892987&c_id=tex

A Pharisee, A Tax Collector and Lifeless, Damning Religiosity

(cont.)

The Tax Collector, on the other hand, agreed with the Pharisee’s assessment of him. He knew that he did not have the righteousness of the Pharisee. He knew that he was an extortioner, that he was unjust and that he was adulterous. He was a tax collector after all. This man knew that he was sick and in dire need of a physician. It was all he could do to fall on his face and cry to God for the simple grace of underserved, unearned, unjust and completely necessary mercy. This man was at his end. He knew that there was nothing that he could do and nothing that he could offer to God to make God love him. He quite simply had nothing to give and was ready to take anything and everything that God might give to him. This man, Jesus says, went home justified, rather than the Pharisee. This man repented of the sins that the Pharisee would never admit he had committed. This man, completely unacceptable to God was accepted and went home justified and the Pharisee who by God’s grace kept all the law was found wanting and went home condemned. In exalting himself the Pharisee was humbled to the point of condemnation. In humbling himself and simply asking for mercy, the sinful Tax Collector was exalted and justified before God.

The Pharisee, according to his own perception of righteousness, had every reason to expect that he was right before God. He followed all of the rules, He kept away from all of the sins, and he was absolutely more righteous than sinners like the tax collector. Everyone knew how moral the Pharisee was and how utterly wicked and depraved the Tax Collector was. This reality was not to be questioned.

Yet, the tax collector went home justified and the Pharisee did not. The Tax Collector understood something vital: that he was indeed a sinner! The Pharisee was right! There was nothing in the tax collector to commend him to God. There was nothing in his soul or in his heart that would make him in any way desirable or attractive to the Holy Lord. He was utterly without help and hope apart from God’s sovereign mercy. The Pharisee missed this key point: that he too was without hope apart from God’s Grace! No matter how righteous he was, no matter how holy he was, no matter how lovely his prayers were or how much he fasted or how much he prayed, all of those works were filthy menstrual rags in comparison to the holiness of God, the holiness that is required for salvation.

This was the hope that the Tax Collector had. That someway, somehow, God would overlook the blatantly obvious sin and still have mercy. The Pharisee did not need this mercy. God had already given it to him by making him so moral and upstanding that it inspired awe in those around him. He exalted himself above the Tax Collector and above the people around him and above even God himself and Christ states that he did not go away justified. Those who exalt themselves will be brought low. Without Christ’s mercy, the Pharisee was damned.

And why was the Tax Collector justified? Was it because of his righteous and holy repentance? Certainly not! He went home righteous because God heard his cry for mercy and loved and saved him. The Tax Collector knew that he was lost apart from God’s mercy. The Pharisee knew he was saved. Christ did not come to save the righteous, but He did come to save sinners. The Pharisee did not understand this reality.

How easy it would be to hate the Pharisee like the Pharisee hated the tax-collecting sinner! “Lord, thank you that I’m not like other religious men! I humbly pray three times a week, I give to the poor twice per year, I mourn over my sins every chance I get. I thank you that I’m not like self-righteous men who try to earn their own salvation or even like this Pharisee.” God forgive us for praying such prayers! May he grant the mercy to repent like the Tax Collector, praying simply “Lord have mercy on me, a sinner!”

Simply being a sinner is not enough to be saved. A man can know he’s a sinner and that he is completely unrighteous, but if he is not humbled enough to cry for mercy like the Tax Collector, he will not find salvation. There is really only one difference between the Pharisee and the Sinner. The Sinner knows he is lost, whereas the Pharisee thinks he is saved. Yet both are still lost. It is not until a man cries for mercy and believes that that man finds the salvation he so desperately seeks and needs.

Religion is a very dangerous thing. Having the understanding of salvation, or claiming to, can be an extremely powerful bargaining chip in the hands of wicked men. People engage in all sorts of insanity to find salvation. This is the beauty of Christ’s teachings, that only when one stops trying to be saved will he be in a position to attain it. Christ did not come to save the righteous. He came to save sinners. He came to save men like the Tax Collector, who had nothing with which to commend himself to God.

