For context, Zach Lambert is a self-proclaimed “Post-Evangelical,” which basically means he’s a liberal Christian with “progressive” theological positions. I don’t recommend Zach as a source for sound Biblical doctrine. But let’s ignore him for a moment and focus on his point. He says true Christians should not love their nation more than they love their neighbor.
This refers to the words of Jesus Christ, who said that the second-greatest commandment is to “love your neighbor as yourself” (Mark 12:31). There is no command in the Bible to love your nation. It’s not wrong to love your nation, but it seems pretty clear that loving your neighbor is more important. On this, at least, I can agree with Zach.
Rich challenges this notion. He asserts that the context of “love your neighbor” in the Bible was back when your “neighbors” were people you knew well or were related to. As many have pointed out, this is nonsense. If he read the passage he’s talking about, he would quickly realize how wrong he is. Let’s take a look.
“He, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, ‘And who is my neighbor?’ Jesus replied, ‘A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. …a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. … Which of these…proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?’ He said, ‘The one who showed him mercy.’ And Jesus said to him, ‘You go, and do likewise.'” — Luke 10:29-30, 33, 36-37 (ESV)
A man in the crowd asks Jesus “Who is my neighbor?” This is an important question, but the answer isn’t as simple as “family” or “people who live near you.” No, instead Jesus answers in the form of a parable which demonstrates a fuller meaning.
The principle character in this parable is a Samaritan. This was a people group living near Israel in the time of Christ. Their ancestors were part of the Northern Kingdom of Israel, which fell in 721 B.C. when the Assyrians attacked.1 Some were led off to Assyria, but those who stayed intermarried with foreigners and eventually became known as the Samaritans. The Jews considered them half-breeds. They hated each other.
Jesus specifically picks out a hated enemy of the Jews to be the protagonist of his story, the one who puts aside racial and national divides in order to show kindness to a man in need. This is in stark contrast to the religious leaders in Jesus’ parable who step over the man on the road. They’re shown to care less about following the second-greatest commandment than a lowly Samaritan, a great offense to those listening to Jesus. The Jews saw themselves as superior, as garnering God’s favor purely based on their heritage. How wrong they were.
Rich is essentially the man who questions Jesus. He refuses to accept that certain people groups are worthy of our love as Christians (though he himself doesn’t claim to be a Christian, interestingly). We have to draw the line somewhere, he thinks. I’ll love my family and other Americans, but not the “random africans or indians that got airdropped into Ohio last week” as he so eloquently puts it. No, Rich. God wants you to love them too. He would have you love even your most hated enemy.
“But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you.” — Luke 6:27 (ESV)
Between the Lines & Outside the Context
But here’s where I must take a step back and look at the bigger picture. This isn’t just about who you show love to in your daily life. This isn’t just about moral principles. Rich is getting at something different. Ironically, so is Zach. They’re bringing connotations of foreign policy into this discussion. And that’s certainly NOT something Jesus was talking about in his parable. This is essential to point out.
It’s a common trend nowadays for liberal Christians (like Zach) to take the Bible out of context in an attempt to force the Scriptures to support their positions on all sorts of societal, economic, and political issues. “Jesus was a socialist,” they might say. “The early church is an example of Communism,” they might say. It’s all lies. There’s a world of difference between Jesus’ actual teachings and his theoretical position on which laws should be passed relating to mass immigration or wealth redistribution. We must be careful to rightly divide the words of God.
“Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.” — 2 Timothy 2:15 (ESV)
The question is not, “How can I apply Jesus’ words to foreign policy?” This is an improper use of Scripture called “eisegesis,” in which we attempt to inject our own ideas into the Bible. No, instead we ought to ask, “What was Jesus trying to say here?”
The answer seems to relate to the way Jesus’ audience, the Jews, conducted themselves in their daily lives. They might encounter people they despise, but Jesus tells them to show love regardless. They might have enemies, but Jesus tells them to show love regardless. Jesus was NOT trying to advocate for any kind of foreign policy position. He wasn’t aligning himself with any law. He wasn’t rebuking or affirming Rome’s authority in how it managed borders. Those are completely separate issues.
It’s perfectly acceptable to vote for strong borders while obeying Jesus’ command to love your neighbor. There are very good practical reasons for the government to regulate immigration, especially with how many widespread problems have arisen from lax policies as of late. Our “neighbors” are not just foreigners, but also our fellow Americans. Voting for strong borders is a form of loving our neighbors. At the same time, it’s imperative that we imitate Christ in how we treat any and all people we come across in our daily lives as Americans. If we see immigrants, we should love them. They are our “neighbors,” as Jesus makes clear to us.
Is this a contradiction? No, it is not. Whatever situation we find ourselves in, we obey Christ in loving our neighbors, even if the situation is not ideal. But that does not imply that we should actively seek to tear down our borders and invite everyone into America. Those are two completely different things. In the same way, we should trust God to provide for our needs, but this does not mean we should neglect to use the resources God provides. “Jesus take the wheel,” we say as we press on the gas with our eyes closed. “I gave you a steering wheel for a reason!” God replies as he shakes his head in disappointment.
It’s also worth pointing out that the man on the road was genuinely in need. Many immigrants are in need, but many are not. In fact, some are dangerous and should be refused entry regardless.2 Jesus certainly didn’t mean to imply that loving your neighbor means inviting criminals into your home. Locking up criminals, no matter where they come from, is not opposed to Jesus’ command to love your enemy. It’s just another way governments keep the peace and protect their citizens. This is entirely appropriate and consistent with how Paul talks about the purpose of government in Romans 13:1-7.
Another potential connotation in Zach’s post is a disagreement with “Christian Nationalism,” which I go over in detail here. I’m not certain this was his intention, but it seems likely. Suffice to say that Christian Nationalism is not Biblical, but that doesn’t give Zach a pass. Many Christian Nationalists want to bring patriotism (love of country) back. I don’t have a problem with patriotism. I have a problem with uniting the church and the state. Again, see my other post for more details. The only point on which I can confidently agree with Zach is the idea that no Christian should love his nation more than he loves his neighbor. Jesus is clear on this.
Conclusion
I do believe it is my responsibility as a Christian to show love and kindness to all people, whether they are an African immigrant or a close friend. The Christian faith has no racial or national boundaries. We ought to be evangelizing to all people as well. At the same time, I will openly advocate for strong borders in America. Most civilized countries around the world also want strong borders. This is not racist or hateful. It is simply a reality in properly governing a country and keeping citizens safe.
Don’t go looking for foreign policy from Jesus’ parables. Don’t go looking for Christian insights from an unbeliever like Rich. Don’t go looking for sound doctrine from a “Post-Evangelical” like Zach. Read Christ’s words on his own terms. Follow wise counsel from leaders in your local church who imitate Christ in their daily lives. Vote for policies that promote the safety and prosperity of the nation. But do not cling to race or national identity or social justice. Cling to Christ.
Let me know your thoughts in the comments below. Enter your email to be notified for my next post. Thanks for reading. Godspeed.
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This post is a transcript of the above YouTube video, with minor alterations. Check out my channel for theology, woodworking, and more! Click HERE to subscribe.
One of the most popular beliefs of the day is that God loves everybody… God’s Love toward all His creatures is the fundamental and favorite tenet of Universalists, Unitarians, Theosophists, Christian Scientists, Spiritualists, Russellites, etc. … That God loves everybody is quite a modern belief. The writings of the church fathers, the Reformers or the Puritans will (we believe) be searched in vain for any such concept. (Pink 1918/2015, 42) — A. W. Pink
This is not a defense of “Calvinism” as a whole. I am not strictly a Calvinist. I am a Christian. But I hold to some beliefs that fall under the larger umbrella that is “Calvinism.” I recently saw Trent’s video called “One Christian Truth Calvinists CAN’T SAY” (Horn 2024) and I thought it was worth talking about. Given that Trent is a Catholic and I’m a reformed protestant, I’m sure this is not the only thing we disagree on. My goal is not to target Trent specifically. My goal is to defend God’s sovereignty and show you why opposing arguments are flawed. Let’s get started.
God Loves Everyone?
Trent begins by saying that John 3:16 tells us God loves everyone. He believes God’s love for everyone is a core Christian truth that cannot be argued. He says Calvinism contradicts this truth. So it must be Calvinism that is wrong, not John 3:16.
This is a persuasive strategy. By pitting some guy’s theological ideas (Calvinism) against the Bible itself, he can easily convince people to side with the Bible and toss out Calvinism. I’m going to challenge Trent’s framework on two fronts.
