Recently I had the pleasure of meeting a new friend, Aaron "Woogy" Wolgamott. He is a youth pastor in the area and has such a great heart for leading youth to Christ. We became instant friends when we met and I am looking forward to collaborating with him in the near future.
I volunteered to read his book Blurred Vision for review purposes. I thought I owed him that since he read a pre-release copy of mine. So, this blog post is a review of Blurred Vision.
The concept of Blurred Vision is to ask Christians if they are seeing things clearly when it comes to their relationship with Christ. In a world full distractions and different philosophies, it can be hard for Christians to see Jesus clearly. It is easy for Christians to veer off the straight and narrow. If you are a Christian that is dealing with these issues, then Blurred Vision is the book for you.
Pastor Woogy takes the reader on a journey through the basic tenets of the Christian faith, but looking at them through fresh eyes. He begins the book by challenging Christians' perspective on things. He asks whether followers of Christ are really seeing Christ for who he is and are their lives reflective of that. In order for Christ and following him to make sense, Christians' vision must be clear on who he is and what the faith is all about.
Pastor Woogy's take on Christianity is fresh and exciting. It is a take that needs to be heard across America in big churches and small churches. The Church in America tends to be all about our religion, but according to Pastor Woogy, Jesus did not die to start another religion. Woogy writes, "We talk a good game, know the right things to say, can pray nice-sounding prayers, and even quote scripture. Yet all too often we stop at only words" (Blurred Vision, p. 10). Pastor Woogy establishes early in his book that Christianity is not another religion; rather, it is a relationship with Christ that should not be defined by what we say, but also by what we do. And, this idea sets the stage for the rest of the book.
Throughout the rest of the book, Pastor Woogy takes a look at worship, treasures, faith, spiritual warfare, prayer, forgiveness, relationships, and truth. He explains each topic in light of not just talking the talk, but also walking the walk. He effectively argues that each tenet of the faith should go beyond what Christians do on Sunday mornings. Christianity is a tangible relationship with Christ and the reason being is so that others will be introduced to Jesus because of our clear vision of Jesus.
Without being too preachy or getting bogged down in deep theology, Pastor Woogy does a great job of explaining what follow Jesus is all about and challenges Christians' perspective on church and the faith. This book is a must read for a new believer or a seasoned believer. It is even a great read for one who might be exploring faith and even Christianity. It can be read by anyone without being confusing and this is a compliment to Pastor Woogy's writing style and clarity on some tough topics.
If you would like to purchase this book, go here: http://pastorwoogy.com/blurred-vision/
Saturday, February 21, 2015
Friday, February 13, 2015
Letting go of hell?
Recently I read a blog post by Benjamin L. Corey that questioned the validity of the belief in an eternal hell. The post listed 25 verses that disproved the traditional view. You can read the post along with his whole series on hell here: http://www.patheos.com/blogs/formerlyfundie/category/letting-go-of-hell-series/
There is a resurgence of an idea that all will be saved eventually and that hell is only a temporary stop on one's way to be saved. Here is the problem with letting go of the traditional belief in hell and embracing a more universal idea that hell is temporary and God will save all in the end eventually.
1. Without an eternal hell, eternal life is not a big deal.
Jesus came to die on the cross for the sins of the world. That is what is clearly taught in the Scriptures. If you don't have the time to look you can simply read John 3:16-17 because that is what those verses refer to. Now, if Jesus came to die on the cross for our sins and the penalty of those sins was just nonexistence, then it seems like a lot of effort for very little reward. Paul said in Romans 6:23, "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." Paul makes a distinction between the wages of sin and the gift of God. If the wage is less than the gift, it makes the gift seem outlandish. It makes it seem like Jesus was trying too hard. But, if the wages of sin is eternal death, then the gift of God looks amazing, awesome, great, etc. You get the picture. If Jesus' sacrifice does not save us from something horrible, then his sacrifice almost seems in vain.
