The Blog Days of Summer

Summer is a wonderful season, but they don’t call it the dog days of summer for nothing. It’s always hot and it’s often tiring. Very tiring. Our daughter is 10 months old and sometimes she is what I call “summer tired.” That happens when her cheeks turn red, her hair gets sweaty, her head starts to bob, and her eyes get heavy. Right now, on the blog front, I’m a little “summer tired.”

Because of seminary classes, responsibilities at church, and a few camps I’m speaking at this summer, blogging has taken a back seat. I traditionally take a blogging break each year, usually around June or July, and this year will be no different. I may have some guest bloggers contribute a few times, but for the most part, I’ll be working hard freeing up some space in your inbox or feed reader. You are welcome.

Thanks to all of you who subscribe, visit often, and comment. I am truly humbled that you read what I write. Praise God for this little corner of the internet world and how he uses it to spread his gospel—even if in a small way.

Jesus, Paul, Homosexuality, and Identity

You have heard the argument before—or maybe you have argued this way: “Jesus never talked about homosexuality. So, he doesn’t condemn it.”

It’s an old argument and a tired one. It’s tired because ancient Jewish culture did not celebrate homosexuality like Western culture does today. How do we know? Though people probably engaged in homosexual activity, it was simply known to be wrong. It was labeled as an abomination in the Hebrew Scriptures (Lev. 18:22; cf. 20:13). That did not change between the Testaments. Even today, rabbis do not condone the practice. We can be confident there was no Jewish effort in Jesus’ day to get so-called “gay marriage” enacted as law. In the Gentile pagan culture, however, people were more apt to practice homosexuality (as is evidenced by Paul’s letters, one of which I will address below).

When Jesus had the chance to talk about marriage (and thus God’s design for covenant, sexual relationships), how did he talk? Fielding a question about divorce, Jesus said this:

And Jesus said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart [Moses] wrote you this commandment [i.e. allowance for divorce]. But from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’ ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.” (Mark 10:5-9)

The context is about divorce, but the point is clear enough: marriage was instituted by God from the beginning of creation to be a life-long union between man and woman. For those still waiting to hear the words “homosexuality” out of Jesus’ lips, you won’t hear it. You won’t hear it because, according to Jesus, there’s not a debate to be had. Marriage is for one man and one woman. Case closed.

Paul, on the other hand, speaking and writing authoritatively as an apostle of Jesus did talk about homosexuality:

Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. (1 Cor. 6:9-10, et al.)

What this means is that homosexuality (and a host of other sins!) are contrary to the gospel. Each sin is contrary to the gospel in its own way. Homosexuality is contrary to the gospel because marriage is designed to be a picture of Christ and his Church (Eph. 5:32). When marriage is altered to serve sinful desire, it not only communicates, “Marriage doesn’t matter,” but it essentially tries to falsify the gospel by saying, “The gospel doesn’t matter.” This is why Christians get fired up in the marriage debate. It’s not that marriage in and of itself is the end goal (though, I admit, some Christians come across that way). Rather, marriage is a picture of something far greater: the gospel! It is a live-action dramatization of the gospel: the husband (illustrating Christ) loves and self-sacrifices; the wife (illustrating the church) respects and defers ultimate leadership to her husband. This is the gospel in action. A Christ-centered marriage will be the best sermon a Christian couple can preach.

What this passage (1 Cor. 6:9-10 above) does not mean is that people who identify as gays and lesbians are “worse sinners” than anyone else. Let me put it simply: a person can be a Christian and have same-sex urges, temptations, and even behaviors just like a person can be a Christian and desire to lie (and engage in lying behaviors) to gain approval from her friends. Why can this be? Both people are fighting. Both people are continually repenting of and confessing the root cause of their sin and seeking to cling to Christ by faith. Both of these people fight to believe daily the gospel promises that Christ is their new identity, he is their righteousness, and his death provided their forgiveness. No one is immune to sexual temptation and sin, so Christians should cease acting as if same-sex attraction is in the “God-could-never-deal-with-that-sin” category. If the heterosexuals reading this are honest (along with me), we have sexual baggage, too. Christ deals with us in his kindness and calls us away from the lie of our (fill-in-the-blank) sexual temptation toward  the fullness he offers us in the gospel. The way Jesus introduced his ministry is what the Christian life is about: “The kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1:15).