First, I am not convinced that the Bible actually claims “God loves everyone” in the way Trent thinks.
Second, there are certain ways in which “God loves everyone” without contradicting Calvinism.
Trent unequivocally states that a Christian should be able to say this to anyone: “God planned for all eternity that you would be alive because he loves you and wants you to have eternal happiness in Him.” Let’s break it down.
“God planned for all eternity that you would be alive.” This I agree with, and it lines up perfectly with God’s sovereignty as described in the Bible. Psalm 139:13-16 and Ephesians 1 show clearly that God plans our days in advance. He creates us with intention.
“Because he loves you.” This is where Trent thinks he has Calvinists pinned. He even says, “It’s very instructive to watch Calvinists try to answer the question ‘Does God love everyone.’ Because you can see them trying to reconcile our common sense intuition—that God loves all people, and if he loves them he’d want them to be saved—with a Calvinist theology.”
Appealing to common sense is not an argument. When discussing theology, we should look to the Bible.
What John 3:16 Means
John 3:16 says “For God so loved the world…” This is the strongest evidence for Trent’s position. It’s the best he’s got, which as you will soon see, is not much. John does not say “God loves everyone.” He says “God loved the world.” If you look at how that original Greek word is used elsewhere in the NT, you quickly see that it can have different meanings depending on the context.
When Jesus’ followers tell him to show himself “to the world” (Jn 7:4, ESV), do they mean “to every human being?” No. Pharisees say of Jesus that “the world has gone after him.” (Jn 12:19, ESV) Do they mean every human being? No. When Paul says that the faith of his audience in Rome is “proclaimed in all the world,”(Rom 1:8, ESV) does he mean proclaimed to every human being? Of course not. Arthur Pink points this out, saying “the term ‘the world’ often has a relative rather than an absolute force.” (Pink 1918/2015, 43)
We also find phrases like “foundations of the world.” “Kingdoms of the world.” “gain the whole world and forfeit his soul.” “He was in the world.” “…before the world existed.” “The world” often refers to the created order in a more general sense.
How exactly does God love the world? Let’s keep reading in John 3. “he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” (ESV) Already, we have John referring to a specific group—those who believe. “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.” (ESV) Interesting. What does “the world” mean in this verse? Does it mean “every human being?” No. It cannot, or else John would be arguing that everyone is saved, which is the heresy of universalism. Instead, a better definition of “world” in verse 17 might be “the created order in general, but specifically those who follow God.” This interpretation renders the verse like so (my interpretation): “For God did not send his Son into the created order to condemn it, but so the created order, specifically those who follow God, might be saved through him.” This interpretation is consistent with the context and much more in line with the rest of Scripture.
Some will argue that “might” removes the need to scrutinize “world.” After all, just because every single person might get saved doesn’t necessarily mean they will get saved, right? The problem here is that “might” is not a word of uncertainty in this context. The meaning in the Greek is clear—this verse is describing something that will certainly happen. Other translations, such as the Christian Standard Bible, New International Version, and New Living Translation avoid confusion by removing the word “might” entirely.
I propose that John 3:16 is referring to how God loved the created order in general (including all people he created), but especially the elect, in his act of sending Christ. This is more accurate than just saying “God loves everyone.” Trent’s interpretation is insufficient. He doesn’t even attempt to read the context, consider the original Greek, or explore the greater implications of his conclusions. In fact, he has to change the wording of the text and cut out the context in order to make his point. That alone should speak volumes.
“God so loved the world.” Many suppose that this means, The entire human race. … Unnumbered millions lived and died before the Saviour came to the earth, lived here “having no hope and without God in the world,” and therefore passed out into an eternity of woe. If God “loved” them, where is the slightest proof thereof? (Pink 1918/2015, 43) — A. W. Pink
The World According to…
If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. — 2 Corinthians 5:17-19 (ESV)
That’s the same Greek word as before, “world.” Paul says God was reconciling the world, not counting their sins against them. Is Paul talking about every human being here? No. He cannot, for that would imply that God removes sin from everyone, which is again the heresy of universalism. Rather, Paul refers to those who are saved, the Christian church he writes to and the rest of God’s elect in the world at large. The context makes this perfectly clear. “reconciled us” … “gave us the ministry of reconciliation” Who is “us?” It’s the church Paul is writing to, of course. Christians!
Trent later brings up 1 John 2:2, which says: “He [Christ] is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.” (ESV) Again, “world” does not refer to “everyone.” John is not saying that all sin is erased, saving all people. That would be heresy. His point is that Christ’s sacrifice is sufficient for any and all peoples in any part of the world. This can only be a measure of God’s potential ability to save, not who he actually saves. This is an important distinction. A Calvinist interpretation of God’s love and salvation for those who actually receive these things avoids the heresy of universalism and adheres to the Bible’s true meaning.
Christ’s sacrifice is sufficient for all, but effective for those who actually believe. Just like a voucher program is sufficient for all who register for it, but only effective for those who take part in it.
God Loves His People
Now that we’ve thoroughly covered what the Bible says about “the world,” let’s take a quick look at what it says about God loving humanity. What we find is that God loves his followers specifically.
“God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” — Romans 5:8 (ESV)
“In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” — 1 John 4:10 (ESV)
“We love because he first loved us.” — 1 John 4:19 (ESV)
“By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us” — 1 John 3:16 (ESV)
“Love one another, just as I have loved you” — John 13:34 (ESV)
“God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us” — Ephesians 2:4 (ESV)
“The Lord your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments.” — Deuteronomy 7:9 (ESV)
So… does God love everyone? Well, it depends on what you mean by that. Does God give every human being common grace by allowing us the gift of life? Yes, and we’ll talk more about that in a moment. Does God love “the world” in his act of sending his Son to die and be the propitiation for the sins of those who believe? Yes, his love is for all mankind in that broad sense. But God does not “love every human being” in the way Trent means. God specifically and especially loves those who follow him—the Scriptures overwhelmingly support this.
Does God Want All to be Saved?
Going back to Trent’s thesis, he finishes with the idea that God “wants you to have eternal happiness in Him.” He supports this with 1 Tim 2:4, which says that God “desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” (ESV) This is a common objection to Calvinism. Let’s hear it in Trent’s own words: “Under Calvinism … God does not want everyone to be saved, because if God did want that, then God would have chosen to save everyone.”
The Calvinist answer to this is twofold.
First, it is helpful to view God’s desires on different levels. God may desire all people to be saved, but his greater desire is to save some rather than all. If we believe in an all-powerful God (which is the only kind of God the Bible supports), we all must believe in different levels of God’s desires. Unless I’m mistaken, Trent believes that God is powerful enough to save everyone, but that he chooses not to. The only difference is that I believe God’s greater desire is election (clearly presented at length in Ephesians 1 and Romans 8-9), whereas Trent believes God’s greater desire is free will (presented at length nowhere in the Bible). And to be clear, there is no room for the interpretation that God desires all to be saved, but is unable to accomplish this. As Arthur Pink puts it, “To argue that God is ‘trying His best’ to save all mankind, but that the majority of men will not let Him save them, is to insist that the will of the Creator is impotent.” (Pink 1918/2015, 5)
Second, as Trent himself admits, 1 Timothy 2:4 might be saying that God wants to save “all kinds” of people rather than “all people.” If we look at the context, Paul is asking for prayer for kings and rulers. Maybe Paul’s saying God desires all kinds of people, even kings, to be saved. But then Trent says this: “Calvinists have to show these passages only mean that.” No, we don’t. That’s asking us to prove a negative, which is a logical fallacy. We don’t have to prove that any verse lacks a specific meaning. We only have to read the verse as it is and interpret it appropriately based on the context. The Bible thoroughly supports a sovereign God who predestines some to salvation and others to damnation for his own perfect purposes.
The Lord has made everything for its purpose, even the wicked for the day of trouble. (ESV) — Proverbs 16:4
This is a good time to address another relevant verse. Near the end of his video, Trent references 2 Peter 3:9, but he leaves out an essential part of the verse. Here’s the whole verse:
The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. — 2 Peter 3:9 (ESV)
The “you” is the Christians Peter is writing to. In the verse before (and all over this letter) he calls his audience “beloved.” That’s why he mentions God’s promise, which he expounds upon in verse 13: “according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.” That promise is only for Christians. God is patient towards his elect, that we all might reach repentance.
Why Does God Send People to Hell?
