Some years ago – never mind how long precisely – having little ambition and nothing particular to interest me around the house, I thought I would surf about a little upon the Internet.

Through the providence of God, I found a YouTube video of Paul Washer entitled, “Shocking Youth Message.” As I was engaged as a youth Sunday school teacher from time to time, I invested an hour and watched it. I suggest you do the same now if you haven’t seen it already. http://youtu.be/cncEhCvrVgQ.

If you don’t have the time, or if you’ve seen it before, just watch the first minute of this excerpt up until the point that Brother Paul silences the crowd.

Though just into my 40s and a generation removed from Washer’s audience, the Holy Spirit of God convicted me through his words, “I don’t know why you’re clapping. I’m talking about you.” The kids in the audience were in an emotional frenzy, going with their worldly feelings and not letting Washer’s biblical message penetrate their stony hearts. At least that’s what I think was going on inside them, because that was what was going on inside me. I was no different in my life. It took the startling words of a preacher clearly calling me a phony to shock me out of my complacency.

You see, I was a great Pharisee. I went to church every Sunday, I sang in the choir, I read scripture, I taught Sunday school, I attended Bible study, I donated time and money, I maintained the church website, I edited the church newsletter, I was an elder and I was certain that Christianity was something I did very well.

Please don’t miss that last statement: Christianity – was something – I did.

Could this be true of you as well? Is your Christian faith primarily something you do?

Like Nicodemus, I had heard about the things of God and I knew a lot about God, but I didn’t know God at all. Nicodemus was a bible teacher; he sang and read scripture in the temple; his faith was something that he did very well. But he couldn’t see or comprehend the kingdom of God. Nicodemus visited Jesus at night, ashamed to be seen with him in the daylight. In John 3:3, Jesus says to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus doesn’t get it in John 3:4, so Jesus spells it out for him in more detail in John 3:5-8, to which Nicodemus replies in verse 9, “How can these things be?”

It’s almost like Nicodemus is proving Jesus’ point for him. He obviously hasn’t been born again, therefore he doesn’t understand. It’s not that Nicodemus doesn’t want to understand, rather, he is incapable of understanding. His understanding is so tightly wrapped up in his religiosity that the truth cannot penetrate it.

I, too, was insulated from the truth. For me, the first crack in my stony heart (that I was aware of) was made through the words of Brother Paul Washer when I first seriously entertained the possibility that I wasn’t a ‘good Christian’ like I thought I was. Perhaps Jesus’ unexpected response to Nicodemus’ question was a shock to him too. In John 3:10, Jesus says, “Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand these things?” Calling a high priest of the Jews a phony tends to have a shocking effect.

Could this be true of you as well? Are you a phony, masquerading as a Christian, wrapped up in religiosity?

I must confess that I still have a tendency to revert back to what comes most naturally to me. My default setting is a desire to earn my way to heaven by doing good works.

By relying on myself and what I do, I diminish Christ and what He did.

Reliance upon the person and work of Jesus through faith alone guarantees me reconciliation with God; reliance upon myself and my tainted works guarantees me a nice hot corner of hell all to myself.

And yet even this exposes yet another form of Pharisee-ism.

Because I know I shouldn’t rely on myself or my works, I sometimes think I’m smarter or more clever than others. Putting my old works into the dustbin (where they belong) are my “new good works.” But these new good works are just as filthy as my old ones, and I am still a Pharisee because I want them to count for something!

Counting nothing to my account should count for something, right?!?

Do you see how insane that is? I can’t get out from underneath it.

But King Jesus can get me out.

Ray Ortlund addresses this paradox better than I could:

With Jesus, we are saved.  Everything is going to be okay.  Without Jesus, we are damned.  Nothing will go right.

Forsake all fraudulent success.  Make Jesus your goal, your arrival, your identity, your comfort, your okayness, and he’ll gladly give himself to you — and on terms of grace.  But reach for anything else, and it will turn into its opposite and betray you.

