Pat Robertson vs. The Gospel

I wanted to title this article, “Remind Me Again Why People Still Listen to Pat Robertson”.  But as I thought about it I realized that this fits in rather nicely with the theology of a good number of American Christians. 

Yes, you heard him correctly.  Be careful when adopting children because they might have brain damage and “grow up weird”.  Guys ditching this lady aren’t dogs they are just smart men that don’t want to parent the United Nations.  You never know what has happened to the child.  You don’t have to take on somebody else’s problems.  We help orphans but we aren’t going to have them into our homes. 

In the next few days you will see Robertson issue some sort of apology and say that he misspoke.  What he was really trying to say is that you do not have to accept responsibility that God has not given to you.  You aren’t a dog if you realize that you cannot handle the suffering of someone else.  You’re just human.  It’s great and wonderful for people that feel called by God to take in these orphans but you shouldn’t feel guilty if you aren’t comfortable or called to do it yourself.  I apologize for the way my words sounded but all I was really trying to say is be cautious when considering adoption. 

And all of Pat’s happy followers will wipe the sweat off their brow and say, “whew that was a close one, we were afraid for a moment there that Pat was a little off his rocker". 

Still a problem, though.

Problem is, even if (when) he offers some sort of similar clarification it will still expose his underlying…dare I say it…heresy.  Robertson only gets a hearing in a world/church that has bought into some form of the prosperity gospel.  Foundational to such teaching as Robertson’s is that suffering cannot fit in with the good purpose of God.  It’s just “weird”.  Suffering is my failure to utilize the divinely designed means of blessing. 

In a 700 Club world you don’t take up a cross and devote your life to caring for children with Down Syndrome without seeing any visible reward in this life.  You might see a story about a lady that cared for children with Down’s and somehow God healed the child, or somehow God blessed them financially, or emotionally, or spiritually.  (And all of those may be well and true).  But what you won’t see featured is raw in your face suffering that will only find redemption on the other side of glory.  As I’ve noted before, there’s no room for that in 700 Club theology.

Robertson’s advice is fundamentally “you’re not a monster if you choose not to suffer”.  Okay, I’ll give you that.  You aren’t a monster.  But you aren’t a disciple following the footsteps of a suffering Jesus either.  I can’t say it any better than Russell Moore:

I say to my non-Christian friends and neighbors, if you want to see the gospel of Christ, the gospel that has energized this church for two thousand years, turn off the television. The grinning cartoon characters who claim to speak for Christ don’t speak for him. Find the followers who do what Jesus did. Find the people who risk their lives to carry a beaten stranger to safety. Find the houses opened to unwed mothers and their babies in crisis. Find the men who are man enough to be a father to troubled children of multiple ethnicity and backgrounds.

And find a Sunday School class filled with children with Down Syndrome and cerebral palsy and fetal alcohol syndrome. Find a place where no one considers them “weird” or “defective,” but where they joyfully sing, “Jesus loves the little children, all the children of the world.”

That might not have the polish of television talk-show theme music, but that’s the sound of bloody cross gospel.

So even though this guy makes our ears tickle can we please stop listening to him and instead follow the Man that didn’t have a place to lay his head some nights. 

Review of Tempted and Tried by Russell D. Moore

One morning as I was taking a shower this text came across my mind:  “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail.”  I didn’t give it much thought until a few days later…

There I was sitting in the bath tub at a spiritual crossroad.  I felt as if all of hell was pulling at my soul.  Tempting me, sifting me…sifting me…wait, was God communicating something to me a few days ago.  I had no idea.  Everything was cloudy. 

Here I was a youth pastor.  I am supposed to be leading teenagers.  I was preaching about the glory of God and having satisfaction in Christ alone.  Yet inwardly, I was so screwed up.  I had thoughts that a believer should never have.  I had doubts that ravaged my soul.  And with that came dejection, depression, and deep feelings of condemnation.  I wanted to hide but knew there was no place to run.  There I was alone, cowering in the bath tub. 

This time in my life was perhaps the most intense period of temptation that I have faced.  I felt as if I were seconds away from turning my back on Christ and running in the other direction forever.  I’d have to quit as a youth pastor.  My marriage would be altered forever.  My relationships with others rocked.  I’m not sure if it was good or not but I kept going through the motions trying to hang on to what little faith I seemed to have left. 

Then the lights came on.  Suddenly I felt as if the sifting had subsided and I was able to see the beauty and sufficiency of Jesus.  Actually its not as if I had somehow returned to normal.  Actually, through this experience I was utterly transformed.  The gospel became so much sweeter.  I was slowly being stripped of every vestige of self-righteousness, and I saw Christ as the only home for my tattered and tempted soul. 