Yet Pharisaical men are not without hope. The church’s greatest missionary, the Apostle Paul, described himself in his letter to the Philippians as being a man who had every reason to have confidence in and boast in his flesh by stating that he was “…circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless.” (Philippians 3:5-6) Paul put the Pharisee in Jesus’ story to absolute shame. If that man was a good Pharisee, Paul was better. According to the righteous under the law, Paul was blameless. What was the difference then between Paul and this Pharisee? The difference is found in verse 7 and 8, as Paul states: “But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.” (Philippians 3:7-8). Paul understood the lesson of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector. He knew that his righteousness was not enough. If anyone had come close enough, it was Paul. Paul’s heart beat with that of the penitent Tax Collector, not the Pharisee. The self-proclaimed Chief of Sinners knew the wickedness of his heart and the hopelessness of trying to satisfy God’s righteousness apart from Jesus. And that same humbled chief of sinners also knew something of the riches of the exaltation of being a son of God in Christ.

Perhaps one of the most poignant examples of Christ’s mercy to a man like the Tax Collector is the life of John Newton. The author of the hymn “Amazing Grace” was a man who spent a great deal of time and exerted a great deal of effort to, like Jonah, run away from God. After many years of fighting, this man was used of God in great and mighty ways (and through his hymns and his story, is still being used). The inscription on his tombstone reads: “John Newton, Clerk, once an infidel and libertine, a servant of slaves in Africa, was, by the rich mercy of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, preserved, restored, pardoned, and appointed to preach the faith he had long labored to destroy.” This is the mercy that God has for sinners. This grace is initially un-looked for, subsequently begged for and finally granted to the sinner; unearned, unexpected and above and beyond all hope. Amazing grace, indeed!

Religiosity devoid of Christ-enlivened spirituality always and without fail leads to damnation. This is a sobering lesson of the Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector. Jesus made no secret of His detestation of the teachings and theology of the Pharisees. When He was not teaching doctrines that ran contrary to the Pharisees (enraging them) or dining with sinners (deeply offending them) or teaching parables against them (confounding them), He was pronouncing woes upon them and calling them vipers and whitened sepulchers. He even saw fit to use them as an object lesson in this parable in Luke 18:9-14.

The parable in question involves two characters: a Pharisee and a Tax Collector. Pharisees were the religious leaders of their day. They were renowned for their apparent righteousness and law-keeping. They loved the honor of men and loved the sweet smell of money (Luke 16:14). They were self-righteous and devious. Jesus did not think very highly of the Pharisees. In return, they hated Him. The Gospels are filled with battles that Jesus had with these leading rulers and many of his teachings were teachings in direct opposition to the Pharisees. In Matthew 21:33-40 Jesus likened them to tenants who beat and murdered the servants of the owner of a vineyard, even going so far to murder the owner’s son. When asked what should be done to men such as those, the Pharisees ironic answer was “He will put to those wretches to a miserable death and let out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the fruits in their seasons” (Matthew 21:41). Jesus’ telling response was that they (the Pharisees) had rejected God’s chief cornerstone and that “…the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruits.” (Matthew 21:43). Furthermore, Jesus pronounced seven woes against them in Matthew 23:13-36, using perhaps his harshest language recorded in the Gospels. In this chilling passage Jesus referred to the Pharisees as hypocrites, children of hell, blind guides, blind fools, blind men, whitewashed tombs, serpents, and a brood of vipers. He pronounces woes on them for trying to keep people out of God’s kingdom, attempting to make proselytes into children of hell, making foolish oaths, neglecting the “…weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness” (Matthew 23:23), being men concerned only with their outer appearance, concerning themselves with external righteousness while being internally dead men of lawlessness and hypocrisy, and hypocritically distancing themselves from the murder of God’s prophets. Again, Jesus did not think highly of the Pharisees. Their doctrines were hateful to Him. Their supposed worship was a stink to His nostrils. He hated their wickedness and their hypocrisy. Yet, the Pharisees were the “big leaguers” of the Jewish religious climate. They were the professionals. If they said to jump, everybody asked how high. They were the Righteous. They were the ones close to God. They were the ones who were in and doing God’s will.

The tax collectors, on the other hand, were a despised lot. After Levi the Tax Collector was called by Jesus to be a disciple he invited Jesus and his fellow Tax Collectors (and other sinners) over to his house. The scribes of the Pharisees took offense to this and asked why Jesus would do such a thing, to eat with such a dirty group of people. Jesus’ beautiful answer is telling: “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.” (Mark 2:17) Tax Collectors were a sinful lot and they knew it. They were in the employ of the Roman Empire but were Jews. They were cheats, snitches and were despised by everybody. They and everybody else knew that righteousness was impossible for them. They were not well. That Jesus would eat with them was a scandal of the highest order. Such men were worse than the Romans. Yet Jesus, because of His gracious love, came to save such men. The Pharisees knew that they were righteous. The Tax Collectors knew that they were not.

