Christmas Poem--"Simon Peter"

The fearful disciple shot back,
To servant girl, dignity lacked,
Not only once, but thrice was said,
‘This man on trial, cursed as dead,
I do not know his origin
His teaching, his fol-wers of men,
Who sat beside him, day and night,
Asking questions, inquiring light
On mysteries of things of old
Of whom the prophets patiently told.
I say again, this criminal
--my verdict comes; there is no lull—
You say accent betrays, hear this:
This Son of David, I will not miss.’

As dark foaming clouds spread abroad
Former blue skies, this man now thought
Of broken confidence now revealed
Concerning this man of Galilee.
With the pain of Gethsemane,
This broken man now groped to see
And so he wept, “God of Abraham
What have I done! Three years a sham
Of faith! Three years of patient grace
Now thrown back in my Savior’s face!
I promised! Swore! Though oth’rs would fail
To stand, my firm faith must prevail.
The Gates of Hell, now burst open,
Consuming the confession when
I said, ‘You are the Christ, Rabbi.’
You called me the Rock,” Peter cried.
“I’ve hewn myself, and been cast aside
Your steadfast grace, no longer mine.”

His heavy heart began to sink
As boulders hurled into the sea.
Then thoughts of doubts coupled his mind
About this man. “Recall the time
A week ago, donkey he rode
Worship given, majesty flowed
Our burdened yoke he came to break
He said he’d die, I knew he’d make
Our bondage loose. The Romans should
Have their reign toppled. I thought he could.”
Despair now turned to rage. “O God,
Reigning on high, worthy of laud,
Only I may but speak my mind
Of prom--ses made, you’ve failed this time.
The yoke we have is tyranny
Others outside of Galilee.
Kingdom you prom-sed has never come
And without this man, is it done?
Moments ago my faith denied
But about this man,” Peter cried,
“Messiah to die? Why, God, why?”

Stumbling past the desolate
Terrain, broken Simon now met
A memory from days before
Kind words to Peter from his Lord,
“Simon, behold, Satan has asked
Like chaff from wheat, he wants to cast
You from my side. You will not last.
But Simon, here is hope: I pray
That despite your fall, you will stay
And when you turn, point to my grace
For others, like you, won’t seek my face.
You see, my friend, my life I give
Sacrificing so they might live.
Simon, you’ll fail, but hear me say
O my friend, here is hope: I pray.”

Life sprang forth from this stony Rock
He knew Jesus—the one he’d mocked
With denial—was one who’d save
Man from trials, not others-made,
But trials within, inside the heart,
Addicted to pride one can’t depart.
Patterns of malice, fear, and greed
Peter now knew his enemies.
The Rabbi’s mission was to save
Not from Romans, but in the grave,
Defeat the dreaded foe within
Ways of the tyranny of sin.
At once the Rock began to see,
“I’ve been saved, I’ve been saved from me!

Rescued now from Satan’s grasp
Of guilt, his conscience free at last!
As morning on the Friday dawned
Peter proclaimed, filled with a song,
“I’m starting to see, why your Son,
Made as a man on earth to come.
Along I’ve thought, he crush our foes,
But pride is not the path he chose
Clothed not with flesh to wield a sword
Abstaining pomp, a baby born,
The God who thought and laughed and cried
Perfectly man who soon will die
To establish his throne and break
The chains of bondage. He will take
My fear and doubt, as perfect one,
Breaking bondage is why he’s come.

Faith

If you were asked to define what true faith is—a faith that God honors—what would you say?

Some might say sincerity is paramount: “The reliability of the source of our faith is not as important as the strength of our faith. Sincerity is essential, not what god(s) you serve. If a Muslim, Hindu, or Jew sincerely trusts in their god(s), then that is a faith that God will honor. After all, who are we to judge those in the jungles that have never heard of Jesus and yet genuinely worship their god?”

Others would center on one’s confession of Christ: “It is confessing with your mouth that Jesus is ‘Lord,’ and believing in your heart that God raised him from the dead” (Romans 10:9). Verbal assent is needed. One must affirm the great truths of the Gospel, not simply hear them.

Certain folks will claim only a transforming faith in Christ is a true faith: “It is important to acknowledge, yes, but one needs to mean it. After all, even the demons affirm that Jesus is ‘Lord,’ and that God raised him from the dead (James 2:19). To affirm without conviction is empty and void. Above all, a transformation of the heart is needed to see the truths and really mean it.”

By looking at two certain passages in Scripture, I am convinced that true saving faith is not mere sincerity or mental acquiescence, but it is ground in the reliability of the object of faith and thus giving it glory.

Revelation 14 unpacks the nature of faith. Three angels give messages to the unbelieving world. The first angel, we are told, comes bringing an eternal gospel to proclaim to every nation and tribe and language and people. He then speaks, explaining what the content of this gospel is. Surprisingly, he says, “Fear God and give him glory…and worship him! (vs. 6)” I take the first two phrases, “Fear God and give him glory,” as complementary. By fearing God, revering his name, one will give him glory. The command to worship him is the overflow of fearing God. The good news proclaim in Revelation 14 is to look away from ourselves and look to God alone.