So in this “vice list” in 1 Corinthians 6 (cf. 1 Tim.1:10; Rev. 21:8), Paul is talking about people who find their identity in sin: sexual immorality, idolatry, homosexuality, greed, alcohol, swindling, etc. A 20-something who claims to be a Christian but sleeps with his girlfriend and wastes his days and nights on the XBox and shows no signs of repentance does not find his identity in Christ. He is in the same precarious position as an openly gay or lesbian person who professes faith in Jesus yet fails to acknowledge that homosexuality is contrary to a gospel-shaped life. Both find their identity in something other than Jesus. Both people are suppressing the truth and exchanging the glory of God for created things (Rom. 1:18-23). They may not be true Christians, therefore they should examine themselves to see whether or not they are truly in the faith (2 Cor. 13:5).

A person who finds their identity in Jesus, however, will listen to Jesus’ words.. And listening to Jesus’ words means repenting and going to him by grace through faith, rejecting the lies of sin and fighting to continually believe the promises of the gospel.

Fig Trees, Moving Mountains, and Forgiveness

After a long walk on a hot day, Jesus was hungry and wanted a snack. He walked up to a fig tree that was starting to sprout green leaves even though it wasn’t the season for figs. He immediately curses the tree: Woe to you, figs! (speculation, of course). The disciples hear the curse and probably wonder if Jesus woke up on the wrong side of his rock that day (see Mark 11:12-14).

Well, Jesus wasn’t in a bad mood and he didn’t wake up on the wrong side of anything. This curse was an object lesson for the disciples—immature, hardheaded, impressionable men who so often failed to get it. Immediately after the fig tree incident Jesus and the disciples enter the temple and Jesus starts to “clear out” the temple (Mark 11:15-19). That means he got fired up, tipped over tables, threw coins on the ground, and told the hypocrites who did not truly love God to leave God’s building.

So immediately after cursing the fig tree, Jesus enters the temple to curse the Jews, essentially saying, “I don’t want your lip service and legalism.” How does this connect to the poor, inanimate tree? The reference of the fig tree implicated Israel, who was often referred to as a fruitless fig tree by God (see Jer. 8:13; Hos. 9:10; et al.) Israel often appeared righteous (remember the green leaves?), but was actually wicked and dead. Not much had changed by Jesus’s day, and, in prophetic fashion, he exposes their idolatry again.

In Mark 11:20-25, Jesus fully explains why he cursed the tree. By cursing the tree (and clearing the temple), Jesus teaches the disciples that they are to do whatever is necessary to remove obstacles to fruit in their lives. The point was, “Have faith in God,” then he added that faith will throw mountains into the sea. “Moving mountains” is a hyperbolic expression and was historically used for what seemed impossible to accomplish (Isa. 40:4; 49:11; 54:10). Faith in Christ overcomes seemingly impossible obstacles (cf. 1 John 5:4). The implicit point also is that faith is in God. It does not take much faith to move a “mountain”—faith only the size of a mustard seed, actually (Matt. 17:20). Therefore, it’s not the amount of faith that matters, but the object of faith. Jesus then tells the disciples the oft-quoted popular line, “Whatever you ask in prayer,  believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” Jesus is not giving an un-qualified promise for a certain kind of “prayer of faith.” He simply says, “If there is something that is standing in the way of you bearing fruit in the Christian life, pray that it will be removed and God will do it for you.” Sin, suffering, or whatever. When we seek to desire more of Christ, and we pray for it, God will do it. Maybe not immediately or the way we imagine, but he will do it.

At his conclusion (Mark 11:25), Jesus points out one major hindrance to producing fruit at: lack of forgiveness. When we pray for obstacles to be removed, but we are unforgiving toward someone, there will be no victory over our obstacles. An unforgiving heart is the greatest obstacle to bearing fruit because it shows that we truly do not understand the gospel. When we fail to forgive, we assault God’s character, grace, and sovereign work. Being habitually and resolutely unforgiving may actually prove that we have not actually experienced God’s grace at all. On the other hand, an evidence (fruit!) of God’s gracious saving activity in our lives is that we forgive others just as God in Christ forgave us (Col. 3:13).

