Where Does the Power Come From? - Part 1

Our granddaughter, Kiara, runs in two kinds of races these days.  During August, she has been preparing for her cross-country season.  But for the past several years, Kiara has been preparing for another kind of race, one that is influencing how she will perform in cross-country and in other races in her life.  All of us who have “registered” for this other race of life need occasional reminders of how important it is.

To explain Kiara's second race, I want to refer to a famous runner whose life has been highlighted in an Academy Award-winning, 1980 British film, Chariots of Fire.  His character in the movie asks the question, "So where does the power come from to see the race to its end?"  Sounds like an important question for any athlete, student, or anyone seeking purpose in life.  Kiara is among those who have come to know this power.

Source of the Power
Where does this power come from?  The question is asked twice in Chariots of Fire.  Both times it points to the power that existed within Eric Liddell, the Scottish athlete noted for refusing to run his favored 100-meter race in the 1924 Summer Olympics.  Eric Liddell’s reason:  Because his faith in God included a commitment to refraining from athletic games on “the Lord’s Day” which happened to be when the heats for the 100-meter were held.  This was no shallow, legalistic practice but instead, a part of who Eric Liddell had become in his walk of faith in God.

Having put his hopes for Olympic gold on the line and refusing to budge under pressure, Liddell was providentially blessed with the opportunity to switch to the 400-meter competition which had scheduled heats during a weekday.  Famously, Liddell ran, won a gold medal, and set an Olympic record in spite of the odds against a short-distance runner winning this longer race.

"When I run, I feel His pleasure." - Eric Liddell

Eric Liddell expressed his faith in God with the now-famous statement, I believe God made me for a purpose, but he also made me fast. And when I run, I feel His pleasure.  His example as a vigorously competitive athlete who attributed his success to God’s power and pleasure within has been an inspiration to many athletes, both Christian and non-Christian alike.  Partly because of its inspiring message, Chariots of Fire won four Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay.  It is ranked 19th in the British Film Institute's list of Top 100 British films.  [Here is a link to a short YouTube video featuring Eric Liddell’s climactic race.]
What Is the Power?
What is the power that works within the life of those who claim to possess it?  Is it merely a subjective experience of an “emotional high” from a sense of connectedness to the spiritual realm?  If so, then anyone can have this power.  Just find time and a quiet place to meditate on where you came from, your relationship to some Higher Power, and how you find purpose and meaning in life.  Or, maybe this power comes by harnessing the power of physics, physiology, and just plain determination.  If so, then why do so many well-endowed and disciplined athletes evidently fail to excel?  Eric Liddell’s Olympic teammate, Harold Abrahams, used this latter approach in his largely unsuccessful effort to power his way to victory. 

Watching Eric Liddell run with passion "unnerved" Abrahams.

Abrahams was portrayed in Chariots of Fire as a disciplined athlete with great determination to win.  He was so determined to win that he even employed a professional coach who helped him apply the physics of running to improve his technique.  But Abrahams was intimidated by Liddell because Liddell possessed the power, passion, and purpose that didn’t come from practice, conditioning, and coaching alone.
Abrahams and many others did not experience Eric Liddell’s pleasure and success in their race because they had not entered that second race which Liddell and our granddaughter, Kiara, has entered.  In the movie, speaking to workingmen after one of his races, Liddell’s film character, Ian Charleson, gives an invitation to possess the power within (emphasis mine): 

You came to a race today, to see someone win.  Happened to be me.  But I want you to do more than just watch a race.   I want you to take part in it.  I want to compare faith to running in a race.

Many of us have come to “watch a race” but relatively few, figuratively speaking, “take part in it.”  Liddell compared his faith to “running in a race,” an idea that is expressed in the New Testament Scriptures (see 1 Corinthians 9: 24; Hebrews 12: 1).  According to the Apostle Paul, this faith, and the power of faith, comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God (Romans 10: 17).  But a person cannot take part in an athletic race unless he or she registers.  Likewise, we cannot take part in the race of life, the “spiritual race” without faith in God and His Word.  And the message of God’s Word, the Bible, centers around the Gospel Message, the “Good News” that Jesus Christ came as God in human form to die and rise again to save us from eternal judgment if we yield our lives to Him.

How we respond to the Gospel determines whether we will “enter the race.”  The Apostle Paul explains that Gospel of Jesus Christ is the power of God for salvation.  This power (Gr. dunamis, from which we get dynamite) can “blow up” our strongholds of pride and open our hearts to receive Christ as King of His rightful kingdom within our lives.  His kingdom is ruled by the Spirit of God who will abide in the Christ-follower as Helper, Comforter, and Teacher (John 14: 15-26).  This was Eric Liddell’s source of “the power to see the race to its end.”  He lived in personal relationship empowered by His obedience to the Living God (John 15: 1-17).  Unfortunately, this power was missing in Harold Abrahams, who sought the power through his intellect and technique only to find frustration.

Exploring the Power Intellectually
Besides Eric Liddell and Harold Abrahams, there is a third person of interest who was involved in Chariots of Fire—Ian Charleson, the brilliant young actor who played the part of Liddell.  According to an October 2, 1981 article in The New York Times, Charleson who described himself as having no religious background recognized that, to “find out what [a Christian man] was about” I had to “find something in the Christian religion that I myself - Ian Charleson - could represent.”

Charleson gave a stirring invitation
but did he accept it himself?

To accomplish this, Charleson read the Bible from cover to cover.  He said, “Whenever I came across a phrase, a passage, a piece of wisdom that I could relate to or think 'That sounds right, that sounds reasonable,’ I would mark it down.  I compiled a whole notebook of quotes that I thought were the essence of what I could believe in Christianity…”

Although Charleson read the Bible and quoted passages from the Gospel, my research on his biography has revealed no evidence that he ever made a decision to “take part in the race” by a response of faith in the Gospel message.  I hope he did.  We do know that Charleson was a gay man who died at the age of 40 of a fatal infection as a consequence of contracting AIDS.  Unselfishly, even though homosexuality in the 1980’s was a much more private matter, Charleson instructed in his final documents that his reason for death be made public to promote awareness of the need to address AIDS.

