What I’ve Learned From Prosperity Teachers

I’ve shared before my experience with prosperity “gospel” teaching. Early on in my Christian life I swallowed it whole. I woke up with TBN on in my house and I went to bed with folks like Benny Hinn preaching to me. I drank the Kool-aid they stirred. I smoked everything they rolled up for me.

Not all of it was killing my soul.

Consider these recent tweets by Joel Osteen. Statements of this sort pepper the speech of TBN throughout each day:

What I learned from prosperity teachers is that God is a really big God that can do anything…so long as we _______.

Such a belief of course is necessary to prosperity teaching. God must be big in order for prosperity teaching to work. Believing that He can turn my $20 seed of faith into a down-payment for a house requires a God that is able to do anything. It requires a God that is able to “call into existence the things that do not exist”.

The second half of that statement is equally important. God is a really big God that can do anything—but in order to get Him to act it requires our faith or our words. Yeah, God can turn twenty bucks into 2,000. But He will only do that if we put that twenty into the pocket of our favorite prosperity teachers tailor made suit coat.

Eventually I dropped the second half of that statement. That is the part that is untrue. The first part, however, that God is really big and can do anything is absolutely true. It was through prosperity teaching that I learned that God was big and can do anything.

What do we learn from this?

Some might take this and say, “see prosperity teachers aren’t all bad! We ought to thank God for them.” I partially agree. I agree that in as much as they do faithfully proclaim Christ I’m grateful that the gospel is preached. I also don’t believe they are all bad. Some of them have really nice hair, probably love their mothers, can teach really well, might even be good leaders, and stand for many biblical principles.

Yet, I still believe they are deadly. Satan parades around as an angel of light and so do many of these false teachers. Rather than thanking them for preaching a half truth I believe the lesson here is that we ought to thank God for being powerful enough to shine the light of Christ through substantial error. His Spirit is powerful enough to bring us through even the most shoddy of teaching.

That’s comforting for teachers too. I want to be as faithful as I possibly can in presenting the gospel. But I also know that the tongue is a fire and I’m not totally redeemed in either my theology or my heart. I agree with Craig Blomberg, “sooner or later every teacher will do damage.” That’s heart wrenching. But it’s also good to know that the Lord leads people through our errors. God can speak through donkeys, and that means He can probably speak through me.

It is also encouraging to know that God can use everything—even a season sitting under rotten teaching for His glory and our good. I’m glad that the false god of the prosperity teachers is subservient to Almighty God that can use anything to serve His sovereign purpose.

May we press on in being faithful teachers and thank God that He is more than able to bring us into full maturity.

How Can a Calvinist Enjoy a Baseball Game?

One of my Arminian friends asked me a fun question. Noting the Calvinist view on foreordination and the meticulous sovereignty of God, this friend wondered why Calvinists even bother watching baseball. “If God has already ‘fixed’ the outcome why bother,” he asked.

The Calvinist faces a similar question concerning prayer and evangelism. Some ask, “If the outcome is already ‘fixed’ why do we even bother praying or sharing the gospel?” The answer to this one is a little more simple. We pray and share the gospel because God commands us. Spurgeon said something close to this:

"If God had painted a yellow stripe up the backs of the elect, I'd go through London lifting up coats and preaching only to them. As it is, He has not, so I preach the Gospel to all, and God brings his sheep."

But what about baseball? There is nothing in Scripture that commands us to watch baseball, so why bother? There are at least three reasons why I can still watch and enjoy baseball even though I believe that God has already “fixed” the outcome.

First, I watch to enjoy God’s history unfold. This is not to say that baseball history is anywhere near as important as salvation history. Yet that does not mean that salvation history has nothing to do with baseball history. Nor does it mean that God isn’t also writing the story of baseball.

Secondly, I enjoy baseball. I believe that when Alex Gordon makes an insanely good catch in left field that he is doing so as a gift of God. And I really do believe that it is through a very real human freedom that Alex Gordon makes that catch. I don’t fully understand how this intersects with the meticulous sovereignty of God, but I believe that Scripture teaches both. As I enjoy baseball I’m enjoying God’s story and I’m also enjoying humanity imaging God.

