Tag Archives: bible

February 23, 2025 · 7:20 am

Exchanging Jesus for Barabbas

Imagine a man who is a sinner. The particular sin isn’t relevant. Perhaps he is a tax collector for Rome with sketchy morals. Perhaps a woman who sells her body to put food on the table. Perhaps a man seeking life in the arms of many different women, using them and never speaking to them again. Perhaps a thief, a reviler, a blasphemer.

Sinners cause grief in society. They are at war with nature, at war with themselves, at war with their neighbor. Every time God’s moral code is broken, someone gets hurt.

So we want to do something about it. We don’t want prostitutes on the corner of our neighborhood. We don’t want the government getting rich on the backs of the poor. We don’t want to be cursed out when we are in the market. We don’t want thieves running the cash registers.

So far, nothing too controversial. So with those images in mind, ask yourself – what should be done about it?

There are really only two things that can be done. First, is to make the sinner stop sinning. If you have a strong enough king, you can put a stop to an adulterous man. You can eventually lock him up and never let him out. If he has no access to people, he can’t commit a sexual sin against people. Depending on the severity of the situation, this might need to be done. A man who rapes children, for example, needs to be removed from children, whatever it takes to do so. The damage is too great.

But the fact is, this doesn’t actually stop the sinning, because the man still has his heart with him. He still takes his fantasies and his greed and his hatred and his envy, even into prison.

The second problem is this one: If you seek to purify society by removing all the sinners, where do you stop?

Who purifies the ones purifying? The oppressed class rises up and purifies themselves from the oppressors and the oppressors become the new oppressed class.

Revenge is a vicious cycle without an end.

Which brings me to the second way to do something about it.

David cried out, “Oh that salvation were come out of Zion!”

David was the king at the time, and Zion was his palace. He knew that as the king, the salvation he was seeking wasn’t forthcoming. A different kind of king would be needed.

What if a heart could be changed and the adulterous man no longer had any desire to use and abuse the bodies of others?

What if the thief got a job because he wanted to have enough to give to the poor rather than making the problem worse?

What if the racist could see with new eyes the perspective of people different than he is, and actually spend time listening to the struggles and desires and difficulties of the refugee?

What if the greedy government official found security somewhere else rather than in his bank account?

In other words, what if the heart was freed from fear and filled with love?

This, of course, can never be done by laws, by education, by religion, by philosophy, or by anything under the sun. Under the sun is only death and vanity.’

In order for the heart to be changed, a savior must come from another realm with power that doesn’t belong to the realm of death and misery.

It can only come from God himself.

The laws of men can never be strong enough to change a heart or purify sinners. They can’t even agree on what “sin” is!

One problem with the ruling class seeking to purge sinners is that they first have to classify what a sinner is. The next problem is that they have to propose a solution to those that they have deemed sinners.

This is why seeking to eradicate “sin” by the law always ends up multiplying atrocities and never actually solving any problems. You declare a certain type or class of people to be the problem with society (sinners) and then you seek to put a stop to it.

But where do you stop?

You can’t build enough prison camps. You can’t have enough Guantanamo Bays, or Gulags, you can’t have enough Auschwitzes. And not only have you not corrected any problem, you have only made society worse. Death and misery will never cure death and misery.

And death and misery are in this world under the sun because we are alienated from the God of life, fearful of those who are different than we are, and seeking to cover shame and fear and guilt by adultery, murder, anger, reviling, drugs, alcohol, suicides, theft, and the list continues.

In order to truly change behavior, guilt, shame and fear must be removed.

But God doesn’t just zap us and make us perfect. He created us after his image, with personhood, personalities, will, culture, and all of those things that Jesus called “talents”.

And like a skilled surgeon removing a cancer but keeping the patient alive, God removes the fear and the shame and the bent nature and leaves our humanness intact, because God loves his creation and does not desire the “death of the wicked”. Jesus came to redeem a cursed world, not to condemn a cursed world.

But redemption takes time and can’t be rushed. In fact, it takes a whole lifetime and is only complete at the resurrection.

