DaveEnglund.Name/DBlog

Do you believe the Return of Christ will happen?

Frankly, I've been thinking a lot about the Return of Christ lately. As in, it could happen anytime now. Really.

I think there are a lot of Christians who believe in Christ's return as a matter of theology (you know, because the Bible tells us so), but how many believe it is very possibly immanent? And even if you are one of those Christians, do you ever struggle to believe it could really happen just from a purely rational perspective? I mean, this is a one-time human history event. It has never occurred before in human history, nor will it ever occur again. This Jesus whom Christians talk about so much, the one who died for sins, was resurrected from the dead, and then ascended into heaven, SOME TWO THOUSAND YEARS AGO, is going to return in full view of the entire world. And then what? Well, the Bible tell us when he comes next it will be to judge the world, and to assign individuals a place eternally in either God's kingdom or in hell.

Navigating the two currents of God's stream

Listening to a message last night by a Christian teacher, and reading along with the speaker a passage of scripture in 2 Timothy, I was captivated by these words from verses 21 and 22:

"Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work. So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart."

Wow! First of all, these verses speak to me about the call to sanctification (the call to holiness). And secondly, these verses speak to me about usefulness for God's work. Recently, I had an awakening about the work of Christ on our behalf called "Justification" - a work that has resulted in my being reconciled to God forever, and now finding myself standing before him holy, blameless, and above reproach (see Colossians 1:21-22). This has nothing to do with my own efforts and behaviors, and everything to do with the efforts and behaviors of a truly righteous Jesus Christ on my behalf (2 Corinthians 5:21). While that is true about my standing (or, position) before God, there is another work of God, called "Sanctification," that has to do with my actual day-to-day practice. Sanctification is the call of God into a holy life on a practical level; you might say, becoming in practice what he has already made us in principle (see Hebrews 10:14).

On the one hand, God wants us to live in the blessing and reality of our position of good standing with him (having a righteousness that is not our own). And, he wants that blessing to free us from the power of sin's accusations in our daily lives. But on the other hand, God also want us to press into the reality of a life lived in holiness (living out righteousness on a practical level). I tend to think of these as two steams of the Christian walk - justification and sanctification. Or, maybe a better metaphor is, one stream with two currents.

Frankly, I like the current of justification. That's a section of this stream that I like to just hang out in. It's so refreshing! And, in addition to reconciling us to God, that is a very important part of it's purpose. We need the refreshment and strengthening of good standing with God. The current of sanctification, that's something else entirely. This section of the stream seems to be filled with turbulence! Its here where I encounter my day-to-day sin. It's here where I experience the loving discipline of my heavenly Father. And, it's here where I so easily fall prey to legalism and performance Christianity. But like it or not, it is clearly something God is calling me into, something he calls us all into. Take note again of those words from 2 Timothy 2:21:

"Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work."

This morning I meditated a bit on those words. I checked some scriptural cross-references. And, after taking in the meaning more fully I penned two questions to myself...

Q: What is the "dishonorable" in my life right now?

Q: What (in my life or character) may be, in any way, interfering with my being a vessel usable for the Lord Jesus Christ?

Well, I can tell you that by the end of this day, I encountered plenty within me that is in the way of my being usable to the Lord Jesus in various situations and circumstances. And yes, with that has come a sense of brokenness, and a cry to God for his mercy, forgiveness, and cleansing, along with prayers for  heart change in some very specific areas. Then too, I have turned to the scriptures on God's amazing work of grace - justification. And, I have reminded myself anew (you might say, I preached the gospel to myself again) of how God has made me completely acceptable and well-pleasing to himself through the finished work of Jesus Christ.

What defines you as a Christian?

Question:
Do you define yourself to others as a Christian by what you do not do? Or, do you define yourself to others as a Christian by what you do?

Another way of examining this question might be to ask those around us, "How do you know <your name> is a Christian?"

Will they refer to your frequent statements about things you don't do because you're a Christian? Or, will they refer to your actions and how they demonstrate qualities of love, grace, forgiveness, and integrity (acting in line with the truth)?

• This has to do with the addiction to performance.

Question:
Do you define yourself to others as a Christian by what you know? Or, do you define yourself to others as a Christian by whom you know?

Another way of approaching this question could again be to enlist the help of those around us, those with whom we interact regularly, our family members or our co-workers, "How do you know <your name> is a Christian?"

Will they refer to your frequent assertions of Biblical principles and scripture passages that correct them and inform them why they are wrong about certain things? Or, will they refer to your character and how you seem to really live out particular qualities of Jesus Christ?

• This has to do with the addiction to needing to be right.

Both of these questions are things I'm currently thinking about because, I find these addictions are present within myself! On the one hand I rail against a performance and need-to-be-right approach to my Christianity. And, on the other hand I find both of these approaches at work within me in some way on any given day. There is much more I could say about both of these addictions, but fore now I will point you to a recent post - Enjoying the Wide-open Pastures of God - to the section in the post on legalism. Both of these addictions are symptoms of legalism.

Faith at Work?