Trent’s next blunder is his assertion that Calvinists believe people go to hell not because they reject God, but because God rejects them. This isn’t just a gross oversimplification, it’s wrong. Calvinists absolutely believe that people go to hell because they reject God. In fact, Calvinists say this is our default state as human beings. All of us sin (Rom 5:12). We all reject God, despite seeing evidence of his greatness in creation (Rom 1:20) and despite having the law of God written on our hearts (Rom 2:14). It’s only when God calls us to himself that we accept him (John 6:44). So yes, everyone who goes to hell was put there specifically because they rejected God. Paul says “the wages of sin is death” (Rom 6:23).
Calvinists also believe in predestination. Both ideas can be true at once.
He chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will. … In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will. — Ephesians 1:4-5, 11 (ESV)
This is one of several passages where we read that God chooses those who follow him before the world was even made. He predestined us, but that’s not all. He also works all things according to his will. God is absolutely sovereign. Oh, and while we’re here, I might as well mention verse 14, which tells us that the Holy Spirit is “the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it.” (ESV) This supports the Calvinist idea of Perseverance of the Saints.
No Calvinist believes that God turns away otherwise believing, repentant people because they aren’t on his list. Neither do they believe that God drags otherwise damned souls into heaven kicking and screaming. The reality is that people who are repentant were always on God’s list and those who reject him were never on his list.
John MacArthur
Trent then goes on to criticize John MacArthur, who appears to be inconsistent on the question of whether God loves everyone. John says that the campus crusade slogan “God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life” is not true. Currently, there’s a terrible plan for your life unless you repent. (MacArthur 2020, 0:15) Trent insists that a Calvinist should know that for the elect, there was never a terrible plan in store.
First, why use a clip from John MacArthur? He may have some Calvinist ideas, but surely a better source would be the Westminster Confession or the Bible. Romans 9 and Ephesians 1 would be much more worthy of Trent’s time. Second, Trent knows what MacArthur really means. MacArthur is simply saying that the phrase “God loves everyone” is incorrect in the traditional sense, as we’ve covered in detail. Of course, he would agree that there was never really a terrible plan for the elect, but his statement was implicitly about those who are not elect. When we are evangelizing, there’s no point in trying to discover who is elect and who is not. Only God knows. It’s our job to spread the gospel to all and let God’s work have its full effect in the hearts of those whom he chooses.
Evil Doctors and the Calvinist God
Trent then uses a clip from R. C. Sproul (Sproul 2017, 1:10) along with an illustration to suggest that Calvinists contradict themselves by claiming God loves everyone enough to give them life (the idea from Jesus’ teachings that “rain falls on the just and the unjust”), but not enough to let them accept him. This is simply the fallacy of false equivalence. The first idea is Common Grace, which is not the same thing as Trent’s idea that “God loves every human being.” It’s completely rational to say that God offers common grace and that he chooses whom he saves. Both can be true. Don’t let Trent pit apples against oranges and force you to choose one. It’s a false dilemma.
Let’s look at Trent’s illustration. He describes a doctor who injects a bunch of children with a slow acting cancer. The doctor treats and saves some of those children, leaving the rest to die. Trent says of the dead children, “the only thing keeping them from being saved was the doctor’s decision to not save them.” This is, again, a gross misrepresentation of the Calvinist viewpoint.
First, it is in no way appropriate to use a human doctor injecting cancer to represent God. There’s simply no comparison to be made between the two. God is perfect by his very nature and does not inject sin into us. In him is no darkness at all (1 Jn 1:5, ESV). Sin originates in our hearts, not God (James 1:13-15, ESV). Again, if Trent referred to an authoritative source such as the Westminster Confession, he would see these points laid out clearly. Reducing God down to a nefarious doctor strips away everything that makes him God, rendering the analogy meaningless. Our judgement of the doctor’s actions is based on his equal standing with us as humans. But God is completely different from us. His ways are higher than our ways (Isaiah 55:8-9, ESV). We can’t judge God for why he saves some, but not others.
What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God’s part? By no means! For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” — Romans 9:14-15 (ESV)
Second, the dead children that this doctor injected with cancer are a poor representation of sinful humans. Trent uses children rather than adults to use your emotions against you. Children are innocent and helpless. How dare that evil doctor inject them with cancer! But sinful men are not innocent children. They willfully reject God. That is why they are not saved. God’s greater plan in predestining each soul does not contradict the idea that every soul damned to hell is there because they rejected God.
Prisoners and Pardons
What’s funny is that Trent saw this rebuttal coming. He admits Calvinists would find his analogy to be flawed. So he presents another analogy, this time about a governor granting pardons to some inmates, but not others. The governor cares enough for the prisoners to keep them fed and clothed while they serve their sentence. This is akin to common grace. But the governor only grants pardons to some of the prisoners, not all. This is akin to God choosing whom he saves. But Trent says the analogy falls apart. The human prisoners deserve to be in prison because they chose to break the law. Trent says Calvinism is different because no such choice is offered to man. We’re just screwed if God doesn’t want to save us and there’s nothing we could have done differently.
But Trent mistakenly equates the prisoner’s crime to a lack of acceptance of God. That’s not accurate. I don’t think anyone who heard this illustration would assume that. The prisoner’s crime is the sin they chose to commit—they actively rejected God. The punishment is just. They could have chosen not to violate God’s law, but instead they violated it.
Trent goes on to say that the first analogy is actually more accurate to Calvinism because the cancer was imposed upon the children just like God’s decrees are imposed upon mankind under Calvinism. But Paul has an answer for this in Romans 9.
You will say to me then, “Why does he still find fault? For who can resist his will?” But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, “Why have you made me like this?” Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use? What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory? — Romans 9:19-23 (ESV)
Paul says that blaming God for predestining some but not others is missing the point. God can save whoever he wants. In glorifying himself, he creates some for mercy and others for wrath. That’s how it works. We are still responsible for our sin, as Paul himself affirms.
We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil. — 2 Corinthians 5:10 (ESV)
God is sovereign and man is responsible.
How and If God Loves Everyone
Trent then points out that some Calvinists “bite the bullet” and admit that God does not love everyone, Arthur Pink being one of them. But we’ve already covered this in detail, so we’ll move on. What’s funny is that this quote originally has an asterisk next to it in Pink’s book, pointing to a later section specifically addressing John 3:16, but it appears Trent didn’t think that was worthy of his time.
Trent then says: “Another way Calvinists answer the question, ‘Can you tell anyone you meet God loves them?’ is to claim that we can say God loves anyone, even the damned, because he offers them salvation even though they will never respond to it.”
Yes… That is, in fact, the only appropriate interpretation of John 3:16 if you insist that “the world” means “every human being.” That he finds even this to be unacceptable is sad, to say the least.
Trent then shows a clip of John Piper reiterating this stance. Piper says we are able to say to anyone that God loves them because God sent his son to die, so that if they believe, their sins will be forgiven. (Desiring God 2018, 3:20)
Trent says this is Piper’s version of the gospel: “God loves you, if you believe his son died on the cross for you and spend eternity with him.” Trent says this is a conditional love, but that the real God unconditionally loves every human being.
First, Piper did not say God loves you “if.” Piper said God loves you by sending Christ. The “if” comes later, referring to whether the person believes, not whether God loves them. If a person believes, their sins are forgiven. Notice how Trent always has to tweak the language to make his point. His arguments don’t work if he addresses the opposing view honestly.
Second, Trent calls this a conditional love. Piper did not attach any conditions to his view of God’s love. But Trent appears to be attacking my position instead, that God only loves the elect in the fullest sense. It seems he’s forgotten the “unconditional” part of “Unconditional Election,” another Calvinist doctrine.
[God] saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began. — 2 Timothy 1:9 (ESV)
Third, Trent says that “the real God unconditionally loves every human being.” But Piper also believes God loves “every human being” in the sense that he sent his Son to the whole world. I would reiterate that Christ’s sacrifice is sufficient for every human being and requires nothing of them but acceptance. Christ’s sacrifice is efficient for those who are actually saved. But no, God does not love “everyone” in the same sense that he loves his followers.
We All Reject God
Trent then says that God “offers salvation to all and loves them enough to allow some of them to reject him if they choose.” Trent is presenting this position in contrast to Calvinism, but Calvinists do not object to Trent’s main point here. Every human being does have a choice to reject God. We all take it. That’s the meaning of Total Depravity. We are so corrupted by sin that we all choose evil. Trent is wrong by implying that man’s choice to accept God is what allows him to enter into a right relationship with God. Calvinism holds that God calls us first, and the Bible supports this.
