"... To boldly go where no one has gone before."
A mission statement can help you filter ideas, activities, and choices based on how they correspond to your priorities. Remember when "life verses" were popular? I suppose some people still do that, but there was a time when it seemed like everyone had a life verse — basically a mission statement or philosophy of life. It's not a bad idea.
In fact, I think the church in America needs one. We need this one:
... make every effort to add to your faith goodness;
and to goodness, knowledge;
and to knowledge, self-control;
and to self-control, perseverance;
and to perseverance, godliness;
and to godliness, brotherly kindness;
and to brotherly kindness, love. (2Pet 1:5-7)
These verses are important because they highlight for us that we're supposed to striving to be characterized by more than one thing.
Let's back up and look at the context. Verse three is very important: "His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness." Jesus has given us what we need. We have the tools at our disposal. We have the power at our disposal.
"Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature ..." (v4). He has also given us great gifts. He has blessed us beyond comprehension.
"For this very reason ...." Because Christ has given us all the tools and power we need, and because he has blessed us so richly. God always seems to remind us of what he's done before asking us to do anything. So, in light of what Christ has given us ...
"make every effort to add to your faith goodness"
Make every effort. I kind of like the King James version: "giving all diligence." This reminds me of "train yourself for godliness." He's telling us to work. To work hard.
What are we working hard at? "Add to your faith goodness." Faith is vital to the Christian life. But we can't stop at faith. Too many churches preach faith to the exclusion of all else. Peter says we have to add goodness to our faith.
Some versions translate this "virtue." Commentators tend to agree that this is referring to a horizontal goodness. Or, as Peter put it elsewhere, "Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us" (1Pet 2:12). Or as someone else put it, "Let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven" (Matt 5:16).
Someone will object that we're saved by faith. Yes! But a faith that produces results. "Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds" (James 2:18).
"and to goodness, knowledge;"
Faith and virtue are not enough to be a mature Christian. You need knowledge. This is anathema to much of Evangelicalism, but I didn't write it. Talk to the apostle.
What knowledge? Definitely knowledge of God. "This is what the LORD says: 'Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom/or the strong man boast of his strength/or the rich man boast of his riches,/but let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows me ..." (Jer 9:23-24). Knowledge of God is more than knowing about God, but it is not less. We have lots of alleged Christians who acknowledge that God is love without understanding that he is holy and just. Or they acknowledge that he is all-powerful without seeing that he must also be all-knowing. Bad theology kills. We cannot afford it.
But this is more than just knowing about God. We cannot "contend for the faith" (Jude 1:3) or "be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have" (1 Pet 3:15) without knowledge. Christians today have more access to the collective wisdom of our brothers in Christ, both from this century and generations past, than any other generation ever. We have no excuse for the ignorance so many are proud of. Ignorance is not godliness. Ignorance is laziness and pride.
"and to knowledge, self-control;"
Paul spent a lot of ink telling us to be self-controlled. He even talked about fighting with his own body to keep it under control (1 Cor 9:27). Because "Like a city whose walls are broken through is a person who lacks self-control" (Proverbs 25:28).
Temptation is going to come. Can you control yourself? This fruit of the spirit (Gal 5:23) is also something you have to strive to add to yourself.
"and to self-control, perseverance;"
The prosperity gospel is a cancer on Christianity and every land it touches. This verse will fight that.
If someone told you that becoming a Christian would make all your problems go away, they lied to you. The Master himself said, "In this world you will have trouble" (John 16:33). Paul said, "Everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted" (2 Tim 3:13). Don't expect all sunshine and rainbows. Expect trouble. Set your heart for it so that when it comes, you'll be able to "suffer long."
And don't tell people this lie that they shouldn't have trouble so that they don't fall away when trouble comes. Hmm. That reminds me of a parable.
"and to perseverance, godliness;"
Godliness? Like "goodness?" The commentators say you could translate this "reverence" or "piety." Where "goodness" was being right with people, this is being right with God. What does God value? Besides love, faith, and kindness, humility gets a lot of press (Micah 6:8, James 4:10). He is the Creator; you are the created. Respond appropriately.
"and to godliness, brotherly kindness;"
"Brotherly kindness"—the Greek is a word you may be familiar with: philadelphia. The idea is simple: "As I have loved you, so you must love one another" (John 13:34). This command shows up in some form throughout the New Testament. It's echoed by Peter, Paul, James, John, and whoever wrote Hebrews. "By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."