We also know that Ian Charleson was fascinated with the faith commitment of Eric Liddell and wanted to portray authentically Liddell’s genuine commitment to Jesus Christ.  As a result of his knowledge of Liddell and his thorough intellectual study of the Bible, Charleson chose to write an inspiring invitation to come by faith to Christ; an invitation that Liddell might have written.  Charleson’s message of invitation and his delivery of the message as he thought Liddell might have done it to common workingmen, became one of the most inspiring and powerful parts of the movie.  [See adjacent text box.  See also YouTube video clip of the message from Chariots of Fire.]

The Right Choice – Yielding to Christ
Did Ian Charleson, like Harold Abrahams, run the short race of his life only to end without coming to know the real power—“from within?”  I do not know.  But personally, I do know Jesus, the Source of the power, and I want to “see the race to its end” for myself.  I want to run my race without stumbling or causing my wife and family, including our granddaughter Kiara, to stumble because of me.

If you wish to know more about the Gospel, the “Good News,” let me help.   The Gospel is summarized in an outline called “Steps to Peace with God” which explains God’s love, our predicament (sin and separation from God), what Jesus has done to address our predicament, and what you can do by faith to receive God’s righteousness (right standing with a Holy God).  If you wish to respond, you may post a “Comment” below or e-mail me at silviusj@gmail.com

Recommended Reading:
For Ian Charleson: A Tribute by Ian McKellen, Hugh Hudson, Alan Bates, et al.  (London: Constable and Company, 1990).
Sports Without Spirit – Oikonomia, January 19, 2014

Do You Have Faith in “Settled Science?”

“Science in America” is an online video commentary with over 1 million views.  It features Neil deGrasse Tyson, an American astrophysicist, author, and science communicator who begins with an important question:  How did America rise up from a backwoods country to become one of the greatest nations the world has ever known?

Tyson’s answer?  SCIENCE!  “Science is a fundamental part of the country that we are.”

But Tyson warns his viewers that we are in danger of losing the scientific momentum behind America’s rise (emphasis mine):  

...in this, the 21st century, when it comes time to make decisions about science, it seems we have lost the ability to judge what is true and what is not, what is reliable and what is not, what you should believe and what you should not believe.  And when you have people who don’t know much about science standing in denial of it and rising to power, that is a recipe for the complete dismantling of our informed democracy.

Tyson’s dire warning is followed by a sequence of clips which feature what he believes are “people who don’t know much about science.”  The sequence includes Vice President Mike Pence calling for the teaching of “evolution, not as fact, but as theory.” It continues with parents who are skeptical of vaccinations, voters who wish to ban GMO’s, and people who consider climate change as “unproven science.”  Tyson remembers the difficult times of the 1960’s and 1970’s but does not recall people ever “standing in denial of what science was.”

With all of the progress we have made in America, how can there still be “people who don’t know much about science standing in denial of it..?”  After all, according to Tyson,

One of the great things about science is that it is an entire exercise in finding what is true.  [First] a hypothesis, you test it, I get a result, a rival of mine double-checks it because they think I might be wrong.  They perform an even better experiment and they find out, hey, this experiment matches.  O my gosh, we’re onto something here!

So far so good for Tyson’s explanation of our so-called scientific method.  It begins with stating a testable hypothesis based on patterns observed in the natural world, and is followed by rigorous experimental testing in one laboratory, and then corroboration by other laboratories who are skeptical of the validity of the hypothesis.  If the hypothesis is consistently supported, Tyson says, “what arises is emergent truth.  Something better than we’ve ever come up with.”  While “emergent truth” may be an ambiguous term here, we can generally agree with his summary of the scientific method.

But then, Tyson’s narrative makes a wrong turn—one that exposes the contradiction in his logic.  He leaps to the conclusion that “emergent truth” becomes “established scientific emergent truth”—truth that is guaranteed to be true even if some people dare to deny it.  Note here that Tyson dismisses his “rival” who “double-checks” experimental outcomes because he is convinced beyond a doubt that he has reached “settled science.” 

At this point, all of us who value “good science” should be hearing loud sirens going off in our minds.  Here is Tyson’s dangerous conclusion (emphasis mine):

When you have an established scientific emergent truth, it is true whether or not you believe it.  And the sooner you understand that, the faster we can get on with the political conversation about how to solve the problems that face us.  So, once you understand that humans are warming the planet you can then have a political conversation about that…every minute one is in denial you are delaying the political solution that should have been established years ago.

In other words, the double-checker’s and deniers of Darwinian evolution should be silenced.  Those who question the safety of vaccinations and GMO foods, or who doubt human-caused climate change must be prevented and eliminated from positions of influence.  Unfortunately, it is only a small step from “settled science” to a “tyranny of science?”  The latter assumes that science alone can and should guide the political agenda without consideration of moral and ethical claims.   An article by Brendan O’Neill in The Guardian suggests that Americans of all political persuasions ought to be aware of the danger of going down the path to a science dominated by politics, especially without morality and ethics.

Supposedly, only “people who don’t know much about science” are questioners of “settled science.”  But then, some of Tyson’s viewers, and readers here, may remember that scientific progress and discovery was greatly influenced by people who, in their time, were regarded as not knowing much about science—people like Galileo, Pythagoras (Earth not flat), Pasteur (living cells do not spontaneously originate from nonliving matter), Einstein (relativity), and Barbara McClintock (ridiculed until her “jumping genes” hypothesis was validated).  Tyrannical science has no place for those who question long-held theories and “think outside the box.”  [Note: Regarding “thinking beyond the box,” see “Halting the Demise of “Liberal Education.”]