No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day. — John 6:44 (ESV)
Jesus affirms Total Depravity, Irresistible Grace, and the Perseverance of the Saints in just this one verse!
I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. — Philippians 1:6 (ESV)
God is the one who begins a work in us and he will see it through.
Trent’s Gospel
Finally, Trent presents his version of the gospel: “God loves you. Believe his son died on the cross for you and spend eternity with him.”
Here’s a question. If I’m an unbeliever, why should I bother? God already loves me, right? So why is belief necessary? Surely God will watch out for me regardless, right? Surely he has my best interests in mind. After all, what good is his love if it doesn’t do anything?
We know that salvation through Christ is the only path to God, our only hope of avoiding his wrath. Trent’s belief that “God loves everyone” based on his feelings and a single Bible verse out of context is not only misinformed, but it discourages sinners away from repentance by making empty promises that amount to nothing when the day of judgement arrives. What exactly will God’s love do for every human being then, Trent?
Let me know your thoughts in the comments. I highly recommend you watch the videos listed in the sources below so you can get the full context. I hold to R. C. Sproul’s position. Enter your email to keep in touch with me. Thanks for reading. Godspeed.
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MacArthur, John. 2020. “Should we tell unbelievers that God loves them?” Ligonier Ministries. June 8, 2020. Educational video, 1:27. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nt6ycJsLhuQ
Sproul, R. C. 2017. “Is It Biblical to Say That God Loves Everyone?” Ligonier Ministries. June 28, 2017. Educational video, 3:23. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTKnHRFZ29M
All Bible quotes are from the English Standard Version unless otherwise stated.
The Michigan House and Senate recently advanced legislation to repeal the 1931 abortion ban (which was nullified last November) and expand the Civil Rights Act to include “sexual orientation” and “gender identity and expression.” Stories come out every day of schools approving pornographic books and LGBT propaganda in their sex ed programs. It’s considered controversial to stand against drag shows for kids. It feels like Christians are losing the culture war. Should we even be fighting it in the first place?
The Good Old Days
In a sense, Christians have been fighting (and losing) the culture war ever since the early days of America. Most of the founding fathers were just deists looking to create a better government in a new land. Some probably had genuine faith, but most didn’t follow Jesus. Don’t get me wrong, Judeo-Christian values were a solid foundation for what is arguably the greatest country in the world. But more cultural support for Christianity doesn’t necessarily translate to “more Christians.”
The most common religion in the western world is moralistic therapeutic deism. That’s a term I stole from one of my favorite Adam4d comics. It’s the belief that a god exists who watches over us and helps us resolve our problems, that we should all be nice to each other, and that life is about being happy. As you can see, the gospel is nowhere to be found. Jesus is nowhere to be found. Neither are repentance, faith, or worship of God. Yet this is the religion most self-proclaimed “Christians” subscribe to in their cushy American lifestyles of traditionally acceptable hedonism.
We Can’t Win
So if most Christians aren’t Christians and Judeo-Christian values can’t save you, what’s the point of fighting the culture war? Is it just for our own comfort? That doesn’t sound like Christianity.
“If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.”
John 15:19 (ESV)
“All who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.”
2 Timothy 3:12-13 (ESV)
True Christianity necessarily involves some kind of persecution simply because true Christianity is never popular. The invisible church will always be a minority. That’s normal. Comfort and acceptance is not our goal. No matter how much the government adheres to Judeo-Christian values, it will never adhere to Christ himself. It’s impossible. The world is, and always has been, at odds with God.
“You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.”
James 4:4 (ESV)
The idea that we can win the culture war is ultimately a lie. Our battle is not for the presidency, the schools, or the public square. It’s a fight against our own disobedience, disunity, and selfish living. It’s a fight to spread the Word of Christ to all corners of the earth.
“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.”
Matthew 28:19-20a (ESV)
“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this darkness, against evil, spiritual forces in the heavens.”
Ephesians 6:12 (CSB)
But We Should Still Fight
Does this mean we should forget the culture at large? No. I’m sure you’ve heard the popular phrase, “In the world, but not of the world.” David Mathis wrote a fantastic article on this.1 His advice was to change the phrase to: “not of, but sent into.” His reasoning is based on John 17, where we hear Jesus pray to the Father.
“The world hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I am not praying that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.”
John 17 14b-15 (CSB)
We are not of the world, similar to how Jesus is not of the world. But instead of praying for our escape from the world, Jesus prays for our protection from temptation. It’s actually a good thing that we’re stuck here on this sinful planet. God put us here for a reason. We shouldn’t seek to be rid of it or ignore it.
“As you sent me into the world, I also have sent them into the world.”
John 17:18 (CSB)
Christ has specifically sent us into the world to carry out his mission of evangelism and to glorify God with our words and deeds. We dare not shy away from our culture to live in isolated bubbles. That would be disobedience.
How We Fight
So what does this mean for the culture war? Our primary influence on the world should be for evangelism and obedience to God in our own communities, but that doesn’t mean we can’t also guide our culture into a morally sound framework with the tools God has given us.
In America, we can vote. That’s a pretty amazing thing. It only takes a little effort to have an impact on our culture for the better. But we can do more. We can run for school board, precinct delegate, and other local positions. We can speak the truth in love to our neighbors. We can testify for or against bills and local policy changes. We can gather signatures for ballot initiatives.
That said, our goal in this should not be to force people into Christianity. We’ve seen how ugly things can get with state religions and forced conversions. If someone wants to live in sin by committing adultery or acting selfishly, we can’t stop them. That’s not our job. Instead, we should aim to create a society that gives us the freedom to do God’s work and live godly lives.
“I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.”
1 Timothy 2:1-2 (ESV)
“Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God . . . if you do wrong, be afraid, because [the government] does not carry the sword for no reason. For it is God’s servant, an avenger that brings wrath on the one who does wrong.”
Romans 13:1, 4b (CSB)
God has told us to obey our governments because they are his servants to keep the peace and punish evildoers. It’s in everyone’s best interest that the government stays true to its purpose. If we fail to pay attention, our leaders are sure to stray from justice and we will see the consequences.
“When the righteous increase, the people rejoice, but when the wicked rule, the people groan.”
Proverbs 29:2 (ESV)
This World Will Not Last
My brother gave a great sermon recently. One of his points stuck out to me as being relevant to this topic. This is the passage he talked about:
“As he was going out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him, ‘Teacher, look! What massive stones! What impressive buildings!’ Jesus said to him, ‘Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left upon another—all will be thrown down.'”
Mark 13:1-2 (CSB)
Jesus quickly shoots down his disciple’s excitement over the temple, foretelling its destruction. We should not put too much faith in earthly institutions. Nothing made by men can stand forever. Nothing made by men is pure. Jesus came to God’s chosen people and found that they had rejected God’s ways. He rebuked them in the presence of the temple.
“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her… See, your house is left to you desolate.”
Jesus, Matthew 23:37a, 38
The glorious buildings mean nothing if the hearts of those within are cold. So whatever you do to fight the culture war, remember what you’re fighting for. All political movements will come to an end. All nonprofits will come to an end. All the works of the enemy will come to an end. This world will not last. Praise God.
Let me know your thoughts on the culture war in the comments below. Enter your email to keep in touch with me. Thanks for reading. Godspeed.
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A logical fallacy is the use of faulty reasoning in the construction of an argument. It’s usually the rule, rather than the exception, that logical fallacies come into play in modern discourse. It’s far too common. Few people care to be internally consistent, form their statements properly, or in some cases use basic logic at all. It’s much better to copy the beliefs you think you’re supposed to have from the people you’ve been told are in the right, right?
No. That’s what today’s fallacy is about. I’ll be going through a bunch of these, but first on the agenda is the appeal to authority.
Appeal to Authority
It’s a very popular tactic to appeal to an authority figure (on the subject at hand, hopefully) when making a point. If the authority figure agrees with you, then it’s settled, right? After all, they must know better than us because they’re an expert on the matter. Maybe, but not necessarily.
When making an appeal, we argue that our position is the correct one. We claim it’s rooted in truth. But truth doesn’t care about authority. Truth stands alone, available for anyone of any status, any fame, any ability, any age, any gender, any location, any appearance, or any wealth to possess it. It cannot be held captive by any one person or group.
Truth in the Bible
“So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, ‘If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.'”
John 8:31-32 (ESV)
God is the only one who has an unequivocal claim to truth.
“Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.”