2. Without hell, God ceases to be God.
We like to see God as a loving and gracious God, which He is, thankfully. But, we don't like to think of God as a judge, which he is, thankfully. Not only is God a judge, but he is a righteous judge. What this means is that God judges fairly. Now some may not agree with that because they will look at our faith in Jesus and the benefit of that faith and cry foul. They will look at our beliefs and say that God does not judge fairly because believing in Jesus gets us off the hook. But, Jesus shows just how fair God is in his judgment. What Jesus did on the cross was die in our place. Those who believe in Jesus are saved because Jesus took the punishment that we deserved. The wrath of God was poured out on Jesus because Jesus became the very thing that God hates, sin. II Corinthians 5:21 says, "God made him who knew no sin to become sin for us so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." Did you catch that? Jesus actually became sin for us. What this means is that the punishment our sins deserved was taken by Jesus. Isaiah 53:5 and 10 say, "But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed...Yet is was the Lord's will to crush him...So, God treated sin like it should be treated, making him a just judge. So, if someone does not put their faith in Jesus, that person remains in their sin. So that person must face the just judge and receive what sins deserve. So, if there is no literal hell, then God is a liar and not a just judge. Imagine if a person murdered someone close to you and the judge said to him, "You know, it's okay. Just don't do it again. In fact, you'll never get in trouble for murder." Would you consider that judge just? Of course not. Then why should we expect God to be any different?
3. Temporary hell means we are saved by works.
If we believe that hell is just a temporary stop to purge all of the bad stuff out of us so that God will be pleased with us, then hell is nothing more than purgatory and we can be saved by our merit. That is completely contrary to Scripture. Paul writes in Ephesians 2:8-9, "For it is by grace you are saved and this not of yourselves for it is the gift of God not by works so that no man should boast." We are not saved by works, but by grace. We can do nothing to earn the favor of God, not in this life or in the next one. A temporary hell goes against the clear teaching of Scripture that we cannot save ourselves by earning salvation.
4. An eternal hell makes eternal life that much sweeter.
Jesus came to offer us a new life, an eternal life. Eternal life means nothing if the rejection of it means we cease to exist or that we can earn it in a temporary holding cell. When faced with the unimaginable, a way out looks that much sweeter. Now, that is not to say we should use hell to scare people into heaven. Those tactics do not work and our contrary to Scripture. Those are the tactics of the Westboro Baptist Church who I strongly oppose. But, the truth needs to be told and not just part of it. The whole truth needs to be told and even the harshest truth can be told in love. The reality is that the wages of our sin is death and that death will not end until we pay that wage. And, that is a wage we can never pay off. That is why Jesus came. He came to show us a better way. He came to show us a more excellent way. He came to show us that we could have life and have it to the full. He came to show us mercy, love, grace, forgiveness, light, etc. All of those things look so much sweeter when compared to the other side of the coin.
I am a pastor and I don't like talking about the reality of hell. But, I know that if I don't, then I will be withholding the truth. I want to make much of Jesus and in order to do that, I have to declare the whole counsel of God and not shrink from it (Acts 20:26-27). Some may say that I am intolerant and not with the times. Some may say that I hate people and do not love. Well, I love people too much to withhold life-saving information from them. Sometimes the truth is hard and it hurts, but the alternative is worse.
There is a resurgence of an idea that all will be saved eventually and that hell is only a temporary stop on one's way to be saved. Here is the problem with letting go of the traditional belief in hell and embracing a more universal idea that hell is temporary and God will save all in the end eventually.
1. Without an eternal hell, eternal life is not a big deal.
Jesus came to die on the cross for the sins of the world. That is what is clearly taught in the Scriptures. If you don't have the time to look you can simply read John 3:16-17 because that is what those verses refer to. Now, if Jesus came to die on the cross for our sins and the penalty of those sins was just nonexistence, then it seems like a lot of effort for very little reward. Paul said in Romans 6:23, "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." Paul makes a distinction between the wages of sin and the gift of God. If the wage is less than the gift, it makes the gift seem outlandish. It makes it seem like Jesus was trying too hard. But, if the wages of sin is eternal death, then the gift of God looks amazing, awesome, great, etc. You get the picture. If Jesus' sacrifice does not save us from something horrible, then his sacrifice almost seems in vain.
