"Sola Dei Gloria" without Sola is Idolotry

"S. D. G." (for Soli Deo Gloria) at the end of a G. F. Handel manuscript

I'm often taken back by the "political" inter-workings of church congregations.  Often times you will find groups of individuals that tend to operate aspects of the church, be it food preparation, grounds keeping duties, cleaning functions, Sunday school boards, mission boards.   These groups serve purposes, of course, good purposes and those members should be appreciated... they are appreciated.   Good works, this is what the christian should be focused on doing.  But my question is... to what end?

I can't directly question the motivation of all individuals, because many do take the rolls seriously and see it as a direction to bring glory to God alone.   But many, it's a job of personal satisfaction, they do the job in order to receive praise.    As a child and young adult I often attended churches that would have "special music" during the service, which was a code word for someone performing.  I have a problem with this during corporate worship, because when we clap after that person has sung or played an instrument... is that applause for them?   If the entire worship service is, in fact worship, the subject of our worship is on God.

This got me thinking... about the five Solas.   The five latin phrases that were the diving force of the reformation.   However, many today in the "Modern" church probably haven't even heard or tread upon these short nuggets:
  

• Sola Fide, by faith alone.
• Sola Scriptura, by Scripture alone.
• Solus Christus, through Christ alone.
• Sola Gratia, by grace alone.
• Soli Deo Gloria, glory to God alone.

 
Where am I going... well in these quick phrases we get some big, huge ideas.   First it's by faith and only faith that we are saved, not by works, not by doing good things, not by working at the church, it's the faith that is given by God.     We know this, because of the Bible, and it's the Bible alone that provides this revelation.  It is through Christ Alone we are saved, because it is the work of Christ that saves us, not our work, our faith is in the finished work of Christ who satisfied the Father's wrath against us and our sinful nature.  Why did Christ do this?  It was by Grace, meaning it was a free gift of incomprehensible value, bestowed to us while we are still sinners, reviving us, making us a new creation, regeneration.   Why was all this done?  To give all the glory to God alone, it is to show that God, while Holy and wrathful, is loving and kind, he shows mercy and grace.    We don't need to be praised for our works, God gets the Glory of our works, we should humbly submit them to Him... Alone.

There is a huge wave of ignorance and superstition that has entered our modern churches, where the act of worship is now just a big concert.   This is inexcusable!   Just because we have some personal need to be a "super star" doesn't mean it needs to come out at church, our purpose at church is to Worship God... Alone!

The need for self validation is in itself pride and stubbornness.   If we are truly in Christ, we have no Self-esteem,  we don't live for ourselves, we live for Christ, so anything we do is a reflection of Christ to the world.  If we are trying to glean that praise for ourselves... then we are living in idolatry.

I've also heard it said that the church worship service should be a beacon of light to the dead world, so making it "seeker sensitive" or making it more like a big flashy pop concert is more comfortable to them.   I disagree, the wicked never willingly come into the presence of God.   Our services should be to the Glory of God alone, not to our glory, not the the praise of man.  If we play this idea of "seeker sensitive" out, then we should water down our doctrine and theology and try to meet them where they are... Hence the hypocrisy, these "seekers" have their own sense of deity which unless quickened by God, is pagan practice, thus it leads to no good result...   At this point we've just spoiled all the dough with just a pinch of leaven.  Motivation is everything...  and it's the fine hair splitting between God centered and man centered world views.

Worship is an action of the heart, the inner being of a person, the whole person.  If that - Worship isn't completely directed to God, then it's not Sola Dei Gloria. 

This is an observation of my life, and this is the question I need to take with me daily: to who's glory am I doing this task?