Lastly, I view baseball and history from a “field” view instead of from the “grandstands”. My friend noted that we Calvinists cannot rightly say, “That was a lucky catch”. I agree. So, I jokingly told him that I would from now on say, “Wow, that providentially ordained catch sure looked lucky from my finite human perspective”. And that’s the third reason why I can enjoy watching baseball as a Calvinist. If I had a view from the grandstands—where I already knew the outcome I’m not sure that I would get the same enjoyment. In fact I’m confident that I wouldn’t—because I get less enjoyment watching a game that has already been completed. But I don’t have that type of perspective. I view baseball as it is happening. Therefore, I’m still able to enjoy watching history unfold.

Whether Calvinist or Arminian you should watch baseball and enjoy it.

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Here are a few other articles on baseball that I’ve enjoyed recently:

Our National Pastime by Kevin DeYoung

How Baseball is Like the Christian Walk by David Prince

Why I Took the Moabites Shelter

Therefore I weep with the weeping of Jazer for the vine of Sibmah;
I drench you with my tears, O Heshbon and Elealeh;
for over your summer fruit and your harvest the shout has ceased.
-Isaiah 16:9

I can’t wrap my mind around this passage. Or better yet my theology. The “I” in those sentences is the Lord. He is weeping over the destruction of these cities. That is what has me baffled at the complex emotions of the Lord.

Some would have no problem with this passage. “Of course God is weeping over these cities. He loves all people and when the devil destroys them, or the consequence of their sin catches up with them, the Lord cannot help but weep over them”. Isaiah 16:9 fits easily into this theology. One problem though…

Isaiah 16:10. “ have put an end to the shouting…”

The same “I” that is weeping is the same “I” that put an end to the shouting. Verse 10 does not cause me to scratch my head either. The sovereign Lord of the universe has every right to put an end to their shouting. They are prideful. He is--as verse 6 shows--insolent, arrogant, and engaging in idle boasting. I do not have a problem with the Lord judging Moab, and even doing so with at least some pleasure (like that of a mother watching the execution of the man that brutally raped and murdered her daughter).

What baffles me is the combination of these verses. It is even more prominent in the shift from verse 10 to verse 11. “I have put an end to the shouting. Therefore…” What would you expect here? The Lord has judged their pride and has put an end to their wrong-headed and ill-hearted mirth. I would expect something other than this: “Therefore my inner parts moan like a lyre for Moab…”

As I reflect on Isaiah 16 I find myself trying to unite these verses. I want to make sense of them and put them in a nice little box. It’s as if Isaiah 16 has given me a Scooby Doo mystery that inspires me to eat a massive sub sandwich and solve the riddle of the God who mourns over those He smites.

Then I realize that this is not a mystery to be unraveled. This is a God to be worshipped. He is just. He is loving. He is gracious. He provides shelter to those under His wrath (Isaiah 16:3-5), saying “come to me all you who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest.” Yet, in their pride they never come. And He mourns as their shouts of joy cease because of His hand.

Not All There Is to Say

This would be my story if it were not for the “But God” in Ephesians 2. I responded and took the shelter that the prideful Moabites did not. Yet, I was just as prideful as they, if not more so! The only thing that drew me into the shelter house of grace was the Father’s election, which motivated the Spirit’s wooing, which drew me into the Son’s covering.

Isaiah 16 isn’t my story because sovereign grace is. I do not understand why the Lord does what He does. Nor do I pretend to even understand the complexities of a God that mourns the judgment that His hand doles out. But what I do know is that grace has captured me. And for that I am grateful.

How I Explained the God-centeredness of God to a Group of Teenagers

All of the Sunday school classes in our church are going through The Gospel Project.  Last week we reflected on the statement, “In all God does, His first aim is to glorify himself”.  I asked the students whether they agreed with that or not. 

