Two things...one small, one big

CF family,

First, the small thing.  A small encouragement to connect to something really great.  Tonight and next Wednesday will be our last two Wednesday night studies of the year.  We'll be looking at the book of Psalms.  As I'm looking over Scott's notes for tonight I'm burdened to encourage you to make an effort to attend these two studies.  The book of Psalms is an AMAZING book full of emotions and imagery that will not leave you the same if studied.

Second, and this will require some time and attention to consider......an important follow up from Sunday's message.  I was hoping to fit these thoughts into the message itself, but thought it better to follow up this way.  You may remember at one point in the message the comments regarding Christ’s cross prayer of Luke 23:34 “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”  I didn’t in the message want to encourage you to doubt this passage……maybe what I hoped for and could have communicated better is that we would take care with this passage.  We should, as a practice, use caution in building an entire ethic out of any one passage…..period…….for while one passage is completely true, one passage cannot reveal the truth completely.  Regarding this passage, though, I’m using extra caution (not doubt) since it’s only recounted in one of the four gospels and some ancient, highly regarded manuscripts omit this passage altogether.  Again, I’m not wanting you to doubt your bibles, for we have some VERY robust and hearty translations.  What I do want to encourage is that you don’t build an entire ethic on this one verse.  You must know this passage is not the way God has worked with us in the gospel.  He has not forgiven the ignorant who “know not what we do.”  We are saved by grace through faith in His Son…….WHEN we have consciously confessed our sinful state and repented of our sins.  If ignorance were the express ticket to blanket forgiveness then we’d never send another missionary anywhere in hopes the folks in places without the gospel could stay ignorant and forgiven.  We would not and will not ever look toward the far corners of the earth and say “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.”  Rather we endeavor to go and say “repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins….” (Acts 2:38)

Here’s where my concern about this passage connects to application.  I have sensed that contemporary Christianity maybe thinks too much of this cross prayer and too little of the MANY vindication Psalms and the NT teachings on resolving conflict.  Like maybe we discount biblical appeals for justice (I’ve NEVER in my 40 years of being a Christian heard a sermon on vindication though our psalmists appeal for it over and over and over).  And maybe we over-count this particular appeal for forgiveness for the ignorant and unrepentant.   If it’s true we’ve given too much space to forgiving the ignorant and unrepentant, then it potentially becomes an expectation that true and good Christians don’t need justice or vindication or frankly even an apology when wronged.  We might look at this one isolated statement and decide that mistakenly.  So if we’re to be like Christ, we think, then we better just overlook everything.  If we’re truly to reflect Him then we’ll consistently “forgive those who know not what they do.”  Let me remind you, Christ didn’t and hasn’t overlooked everything.  He had some very pointed conversations/rebukes of the Pharisees.  He called countless to repentance.  And there’s no real pattern of Him ever forgiving the unrepentant.  He’s also the One who said “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault……if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you…..if he refuses to listen…..tell it to the Church….if he refuses to listen……let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.”  (Matt 18:15-17 with omissions)

So, putting things back in their proper space (if indeed they were out of sorts)…..with vindication and appeals for justice not only acceptable but maybe even good……..and with a prayer for forgiveness for unrepentant and ignorant murderers as a pretty unique blip on the radar (that deserves much context and study)…….and with a good healthy view of both grace AND justice at the cross.  Thenmaybe we can bring both justice and grace to bear in a conflict between a husband and wife, between two friends, between siblings or workmates.

Here’s how it might play out……….if you see God as JUST and understand justice yourself, it should lead you, if you’ve hurt or wronged another, to give a wholehearted robust confession to the one you’ve hurt and a thoughtful request for forgiveness NOT EXPECTING anything in return, except maybe consequences.  Hear what I said there…..you’re NOT EXPECTING anything in return.  You’re not expecting a return-apology as is often the case (“Hey, I’m sorry”……”ok, well I’m sorry too”) and you’re not feeling like you’re owed forgiveness either (“Hey man, you’re supposed to forgive if you’re a Christian”).  If you consider the person you’ve wronged owes you nothing……then honestly you have a better view of justice.