Two “experiments” from the former Soviet Union underscore the danger of the “tyranny of science.”  The first, called the Lysenko Affair, occurred during the 1930’s and 1940’s.  Russian scientist, Trofim Lysenko (1898-1976), succeeded in duping the communist government under Joseph Stalin into believing in his experimental results based on the false notion of Lamarckian genetics.   Lysenko believed that, with repeated harsh environmental treatments, temperate zone crop varieties would produce offspring that “inherit acquired characteristics” –i.e. “toughen up to thrive in frigid Siberia.  Under the tyranny of the Soviet regime, Lysenko’s critics were silenced, Lysenkoism flourished, and Soviet progress in genetics was stunted for decades.

The second “experiment” to illustrate the danger of “settled science” came a few decades after Lysenko, and resulted from communist tyranny over science.  This was the nuclear disaster at Chernobyl in northern Ukraine on April 26, 1986.  A nuclear power plant suffered a ruptured reactor core releasing large amounts deadly nuclear radiation.  The disaster was popularized by this year’s release of an HBO movie, Chernobyl.  I have not watched this 6-episode series, but reviews have outlined several of the political and scientific factors that caused Chernobyl to be a much worse disaster than it should have been.

First, the communist party propaganda machine suppressed communication and stifled expression from concerned scientists.   Consequently, like the Lysenko Affair decades earlier, highly politicized science became stunted and fell behind that of the western world. 

Second, the Chernobyl incident was made much worse because of inadequate expertise and availability of equipment to handle an otherwise preventable disaster.  The cloak of secrecy and isolation from the West that typified Russian communism made it difficult for the Soviets to admit their need of basic assistance and technology to deal with something that their science and technology couldn’t handle. 

The severity of the danger was not realized until much damage was done to humans, animals, and ecosystems.  Unfortunately, the ineptness of Soviet science magnified the Chernobyl disaster which shouldn’t have occurred under a reign of “good science.”  Just as bad, Chernobyl has become a “poster child” to elicit fear of nuclear energy production that still haunts our world and discourages nuclear energy production as a viable option.

The horrific effects of the Chernobyl disaster highlighted once again the disastrous result of “good science” becoming a prisoner to a godless political philosophy.  “Settled science” becomes “stale science” when people in power adopt Neil deGrasse Tyson’s philosophy that a scientific finding is true whether or not you believe it.  And the sooner you understand that, the faster we can get on with the political conversation about how to solve the problems that face us. 

Not so fast Dr. Tyson.  Shouldn't you let “your rivals” keep double-checking the results?  The “informed democracy” that you value depends on “good science.”  It is stunted by “settled science.”  If you don’t believe it, just consider the lessons of Lysenko and Chernobyl.  And, moms and dads, commit to being scientifically literate and make sure your sons and daughters follow your example.

"Three R’s:” God’s Rx for Heart Health

The recent mass shootings in El Paso and Dayton deeply saddened me and stirred my sympathy for all who were affected.  Admittedly, this news also made me angry at the shooters.  Then, I began to reflect on the depravity that exists in my own heart.  Times of tragedy serve to remind us all of our need for repentance and forgiveness.  But sadly, our necessary reflection on universal human depravity is quickly interrupted by personal distractions and the noisy clamor and rancor of our culture in response to yet another tragedy.

On a social and political level, some argue that hate speech and racism incite mass shooters to act.  Others point to guns as the responsible tools that should be banned.  Still others point out that guns only fire when angry persons pull the trigger.  And anger arises from personal turmoil from within the hearts of shooters, often promoted by mental illness and/or drug addiction.  Violent tendencies are particularly common among young men who grow up without fathers and without supportive networks provided by good schools, churches, and community organizations.

Reasons for horrific tragedies are complex and multifaceted, so I don’t mean to oversimplify.  However, it should be obvious that finger-pointing and hateful rhetoric will not solve the deeper problems.  Nor will it be easy to “Red Flag” potential threats without an understanding of the origin and growth of anger, hate, and murder.  Therefore, I must begin by addressing the potential for hate and hateful responses within my own heart. 

From God’s Word, I am learning that the only difference between horrific atrocities and the “hidden sins” of hate and pride in my heart is a matter of scale.  Jesus alludes to this in His teaching as recorded in Matthew 5: 22 (emphasis mine):  But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court; and whoever says to his brother, 'You good-for-nothing,' shall be guilty before the supreme court; and whoever says, 'You fool,' shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell.  Notice that Jesus takes the sixth commandment, “Thou shall not murder,” and goes to the source within the human heart where the underlying sins of pride, hate, and envy are rooted.  Sin within the heart triggers the sins of the tongue such as hateful name-calling.  And one who speaks hatefully is capable of murder.  Christ takes very seriously this outward progression from the sinful heart to hateful words to murder.  So seriously that He considers sins of the heart as equivalent to murder.

Thankfully, when our souls become frustrated and fearful, God stands ready with a three-part prescription from His Word.   I am now considering them as my basic “three R’s”—not “Readin’, ‘Ritin’, and ‘Rithmetic;” but instead, REPENT, REJOICE, and RECONCILE.

REPENT
When I am becoming frustrated, fearful or angry toward others or in response to the daily news, I must look within my own heart, the seat of my personality.  There, I will find the cause of my unkind words and actions.  And there I should stop and repent. 

According to Charles Spurgeon,
“Repentance is a discovery of the evil of sin,
a mourning that we have committed it,
and a resolution to forsake it.
It is, in fact, a change of mind of a very deep and practical character, which makes the man love what once he hated, and hate what once he loved.”