John 17:17 (ESV)
In John 17, we read that God’s word is truth. It doesn’t say God’s word is “true.” It says God’s word is literally “truth” itself. We ought to read the Scriptures if we desire to align ourselves with truth.
“Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long.”
Psalm 25:5 (ESV)
God speaks the truth, but people in authority are just people. They’re fallible and imperfect. Sometimes they’re right, but other times they’re wrong. What makes them valuable, then? Well, that depends on the authority.
The Value of Authority
Some authority figures are experts, meaning we trust them because they’ve done the research or have the experience to back up their claims. Others are leaders, meaning they know how to effectively direct people to action. The former is more likely to offer valuable insight on a given topic than the latter, but many still trust leaders because they inspire us on an emotional level.
Either kind of authority figure may know better than us, but they won’t always. This is why experts meet together on a regular basis to exchange ideas and information. If they were already individually perfect, there would be no need for this. But even after doing the research and discussing it with other professionals, authority figures in the same field still disagree with one another on a regular basis.
The Problem
The problem with appealing to authority is that truth is not inherent in any authority apart from the divine. Not even the apostles claimed to be perfect.
“I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment. For it has been reported to me by Chloe’s people that there is quarreling among you, my brothers. What I mean is that each one of you says, ‘I follow Paul,’ or ‘I follow Apollos,’ or ‘I follow Cephas,’ or ‘I follow Christ.’ Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?”
1 Corinthians 1:10-13 (ESV)
In 1 Corinthians, Paul rebukes the people for aligning themselves with specific authority figures and forming divisions among themselves. This passage is primarily about church unity, but there’s also a lesson to be learned about human authority. Paul asks, “Was Paul crucified for you?” No, of course not. Jesus was crucified for us. Rather than align ourselves with Paul, we should align ourselves with Jesus.
This fallacy betrays that the person using it probably doesn’t have an argument of their own. They either don’t have the truth or they don’t know how to express it. Pointing at someone else to do the job for them is irresponsible, ignorant, and risky. At best, the authority figure is correct and the person committing the fallacy is revealed to have taken a shortcut to truth with little to no idea why they believe what they believe. At worst, the authority figure is wrong and the person committing the fallacy is revealed to be incorrect, using confirmation bias to recklessly latch on to a claim they find attractive while forgoing an honest search for truth.
The Solution
What then should we do? If an authority figure claims something to be true, our goal should be to discover that truth for ourselves so we can understand it and make our own arguments based on it. Truth should be our appeal, not the person we hope possesses it.
“Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.”
Acts 17:11 (ESV)
Only by doing our due diligence will we be able to argue aright, with educated opinions of our own rather than appealing to someone else. By doing our own research, we learn so much more about the subject at hand. We’ll be better equipped to argue our position and we’ll be arguing from an informed perspective.
And guess what? If, after looking into something, you find yourself disagreeing with the opinion you previously had from an authority figure, so much the better! That’s called thinking for yourself and it’s a good thing. Don’t let your biases constrain you. Pursue truth relentlessly, holding God’s truth above all. In doing so, you’ll strengthen your worldview and ensure its foundations are solid.
That’s all for now. I’ll write about more logical fallacies in the future. Let me know which fallacy you want to see next by commenting below. Enter your email if you want to be notified when my next post goes live. Thanks for reading. Godspeed.
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Last time, we talked about what it means to acknowledge who you truly are. Far from self-centered affirmation, this entails the voluntary dissection of your very soul, the opening up of yourself to God. He created us. We ought to have the courage to face him and admit our shortcomings. That doesn’t mean it won’t be difficult, of course.
Today, I want to talk about some steps we can take to move towards lasting change in our lives. Acknowledging your sin and your tendencies is one thing, but repenting and moving unto action is another entirely. Let’s begin.
“Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.”
Revelation 3:19-20 (ESV)
This verse shows us what it really means to let conviction move us to be more like Christ. Repentance isn’t just saying we’re sorry. Jesus stands at the door. He knocks, asking us to let him into our life. We cannot reap the benefits of a proper relationship with Christ unless we open the door and let him in. But letting him in requires us to surrender ourselves to him—not just the most attractive parts, either. We’re talking about everything. But “everything” is a rather unimpressive word on its own. Let me paint you a picture.
Jesus Pays a Visit
Imagine for a moment that Jesus knocks on the front door. We think of ourselves as a pretty good Christian, so we have no problem letting him in, right? We undo the lock. We turn the handle, slowly swinging the door open. We greet our Lord and Savior. He asks if we would like him to step inside. Oh, of course! How silly of us. So we step aside and allow him access to our living room. It’s organized fairly well. There’s a couch on the far side and a welcome mat laid before the door with a coat rack and a place for shoes. The room is well-lit and inviting.
This is nice, we think to ourselves. Jesus in my house? What a privilege! Pleasantries are exchanged. We shuffle our feet and stare up at the ceiling, wondering what to say next. Then Jesus asks if he might take a look around the house. What? We weren’t expecting this, but that’s okay. We lead him into the office and show him our projects. We lead him upstairs to the guest room. We show him where the bathroom is. We might even comment on the kitchen as we pass through it. But then Jesus speaks up.
“What about your closet?” We stop, stunned for a moment. Why on earth would he want to look in there, we ask ourselves. We weren’t planning on letting him see every part of the house. This is most irregular. Jesus asks where the bedroom is. We stare at our feet for a moment, trying to think of an excuse. “Oh, still tidying up in there. Sorry about that!”
Jesus still wants to see it. He waits, standing patiently. We swallow the lump in our throat and force our legs to move us towards the bedroom. This isn’t fun anymore. We weren’t prepared for this! How rude of Jesus to insist on seeing the parts of our house we obviously don’t want anyone snooping around in. We open the door to the bedroom, revealing a bit of a mess. The bed isn’t made. Clothes hang over the side of the hamper. There’s a stray pair of underwear peeking out from beneath the bed. Jesus looks around the room. Then he asks again to see the closet.
The Inner Conflict
What would you say? Would you let him see what you have hiding in the far reaches of your mind? Would you allow him access to the sins you hold most dear, the grudges you’ve held onto for years, or the bad habits you still try to ignore? Maybe you’d say, “Enough! Get out.” Most people do.
One of the hardest things in the world is to let someone else see the most intimate parts of you. It’s why divorce is so common and friendships can be so fragile. It challenges your ego, forcing you to come to grips with your weakness as others see it openly. We hate dealing with our flaws and sins. We hide them away beneath layers of veneer—the Facebook posts, friendly smiles, and displays of virtue we hope distracts onlookers from the complicated mess underneath.
Yet this internal struggle is one we must face if we hope to pursue a life that honors Christ.
“You shall be holy to me, for I the Lord am holy and have separated you from the peoples, that you should be mine.”
Leviticus 20:26 (ESV)
Lest you think of this as the grumpy, domineering God of the Old Testament, here it is again in the New Testament. God does not change.
“You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
Matthew 5:48 (ESV)
Christ confirms the Leviticus passage here in the Sermon on the Mount. Peter confirms it in his epistle.
“As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, ‘You shall be holy, for I am holy.'”
1 Peter 1:14-16 (ESV)
There is no such thing as a “drifting” Christian, a man of God who does not seek his face. If you let yourself drift, you will invariably find yourself moving closer to sin. So what are some practical ways to start opening up your life to Christ and letting him sanctify you?
Confess
It starts with confessing. In a therapy session, clients might be asked to verbalize their desires and their realizations about themselves. This might seem unnecessary. After all, we already know how we feel. But there’s something powerful about using audible words to confess inner realities. So confess your sins to God out loud. Admit your faults. Don’t skip this part. Remember, you can’t start with changing yourself. You have to let Christ reign first.
“I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.”
Luke 5:32 (ESV)
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
1 John 1:9 (ESV)
“If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”
2 Chronicles 7:14 (ESV)
Center Yourself in Truth
Next, center yourself in the truth. Don’t just jump into self-help books or temporary, emotional effort. You won’t get far. You have to keep your eye focused on what matters in order to get out of the wilderness. Part of this is reading God’s Word and dwelling on his truth. You have to saturate yourself with it if you expect to see its fruit in your life.
“And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
John 8:32 (ESV)
The truth is the answer to your problems. But what is truth?
“Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.'”
John 14:6 (ESV)
“Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!”
Psalm 46:10 (ESV)
Ultimately, God is truth. Only by pursuing Christ will we find that truth. Dwell on God’s nature and become intimately familiar with Jesus and his teachings.
“Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.”
2 Timothy 2:15 (ESV)
“Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.”
