GRACE & PEACE

Author: Dennis Griffith

  • Things We Leave Behind

    There sits Simon foolish and wise
    Proudly he’s tending his nets
    Jesus calls and the boat drifts away
    All that he owns he forgets

    More than the nets he abandoned that day
    He found that his pride was soon fading away

    It’s hard to imagine the freedom we find
    From the things we leave behind

    Matthew was mindful of taking the tax
    Pressing the people to pay
    Hearing the call he responded in faith
    And followed the light and the way

    Leaving the people so puzzled he found
    The greed in his heart was no longer around

    Every heart needs to be set free
    From possessions that press in so tight
    Freedom is not found in the things that we own
    It’s the power to do what is right

    With Jesus our only possession
    Giving becomes our delight
    We can’t imagine the freedom we find
    From the things we leave behind

    We show a love for the world in our lives
    Worshipping goods we possess
    Jesus said lay all your treasures aside
    And love God above all the rest

    When we say no to the things of the world
    We open our hearts to the love of the Lord

    Song by:

  • A Right Definition of Faith

    How shall we distinguish a healthy faith from one that is built on more shaky ground?  Consider this insight from John Calvin:

    “Now we shall possess a right definition of faith if we call it a firm and certain knowledge of God’s benevolence toward us, founded upon the truth of the freely given promise in Christ, both revealed to our minds and sealed upon our hearts through the Holy Spirit…..

    If then, we would be assured that God is pleased with and [is] kindly disposed toward us, we must fix our eyes …on Christ…  We see that our whole salvation, and all its parts, are comprehended in Christ.   We should, therefore, take care not to derive the least portion of it from anywhere else.”

  • Difference Between Faith and Hope

    The question may occur to us: What difference is there between faith and hope? We find it difficult to see any difference. Faith and hope are so closely linked that they cannot be separated. Still there is a difference between them.

    Consider the following distinctions offered by Martin Luther, from his commentary on Galatians:

    First, hope and faith differ in regard to their sources. Faith originates in the understanding, while hope rises in the will.

    Secondly, they differ in regard to their functions. Faith says what is to be done. Faith teaches, describes, directs. Hope exhorts the mind to be strong and courageous.

    Thirdly, they differ in regard to their objectives. Faith concentrates on the truth. Hope looks to the goodness of God.

    Fourthly, they differ in sequence. Faith is the beginning of life before tribulation (Hebrews 11). Hope comes later and is born of tribulation (Romans 5).

    Fifthly, they differ in regard to their effects. Faith is a judge. It judges errors. Hope is a soldier. It fights against tribulations, the Cross, despondency, despair, and waits for better things to come in the midst of evil.

    Without hope faith cannot endure. On the other hand, hope without faith is blind rashness and arrogance because it lacks knowledge. Before anything else a Christian must have the insight of faith, so that the intellect may know its directions in the day of trouble and the heart may hope for better things. By faith we begin, by hope we continue.

  • Worship is the Proper Response

    Worship is the proper response of all moral, sentient beings to God, ascribing all honor and worth to their Creator-God precisely because he is worthy, delightfully so. This side of the Fall, human worship of God properly responds to the redemptive provisions that God has graciously made. While all true worship is God-centered, Christian worship is no less Christ-centered. Empowered by the Spirit and in line with the stipulations of the new covenant, it manifests itself in all our living, finding its impulse in the gospel, which restores our relationship with our Redeemer-God and therefore also with our fellow image-bearers, our co-worshippers. Such worship therefore manifests itself both in adoration and action, both in the individual believer and in corporate worship, which is worship offered up in the context of the body of believers, who strive to align all the forms of the devout ascription of all worth to God with the panoply of new covenant mandates and examples that bring to fulfillment the glories of antecedent revelation and anticipate the consummation.

    ~ D.A. Carson, in Worship By the Book

  • 5 Views on Sanctification

    Several years ago a book was released attempting to outline and compare the major divergent views about the doctrine of sanctification, Five Views on Sanctification.  In this book five respected theologians, each a proponent of one of the respective positions gave an outline explanation of the positions: Wesleyan/Holiness, Reformed/Puritan, Keswick, Dispensational, and Pentecostal.  Following the introduction by the adherent theologian, each of the other theologians then interact with the presented view in a rebuttal/defense discussion that reflects the strengths and weaknesses of the various positions.