Sola Dei Gloria

Opinion vs. Absolute Truth; where there is no gray

Ten Commandments at the Texas State Capital in Austin , Texas

I'm often astounded by people, brothers and sisters in the church who hold to anti-biblical views. Often they are swayed by the media, this is loving, and if this is loving you must embrace it. I see "Christians" flock to ideas like evolution, global warming, overpopulation, abortion rights and sexual perversions simply because they are shown in such a positive light on television. They don't see how this world view is actually a contradiction of a biblical or Christian worldview. But why should they?
Many of our churches are not centers of theology (Growing in a better understanding of God and His nature), but are simply a place to exchange "Warm and Fuzzy" feelings. We leave the "God who hates sin and is full of wrath for those who defy His Holiness" at the door. There is only a place for a God who loves and accepts everyone, sorta a god of our own making. Even the quote attributed to St. Augustine "Hate the sin love the sinner" could even be construed as being unkind and hateful. How can you separate a sin like homosexuality from a man? It's now his identity, and it's endorsed as "normal" by our media and now our government.
Today my pondering isn't about homosexuality. I'm sure I'll write more on that at a later time, but today I must write this to those who call themselves "Christians". Who take upon themselves the identity of Jesus Christ, who we believe is God in flesh. Theology must be our life, our desire, our everything. We must be daily seeking knowledge in God's word, to know how to live as a distinct and holy people. We need to learn how to live in a world, but not become part of a world. To see the world as God see's the world.
To many Christians choose to have an opinion that is anti-biblical, thus picking and choosing what parts of the Bible they feel is 'relevant', to today. What weight does an opinion have if its not grounded in truth? Our truth isn't pop psychology, new trends in philosophy, or even the current events, our truth is the total and whole word of God. Every last part of it shows a God who doesn't change, and who loves holiness and purity.
But what is holiness and purity, since most churches have all but taken the ten commandments down, and stored them in the closet fearing that they be seen as legalism. We don't even know the standards. How can we be sinful if we don't know what sin is? In the book of Judges, a common phrase "the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord" over and over again. This is very similar to our current era, maybe we could say "the Christians did evil in the eyes of the Lord". This standard was a comparison to God's law, they decided they knew what to do, and the standard slid. I know we aren't saved by keeping the law, no one can keep it perfectly. The law is like a ruler to tell us what is right and wrong. If we don't know that we are wrong, how can we every ask God to make us right? How can we be saved if we have no idea what we are saved from (like the wrath of God). We are commanded to keep the law of God with us, why? Because the law of God, whether we like it or not, is God's standard of perfection. Of course we can't keep the law, and we've each broken every one of the commandments, but Jesus did keep it, and he was perfect, how can we appreciate and love Him more if we don't know what He did for us?
In judges 21:25 it says - "Back in those days, Israel didn't yet have a king, so each person did whatever seemed right in his own opinion.", is that were we are today?
God's law is not an opinion, it's an absolute truth. The Facts are simple: God is Holy, we are not holy. When we try to find gray, we are actually "doing whatever seems right in our own opinion."

Looking to 2012

2011 is almost over,  it's been an eventful year, a growing year, and a challenging year.  I found these questions helpful in looking forward to the next year:

1. Am I consciously or unconsciously creating the impression than I am better than I really am? In other words, am I a hypocrite?
2. Am I honest in all my acts and words, or do I exaggerate?
3. Do I confidentially pass on to another what I was told to me in confidence?
4. Can I be trusted?
5. Am I a slave to dress, friends, work or habits?
6. Am I self-conscious, self-pitying, or self-justifying?
7. Did the Bible live in me today?
8. Do I give it time to speak to me every day?
9. Am I enjoying prayer?
10. When did I last speak to someone else of my faith?
11. Do I pray about the money I spend?
12. Do I get to bed on time and get up on time?
13. Do I disobey God in anything?
14. Do I insist upon doing something about which my conscience is uneasy.?
15. Am I defeated in any part of my life?
16. Am I jealous impure, critical, irritable, touchy or distrusting?
17. How do I spend my spare time?
18. Am I proud?
19. Do I thank God that I am not as other people, especially as the Pharisees who despised the publican?
20. Is there anyone I fear, dislike, disown, criticize, hold a resentment toward or disregard? I If so, what am I doing about it?
21. Do I grumble or complain constantly?
22. Is Christ real to me?
   

Should Christmas only be about Christmas?

 There is a cultural war brewing in America.  Each year we see traditions such as nativities, Christmas tree lighting change to holiday displays and holiday lighting.  The word Christmas - which comes from Christ Mass, the celebration of Christs birth seems to be offensive to those of no or little faith.  The desire of change is to create a pure commercial holiday, with out Christ.   How will the next battle of this war be waged?

I just finished reading an article by Rebecca Hagelin,  It's worth the time, she's done a great job of laying out the battle lines -> We need Christmas now more than ever.

How would your life change if you knew God didn't exist?

We are all confronted with a life of constant churn, trying to survive to the next day. Day after day I'm faced with moral challenges, dealing with things such as need, wants and desires. I'm confronted with an advertisement system which tells me "if it feels good, do it" but a struggle with a moral consequence to that action. I was taught that stealing, slander, cheating on my wife, murder, envy, not honoring my parents, and respectful speech of God is the moral standard set down by my Christian worldview. When I'm needing money, I don't rob a bank because of my moral standard.

Does a belief in God truly affect our moral decisions? According to The Pew forum on Religious and Public life 88% of Americans are sure or fairly sure that God exists. 57% of Americans feel that you need a belief in God to have a moral standard. The funny thing is the generational gap trend is showing that this is also a changing perspective. In the US 61% of the people over the age of 40 that were surveyed and only 51% of the people between the ages of 18-39 said there must be a belief in God to be moral. That means the trend is moving to a belief system which doesn't rest upon a higher moral authority.

In my last blog I talked about altruism, and how I don't believe that any human is selfless. I think that from the infant to the oldest of us, we are all selfish by nature. When we were born, we didn't desire the best for our parents, all we thought about was our needs: Food, warmth, and comfort. My argument is that if we are left to our natural desires, without some kind of external influence in our lives, we would have no moral standard. Even those who claim "there is no god", live under the shadow of His presence.