And we are impatient. We want the problem taken care of right now. Our pride tells us that the problem is those others who are sinning.

The problem is that prostitutes are on the corner. Greed is in the government. Refugees are stealing jobs. Politicians are lying. Women are having abortions. Men are sleeping with men.

And if we just had a righteous, powerful king to rid society of these menaces, then the price of eggs would go down, inflation would be over, and we could make Israel Great Again.

And this is where Barabbas comes in.

John’s gospel tells us that Barabbas took part in an uprising.

He thought just like Peter did. Just like Judas did. Just like the crowds did when they welcomed the Son of David into Jerusalem.

FINALLY – God is acting. Jesus is going to rid the world of these Romans. Prostitutes and tax collectors and religious zealots and Herodians and Essenes will finally be put in their place. We will rise up with the king and finally have the peace and security that we deserve!

But then Jesus just rode in to Jerusalem, looked around, and then left!

The Romans didn’t even pay him any mind!

Day after day went by, and nothing.

He let a woman pour a years worth of money out on his feet!! Think of what he could have done with that!

And after Jesus told Judas to leave the woman alone because it was for his burial, Judas finally got it.

He wasn’t going to do anything about Rome at all! He’s just another loser sitting around and doing nothing.

I’m going to join the winning side. Maybe Barabbas can get something going. At least he tried to do something.

And by Friday morning, when the crowds finally realized that Jesus wasn’t going to overthrow Pilate, their shouts of Hosanna quickly turned to shouts of “Crucify, crucify”.

And they exchanged the Lord of life for Barabbas.

He might be a murderer, a thief and an insurrectionist, but at least he tried to make us great again!

Peter was confused, but he tried to keep up with what Jesus was doing. He even drew his sword in the garden.

But when Jesus rebuked him and healed the ear, even faithful Peter had enough.

He didn’t deny Christ because he was afraid. He denied Christ because Jesus didn’t do anything and just allowed himself to be arrested.

He was angry and disillusioned, not afraid.

They had that vision of David – the Great King, defeating the enemies. The time of Israel’s greatness.

But was it that great, really? There was death, corruption, continual war, plague, oppression, enforced slavery…and even David longed for a better salvation.

And now, 2,000 years later, it is easy to scoff at Peter’s faithlessness, Judas’ betrayal, the crowd’s fickleness…

But we still fall into the same trap, over and over again.

We still exchange Jesus for Barabbas. Jesus takes to long. He’s too soft on sin, we say.

We forget that if Jesus came to condemn the world, none of us would be here.

If Jesus came in judgment, the wheat would be thrown in the fire with the tares.

But we think we know better. We think that we can separate the wheat from the weeds and send the weeds off to Guantanamo, so the wheat can get on with growing, and it won’t stop ever.

The body count will get higher and higher. More and more prisons will need to be built. More soldiers and police will be needed until the whole nation is fearful, ashamed, hiding, turning on each other –

And there will still be prostitutes on the corner, greedy government officials,  women getting abortions, thieves, and murderers.

Righteousness will never come by the law. Only death and misery.

Shouldn’t we know this by now? It is literally what every single one of Paul’s letters is about. And history has shown us over and over and over.

When Barabbas is king, only misery can follow.

The duty of Christ’s people is NOT to shout for Barabbas to be king, but to take up the cross and follow Jesus. His cross and his resurrection, motivated by God’s love for the world, changed the world and is still changing the world.

But it isn’t on our time-table. We always kill the good while trying to purge the bad. Let Jesus do that. Let the Holy Spirit do that.

In the meantime, love your neighbor. The ones with brown skin who are being threatened. The trans kid with no place to go. The woman on the corner. The greedy government official.

And it might cost. In fact, I know it does. It will cost everything, because we are Christians – like Christ. So we take up our crosses and be willing to even lose our lives for the sake of our communities – and even our enemies.

Because we, of all people, should understand that resurrection only comes after death. Never before.

So we wait, we mourn, we dance, we sing, we take up our crosses, we give generously, and we refuse to give into fear and shame. It has no place here.

