Greater Things Than These

"It behooves us, my dear Brothers and Sisters, to have a firmer faith than Old Testament saints because we see more clearly our ground of trust. Those who lived in the comparative darkness of the previous dispensation were saved by faith and among them there were not a few eminent Believers--surely we, also, ought to excel in our confidence in God! Let the 11th chapter of Hebrews stand as a triumphal arch with the names of ancient Believers recorded--these all died in faith and they were no mean men--but inasmuch as we enjoy a brighter light and are living under a better economy, we are called upon to be their superiors in faith! Our faith should be clearer, calmer, stronger, more effectual in working--we should do greater things than these, in the name of Jesus." - Charles Haddon Spurgeon (Did I mention I love this guy?)

So let's see...that would be: Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Rahab, Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets, just to name a few. Kind of a weighty list there. But Jesus actually says something in John 14 that sounds way crazier than Spurgeon's claim:

"Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father." (14:12)

Now, obviously none of us are going to go out and justify all those who place their faith in Christ. But I think those words probably need to shock us more than they do. And hopefully they will prove effective in helping to move us to action. For if we are called to greater things than what Jesus did on earth, it will only happen when we get off our lazy butts and out into the world, to be a part of the establishment of the Kingdom that is already and not yet come. But I'm preaching to myself here too, because I'm at least as guilty of not being in the world, if not more so, than the rest of you. So let us "work out [our] own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure" (Phil. 2:12-13).

In Defense of Biblical Humor

Mark Driscoll (a.k.a. "The Cussing Pastor") is a pastor that I have a lot of respect for. Like any man, he's not perfect, so all of his theology isn't going to be either, but he is, nonetheless, quite solid. One subject where I have questioned him as of late is his use of humor. This isn't random--I think the guy is hilarious. And I think he often uses humor quite well. For example, the following quote:

"There is a strong drift toward the hard theological left. Some emergent types [want] to recast Jesus as a limp-wrist hippie in a dress with a lot of product in His hair, who drank decaf and made pithy Zen statements about life while shopping for the perfect pair of shoes. In Revelation, Jesus is a prize fighter with a tattoo down His leg, a sword in His hand and the commitment to make someone bleed. That is a guy I can worship. I cannot worship the hippie, diaper, halo Christ because I cannot worship a guy I can beat up. I fear some are becoming more cultural than Christian, and without a big Jesus who has authority and hates sin as revealed in the Bible, we will have less and less Christians, and more and more confused, spiritually self-righteous blogger critics of Christianity." (1)

Recently I started reading his book Religion Saves: And 9 Other Misconceptions. In it, Driscoll addresses 10 common misconceptions that Christians have, one of them being that the Bible is always serious, and so good Christians must be very serious people. But Driscoll argues that the Bible is full of humor (which I certainly think it is), and that Christians should use humor effectively like Jesus did (which in principle, I have no problem with). I think my biggest hangup was how cutting his humor can be sometimes when directed at certain groups. But after having read the whole chapter, I think I understand what he is saying. And he admits that he has crossed the line and addresses that issue. Perhaps the most compelling argument he makes he borrows from Charles Haddon Spurgeon (who also is solid):

"I do not know why ridicule is to be given up to Satan as a weapon to be used against us, and not to be employed by us as a weapon against him. I will venture to affirm that the Reformation owed almost as much to the sense of the ridiculous in human nature as to anything else, and that those humorous squibs and caricatures, that were issued by the friends of Luther, did more to open the eyes of Germany to the abominations of the priesthood than the more solid and ponderous arguments against Romanism....'It [humor] is a dangerous weapon,' it will be said, 'and many men will cut their fingers with it.' Well, that is their own look-out; but I do not know why we should be so particular about their cutting their fingers if they can, at the same time, cut the throat of sin, and do serious damage to the great adversary of soul."

In addition to making his case for why he thinks humor is biblical and helpful, he supplied a "Ten Commandments for Sanctifying Comedy." Number 8 on the list I think is a particularly important one that helps shed light on the heart behind properly used humor, and helps keep those who use humor accountable so they don't become prideful or arrogant in their humor:

"Don't forget to laugh at yourself--often. The best material is the stuff of your own life. You know better than anyone that you are a nut job, so do not waste such precious comedic fodder. Tell stories about yourself, pointing out your imperfections, folly, stupidity, pettiness, self-righteousness, and the like before you turn your funny guns on anyone. By doing so you will reveal that your humor is not scorn but, rather, the acknowledgment of a common mess we are all in as sinners [emphasis mine]. In the end, we are all hypocrites and good for a laugh. By laughing together at one another and ourselves, we are experiencing biblical fellowship and celebrating gift-righteousness from Jesus; his gift removes our pride and vain attempts at self-righteousness, which in the end make us deadly serious defenders of our goodness, as if we had any. In short, we are all Pharisees to varying degrees."