The parables of Jesus were more than quaint stories. They always had a purpose and always had a particular message and audience in mind.  Luke very kindly interpreted this parable by mentioning the audience and purpose of this passage. In Luke 18:9 he states: “[Jesus] also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt”. This parable was (and is) intended for men like the Pharisees, who thought themselves righteous and better than everybody around them.

In particular, the Pharisee of Jesus’ parable was a stellar example of perceived righteousness. By his own loud, self-seeking, prayerful admission, he proclaimed his righteousness by thanking God for giving it to him. “God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week, I give tithes of all I get.” (Luke 18:11). This was a man convinced of his standing before God and of his own inherent righteousness. He was fair with his money (even though he loved it too much), he was just (even if it was by his own depraved standard of righteousness), he was faithful to his wife (even if he was able to find a myriad of reasons to justly divorce her) and he was nowhere near as wicked as the nearby Tax Collector. Furthermore, this man did not just fast once a year or once a month or even once a week, he fasted two times during a week and he was sure to let everybody see how much his devotion cost him. Even more impressively, he gave tithes of all he that he got, even if it meant that he did not have enough to respectively give to his parents in their need. This Pharisee in Jesus’ parable was the standard of holiness and God-likeness.

Strange Virtues – Ethics in a Multicultural World. By Bernard T. Adeney, InterVarsity Press Academic, 1995. 281 pages. Softback.

Ethics, both in study and in practice, is a non-trivial exercise. In many ways it is where the rubber meets the proverbial road, that place where religion, philosophy and human interactions intersect (sometimes violently) as people try to “do right” by each other. In a world as divergent and varied as this one, there seem to be as many ethical standards, codes and systems as there are people to implement them. Violent collisions of different ethical assumptions and practices occur daily as people deal with one another. As the world networks and becomes truly global, these cross-cultural ethical conundrums become more and more frequent and harried. Travel is no longer needed to experience this distinctly human phenomenon, as the world has truly “come to our door”, both in the form of immigrants and the world wide internets. It is no longer a question of if one will endure these ethical collisions, but a question of how to handle it when it does happen. Thankfully, this is a situation that men like Bernard Adeney attempt to understand and while there are some conclusions that some authors such as Adeney come to, their advice is helpful and frankly, necessary.

Adeney’s purpose for writing Strange Virtues is clearly stated in the form of a question: “How do we respond to situations where our values are incongruent with those of another culture?” (14) Simply put, people believe differently from each other. They have different values and different understandings of right and wrong. They have different political systems, religious convictions and cultural ceremonies. Different cultures have different views on what constitutes morality, manners, relations and proper epistemology. Cultures vary in how virtue is achieved and what is “…the vision of a virtuous person in a good community.” (15) Rightly understanding these various perspectives and rightly responding to them can be a tricky business. The job becomes more difficult, in some respects, when one approaches the conundrum from the perspective of Christianity. Christian belief and doctrine are at their core exclusive. There are things that Christianity states are Truth and which it cannot budge from, or else it ceases to be biblical Christianity. It is not generally a religion of plurality and diversity of beliefs when it comes down to its core issues. Yet the Bible does not lay out patterns of expected behavior for every particular ethical possibility. In “Strange Virtues” Adeney brings up issues of bribery, theft, lying and honor where at first glance the appropriate ethical action may be obvious to our western sensibilities, but when viewed from the context of another culture, there is always more than meets the eye. As such, “Strange Virtues” is written by a Christian to Christians (particularly in the West) to encourage them to think out of and think through their ethical and cultural boxes and consider what Christianity teaches from other cultural perspectives. Doing so can be fraught with danger, but it can also be enriching and rewarding.

If anything, “Strange Virtues” is a book seeking balance. Prescriptionist applications of Biblical commands and principles can be a good thing. Absolutist understandings of culture and the world about can be healthy and in fact is actually necessary and natural. Yet Adeney also understands the dangers of prescriptionism and absolutism in the realm of Christian Ethics when they are divorced from the Word and Will of God. It is a good thing to behave a certain way based on what God says in Scripture. Yet doing “good” based on your interpretation of what God says in Scripture can be another story entirely. Realistically, it is next to impossible to do one without the other. Yet, it is all too easy to allow culture assumptions and perspectives to creep in; taking the place of authority that should be kept for the Word and the work of the Holy Spirit.