    This is an important discussion because it reflects one of the major areas where Christians view things from vastly different perspectives.  But unlike other areas where sincere Believers differ (i.e. Eschatology, Baptism, Church Government, Complementarian vs. Egalitarian) this subject is not often as clearly articulated as those other subjects.  Rather, sanctification seems to be assumed.  I am not making the case that we add this discussion to our all too common arguments, as we might add another log on a fire.  But I do see a value in awareness of these differences so that we can talk to one another. Failure to understand that many hold different views on this subject lead to speaking in different languages and/or talking at one another instead of talking to one another.

    For this reason I appreciate an essay by Mike Sullivan of Xenos Christian Fellowship.  Mike has summarized the fore mentioned book in an essay, 5 Views of Sanctification.  Mike summarizes the positions and interacts with the book, then adds his own comments to the subject.

    While the book is not long, it is not something I expect a lot of people will take time to read.  Mike’s essay makes this subject much more accessible to us.

  • Dealing With Our Differences

    Psalm 133 says:

    How good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell together in unity!

    But what about when we differ? Can we still dwell together in unity when we do not have uniformity?

    Roger Nicole offers insights: How to Deal With Those Who Differ From Us.

    Or, you can read this essay in sections:

    • Part 1 – The Necessity of Godly Disputation
    • Part 2 – What Can I Learn From Those Who Differ From Me?
    • Part 3 – How Can I Cope With Those Who Differ From Me?
    • Part 4 – The Christian’s Goal

  • Celebrating Gospel-Centeredness

    A good article by Trevin Wax illustrating the importance of, not only Gospel-centeredness but, Gospel Celebration.  Wax asserts:

    “What you celebrate as a Church is just as important as what you believe.”

    I am not sure I fully agree with that statement, but I do see how what is celebrated practically shapes the church, and therefore its people and mission.  And, I suspect it is also true that if we truly understand the Gospel we will celebrate it – and especially the God who authored the Gospel and the Messiah who embodies the Gospel.  To celebrate anything else merely exposes our true values – in other words, our idols.  To not celebrate Christ above all else reveals that we do not actually understand the Gospel.

    So, practically speaking, I guess I do agree with that statement more than I first thought.

    Wax goes on to suggest:

    Celebrate the gospel, and cross-cultural ministry will bubble up in surprising ways. Celebrate your church’s preferential distinctions, and your congregation will become an insular group of like-minded individuals.

    Wax drives his point home with two true-to-life illustrations.

    To read the article click: Celebration

  • Lord Save Us

    I spent this morning watching the documentary, Lord Save Us From Your Followers.  I was prompted by a note from a friend and, despite it not being on my agenda for the day, I was intrigued.

    Once again, I am not sure where I have been. This film came out over a year ago.  Some of it looked familiar, so I may have caught part of it on GMC or some other television cable network.  But for whatever reason, what I saw before did not capture my interest enough. Perhaps I had an initial wrong impression.  Perhaps I was just busy and could not watch the whole thing before. But even if that were the case, I am not sure why this went out of mind so quickly that I did not seek it out when I had the time to check it out.

    The driving questions about this exploration of the Culture Wars in the United States is: Why is the Gospel of Love Dividing Our Nation? That is a great question.

    Here are a few brief thoughts that come to my mind having just finished watching:

    • Ouch!  This cuts close to home.  This film clearly reveals how we as Christians (and I personally) are at fault for much of the perception the UnBelieving Culture has about Christianity and Christians.
    • I was encouraged by the responses of those who are opposed to Christianity and Christians when a Believer was willing to engage them in an honest discussion. I was moved by the power of humility, compassion, repentance and confession by the Believer. Apparently Jesus knew something when he commanded his followers to first take the plank out of our own eyes before confronting others about the specs in theirs.  (Matthew 7.5) Paul, too, when he instructed the Galatians to “gently restore” those who were astray of the way of God, but that they should be careful that they did not stumble in their own sin in in the process. (Galatians 6.1)
    • I am hopeful of a positive impact. But our strategic priorities must be in order. First is the reformation of the Church, including widespread repentance of God’s people for our failure to seek genuine righteousness.  Only later can we expect to have any positive cultural impact.  (2 Chronicles 7.14)

    Now for the qualifications:

    I know some who read this blog will be inclined to immediately dismiss the message behind this film because some of the theological premises expressed by those interviewed are questionable (to say it kindly), because it is not a theological discussion, and/or because some of the Christians represented do not reflect your tradition. (For the most part, this is true of mine too. Only John Perkins comes to mind who I know to share a similar theological heritage.)  But to dismiss this film for any of those reasons is a sad mistake.  At the very least recognize that this film depicts how a wide spectrum of our culture views us.

