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Living Theologically

theology and the Christian life

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Mike McGarry

Mike is the Founder/Director of Youth Pastor Theologian, where he currently writes and speaks to serve youth pastors. Visit youthpastortheologian.com to learn more about YPT and read his blogs and books, or to learn more about bringing Mike to speak at your church, retreat, or conference.

Can God Out-Vote You?

We all want to rule our lives and call our own shots. It’s just reality. This is where our trouble with God comes in… Because we grasp for the authority that only He should have.

The question we each need to ask, especially we who call ourselves Christians, is this: Can God out-vote me?

When my opinion differs from God’s Word (yes, I’m assuming you believe the Bible to be the Word of God, trying to prove that is subject for another post), will I stand corrected, or will I bend Scripture to my opinion?

We can bend a Scripture to our own wills in a few ways:

  1. Simply ignore that passage in favor of other passages we like more. This isn’t always intentional, but it happens when we only read portions of Scripture we like and avoid the parts we don’t. It also happens when we only read the New Testament and ignore the Old.
  2. Claim the verse only referred to people in that culture but doesn’t apply today. Sometimes this is actually the case, but be careful about jumping to this conclusion before taking the passage seriously and doing your homework.
  3. We simply assume that our opinions are biblical, and therefore don’t need to actually read it. Maybe you grew up in church, so you think you know “enough Bible” to get by, but that’s just it… the Christian life ought to be about treasuring and honoring God our Savior… not just “getting by.” Often, this mentality reflects a misinformed faith, and leads people to think they are spiritually “fine” when they aren’t (let Jesus’ words here be your warning).

I suspect that most American Christians fall into the third category. National polls have shown that although most Americans consider themselves Christians (see here and here), very few actually read the Bible despite affirming their belief that it is the Word of God (check this out), and only 9% have a “biblical worldview” on a theological and a variety of lifestyle issues (see here).

This tells me that although many people believe the Bible is the Word of God, they simply assume that they understand it well enough to say “My opinion is the Bible’s opinion.” This is a position which is increasingly difficult to hold, especially as sexuality continues to hold front-stage in national debates.

Who Holds Veto Power?
So… When it comes to discerning right from wrong… Can God overrule you? Can He out-vote you? Or do you hold veto power?

How you answer that question reveals who really has authority in your life. And there’s no such thing as a Christian who serves himself first. The call to follow Christ is a call to put yourself aside.

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Suffering Will Harden or Humble You

I found out last night that one of my neighbors has cancer. He’s going through Chemo-therapy and it sounds like the doctors are hopeful, but your prayers for him are appreciated. I’d rather not share his name, but if you pray for Pastor Mike’s neighbor then I’m pretty sure God will know who you’re talking about 🙂

That conversation made me think about how suffering can either harden your heart or humble you. The great lie, especially for a man who’s still “in his prime,” is that we are in control. Suffering pulls the mask off our weakness so that our weakness is clearly visible to everyone, ourselves included.

What do you do when confronted with the reality of your weakness and lack-of-control? 

Do you shake your fist at God and say “How dare you!” Do you look through your tears and say “Why me?” I’m guessing it’s probably some combination of the two.

But in the midst of the hard questions that you may never have answered, are you able to say, “God, I don’t understand what you’re doing and why you’re doing this, but I trust you and I need you to be my strength?”

Ultimately, Christian suffering finds its hope and meaning through the cross of Jesus Christ. 

He who was innocent (Jesus) suffered for those who were guilty (you and me). We have hope because Jesus not only died, but conquered death.

If Jesus suffered, why do we think we won’t? Do we think a life of comfort is more appealing than a life spent following Christ?

The Christian trusts God’s control, not his own.

We don’t know all the answers. We know some… and we have partial answers to others. But we simply cannot explain why God does some of the things he does. What we do know is that he is good and we can trust him.

The humble heart does not cry out for God to follow our rules, as if God owes us something.

Lament, mourn, and cry out to God with your hard questions. God is not afraid of being challenged by you. He is not intimidated by your shaking fists. You are allowed to question him.

But remember your place. I recently read through the book of Job, where God finally responds to Job’s pleads for an explanation over his suffering (Job 40:7-14):

Then the Lord spoke to Job out of the storm:

7 “Brace yourself like a man;
I will question you,
and you shall answer me.