Notice the emphasis on permanence in Spurgeon’s definition:  “resolution to forsake...change of mind…very deep and practical….”  Along the same lines, my former pastor, Dan Wingate calls us to adopt a “lifestyle of repentance.”  Such a humble, daily disposition helps us to recognize our own depravity and our tendency to wander like sheep away from God our Shepherd (Isaiah 53: 6).  Until we as individuals and as a society realize that sin is ultimately a rebellion against God who created us and therefore, owns us, we will not realize the seriousness of sin as the primary cause of our problems—individually and institutionally.  We will go on hating others instead of hating our own sin.

Don’t Substitute “Religion” for Repentance
Instead of recognizing that we are prideful rebels, we tend to focus on external problems that are not the primary cause of our broken world.  For example, the religious leaders of Jesus’s day criticized Jesus an

d His followers for not ceremonially washing their hands before they ate.  But Jesus said the primary problem is not what we do with our hands or even our tongues—but out of our heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a person.  But to eat with unwashed hands does not defile anyone (Matthew 15: 18-20).

Emphasis on the externals leads to a religion of ceremony and legalism.  Rather than cultivating a love relationship with God, we rely on check-lists of our good deeds.  Both Christian and non-Christian alike can fall into this error.  Going to church, tithing, and abstaining from alcohol or meat, or rejecting plastic straws and gas-guzzling cars—none of these can make one person any more righteous in God’s eyes than another. The Apostle Paul condemned external comparisons as selfish and prideful when he wrote: When they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are not wise (2 Corinthians 10: 12). 

Our Strongholds to Resist Repentance

The alternative to a repentant heart is a heart that becomes increasingly calloused with thick walls reinforced by pride and self-righteousness.  Calloused hearts become insensitive, cold, and hateful toward others.  When we watch the news, I see anxious and fearful people and hear angry words.  Unrepentant, prideful people make arrogant and woeful predictions that the sky is falling and despise anyone who disagrees with their philosophy of government, ethnic relations, economics, and energy usage.  Of course, we should exercise morality and good stewardship in all of these areas.  But our pursuit of happiness is a fruitless effort unless we submit to God’s plan and purpose through repentance.  Repentance frees us from the wages of sin and moves our focus from a life of pride, comparison, envy, and fear to a focus on God who alone is perfect and judges rightly.  When the eyes of repentant souls are focused on God, He brings rest to their souls.

Repentance must be my “first stop” before I can experience the other two R’s, rejoicing and reconciliation.  Yet it is hard for me to read the Gospel accounts and imagine the ugly spectacle of the bleeding, sinless Jesus Christ I helped to nail to a Roman cross.  It was my sin that did this to Jesus!   Yet my pride—our pride as humans can cause us to turn away.  We avoid godly counsel, church, and God’s Word when we know they can help us.  The prophet Isaiah, over 500 years before Christ, prophesied how we would “despise and reject” the Suffering Servant whose sacrifice in our place would cast a spotlight on our sin and depravity.

So, I have a choice, and you have as well.  Either we focus on justifying ourselves before God and others by the good works we do, or we focus on what Christ did for us, dying in our place so we can claim His righteousness (right standing before God).  If we individually choose to reject God’s “love gift” of salvation through repentance, then God can offer neither of the other two R’s-- rejoicing and reconciliation.  Jesus warned: Unless you repent, you will all likewise perish (be separated from God for eternity) (Luke 13: 3).  In 2 Corinthians 7: 10, Paul describes repentance that leads to salvation.  The Apostle Peter summarized the Gospel when he wrote, For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit…  And, again Paul wrote that he was not ashamed of the Gospel because it is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes—the Jew first and also the Gentile (Romans 1: 16).  That is “Good News” indeed; enough to bring rejoicing!

REJOICE

To rejoice is to express joy and delight.   True joy comes from within our hearts.  Joy is one facet of the fruit of the Holy Spirit who comes to abide in the repentant sinner.  The Apostle Paul wrote, Now He who prepared us for this very purpose [to live for eternity in resurrection bodies] is God, who gave to us the Spirit as a pledge (2 Corinthians 5: 5).  Salvation from sin (John 3: 16), freedom from the condemnation of sin (Romans 8: 1), and the gift of God’s Spirit to abide within us (Ezekiel 36: 27) is reason for rejoicing.  The psalmist wrote, The LORD has done great things for us; we are filled with joy (Psalm 126: 3).  The Spirit-filled, Christ-follower cannot help but rejoice!  What’s more, according to the prophet Zephaniah, God our Creator and Savior rejoices over us as His redeemed children!  Imagine that!  The LORD your God is among you; He is mighty to save. He will rejoice over you with gladness; He will quiet you with His love; He will rejoice over you with singing.

As a sinner saved by God’s grace, I experience joy and consolation when I reflect on God’s presence within me though His Holy Spirit.  The contrast of what I was before I came into a personal relationship with God through repentance and faith in Christ’s substitutionary death and who I am afterwards is described accurately by the Apostle Paul.   In Galatians 5: 16-18, we learn how our sinful nature (“the flesh”) sets itself against the work of the Holy Spirit in us.  After these words, Paul describes our lives “before” (5: 19-21) and “after” we submit to the Holy Spirit’s work in our lives (vv. 22-23).

Repentant Hearts Exude Joy in a Troubled World
Repentance prepares us to humbly invite God’s Holy Spirit to enter our lives.  The Spirit’s presence enables us to bear the fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, and self-control.   But you may ask, how can I be joyful when so many bad things happen?  Answer— we must remember that Joy and its expression of rejoicing springs from within and is independent of things that happen to us.  Bad happenings in our culture of hate and violence will not overcome the Christ-follower who relies on God’s Spirit and His Word.

After Jesus instructed His disciples about things that would happen in the future, He said, These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world (John 16:33).  Jesus promised not only joy in the midst of a troubled world, but also that He would empower His followers to be ambassadors of reconciliation.

