Elise Fitzpatrick has written a fabulous letter to Mr. Antinomian. I found her letter featured on Tullian Tchividjian's blog which I read regularly.
For the record "antinomianism" is a theological term for the heresy that says faith and God's grace are grounds for a Christian to be free from all laws (including the admonitions of Scripture and the moral standards of culture).
Dear Mr. Antinomian,
Forgive me for writing to you in such an open forum but I've been trying to meet you for years and we just never seemed to connect. ... I've got a few things to say to you and I think it's time I got them off my chest.
I wonder if you know how hard you're making it for those of us who love to brag about the gospel. You say that you love the gospel and grace too, but I wonder how that can be possible since it's been continuously reported to me that you live like such a slug. I've even heard that you are lazy and don't work at obeying God at all ... Rather you sit around munching on cigars and Twinkies, brewing beer and watching porn on your computer. Mr. A, really! Can this be true?
... I'm very tempted to tell you that you need to get up off your lazy chair, pour your beer down the drain, turn off your computer and get about the business of the Kingdom.
I admit that I'm absolutely fulmmoxed, though, which is why I'm writing as I am. You puzzle me. How can you think about all that Christ has done for you, about your Father's steadfast, immeasurable, extravagantly generous love and still live the way you do? Have you ever considered the incarnation, about the Son leaving ineffable light to be consigned first to the darkness of Mary's womb and then the darkness of this world? Have you never considered how He labored day-after-dfay in His home, obeying His parents, loving His brothers and sisters so that you could be counted righteous in the sight of His Father? Have you forgotten the bloody disgrace of the cross you deserve? Don't you know that in the resurrection He demolished sin's power over you? Aren't you moved to loving action knowing that He's now your ascended Lord Who prays for you and daily bears you on His heart? Has your heart of stone never been warmed and transformed by the Spirit? Does this grace really not impel zealous obedience? ...
...Will you please come forward? Will you please stand up in front of all of us and tell us that your heart has been captivated so deeply by grace that it makes you want to watch the Playboy channel?
Again, please do forgive me for calling you out like this. I really would like to meet you. I am,
Trusting in Grace Alone,
Elyse
Wow! Wish I had thought of writing such a letter! BUT it did get me thinking about grace and reflecting that the work of grace in my heart (and yours) SHOULD make me want to do all I can to glorify and enjoy God forever whether by life or by death! (Phil. 1:19-20 - For I know that this will turn out for my salvation through your prayer and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, according to my earnest expectation and hope that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death.) Grace should drive my heart away from liscense to living in the truth of the Gospel which is that I am forgiven and accepted into the forever family of God not thru any merit of my own but simply and totally by grace alone! Grace drives my heart to do all that I do for the glory of God which includes rejecting mediocrity and minimalism in pursuit of excellence! It requires rather than negates living under God's truth as found in His Word! As Elyse says "Does this grace not impel zealous obedience?"!! It is truly a matter of the condition of the heart and the work of grace to change my heart! John Donne put it, " Batter my heart, Three Person God"! That is my prayer!
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Monday, June 20, 2011
As the deer panteth for the water
So my soul longeth after you
You alone are my heart's desire
And I long to worship you
You alone are my strength, my shield
To you alone may my spirit yield
You alone are my heart's desire
And I long to worship you
You're my friend and you are my brother
Even though you are a king
I love you more than any other
So much more than anything
You alone are my strength, my shield
To you alone may my spirit yield
You alone are my heart's desire.
So my soul longeth after you
You alone are my heart's desire
And I long to worship you
You alone are my strength, my shield
To you alone may my spirit yield
You alone are my heart's desire
And I long to worship you
You're my friend and you are my brother
Even though you are a king
I love you more than any other
So much more than anything
You alone are my strength, my shield
To you alone may my spirit yield
You alone are my heart's desire.
--Martin Nystrom
Do you ever reflect on the words of this wonderful worship song? Have you ever been really, really thirsty? If you have then you know the singular focus of wanting something to drink more than anything.
Do you ever reflect on the words of this wonderful worship song? Have you ever been really, really thirsty? If you have then you know the singular focus of wanting something to drink more than anything.
Friday, June 17, 2011
The Heart of Death
Paul asks, "Death, where is your sting?" (1 Cor. 15:55) AND the Biblical theological answer is that death "is swallowed up by victory" in the resurrection of Jesus.
BUT my heart is struggling to live there this week! One of my dearest friends - after a long marriage filled with a lot of betrayal that ended in divorce - finally married the first boy she ever liked as a little girl with whom she reconnected at a class reunion. She married him April 23, 2011. Seven weeks, two days later he "slipped the surly bonds of earth ... and touched the face of God" (John Magee) in his eternal home.
As I emailed her daughter when I got the news Monday:
"I'm having such a hard time with this! I know God knows all, is always good, is good all the time and is the sovereign Lord but my heart screams, "NO! NO! NO!"
This is a huge test of faith for my friend, her children and for me.