8 “Would you discredit my justice?
Would you condemn me to justify yourself?
9 Do you have an arm like God’s,
and can your voice thunder like his?
10 Then adorn yourself with glory and splendor,
and clothe yourself in honor and majesty.
11 Unleash the fury of your wrath,
look at all who are proud and bring them low,
12 look at all who are proud and humble them,
crush the wicked where they stand.
13 Bury them all in the dust together;
shroud their faces in the grave.
14 Then I myself will admit to you
that your own right hand can save you.

Here is my prayer for my neighbor:

Heavenly Father,
     In the midst of my friend’s suffering, be his strength and hope. Make yourself known to him and his family. In this time where death is so near, use this season of weakness and uncertainty to give them eternal life through Jesus Christ. Heal and restore him to health. Guide and bless the doctors and nurses who are caring for him and give them great wisdom and skill as they do their life-sustaining, life-healing work.
Give my friend and his family humble hearts, ones that lean into you when they see their weakness. Give them courage and honesty to give voice to their doubts and their questions, and guide them to your Scriptures as the fountain of Truth. And open for me a door through which I may be of service.
AMEN

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What Do You Need to Know to be Saved?

Man in Church

This is an important question, because it directly affects how you present the Gospel to an unbeliever.

 

Minimalist & Heavy-Handed Examples
For instance, if you take a minimalist approach then you’ll probably share the “Gospel” like this:

God loves you and wants more for you than you’re experiencing. You need to receive his love and choose to love him back!

But where’s the actual Gospel in there? There’s no Jesus, no cross, no resurrection, and no confession of sin or repentance. There’s very little “knowledge” in there, and I’m afraid that many Christians today share the Gospel far more like the above example than they realize. Continue reading “What Do You Need to Know to be Saved?” →

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Don’t Lose Your Time, Invest It

We all have limited time. And the thing is… no one knows how much time they really have! So how are you using your time?

Are you using it, or losing it? Are you investing it into something good and lasting, or are you spending your time on things that are passive (like consuming tv or social media)?

I don’t want to make this a sermon, so I’ll keep it short.

If we want to live theologically, we need to think theologically about how we use our time. Read more books, pray more, make joy-filled living a priority.

Spend less time complaining and more time writing “Thank You” notes. Make more phone calls, and send fewer emails and text messages.

How are you spending your time? Your time DOES reflect your priorities, whether you care to acknowledge that or not. Sure, you may have convictions about how you should spend your time and about what your priorities should be… but take a look at how you actually spend your time, and ask yourself if you’re pleased with the priorities in your actual life. 

If you don’t like what you see then make one change at a time. Pick one priority a month, and sustain the changes you make until you’re actual life matches what you think you “should” be doing.

The time is short. Invest your time to make much of Christ.

Only one life,
T’will soon be past.
Only what’s done for Christ will last.
C.T. Studd

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What’s Your “Thing?”

A brilliant and insightful question, right?! But seriously consider this for a moment with me: What’s your “thing?”

This is something I’ve been chewing on over the last few weeks since I finished reading Walter Isaacson’s biography on Steve Jobs. It’s a fascinating (long!) book, and I’m really glad I read it. There’s a ton about Jobs that we should NOT emulate, but it’s difficult to not be inspired by his focus and determination. As a leader, I would hate to follow him because of how he treated people; but as an innovator there is much for me to learn.

The big idea I walked away with is this: There’s only so much you can do, and do well. It’s better to do one or two things really really well than to do many things mediocre. I don’t want to live in mediocrity. I want to live well, I want to make an impact in the world for Christ, and I hope you do too.

So this begs the question… what’s your “thing?” What is it that you are more passionate about? When you look at your life, your family, your work or your ministry – what is it that ties everything together? Try to be more specific/narrow than saying “Jesus.” The Christian’s faith in Christ should be central for every Christian… I’m encouraging you to consider what is your distinctive passion?