2. Without hell, God ceases to be God.
We like to see God as a loving and gracious God, which He is, thankfully. But, we don't like to think of God as a judge, which he is, thankfully. Not only is God a judge, but he is a righteous judge. What this means is that God judges fairly. Now some may not agree with that because they will look at our faith in Jesus and the benefit of that faith and cry foul. They will look at our beliefs and say that God does not judge fairly because believing in Jesus gets us off the hook. But, Jesus shows just how fair God is in his judgment. What Jesus did on the cross was die in our place. Those who believe in Jesus are saved because Jesus took the punishment that we deserved. The wrath of God was poured out on Jesus because Jesus became the very thing that God hates, sin. II Corinthians 5:21 says, "God made him who knew no sin to become sin for us so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." Did you catch that? Jesus actually became sin for us. What this means is that the punishment our sins deserved was taken by Jesus. Isaiah 53:5 and 10 say, "But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed...Yet is was the Lord's will to crush him...So, God treated sin like it should be treated, making him a just judge. So, if someone does not put their faith in Jesus, that person remains in their sin. So that person must face the just judge and receive what sins deserve. So, if there is no literal hell, then God is a liar and not a just judge. Imagine if a person murdered someone close to you and the judge said to him, "You know, it's okay. Just don't do it again. In fact, you'll never get in trouble for murder." Would you consider that judge just? Of course not. Then why should we expect God to be any different?
3. Temporary hell means we are saved by works.
If we believe that hell is just a temporary stop to purge all of the bad stuff out of us so that God will be pleased with us, then hell is nothing more than purgatory and we can be saved by our merit. That is completely contrary to Scripture. Paul writes in Ephesians 2:8-9, "For it is by grace you are saved and this not of yourselves for it is the gift of God not by works so that no man should boast." We are not saved by works, but by grace. We can do nothing to earn the favor of God, not in this life or in the next one. A temporary hell goes against the clear teaching of Scripture that we cannot save ourselves by earning salvation.
4. An eternal hell makes eternal life that much sweeter.
Jesus came to offer us a new life, an eternal life. Eternal life means nothing if the rejection of it means we cease to exist or that we can earn it in a temporary holding cell. When faced with the unimaginable, a way out looks that much sweeter. Now, that is not to say we should use hell to scare people into heaven. Those tactics do not work and our contrary to Scripture. Those are the tactics of the Westboro Baptist Church who I strongly oppose. But, the truth needs to be told and not just part of it. The whole truth needs to be told and even the harshest truth can be told in love. The reality is that the wages of our sin is death and that death will not end until we pay that wage. And, that is a wage we can never pay off. That is why Jesus came. He came to show us a better way. He came to show us a more excellent way. He came to show us that we could have life and have it to the full. He came to show us mercy, love, grace, forgiveness, light, etc. All of those things look so much sweeter when compared to the other side of the coin.
I am a pastor and I don't like talking about the reality of hell. But, I know that if I don't, then I will be withholding the truth. I want to make much of Jesus and in order to do that, I have to declare the whole counsel of God and not shrink from it (Acts 20:26-27). Some may say that I am intolerant and not with the times. Some may say that I hate people and do not love. Well, I love people too much to withhold life-saving information from them. Sometimes the truth is hard and it hurts, but the alternative is worse.
Monday, February 9, 2015
Take Me to Church
Last night was the Grammys. My wife and I watched some of it, but not all of it because we have other, more pressing priorities (i.e. Walking Dead and Downton Abbey). One performance I did see was Hozier's performance of "Take Me to Church." I was interested in the performance because I wanted to know exactly what the song was about. I didn't catch all of the lyrics last night so I looked them up today.