I would love to tell you that I have never had a doubt sense that moment.  I would love to tell you that temptation was not still sometimes really strong.  I still have really dark moments.  I used to think that I was a total nutjob and a poor excuse for a Christian minister.  But now I think I experience the normal Christian life.  And I also heed the part of that text that I didn’t remember in the shower that day, “and when you have turned again strengthen your brothers”.  I’m not alone in my fight and that is comforting. 

I’m Not Alone

It was with great excitement that I read through Russell Moore’s book Tempted and Tried.  Dr. Moore is one of those revered Christian men that walks through the halls of Southern Seminary every day.  He’s a guy that many of us younger guys look up to.  It was encouraging to know that this man of God struggles with some of the same crazy “disqualifying” temptations that I struggle with. 

Moore is refreshingly honest with his temptations in this book.  From the beginning, with his story of paying a little too much attention to the woman behind the counter, the reader is reminded of the subtlety of temptation.  And it is this very subtlety that leads us unaware to the slaughterhouse. 

As refreshing as it is to know that Dr. Moore struggles with temptation it is even more refreshing and encouraging to see how Jesus Christ dealt with temptation.  Central to this book is the belief that Jesus was tempted in every way as we are and yet he did not surrender to that temptation.  He was tempted, tried, and he ultimately triumphed.  And it is only through Him that us broken sinners will find redemption from not only the pull of sin but also forgiveness in the battles that we have lost. 

Book Summary

The book is 200 pages long but only seven chapters.  The first two chapters serve as a wake up call.  In these chapters Moore expounds why temptation matters as well as attempts to convince us that through the subtlety of sin “you are on the verge of wrecking your life” (58).  He can say this because we are all tempted, and we are all tempted in a number of ways.  As he further remarks, “The issue isn’t whether you’re tempted, but whether you’re aware of it and striking back” (59). 

In the third chapter Moore looks at the first temptation of Christ: the temptation to get need met outside the Father.  Here Moore tackles the consumerist temptation that faces American Christianity.  He doesn’t pull any punches, consider this quote:

Why do we speak endlessly about marital communication and “love languages” but never address the question of whether institutionalized day care is good for children or for their parents?  It’s because pastors know that couples would reply they could never afford to live on the provision of the husband alone.  And they’re almost always right—if living means living in the neighborhoods in which they now live with the technologies they now have.  Why do we never ask whether it might be better to live in a one-bedroom apartment or a trailer park than to outsource the rearing of one’s children?  It’s because the American way of life seems so normal to us that such things do not even seem to be options at all.  (89, emphasis mine)

Moore moves on to the next temptation: finding certainty and identity outside of the Father.  Few wonder how the temptation to jump off a tower could relate to anything that we would struggle with in our day.  But Moore hones in on the core of this temptation, and it is one that we all face.  We all want to be secure.  We all want to be right.  Christ is being tempted to prove to himself and Satan his identity as the Messiah.  But he is being tempted to do it apart from faith.  And that is where we too falter.

The fifth chapter is given to expounding the final temptation of Christ: the exchange of the end-time exaltation by our Father for the right now exaltation of a snake (131).  I have quoted this section at length before, so I will point you there to save some length to this review.  But it is worth noting that Moore’s exposition of this temptation is wonderfully helpful.  He not only tackles political Christianity but he also tackles the rising apolitical Christianity of our day.  It is a very helpful critique. 

The book closes with practical suggestions and a helpful theology of overcoming sin in the midst of temptation.  The final chapter is only a couple pages long but here Dr. Moore closes with his ultimate aim for the book:

That’s really what this book is about.  I want you to see how imperiled you are.  I want you to see how fought for you are.  And I want you to be prompted to drop the book and pray to the only One who knows how to “destroy the works of the devil” (1 John 3:8).  And I want to remember to do that too.  (196)

Closing Reflections

I absolutely love Crossway.  They have put out a myriad of excellent books.  I had heard from someone that had read this that it was one of the best books ever published by Crossway.  I thought that a pretty lofty statement.  But after reading this book I lean towards agreeing with them.  The writing is phenomenal.  The chapters are lengthy but reading them is never laborious.  In fact I will probably try to read through this book again soon. 

This book is very helpful and life reorienting.  It was helpful for a struggler like me to know that I’m not a total nut-job because I sometimes experience dark temptations.  In fact this strugglers faith was greatly strengthened.  I know that I’m being sifted quite frequently.  But I also know that Christ is standing with me through temptation—and he is doing so as one that has already been tempted, tried, and is ultimately triumphant.  My hope rests on nothing but Jesus Christ and in Him I am totally secure. 

