My Senior Pastor and I have been having an ongoing discussion about God and His judgment toward sinners. Specifically, we have been discussing how often we desire for God to give us mercy so quickly, but then ask for swift judgment on those who sin against us.

Paul in his first letter to Timothy I feel addresses this issue when he says:

[15] The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. [16] But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life.
(1 Timothy 1:15-16 ESV)

In the previous context Paul explains his radical insolence toward Christ and Christianity in general (cf. Acts 7:54-60). From there Paul explains how because of his former ignorance, Christ extended mercy to him.

Now, when I think of someone being adamantly opposed to God (say, Bill Maher) I often get this feeling in my stomach that God should send swift (and rightful) judgment. But according to this passage in 1 Timothy, it seems as if God delights in making an example of sinners not by His wrath, but through His grace.

If history were rewritten, and the Apostle Paul was never converted to Christianity but rather struck dead (which, God did too from time to time; Leviticus 10:1-2, Acts12:21-23) we would all look back and think: “Yeah, saw that one coming.”

But for God to take someone like Paul who personally oversaw the murders of countless followers of Christ and make an example of him through the extension of grace beckons the response: “I didn’t see that one coming.”

So when I think about guys like Bill Maher, and specifically how I often desire that God would bring judgment on them, it seems more fitting according to 1 Timothy 1:12-17 to pray that God would make an example of them through His mercy, not His wrath. I mean, I know I would rather God make an example of me through grace, not judgment. Wouldn’t you?

Or you can watch it here:

I highly recommend that you either read or watch the story before continuing to read this post, but in case that you don’t here is a brief synopsis:

Essentially, each year millions of baby girls in India are either aborted or thrown in the trash because of the simple fact that they’re girls. In India, the family of a woman to be married is expected to pay a dowry to the groom’s family (although there are laws against this). Because a large amount of the population cannot afford this large financial “burden,” they seek to “dispose” of their daughter to release them of paying the dowry. Therefore, India is experiencing a rising gap between their male and female population. Indian couples often abort, kill, or throw away their baby girl in order to “try again” in hopes of having a boy. For this reason, ultrasounds in order to determine the sex of the unborn child is “illegal” in India, and so are abortions based on the child’s sex. However, as the report tells, many doctors and clinics around India ignore these laws altogether because of the large amount money involved in the “medical procedures” (up to $30,000 in some cases).

As we were watching this story, our hearts broke and mourned over the casual neglect and disregard of life taking place in India. Moreover, the reporter covering the story definitely did so in a biased fashion by painting the horrific picture of this crime (and rightly so).

But as we continued to watch, our minds seemed to lead to the same place at the same time: Why is this story only being covered in India? And, is it really that eye opening?  What I mean is this: everybody watching this story would agree that this is wrong. In other words, something has gone terribly awry in India’s culture and nobody would deny that. But what is the difference in the United States?

If an Indian couple chooses to abort a child simply because it is a girl, it is a crime and seen as a social evil.

If an American couple chooses to abort a child because it is an inconvenience to them, it is seen as their choice and a constitutional right.  (Oh, and don’t leave your “What if a woman is raped?” or “What if the child is going to be disabled?” comment–I won’t read them and your wasting your time and brains in the land of “what if.” Take your logical fallacies elsewhere.)

This is the great double standard. I do pray that India would seek repentance of this sin, but I also pray that this great evil would somehow in the Sovereign Grace of God be used to awaken the United States in her sinful, ignorant slumber concerning this issue.

End abortion. End the genocide.

I love media. I love being able to be in contact with people quickly. I love being able to hear of a story and then getting all of the details a couple clicks later. However, media and connectedness should never trump life in front of our eyes.

Last night, Kelsey and I went bowling. (Don’t ask me what the score was, I am too embarrassed!) As we continued to bowl a young family came to the lane next to us. There was a mom and dad, both in their younger 30′s, with two girls between the ages of 7-10.