John 17:17 (ESV)
Only when you become a real man of God—a student of theology, someone who’s “bananas for Jesus” as Keith Green said—will you become a man God uses to do great things.
“But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.”
James 1:25 (ESV)
Go Forth Unto Action
This leads us to action that is supported by faith, deeds that are backed by love, and a changed life as the result of a changed heart. Don’t put the cart before the horse. This kind of thing can’t be manufactured. It has to be genuine, overflowing out of the new creation God has made you into.
“The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.”
Luke 6:45 (ESV)
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation.”
2 Corinthians 5:17-18 (ESV)
“Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness.”
Romans 6:13 (ESV)
Persevere
But that’s not the end. The true test is consistency and perseverance. This is perhaps the least glamorous part of the process. Everyone loves stories of people who turned their life around, saved relationships, or overcame addictions. But nobody gets excited about the prospect of a long life of honest living in obedience to God, showing his love to strangers, coworkers, and family. We want the adventure and the drama without the commitment.
“Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.”
1 Corinthians 15:58 (ESV)
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.”
Hebrews 12:1 (ESV)
If you feel like giving up, like putting a stop to this uncomfortable process of exposing your heart for replacement and sacrificing your whole being to God’s purposes, just remember Christ. Center yourself back to the truth. This last passage convicts me regularly that I have it far too comfortable in America to be complaining. I need to persevere, keeping my sights set firmly on Christ.
“Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.”
Hebrews 12:3-4 (ESV)
Let me know your thoughts in the comments below. Enter your email if you want to be notified when my next post goes live. Thanks for reading. Godspeed.
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Last week, I began a series about being true to yourself. No, I’m not talking about the self-love hippy dippy nonsense. I’m talking about boldly confronting yourself and making a choice—the choice to acknowledge who you are today, admit your shortcomings, see your potential, and move forward towards what God desires for you. We’ve already talked about recognizing the real you. Today, we tackle the next step.
Acknowledge Who You Are
Allowing yourself to think honestly about who you are can be quite the task, but it takes a bit more effort to accept the truths you find and acknowledge who you are, to yourself and to others. It’s easy to ask yourself what you enjoy, what makes you tick, and why you have certain tendencies. It’s a lot more difficult to say “I’m impatient,” “I care a lot about what certain people think of me,” or “I have potential I’m not realizing.”
You need to acknowledge where you are before you can get somewhere else. Nobody ever got good at playing the guitar by saying “learning guitar seems neat.” No. They first had to acknowledge their lack of ability, then let that drive them to learn. Only then did they grow and change for the better, gaining something new and valuable. The same holds true for character.
Words Have Power
I’ve noticed that the smallest of phrases can sometimes make a huge difference in living more authentically. When I got saved, I realized God had given me a heart for people I didn’t have before. So I started saying “thank you” a lot more often. I felt convicted to communicate gratitude to people, both as a form of encouragement and an acknowledgement that they met some of my needs. It was part of how I put my salvation into practice.
Another huge one for me was admitting fault or ignorance. Instead of coming up with excuses, I started saying “I was wrong.” Instead of guessing the answer to a question, I started saying “I don’t know.” It was weird at first. I was so used to putting up my guard to keep my pride and ego intact. Now I was fighting against that instinct. At first, it was uncomfortable. Then I realized it was freeing. I could be more honest with myself and others. I didn’t have to pretend. Being me was easier than fitting into the costume of a fictional character who was always right and always smart.
God Made You Special
One essential part of acknowledging who you are is accepting that God created and loves you. This is hard for some people. Whether it’s feeling like we’re unwanted, unloved, or unworthy, Christians regularly struggle with their identity in Christ. It’s something we overlook far too often. Here are some truths you can hold onto.
“For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.”
Psalm 139:13-16 (ESV)
God created us. He formed us with love and care, designing a purpose and future for each of us. The Bible is clear about this. Paul reinforces that God not only made us, but predestined us for salvation and worship.
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.”
Ephesians 1:3-6 (ESV)
The most important part of our identity in Christ is the work Christ did on the cross. This is when God truly proved his love for us and put it on magnificent display.
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.”
John 3:16-17 (ESV)
“God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Romans 5:8 (ESV)
Jesus is the proof of God’s ultimate love for us. The cross is where God’s goodness and mercy finally win over mankind’s wickedness, forgiveness wins over judgement, and we gain new life in Christ rather than being condemned to death. Praise God for all that was accomplished. So what do we do now?
“I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit.”
John 15:5, 10-11, 16a (ESV)
We obey. We follow. We live our new lives for Christ. It only makes sense. He gave us a second chance. He loved us from the very beginning and saved us despite our rebellion and hatred for him. Now that our eyes are open, we look to God and do our very best with the short time we have to serve and worship our Lord. So acknowledge who you are, but more importantly, acknowledge what God has done for you, how he loves you, and what he desires for your life. Only there will you find true purpose and peace.
Next time, we’ll look at what it means to take the knowledge of who you truly are and move forward unto action. Let me know your thoughts about this series in the comments below. Enter your email if you want to be notified when my next post goes live. Thanks for reading. Godspeed.
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I’d rather talk to a newly saved Christian who’s confused about why Jesus had to die on the cross than an educated theologian who tweets that “Jesus was a socialist.” The difference is that one of them is being honest, acknowledging their ignorance and seeking truth; the other is putting on a show to score political points. The theologian has no excuse. He knows better, yet still chooses to propagate a lie.
You see it every day. Maybe your dad has convinced himself that buying more gadgets will make him happy when you know he’s empty inside. Maybe your friend follows the latest trends and always seems to agree with whatever the news is saying. Maybe you’ve found yourself pressured by your peers, only to give in and conform to their preferences for the sake of feeling valued. It’s hard to resist. It’s hard to be true to yourself.
Isn’t That Sinful?
What complicates this further is that being true to oneself has gotten a bad rap in some Christian circles today. This is for good reason. When most modern media tells us to be true to ourselves, what they’re really saying is that we are the god of our own hedonistic pursuits. “Do what makes you happy! Live for you! Follow your heart!” This kind of thinking is purely selfish and runs counter to the truth of the Bible and the person of Jesus Christ.
“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?”
Jeremiah 17:9 (ESV)
“Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”
Luke 12:15 (ESV)
“He must increase, but I must decrease.”
John 3:30 (ESV)
But let’s leave pride and pleasure-seeking aside for now. Today, I want to talk about being true to yourself in the context of following Christ. I’m talking about vulnerable authenticity and self-reflection followed by diligent sanctification and accountability.
Merriam-Webster defines authenticity as being “true to one’s own personality, spirit, or character.” But if we stopped there, we’d be left in our own selfishness, authentically sinful. We have to go further. Recognize and acknowledge who you are, but proceed then to bold action in living out your potential as God’s child, remaining vigilant to combat temptation and darkness within you.
My goal is to take this process and address it one step at a time. Bear with me. I know some of this might sound like self-help mumbo jumbo on the surface, but I’m convinced this is an essential part of maturing in your faith and identity as a genuine Christian.
Recognize the Real You
The first step is to recognize the real you—not what you present to your friends, not what your social media shows, and not who you wish you were. Just you. Confront yourself and really dig deep. Who are you? What fulfills you? What makes you cry? What do you daydream about? What tempts you to sin? What do you spend most of your free time doing? What do you believe about the nature of God, your purpose on this earth, and the purpose of those around you?
If you have friends you can trust, ask them what they observe about you. What would they say are your habits, values, or fears? What would they say are the things you talk most passionately about and the weaknesses you display?
Some people live their whole lives without ever answering these questions. It’s too easy to live on autopilot, pretending that what matters most is what you’re doing right now and what form of entertainment or frivolity is waiting around the corner. But life’s substance doesn’t consist of Marvel movies, mocha lattes, or Instagram. Life’s substance consists of real people, real choices, and real consequences. If you don’t take ownership of your life, you’ll quickly find yourself drifting in a sea of mediocrity, bereft of purpose or identity. Don’t let it happen. You have to nail it down. Who are you?
This isn’t to say you have to figure everything out all at once. In fact, most people will give up if they try to handle too much too quickly. Instead, just challenge yourself a little bit every day. It’s part of how we all grow up. But while most people avoid the big questions until they’re staring them in the face, I’d argue the better approach is to seek them out and deal with them head on.