Here we will stand. We will crucify fear and shame to the cross of Jesus and stand with joy and peace, with infinite love to share from Jesus through us to the world.


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January 23, 2025 · 3:13 pm

Complementarianism and Abuse

In which I come out as fully egalitarian and plead with you. In which I make the case that abuse and complementarianism necessarily go hand in hand. And a plea to men to finally begin to listen to their wives.

I used to consider myself in the complementarian camp. I even attempted to make an argument that women cannot serve as pastors or elders in a church – which I regret. I am now fully egalitarian.

The main reason that I am fully egalitarian is that I do not find any of the scriptures used by complementarianism to subjugate women to be compelling. (If you take this as permission to mansplain to me why I am wrong, save your writing. I’ve heard all the arguments and the exegesis is poor, the hermeneutic is poorer and the scholarship is poorer still.)

Quite simply, the gospel makes no distinction between male and female – neither ontologically, as image-bearers of God, nor in “role”. But that isn’t why I’m posting this.

I’m posting this for the SECOND reason why I am fully egalitarian. Jesus said that you will know false teaching by the fruit. And the fruit of complementarianism is ugly and rotten to the core. A simple glance at the response of the complementarianism to Bishop Budde, or simply listening to what our sisters have endured in complementarian churches is enough to demonstrate the stench of the rotten fruit.

Abuse, degradation, silencing, ridicule, threats, bullying, excommunications and other forms of spiritual and physical abuse have been thoroughly documented in complementarian churches for those who wish to see it.

At this point, I know that there are many of you who will say, “not my church” – and if that is actually the case, I am thankful.

But there is a deeper problem. Before I get there, I want to define complementarianism:

Complementarianism and egalitarianism are theological views on the relationship between men and women, especially in marriage and in ministry. Complementarianism stresses that although men and women are equal in personhood, they are created for different roles. Egalitarianism also agrees that men and women are equal in personhood but holds that there are no gender-based limitations on the roles of men and women (Christianity.com)

If you are complementarian, you need to define what those “roles” are, and that is where it gets sticky. One role is “silence in church.” Complementarians believe that women are forbidden by God to teach or govern in the church.

And then they need to justify that belief. I know, I used to be there myself. Some soft complementarians, like I was, believe that women and men are equally gifted, equally human, but for reasons inscrutable, God has forbidden women from holding office. But, if they are like me, they cannot hold that position for long because it is troublesome. I can only say, “ummm – for reasons…” for so long before I have to abandon that position.

Others come up with reasons for positing different roles using poor exegesis and analytical skills. They say,

“Women are more emotional than men”

“Women are called to stay home and submit to their husbands”

“Women simply cause trouble and if you give them power, they want to take over everything”

“Someone has to be in charge, and God gave that position to men”

“Because men are rational, masculine, god-like, non-emotional – and…reasons”

These are all the arguments I heard growing up. I never accepted any of them. It just took me years to realize that my rejection of those arguments were really a rejection of complementarianism.

So this is my “coming out” if you will.

I ask all of your forgiveness for my previous statements that women cannot hold office in the church. There is nothing either in the scripture or in the confessions of the church that mandate such a position.

But why is it that holding a complementarian position is not only unbiblical, but dangerous to women? Why is the almost universal climate in complementarian churches an unsafe climate for women?

And here is the answer: When a man abuses, degrades, or assaults a woman, he never does it in front of witnesses.

And complementarianism teaches that women are unreliable, untrustworthy and too emotional to witness the truth – at least not to the extent that a MAN can.

Any argument that one uses to keep women out of the pulpit ALSO keeps them out of the discussion as reliable witnesses.

Bishop Budde was rejected, ridiculed and shut down by Denny Burk simply BECAUSE she is a woman, NOT because she was wrong, and this is important for us men to understand.