As a parallel, in asking Westerners to think outside of their cultural shells (while encouraging them to remain in them), Adeney does a fair job in presenting the perspectives of other cultures. When it comes to issues like bribery, most Americans would recoil at the thought of paying money to civil servants in payment for some service rendered. There are rules of law in America that discourage such practices. Adeney reminds the reader that this practice can be quite common in Asian countries, but not for the reasons Americans might think. In pointing to different cultural assumptions within peoples of the West and the East, the Author points out that it is quite possible that the gift or favor might be done, not out of greed or a desire for more wealth by the official, but because of Eastern focus on relationships and honor. To his credit, Adeney does not allow that this by definition should free such practices from the charges of bribery, but he does ask the reader to consider the situation more fully from an ethical perspective before rendering judgment.

Additionally, Adeney shares some very helpful advice on communication in his chapter “Strange Communication”. Any person who has been married for any amount of time knows just how important communication is. In marriage, there is in some sense a wedding of cultures. There is a man and a woman being married. Both think different, function differently and feel differently. Likewise, marriage is the joining of two people from different families. Families form their own miniature sub-cultures, complete with family dialects, philosophies and perspectives. For two such different people to have a successful, faithful marriage, communication and understanding must be a driving focus. Likewise, cross-cultural understanding starts at cross-cultural communication.

I will never forget a weekend we spent with a French family in 1970. My wife and I picked up Jean Marie, who was hitchhiking outside Paris. We were just beginning to study French, and he spoke no English. When we left him off, he invited us to his home in a small village for the weekend. There, through music, laughter, food, wine, children, flowers, chores and shared grief over the injustice of the world, we became like brothers and sisters. Of the few words that we were able to exchange, only one do I remember as significant: the French word simpatique expressed what we had found together. (127)

Adeney goes on to explain that communication need not even be purely verbal. As stated above, it can take the form of laughter, music, food and beauty, but it does require the effort of two or more parties submitting their ignorance and swallowing their pride to become a learner in a strange situation or setting.

Adeney’s most helpful portion of the book follows along the same lines, and that is his discussion on the “adaptation of the role of a stranger” (130). In particular, his explanation of the three stages of assimilation is especially enlightening. The first stage is the “preliminary stage” or the “honeymoon stage”. This is the time in the transition where the stranger is new and strange to the host culture, and the host culture is new and strange to the stranger. It is a time of new experiences and sensory overload, where everything is exciting, and both the host and the stranger tends to put their best feet forwards. Close on its heels, though, is the “Transition Stage”. While the stranger is now accepted in this stage, his novelty has worn off and he might often be ignored. “The host wants to know how committed the guest really is and how long they are likely to stay. The guest wants to know if he or she is really still welcome and how long that is likely to continue. Neither side wants to be simply exploited for the interests of the other.” (135) Finally, if he is accepted, the stranger becomes incorporated into the culture. She is now completely free to be one of the members of the host culture. Yet, a former stranger, while completely accepted, will never be “blood kin” but will be accepted as an adopted child. Quoting Gittins, Adeney goes so far as to say that “…if strangers are unwilling to accept this and show it in their attitudes, they are unlikely to be incorporated into the culture.” (136).

As helpful as this book is, it is not without its weaknesses and shortfalls. Perhaps the biggest shortcoming of the book is Adeney’s attempted pluralistic tightrope act. It is one thing to be a pluralist, but Adeney becomes something of a meta-pluralist by attempting to be a pluralistic, inclusivistic and exclusivistic all at once. To be fair, Adeney does pose the proper questioning observation “If all religions are equal and truth is equally unknown by all, then there is no standpoint from which to condemn any religious practices”. This is a problem that pure pluralism has no solution for, but Adeney tries too hard to balance too much. He wants to sympathize with liberal Christians as well as with conservative evangelical Christians, but his attempts at doing so ring hollow. In particular, his chapter titled “The Ethical Challenges of Other Religions” is rather unfortunate as he does a poor job of understanding other religions from a Christian perspective. In fact, his critique could really masquerade as a critique from a fair minded agnostic discussing all the major religions of the world. His repeated statements of the “goodness” of committed, sincere practitioners of these religions (even Christianity!) are troublesome at best when considered in light of the Ten Commandments and Romans 3.