Here are some penetrating questions to make this applicable for today:

1. What obstacles must I overcome to bear fruit?
2. Where am I not truly believing the gospel, focusing on Jesus as the object of my faith, and thus failing to move these “mountains”?
3. Am I resorting toward coldhearted legalism or I am delighting in God as my supreme Treasure and letting my actions/fruit flow from that?
4. Am I actively praying for fruit that comes out of a new identity and a true love for Jesus (see John 14:15)?
5. Is there anyone in my life that I have not forgiven?
6. Am I truly resting in the forgiveness I have in Christ so that I am free to quickly, sincerely, and lavishly forgive others?

A Primer on the Image of God

The amazing truth about being made in the image of God is that man is the pinnacle of God’s creative activity. Think about it for a moment: you look like God. In Genesis 1:26 the Triune God says, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.” The next verse says God’s image-bearers were complete in that they were made “male and female.” Imago Dei (Latin for “image of God”) is the doctrine that humanity, both men and women, is in some respect designed to resemble divine likeness. Millard Erickson writes that the image of God “is the powers of personality that make humans, like God, beings capable of interacting with other persons, of thinking and reflecting, and of willing freely.” Wayne Grudem says being made in the image of God means that we are, simply, like God.

The beauty of God’s creation of man is that it was not complete with the creation of male. If men are honest, we know we are incomplete in ourselves (and for those of us who are married, we’re reminded of that daily). God, in his wisdom, provided a helper for us. Adam was found by God to be alone and this was “not good” (Gen. 2:18, the only time this phrase appears in the first two chapters of Genesis). God therefore decided to make Adam a “helper fit for him” (v. 18). In making Adam a helper, God took a rib from Adam’s side, creating woman, and God brought her to Adam (v. 22). Here we see the first wedding with God, as the Father, walking Eve down the garden aisle to her husband Adam who bursts out into song as he rejoices over his wife (v. 23).

Eve’s creation draws out many implications. Here’s two: 1) Because Eve was made a “helper fit” for Adam, she was meant to compliment and correspond to Adam as one who would assist and challenge him in the cultural mandate that God gave to mankind (see Gen. 1:28). Therefore, wives are to help and support their husbands as they assist them in their God-appointed calling. 2) Eve was taken from Adam’s rib, illustrating the fact that she is to stand beside Adam as equal. She was not taken from behind to be inferior nor from the front to be superior. Therefore, wives are equal to their husbands in worth, value, and dignity. Yet, they are not the same in role and function. Wives stand beside their husbands and operate in the relationship with their unique abilities and skills.

There’s been debate throughout the centuries as to what “image” and “likeness” means. Are they different? Identical? Sparing the details, it’s probably safe to say they mean the same thing. Martin Luther asserted this view, while saying that the uncorrupted divine image is God’s intention for mankind, but only a corrupted image is what is present after the fall. John Calvin adopted a similar view. This seems to be the preferable view in light of several Scriptures (e.g. Gen. 9:6; Acts 17:27-28; 1 Cor. 11:7; James 3:9). The fall distorted God’s image in mankind so that now we do not perfectly represent God’s image and likeness. But there’s no evidence from Scripture that men and women have completely lost God’s because of sin. Therefore even non-Christians are to be loved and cared for because of their inherent value as image-bearers of God.

Though we do not perfectly reflect God’s image, we still have hope! Jesus Christ has bested God’s image as the only obedient man. He is the complete revelation of the image of God. One of the reasons God prohibited the worship of images in the Law (Ex. 20:4) is due to the fact that he already had an image of himself, waiting to be sent, whom we would worship: Jesus Christ. Hebrews 1:3 perhaps puts it best: “[Jesus] is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature.” We have failed to represent God as he intended, but praise be to God, Jesus is all that we were supposed to be.