So lets just pretend we live in a world where God never existed, there never was a god. What would this world look like, how would it function, what would be the norms and morals of this society? What would the standard of human value be based upon? What is the worth of a person, merely what they are capable of producing? What would be the purpose of living?

Is Altruism real or a product of selfishness?

The term today is "pay it forward", the idea that you do something good for someone, not out of need but a desire that they in turn will do the right thing. I love the Liberty Mutual commercial which starts with one random act of kindness, observed by a third party, and then shared over and over again. Wikipedia says altruism is selfless concern for the wealfare of others, but is this true, do we as humans truly have a selfless concern for anything?
I often ask what is a persons motivation for doing something, is it fame, is it recognition, is it expecting something in return? If our volition, or motivation for doing anything has anything to do with our welfare in anyway, then I would claim it as being selfish and thus not altruism. I read a great article where a guy "payed it backwards". He even claimed his motivation was selfish, he wanted peace from a very unrest filled situation. My exploration is not into the question of "pay it forward", but rather into the motivation of a person who does that random act of kindness.
As many of you know, I am a Christian, a follower of Jesus Christ. Much of my motivation to do selfless acts has everything to do with my world view. I am motivated to help people selflessly, not to gain favor with God, but rather to demonstrate the selfless act of Jesus Christ. I often question my motivation for doing anything good, it's truly a struggle for me. Am I trying to gain God's favor, when I know from the Bible He loves me without condition of my actions. If I'm doing good, am I doing it to be more righteous, like the pharisees of Jesus day? The Pharisees would make sure everyone saw the good they did, and received praise. To this Jesus gave a great response, recorded in the book of Matthew 6:2-4

2"So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. 3But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

This is a great passage to really reflect on as I think about how do I go about doing things that will help people. First I must do it in secret, I like this, because on many situations I've run into people who give money, and demand to be recognized for what they've done. They receive fame and honor from the action, and thus would be a reward in itself. Selfless acts must be done without any rewards. As a recipient of good will, I've often wondered what the motivation of someone who gave, are they looking down at me for not having as much. But when that item just appears it is a miracle, it has no cause and effect, it has no response, there is no reason for it. But now as a Christian, am I doing this for another reason... if you read the passage you will pick up on the motivation it gives: "Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you." I now push the question forward, is there such a thing as true Altruism?
I think there is only one example of true altruism, a true selfless act, which no logic can truly understand:
The Master Creator, the Author of time and Space, God. He created everything to His standard which was of course perfection, we call his perfection Holy. He created beings, to enjoy what he created, not because He was lonely, or He needed them, but truly wanted to share His creation. This would be the first major act of altruism. But something entered the world which caused his creation to become corrupted, it was anything but his design, a term we call sin, which means missing the mark, or less than perfection. We live in a world were sin is normal, it's expected, it's the way things are. I can't even imagine what the world was like in it's perfect state. As a creator, he had two options: He could of course start over, like a potter who smashes down his pot or a painter who re-primes the canvas. His second option would be to correct the wrongs, and resolve the offense. But the offense had a cost.
When I think of cost, I'm often drawn to our current economic situation, where the system of monetary balance is off-kilter. The banks who are overdrawn because of the corruption of itself, and greed of people misusing credit, are now going to be bailed out by the federal government, which represents taxpayers, which is about everyone. The cost isn't isolated, it effects everyone. So the cost of Sin is huge, it's not perfection. If a Holy God accepted any perfection, lets say he just ignores it, He is no longer Holy. For God, the logical thing would be to start over, but He didn't.. He stepped into time and space, and took on flesh, and became a man, the God Man, Jesus Christ. He lived a perfect life, something impossible for all of us under the curse of sin. As a blameless perfect lamb, died on the cross, removing the curse of sin from those he loved. Not to gain their favor, because they have nothing to give, they we slaves, they were in debt to perfection. You see, that I believe is the second truly altruistic act ever committed on our planet.
What is your opinion of altruism, am I off the mark, please let me know.

Government and the Christian Worldview

As we again move into a new election cycle in the United States, we are bombarded daily by political messages. Some of these messages are informative, and tell us things which the politician plans to do, and helps us understand how they will govern. Other messages tell us things about the opponent, and faults and failures, also helping us understand how they will govern. Even more there are messages, which aren't true, and will also help us understand how the person releasing the message plans to govern. But the real question is Who Governs us?
In the democratic societies we elect our government, but where does true government begin? Does it start at the White house, Congress, and the courts? Does it start at our State, at our county, at our city? Or does it start at our front door, does government start in our Hearts? William Penn, the founder of the Pennsylvania colony once said "If men will not be governed by God, they will be ruled by tyrants". These words are so true. As A Christian living in America, I understand the freedoms I hold so dear, but I also must know that these rights are a gift given by God, not by man. If I choose not to be governed by God, He has all authority to place a tyrant over me (us as a nation). I must understand that God is the highest point of government, and self-government (aka self control) is my responsibility. We live in a world which has a low view of ethics, morals, and virtue. As a Christian I must live with with a high ethics, high morals and virtue! Government starts with me.