Now……..this is a great place for grace to wash in…….as the wronged person in their time then responds to a request for forgiveness with “I forgive you……I forgive you as I’ve been forgiven.” What takes place here is a BEAUTIFUL picture of the gospel where justice and grace meet. Justice comes in a convicted and repentant wrongdoer and grace embraces the wrongdoer with showers of forgiveness seventy times seven because of Christ’s cross!!  And it’s not somehow subverted or abbreviated by an overinflated view of forgiving the unrepentant and ignorant.   What takes place here is beautiful because the person wronged doesn’t have to feel like they must be the most wicked sinner in the world because they want to be vindicated.

There’s certainly a place for overlooking sin……for all of us.  We could all do well to consider which sins are really not worth mentioning…..and are well worth just forgetting.  But some sin isn’t overlookable and it’s not wrong to want the crooked to be straightened.  This kind of sin is best dealt with where justice and grace meet…..in a cross-bathed moment where two people put the gospel on display.

This whole thing is as wildly inefficient as shepherding your child’s heart when they’ve wronged you or God.  It’s a lot easier to just avoid someone who’s hurt you.  I’m great at that……the cold shoulder is wonderful payback.  But that doesn’t put the gospel on display and it doesn’t bring the gospel to bear in the daily issues of life.  It takes time and heart and energy to go to someone who’s hurt or wronged you and share with them that hurt in hopes that they will ask for forgiveness and you can be reconciled.  It takes tremendous energy to go to another and confess a wrong against them and to ask for forgiveness.  It takes tremendous energy to work through matters of real forgiveness when you can really separate the wrong done to you as far as the east is from the west.  When this happens though, there’s showers of blessings for all involved.  It won’t always go well.  But it will always be better than the cold shoulder and a broken relationship.

I STRONGLY encourage you to read the book The Peacemaker.  If I could only have three books in my library, it would be the Bible, Living by the Book by Howard Hendricks and The Peacemaker by Ken Sande.   This book has some wonderful insight into when to overlook an offense and when to seek reconciliation.

I love y’all and am thankful for our journey together with a Just God. 


Ben McGraw

Why we don't do altar calls...

CF family,

Sending out an old "ask the elder" post from a few years ago for your contemplation today.  Have a great day!

I realize a relatively young church in this community that says “we’re not doing it” may seem like we’re being rebellious and trendy.  Actually, what few who fight for the practice realize is that it’s not good ole fashioned evangelism but rather new-fangled man-centered gospel-diminishing malarky.  Here are a few thoughts to explain.

  1.  There are NO pictures of altar calls in our bibles....the practice has ZERO scriptural reference. 

  2.  There are NO pictures of altar calls in the Christian faith until the last 170 years.  Charles Finney didn’t start the practice, but he is largely responsible for perfecting it during the 2nd great awakening in the 1800’s.  Martin Luther, John Calvin, John Wesley, George Whitfield and Jonathon Edwards would have no idea what you were talking about were you to ask them about altar calls.  Nor would Peter or Paul or any of the other apostles. 

  3.  It has contributed to a new vocabulary of belief and faith that is also unbiblical.....like “making a decision for Christ” or “asking Jesus into your heart” or “giving your heart to Jesus.” 

  4.  It’s manipulative, especially toward the hurting or the young.  This is why we’re so cautious about camps for children.  We don’t want to send our children or youth to a camp where altar calls are practiced for fear that they may leave thinking they squared-up with God because they walked an aisle when in fact all they may have done is had an emotional experience.  

  5.  It leads to people mistaking a walk down an aisle for “walking in a manner worthily” or “walking in good works prepared in advance” or “abiding in Christ”.

  6.  It’s associated with a VERY high rate of apostasy......for people who simply had an emotional experience will not bear the fruit of one who has over time recognized their wretchedness before a Holy God and repented, placing faith/trust/hope in the finished work of Christ alone.  THIS understanding takes time to develop in the garden of the heart. 