"and to brotherly kindness, love."
This one is agape. Besides being devoted to the body of Christ, we must show love to God and to neighbor. Did you think we'd get through instructions on godly living without hitting the Great Commandments? But in a sense, this just sums up what came before. If we love God and everyone else the way he told us to, we'll do everything else in this list.
Why?
This doesn't sound easy or fun. Why should we do this, Peter? "For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ" (v8).
Who wants to be useful? Does anyone aspire to walking into heaven with nothing to show for their time on earth? This is your time to serve your Lord and Savior. This is your time to earn your rewards. This is your chance to show the people in your life what it looks like when someone really follows Jesus. One day you will stand before your Lord. It will be a blessed time, but the time for working will be over. Send treasure on ahead.
"Close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades."
Every culture has sayings that become maxims or even mantras. "When the going gets tough, the tough get going." "A penny saved is a penny earned."
In the pastoral letters, Paul shares what appear to have been common sayings in the early church that he found "trustworthy."
Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths. Rather train yourself for godliness; for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance. For to this end we toil and strive, because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe. (1 Tim 4:7-10 ESV)
Paul didn't follow his usual format here, so it's hard to tell exactly where the "trustworthy saying" begins, but my money's on "train yourself for godliness." But it's instructive to see what he's contrasting that to. "Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths." Don't spend time spreading them, discussing them, or even fighting them. Spend your energy training yourself for godliness, because godliness — unlike physical fitness — has everlasting value.
Godliness doesn't just happen. It takes work. It takes discipline.
Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize. (1 Cor 9:24-27).
If you want to win a marathon, you're going to do things you don't want to do and skip things you want. Your goal will change your behavior, the choices you make, how you spend your time.
Godliness is no different. It requires daily deciding to kill the flash. It requires daily deciding to follow Christ, to walk in step with the Spirit. It's not for nothing that Jesus said to "take up your cross" and follow him.
Why put yourself through all that? We do what it take because we have hope "set on the living God" in Christ Jesus. He has promised that what we give up here will be more than made up later: "godliness ... holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come" when we will see “what no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived."
Our goal is worth the effort. We should strive to be like Christ because we will be with Christ.
So "let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God" (Heb 12:1-2).
I got a free review copy of Confronting Christianity. It's hard for me to pass up a free apologetics book, but before I pass it on to you, I want to know if it's really got anything to offer that every other apologetics book doesn't have. I think this one does.
First, the author, Rebecca McLaughlin, holds a PhD in renaissance literature from Cambridge University. No offense is intended to the other authors in the field, but she writes really well. The book is a pleasure to read.
Second, this is an "issue" book rather than a fundamentals book. So she addresses the questions that are getting flung in Christians' faces these days. Namely:
Chapter 1: Aren’t we better off without religion?
Chapter 2: Doesn’t Christianity crush diversity?
Chapter 3: How can you say there is only one true faith?
Chapter 4: Doesn’t religion hinder morality?
Chapter 5: Doesn’t religion cause violence?
Chapter 6: How can you take the Bible literally?
Chapter 7: Hasn’t science disproved Christianity?
Chapter 8: Doesn’t Christianity denigrate women?
Chapter 9: Isn’t Christianity homophobic?
Chapter 10: Doesn’t the Bible condone slavery?
Chapter 11: How could a loving God allow so much suffering?
Chapter 12: How could a loving God send people to hell?
She answers these questions using, variously, social science data, personal experience, history, philosophy, and theology. She also speaks "from the other side" on some of these issues. Does Christianity subjugate women? Isn't it nice when it's a woman saying "no?" Is Christianity homophobic? She's open about her own struggles with that world while answering the question in the negative.
All of the chapters aren't equally strong, but by and large she gives good answers to these questions in a gracious and eloquence manner.
My goal is to present my kids with a small apologetics library when I send them off to college. This book is a strong contender for that shelf. I think it will do well on yours, too. I enthusiastically recommend it.
Is God a monster?
There are those in our society that look at the acts of judgment in the Bible (especially the Old Testament) and conclude that only a truly evil being would do things like that. Now some of that is simply people disliking the idea of anyone being held accountable for their actions, but I think we've done God a disservice in the way we teach some passages of the Bible.