RECONCILE
By now, the importance the sequence of the three R’s, REPENT, REJOICE, RECONCILE, should be evident.  Repentance is the gateway to salvation and Eternal Life.  Where sin had once reigned within our unrepentant hearts, now God’s Spirit enables us to overcome sin and have victory.  Anger, hate, fear, envy, and lust are replaced by love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, and self-control.

We Are Reconciled… to Be Reconcilers 
The Apostle Paul wrote (emphasis mine), Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation.  Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God (2 Corinthians 5: 17-20).

This Scripture makes it clear that reconciliation between the sinner and God through faith in Christ gives birth to a new creation that in turn can become a force for reconciliation among the hurting and rejected of this world.  But you might say, how does the Bible address my friend or family member who is trapped in addiction or mental illness as a result of emotional and physiological problems.  Please realize that there is no human condition that cannot be helped by the care of loving friends and family combined with professional counseling and medical care.  Counseling and medications alone are weak and ineffective.  However, biblical witness and counseling by loving family, friends, and professionals are necessary to give purpose and desire within the hurting person, helping them to want to change. 

In conclusion, if you have chosen the path marked with the signs of REPENT, REJOICE, and RECONCILE, you know from experience how this sequence brings joy and reconciliation with God and other people.  You know from experience what it means to have victory over the sins of anger, hate, fear, and envy that once infected your heart and soul.  You may also be serving as an ambassador of reconciliation to hurting people around you as you humbly remember your struggles without Christ. 

Reconciliation Involves Both Spiritual with Mental Health
On the other hand, if you are hurting and in despair, feeling trapped in addiction and emotional turmoil, you can find help and hope.  For example, you may be familiar with the “Twelve-Step Program” of Alcoholics Anonymous.  This program is consistent with biblical teaching and the “three R’s” beginning with REPENT. 

Please check out the link to the “Twelve-Step Program” and notice how the first seven steps can provide instruction on how to acknowledge God and come to Him in a spirit of repentance.  This program is very effective when used in the presence of loving family and friends.   If you are hurting emotionally or struggling with addiction, I hope you will seek help from trusted individuals or organizations that can point you onto the path to recovery through the “three R.’s.”  If you wish to contact me with questions, I would be glad to assist you:  silviusj@gmail.com

The Gospel: Power that Saves, Heals, Assures

Your phone rings, and it’s your doctor. 
She is calling to report your recent test results.
“I have ‘good news’ and ‘bad news,’ she says.
“Which would you like to hear first?”

Maybe you’ve been in that situation.  You know that something is wrong physically in your body.  But you cling to the hope that “good news” will outweigh the “bad.”  Hard as it may be to hear, you want the truth.  And, what good doctor would keep you from receiving an accurate diagnosis?

When we sense we are sick physically, we pursue a medical diagnosis.  Likewise, when we take time to examine our “spiritual health,” we may sense an uneasiness that all is not well.  Here, we also need to confront “what we think” about ourself (subjective) with an objective spiritual diagnosis (one from an outside source).

Hearing the Real “Bad News”
Two factors influence our spiritual health—one is objective.  It’s what God who knows all things says about our spiritual condition.  The other is our internal sensitivity and response to God’s Spirit and truth. 

A majority of humans on Earth have heard the message that God is a God of Love, Mercy, and Truth.  Sadly, Adam, the first man God created, chose to rebel against his Creator.  As Adam’s descendants, we were born into a genealogy that is plagued by a “spiritual sickness” known as sin (missing God’s mark).  This is the “bad news,” and it doesn’t come from within us—it is divine, objective revelation from God. 

The Old Testament psalms (e.g. Psalm 14: 1-3) and the Prophets (e.g. Isaiah 53: 6) declare what the Apostle Paul later confirmed in the New Testament: All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3: 23).  Quoting from Psalm 14, Paul, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, wrote, in Romans 3: 10-12,

as it is written:  None is righteous, no, not one;
    no one understands; no one seeks for God.
All have turned aside;
    together they have become worthless;
no one does good, not even one.

The “bad news” that we are not only sinners but are infected with sin as part of our nature is made worse by the fact that God will by no means clear the guilty (Numbers 14: 18).  In Hebrews 9: 27, we read:  And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment…  Bottom line, all of us are infected with the sin nature, we are sinners, and one day we must give account of our sin to God.

How We React to “Bad News”
Our spiritual health is also affected by a second factor—our reaction as sinners to the news that we are spiritually fallen and sin-sick in God’s eyes.  Such news is upsetting to our pride and quest for power, prestige, and profits.  As individuals, we are clever in our sin nature.  Our tendency is to deny, dismiss, and reject the “painful thought” that we are sinners.  Some of us join sociopolitical groups with others of like mind who reject God’s authority.  Here are a few “natural reactions” to our fallenness:

Excuse ourselves: “I’m not perfect, but I’m not a bad person.”
Extra humility (misplaced): “I’m so lost and depraved that God has given up on me.”
Dismiss God:  “I am perfectly complete in my world--without acknowledging God.”
Deny God: “God doesn’t exist.  Even if He did, He wouldn’t notice or care about me.”
Mischaracterize God: “God is Love.  Love cannot be vengeful toward anyone.”

Can you remember using any of these characterizations to deal with the impact of your “spiritual diagnosis?”  They are “natural reactions” to “bad news.”   But just as enduring a harsh Winter makes the Spring all the more wonderful, so accepting and acting on the Bible’s “bad news” makes the “Good News,” the Gospel all the more wonderful.  To use our medical analogy, we must hear the “bad news” and our doctor’s wise recommendations and then act upon them if we want the best possible medical outcome. 