When a woman seeks to complain that a sermon made her uncomfortable, that she feels unsafe at church, that something about the pastor is off – complementarian husbands generally will listen – if they love their wives – but deep inside there is a place where they will discount her experience because she is emotional, irrational, of just didn’t hear it right. Just as Burk and so many others shut down the Bishop – she is wrong because she is a woman, and women cannot teach men – so also even good men in a complementarian environment tend to shut down their wives. If they listen, then they have been taught by a woman. And everything that they hear in church is that it is WRONG for a woman to teach a man, especially her husband.

My wife went to the hardware store to buy a water heater this week. She did the research and asked the man at the store if he could explain the difference between the 45000 BTU and the 30000 BTU heater. He gaped at her. Patted the machine and said, “This is a WATER HEATER” in his best mansplaining voice.

Expected in a hardware store. An absolute crisis when it happens in the church.

Barak was only given one choice. Listen to the woman or die.

Josiah only had one choice. Listen to Huldah or die.

The wise woman who threw Sheba’s head over the wall saved the city – Joab listened to her.

Abraham was commanded to listen to his wife.

Lydia brought the gospel to Philippi.

The women brought the good news of the gospel to the men.

And we wouldn’t know anything about the virgin birth if we do not hear Mary’s voice.

We wouldn’t have Romans if Phoebe wasn’t a brave, capable godly woman.

Because when it comes down to it, whether the voice is male or female doesn’t matter. Is it true? is the only question that matters.

Brothers, your sisters have been telling you for decades that they are not safe in complementarian churches.

They are telling you that they are not safe in complementarian circles.

They are not safe in the current political climate.

We haven’t listened, and we are being overrun by the chariots of Sisera. Baal worship is filling the temple of God and we have erected our orange idol in the Holy of Holies, because he promised us power.

The state of the evangelical church is dismal. It is buried under the bones of our sisters, as was every temple of Baal.

The victims are clawing at the threshold, dying at our doorsteps but our religion forbids us to hear them, to rescue them, to even listen to them. We would rather die and rot than be “taught by a woman”.

That is the fatal flaw in complementarianism. In order to protect ourselves from the imaginary witch of feminism, we have thrown Jesus outside the church and made it a safe place for the worst sort of scum and villainy. In order to make ourselves “safe” from the opinions and thoughts of women, we threw them out of the Holy Place and into the kitchen and when they tried to be heard over our self-congratulations, we called them “Jezebels” and cast them out completely.

And now the sheep are gone, and only the wolves remain.

The church has become a den of thieves, a safe-haven for criminals.

We were warned. And the women who warned us over and over again were cast out.

So forgive me if you say, “Not all complementarian churches”. If you WERE a danger to women, how would you know when you won’t allow them to speak except to a room full of abusive men who have already decided that women are too emotional, too deceived and too irrational to be believed?

For you men out there who truly love your wives and daughters, please ask them that question and be open to their responses:

When was the first time that they were sexualized at church?

When was the first time they didn’t feel safe in Sunday school?

When was the first time they were dismissed and silenced?

When was the first time they felt as if a man was shunning them as if they were unclean?

And ask them this question – if they were assaulted by a leader in your church, would she go to the pastor or to the other elders for help?

And please listen to her.

If she is not safe at church, it doesn’t matter how “orthodox” they are. You will know them by their fruit.

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January 15, 2025 · 6:49 pm

The end of an era

It’s time for boldness as well as encouragement for the people of God. There are Christians like me all over the world who are grieving. They watch their Savior’s name being dragged through the mud by the worst sort of men – adulterers, liars, abusers, rapists, con-men – and these same men then take the name of God on to their filthy lips for the sake of power. It grieves my heart.

That being said – at the end of every era, By God’s design, wickedness becomes exposed as it grows more powerful and seemingly omnipotent. It is a terrifying time when an age ends.

But in God’s design, the exposure is necessary before judgment. First the exposure, then comes judgment.

Before God’s time, wickedness is restrained, hidden, in shadows and corners and down alleys. Those who have tried to speak are not believed, silenced, ridiculed, shut down – and wickedness grows and becomes more emboldened.

How many spoke up before Luther and died at the stake?

How many spoke in ancient Rome and died in the circuses?