Jobs’ passion was getting simple computing into the hands of the common consumer. For me, I’m passionate about showing the beauty of the Church to a world who looks down on organized religion. Job’s passion took various forms throughout his life, and I’m sure mine will too; but it’s been a good exercise to look back throughout my life and discover this common thread running and guiding me to where I am today. And I’m excited to see how that “Thing” will continue to guide and inspire me in the coming years and decades (God-willing).

So… What’s your “Thing?” If you’re willing to share or want to process this together, I’d love to hear and discuss it together in the comments below.

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Theology isn’t the goal of faith, Love is

Evangelical Christians have a habit of being known more for what we believe theologically/ideologically than for how we live. And when those outside our camp think about how we live, “hypocrite” is the frequent accusation. I’m not here to debate whether or not that’s a fair accusation, but I’ve been challenged twice just today to remember the centrality of love for God in the Christian life.

I was rereading Revelation 2-3’s letters to the churches and was struck again by the Letter to the Ephesian Church. Here’s what immediately jumped out at me:

“I know that you cannot tolerate wicked people, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary. Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first.” (vv.2b-4)

What Caught My Attention
As someone who named his blog “Living Theologically” I doubt I need to tell you that theological faithfulness is important to me. The name of this blog isn’t just an idea that I came up with, it really is a description of how I think, make decisions, observe what’s around me, even how I make jokes (or attempt to, at least). Accordingly, I naturally filter what I hear and read through a biblical and theological lens.

The Ephesian Church did the same thing, and yet they were rebuked because the did this at the expense of love. How often do I, and how often do we as thoughtful Evangelicals, think theologically in a way that separates doctrine from love?

No Division Necessary
Theological faithfulness and passionate love for God belong together. One without the other either leads to sterile faith or rootless faith. Scripture consistently affirms God’s passionate love for humanity. Why, then, do we who desire to know him thoroughly fail to show the kind of love towards him that we are trying to understand?!

As I/we continue to grow in our understanding of who God is and what He’s done and what He’s calling us towards, let us do so with our eyes firmly fixed on God Himself, not on our theology books or creeds. When we desire theological clarity more than we desire intimacy with Christ then we are in danger of forsaking our “first love.” As the A.W. Tozer quote above reminds us, “The Devil is a better theologian than any of us and is a devil still.”

The Heart of the Christian Faith is Love
The heart of Christianity is love: God’s love for us, our love for Him, and our love for each other. As the Apostle Paul concludes in the famous “love chapter,”

If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.” (vv.1-3)

Theological precision is good, it’s something I am committed to – but love is better. I know from experience the coldness of theological faithfulness when one’s heart begins to harden towards God. I want a soft heart that is filled with wonder that God would love me. I want a discerning heart that would give someone a word of comfort and hope before I jump to correct their theology.

I don’t think I’m alone. I think there are many who hear the words to the Church in Ephesus and are convicted about forsaking their love for God in exchange for theological accuracy. Let’s not throw theology in the dumpster or say it’s not essential (it is, just read the words to the Church in Thyatira!), but let’s remember that Love is primary.

  • Do not let God’s love for you grow boring or theoretical
  • God is more than “a good idea” …  ask yourself whether or not you have affection for God
  • When God’s love for you (or your love for Him) begins to grow cold, you can assume that your love for other people has already iced over. You cannot love God without loving other people (1 John 4:20), so if you want to recover your love for God then send some “Thank You” cards, give to those in need (out of genuine love, not pity), and listen carefully to those around you (and refrain from being the “answer guy” who knows the solution to all their problems… just listen).

Note: I heard John Piper talk on the relationship between the heart and the head last year at a Gospel Coalition: New England conference. I haven’t read his book Think, but I know it dives into this topic more fully… if you hear nuances of what Piper writes about in this post it’s probably coming from the talks I heard last year. 

I’d love to hear from those of you out there who share this struggle with me, please add your insights in the comment section regarding the relationship between theological faithfulness and all-out love for God. I know I’m not alone… 

 

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Understanding the Lord’s Prayer

Many people can recite the Lord’s Prayer without being able to explain what it means or answer basic questions about it.  I’d like to break it down very simply to help us all better understand what Jesus was teaching about prayer.

It’s a Pattern, Not a Chant. Jesus said, “This, then is HOW (not what) you should pray…”  Jesus gave it as a pattern for his followers to copy.  He did not intend for them to recite it as if they were chanting a magical incantation that would force God to do what they want him to do.  The different parts of the Lord’s Prayer are meant to teach us something about God, prayer, and about our need.