Through his redemptive work in the gospel, Jesus now creates a new humanity (Rom. 5:12-21; 1 Cor. 15:20-28). In light of the gospel, we are now being restored back into imago Dei (Rom. 8:29; 2 Cor. 3:18; 4:16). On the last day, when Christ returns in great glory, the image of God in believers will be fully restored. The apostle John tells us about this great hope: “Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is” (1 John 3:2).

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Check out these helpful resources to dig deeper into the image of God:

• Mark Driscoll and Gary Breshears, Doctrine: What Christians Should Believe (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2010), 111-143.
• Millard J. Erickson, Christian Theology, 2nd Ed. (Grand Rapids, MI.: Baker Academic, 1998), 517-536.
• Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1994, 439-453.

At a Glance: Presuppositional Apologetics

Presuppositional apologetics is a method for defending the truths of the Christian faith. Presuppositional apologetics urges Christians “to presuppose the truth of Christianity and not to think they can or must arrive at Christian convictions at the end of a chain of secular reasoning.”[1] No one embarks on an investigation without any previous thinking (i.e. presuppositions), and this is certainly true for Christians who believe that God’s word is inerrant and authoritative.[2] Because of this, Christians should hold Christ as the ultimate authority not just at the end of an apologetic endeavor, but at the beginning.[3] A biblical worldview, therefore, is the foundation from which the Christian should build all opinions in apologetic debate.

Presuppositionalism is common among Reformed theologians and philosophers. Major proponents include Abraham Kuyper, Cornelius Van Til, Gordon Clark, Francis Schaeffer, Greg Bahnsen, John Frame, Vern Poythress, William Edgar, and Tim Keller.

There are five major themes of presuppositionalism.[4] First, traditional apologetics is futile because of man’s blindness to divine reality. Second, the skeptic presupposes God’s existence, even if he fails to admit it. Third, traditional apologetics foolishly honors the skeptic’s standards by not holding to the fact that belief in God is “basic.” Fourth, the burden of proof should fall on the skeptic. Fifth, apologetics should be done on a system level, so skeptics are required to defend their worldview on its own terms.

The advantages of presuppositionalism are many, but four are most significant. First, it takes into account what the Bible says about our obligation to presuppose 1) God’s revelation in all of life and 2) the unbeliever’s suppression of the truth.[5] Second, it takes seriously the fall of man and the unbeliever’s inability to reason his way to faith. Third, it understands the goal of apologetics as convincing people that God’s revelation is true and that it alone is the only basis for all reason, intelligence, and living.[6]

The major critique of the presuppositional method is the problem of circularity. With a closer look, this is not really a problem at all because the skeptic’s reasoning is circular as well. As Frame states, “It is part of the unbeliever’s depravity to suppress the truth about God, and that depravity governs their reasoning so that unbelief is their presupposition, which in turn governs their conclusion.”[7] Indeed, when arguing for an ultimate standard of truth, circular argument is unavoidable, whether one is a Christian or a skeptic.

In the final analysis, the presuppositional approach better accords with biblical doctrine than other positions.[8] The point of apologetics is to persuade someone to believe in the God of the Bible, and as Edgar notes, “Nothing else really matters. Ether God exists…or he doesn’t.”[9] For this reason, the Christian should let Christ have authority over his philosophy, reasoning, and argumentation—from beginning to end. For in Christ are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge (Col. 2:3).

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[1] Mark Coppenger, “Presuppositionalism,” in The Popular Encyclopedia of Apologetics, Ed Hindson and Ergun Caner, gen. eds. (Eugene, OR: Harvest House, 2008), 402.
[2] John Frame, “Presuppositional Apologetics,” in IVP Dictionary of Apologetics (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2006) (accessed 6/1/2012).
[3] Greg Bahnsen, “Van Til’s Presuppositionalism,” Penpoint 6, no. 1. (January 1995)(accessed 6/12/2012).
[4] See Coppenger, “Presuppositionalism,” 402.
[5] Frame, “Presuppositional Apologetics,” (accessed 6/1/2012).
[6] Ibid.
[7] Ibid.
[8] William Edgar, “Without Apology: Why I Am a Presuppositionalist,” Westminster Theological Journal 58, no. 1 (Spring 1996): 19.
[9] Ibid.