  7.  It’s associated with a numerical emphasis that counts “decisions” in an effort to quantify “soul-winning” results.

  8.  The altar call IS NOT the mark of an evangelistic church as some might suggest.  In addition, the absence of this practice in a church IS NOT the mark of a church that is unburdened for the lost and uncaring about the souls of men.  Burden and engagement are born and lived out in relationships.  The evangelistic church seeks relationships and ultimately disciples....not simply “decisions.” 

  9.  The appeal to “come forward” supersedes or completely replaces an appeal to repent and believe. 

  10.  It redefines the mark of an evangelist as one who can best get ‘em down the aisle rather than one who is gifted by the Holy Spirit to expose the truth of the gospel in a life-altering way. 

  11.  Most of those professing to be Christians in our community, when asked how they know they’re Christians, will point back to a time when they walked an aisle and made a “decision.”  Biblically, assurance does not come from a “decision” or a trip down an aisle.  Looking back to recent sermons, consider John 8:31 where Jesus tells those who have “believed” if they’re true, then they’ll “abide in my word.”  Or even more recent, Romans 8:13 “if you live according to the flesh, you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.”  These are just a couple of recent samples from the gobs of scripture that point to an engaging dailyness of faith and mortification of sin that are characteristic of true believers......THAT’S where assurance comes from. 

  12.  It confuses people regarding sacred space......the front of a worship center where the altar call leads is no more holy than your living room where you read your bible with your family or your bedroom where you snooze.  Our bodies are the temples of the Holy Spirit now........not some special area in our church buildings.

  13.  It inappropriately takes the place of baptism as the public profession of faith. BAPTISM is the biblical public expression of our faith and is how we are identified with the people of God.

  14.  It limits evangelistic calls to the 11:50-12:05 holy minutes on Sunday mornings....at the lips of the beckoning preacher.....with the backdrop of verse after verse of Just as I Am........rather than the beckoning, witnessing work of the people of God EVERY day in EVERY place as a sweet aroma enjoying Christ out loud. 

  15.  It’s filled the membership roles of churches with unregenerate who think they’re reconciled with the Living God because they walked an aisle. 

I must confess, I’m pretty disgusted with the practice.......even as one....maybe especially as one who once called for “decisions” myself.  I repent from that man-centered effort to harvest new believers and I trust that God will be glorified and His sheep will be found in the daily and weekly outloud enjoyment of Christ by the People of God.

Ben McGraw

When it looks like God is snoozing...

CF family,

I hope you're considering God's beauty this week in light of Sunday's message.  We have much to enjoy, from recent cool mornings to spectacular sunsets at the end of 1570.....and the good standing we have with our Creator because of Christ's work.  Definitely a great and lovely thing showing up in an expected way. 

Even as you're enjoying His beauty this week, I suspect there are times when you feel like God is completely disconnected from whatever you might be going through.  I feel that way at times.  But we need to go back to "beautiful" moments in our bibles when we see God in His time and on His terms and for His glory do something great and lovely in a setting where it's completely unexpected.  Going to those stories, like the one in Acts 3, encourage us and sustain us with the realization that God is up to a glory plan ALWAYS.  He does in fact work all things together for good for those who are called according to His purpose. 

This afternoon I read the account of Jesus calming the storm in Mark 4.  If you've ever been in a small boat in a big body of water you can imagine how vulnerable the disciples must have felt as the tempest rolled in.  They were in a serious mess and from all indications God was snoozin in the back of the boat.  I love what they said to Him as they woke Him "Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?"  That's not a question....it's an accusation!!  "Jesus, you don't care that we're perishing!!" is really what they meant I think.  That's the way it can feel at times when you're in the throes of something difficult and God seems distant and unresponsive.  It's cool that Jesus didn't even answer their "question"......instead He just rebuked the wind and sea with "Peace, Be still!"  

I want to encourage you if you're lying asking for alms under the Gate Beautiful.  If you're in the tempest and God seems asleep......know that God isn't uncaring and disconnected.  He knows and is working a beautiful plan for His glory.  Be patient.  Be thankful He's at the helm.  Trust Him.  He SO "cares that you're perishing"....enough to take on flesh and do battle (and win) with your greatest tempest so that you can enjoy peace with God.   