“Strange Virtues” is most helpful to the Christian man or woman considering cross-cultural work. Adeney’s discussion on humbly submitting to the host culture as a stranger is golden and is extremely helpful and encouraging. Likewise, his repeated focus on encouraging Christians to consider their beliefs in light of possible inherent cultural assumptions is very helpful. It is all too easy to supersede God’s Word and Law with what culture and personality says and then judge people by it. Such behavior is especially unfortunate when it comes to poor cross-cultural communication. Quiet respect for one man might be rank rudeness to another. It would be sad indeed for the second man to become angry, when the first man was simply attempting to be respectful. Yet, not being mindful of such cross-cultural intricacies can cause great harm.

Still, understanding one’s own culture is even more important than understanding another. Human beings often unknowingly create cross-cultural blind spots and immunities. Learning from other cultures help to reveal those blind spots and allow the Christian to better submit himself to God and to His Word. Such a man is then better prepared to move into a strange culture with strange virtues because he is better grounded in the Word of God, the Truth that transcends all cultures and peoples and time.

“Strange Virtues”, while not without some serious problems, is a thoughtful, thought-provoking, and ultimately encouraging treatise on the problem of cross-cultural ethics and how the Christian is to understand them, live with them and honor God by them.

Over the last 21 months of my daughter’s young existence I have learned just how much like her I truly am.

And in learning about how much like my daughter I am, I have realized with fresh vibrancy just how much I am not like God the Father.

Faith is completely reliant upon me and my wife for her subsistence.  She as yet has no real ability to survive in our harsh world.  She cannot buy or provide food for herself, she can barely dress herself (although she does have style!) and she knows nothing of the evils of the world.

We are currently working with our daughter to not say “no” to everything.  She is becoming more adept and brazen in her disobedience and she knows how to talk back.  She knows how to manipulate, balk, hesitate and drag her little feet.  She rebels against what is good for her and clamors for those things that will only bring her hurt.

Yet, she is so quick and ready to please her daddy.  She helps me by taking things from their rightful places and bringing them to me to put away.  She helps sweep the floor by accidentally kicking my dirt piles askew.  She assists me in putting away the clean eating utensils by completely disorganizing the silverware drawer.  She tried to pick up her newborn brother like a potato sack in order to shower her love on him with kisses and hugs.

How very much like my daughter I am with God!  I disobey Him constantly, even when I am loved completely.  I want to do the things that will hurt me and do not want to do the things that He has lovingly given me to help me grow.  I say “no” to him in a myriad of ways and I talk back to him with an air of profound immaturity.

Even when I long to obey Him and please him, out of the best love I can offer, my efforts are broken, non-helpful, destructive and childish.  Yet the Father forgives my sins and rebellion and accepts my crappy, pathetic offerings of halting praise.  He takes my sins and forgives them in Christ and in Christ He accepts my sorry efforts at thanksgiving as expressions of purest love.  He meets me where I am at and loves me, while gently coaxing me and growing me into (prayerfully) greater maturity.

And as I realize this I see just how unlike God I am.  I get angry when my daughter rebels.  I grow impatient with her when she helpfully and lovingly ruins my well-laid plans.  I do a piss-poor job of training her and raising her, yet still He loves me; as I am called and exhorted to love my sweet daughter.

So, like my daughter, I am very much a work in progress.  I need His Gospel Grace as much as she does.

Thankfully, God is not stingy.

The older I get, the more I appreciate the fact that God the Father, the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit, always tell the truth.  In fact, Jesus identified himself as “The Truth”.[1] He readily told the truth and made sure it was known that he did.[2] The Holy Spirit is also known as “the Spirit of Truth”.[3] God is known as the “God of truth”.[4] In fact, his very word is truth.[5] The truth also characterized the Prophets and the Apostles.[6]

Truth is a premium with God.  Thank God!  For, men are liars.  As it is written:

“’Their throats are open graves;
their tongues practice deceit.’
‘The poison of vipers is on their lips.’
^‘Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.’”[7]

Jesus recognized this, and was yet wise.  He discerned what came out of men’s mouths, since he knew their hearts.[8] And Jesus perceived exactly what was in the hearts of men, namely lies and deceit (of course, his own heart was pure, true, and sober).  He knew the Old Testament, and he knew about the flood; yea, he was present there.  So, he recognized that with a typical man, “every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time” and that “every inclination of his heart is evil from childhood.”[9]

As the incarnate Son of God, Jesus understood humanity and the psalm which underscored its evil skill at injustice:  “Surely the mind and heart of man are cunning”.[10] Jesus comprehended how easily “the heart of fools blurts out folly”.[11] He grasped man’s perversity and deceit[12], his lethal pride[13], his folly and rage[14], his malice and deceit[15], his hardness[16], his corruption[17], his proclivity to curse others[18], his dangerous manipulation[19], his inner idolatry[20], his arrogance[21], his uncleanness[22], his stubbornness[23], his evil nature[24].