Here’s how God’ and His Word does its work.  Greg Gilbert explains in What is the Gospel? how the “bad news” that God is a Holy Judge (Hebrews 9: 27) and mankind is condemned in sin (Isaiah 53: 6a)) is followed by the “Good News” that Jesus Christ became our sin-bearer (e.g. Isaiah 53: 6b).  First Peter 2: 24 states, Jesus himself bore our sins in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; ‘by his wounds you have been healed.’  Our only rightful response as sin-sick people is to bow in humility before the cross of Christ where the blood from Jesus’s wounds was shed to cleanse us from our sin.  There, by a humble act of faith, we can repent of our sin and be willing to confess it (saying what God says about sin) and then, turn from sin to live a life that pleases God according to His Word.

Two Online Messages You Must Hear
Because we are sin-full rebels from birth, it is difficult for us to accept the “bad news” of our spiritual sickness in sin.  It is even difficult for Christ-followers who have accepted Christ’s gift of salvation to realize how deeply ingrained sin is within us.  It is also difficult for us to continually surrender to His Spirit and to the Word of God [which] is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.  But, if unsaved sinners believe and trust the Gospel, God will save completely forever (1 Peter 3: 18).  And, if saved, Christ-followers will submit to the Good News of the Gospel, it has the power to heal them. This is why I have written this relatively brief introduction to encourage you to view two excellent Gospel messages, each briefly described below.

The first message is “How to Change Deeply,” by pastor Timothy Keller, Redeemer Presbyterian Church, New York City.   Keller offers a Scriptural message that is greatly encouraging to many who will admit their sin just as the Apostle Paul so aptly confesses in Romans 7: 18-25.  Keller’s solution is to come to our Great High Priest, Jesus Christ, who lovingly bears your name on His breast.  There, in humility and gratitude for what Jesus did on His Cross, be filled with the Joy of knowing His great sacrificial love for you.  Then, as you embrace God’s joy and delight over you, realize who you are in Christ, and dare to allow His Word to pierce deeply into your heart and soul so that you can discern the thoughts and intentions of your heart.  As Keller says, “convict yourself with the Joy in Christ,” how deeply He loves you, and how much He suffered to ‘take away’ your sin and bring healing.  Then we can ask, “Why should I go on grieving the One I love… when He’s given me all I need in Him?

But, watch out!   Our sin nature doesn’t give up easily.  Lest we become diverted by assurances like Romans 8: 1 to devalue God’s saving grace and dismiss our sin lightly, Keller also includes examples of how to pray by applying the Joy of Christ by speaking back to him lovingly, intimately, and repentantly, about the depth of our sin.  In so doing, Keller notes, we can learn to connect the glories of the Gospel with our particular sin patterns to achieve consistent victory.

The second message I want to recommend is “The Gospel Heals,” by our own Pastor Zach Swift, West Hill Baptist Church, here in Wooster.  Pastor Swift provides practical teaching from Scripture in 1 John 3 on how you can be assured of your salvation by faith in Christ, and how you can be confident in your standing in God’s eyes in the face of lingering memories of past failures, or spiritual defeat that comes from falling short of God’s standards each day, or just not being able to “diagnose” why you are down or depressed.  According to Swift, our loving Father in Heaven “longs for you to have a healthy heart and a clear conscience…If you belong to God and you have repented of your sin, He doesn’t want you to live under that condemnation any longer.  Live your life to glorify Him, for the Gospel, for who He is, and what He has done in your life.”

In conclusion, I hope you will avail yourself of these two messages if for no other reason than to be encouraged through worship and love of our Creator and Savor God.  If you are struggling with pride and sin, realize that God’s power through the Gospel is greater.  If you are struggling in your conscience with sin you have already confessed and forsaken, realize that God knows all things.  He is our Judge, but He is also our Loving Father in Heaven.  If you have questions, reactions, or new insights, please use the “Comments” link below or write to me by e-mail: silviusj@gmail.com.

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Dedicated to the members of a Small Group at West Hill Baptist Church within which Abby and I are privileged to fellowship with other Christ-followers in pursuit of God, knowledge of His Word, and lives that please Him.

Human Sexuality: A Nexus of Scripture, Science, and Sociology

Surrendering Standards for Sexuality

During my boyhood in the 1950’s, human sexuality was very much on people’s minds but it was not openly discussed in most homes, churches, and schools.  Although sex was a “hush-hush” topic in our farm home, I am thankful for parents who modeled gender differences and helped guide me toward manhood and to faith in God. 

Meanwhile, all around us, the so-called “sexual revolution” was emerging while the intactness and values of many American families were deteriorating.  Many fathers and mothers in post-war America became consumed with their dreams of the good life.  Many chose paths that led them away from honoring God and loving their spouses, children, and families.  Churches that once were an integral part of family and community life also began to compromise the Gospel message.  Divorce and adolescent rebellion became more and more common.

Some churches watered down the Gospel message of salvation by faith in the blood of Christ, God’s provision for redeeming fallen man.  Like ships without an anchor, they began to drift in the current of the morally deteriorating culture.  Other churches fired up their message about the “wages of sin” but failed to welcome sinners with the love and mercy shown by Jesus who welcomed sinners.  Consequently, many conservative, fundamentalist churches fumbled their chances to attract the spiritually lost who were left alone, groping in the dark to find love and purpose.  Ignored and rejected, many young Americans rejected God and set out to find a “love” apart from His plan.

Fast forward to the present.  We can now see the harvest of the seeds sown in the 1960’s-1970’s.  What started as a minority counterculture of rebellion against spiritual and social norms has become a dominant force that threatens to upend the moral foundation of America.  The movement has been given legitimacy by calls for “individual rights” which accompany a “liberal” education and persuasive messages from Hollywood and the main stream media.  As a result, our culture is drowning in moral confusion while being caught up in angry debates over God’s gifts of marriage, family, and human sexuality.