But is this an adequate definition of faith? Giving him glory is nice, but isn’t that more for mature Christians? After all, isn’t the verbal acknowledgment of faith all that God really requires?

Not necessarily. A look at the nature of Abraham’s faith will give some light. Paul writes, “No distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God” (Romans 4:20). As he (Abraham) continued to look to God to fulfill his promises (this is faith), he gave glory to God. Why? Because faith is always looking away from yourself to someone else. It is acknowledging one is helpless and needs someone else to step in. Because God is capable and able and worthy of being trusted, he is therefore glorified whenever someone believes in his name. Faith always brings glory to God.

Therefore, I am not convinced that faith is only verbal acquiescence or “really meaning it.” It is looking to a sufficient and worthy object—God—and trusting him to do for you what you are incapable of doing yourself. The sincerity of our faith will waver—Abraham’s certainly did!—but it must be rooted in someone that is able to save.

Our God is mighty to save! Give him glory as you look to him today.

Irony of "Immediate--Application Amy"

Immediate-Application Amy: She immediately looks at a text asking what it is saying to her today.

Jacob teaches us that we should never have more than one wife; Ruth shows us that we should be aggressive in our pursuit of a husband; and Isaiah gives justification for walking around naked years at a time.

She justifies this approach because she wants to make the Bible real and alive. Slowly she see that this application is devasting, for she is unable to meet level of morality the Bible demands.

Whole-Picture Perry: Rather than asking how this text immediately applies, Perry seeks to understand the whole storyline of the Bible, asking what it is revealing about God, his nature, and his plan for humanity.

Jacob reveals God's sovereign election in the beginning stages of his forming a nation for himself. Ruth anticipates God's grace that he shows to the Gentiles through Jesus Christ. Isaiah's prophecies loudly proclaim that God is a holy and just God, bringing judgment upon Israel, yet he also gives hope a future "servant" that will draw all nations to himself.

He justifies this approach because he wants to be faithful to the text and understand God. Slowly he finds the nature of God and his plan to be more breath-taking than first imagined. The Bible becomes alive and beautiful as he discovers how he fits into God's plan.

Immediate-Application Amy sought quick insights that would inspire her and was left with few transforming truths.

Whole-Picture Perry put off immediate applicaiton and instead looked to what was God's sovereign plan. He found that the delay in application brougth more application than could ever have been desired.

Is God a Coach or a Master?

One will only obey a coach part of the time in a short slice of the year. During the offseason the coaches advice is (usually) not followed. Only when it is convenient will the coach’s advice be heeded.

For a master, one cannot divide one’s life up so conveniently. Every aspect is under the control of the master, from recreation to the pace of work. No area of a slave’s life does the master not cry out, “This is mine!”

To have God as a coach is idolatry and enslaving.

To have God as a master is, ironically, freedom.

The Problem with Postmodern Relativists

Is that, in their assertation that real truth--if it exists--cannot be known, they leave behind the biblical position of a world over which God exercises his sovereign rule, including over cultural contexts (language, reader response, etc.).

On Choosing a Bible Translation

An inadequate question to ask is: "Is this translation readable?"

A necessary question to ask is: "Does this translation accurately portray the world of the Old and New Testament?"

Leeland Ryken makes a helpful point: "A good translation preserves the full exegetical or interpretive potential of the original biblical text. Conversely, a translation is inadequate to the extent to which it diminishes the interpretive potential of the original text" (The Word of God in English, p. 129).

Should We Say "All I Ever Need is You" to our Wives?

Some time ago, James wrote us this question. I thought it would be helpful to put up as a main post:

"I have one question from you that I'm curious about. Since you said the song is idolatrous, if I same this song to my wife [singing "All I ever need is you"], would I be committing idolatry? "

To which I respond:

James,

I am so sorry that it has taken me a while to write back to you. I have not checked this blog (regrettably) for quite some time.

Concerning how we are to interact with others, the Lord Jesus says, "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be my disciple" (Luke 14:26, ESV)

This is strong language. Now, I take it to be hyperbole mainly because we are commanded to love our children and wives in other places (Ephesians 5 & 6, for example). Nevertheless, the command to "hate" still exists, which I take to mean that our love for Christ must be so great that it makes our love for others seem as though it were hatred.

Idolatry is simply taking a good thing (wife, girlfriend) and making it a "God thing"--that is a bad thing.

Of course, saying things like "All I ever need is you" to your wife/girlfiend is NOT necessarily idolatry, if one's partner knows that they supremely love God. However, why would one say something like that if it has to die the death of a thousand qualifications, if "all you ever need" is really NOT "you"?

Let me put this a different way: What is love? Is it:
1.) Making much of another individual.
2.) Striving and caring with all one's energy to enable another to make much of God.

The first is idolatry. And I say that very purposefully. That is not love; it is elevating another finite human to the realm of all-sufficiency, when they simply are not.

The second is love. It is one that labors for his wife/girlfriend to see Christ as glorious in all things. And that is what is of most benefit to their soul.

"7But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8Indeed, 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 9and 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." Philippians 3:7-9