    This documentary runs 1:42, so to watch it takes some time.  I suppose it would not lessen the appreciation to break it up into segments.  But I do encourage honest Believers, those interested in engaging in holistic mission to take the time, however you break it up.

    To watch, click: Lord, Save Us From Your Followers

  • Counterfeit Gods

    In his reletively recent book, Counterfeit Gods, Tim Keller explains what a counterfeit god is and describes how to make one – as we are so prone to do:

    A counterfeit god is anything so central and essential to your life that, should you lose it, your life would feel hardly worth living.  And idol has such a controlling position in your heart that you can spend most of your passion and energy, your emotional and financial resources, on it without a second thought.  It can be family and children, or career and making money, or achievement and critical acclaim, or saving “face” and social standing.  It can be a romantic relationship, peer approval, competence and skill, secure and comfortable circumstances, your beauty or your brains, a great political or social cause, your morality and virtue, or even sucess in the  Christian ministry.

    Keller also asserts:

    When your meaning in life is to fix someone else’s life, we may call it “codependency” but it is really idolatry.  An idol is whatever you look at and say, in your heart of hearts, “If I have that, then I’ll feel significant and secure.”  Introduction, p. xviii)

    I greatly apprecialte Keller delving into this subject. While few people are likely to identify themselves as Idolotors, it is an affliction that plagues us all.  

    John Calvin was correct when he declared: “Our hearts are little idol factories”.  Understanding how we each make our individual idols, and identifying how they influence our actions and thoughts, is a major step toward diplacing them.

  • Is Church Growth a Biblical Expectation?

    I was intrigued by the insights of Jay Childs in an article he wrote for Leadership Journal.  The article, titled Church Growth vs. Church Seasons, focuses on the American fascination with large numbers.  After telling some of his own story, Jay makes three primary observations:

    1. Our Situation is Not Unusual
    2. Non-Stop Numerical Growth is NOT a Biblical Expectation
    3. Healthy Churches Go Through Life-Cycles of Growth, Pruning, Decline, Blessing

    While I appreciated the whole article, it was the insights of the second point that most resonated with me:

    Ever since eminent missiologist Donald McGavran first published his seminal thoughts on church growth, American churches have often fixated on numerical growth. The basic assumption seems to be this: all churches should be growing numerically, all the time, and something is wrong if your church isn’t.

    But as I’ve searched the New Testament and read countless other books on the subject, this assumption seems to be alien to the Bible. There is simply no biblical expectation that a local congregation will continually grow in size, uninterrupted. That seems to be an American presupposition forced onto the Scriptures.

    If anything, Jesus told us to expect the opposite. He did promise that the gates of hell would not stand against the church, but he also commended the church in Philadelphia for standing firm though they had “little power.” He never criticizes any of the seven churches in Revelation for not accumulating numbers. He does scold, however, for moral and theological compromise.

    Lesslie Newbigin writes in The Open Secret: An Introduction to the Theology of Mission, “Reviewing the teaching of the New Testament, one would have to say, on the one hand, there is joy in the rapid growth of the church in the earliest days, but on the other, there is no evidence that numerical growth of the church is a matter of primary concern. There is no shred of evidence in Paul’s letters to suggest that he judged the churches by the measure of their success in rapid numerical growth. [Nowhere is there] anxiety or an enthusiasm about the numerical growth of the church.”

    (more…)

  • Advent Song: Holy is His Name

    Don’t forget: Advent begins Sunday November 28.

  • 13 Letters

    There is no stretch of an imagination that would cause anyone to classify where I live as Urban.  BUT I still appreciate what the folk at Reach Life have developed.