In his conclusion, Driscoll poses one last question to those who might be offended by him:

"To those who have been offended by my comedic banter, I would simply ask why. If it is because I have sinned, then I ask your forgiveness. But if it is because I have hit a nerve of sin or self-righteousness, then I would welcome you to repent and have a good laugh with me."

So have a laugh today. Be like Jesus, and as ridiculously intelligent as he is, not like Spock:

"Cultivating your sense of humor heightens all your other emotions. The person who can laugh deeply is passionate enough to also weep deeply. Those who bottle up their emotions in a Spock-like existence display little if any of the characteristics of their passionate God, who both laughs and weeps, as Scripture says. Scripture also commands us to 'rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.' "

I Begin This Blogging Blitz With a Funny Song...

Thanks to Mr. Schley, I started listening to the band House of Heroes and I'm quickly becoming a big fan. At times they remind me a bit of Relient K, but hopefully they are better behaved. Anyway, they write good music, and this is a particularly funny song off their album The End is Not the End, called "Baby's a Red." Since I'm not the biggest fan of free-market Capitalism (now don't go McCarthy on me), I greatly appreciate this song. It's not really hatin' on Capitalism, but still. It's funny. Go buy the album on iTunes.

"Baby's a Red"

"Oo oo little red,
With your heart in Stalingrad,
Oh, it kills me how they hate you,
But they just don't understand.
Oh red,
When they put me on the stand,
I will testify I loved you,
And I'm not ashamed to be your comrade.

Red, red, baby's a red,
She's blood red,
Baby's a red,
The feds said,
"Lock her in lead,
She's red," but I love her.

(Hammer and sickle on my mind.)

Oo oo little red,
It's not like McCarthy said,
Though we differ on religion,
We both support the working man.
Oh red, if the bombs fall on our lands,
Then our politics won't matter,
Only that I loved you until death.

(Hammer and sickle...)

Red, red, baby's a red,
She's blood red,
Baby's a red,
The feds said,
"Lock her in lead,
She's red," but I love her.

Oh, yea, baby's a red,
She's blood red,
Baby's a red,
The feds said,
"Lock her in lead,
She's red," but I love her.

I want to touch you, and I'm not afraid,
I want to touch you , and I'm not ashamed,
I want to tell you, that I'm not afraid,
They'll burn us at the stake!

I want to love you, and I'm not afraid,
I want to love you, and I'm not ashamed,
I want to love you, and I'm not afraid, oh baby.

Hammer and sickle on my mind.
Saint Petersburg in summer time.
Hammer and sickle on my mind.
Stars over Moscow shining bright.
Hammer and sickle on my mind.
The shores of Astrakhan are fine.
Hammer and sickle on my mind.

Red, red, baby's a red,
She's blood red,
Baby's a red,
The feds said,
"Lock her in lead,
She's red," but I love her. "

Gotta Love Your Puritans

This is a prayer from The Valley of Vision, a book of Puritan prayers of old. They are excellent, although I have hardly delved into it myself. But this one gives you a great example of the richness of their prayers. I long to be able to pray with the fervor they did. So get a copy ASAP homie.

"Christian Love"

It is thy will that I should love thee
with heart, soul, mind, strength,
and my neighbour as myself.
But I am not sufficient for these things.
There is by nature no pure love in my soul;
Every affection in me is turned from thee;
I am bound, as slave to lust,
I cannot love thee, lovely as thou art,
until thou dost set me free.

By grace I am thy freeman and would serve thee,
for I believe thou art my God in Jesus,
and that through him I am redeemed,
and my sins are forgiven.
With this freedom I would always obey thee,
but I cannot walk in liberty,
any more than I could first attain it, of myself.
May thy Spirit draw me nearer to thee
and thy ways.

Thou art the end of all means,
for if they lead me not to thee,
I go away empty.
Order all my ways by thy holy Word
and make thy commandments the joy
of my heart,
that by them I may have happy converse
with thee.
May I grow in thy love and manifest it
to mankind.

Spirit of love, make me like the loving Jesus;
give me his benevolent temper,
his beneficent actions,
that I may shine before men to thy glory.
The more thou doest in love in me and by me,
humble me the more;
keep me meek, lowly,
and always ready to give thee honour.