A little over a year ago I began praying about work (usually this occurred while on the way to work). There seemed to be a disconnect between my "normal life" (or, my home and church life) and my work life. They really seemed like two different lives to me. Or, another way of saying it is, that I was two different people - I had a work "persona" and a home and church "persona". At any rate, I really felt uncomfortable with this incongruence. At first, my prayers essentially went something like, "Lord, I just don't feel like I'm doing anything of kingdom value - my life energies are just going to feed the worldly system. Should I be doing something else with my life?" For some months that was the tenor and content of my prayers. Along the way, I began to be exposed to various workplace ministries -- Market Place Leaders, His Church At Work, to name just a couple -- and I began to wonder...if my work life might just be another place to bring the light of Christ.

Enjoying the Wide-open Pastures of God

It started with a little orange book titled, "The Cross Centered Life: Keeping The Gospel the Main Thing," by C. J. Mahaney. It was a gracious gift put into my hands on the way out the door of a church I had visited. The focus of the little book could be summed up in this quote:

"Do whatever it takes to make the gospel your passion. Ask God to change your heart so that, like Paul said in Galations 6:14, you can say, "May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ."" (p.23)

And I'm just now asking the question?

It was just over a year ago that I left my church of 20 years; the church where I was first introduced to a consistent and authentic expression of God's grace, the church where I found a freedom in worship I had never known before, the church where I first invested myself and served in ministry for a number of years.

However, somewhere along the course of the last ten years something happened, and it happened slowly and in stages, such that it just felt like we as a church were growing. And then, one day I began to think we weren't just growing, we were changing into something else; "Emergent"  is one label that comes to mind, "liberal" is another that fits to some degree as well. For several months I struggled silently with the issues that were becoming more and more difficult for me to ignore. At one point I began a dialog with one of our senior pastors to "check-in" on my perceptions and see if there was any basis for challenging them.

Going, Going, Gone!

I must confess, after only having read a couple of Wikipedia articles on Calvinism and Arminianism, after only having read a lengthy paper on the topic by John Piper and the elders of Bethlehem Baptist Church, after only having read "The Five Points of Calvinism" by Steele, Thomas & Quinn, and after only having read "Chosen for Life" by Sam Storms, I am "leaning" (like a tree felled and in the midst of a massive crash to the ground) toward Calvinism, both on the basis of sound argument and because it is so entirely and convincingly true to the teaching of the scriptures.

Am I Becoming a Calvinist? Only Time Will Tell...

It began some weeks ago when I asserted to a prominent Christian theologian:

"I think I should tell you I'm an Arminian, charismatic, complementarian, Christian hedonist (I don't want to just "eat my vegetables," I want to sit at the banquet table!). I'm also premillennialist and baptistic. And I too think Open Theism is heretical."

Walking in the Land of Blur

From his "bio" on Resurgence:

Peter Jones holds an MDiv from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, a ThM from Harvard Divinity School, and a PhD from Princeton Theological Seminary. He is Director of Christian Witness to a Pagan Planet, and Adjunct Professor of New Testament, as well as Scholar in Residence at Westminster Seminary California.

I began watching this video lecture "Walking in the Land of Blure," a few days ago just to see what the curious title was about. Before long Dr. Jones had captured my attention with his bullet point, whirl-wind, blow-by-blow description of how paganism is winning in America, and why we find ourselves living in the land of blur. Six hand-written pages of notes later, Dr. Jones completed his list, looked at his watch and said, "Oh my. That was the introduction!"

This lecture is just under 3 hrs long. So, be prepared to pause when you need a break or just want to come back the next day where you left off. This is a real wake up call for every Christian. Sure, we knew our culture was getting bad, but did we know it was this bad? Well, maybe we knew it was "bad," but Dr. Jones enlightens us as to the degree and specificity of the radical changes our culture has undergone. Its sobering, but also very equipping. Dr. Jones' final exhortation is that Christians should know this subject of paganism better than those we encounter who are immersed in it, so that we might bring truth and clarity which would enable them to make an informed choice about what life path they will ultimately follow.

A Good Shake Up - Church! Come To Your Senses!

Please consider this passage of scripture with me...

"For I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy, for I betrothed  you to one husband, so that to Christ I might present you as s pure virgin. But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ. For if one comes and preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted, you bear this beautifully." - 2 Corinthians 11:2-4

This passage from the Bible seems to be saying quite a lot about how we within the church get off track with respect to our message and ministry (i.e., the infiltration of heresies and false teachings).

Confessions of a Reformission Rev (Inro)

Earlier this week I paid a visit to marshillchurch.org - the Web portal for Mars Hill Church in Seattle Washington, where Mark Driscoll is the executive teaching pastor. I knew that both Mars Hill and Driscoll are associated with the Emergent Church Movement, so I was surprised to see the prominently displayed sermon topic on Predestination. I watched online Mark's teaching about Predestination, which was from a very Calvinistic perspective. In fact, Mark laid out quite clearly why he is a Calvinist. While I myself tend to be more Arminian than Calvinistic, there was little if anything that I found objectionable in his message. To the contrary, I found Mark to be very biblically based, contending convincingly for the Calvinist principles that lead him to his perspective on Predestination. Over the week I watched a few additional short videos of Mark's teaching, and again I came away very impressed by the heart, method and message. Since this was such an unexpected and pleasant surprise coming from an Emergent Church, I decided to purchase one of Mark's books and give it a read. I will be reviewing "Confessions of a Reformission Rev" by Mark Driscoll below as I plow through it over the next few weeks.