How many were executed by wild beasts and furnaces BEFORE God brought judgment to Nebuchadnezzar?

But then the time of judgment and exposure comes.

The darkness bursts out in all it’s ugliness and hatefulness and power, crushing the soul and leaving the innocent crying out in agony. “Does anyone hear? Does anyone care?” But that is the sign that the end is near.

Follow me – God told Abraham that the iniquity of the Amorites was not yet complete. And we have followed this pattern ever since. Revelation speaks of Armageddon, when the forces of evil are at their most deceptive and most powerful.

And so the ages come and go.

One power is exposed and falls, the next rises and continues until its injustice and wickedness is complete, then it is exposed before all and destroyed by the breath of God, and another kingdom takes its place.

It is always darkest before the dawn.

We are, I believe, at the end of the age. We are in for a bit of darkness, but let’s take a look at it from the throne room of God:

This hatred and fear and contempt will grow worse and worse. The iniquity of American Evangelicalism is not yet complete. It has crushed the enslaved, destroyed humans in the Native genocides, crushed women and children in mines and factories, raped children in the Sunday School rooms and Bible camps, and has turned God’s house into a safe-haven for robbers, adulterers, and thieves.

God has sent prophets, but has not yet come in judgment, because the iniquity is not yet complete. But it is coming.

This facade of religiosity will soon be peeled back and we will be left with unmasked Baal – worship, throwing its victims into the furnaces and ghettos and death camps and will reach the height of its earthly power.

But do not fear. It is as it has always been as we approach the coming Day of the Lord.

God still has angels with swords. He still has the breath of his mouth. And when the time has come, and the evil is fully seen for what it is, it will tumble down in a moment.

Until then, my friends, do not fear.

There will be mouths to feed. Victims to sit with. Refugee families to house and hide. Neighbors to love. People to clothe. Escapees to sit with, and so so many left outside the camp.

Do not mistake what you see in the halls of Power as Christianity. It is not there. You have never found Christ in Christendom. It is a different kingdom with a different master. Jesus said that you will know his disciples by their love.

Look for it. Show it. Shine it out. Don’t be afraid.

Firing squads may come. It will be the organized church and the power-hungry religious leaders that lead the violence. This will not be where Christ’s people are.

Christ’s people will be following him. Outside the camp. On the cross. Taking the lowest place of all. Waiting for resurrection.

Hold on to that, and don’t be discouraged.

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November 29, 2024 · 7:49 am

The risk of love

A misogynist is not one who hates all women. He only hates those women who step out of line. As long as they stay in their place, he might even marry one.

A racist will always say, “I’m not a racist. I had a black friend years ago.” He really only gets angry when BIPOC eat in the wrong restaurants, drive in the wrong neighborhood, jogs through the wrong neighborhood, or are smarter, richer, and more talented than he is.

A transphobe really does hate trans people. Well, not if they dress and act and present themselves as the  “right gender”. But then they wouldn’t be trans, would they? So this one is on them…

A transphobe or a homophobe would insist that they don’t hate the person. They just hate the behavior and can’t appear as if they are condoning it.

So they won’t use the preferred pronouns. If you say, “Hey, maybe we should just love people and use their preferred pronouns” then you better have some blocking in place on your social media, because it is about to get ugly.

I’ve been thinking about these things lately.

And that, of course, leads me to thinking about love.

Other than Hugh Grant or Ricky Gervais, who freely admit it, most people don’t just come out and say “I hate everyone”.

But I have spent way too much time listening to conservative pastors warn about the dangers of loving the wrong sort of people in the wrong sort of way. My father used to say, “Sloppy agape” and chuckle at the cleverness.

And now they write about “toxic empathy” which is actually just empathy but it allows them to remain hardened and stiff-necked towards their neighbor and cover it over with a sheen of religiosity.

There was a belief system that I was nurtured in. Many of us were. Those of use who eventually tried to question it were finally run out.

The system that I am talking about is a culture disguised as Christianity. It is a culture of fear and distrust.