Therefore, Jesus’ attitude toward man is summed-up as follows:  “But Jesus would not entrust himself to them, for he knew all men.  He did not need man’s testimony about man, for he knew what was in a man.”[25] What a wise man Jesus was, and is!  Men are determined betrayers; Judas is the ultimate example[26].  Men are also sudden disowners; the “devoted” Peter proved emphatically the disloyalty of man despite his “certain” profession[27].  And Stephen faced personally man’s betrayal:  how they had betrayed the Lord Jesus to death, and then these same—his own countrymen—betrayed him to death also.[28]

God knows we are all dishonest.  Isaiah prophesied the same of Israel, and it is no less true of us today:

“So justice is driven back,
and righteousness stands at a distance;
truth has stumbled in the streets,
honesty cannot enter.”[29]

Jeremiah encountered the same sad conclusion.[30] As mentioned, Jesus experienced this dismal state of man as well.  Again, it is our unfortunate situation today.  However, amidst all the dishonesty and lies of man, we can find a Truth-Teller, someone on whom we can rely completely.  At least one voice in this universe never resorts to falsehood or deception, but rather maintains scrupulous honesty.  God himself always tells the truth.  Jesus always did.  Our Lord upheld the very words he prescribed to us.[31] Surely, this must be one reason why his Heavenly Father was so pleased with him.[32]

Sometimes the truth is painful.[33] Yet, Jesus told—and still tells—the truth, even when it is hard for his audience to hear.  And one of the most reassuring qualities of our Lord is his faithfulness to us in this regard of truthfulness at all times.  He will never deceive us; he is so dependable.  His word will never fail us, mislead us, deceive us, trick us, or destroy us.   His words may hurt at times, but he will never harm those who belong to him, who listen and heed.  Even if we’re stricken by something he says, we know that it is said with immense love and care.

I guess I’ve been burned enough by the lips of my fellow man—and I suppose I have burned my fellow man enough, also—to have reached this somewhat skeptical point in my life.  Now, for the record, my own lips have burned me, too; I am too easily self-deceived, proud, boastful, irrational, or just plain unrealistic.  But I can’t help but relish the thought that the Holy Spirit is a Comforter[34]—the best Comforter.  His counsel never fails to inform, to guide, to heal—rather than to deceive, mislead, or destructively wound.  The LORD will wound our pride and stab our sin, of course; we need this blessing, too.  But in all, we must rejoice that we can put our full trust and confidence in his Word, the Scriptures, knowing they will not disappoint or dissatisfy us in the end.  Positively, our God is a wise, trustworthy, and faithful Friend.

Doubtless, to new Christians these facts resonate strongly with your hearts, for the novelty of trusting Christ and his word have rung true so recently and vividly at your conversion.  Perhaps, for many other “older” Christians, what I post here may simply sound overly obvious to you, even far short of profound or helpful.  I urge you “stronger spirits” to wait and revisit this post five or ten years (or more) down your Christian road, after experience has been to you the strange teacher that it is.  Perchance this notice will garner its due attention after you pass by enough sham souls on the walkway of life, or when you finally stand nervously upon the welcome mat of death’s door.

Yet, maybe, just maybe, a significant segment of readers—those who have weathered already their share of lies, or even survived one mighty humdinger of deceit—will identify with my point and be freshly consoled.  For this, I pray.  Know as the Lord Jesus made clear:  his words are rock solid.[35] And standing upon them, as it were—trusting in them, and living by them—we can without any doubt expect to be rightly and lovingly directed and upheld, for our blessing and our good.  We can always count on this.  We can always count on him!  God bless.  And bless God who is so good, trustworthy, faithful, and true!  Amen.