Talk to Yourself
An easy way to do this is to answer those questions in a journal or other creative outlet. For me, I wrote poems. Boy, did I write poems. I would whip out my phone wherever I was and write down exactly how I felt, what I was struggling with, or who I was becoming. It was immensely helpful in figuring out who I really was and what demons I needed to wrestle. I didn’t care if it was embarrassing. I would write down my sins in all their ugly detail. I didn’t care if I was immature. I would write the most edgy stuff sometimes. I didn’t care if I had all the answers yet. I would frequently have dialogues with myself about things I wasn’t yet decided on, just to get a better grasp on the issue or situation. It was therapeutic. I highly recommend it.
Revealing these hidden parts of your identity and turning them inside out is a key step on the road to being true to yourself in a way that honors God more fully. Next week, we’ll talk about what it means to acknowledge who you are and really own up to it. Let me know your thoughts in the comments below. Enter your email if you want to be notified when my next post goes live. Thanks for reading. Godspeed.
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I’ve seen some rather frustrating takes on the internet recently about church. It seems the obligation to go to church has all but died out with the general population, and many people who call themselves Christians have given up on church as well. But why is this?
I think, in part, it’s a natural progression of our increasingly secular society. Over time, America has turned from a very traditionalist, “Christian” country into a progressive melting pot of all kinds of ideas, religions, lifestyles, and peoples. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, per se. It’s definitely made it harder to be openly Christian, but we still have it great compared to most of the world. We can still worship, study the Word, and meet together without fear in the vast majority of situations. And one thing we consider all too infrequently is that genuine faith shines brightest in the darkness (check out this comic from Adam4d).
But this isn’t meant to be a post about the evolution of religion and Christianity in America, as fun as that would be to talk about. So let’s get back on track. Church. It’s a word that inspires indifference, disgust, or guilt for many. If you feel this way, you’re not alone. Let me tell you about my time wrestling with this issue; then we’ll look at what the Bible says about it.
My Experience Growing Up in the Church
As a kid, my parents always made us attend church on Sundays, and sometimes Sunday nights too. I knew it was something I was supposed to do. I knew it was a place with people I knew, and occasionally things to do or food to eat. But that was about it. Church wasn’t something I desired or enjoyed, in most cases. I always grumbled when dad got us out of bed early every week.
Then I got saved. At about age 14, I came to the realization that following in my parents’ footsteps was dumb. Either Christianity was right or it wasn’t. If it was, I needed to actually read the Bible and obey the God who was willing to die for me. If it wasn’t, the only logical thing to do would be to abandon the faith and not look back. After all, what’s the use of a religion if it isn’t true?
After reading through the entire Bible for the first time, praying more than I ever had in my life, studying practical and scientific objections to the Bible, and reading book after book, I came to the conclusion that the Bible is true. All the evidence pointed to Jesus. At this point, I felt I had no choice. To pursue truth was to pursue God’s words. The Bible clearly established church as something important (we’ll get to that). I now had a concrete reason to go to church. But as I grew up, I moved away to college. The drive to church was longer and my sleep schedule became downright irresponsible at times. I didn’t go every week, and many times I’d leave immediately after the service was over. I felt disillusioned at this time with more than just church, for more than a few reasons.
After a while, a lot of things improved for me, but I still wasn’t satisfied with church. Was it just me? Was I a bad Christian? After talking with my brothers, I realized they felt similarly. The church I was going to at the time felt a bit disconnected and aimless, especially for young people. This isn’t meant to discount the church as a whole. There were, and still are, some incredible Christians there. But I realized it wasn’t working for me, so I looked for a new group of Christians to meet with.
Today, I’m very thankful to God for the church I’ve found. I’ve had more opportunities to serve, hear truth, and meet fellow young Christians than ever. Part of this is because I matured over time. I realized I had to be more involved than I was. But part of this was the church itself. Why do I tell you this? Because I want you to know that even a “church kid” like me has had ups and downs. I’ve felt obligated, annoyed, and discouraged. I’ve skipped church to sleep in. I’ve avoided people and struggled finding my place. Despite the face a lot of Christians put on, church isn’t just a wonderful festival of joy every week for everyone.
What Does the Bible Say About Church?
Now that you know where I’m coming from on this issue, let’s take a look at what the Bible says regarding church. It’s important to note that the New Testament was written at a time when the early church was still developing. Today, we talk about buildings, potlucks, music teams, schedules, and special services. But to early Christians, church was a lot more simple than all of that. It was about meeting together to worship God and encourage one another. And remember, none of these letters were addressing individuals, but rather a whole group of Christians.
“So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.”
Ephesians 2:19-22 (ESV)
Here, Paul gives us a beautiful picture of the church as a temple. Christians are the building blocks and Christ is the cornerstone. We are all joined together as one. We cannot fulfill this alone. To be a lone brick is to be useless. A brick is designed to come together with hundreds of other bricks to build a home. The same is true for how God designed us. This theme is throughout the New Testament.
“For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit. For the body does not consist of one member but of many.”
1 Corinthians 12:12-14 (ESV)
More common than the brick analogy is Paul’s idea of a body with many limbs or “members.” Though many, we are one body of believers. This is the definition of the church. It’s the gathering of believers in the name of Christ. Now notice the last line: “The body does not consist of one member but of many.” This is undeniably proof that you cannot be a church-less Christian. It’s impossible. To be a Christian is to be a member of a body. If you aren’t a member of a group of believers, you simply aren’t living the life God has called you to.
“And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent.”
Colossians 1:18 (ESV)
Christ is the head of the body, just as he is the cornerstone of the temple. His place as God’s Son, having all things created through him (John 1), and having risen from the dead, is what makes him worthy of our worship. He is why we gather together.
“And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.”
Colossians 3:15-16 (ESV)
Here, we get a better idea of what church ought to look like. We are called to peace and thankfulness to God. We should know his words. We should be teaching and keeping each other accountable. We should be singing together. You can see this pattern of the early church reflected in many churches of today. This is why we meet the way we do. This is why we have liturgies and music and sermons. This is why church cannot be appropriated to just you, a Bible, and nature. No matter how spiritual or helpful your solitary experiences are, they are not and can never be “church.” Don’t fool yourself.
“And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.”
Hebrews 10:24-25 (ESV)
It’s not just Paul commanding us to meet for church. This passage from Hebrews is one of the clearest commands in the Bible to meet together regularly. The reason I saved it for last is because, on its own, it doesn’t fully define why we meet or what that looks like. But with the context of the other passages, it’s easy to see that this is a command not just to have more baby showers or game nights, but to have more church. A key part of that is encouraging one another towards love and good works. In today’s world, I think we could stand for a lot more of that kind of encouragement.
There are so many more passages we could talk about. We could look at church discipline, sacraments, baptism, persecution, unity, and much more. I encourage you to read the letters of the New Testament (as well as Acts) for more clarity on these issues. In all honesty, I’m convinced that those who choose not to belong to a church have little to no experience reading the Bible. It’s such a pervasive and dominant topic that it’s extremely hard to miss and impossible to deny its importance.
What Should Church Really Look Like?
Now, we might ask ourselves: What should church look like for us today? What are we actually called to do? Do we really need all these traditions and rituals? It’s clear that many aspects of modern church are rooted in Scripture. Some examples might be church leaders (Titus 1:5-9), music (Eph 5:19), baptism (1 Cor 12:13), prayer (Matt 18:20, James 5:16), public readings of the Bible (1 Tim 4:13), encouragement (1 Thess 5:11), and the sharing of food, resources, and money for the betterment of the church (Acts 2:44-45; 4:32-37).
But there are, of course, some things that go unmentioned in Scripture. There is no command to meet in a fancy building, to market your church to the world to boost attendance, to give exactly ten percent of your income, to meet on Sunday mornings, or to host social events. All these things, and more, are ancillary at best and heretical at worst. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the pastor who was killed for his involvement in the plot to assassinate Hitler, had some harsh words for the churches he saw when he visited America.
“So what stands in place of the Christian message? An ethical and social idealism borne by a faith in progress that—who knows how—claims the right to call itself ‘Christian.’ And in the place of the church as the congregation of believers in Christ there stands the church as a social corporation.
“Anyone who has seen the weekly program of one of the large New York churches, with their daily, indeed almost hourly events, teas, lectures, concerts, charity events, opportunities for sports, games, bowling, dancing for every age group, anyone who has heard how they try to persuade a new resident to join the church, insisting that you’ll get into society quite differently by doing so, anyone who has become acquainted with the embarrassing nervousness with which the pastor lobbies for membership—that person can well assess the character of such a church.