Archie and Edith sang the song of the culture:

Boy, the way Glenn Miller played!
Songs that made the Hit Parade.
Guys like us, we had it made.
Those were the days!
And you knew where you were then.
Girls were girls and men were men.
Mister, we could use a man like Herbert Hoover again.
Didn’t need no welfare state.
Everybody pulled his weight.
Gee, our old LaSalle ran great.
Those were the days!
source: https://www.lyricsondemand.com/a/archieandedithbunkerlyrics/thosewerethedaysallinthefamilythemelyrics.html

Yes, I’m old enough to have lived through it. I wasn’t allowed to watch the show. It was just liberal tripe. All the adults in my circles believed exactly what Archie Bunker believed and knew that they were being mocked.

But I digress.

The culture is this:

“If we love our neighbor, society will fall apart.”

Therefore, Love in the Bible must mean something different.

My dad would say “Love is the fulfilling of the law” – and what he meant by it was that if you didn’t steal from your neighbor or sleep with his wife, then you have fulfilled the law of love towards your neighbor.

I know I’m going to hear the “not everyone was like this” – and maybe you would be right. If there was someone in my church, my hometown, or my childhood that believed that schools shouldn’t be segregated, homeless people should be clothed and fed and housed, that BIPOC should be able to live peacefully in any neighborhood that they chose and people could love who they chose, they kept those views very quiet, so I never met them.

But here is what I did hear, and some of it I even believed and taught myself, to my shame.

If we love the wrong sort of people the wrong sort of way, things will fall apart completely.

Here’s how it goes:

“If we allow women to sit on committees or vote in congregational meetings, they will want to start leading the church, they will rebel against their husbands and pretty soon it becomes a woman’s club. Look at what happened to the….” (fill in the blank with a church that has women in leadership positions).

“If we have lunch with the effeminate kid (I hate that word so much) then people might think that we are gay and get the wrong idea.”

“If we listen to the kid that was raped in Sunday School, we will harm the ministry’s reputation and might never recover”

“If we let our wives vote, they might vote the opposite of the husband and cancel out his vote and his authority in the home” (These are the people that are being appointed to the cabinet next year, by the way).

“If you give that co-worker a ride to work, people might see you with her and think all sorts of bad ideas”

If you meet alone with a woman, people might think bad things about you. (I’ve written on this before).

“If you give that homeless guy a sandwich, pretty soon they will all keep coming back for more.”

“If you allow the migrant farm workers to fill their water jugs on your property, then pretty soon they will all come to fill their water jugs on your property.”

I have heard every single one of these. They were statements made publicly, for the most part. It was simply a part of our ugly culture.

But the biggest fear of all was satirized by the Bunkers. If we let men dress like women and women start acting like men, then society will go to pot. God will judge us and destroy us. He will send planes into towers and hurricanes into cities. Crops will fail.

An old minister said to me, “God can’t bless America like this” after a Supreme Court decision that he didn’t like.

I asked him if God’s blessing EVER came because we kept the law properly. He went silent after that.

He really believed that the days when blacks were on the plantations, women were disciplined and stayed at home, children were beaten into submission, and nobody aired their laundry in public were better days, worthy of God’s blessing. He really believed that if we could simply get people back into their places again, we could “Make America Great Again”.

If however, we set up a welfare state, women will just keep having babies and more babies just to get higher checks each month and we will go broke. We will have a society based on theft.

If we let black men carry weapons, we are just inciting violence. The second amendment only applies to white men and BIPOC who know their place and stay in their neighborhoods.

If we let trans people read to children, they will make our children prey and turn them gay.

The real problem I think is that Archie Bunker might have to pay a half a penny more in sales tax. Or that he might treat a woman like he is used to treating women and then she turns out to be a man and maybe His predatory habits might end up like “Crying Game” and he might be perceived as being gay.

Love is risky

The Bible never once says that if you love your neighbor, everything will turn out fabulous.

You might love your neighbor and have every homeless man in town knocking at your door for a sandwich.  Love them anyway.