I love y'all and hope you have a beautiful week,

Ben

The Word and our Children

Yesterday as we dug into Hebrews 4:11-13, we looked at the Word and its purpose.  Living.  Active.  Sharp.  Piercing.  Penetrating.  Surgical.  Discerning.  Judge.  These truths aren’t just for grown-ups!  Think of this text in light of your parenting.

Throughout Scripture, parents are called to teach our children the Life-giving Word of God as we walk along the way.  Before having children of my own, I envisioned this happening in very special moments as we all sat down and they listened intently to the wisdom that I had to bestow upon them.  Now, I know this sounds crazy, but that’s not exactly how it plays out around here.  In fact, I’ve found that the times that I can be the most frustrated by their little sinful hearts are the exact times that I desperately NEED to speak the Life-giving Word to them.

So, as any aspiring mom, I worked through my frustration at their sin so that I could speak the Word directly and at opportune times.  I equipped myself with timely scripture and resources to help in my efforts.  Recently, God began to show me what my sinful heart has done in this process.

You see, I have attempted to take God off His throne and put myself at the center.  I saw that the Word is able to pierce and discern, so I began to use it for my own desires.  My idol became obedient children.  You know the kind:  Those children who are nice, quiet, tidy, and quick to obey (especially in public).  That’s what I wanted.  My means: Nothing short of God’s Word plus a little bit of guilt.

This is the anti-gospel.  I was suffocating my children with law, law, law.  I was smothering them with rules they couldn’t obey and then asking why they couldn’t do it.  All the while, I failed constantly to obey God’s law myself.  I failed to show my children the BUT GOD (Ephesians 2:4) in scripture that I was enjoying.

The law is our tutor.  It is our big arrow to point us directly to our Savior.  I had failed to give my children grace because I had attempted to be the “thought and intentions facilitator”.  I was dispensing scripture that would make them quiet, quick to obey, and tidy little children outwardly.  But I can’t do what God’s Word promises it will:

For the word of God is 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.  Hebrews 4:12

Here is what God has shown me, and what I pray He continues to remind me of:  My words are not sharper than any two-edged sword.  My words are not piercing to the division of soul and spirit.  My words are not discerning the thoughts and intentions of my children’s thoughts.  It’s not up to me.  I can’t create this in my children.  I can’t even fabricate it in myself.

BUT GOD.  God’s Word is sufficient to do it.  We do not need to guilt our children into outward obedience.  We need to speak God’s Word into their little ears and minds.  We need to encourage them with the Life-giving Word of God.  We need to show them grace.  We need to cover them with the gospel.  Then we need to step back as God’s Word discerns the thoughts and intentions of their little hearts.

Annie

God doesn't need us...

......to catch fish.  If you remember from Sunday I shared with you the story of Luke's first fishing trip.  At the end of his B-Paw's dock in Louisiana, he sat in my lap with baited hook and tiny hands with white-knuckles gripping a bamboo pole.  There we waited together until the bobber bobbed (which he couldn't see by the way) and I pulled a nice little bream from the water as he shouted "I CAUGHT A FIS?!?!"

Now, imagine yourself sitting outside Jericho looking at a big wall.  You can be one of three people.  You can be the guy who looks at it and says plainly "I can't conquer those guys. That's a big wall.  I'm out!"  Or you can be a second guy who says "God can conquer those guys and I'll sit here idle till He gets it done."  Or you can be a third guy.....ideally the third guy.....who knows full well he CAN'T conquer ANYTHING without God......and he knows full well God CAN conquer ANYTHING without him.  But he does what God says and wraps white knuckles around a pole he can't carry and looks toward a bobber he can't see.........WHILE He trusts His Father to ultimately get the job done.