Take the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. We know how God told Abraham that he was going to destroy the cities. Abe, being a stand up guy, immediately starts dickering with God to save them. He gets him to say he'd spare the cities if he could find 50 righteous people in them. Slowly he whittles him down to 10 — if he finds 10 righteous people, he won't kill everyone. God knows they're not there, but he makes this agreement to make Abraham feel better about God's justice.
For all that I'm being a bit flippant in that retelling, I have always heard that story presented as Abraham slowly working God down to a mere 10 righteous people. In our imaginations, we hear God's reply as "Sure, fine, if there are 10 I won't destroy the city. Leave me alone already."
But what in that story makes it seem like God is making Abraham work for it?
Let's look at some other passages in the Bible that touch on this theme.
In Ezekiel, God corrects Israel's understanding of how divine justice works. The son is not killed for the father's sin, nor is the righteous for the sinner's. In fact, even the sinner, if he turns from his wicked ways, will live: "Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked?" declares the Sovereign Lord. "Rather, am I not pleased when they turn from their ways and live?" (18:23).
Consider the story of Jonah. We focus more on the prophet who ran rather than doing what he was told. But what he was told to do was remarkable. He was sent to preach judgment and repentance to the people of Nineveh. Jonah didn't want to go because he knew God is prone to forgiving sinners. God's reply is telling: "Should I not have concern for the great city of Nineveh, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left?" (4:11).
Remember the story of Jesus expounding on how terrible Israel and her leaders had become. He lists seven "woes", enumerating their sins. Then hear his voice crack as he says, "Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing" (Matt 23:37).
Finally, Luke tells us that after Christ's "Triumphal Entry," he stopped to consider the city that was about to reject him:
As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it and said, “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace — but now it is hidden from your eyes. The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God’s coming to you.” (19:41-44)
Our God takes no pleasure in meeting out punishment. He would prefer that people repent.
So let's take that reminder back into the story of Sodom and Gomorrah. Hear Abraham ask God to spare the city for the sake of 50, and there's no reason why we should think God hesitated at all. Abraham, knowing Sodom's reputation, wisely lowered his request to 45, then 40, and works his way down to 10.
Then hear God's reply: "Oh, Abraham, if only there were 10 righteous people in that city."
God is holy. God is just. God will judge wickedness. But he does not do it with a smile on his face. We should take care that we do not present him as rubbing his hands in glee. His love is holy. His justice is loving. The God who leaves the 99 does not delight in bringing punishment.
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Yeah, but what about the Canaanites? Here's a great article from Stand to Reason on that topic.
"Early to rise and early to bed
Makes a man healthy but socially dead."
Every culture has sayings that become maxims or even mantras. "The early bird gets the worm." "If at first you don't succeed, try, try again."
In the pastoral letters, Paul shares what appear to have been common sayings in the early church that he found "trustworthy."
"Here is a trustworthy saying: Whoever aspires to be an overseer desires a noble task" (1 Tim 3:1).
It's OK to desire to do more.
Let me first admit that what this says is that the office of overseer is a noble one. Yes, absolutely. But Paul is talking about people who "desire" the office. He doesn't say that those who desire to be an overseer should cool their jets because the Spirit will let them know if he wants them to be one. Of course, he also doesn't say that anyone can be one. Paul expands on the nobility of the task by describing the fine character necessary in an overseer. It's not for everyone. They should be the best of us.
But if you're striving to have the character of an overseer, it's OK to want to be one.
This isn't the only place where Paul suggests we can want to do more. In the "spiritual gifts" passage 1 Cor 12, he says, "Now eagerly desire the greater gifts" (v31). Later he says, "... eagerly desire gifts of the Spirit, especially prophecy" (14:1).
James cautions us, "Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly" (3:1), but even there he is not saying that the desire is wrong, merely that there are risks to be considered.
What is important is that we don't desire gifts or offices for our own glory. "Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good" (1 Cor 12:7). "Everything must be done so that the church may be built up" (14:26c). "Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ" (Eph 4:11-13). Our ambition should not be for glory or profit but to better serve our Lord and his church.
So sinful, worldly ambition says, "I want to be more." Godly ambition says, "I want to do more for Jesus." And that is something God smiles on.