“Our Father in Heaven.” First, we should start our prayers by recognizing that we are praying to God Almighty who is in Heaven.  But at the same time, we approach him as a child approaches his loving father.  God is “in Heaven,” but He is our loving Heavenly Father.  Just as a respectful child approaches his father with humility and love, we also should approach praying to our Heavenly Father with humility and love rather than praying as if God is a “Cosmic Vending-Machine” who is there to give us whatever we ask for.  We should start our prayers by humbly recognizing who we are and who God is.

“Hallowed be your name.” We barely ever hear the word “hallowed” today, and most of us couldn’t give a good dictionary definition for it… and yet many recite it in the Lord’s Prayer without giving much thought to what we’re saying in this line.  “Hallowed” literally means “to make holy” or “to demonstrate as holy.”  So when we say “hallowed by your name,” what we are praying is, “show us how holy and perfect and ‘different from us’ you are!”  This line really is an extension of the opening acknowledgement that God is our Father in Heaven: First we recognize that God loves us and listens to us (“Our father in heaven”) and then we move on to recognize his holiness (“hallowed be your name).  God is not our buddy whom we should carelessly address, but neither is He is distant and uncaring God whom we should be terrified to pray to.

“Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” God is the King.  When we say that God is “Sovereign,” what we are declaring is that God really is in charge of everything.  Even some atheists pray when their loved ones are in a terrible life-threatening accident.  That’s because there’s just ‘something’ inside of us that tells us God is in control, and Scripture time and again affirms that idea.  The word “will” means the same as “desire,” so by praying for God’s will to be done we are praying for all that God desires to be done.  If we pray but refuse to submit to God’s authority (“your will be done…”), then we are only deceiving ourselves and we’re not really praying the way Jesus taught his followers to pray.  As Jesus’ people pray and obey God’s will for them, his kingdom is made increasingly evident to the unbelieving world around them.

“Give us today our daily bread.” God provides.  He does not give us everything we ask for, but He gives us everything we need.  This doesn’t mean that people who are dying of starvation aren’t praying enough (but it does mean that others aren’t praying “your will be done” enough!).  God provides everything we truly need. This line points back to when God was leading Israel out of Egypt and provided the Manna from heaven each morning for them to eat.  God did not give them enough to last any more than a day so that they would have to continue relying on Him to provide.  Likewise, we are are following Jesus each day can trust that He will provide everything I need for today; and tomorrow he will provide for everything I need tomorrow.  God cares for his children and takes care of them.

“Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.” God is the only one who can forgive sin, I think most people agree about that.  In Matthew 6:12 the Lord’s Prayer says “Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors” while Luke 2:4 says “Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us.”  Scholars agree that the reason these lines are different is because Jesus probably taught them this prayer in Aramaic (which was the commonly spoken language of the day), so when they wrote the prayer in Greek they used different words to communicate what Jesus said.  This line in the prayer is significant, because we we pray we confess our sins to God and admit our need to be forgiven.  You cannot receive forgiveness if you don’t admit that you need it!

“And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.” Confessing sin to God in prayer is really important, but so is repenting from your sin.  I like to think about “Repentance” as doing an “About-Face” – imagine you’re walking one way, then you stop, turn around, and start walking in the opposite direction that you were walking in before – that’s what repentance is like.  When we confess our sin to God we are admitting our need to be forgiven and that we have dishonored God.  Confession is great, but if we do not repent of our sin then we are doomed to repeat it.  Praying this part of the Lord’s Prayer might sound like this: “God, I know that I have sinned by gossiping about my coworker.  This does not honor you and isn’t what you want from me.  I want to speak well of people and not be known as a gossip or slanderer.  When I am tempted to gossip, remind me of your desire for me to to speak well of people and make me a blessing rather than a discouragement.”  It’s important for us to realize that we cannot escape temptation on our own, no matter how “good” we are or how much self-control we have.  We are fully dependent upon the Holy Spirit who lives in Christians to give us eyes that see temptation coming and feet to escape it.