Jesus is all the world to me,
And true to him I’ll be;
Oh, how could I this Friend deny,
When he’s so true to me?
Following him I know I’m right,
He watches o’er me day and night;
Following him, by day and night,
He’s my Friend.[36]

[2] John 3:5; 13:21; cf. John 4:23-4

[3] John 14:17, just eleven verses later; and then again in 15:26; and then again in 16:13; cf. Acts 28:25; 1 John 4:6; 5:6

[4] Psalm 31:5

[5] John 17:17

[6] Luke 11:49; 24:44; Acts 3:18, 21, 24; 28:25-27; Hebrews 1:1-2; 2 Peter 1:19-21; 3:2; Revelation 10:7; Romans 1:2; 3:21; 9:1; 16:25-27; 1 Corinthians 2:13; Ephesians 1:13; 3:2-5; 2 Thessalonians 2:13

[7] Romans 3:13-14

[8] Matthew 12:34; 15:16-20; Luke 6:45-46

[9] Genesis 6:5; 8:21

[10] Psalm 64:6

[11] Proverbs 12:23

[12] Proverbs 17:20

[13] Proverbs 18:12

[14] Proverbs 19:3

[15] Proverbs 26:24

[16] Proverbs 28:14

[17] Ecclesiastes 7:2

[18] Ecclesiastes 7:22

[19] Ecclesiastes 7:26

[20] Ezekiel 14:3

[21] Ezekiel 28:2

[22] Matthew 15:18

[23] Mark 3:5

[24] Luke 6:45

[25] John 2:24-25

[26] Matthew 26:14-16, 21, 23, 24, 25

[27] Matthew 26:31-35, 40-41, 42-25, 50-55, 56, 69-75

[28] Acts 7:51-60

[29] Isaiah 59:14

[30] Jeremiah 5:1-5

[31] Proverbs 12:17; 24:26

[32] Proverbs 16:13; Matthew 3:17; 17:5; 2 Peter 1:17

[33] Job 6:25

[34] John 14:16, 26

[35] Matthew 7:24-27; Luke 6:46-49

[36] Will L. Thompson, “Jesus is All the World to Me”, third verse.

Martin Luther once famously said “Next to the Word of God, the noble art of music is the greatest treasure in the world.” The writer of the classic hymn “A Mighty Fortress is Our God”, Luther understood much of the power and beauty of music.

Throughout the history of God’s people, music has been a profound means and vehicle for worship of God. From the Psalms of David and the Sons of Korah, to the hymns of the early Church to hymns like “Be Thou My Vision”, “Amazing Grace” and “In Christ Alone”, music has played a powerful role in how God’s People worship Him.

In recent years, the evangelical Contemporary Christian Music industry has “rediscovered” the role that hymns can play in worship. Following along in the wake of the praise and worship sub-genre, hymns have found a strong niche and small appreciation amongst CCM consumers. Formerly relegated to dusty old hymnals, “dead and dying” churches and youthful ridicule, hymns have found something of a renaissance in the evangelical world through the work of the Michael W. Smiths and Chris Tomlins of the world. Fortunately for CCM, such remakes and covers struck a chord and a money-making sub-genre of a sub-genre of a pseudo-genre was birthed and bloated to the point of mockery, shameless profiteering and ugly self-promotion.

Thankfully, not everybody involved in the writing and remaking of hymns have been sucked into the dark CCM vortex. Through the efforts of artists and groups such as Stewart Townend, The Gettys, Sovereign Grace Music, Indelible Grace and Sandra McCracken, true, respectful, worshipful and artistic hymn-writing has made a genuinely strong comeback.

Of particular note is Sandra McCracken’s beautiful “In Feast or Fallow”. A collection of new hymns, old hymns, old hymns remade and even a classic in its original form and with its original title, “In Feast or Fallow” is a solid exploration of plenty and need, and a worthwhile expression of praise to God; in times of feast and even in times when life’s ground must for a time remain fallow. Describing the context of the hymns, McCracken says “There are life seasons of palpable spiritual springtime, when the flowers burst with color and new leaves shoot out of every stem. There are seasons of desert isolation and winter darkness. There are whole years when you have so much stored grain and wine that you forget who you are and where you came from. And there are other times when you have barely enough, and your soul is still and satisfied.” This theme is carried throughout the album with songs born of grief (“Petition”, written by Anne Steele, as a response to her fiancé’s untimely death a day before they were to be wed), a song praying for God’s blessing (“Give Reviving”), a song celebrating life (“Hidden Place”, derived from a journal entry McCracken wrote 10 days before the birth of her daughter), a song celebrating Advent (Martin Luther’s “This is the Christ”), a song born of study of the book of Judges (“Sweet Sorrow”), a song about justice (“Justice Will Roll Down”, pulled from Amos 5:24) and a classic about the amazing Grace of God (“Faith’s Review and Expectation” by John Newton). Throughout the album McCracken calls herself and the listener to look to Christ for Hope to the Father for unyielding love and to the Spirit for the strength to carry on, even in the midst of profound suffering and sorrow.

