Tried With Fire

My friend, Becky, has written a thought-provoking post  regarding our phobias to certain words like religion , contemplate , and meditate , to name a few.  These words have been wrested from their original meaning, in some cases, and have become part of the vocabulary of questionable teaching. But rather than making a point to use them correctly, their usage or lack of can become a litmus test for a person's theology. This post hit a nerve, because l freely admit to strong gut reactions with certain words and phrases. Words have power and consequences, and my reception to them is anything but neutral. I  bring my own assumptions as to why the writer/speaker would use a certain word. I also bring a boatload of associations based on past experiences, even if I desire to respond based on what the Word says alone. So what to do?  How do I disarm the gut reaction? Here are few things that came to mind: - Make the point of digging a little deeper to fi...

This is the definition of predestine from an online dictionary: 1. To fix upon, decide, or decree in advance; foreordain. 2. Theology To foreordain or elect by divine will or decree.   For those whom He foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn of many brothers, and those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.  Romans 8:29-30 If the above definition is correct, and the verse is true (of course it has to be if the Word of God is inerrant and infallible), then is our being conformed to the image of the Son uncertain?  Is the outcome of our sanctification uncertain?  Is it dependent on the degree of our willingness or surrender or dependent upon God's decree? I think you know where I stand on this issue.  The outcome is certain because it is not dependent upon our performance or even our degree of surr...

I listened to John Piper's talk , Brothers We Must Not Mind a Little Suffering , on Charles Simeon yesterday and again today. Charles Simeon (1759-1836) endured decades of hostility from his own church and did not give up. This kind of spiritual backbone seems to be a rare thing today. In the light of that, Piper had some very astute comments about 20th century America. "I think we live in a very emotionally fragile time, and I am a child of my times much more than I wish I were. When I am honest with myself, the things I hate about about my culture, I see evidences of in myself." "By emotionally fragile, I mean that we are easily hurt. We pout easily. We mope easily. When I say we, I mean the American culture today, inside and outside of church. We break easily. Our marriages break easily. Our faith breaks easily. Our happiness breaks easily. Our commitment to the ministry and to the church breaks easily. We are easily disheartened and discouraged. We seem to ha...

Pastor Ryan's message was on Hebrews 10:32-39, titled Remembering as We Endure . Those early Christians knew that taking a stand for their faith meant immediate persecution. They joyfully accepted the loss of property, possessions, and lives because they found One who was the better possession and abiding one. Yet, the writer of Hebrews needed to remind them. They needed to remember this so that they would endure and not throw away their confidence. These statements stood out to me: They lost the things we cherish in our comfortable Christianity - comfort and security, being liked, material goods - three things that plague 21st century Christianity. We take perseverance lightly. We believe that it is by faith alone in Christ alone but in the back of our minds is it with the thought that I get to keep my comfort and security, too? This message was so timely because on Friday evening, I was shaken by something. It really wasn't that much, but it was enough. Almost immediately,...