Some of them dutifully nodded their heads.  A few expressed consternation.  Something didn’t seem quite right about that statement.  So in an attempt to get everyone a little uncomfortable with this truth I shared with them a bogus reason for preaching the gospel. (Part of the illustration I tweaked from this Piper sermon)

I told them that my hopes in preaching that morning was that whenever I was finished everybody would give me a standing ovation and bask in my awesomeness.  I told them that every point that I made I expect worship for my artistry.  Whenever I make a point that is helpful to them it is my hope that they will continue to realize that I am a storehouse of helpfulness and that they will continue to come back to me for all their information.  My goal that morning in preaching is simply for their praise. 

They were, rightly, appalled. 

Then I shared with them a little from Ephesians 1.  I had them note that according to this text the fundamental reason why God does what He does in our redemption is “to the praise of his glorious grace”.  That means that God saves us and does us good ultimately so that we might give him a standing ovation when he is finished. 

Is that appalling? 

It seems that way at first doesn’t it?  Because when humans do things like that it seems off putting.  But it’s off-putting simply because we are not the most wonderful and precious being in the universe.  God is.  And to make anything else our hearts treasure and joy is fundamentally ripping ourselves off.  So, God is deeply loving to be God-centered and to transform our hearts in such a way that we are too. 

The Loveliness of the God-centeredness of God Illustrated

I feared they were a little confused still, so I tried sharing an illustration. 

Imagine that you and your family were going on a trip.  You pick the destination.  Pick something beautiful.  Something that would be breathtaking.  You can go to see the Grand Canyon.  Or a beautiful national park.  Or travelling in space.  Or seeing Niagra Falls.  Or the Rocky Mountains.  Or travelling overseas to see all of the awesome history, architecture, and things that you cannot see here in America.  Now imagine—which ever of these amazing places that you want to vacation--that your parents have one stipulation…

The entire time you have to stare at a mirror.  Everyone else in the family enjoys the beautiful sunset.  The glaciers.  The caves.  The mountain peaks.  But for the entire trip, except for driving through Kansas, you have to look at this mirror. 

You know that is a rip off because even though you are “the crown of creation” and uniquely made in the image of God it’s not your physical being that’s so awesome.  It’s that you are part of something bigger.  You weren’t made to spend your life looking in a mirror.  You were made to worship.  You were made to see these great and grand things, to marvel, and to see the beauty of the Creator.  It’s loving to let you enjoy the Grand Canyon and to be swept up by it’s magnificence. 

How much more, then, the Lord of glory who created the Grand Canyon? 

God’s Happy Little Trees

I love watching Bob Ross paint his happy little trees.  However, on occasion Bob will do something that really bothers me emotionally.  What almost killed me was that Ross would paint a very intricate and beautiful mountain, or a bunch of happy little trees on a mountain ridge and then…I’m getting all worked up remember it…he would practically destroy the thing by putting a big fat tree that covers almost everything he just painted. 

For a solid 10 minutes I’d sit there shocked and quivering and not able to enjoy my Fruit Loops while I watched this afro-wearin’ painter make something beautiful and then taunt me by destroying it.  Then slowly…ever so slowly…I started seeing what he had already created in his mind 15 minutes ago.  Suddenly what seemed like a disaster turned into a masterpiece. 

Bob, you beautiful genius, you did it again!

I think the Lord paints the same way as Bob Ross.  You get the idea from Ephesians (2:10, 3:7-13) that God is painting this beautiful masterpiece of redemption.  He is displaying on the canvas of history a bunch of happy little trees that resound to his glory.  At times it is absolutely beautiful and looks almost complete. 

But then…

He does the unthinkable.  He covers up those happy little trees with that squirrel-infested log it looks a bit unbecoming.  We were comfortable with the happy little trees of buzz words like “gospel-centrality”.  We thought the picture was nearing completion and filled to the brink with beauty.  Then the Master decided to draw a big fat tree of emphasizing holiness right in the middle of it. 