Sometimes death and loss seem so overwhelming and inexplicable that we wonder where God got off to. That's the heart of death - fear and despair and desperate loss!
BUT the wonderful good news is that "God is a good God. We must begin there. Though we don't understand His actions, we can trust His heart!" (Max Lucado, Max on Life, Q. 148)
When we get stuck tangled in the heart of death we aren't trusting the heart of God! The heart of God is the place I need to "hang out" especially when death smacks me in the face and the heart!
BUT my heart is struggling to live there this week! One of my dearest friends - after a long marriage filled with a lot of betrayal that ended in divorce - finally married the first boy she ever liked as a little girl with whom she reconnected at a class reunion. She married him April 23, 2011. Seven weeks, two days later he "slipped the surly bonds of earth ... and touched the face of God" (John Magee) in his eternal home.
As I emailed her daughter when I got the news Monday:
"I'm having such a hard time with this! I know God knows all, is always good, is good all the time and is the sovereign Lord but my heart screams, "NO! NO! NO!"
This is a huge test of faith for my friend, her children and for me.
Sometimes death and loss seem so overwhelming and inexplicable that we wonder where God got off to. That's the heart of death - fear and despair and desperate loss!
BUT the wonderful good news is that "God is a good God. We must begin there. Though we don't understand His actions, we can trust His heart!" (Max Lucado, Max on Life, Q. 148)
When we get stuck tangled in the heart of death we aren't trusting the heart of God! The heart of God is the place I need to "hang out" especially when death smacks me in the face and the heart!
Thursday, June 16, 2011
An Affair of the Heart?!
Do you remember the wicked queen in the children's story Snow White? She wanted to be the most beautiful woman in the land. Every morning she would gaze into her magic mirror and inquire, "Mirror, mirror on the wall - who's the fairest one of all?" The mirror "faithfully" responded day after day that she - the wicked queen - was indeed the most beautiful woman in the kingdom until the fateful day when the mirror told the truth that Snow White was indeed more beautiful. As the story unfolds it is more and more evident that Snow White is not only beautiful of face and form but also of heart. Her beauty is much more than skin deep and the mirror tells it true.
Recently the news has told the sad story of another who is also apparently consummed with his own "beauty" - a US congressman, no less. His now well- cussed and discussed (and finally 'fessed up to) "cyber sin" - which at the heart is no less than the same kind of narcissism with which the wicked queen was also infected.
New York Times columnist Ross Douthat wrote (6/14/2011): In the sad case of Representative Anthony Weiner's virtual adultery, the Internet era's defining vice has been thrown into sharp relief. It isn't lust or smut or infidelity, though online life encourages all three. It's a desperate, adolescent narcissim. ... Facebook and Twitter did not forge the culture of narcissism. But they serve as a hall of mirrors in which it flourishes as never before
... as Anthony Weiner just found out, it's very easy to get lost in there.
Chuck Colson gets it terribly right in Breakpoint today: Congressman Weiner recently announced that he was seeking a leave of absence from the Congress so he could undergo therapy. Therapy for what? For repulsive behavior? For the inability to refrain from taking lewd photos of himself and sending them to innocent people? I don't know what psychologists would call this disorder, but I would call it sin. ... And while some doctor will prescribe psychotherapy or some drug to control the Congressman's urges, the proper prescription would be taking responsibility, repenting and asking forgiveness. ... Those feelings of guilt and shame that so many of us nowadays try to medicate or explain away are absolutely essential to our moral and spiritual well-being. They are warning lights that all is not well with our souls. We ignore them or disable them at our own peril. ... The cure for narcissism is stepping away from the mirror and looking at someone else - especially at Him who is (or should be) the true desire of us all. ... Taking a pill or undergoing therapy will be no substitutes for forgiveness. The good news is that forgiveness is only repentance and a prayer away.
Only God can grant full forgiveness (because of the life, death and resurrection of His Son Jesus) and only God can hear your prayer! BUT others can help and support that journey. We all need that loving support - that's what restoration is all about: bringing life through a surrounding community of faith, love and acceptance! If you are searching for such a safe place to recover and find your own restoration of heart and soul, my friend, then come join others on that same journey at A Restoration Church!
Ultimately it's a journey of the heart into the restoration that only God's grace can bring us into and through into the light of His love and acceptance! The mirror of God's truth and grace is the only one that tells it true!
Recently the news has told the sad story of another who is also apparently consummed with his own "beauty" - a US congressman, no less. His now well- cussed and discussed (and finally 'fessed up to) "cyber sin" - which at the heart is no less than the same kind of narcissism with which the wicked queen was also infected.
New York Times columnist Ross Douthat wrote (6/14/2011): In the sad case of Representative Anthony Weiner's virtual adultery, the Internet era's defining vice has been thrown into sharp relief. It isn't lust or smut or infidelity, though online life encourages all three. It's a desperate, adolescent narcissim. ... Facebook and Twitter did not forge the culture of narcissism. But they serve as a hall of mirrors in which it flourishes as never before
... as Anthony Weiner just found out, it's very easy to get lost in there.