    13 Letters is a curriculum designed with Urban Youth in mind.  Taking the substance of the Paul’s letters, this curriculum applies Sound Doctrine to the lives of Urban Youth.  There is also an accompanying HipHop album that serves as a survey of the Pauline Epistles. Listen to the songs:

    1. Romans
    2. 1 Corinthians
    3. 2 Corinthians
    4. Galatians
    5. Ephesians
    6. Philippians
    7. Colossians
    8. 1 Thessalonians
    9. 2 Thessalonians
    10. 1 Timothy
    11. 2 Timothy
    12. Titus
    13. Philemon

    Each of these songs is a remarkably faithful and in-depth exposition of the respective letter.  In addition to those songs written to reflect each of the Pauline Epistles, there are a handful of additional songs:

    These songs can be purchased or downloaded from Amazon: 13 Letters

  • Questions of Prophets, Priests, and Kings

    Some time ago I introduced the concept of Tri-perspectivalism, the recognition that every Church ought to reflect the three offices of Christ: Prophet, Priest, and King.  Each person, or Christian leader, has a natural inclination toward one of these perspectives, but all three are equally necessary to reflect Christ in our Body.

    There are many questions that can be, and have been, asked. Perhaps among the most practical is: How do I know which I am?  To answer that question there is no substitute for experience – exprience in service and experience of genuine relationships.  But questions may still remain if we are not certain what we are looking for. 

    In an address from the 2009 Acts 29 Bootcamp, Darrin Patrick offers the following questions. Patrick suggests that persons inclined to each perspective tend to ask reflective questions:

    Prophet

    • WHAT does the Bible say?
    • WHERE are we going because of what the Bible says?

    King

    • HOW are we going to do that?
    • WHY are they/we doing that?

    Priest

    • WHO?  (Priests are all about people and shepherding.)

    Do you find yourself frequently asking any of these questions? Perhpas it is an indication of how God has wired you.

  • Does God Exist?

  • Praying for Forgiveness

    In the title song of Toby Keith‘s  movie and soundtrack, Broken Bridges, the first line of the chorus is:

    Here I am, prayin’ for forgiveness… 

    If you’ve seen the movie on CMT it makes sense. It is a story of a guy facing up to his past mistakes and the people he has hurt.  It is a process of reconciling broken relationships.

    But this line also begs a question: Why “pray” for forgiveness?

    Puritan Pastor Richard Sibbes considered this issue. Sibbes posed the question, then proposed a profound and practical response:

    Q. Why do we pray for forgiveness?

    A. We pray for clear evidence of what we have.

    I don’t know if you have ever wondered about this, but Sibbes’ question is a good one.  If, as we profess, Jesus’ death and resurrection secured forgiveness of sin past, present, and future for all who Believe, then what is the point in asking for it if forgiveness is already granted.  Is this merely a politeness – somewhat like saying “Excuse me” after a burp?

    What Sibbes answers makes great sense. The issue is not what we do or do not have. The issue is what we experience.  We do not need to pray to get forgiveness.  Those who are trusting Christ already have it.  What we need is the renewed experience, the realization, of that forgiveness already granted.

    Our perspective is limited. Our feeling of assurance is often fleeting.  Like a child momentarily separated from his parents may feel lost, abandoned, and even alienated, the Christian may experience a twinge of anxiety when we realize all over again that, though we have been justified, we are still sinners.  (To not have this “uh-oh” feeling would make me wonder if someone has a conscience.)  

    We know the child is not abandoned just because the parents are out of his/her line of sight. And the believer should know that God is faithful to his promise without condition. As   we are told in 2 Timothy:

    [Even] if we are faithless, he remains faithful, for he cannot disown himself.

    What is in view inthis verse is not the person who is not a Believer, but the Christian who is not appropriating faith at a particular moment. In such moments we are functionally like the child who fears the parents are “lost” or gone.  And unless we seriously deceive ourselves, we must admit that we all have these moments – many of them. This is especially true at moments when we are aware of and grieved by our sin and disobedience.

    What Sibbes points out at those moments – moments when we reflexively cry out for forgiveness – what we are really asking for is not so much for forgiveness, but a new dose of evidence of our forgiveness that we cling to for comfort and to dry our tears. 

    Let me finish with this: All the evidence we need is found at the Cross.  The evidence is the same today as it was yesterday; and it will be the same tomorrow as it is today.

    Romans 5.8 reminds us:

    But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

    And John practically applies this to us in 1 John 1:

    If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.