We did not know it but the canvas was not complete.  It was missing something.  And so He continues painting.  Sometimes, in our view spoiling things that seemed quite beautiful only to emphasize something that at first looks detestable. 

But He keeps painting.

With his Paul’s, his Augustine’s, his Monica’s, his Benedictine monks, his his Luther’s, Edwards’, Newton’s, Moody’s, Graham, Pipers.  And covering them with his praying widow, his baking grannies, his humble maintenance men, and his weary pastors.  Some shine more than others but all are essential.  They each emphasize something different that would be an incomplete canvas without their presence. 

History moves back and forth with each stroke.  And often making a watching and waiting church quite uncomfortable.  Yet, he keeps painting. 

And when the Lord gets done with his painting, all of creation will sit back and say, Lord, you beautiful genius, you did it again!

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If you aren’t familiar with Bob Ross here he is remixed:

Counsel to a Friend with Cancer

The following is a modernized and de-Britainized version of John Newton’s letter to Mr. B in 1774.  I have tried to keep my changing of the words minimal but I have reformatted some to make it more readable for a blog entry as well.

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My Dearest Sir,

I see the necessity of having, if possible, my beliefs upon my fingertips, so that I may apply them as I need them every hour.  Certainly, if my ability matched my desire, I would remove your tumor with a word or a touch; I would instantly take away every pain and inconvenience forever. 

But you are in the hands of One who could do all this and more, and who loves you infinitely better than I can do, and yet He is pleased to permit you to suffer. 

What can we conclude from this? 

Certainly, that at this time, He, to whom all of the history is present in one view, sees better for you to have this tumor than to be without it; for I have no more idea of tumor rising (or any other incidental trial coming upon you), without a cause, without a need-be, without a designed advantage to result from it, than I have a mountain or pyramid rising up of its own accord in the middle of Salisbury Plain. 

The promise is clear, and literally true, that all things, universally and without exception, shall work together for good to them that love God.  But they work together: the smallest as well as the greatest events have their place and use, like several stones in the arch of a bridge, where no one would by itself be useful, but every one in its place is necessary to the structure and support of the arch. 

Or, rather, it is like the movement of a watch, where, though there obviously are some pieces more important than others, yet the smallest pieces have their place and use, and are so far equally important, that the watch could not work if they were not present. 

Some acts and turns of Divine Providence may be compared to the main spring or big wheels, which have a more visible, sensible, and determining influence upon the whole direction of our lives: but the more ordinary occurrences of every day are at least pins and pivots, adjusted, timed, and suited with equal accuracy, by the hand of the same great Artist who planned and executes the whole.

We are sometimes surprised to see how much more depends and turns upon these “lesser things” than we are aware of.  Then we admire his skill, and say “he has done all things well.”  Indeed, with respect to his works of providence, as well as of creation, he well deserves the title of “The Very Greatest in the Least”.

Such thoughts as these, when I am enabled to realize them, in some measure reconcile me to what he allots for myself or my friends, and convinces me of truthfulness of that statement, which speaks the language of love as well as authority, “Be still, and know that I am God.” 

I sympathize with you in your trial, and pray and trust that your Shepherd will be your Physician; will oversee and bless the use of means; will give you in his good time health and cure, and at all times reveal unto you abundance of peace.  His promises and power are necessary for our preservation in the better times, and they are likewise sufficient for the roughest. 

We are always equally in danger in ourselves, and always equally safe under the shadow of his wings.  No storms, assaults, sieges, or pestilences, can hurt us, till we have filled up his appointed measure of service; and when our work is done, and he has ripened us for glory, it is no great matter by what means he is pleased to call us home to himself. 

I have only room to present our join and sincerest respects.  The Lord bless you all. 

When Sovereignty Evokes Terror

“But he is unchangeable, and who can turn him back?  What he desires, that he does.  For he will complete what he appoints for me, and many such things are in his mind.”  (Job 23:13-14)

What comes next? 

“Therefore, I am joyously content…”?

“Therefore, I will trust Him…”?