As Kelsey and I continued to bowl we started to take notice of the said family. The two little girls screamed and giggled as they knocked over pins and got gutter balls, but at the same time the parents of the girls neglected to be as excited.

I glanced over to find mom and dad buried in their smartphones checking who-knows-what. The only time mom got off of her phone was to bowl herself–dad didn’t bowl at all.

The worst part of it all was when the older girl gently and slowly rolled the ball down the lane and actually got a strike, she screamed and ran back to her parents, and you guessed it: they didn’t even see it.

Now, it is really easy for me to be judgmental in a situation like this and to jump to hasty conclusions. But I have to question those parents: Was what ever you were checking on your phone worth it? Was it worth more than witnessing your daughter get a strike probably for the first time?

I have little doubt that the same couple probably lays in bed next to one another doing the same thing–and they probably wonder: I wonder why we are never intimate anymore? Or, Our marriage feels so distant…

And I will bet that 10 years from now, one of those daughters (if not both) will refuse to communicate with her parents, to which they will think: We did everything right? Didn’t we? 

Again, it is really easy to judge. But what I am trying to say is this: You can’t multi-task when it comes to media. Period.

I don’t care if you’re a woman and you think you can, the reality is: If you’re trying to have a conversation with me and with 10,000 others on your phone at the same time, I am no going to feel as important as your phone.

So, if you have a smartphone, do those closest (and I don’t mean facebook or twitter followers) around you a favor: turn it off. Before you know it, your friend/daughter/son/husband/wife/(Insert close relationship here_____) will be off to college/wanting a divorce/estranged/moving away/dead/(insert dramatic change here____).

Like I said, media is great, but face-to-face relationship is far greater.

Assurance, in other words, is a positive declaration intended to give confidence. So, assurance of salvation is a declaration meant to push us confidently toward God. One of the dangers of growing up in and being surrounded by “Christian this” and “Christian that” is that we can begin to assume that we are Christian based upon our surroundings.

Think about it like this: Does standing in a wheat field make you wheat? Then why does doing or living or surrounding yourself with everything Christian make you a Christian? (Growing up Christian, pg. 33)

There is a difference of “doing the things of the Christian life” (that is, reading your bible, praying, going to church, singing the worship songs, etc.) because you know that you should do them, and “doing the things of the Christian life” because you honestly desire to seek, know, love, and cherish Jesus Christ.

To be honest, I would much rather work with someone who outwardly declared his hatred for God then someone who falsely believes that they are saved.

Growing up in a Christian setting is a wonderful blessing, but it also carries its dangers. This topic might be the highest on the danger list. I know this to be true because there is not a week that goes by that I don’t feel this weight upon my own heart. I too was raised in a Christian setting and I too sometimes believe my assurance comes from my background and not from my heartfelt proclamation and claim of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

For those of you who read this, I pray that verses like John 3:16  and Romans 10:9 would not become lame or boring. I pray that you and I included would be challenged to ask ourselves these questions:

• Am I really a Christian? Or am I just going through the motions? 
• Do I really have a genuine heart-felt desire for Jesus? 
• Are the “good works” in my life done to check off a “list,” or do I do them as an overflow of my relationship with Jesus? 

Let’s be honest, a 68 year-old woman is going to dress differently than an 18 year-old woman in church. A 55 year-old man will speak differently than a 15 year-old boy. A 72 year old-woman will prefer much different worship music than that of a 22 year-old man.

Now, these examples are not exhaustive, nor are necessarily always the case. However, the point is this: people are different. In other words, different ages, sexes, generations, backgrounds, and ethnicities all express themselves differently, especially within the confines of a church family. Different Christians eat or abstain from certain food and drink, and different Christians have varying lifestyles. For example, to some believers, alcohol is the “Devil’s water,” to others, red wine simply tastes good with red meats. To some Christians, pianos and organs are the instruments used for worship; to others, guitars and drums do the job. The list could go on forever. The Apostle Paul addressed issues like this in his letter to the Romans: “Do not, for the sake of food, destroy the work of God. Everything is indeed clean, but it is wrong for anyone to make another stumble by what he eats” (Romans 14:20)

Paul continues and makes the case to the church in Rome that “it is good not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that causes your brother to stumble” (14:21). Now, is a Christian who consumes alcohol more mature in their faith than the one who chooses to abstain? According to Paul, no. “Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind” (Romans 14:5b). For some, alcohol is seen as a good gift from God and is therefore treated as such making it an act of worship. For others, alcohol is seen as the source of abuse, and a constant reminder of loneliness. Is either person more right than the other? Not at all.

