Tag: God’s love

Advent Reflections: Luke 15:1-4

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“All the tax collectors and sinners were approaching to listen to him. And the Pharisees and scribes were complaining, ‘This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.’ So he told them this parable: ‘What man among you, who has a hundred sheep and loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open field and go after the lost one until he finds it?’” (CSB – Read the chapter)

While we love stories of broken people being made whole, we don’t actually love broken people. We push them to the margins of society. If they are bad enough, we ship them off to places we don’t have to see or think about. We certainly don’t do many meaningful things to pull them out of their brokenness. The season of Advent, though, is all about preparing for the arrival of God’s plan to do just that. Jesus was sent to save broken people. This idea lies right at the heart of His mission. Let’s talk about it.

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A Case for God’s True Justice and a Call to Mission

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Something a little different today since I didn’t preach yesterday morning (our choir presented their excellent Christmas cantata instead). I recently heard about a small kerfuffle happening in the world of evangelical culture and theology. I was first alerted to it by a Facebook post from a church member. I don’t often pay very much attention to news stories I hear about on Facebook, though, so at first, I didn’t pay it any attention. But then, listening to a couple of different news podcasts from Christian sources I trust, I heard about it again and in more detail. Apparently, in a recent podcast episode with his son, Kirk Cameron espoused a heterodox theological view that has a fairly long historical pedigree called annihilationism. The basic thrust of the position is that one day God will annihilate—that is, blink out of existence—all of those who are in Hell. This view is framed as a better picture of the justice and mercy of God. Rather than making people suffer in Hell for eternity, God will mercifully end their suffering one day. They will simply cease to exist. When a seminary professor or anonymous pastor spouts off something like that, the world mostly ignores it. When a leading figure in the world of evangelical culture espouses it on a popular podcast, a great many more people pay attention. I don’t normally respond to things like this, but I actually wrote a paper on the subject explaining the whole debate as well as defending the historically orthodox position. This doesn’t have very much to do with the Advent season except that this is the fate Jesus came to save us from, but because the debate is hot, I thought I’d chip in my two cents. The paper is almost 20 years old, but my position hasn’t changed any in that time. This may not be for everybody, but some may find it either helpful or interesting or both. Because it is longer than usual, I’ve gone the extra mile and recorded the audio, so you can just listen to the paper if you would prefer. In any event, here you go, complete with a bibliography in case you really want to track down any of my sources.

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Digging in Deeper: Romans 11:11-12

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“I ask, then, have they stumbled so as to fall? Absolutely not! On the contrary, by their transgression, salvation has come to the Gentiles to make Israel jealous. Now if their transgression brings riches for the world, and their failure riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their fullness bring!” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Have you ever missed out on something? I went to a week long youth camp with my church every year from seventh grade to after my freshman year of college except one. I had conflicting plans that one summer, but all I heard about for months afterward was how awesome that camp had been. I’ll admit: I was a bit jealous of the group that went. Israel (the geopolitical people) missed out on the kingdom of God when they rejected Jesus as Messiah. Starting here and for the next several verses, Paul explores this idea and what it means for everyone else, especially those who were not part of Israel. Let’s take a look at this with him.

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Morning Musing: Romans 8:35-39

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“Who can separate us from the love of Christ? Can affliction or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: ‘Because of you we are being put to death all day long; we are counted as sheep to be slaughtered.’ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Insecurity is a terrible weight to bear. The feeling that we are not enough on our own can be a debilitating one. The person carrying that load begins to search for anything that will assure them otherwise. When they find something that seems to fit the bill, they’ll do just about anything to keep that feeling coming. The God who reveals Himself in the pages of the Scriptures is perfect in every way. He is unapproachable in holiness. He is unequaled in righteousness. It’s easy for us to convince ourselves we aren’t good enough for Him; that we will never merit His love. The Gospel says otherwise. Let’s talk about it.

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Morning Musing: Romans 8:31-32

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“What, then, are we to say about these things?  If God is for us, who is against us? He did not even spare his own Son but gave him up for us all. How will he not also with him grant us everything?” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Over the last few weeks, we have walked with Paul as he has laid out some of the glories of the Gospel. He has talked about our freedom from condemnation in Christ. He has celebrated the presence of the Spirit in us. He has boasted of our adoption as children into God’s family. He has marveled at the access through prayer we have of God—with His help, no less. Most recently he has declared with wonder God’s ability to bring good to our lives regardless of the circumstances we face. Here at the end, through a series of three key questions, Paul ponders some of the implications of all these wonderful truths. Let’s take a look at each of them in turn.

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