“Therefore, I can relax…”?

Nope.

“Therefore, I am terrified at his presence; when I consider, I am in dread of him.  God has made my heart faint; the Almighty has terrified me…”

Job 23:13-14 is only good news if “God is for us”.  If you are convinced, like Job, that “the arrows of the Almighty” are in you, and if you have no knowledge that there is an “arbiter to lay his hand on us both”, then the immutability and power of God is something that evokes terror rather than peace.

This is why a good amount of our counseling of hurting people (including ourselves) is to buttress—or establish--a confidence in the goodness of God.  Furthermore, our hearts and minds must be readjusted to believe that our greatest good is conformity to Jesus and drinking from the fountain of God’s sustaining grace. 

Here comes a really weird transition statement…

I almost killed a guy once. 

It was not intentional.  Total accident.  I was playing church league slow-pitch softball and hit a rocket to third base.  The ball hit something, took a bad hop, and absolutely jacked the face of the third baseman.  (Actually one of my former students, that I had poured a good amount of time into).  He was hurt pretty bad but I left the ball park, feeling pretty bad but convinced that I had only broken his nose. 

A few hours later the news turned grim.  Apparently he had some sort of condition that made that part of his cranium softer than normal.  He now had swelling on his brain and it was looking pretty serious.  Needless to say, I was pretty shaken up. 

During this time someone assured me “God is in control”.  They pretty much told me Job 23:13-14.  My response was similar to Job’s…terror.  I knew that God was more dedicated to His glory than He was to my unblemished not-accidentally-killing-a-guy record.  I knew that He could very well allow my friend to die and I would be (in part) the reason, though accidentally. 

Again, the counsel that I needed was not “God is in control”.  The counsel that I needed was that “God is good”.  I needed to know that he would withhold no good thing from me.  I needed to be reminded that all things work together for good (fundamentally conformity to Christ). 

Thankfully the story is that I almost killed a guy once.  But I learned a valuable lesson during that time—that often it is the goodness and not the sovereignty of God that suffering people must be graciously reminded of. 

Defending God and The Hardening of Pharoah’s Heart

I am making my way through Dr. James Hamilton’s new book God’s Glory in Salvation Through Judgment.  It’s a great read so far, I look forward to finishing and reviewing it.  One thing that struck me is Hamilton’s treatment of Yahweh’s hardening of Pharoah’s heart. 

As I was reading through this it struck me.  If God is willing to say “I hardened Pharoah’s heart” why do we often shrink from saying that? 

[10:1] Then the LORD said to Moses, “Go in to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the heart of his servants, that I may show these signs of mine among them, [2] and that you may tell in the hearing of your son and of your grandson how I have dealt harshly with the Egyptians and what signs I have done among them, that you may know that I am the LORD.”
(Exodus 10:1-2 ESV)

Sometimes I think we try to defend God when he doesn’t really seem too worried about defending himself. 

Borrowed Light: This Week in Blogworld

Perhaps you've noticed the change in title. Instead of doing a "Today in Blogworld" we will now be moving to a "This Week". If something is pressing then I will provide a link throughout the week. As of now, we will be posting all of our links on Friday or Saturday of every week.

Michael Patton charts four views of God's sovereignty? Where are you on the chart? I am in between meticulous sovereignty and providential sovereignty. I'm probably a little to the right of John Piper.

Pulpit Magazine offers us a series on ministry to children. They consider When to Baptize Your Children, Proverbs and Parenting, Evangelizing Your Children Part 1 and 2.

Jared hits the nail on the head with his post on The New Legalism

Erin Sutherland continues the New Attitude series on applying the gospel to every day life. She discusses The Gospel and Relationships (for Girls)

Phil Johnson's final entry on Acts 17: Paul and Charitableness

Many bloggers went to the Together 4 the Gospel Conference (Hence, the small number of links). I was not one of them. I could link to all of their notes, but instead I will only point you to the audio for all the sermons. This should keep you busy.

This is also from T4G:
(HT:Challies)