John doesn’t give us a nicely wrapped-up ending to the encounter with Nicodemus. It just abruptly ends and we don’t hear of old Nic again until after Jesus is killed. In John 3:1-21 he visits Jesus at night so he cannot be seen by anyone. But in John 19:39, Nicodemus buys a load of burial spices and he, along with Joseph of Arimathea, prepares Jesus’ body for burial in the light of day. It seems that he was no longer ashamed to be counted as a servant of Christ.

In the end, I hope this means that Nicodemus was saved; because I need the grace and mercy of Jesus Christ as much as he did.

Could this be true of you as well?

Christianity isn’t about what you do. It’s about what Jesus has already done. Don’t ever lose that focus.

Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith – Phil. 3:8-9

Christmas Linkin!

Linking to Christmas-related articles from other blogs and websites.

Today, for the Christian haters of Christmas, I give as my gift my answers to the most common questions from those that object to the celebration of Christmas

“I was told I could hold sheet music, an instrument or camera in my hand, but if I hold a Bible or small Nativity Scene that would be considered a ‘prop’ and cause me to face arrest or citation.”

A few thoughts from a fellow bungler to help us think ahead and pray about how we might grow in being proxies for the gospel, in word and deed, among our families.

Merry Christmas!

To my dear readers,

I would like to wish you and your  family a very happy and memorable Christmas.

The whole reason we celebrate is to  commemorate the greatest gift ever given. Christmas is the time to honor Jesus  of Nazareth, God the Son, the Son of God, who was born in human flesh to live among His creation  for a few decades. What he did, during what we would consider a very short life,  was to teach us to love God and one another, to take our sins upon him, and to  cover us with His perfect righteousness so we can once again be in full  fellowship with God the Father now and forever.

If you only half-heartedly believe  this, or don’t believe it at all, please think about it for a few minutes.  Consider the fact that all of us will die someday and how many toys we have  really doesn’t matter. Consider the fact that there is no way for anyone to  live a life good enough to qualify for even a moment in the presence of a  perfect, Holy God. The only way to earn a place in heaven is to live a perfect,  holy life, and none of us can do that. But if you believe Jesus (not just  believe IN Jesus) and turn away from your sins, God will look at your sinful  life and see Jesus’ perfect life. Jesus’ work on the cross has assured all  believers of this.

Everything else you may have been  told that you have to do in order to gain heaven is extraneous. Repent and  believe that Jesus is Lord and you are saved – by grace alone through faith  alone, not by works. No other religion in the world teaches this, grace is  unique to Christianity. Grace is the best kind of gift because none of us  deserve it. What a wonderful gift! God loved us so much that he sent his Son to  defeat death and sin, and give all believers the undeserved gift of eternal life  in His presence.

May the blessings of Christmas be upon all of you.

-Dave

Advent: noun [ad’-vent]

1. The period beginning four Sundays before Christmas, observed in commemoration of the coming of Christ into the world.
2. Arrival or coming.

Advent is a time of preparation in the Christian liturgical calendar observed by many Christians. It is traditional, not biblical; but it is not sinful either, as long as all the foofaraw doesn’t obstruct the good news of Christ.

The Distraction

Christmas trees and wreaths, mistletoe and silver bells, candy canes and presents, Santa Claus and Rudolph; even many Christmas carols can distract us from the advent of Christ. Saying Merry Christmas instead of Happy Holidays isn’t even the point, nor is erecting a nativity scene in the town square. Buying gifts, gathering with family or friends, and taking time off from school also have nearly nothing to do with the coming of Christ.

The Danger

Don’t get all wrapped up in the traditionalism, sentimentality and emotionalism of Christmastime. Most Christmas traditions celebrated in America aren’t biblical anyway. Retelling a mythologized version of Jesus’ birth complete with an innkeeper, a stable full of animals and three kings (none of which are mentioned in scripture) conceals the truth of the historical birth.