Ignoring or Suppressing the Science of Sexuality
Our understanding of human sexuality is being distorted not only by misguided social influences but also by those who publish misleading scientific reports or who suppress valid findings from the scientific community.  A lack of “good science” and “good social science”  have been misleading our culture ever since the now-discredited Kinsey Report on human sexuality.  In 1954, leading statisticians issued for the American Statistical Association a critique of Kinsey's 1948 report, stating that “conclusions drawn from data presented in the book are often stated by much too bold and confident a manner…[and] the writing in the book falls below the level of good scientific writing.”

More recently, neuroscientists and sex researchers like Dr. Debra Soh are providing mounting scientific evidence that sex differences between men and women are biologically based and not socially influenced.  In a podcast interview with Ben Domenech on the Federalist Radio Hour, Dr. Soh explains that gender differences are real, and are caused by different levels of the hormone testosterone between developing boy and girl babies.  According to Dr. Soh, contrary to politically correct views, there is no scientific evidence that gender is a social construct such that each individual can therefore be free to choose their gender. 

Dr. Soh laments the fact that left-based thinking gives the false impression that men and women should think the same in regard to how and why they engage in sexual relationships and how they respond when relationships go bad.  False, politically correct notions that men and women are not different causes much confusion among women who are left wondering why they do not feel the same as men in judging the quality of sexual relationships and in how they feel compared to men when relationships go bad.  Gender misconceptions combined with the continuing “hush-hush” attitudes about sex that tend to prevent good communication between partners is an ongoing threat to developing strong monogamous relationships.

Given the fact that our moral standards have been eroding; and, that left-leaning, agenda-driven politics is denying the science of human sexuality, it is no wonder that gender identity has become so confusing that it requires a glossary of terms to help us determine who we are sexually.  If Dr. Soh and the large body of scientific research to which she refers is correct, determining our gender ought to be as simple and straightforward as simply being observant during diaper changes, and then “training up our children in the way they should go.” (Proverbs 22: 6). 

I do not mean to oversimplify here.  As Dr. Soh admits, there are differences in degrees of maleness and femaleness among members of each gender.  Dispositions toward increased maleness and femaleness can arise, respectively, in males who developed under lower prenatal levels of testosterone, and in females with higher prenatal levels.  Then, whereas gender is determined by a person’s prenatal neurophysiological development as noted above, I believe variations in hormonal levels within-gender can predispose a boy or girl to respond by developing secondary traits of the opposite sex depending on parental and other social influences.  We’ll return to this point.

Speaking into the New “Hush-Hush” about Sexuality
Although a majority of people are concerned about sexuality and pursuing sexual fulfillment, anyone who dares to speak up about what God’s Word says about sexuality risks being called a hateful bigot.  Thus, western culture has transitioned from a “hush-hush” about human sexuality in the 1950’s and 1960’s to a new form of “hush-hush.” The current “hush-hush” is given to anyone who wishes to address what God’s revelation in Scripture has to say about our sexuality.  How then can a Christ-follower keep his or her call to be “salt and light” in a world that largely rejects the authority of God and His revealed Word?

Given the current climate of moral relativism, you may be asking, “What right does any person have to question the gender preferences and sexual behavior of anyone else?”  Indeed, many people regardless of sexual orientation do not acknowledge the existence of God or the authority of the Bible.  Others may respect the authority of Scripture but question whether God views homosexual behavior as being worthy of eternal judgment in Hell.  Still others argue that Jesus offers love, mercy, and forgiveness of sinners and did not condemn homosexual behavior.  But there is a clear message in the Scriptures--God does exist, His design for sexuality is objectively defined in the Bible, He remains a righteous judge with whom all of us must give account, and He remains ready to forgive and redeem all repentant sinners.
 
If we acknowledge God’s authority revealed in the Bible, then we must accept that God has called us as Christ-followers to love our neighbor and to share His gift of love in the Person of Jesus Christ.  In His “Great Commission,” recorded in Matthew 28: 18, Jesus said, All authority is given to me in heaven and on earth.  Go therefore and make disciples… Jesus calls His disciples to “make disciples”—i.e. make more teachable followers who live by my example and are empowered by the Holy Spirit.  Therefore, if Christ-followers are being obedient to Christ’s commission, it is our responsibility to express our faith in word and in deed.

But there are right and wrong ways to share God’s message.  The Apostle Peter (apostle = “one who is sent”) teaches us the manner in which we ought to approach others to witness of God’s love and purposes for mankind.  He wrote (emphasis mine), But sanctify the Lord God (i.e. set apart and honor God as holy) in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asks you a reason of the hope that is in you with gentleness and reverence… (1 Peter 3: 15).  According to Peter, our lives must first be a reflection of the humility and love of Jesus Christ as described in the Gospel accounts.  Second, we must be ready to speak the truth as God’s Spirit gives us the opportunities to answer or respond to questions.  And, third, our approach to those who need to hear God’s truth must be with gentleness and respect for both God and our neighbor.

Returning specifically to the matter of sexuality, sexual preference, and sexual behavior, Christ-followers must be able to respectfully explain God’s plan and purpose for sex in the context of marriage as being between a man and a woman.  In response to a question about God’s view of divorce, Jesus answered as recorded in Matthew 19: 4-6 by quoting from the Old Testament (Genesis 1: 27 and 2: 24):  Have you not read that He who created them from the beginning MADE THEM MALE AND FEMALE, and said, ‘FOR THIS REASON A MAN SHALL LEAVE HIS FATHER AND MOTHER AND BE JOINED 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 no man separate.

Christ followers must also be able to answer the claim that, although the Bible does condemn sexual activity outside of heterosexual marriage (e.g. Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13; 1 Corinthians 6: 9-11) Jesus did not condemn homosexuality.  If Jesus didn’t condemn homosexuality, how can Christians claim that God will judge homosexuals?  Dr. Robert Jeffress provides an excellent response to this claim in his short article, “Did Jesus Condemn Homosexuality?”