“All these things, of course, take place with varying degrees of tactfulness, taste, and seriousness; some churches are basically ‘charitable’ churches; others have primarily a social identity. One cannot avoid the impression, however, that in both cases they have forgotten what the real point is.”
Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Christians today have a responsibility to meet together in a way that honors our Lord rather than grieving him. In a time when church has become a dirty word and religion a bad taste in the mouth of the populace, it’s all too tempting to transform our churches into something more appealing and modern. But Jesus didn’t declare Peter to be a business tycoon. Paul never rebuked anyone for having small attendance numbers. Church was never supposed to be a social club.
“Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.”
Acts 17:11 (ESV)
It all comes back to the Bible. Hold it higher than any word spoken by men. Hold the Bible’s standard for church higher than your desire to make church into something more fun, attractive, or convenient. It’s not about you. It’s about Christ. It’s about meeting regularly to honor, worship, and serve our God together. “Let us go to the house of the Lord! (Psalm 122:1)”
Let me know your thoughts about church in the comments below. Enter your email if you want to be notified when my next post goes live. Thanks for reading. Godspeed.
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Most people say they’re “fighting their demons” by overcoming weakness, addiction, or trauma. Recently, I’ve been fighting my demons in another way—by silencing the inner voices that I love to hear the most.
That Little Voice
If you mention an inner voice, most people immediately think of their conscience. This voice bugs you to stop before doing something wrong or encourages you towards something you ought to do. But I’m not talking about your conscience today. I’m talking about what some people might associate with self-esteem or ego.
This other voice is the one telling you that your significant other isn’t worthy of you, that you should be annoyed at your lazy roommate, or that you deserve more respect from your coworkers. In short, this voice is concerned with your pride and has an incredible talent for torturing you without your awareness.
The Inner War
Let me give you an example. This last week, I gave a presentation. I had been working on it for a while and I wanted it to go well. It did. Once it was over, I heard a soft voice in the back of my head.
Wouldn’t it be great if people congratulated you? That’s not too much to ask, is it? They should praise you. You deserve recognition for your hard work. Invite it. Bask in it.
At first, it sounds reasonable enough. I did work for this. Maybe I do deserve something for it. I can take a compliment, right? That’d be nice. Our culture loves this mentality. It’s easily disguised as confidence or healthy self-esteem. In reality, it’s usually nothing more than conceit.
“Do you see a man who is wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.”
Proverbs 26:12 (ESV)
“Everyone who is arrogant in heart is an abomination to the Lord; be assured, he will not go unpunished. Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.”
Proverbs 16:5, 18 (ESV)
I hope you can see now what I mean. I’m not disparaging confidence, assertiveness, or a healthy mental attitude. Those are all great qualities to have. I’m simply trying to unmask the sinful pride we so often hide behind other labels.
“For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.”
Romans 12:3 (ESV)
In my example, my inner voice is tempting me towards pride. It mixes truth in there to encourage me to justify it as something neutral or positive. The truth is that I gave a successful presentation, that I am valued, and that I’m using the gifts my Savior gave me. The lie is that I got to where I am independent of God, that I deserve praise, and that I need man’s approval to be satisfied in my work.
I like to think of that tempting voice as a demon of selfishness I have to constantly fight off or an enemy I have to guard against. But the thing is, it’s not a demon or a fiend. It’s me.
“But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.”
James 1:14-15 (ESV)
This is the true culprit. It’s my selfish nature, my sinful flesh, the “old man.” But it doesn’t feel like it’s me. It just feels like a comforting resentment, a gentle push towards quick satisfaction, a quenching of my thirst for self-gratification. It feels good. And that’s the hardest part.
“For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.”
Romans 7:15, 18-20 (ESV)
We have to challenge this voice. We cannot let it go unrestrained. It will lead us away to death by continuously pulling us down into sin. So how do we fight it? What can save us from ourselves?
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
1 John 1:9 (ESV)
Only by confessing and offering ourselves to God can we escape our enslavement to sin. We cannot live without a master. We must serve something. We are incapable of apathy, unable to rid ourselves of a desire to worship. So we must find something worthy of our worship, a substitute to our worship of self.
“Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.”
Romans 6:12-14 (ESV)
I’ve taken to using a unique strategy in being mindful about combating my inner voice. When I hear it tempting me, I yell at it… in my head, of course. “Shut up!” “No!” It’s a way I can interrupt my autopilot thoughts and refocus my attention in the moment. I question what I’m telling myself rather than accept it automatically. It helps. Obviously, there’s more to it than that. I have to offer myself to God and confess my sin if I want to keep it from gaining a foothold. Daily commitment to scripture reading and prayer, along with a church community willing to keep me accountable, is essential.
I love the way the King James Version puts these verses:
“That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.”
Ephesians 4:22-24 (KJV)
That’s the key to this process of fighting off our inner voice of selfishness. We must put off the old man and renew our spirits, allowing the new man to take control and lead us towards holiness. Only with God’s help can we become people who truly serve him and are satisfied in him alone.
“Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God.”
2 Corinthians 7:1 (ESV)
So stop listening. Stop letting your inner voice lead you down paths of logic towards the gallows. Stop bargaining with yourself to see how much sin you can get away with before it catches up to you. Refuse to let it bind you. Run towards freedom. Freedom from our inner demons doesn’t come through acceptance of sin, blind positivity, or being self-sufficient. It comes through Christ.
“For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.”
Galatians 5:1 (ESV)
Let me know your thoughts about battling inner demons in the comments below. Enter your email if you want to be notified when my next post goes live. Thanks for reading. Godspeed.
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Yes, we should. But why? And what about when our taxes go towards things that aren’t right?
“Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God… For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.”
Romans 13:1, 6-7 (ESV)
I think most of us would agree that paying taxes is right for a Christian. After all, it’s outlined pretty clearly here. God establishes government to keep law and order. We obey him in paying taxes. We should not do this begrudgingly. We should see it as our due to the institution God has given to serve us and keep us safe.
Paul goes further by saying we should honor and respect our leaders, not merely tolerate them. This can be hard in our current age of partisan hatred and vitriol, but it’s our job as Christians to be different from the world. Resist the temptation to fall in line with how everyone else is acting.
“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”
Romans 12:2 (ESV)
Jesus offers us another angle on paying taxes when the Pharisees challenge him.
“‘Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?’ But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, ‘Why put me to the test, you hypocrites?Show me the coin for the tax.’ And they brought him a denarius. And Jesus said to them, ‘Whose likeness and inscription is this?’ They said, ‘Caesar’s.’ Then he said to them, ‘Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.'”
Matthew 22:17-21 (ESV)
Jesus confirms Paul’s words (perhaps the other way around), but as usual, he goes even further. Have you ever stopped and really thought about that phrase before? “…to God the things that are God’s.” That’s the real kicker. Not only should we offer up our taxes to the government, but we should offer up ourselves to God. He rightfully purchased us on the cross. We owe him our time, our money, and our lives. That’s a tall order.
“Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.”
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (ESV)
“I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.”
Romans 12:1-2 (ESV)
It is a far higher and more difficult calling to give God the things that are God’s than to give Caesar the things that are Caesar’s. Yet the Pharisees saw it the other way around. They were shocked Jesus would support this tax. They hated their government, and for good reason. This brings us to another point. Should Christians pay taxes to corrupt governments committing evil acts?
“If Christians can support Rome, what government could they not support? This is the government that killed Christ and almost all the apostles. And here Jesus is telling them, pay for it. Pay that tax that is going to pay the salary of the very men who are about to drive the nails into My hands, not because what they are doing is right, but because government reflects the character of God. God will deal with them.”1
Mark Dever
The key principle here is not about where your money eventually goes, but about respecting the role of government as God has laid it out. Our role is obedience. It’s not ultimately up to the church to keep authorities accountable. It’s up to God.
Does this mean we should never try to improve our government or work to prevent evil from being committed with our tax dollars? No. There’s absolutely a time and a place for making a positive difference, especially in America where we have the privilege to participate in our government. Some of us are called to be godly missionaries, some to be godly office workers, and others to be godly civil servants. My goal is not to dissuade anyone from upholding justice or acting according to their convictions. My goal is to make it undeniably clear that Jesus instructed his followers to pay a tax to their tyrannical ruler and to give themselves up to their glorious Creator.
Let me know your thoughts about taxes in the comments below. Enter your email if you want to be notified when my next post goes live. Thanks for reading. Godspeed.
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Mark Dever, God and Politics: Jesus’ Vision for Society, State and Government (Leyland, England: 10Publishing, 2016), 27.
Veracity Quest 