You see, the importance of this issue (and others like it) does not lie in the action itself, but rather in the heart motive behind the action (see Matthew 15:1-20). If you enjoy worshipping with a hymnal in hand, that’s okay. If you prefer singing more contemporary songs with lyrics on a power-point slide, that’s okay too. However, problems occur when your attitude toward those who have different convictions than you become judgmental. To the “homeschooler,” it’s fine if you decide to educate your children from home, but that doesn’t mean all parents should. To the “public-schooler,” it’s okay that your children are educated through school systems, but that’s not the standard for all parents. The crux of the matter is that you do not push your preference upon other people because they may not carry the same convictions as you. What is more important, is that each member of the body of Christ does “not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide[s] never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother” (Romans 14:13).

These kinds of issues are what you may call “open-handed” issues. In other words, different people with different lifestyles may choose to stand on a different side of the fence on any given issue. However, open-handed issues should not be the litmus test for Christian holiness. In other words, you hold these issues with an open hand knowing that other people may disagree with you. However, if they do disagree, that does not mean that they are any less of a “good Christian” than you are. Essentially, don’t make open-handed issues “close-handed” issues, or issues that the Bible explicitly dictates as God-honoring or not God-honoring.

There are so many open-handed issues in the Church today that unfortunately become close-handed issues at the expense of church unity, and ultimately, people. Alcohol, worship style, music preference, NIV vs. KJV, homeschool or public school, city or rural, suit and tie or jeans and a t-shirt. What’s comical is that the Bible does not explicitly support one side or the other of any of these above issues. Granted, biblical principles and certain exceptions apply to all; but last time I checked, neither Paul nor Abraham are recorded in the bible arguing on the means of education, or what instruments to use in the tabernacle or synagogue that day. Rather, we are told that “whether [we] eat or drink, or whatever [we] do, do all to the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31).

The all to common error of Christians today is making issues out of issues that are, well, simply not issues. In other words, we spend so much time bickering over preference at the expense of people. Now, there are issues that the Church should hold with a firm fist. Namely, did Jesus really live? Did Jesus really die for sinners? Did God really create the whole universe? Issues like these are ones that can divide because believing that God did not create the world, and that Jesus didn’t die to pay God’s wrath for sin leads to false teaching.

All of this to say: brothers and sisters, let us hold Scripture firmly in one hand, and our preferences loosely in the other. Prefer hymns? Great, sing them to the glory of God. Prefer public schooling? Fantastic, do it to the glory of God. Like wearing polos and sandals to church? Good for you, do it to the glory of God. Believe that Jesus was only a good man? Sorry, but the Scripture teaches differently. Like I said, do not make open-handed issues the standard by which all Christians should live. I pray that we continue to love one another through pursuing correct doctrine, while simultaneously not “teaching as doctrines the commandments of men” (Matthew 15:9).

Now you may be saying you yourself, “this isn’t exactly what I was expecting on mother’s day. Isn’t this supposed to be a celebratory day?” My response to that is, yes, it is that kind of day. However, I want to put forth one question: Did the death of my little niece make my sister-in-law any less of a mother? Granted, today she is the mother of a beautiful toddler—but on that day in November she stood by a grave childless; but does that mean that she wasn’t a mother simply because her child was dead?

You see, there are many women in this world who long to be mothers but for countless reasons are not.  Singleness, divorce, infertility, or countless miscarriages leave millions of women around the world child-less each day. But what is it that makes a mother? And who is it that assigns that title? Is being a mother only possible when you physically give birth to a child? I would argue that the title of mother and the calling of motherhood runs deeper than the physical act of delivering a child.