I've thought this week about why God would involve us in the process......when He could easily catch a fish (conquer Jericho) without us.  I realized if God gives us ANY glimpse of the love He has for us in the love a father has for his son, then the whole fishing trip/conquest is about relationship with our God.  He involves us in the work so we'll be with Him in His big lap trusting and hopeful while we take on stuff that's bigger than us....and all for His glory. 

We have a REALLY good God, Crosspoint Family.  I hope you're enjoying Him today.

Ben

Forgiveness Follow-Up

Crosspoint,

Some months back, we preached through a series from 2 Chronicles 6 called “A House Dedicated”. In that series we addressed forgiveness. Within the last few weeks I have had a handful of questions on the issue, and thought it might be helpful to send out a little follow-up.

Most of the questions that I have heard are in regard to the Biblical concept of forgiving the repentant. A paradigm that many of us have grown up with is that you forgive unconditionally. So limiting the granting of forgiveness to those who are repentant, makes Biblical forgiveness CONDITIONAL, not unconditional. Herein lies some of the confusion...

Our text was 2 Chronicles 6:36-39. In short, the text says, “If they sin against you... and you are angry with them... if they repent with all of their mind and with all of their heart... then hear from heaven your dwelling place their prayer and their pleas, and maintain their cause and forgive your people who have sinned against you...”

Colossians 3:13 says to forgive as the Lord has forgiven. So when I forgive I want to make sure that I am bearing the image of God, and not misrepresenting Him.

So, the logical conclusion is that if we forgive the way that God forgives, we must be careful not to grant forgiveness to an unrepentant person, and just as careful not to withhold forgiveness from a truly repentant person.

Following are a few thoughts that I have put together based on some questions that I have heard from some within the body...

1.) Withholding forgiveness is NOT withholding love. Love is unconditional. Forgiveness is conditional. Luke 6:35-36 says, “But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for He is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.”

2.) Withholding forgiveness is NOT holding a grudge. Christians aren’t allowed to hold grudges, EVER! Hebrews says that bitterness is a root that runs deep. And when it springs up it defiles MANY. Bitterness is the inevitable product of holding a grudge. The opposite of holding a grudge is being poised, ready, and even eager to forgive. Some might refer to this as having a "spirit of forgiveness". James 3 calls it being "full of mercy". We should be ready to lavish that person and broken relationship with what has been so amply offered to us in Christ.

3.) Withholding forgiveness is NOT a means of exercising personal vengeance. Romans makes it clear to us that vengeance belongs to the Lord, not to us. Again, when someone is truly repentant, Scripture says that you MUST forgive them!

4.) Granting forgiveness when there is no repentance is not necessarily a sin. I address this because the concept of EVER withholding forgiveness is foreign to many of us. So in our thinking, previously, if it was a sin to ever withhold forgiveness, now, am I a sinner because I didn't withhold??? One illustration to consider is infant baptism... It is not nothing (double negative used for emphasis)...  but from our perspective (of confessional baptists), it is not what is best. We would NOT say that those who were baptized as infants were sinning in their baptism. We would however say that it is more obedient to the Word to put your baptism on the right side of your confession; to proclaim before the church your faith in Christ, and to be immersed/ dunked/ baptized in accordance. So... if you look back on your journey of faith, and you remember granting forgiveness to the unrepentant, you have not automatically committed sins that need repenting of. But in light of the text, we would say that it is more obedient to put your forgiveness on the right side of repentance. However, granting forgiveness when there is no repentance is DEFINITELY a sin if you are doing so because you value your relationship with the person, more than you value that person’s relationship with God.

5.) If one individual sins against another individual, their sin is ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS first a sin against God. And if it isn’t a sin against God, it may merely be a difference of opinion between the two people... maybe even different beliefs within the same faith (see Romans 14). At that point you are called to reason together and persevere with one another steadfastly, making sure not to break the bond of peace over negotiable issues.

How wonderfully remarkable it is that in Christ, we have forgiveness from God, and the power and privilege to forgive one another as we have been forgiven!

J. Scott Sutton

Purah

CF family,

Judges 7:10 But if you are afraid to go down, go down to the camp with Purah your servant.  11 And you shall hear what they say, and afterward your hands shall be strengthened to go down against the camp.” Then he went down with Purah his servant to the outposts of the armed men who were in the camp.