McCracken teamed up with her producer husband, Derek Webb, for recording the album and the result in a perfect blend of worshipful music and lyrics. Blending the old and the new, the sound moves from traditional to a nuanced (and greatly subdued) expression of the electronica sound that Derek utilized more obviously in “Stockholm Syndrome“. What is clear is that McCracken and Webb are a dynamic and effectively creative team. Marriage serves to strengthen two people as individuals, even as both become one. This truism is quite evident in McCracken and Webb, as both have become better artists through each other.

Finally, it is heartening to see the respect and sobriety with which McCracken approaches her material and the material of Saints long dead, as she adds her own magnificent contributions to the voluminous tome of work that came before. Respecting the Tradition, yet confidently adding to it, McCracken shows great sensitivity and artistry. The closing song in the album, “Faith’s Review and Expectation” is a brilliant cover of Newton’s famously classic “Amazing Grace”, sung with tact, class and true to its original form and intent.

Perhaps there is not better compliment to McCracken than to say that Luther and Newton (and the host of hymn-writing saints who came before and after) would undoubtedly be proud and would give a hearty amen to the chorus of the song “In Feast or Fallow”:

In the harvest feast or the fallow ground
My certain hope is in Jesus found
My lord, my cup, my portion sure
Whatever comes we shall endure
Whatever comes we shall endure

As Christians and Followers of Jesus we are people of The Word.  The Word redeems us and The Word saves us.  The Word gives us relationship with the Father and enables us to have intimacy with the Spirit.  Our humble, broken praise to Jesus, The Word made flesh, is the cry of the Redeemed, the soul-shaking exclamation of hearts born again and made alive by the blood of Christ. In a rabidly relativistic world, where neo-pagan hedonism rules the day, and where a philosophically dead form of pseudo-polytheism parades itself around in the puerile dress of an emerging evangelicalism, The Word rings with a clarity and focus that is much needed in this current age. Oh may our hearts shout for biblical reformation and Jesus-shaped fidelity! May our lips echo the cries of our 16th century brothers and sisters in Christ!

May we be guided Sola Scriptura, trusting in the Word of God alone for Truth in this tumultuous age. May we trust the God of heaven and earth to save Sola Gratia, by his Grace alone, Sola Fide, through faith alone, Solus Christus, in Christ Alone, and Soli Deo Gloria, for the Glory of God alone. May God give us the grace to never cease reforming, and as we grow in Grace and Truth may we plead of Him to give us the strength to always stand for Truth. When the battle lines are drawn and the hordes of darkness are arrayed against the Lord and against His children may we put on the armor of God and fight the good fight. When we are derided, may our answer be “We are people of The Word, in Christ we stand”. When we are mocked and scorned, may we boldly proclaim “We are people of The Word, in Christ we stand”. When we are beaten and bruised, may we confidently shout “We are people of The Word, in Christ we stand”. And when our very lives are taken away, may our deaths scream to all who will listen “We are people of The Word, in Christ we stand!”

Every day this is said by the Underground Church in China, and by the imprisoned in the Sudan. It is proclaimed with every terrifying pop of the handgun, and heard in the crackling of bright and hungry flames. It is heard in the screams of the tortured, and felt with the sickening thud of bodies hitting the floor. It is heard in the classroom, and in the jungles of central Africa and Asia. And through it all the Bride of Christ is held fast by the almighty hand of her Loving Groom. “We are people of The Word, in Christ we stand”. We’re held fast by the Love of Christ, even as we cling to His marvelous grace. In the midst of the storms of life, He is our rock and fortress. For Him and by His Word alone we have truth in the swirly muck of a culture that exalts itself alone and rejects its Maker and Sustainer. May God grant us the grace to never cease reforming our lives in accordance with the truths of His Word, and as we live Soli Deo Gloria, may we never fail or falter from the Truths of Scripture. Truly, living for Christ is the spirit of the martyr, and by His grace we die to our sin daily, and live in Christ always.