The Dilemma

Even if we can get past the distractions and the dangers of Advent, we still have a dilemma: Why are we going through all these preparations for something that has already happened? Is it just a commemoration, or is it something more? Maybe we can take a clue from the words of some biblical Christmas carols.

Joy to the world the Lord is come, let Earth receive her king;

Let every heart prepare him room, and heaven and nature sing.

Sing choirs of angels, sing in exultation, sing all ye citizens of heaven above;

Glory to God, all glory in the highest; O come let us adore Him, Christ the Lord.

Come, Thou long expected Jesus; born to set Thy people free;

From our fears and sins release us, let us find our rest in Thee.

Israel’s Strength and Consolation, hope of all the earth Thou art;

Dear Desire of every nation, joy of every longing heart.

The Declaration

I submit to you that these lyrics are not solely about the first advent of Christ, but equally about the second. Keep in mind that Jesus promised to come again and call his church home to Himself (John 14:3). Go ahead and re-read the words to the songs above with this second, future advent in mind.

Really. Go back and re-read them. I’ll wait.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

As this season of advent (Christ’s imminent arrival) progresses, let us press onward and remember His first coming in lowly circumstance and poverty, but don’t falsely romanticize it! The incarnation was at once, the most selfless act of condescension ever performed and also the most valuable gift ever given by our sovereign God. Christ’s second coming will not be so quiet.

Are you ready to sing with the joy of angels that Christ has returned?

Are you ready for the advent of Christ, today?

Jesus has gone to prepare a place for you. Are you preparing a place for Him?

“We are a resurrection people living in a perpetual Advent.”  – David Ridenhour

About four years ago, I was shopping at a local bookstore and picked up a book by John MacArthur entitled Twelve Ordinary Men. I had never heard of the author before but it looked like an interesting tome, so I bought it. I wasn’t disappointed. It is a fantastic examination of the men Jesus chose to send out into the world and turn it on its head; and they were extraordinarily ordinary men. If you haven’t read the book, I recommend it highly. http://www.gty.org/Shop/Books/451144S_Twelve-Ordinary-Men-Softcover

[Since then, I’ve read The Gospel According to Jesus, The Truth War and am currently in the middle of The Jesus you Can’t Ignore.]

After I read Twelve Ordinary Men, I wanted to learn more about this MacArthur fella, so I went online and found Grace To You. There I found a link to download GTY podcasts and I have been a listener ever since. I particularly like the Tale of Two Sons series which gives insights into Christ’s Prodigal Son parable that I had never heard or considered before. I still like to browse GTY.org and always find something new.

Eventually, I found that the director of GTY was a guy named Phil Johnson who had a website with lots of Christian links on it. It is just what the hungry young believer needs to find everything from milk to meat. I still visit his site regularly.

Not long afterward, I discovered Phil’s blog called Pyromaniacs which included his articles and those of three other people, some obnoxious guy named Frank Turk, a ghost with the nom de guerre Peccadillo and an ordinary man named Dan Phillips. The story is the same here but amplified; I visit Pyromaniacs daily. Recently, I’ve concluded that Frank isn’t obnoxious, Peccadillo really is a ghost and Dan Phillips is anything but ordinary.

Dan’s website is Biblical Christianity and he describes himself as a CalviDispieBaptoGelical; a label that would doubtless confuse the world’s smartest man. In the past year or so, Dan has become my favorite blogger on the Pyromaniacs team and I often find myself digging back through the archives of both sites to read his take on various issues.

Believe it or not, all I really wanted to say when I sat down at the keyboard an hour ago was; you should really read Dan Phillips’ article today on Pyromaniacs: http://teampyro.blogspot.com/2011/01/compassion-parable.html

All the rest is just a strange tale of how God can use things that seem like coincidences to lead a hungry believer to teachers with abundant food for the mind and soul. I give thanks to God for the work these men do in service to their Lord.