There are many women today, and even some amongst us at this moment, who are child-less for some reason or another. However, that reality makes them no less of a mother than those who have children. I think of Sunday school teachers, Awana leaders, day-care providers, Vacation Bible School directors, and other roles that are motherly in nature. Now hear me, there is a uniqueness and something special about being a physical parent to a child and I in no way want to downplay that—but I do want to say that it is one thing to be a parent of a child and just so happen to be female, and another thing to bear the title of mother.

Being a mother has less to do with being the one who signed a child’s birth certificate, and everything to do with committing to pour your heart and soul into a child in order to express the love, kindness, and care that Jesus Christ shows toward His children.

And if that’s the case, then there are many in this room that fit the description of mother with ease. So this mother’s day morning if you sit here with no children know that Jesus sees you, He hears you, and He knows about the void that you sometimes feel because of that. And is the times that you feel less adequate because of your childlessness that Jesus invites you to claim the promise of Psalm 73:25-26: “Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on this earth that I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.”

So, when my sister-in-law wept over the grave of her lost child many would feel inclined to say that the glaring truth of that situation is that she is not a mother. But I refuse to believe that. On that brisk, rainy day in November of 2007, Jesus Christ wept with my family all the while knowing that the beaming truth of that situation is that God was, is, and will always be faithful.

So in conclusion, celebrate more than just mothers today—but celebrate God’s faithfulness to those who are childless. And maybe you know someone here who is not a mother physically, but has poured her life into raising children whether it be through Sunday school, Awana, or day-care. We have flowers in the back for mothers, and I want to encourage you to give one to someone that you feel is a mother who may not be for one reason or another, and if you do that—thank them. And finally I argue that when mothers stand before the Lord—those who have children and those who do not—and give an account of how they raised children in the knowledge and grace of Jesus Christ, God will not divide them based on how many birth certificates they signed, but will say to them: “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

Or, become as smart as you can in order to outsmart everyone else, and to have a few letters before and after your name.

Is there anything inherently wrong possessions? No.

Is there anything wrong with seeking intelligence and wisdom? No.

However, both wealth and wisdom should be sought after with a certain understanding.

“Truly no man can ransom another, or give to God the price of his life” (Psalm 49:7).

And, “even the wise die; the fool the fool and the stupid alike must perish and leave their wealth to others” (Psalm 49:10).

Psalm 49 seems to suggest that seeking both wealth and wisdom as an end in and of themselves is a foolish endeavor.

Why? Not because they are not good things that God may bless you with, but because “when [you die you] will carry nothing away; [your] glory will not go down after [you]” (Psalm 49:17).

Seeking wealth and wisdom as an end leads to the same death as that of a begging fool, but using wealth and wisdom as a means to a Greater End carries deep understanding.

Seeking riches in this life? Good. Earn them. But understand they will fade, and the only thing that will matter is what you did with those riches.

Seeking wisdom? Great. But understand that it too will fade, and all that will matter is what you did with that wisdom.

Do not seek wealth for wealth’s sake, nor seek wisdom for wisdom’s sake. Instead, seek those things and use them for Jesus’ and other’s sake.

Because a “man in his pomp yet without understanding is like the beasts that perish” (Psalm 49:20).

-Tim Chester and Steve Timmis

from Total Church

Tuesday, April 19 at 6:30pm Pastor Dean Paulson and I will be teaching a Bible Study Training Seminar for ages 13-113 titled, “Your Testimonies Are My DELIGHT” from Psalm 119:24.

The event is totally FREE and will be hosted at Kost Evangelical Free Church.

Pastor Dean will be teaching a seminar for adults, while I will be teaching a seminar for junior and senior high students.

No experience is necessary, and all are welcome to come and learn practical skills on how to study God’s written Word.

Please pray that hearts would be softened, eyes would be opened, and lives would be changed by the transforming Gospel of Jesus Christ through the studying of His Word.