Chuck Colson gets it terribly right in Breakpoint today: Congressman Weiner recently announced that he was seeking a leave of absence from the Congress so he could undergo therapy. Therapy for what? For repulsive behavior? For the inability to refrain from taking lewd photos of himself and sending them to innocent people? I don't know what psychologists would call this disorder, but I would call it sin. ... And while some doctor will prescribe psychotherapy or some drug to control the Congressman's urges, the proper prescription would be taking responsibility, repenting and asking forgiveness. ... Those feelings of guilt and shame that so many of us nowadays try to medicate or explain away are absolutely essential to our moral and spiritual well-being. They are warning lights that all is not well with our souls. We ignore them or disable them at our own peril. ... The cure for narcissism is stepping away from the mirror and looking at someone else - especially at Him who is (or should be) the true desire of us all. ... Taking a pill or undergoing therapy will be no substitutes for forgiveness. The good news is that forgiveness is only repentance and a prayer away.
Only God can grant full forgiveness (because of the life, death and resurrection of His Son Jesus) and only God can hear your prayer! BUT others can help and support that journey. We all need that loving support - that's what restoration is all about: bringing life through a surrounding community of faith, love and acceptance! If you are searching for such a safe place to recover and find your own restoration of heart and soul, my friend, then come join others on that same journey at A Restoration Church!
Ultimately it's a journey of the heart into the restoration that only God's grace can bring us into and through into the light of His love and acceptance! The mirror of God's truth and grace is the only one that tells it true!
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Hard Heart, Old Faith, Dry Eyes and Cold Prayers
What to do with my hard heart? old faith? dry eyes? cold prayers?
Keith Green died when the Cessna he was taking off in with eleven other people crashed.
Green is known for his contributions to worship and praise music in his lyrics and melodies including "O Lord, You're Beautiful" and "There is a Redeemer."
Perhaps his greatest gift to the people of God is his haunting and beautiful "My Eyes Are Dry."
My eyes are dry; my faith is old.
My heart is hard; my prayers are cold.
And I know how I ought to be -
Alive to you and dead to me.
O, what can be done for an old heart like mine?
Soften it up with oil and wine!
The oil is You, Your Spirit of love.
Please wash me anew in the wine of Your blood.
Thank you, Keith Green, for this gift to my own hard heart!
Keith Green died when the Cessna he was taking off in with eleven other people crashed.
Green is known for his contributions to worship and praise music in his lyrics and melodies including "O Lord, You're Beautiful" and "There is a Redeemer."
Perhaps his greatest gift to the people of God is his haunting and beautiful "My Eyes Are Dry."
My eyes are dry; my faith is old.
My heart is hard; my prayers are cold.
And I know how I ought to be -
Alive to you and dead to me.
O, what can be done for an old heart like mine?
Soften it up with oil and wine!
The oil is You, Your Spirit of love.
Please wash me anew in the wine of Your blood.
Thank you, Keith Green, for this gift to my own hard heart!
Friday, June 10, 2011
Does a Repentant Heart Just Be Sorry?
Remember the "love is never having to say I'm sorry"? Well, it's a lie born in the pit of hell!
God's truth has its counterfeit in Satan's lies. This is one example!
Actually the truth is that love is ALWAYS having to say I'm sorry! AND there is more to being sorry than just saying so! Repentance means turning and going in the opposite direction than anger and sin took you or me. Repentance means making right what has gone so wrong "as far as it depends on you"! (Rom. 12:18)
"The life of a repentant person is altered. The course of their daily conduct is entirely changed. A new King reigns within their heart.
-- J.C. Ryle from Old Paths, 5 Marks of Repentance, 1816-1900
God's truth has its counterfeit in Satan's lies. This is one example!
Actually the truth is that love is ALWAYS having to say I'm sorry! AND there is more to being sorry than just saying so! Repentance means turning and going in the opposite direction than anger and sin took you or me. Repentance means making right what has gone so wrong "as far as it depends on you"! (Rom. 12:18)
"The life of a repentant person is altered. The course of their daily conduct is entirely changed. A new King reigns within their heart.
-- J.C. Ryle from Old Paths, 5 Marks of Repentance, 1816-1900
Friday, May 20, 2011
Where is Your Heart?
Something to reflect on when you make your "to do" list for today and for all your tomorrows:
No time for God?
What fools we are to clutter up our lives
With common thiings, and without the Lord of Life and life itself!
No time for God?
As soon to say, "No time to eat, to sleep, to live, to die.
Take time for God or a poor misshapen thing you'll be
To step into eternity and say, "I had no time for Thee."
-- Norman L. Trott, 1933
Where is your heart today? It IS something to think about!
No time for God?
What fools we are to clutter up our lives
With common thiings, and without the Lord of Life and life itself!
No time for God?
As soon to say, "No time to eat, to sleep, to live, to die.
Take time for God or a poor misshapen thing you'll be
To step into eternity and say, "I had no time for Thee."
-- Norman L. Trott, 1933
Where is your heart today? It IS something to think about!
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