The song is a metaphor about the singer leaving the faith of his youth. He uses the metaphor of a woman to represent his journey away from God so that he could reclaim his humanity. Hozier grew up in Ireland and what he remembers about church is that it was repressive and handed out burdens to people that they could not bear on their own. He did not speak of church in the light of grace, freedom, forgiveness, salvation, etc. Is this surprising that he would feel this way towards church? No.
Hozier wants to go to a church where he can be free to be who he is. Hozier said about the song, "It's an assertion of self, reclaiming humanity back for something that is the most natural and worthwhile" (quote taken from interview on http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=32921). Hozier sees humanity as the thing that is natural and worthwhile rather than church. And, honestly I can't blame him.
For too long the church has put more burdens on people than lead them to the lifter of burdens. Jesus said to the religious leaders of his day, "Woe to you lawyers also! For you load people with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers" (Luke 11:46). What do you think Jesus would say to His church today? I think he might say something similar. Now, this is a generalization, but it needs to be heard. Not all churches are like this because there are many churches who are leading people to Jesus. But, the church as a whole in this country and in other countries has been putting burdens on people's shoulders rather than pointing them to Jesus who wants to take their burdens.
The song that Hozier sung last night at the Grammys should be a wake up call for the Church. Hozier represents a generation that sees the church as nothing but a burden that they don't want to bear. They see humanity as the end-all-be-all. Humanity has the answer for everything and this life is all we have. But, as Switchfoot says, "We were made for so much more, have we lost ourselves?" As humans we bear the image of God and as Christians we are clothed with Christ. Christ came to lift burdens because he said in Matthew 11:28-30, "Come to me all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me for I am gentle and humble in heart and you will find rest for your souls." Jesus came to lift the burdens of sin, guilt, shame, death, and more off of our shoulders. As his followers, why should we add burdens on people's shoulders? Jesus has taken our burdens and his shoulders are big enough to take other people's burdens.
The song is a metaphor about the singer leaving the faith of his youth. He uses the metaphor of a woman to represent his journey away from God so that he could reclaim his humanity. Hozier grew up in Ireland and what he remembers about church is that it was repressive and handed out burdens to people that they could not bear on their own. He did not speak of church in the light of grace, freedom, forgiveness, salvation, etc. Is this surprising that he would feel this way towards church? No.
Hozier wants to go to a church where he can be free to be who he is. Hozier said about the song, "It's an assertion of self, reclaiming humanity back for something that is the most natural and worthwhile" (quote taken from interview on http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=32921). Hozier sees humanity as the thing that is natural and worthwhile rather than church. And, honestly I can't blame him.
For too long the church has put more burdens on people than lead them to the lifter of burdens. Jesus said to the religious leaders of his day, "Woe to you lawyers also! For you load people with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers" (Luke 11:46). What do you think Jesus would say to His church today? I think he might say something similar. Now, this is a generalization, but it needs to be heard. Not all churches are like this because there are many churches who are leading people to Jesus. But, the church as a whole in this country and in other countries has been putting burdens on people's shoulders rather than pointing them to Jesus who wants to take their burdens.
The song that Hozier sung last night at the Grammys should be a wake up call for the Church. Hozier represents a generation that sees the church as nothing but a burden that they don't want to bear. They see humanity as the end-all-be-all. Humanity has the answer for everything and this life is all we have. But, as Switchfoot says, "We were made for so much more, have we lost ourselves?" As humans we bear the image of God and as Christians we are clothed with Christ. Christ came to lift burdens because he said in Matthew 11:28-30, "Come to me all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me for I am gentle and humble in heart and you will find rest for your souls." Jesus came to lift the burdens of sin, guilt, shame, death, and more off of our shoulders. As his followers, why should we add burdens on people's shoulders? Jesus has taken our burdens and his shoulders are big enough to take other people's burdens.
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