“For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever, Amen.” Technically, this isn’t in the Lord’s Prayer in Scripture and therefore some traditions don’t say this when they recite the Lord’s Prayer.  This simply is a way of closing out the prayer while again declaring God’s holiness and sovereignty.  We pray for God’s kingdom and power and glory to be lifted up and made more beautiful in the eyes of all people.  “Amen” is an expression that means “So be it” or “Make it so.”  By closing our prayers with “Amen,” we are declaring that we truly believe that God has heard everything we have said and that He will do it.

I hope this has been a helpful look into the Lord’s Prayer.  Please feel free to ask any questions as a comment below and I’ll do my best to reply with an answer.  Martin Luther’s “Small Catechism” has a section on the Lord’s Prayer which is really good, I highly recommend it for those of you who might be looking to read a bit more.

[note: I wrote this post and published it on my youth ministry’s blog, crosswalking.net in order to help parents better explain the Lord’s Prayer to their children.] 

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Can the Bible Correct You?

I had a conversation a while ago with a friend who a Christian and is struggling through some difficult doctrines. In the midst of our conversation he said a few things I’ve been thinking about:

1. “I just don’t like it when people have an ‘I’m right and everyone else is wrong’ attitude.”

2. “I just don’t want to believe it.”

Ultimately, I think these comments come down to this question: Will you allow Scripture to correct your thinking. Here’s why I think this is the foundational question.

1. As Christians, we must be people who stand upon God’s revealed Word (the Bible) rather than our own opinions. 

2. When our opinion and God’s Word seem to be at odds, we need to be honest as we dig into Scripture to unveil the original intent (exegesis). Yes, there are cultural differences between our lives today and the culture of the Bible, but we need to be honest and have the integrity to resist merely saying, “Oh, well that was for them, not for us.” We need to honestly examine why it was for them and not for us and dig deeper than “Because that’s how I want it.”

3. When we refuse to believe what the Bible reveals, what we claim to believe about Biblical Authority and what we really believe are at odds with each other. It’s good to affirm the inspiration and authority of Scripture, but if we will not allow God’s Word to correct us then we do not really believe what we think we believe.

4. Truth brings joy. Yes, there are times when it is difficult and painful to believe some things in Scripture, and there are times when I wish I could believe differently because it would be a whole lot easier. But God’s truth brings joy… eventually. Once we see God for who He is and we understand what He has done and what He is doing then even in the midst of the difficulty of faith, we rejoice in who God is and what He has promised.

If you are wrestling with something in Scripture that you do not want to believe… that’s ok. I think we should all be in that position, because it shows that we’re being honest about our beliefs and our preferences and we’re bringing them before God.

A few tips on wrestling with Scripture:

1. Pray. Ask God to increase your faith in Him and not in yourself or in your own preferences. We need to be people who are finally and ultimately devoted to God. We may know that, but are we truly willing to be that kind of person?

2. Interpret Scripture through Scripture. That may sound confusing, but the best way to understand difficult things in the Bible is by understanding what other verses/portions of the Bible have to say about that same thing. Interpret what is obscure or unclear through what is consistently and clearly taught. This also means we should interpret the Old Testament through the lens of the New Testament (but that’s a whole other blog post for another day).

3. Dig Dig Dig. God gave you a brain, he wants you to use it. Study, research, and read what has been written. There are many sites online that provide free Bible Study tools (crosswalk.com is probably the most well known; GotAnswers.com has great Q&A type of articles too).

4. Don’t think you’re alone. You are not the first person to ask the question your asking or to study the passage you’re studying. Read what others have written, but also talk to other Christians about this. Maybe they’re wondering the same thing but think they’re alone… study it together.

5. Finally, have faith. There are some things we will simply never fully understand because we aren’t meant to. That’s not an excuse to avoid intelligently pursuing truth. Instead, it’s a call to remember that God is infinite and you are finite. God is mysterious, but He has made Himself known… in part. If you think you can explain everything about who God is and what He has done (and will do) then either your wisdom is infinite or you have made God finite. There comes a point where you may need to humbly say, “I don’t know everything I want to know, but I know enough to confidently trust God.”

One of the greatest ways we can honor God is by trusting Him when we don’t want to.

“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”
Hebrews 11:1

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