Do you remember this guy?  Purah?  I can't get him out of my head since Sunday.  Remember the context........Gideon, though a "mighty man of valor" (eye roll), was fearful about nearly every step of God's plan to defeat the Midianites.  So, here they are with the Israelite army whittled down to 300 slobs.  The Midianite army, like locusts in abundance, were encamped by the hill of Moreh.  Then God sends Gideon under the cover of darkness to within earshot of the Midianite camp.  Showing us the kind of God He is, he tells Gideon to take Purah with him in case he was a scaredy cat. 

We'd be negligent if we read these stories without looking for the kind of God we have.....to give Gideon a Purah.  Seems like a small thing maybe, but the whole battle hinged on Gideon's trust in God......and God helped him trust Him.  So it made me think of my "Purah's".  It made me think of those God has given me to encourage me......to give me company when I'm doing scary stuff.  It made me think too, I want to be a "Purah" to someone else.....to give them company when they're going through a dark night. 

I'm thankful for my "Purah's" and I'm thankful for a good and gracious God who gives them to us. 

Ben

And I saw it no more...

CF family,

I hope/pray you're having a good week.....working AND resting.  As you go about the rest of the week, please consider these wonderful thoughts from Mark 2, John 5 and John 9.  See yourselves as "hungry" and "in need" (Mk 2:25).....see yourself as "an invalid for thirty-eight years" (John 5:5)......see yourselves as "blind from birth" (John 9:1).  BUT then see Jesus as "Lord of the Sabbath" (Mk 2:28) WORKING (John 5:17), "working the works of Him who sent him" (John 9:4).......accomplishing what we couldn't do.  See Him providing for the "hungry" and "needy".  See Him raising the "lame".  See Him giving sight to the "blind", opening the eyes our hearts so that He could become our rest!!

Matthew 11:28-30 says "Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

Through Christ's Sabbath gleaning and healings He says:

I’ll work so you can feast

I’ll work so you can walk

I’ll work so you can see

I’ll work where you aren't able

I’ll accomplish what you couldn’t

I’ll be…..your rest

If you're laboring and heavy laden with sin.......like Christian of Pilgrim's Progress you're a "poor burdened sinner".......join Christian in his place of deliverance.  "So he ran until he came to a place somewhat elevated.  Upon that place stood a Cross, and below at the bottom there was a Tomb.......just as Christian came up to the Cross, his burden came loose from his shoulders and fell off his back.  It began to tumble and continued to do so until it came to the mouth of the Tomb.  It then fell into the Tomb, and I saw it no more."

And.....I saw it no more.  :)

Ben

It would be this sermon

CF family,

Consider these passages:

Gen. 5:28 When Lamech had lived 182 years, he fathered a son 29 and called his name Noah, saying, “Out of the ground that the LORD has cursed this one shall bring us relief from our work and from the painful toil of our hands.”

Matt. 11:28 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

Sunday we considered together One who truly brought us “relief from our work” and from the “painful toil of our hands” in the New and Better Noah, Jesus Christ.   There are no more arks to build…….no more altars…… no more tabernacles…….no more temples…….. no more sacrifices to prepare……no more blood to shed……..no more priests offering day after day after day after day payment for the worshipper’s sin and their own sins………no more efforts to cover or pay for our own sin.  For that work is indeed….FINISHED……completed and accomplished through His cross.  Can you feel that “relief”?  Do your souls “find rest” there?

I can’t remember if there has been a more important sermon in ten years than this last Sunday’s message.  I urge you and even beg you to listen to it if you didn’t.  And know that though it may sound self-serving to say “listen to my sermon” there’s nothing in this request serving me.  In fact, I don’t feel like the delivery was all that great (complete with embarrassing ugly cry)……..it was the CONTENT though that was/is the greatest news we can ever hear or tell.  If I could point to one sermon that best represents the gospel I want to walk in and serve in and rest in, it would be this one.

Please listen.

Ben