I received this book free from Crossway in exchange for a review.  Don’t tell them this but I would have bought the copy myself had they not sent it.  I would strongly encourage you to buy this book as well.  You can get the e-book for only 7.99.  Or if you prefer the hard copy you can buy it for only 10.19.

This video is also a pretty solid plug for the book:

"Tempted and Tried" Trailer - Russell Moore from Crossway on Vimeo.

The Only Kingdom Satan Fears

“Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” 

This isn’t a stupid question.  After all Jesus has been raised from the dead and He was now promising the outpouring of the Spirit.  These were signs that the messianic era was upon them.  And as such they assumed that this would mean that Israel would be rescued from Roman power and would be restored as a national powerhouse.

This wasn’t merely selfish.  They probably believed that God’s righteousness would reign and that His glory would begin to fill the earth.  Actually they were asking for the same kingdom that was previously offered to Jesus (Matthew 4:8-10).  Russell Moore posits what this kingdom would look like when he says:

Jesus [would be directing] the kingdoms of the world however he wanted.  No more babies would be miscarried.  No more women would die in childbirth.  Ended immediately would be all human slavery, all genocide, all disease, all poverty, all torture, and all ecological catastrophes…There would be no world of divorce courts and abortion clinics and electric chairs and pornographic images.  Whatever is troubling you right now would be gone, centuries before you were ever conceived.  This sounds like paradise.  (Moore, Tempted and Tried , 152)

This is in part what the disciples were asking for.  But Jesus responds, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority”.  (In other words a kingdom like this is still coming).  Jesus continues, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth”. 

There is something that must necessarily precede that coming kingdom.  That “something” is the proclamation of the gospel: the centuries long proclamation of believers spilling their blood and proclaiming the gospel with their lives and their lips.  This proclamation must precede that coming kingdom because it is not the kingdom that matters as much as the King.  Satan isn’t worried about a “Christian” nation/kingdom or king.  Satan is worried about the King of kings and Lord of lords.  Russell Moore explains far better than I could:

“Satan…doesn’t fear Christianity.  He certainly doesn’t fear “Christian values.”  Satan fears Christ.  Remember that Satan holds power only through accusation and condemnation.  As long as there is no atoning sacrifice for sin, Satan is quite willing to allow conformity to external law, even to the law of Christ ruling visibly over nations from Jerusalem.  The accuser simply wants his opportunity to indict his human would-be supplanting powers before the judgment seat, with no shed blood to redeem them back”  (Moore, Tempted and Tried , 152)

The kingdom that Satan fears and is set out to destroy is not the one the disciples were longing for in Acts 1:6.  The kingdom that Satan fears is the Spirit-empowered, gospel-birthed, kingdom that comes from Acts 1:8.  The kingdom the disciples imagine (and any kingdom we could dream of) pales in comparison to this one. 

Yet, I find myself here 2,000 years later longing more for an Acts 1:6 kingdom than an Acts 1:8 kingdom.  I find myself striving for that “kingdom to Israel” more than the one that conquers God-belittling idolatry even to the ends of the earth. 

Lord, move in my heart to strive for the kingdom that Satan fears.  Help me to not settle for sacred substitutes.  Thank you that you have given your Spirit that conquers my wayward passions and redirects me to focus on the only kingdom that Satan fears. 

Saturday’s Seven 4/03

Dr. Moore reminds us that Death Isn’t Natural.

I am really happy that John Piper took on this question:  Was 3 Hours of Suffering Enough?

Actually Piper news kind of dominated my Google Reader this week.  Last weekend he announced his Upcoming Leave, and towards the middle of the week he explained why he invited Rick Warren to the National’s Conference.  It is also worth reading Grace Driscoll’s response to Piper’s leave. 

I think Toby Kurth makes a wonderful point and asks an important question:  Will Gospel-Centrality Go the Way of Fundamentalism?   If the title does not catch your eye, please do yourself a favor and read it.

Read this one buy Kevin DeYoung and be sure to follow the links to Jared’s blog and the comments on JT’s blog. 

Challies (who would know) tells us how to Read More and Read Better.

Watch what Daniel Montgomery of Sojourn says about Fundamentals of the Gospel:

Gospel 101 from Sojourn Community Church on Vimeo.

There are a ton of great Good Friday/Easter posts out there—but you can find those yourself.  enjoy celebrating the Resurrection this Lord’s Day.