Conclusion and Recommended Resources
Truly, today’s culture is saturated with sex, erotic imaging, sexual innuendo, and all the preoccupation, confusion, and frustration that results in lives lived apart from God’s plan and purpose for sexuality.  It also follows that a sex-saturated culture can make Christ-followers forget that God sent His Son to redeem humans from all kinds of sins, not only sex outside of the biblical marriage bond, but also such sins as lying, stealing, gossiping, murdering, coveting, etc. (see 1 Corinthians 6: 9-11; Galatians 5: 19-21).  As David wrote in Psalm 51: 5, every one of us were born into this world as sinners.  As fallen offspring of Adam, we are prone to commit any or all of the sins listed above that are outside of the moral bounds established by a loving Creator in His Word.  Because this article focuses on how Christ-followers ought to approach our neighbor when he or she is caught in immoral sexual behavior, I will conclude by reference to two excellent resources.

Allen Atzbi, General Manager at Living Waters, has written an online article, “Coming Out of the Closet on Homosexuality.”  This article provides an excellent resource for individuals and for group discussion.  It is also an excellent preparation for viewing the movie, Audacity, written and produced by evangelist Ray Comfort.  This free online movie provides good insights on homosexuality and good examples of how Christ-followers can address this sensitive issue as loving ambassadors with an informed, gentle, and respectful approach to anyone in need of Christ’s love and forgiveness.   Audacity is also a good resource for group discussion.  The movie subtitle is “Love Can’t Stay Silent.”  I’m thankful that God’s love reached me-- because He couldn’t “stay silent.”

How About You?
1.   What would you do if you saw a same-sex couple approaching a malfunctioning elevator in a high-rise building, knowing that if they step on the elevator, they will plunge to certain death?  Do you have a right to warn them?   Should they feel offended if you approached them with the warning?  The article, “Coming Out of the Closet on Homosexuality” and the movie Audacity uses this analogy and others to emphasize the obligation we have to minister to those around us.

2.  What must a Christ-follower do to earn the right to approach a person or couple who is openly rejecting God’s moral standards?  Watch Audacity and see what one person chose to do and how his action opened the way for him to share his faith.

3.  I welcome your comments, questions and corrections where I may be misrepresenting the issues surrounding human sexuality and the role of Scripture, science, and social science in shaping a proper response to this important issue.

D-Day: Remembering Their Sacrifice

As we pause to remember the sacrifice of so many who stormed the beaches of Normandy 75 years ago, most of us have no direct contact with either a veteran of World War II.  Separated by multiple generations and often hindered by only a limited knowledge of American history, we hear and read accounts of this great struggle and think of it as only useless clamor on some foreign planet. 

I was fortunate to have a good education in American History, and to learn more by direct though very limited conversation my Uncle Glen “Shorty” Silvius who had participated in the D-Day invasion and later, the Battle of the Bulge (December, 1945 to January, 1945.  My uncle seldom spoke of the horrors of war during the 20 some years that I knew him.  But after his death, I had opportunity to read several of the letters which he wrote to his mom and dad, my Grandma and Grandpa Silvius.  Here is an introduction to a letter which he entitled “Something to Forget:”

There are times in the lives of people that incidents occur and one hopes to cherish the happy remembrance of the events.  In times of battle, many of these happy moments are buried or become totally eclipsed by the sight of results from the inhuman work of man.  In any direction you look, the same sights are prevailing, all effort to evade unpleasant scenes are in vain.  In any area where forces have met in organized combat, these scenes are only to be expected.  The strain of nerves anyone must endure is so great that in time even the person who has some chance to use better than average personal protection must return to places where surrounding conditions are more quiet.  It is not always possible to maintain the proper organization and control of units.  The result of such situations only leads to increase the degree of disaster.  No words will explain this except the famed words of the statesman who said, “Together we stand, separated we perish.”

Wars throughout history have generally not started because someone loved war and set out to start a war.  But there have been individuals who became so proud and so convinced that their vision of the world was the right one that they were willing to bring it about at any cost.  Men who come to mind in this context are Adolph Hitler (1889-1945), Joseph Stalin (1878-1953), and Mao Zedong (1893-1976).  These men were directly and indirectly responsible for the deaths of an estimated 17 million, 23 million, and 49-78 million, respectively.

War does not begin when armies amass against one another.  Instead, war begins in the human heart where such vices as anger, hate, pride, and lust for power originate.  James, the half-brother of Jesus writes:  Where do wars and fights come from among you?  Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members?  You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war.  Yet you do not have because you do not ask (James 4: 1-2).

General Robert E. Lee is quotes as saying, “It is well that war is so terrible, or we should grow too fond of it.”  Yet Lee’s own personal experience teaches us that once the sins of human hearts lead to conflict, it is difficult for anyone to stop it from becoming all-out war.  But thankfully, each of us has access to the One who is called the Prince of Peace—Jesus Christ who came to bring peace to replace the war and turmoil of our hearts.  He said, In the world, you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer.  I have overcome the world.   Thankfully, one day, Jesus Christ will come to rule upon Earth for 1,000 years to demonstrate what truly godly rule by one man really looks like.  Then, he will defeat the Devil and sin, and the “last enemy,” death itself (1 Corinthians 15: 26).

My uncle was beset by at least a mild case of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), but seemed to have found peace with God during his post-war years.  I was privileged to discuss God’s Word with him and to share the truth of the Prince of Peace, Jesus Christ.  Although my uncle is now deceased, occasions like the D-Day remembrance serves to remind us not only of the great sacrifice of so many but also of our responsibility to thank veterans and those in uniform today, and to encourage those who carry the emotional wounds of war.