It was a diorama about twelve inches square and nine inches high. It depicted a simply appointed living room with a chair, a carpet, a door, and a woman vacuuming. It was an ordinary scene with absolutely nothing remarkable about it. What made this piece of art so memorable to me was what was going on outside the room.

Outside was a fanciful array of men and monsters of all different colors, sizes and shapes. Their tentacles, arms, legs and eyes were all interwoven and they surrounded the room and the woman doing her chores. Inside was a scene of mundane toil; outside was total chaos.

UPDATE: Here is the work of art described above. Click for a larger version.

That piece of artwork depicted my life at the time. To the casual observer, I was an average guy working an average job living in an average house and driving an average car. My main worries were losing my job, losing my wife, losing my house, losing my car and my dwindling bank account.

Since saving faith was granted to me by God through Jesus, I really don’t worry much about my job or whether I will have enough food or clothing (Luke 12:29-31), nor even about having enough money. Strangely enough, I still identify with this piece of artwork and am still concerned with many things.

The monsters lurking outside my window today are my sins that I don’t want to do, but keep doing (Romans 7:15); my unsaved family (both those who claim to know Christ but produce no fruit and those who overtly deny Him); my friends at church who seem biblically illiterate and apathetic about the Gospel;  people I work with who are trapped in a legalistic religion; and what, if anything, I can do to help bring these people to Christ.

For now I think I will pray about it (1 Peter 5:7), be still, and know that God reigns. (Psalm 46:10)

Two weeks ago at church, our council of Elders called a man up to the front of the church before the worship service began. They presented him an award for being the most humble Christian at our church. The award was a tiny lapel pin a little smaller than a dime. The man accepted the award with a tearful and red-faced “Thank you all, so much” and returned to his seat. Last Sunday, the man came to church wearing the pin in the lapel of his jacket and the head elder took it away from him because he showed pride by wearing it and didn’t deserve it anymore.

This actually didn’t happen. It is an old joke rephrased. Nevertheless, humility can be a difficult concept to understand. Last week I listened to a two-part sermon preached by John Piper entitled Battling the Unbelief of a Haughty Spirit. You can download it and listen to it yourself here:

Battling the Unbelief of a Haughty Spirit Part 1.mp3

Battling the Unbelief of a Haughty Spirit Part 2.mp3

When I listen to podcast sermons (usually about a dozen each week) I like to take notes on the parts that hit me hard, or speak to my heart. Sometimes I’ll stop the playback and just start writing about instances where I have personally experienced what the preacher is talking about.

Here are the notes that I took while I was listening to the sermons linked above. If you get anything out of this, I encourage you to download and listen to the entire sermon. Not all of what appears below is Piper’s and not all of it is mine.

If you are a Christian and you know anything at all about humility, I am confident that you have encountered this type of pride at least once. Here are two examples: The man who volunteers for the worst task at a church function and then for weeks afterward, brags about doing such a menial job. The woman who helps somebody anonymously and then “lets slip” what she did to one friend who she knows can’t keep her mouth shut. These are examples of a craving that people have for other people to think well of them.

Each of these forms of pride is an example of making much of yourself. As Christians, we should be delighting in Christ alone and in God’s mercy to us.

Isn’t it funny, considering our size and place in the universe, that we humans would struggle with genuine humility?

True humility means casting everything on the Lord. Casting your anxieties on the Lord is humility, because proud people don’t feel that they need help from the Lord. Pride makes people deny their anxieties and want to look like they’ve got it all together. Piper says, “…how easy it is to ‘be made much of’ even for my self-denial.” We have to be such cool customers. God is our LAST refuge instead of our first thought. We are afraid to be vulnerable. We are afraid to look human.

Piper says, “God loves people, but hates pride.” The condition of your heart is of utmost importance. It is almost impossible for anyone to tell the difference between genuine humility and false humility in another person, but it is easy for us to know it in ourselves. This is a skill that we work inwardly on ourselves, not an outward skill that we work on others.