Fred Sanders Reviews the Shack

Over at Scriptorium Daily, Fred Sanders has not one, but five reviews of William Young's best-seller The Shack. Read them not only to get a balanced view of The Shack but also to see a genius in action.

Sin as Punishment

For although they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks to Him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles. Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts. . . . For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. . . . And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done.--Romans 1: 21-24a, 26a, 28 (ESV, emphasis added)

Sin is not the natural condition of man. God made mankind in His image and pronounced a judgment that man was "good."

Yet Adam and Eve chose not to "honor Him as God" and obeyed their own desires. That is the root of idolatry: not acknowledging God.

We all do the same thing. Though creation shows us God's hand, we close our eyes. When the sound of the waves pounds our ears, we shout "la la la la la" to drown it out. Then, we choose our idol and make that our god.

And God does not leave such idolatry unpunished.

Instead, He gives us over to more and more sin. Each sin that tempts us can in some respects be traced back to idolatry, the root sin of our flesh.

Non-Christians: the things you do and then later regret are not isolated flare-ups of some alien force exerting control over your body. Those sins are just the first step in God's eternal punishment. Don't let another day go buy without acknowledging Jesus as Lord and turning to Him.

Christians: have you gotten to the root of your sin? I still struggle with sin, and I'm beginning to suspect that I simply treat the symptoms without curing the disease. Let's strive to destroy our root sin of idolatry and then move on to the branches of sin.

22 Words

Eliminating excess words without obscuring meaning is Abraham Piper's gift. Like this, his many posts are twenty-two words. Fun and edifying.

New Jobs

Well, folks, it's January twelfth and in Southern California, summer is making an early beginning. Even as I sit at the computer, drops of sweat are running down my face. But the heat can't dampen the good news I have to share: I have two new jobs!

I am leaving Domino's Pizza, where I've had a great work experience for the past eleven months, and moving to In-N-Out Burger in Tustin. It's a 25% raise in per hour wages and will give me more hours per week than Domino's, so I'm excited.

My second "job" is not really a job but an unpaid unofficial internship at Sovereign Grace Church of Orange County. I get the privilege of helping my pastor Mike Davis by doing, well, whatever is necessary. It will be fulfilling and hopefully make a positive eternal impact, so I'm thrilled at this opportunity.

The Power of God

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, "The righteous shall live by faith."--Romans 1:16-17 (ESV)

Do you feel too week to evangelize? I do sometimes. We are weak, flawed human beings, not God. To bring someone to Christ requires more power than we have. What do we do?

Thank God, we don't have to do anything. Why not? Because the gospel is God's power. His power is not found in a raging waterfall or a blazing supernova, but in the Word of Christ.

You have nothing to be ashamed of. Preach the gospel boldly and watch God's power work on the hearts of those around us.

ANTHEM for a New Life

John Piper's acronym ANTHEM is the best tool I know of for guarding one's mind.

In an article he published in 2001, Piper gives his six-step plan for annihilating lustful thoughts. First, Avoid lustful temptations. Second, "Say No to every lustful thought within five seconds. And say it with the authority of Jesus Christ." Next, Turn your thoughts to Christ. Fourth, Hold thoughts of Christ in your head. Fifth, "Enjoy a superior satisfaction. Cultivate the capacities for pleasure in Christ." Sixth, "M into a useful activity."

I can testify from experience that ANTHEM is a helpful guide. Just last night, I fought back with its recommended defenses against temptation. It works. Read the whole thing and use it.

The Bad, Good Son

Dan Edelen has a post on a topic I've been thinking about a lot recently: how many Christians talk a good game but don't play it.

An excerpt:

The brother with the right answer missed it, didn’t he? He was probably the good son. The one who had it all together. Called dad “Sir.” He is the one his mother doted on.

The other? Possibly the surly one. Today’s version would be up in his bedroom, its windows painted black, listening to Godsmack while he surfed those sites on the Internet.

Read the whole thing.

Business and Busyness

So. . . it doesn't look like I'll make it to two hundred posts this year. My writing and drawing classes are slamming me with work and I'm trying to also enjoy Christmas with my family, so blogging has taken a back seat. I have some ideas for posts, though, so as soon as my semester finishes this blog should pick back up. Until then, Merry Christmas.

Christ's Steroid

Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.--Ephesians 4:15-16 (ESV translation)

Jesus commanded his followers to love one another. (John 13:34) But not only is Christian love a duty, it is also like a steroid for Christ's body. The body (the church) "builds itself up in love." When I wonder why our churches seem stagnant, I have to answer there is not enough love. You really want to see church growth? Inject some love.

How do we apply this? Here's one way the early church did it: "There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold and laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need."--Acts 4:34-35 (ESV) Right now, American Christians have an excellent opportunity to love one another now by providing financial aid. How will we respond? I'm praying we take the steroid.

President Obama

Last night was historic: a Black man was elected (by a landslide) to the most powerful position in America. How should Christians respond to this event?

1) With prayer. Prayer for President-elect Obama, prayer for our federation, prayer that the Gospel will spread during his reign. (Yes, I use the term reign in regard to presidents.)

2) With hope. President-elect Obama is a smart man who has great potential to benefit America. Not only that, but we can have real hope that we have put the stain of racism behind us. His pro-abortion positions are morally repulsive but thanks to the beauty of the Constitution, his power to apply those positions is very weak. It appears that Republicans (the more consistently but not perfectly pro-life party) will keep over 40 seats in the Senate. With more than 40, they can kill liberal legislation with a filibuster. There is no need to cry, "Save us, God!"--any more than usual, at least.

3) With a change in direction. Support for John McCain by Evangelicals was hypocritical: 8 years ago, he was anathema to conservative Christians. Not only that, it was not support of a great man but futile struggling against Obama. In the next election, we should try working towards pro-life policies, not against pro-death policies.

May God bless America and her new ruler.