You might appear as if you are condoning sin in the eyes of the Church Lady if you call the trans kid by his preferred pronoun. Do it anyway.

You might have a child that announces that he is gay and going to move in with his boyfriend. Love your gay neighbor anyway.

The migrant workers might learn a trade, start earning more money, maybe even get the job that you really wanted. Love them anyway. Welcome them. Protect the vulnerable.

When you help the child prosecute the pastor for sexual assault, your church might close the doors. Your reputation might be permanently destroyed, and you might never pastor again. Sit with her anyway. Sit on her side of the courthouse.

When you help your abused neighbor file for divorce against her violent and horrible husband, you might be cast out of your community, called horrible names and maybe even run out of your church. Do it anyway.

You might be called a friend of sinners. Love them anyway.

You might be spat on and considered dangerous. Love them anyway.

You might have to try to get away for a few days to avoid the crowds rushing to get some bread and fish. Love them anyway.

And they might actually crucify you – literally or metaphorically. Love them anyway.

Because love is risky.

Loving those who love you back is easy. Everyone does that.

Loving the ones who don’t threaten your place or your nation is easy. Everyone does that.

Loving the ones who wear their hair the right way or wear the right sort of clothes, or vote for the right candidate is easy. Everyone does that.

But that isn’t the love that Jesus calls us to. Jesus calls us to the love that costs. The love that is risky. The love that gives everything away rather than lose the soul.

The love Jesus calls us to is the love that might even end up getting us hurt or killed. We might lose our jobs. We might lose our place and our nation. We might lose our fancy ministries.

Love anyway. Let them talk. Sticks and stones and words hurt and destroy. But love abides forever.

Don’t redefine love to make it no longer risky. When you redefine it like that was it is no longer love. When it sticks to the party line, it is no longer love.

If you love your life, you will lose it.

Over against the Archie Bunker mentality, we need to learn to love more than ever.

The vulnerable population is scared. Love them. Political parties don’t need your love. Your neighbor does.

The future cannot be manipulated. That is the heart of what the Bible calls witchcraft – seeking the formula to force God’s blessing. It only leads to crucifixions and burnings and banishments. And it won’t ever secure the future.

The future is in God’s hand alone. So rather than say, “This is just a slippery slope to ruin…” Try saying this:

God loves me and will never let anyone pluck me out of his hand.

Even if I use a kid’s preferred pronoun. Even if I stand with the abused spouse.

Even if I eat lunch with a gay man. Even if I give a woman a ride home.

Even if I meet with a woman in my office.

Even if the whole church brands me a publican and a sinner.

Even if I pick the wrong candidate to vote for.

Even if I give the homeless man food and a blanket.

And even if my taxes go up so that vulnerable people can also get healthcare. Even if I decry systemic racism and they brand me a communist.

Even if my sales taxes go up a half a penny.

Even if I stand with the oppressed.

God’s got the future. Love is risky. Love anyway.

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November 21, 2024 · 8:15 am

A Rough Ride Ahead

Anyone who has worked with sexual assault or domestic assault victims will tell you that the greatest need right now is a re-haul of our outdated, misogynistic family and criminal court system.

It is almost impossible to prosecute rape. It is almost impossible for a woman to defend herself against an abusive man, even if the abuse is not disputed.

It is almost impossible to deliver children from the clutches of violent and perverse fathers. Many churches ordain predators, knowing that they are predators, and excommunicate the ones who dared to complain about it – following the example of John MacArthur. The system must be maintained, and, in the approving words of Mark Driscoll, if anyone won’t get out of the way, they’ll get run over by the bus of the system.

But now at least I understand why reform in these systems is so hard to come by: we really don’t have a problem with it.

We elected a man with 32 felony counts, millions of dollars in judgments against him for his rape victims, an insurrectionist, one who lies as he breathes, earns money by putting his name on bibles and forcing states to buy them, is a proven liar, covenant breaker, adulterer and thief hundreds of times over and is proud of it…and the problem is NOT that the felonies, accusations, and behavior are disputed. No one disputes the behavior. They are actually OK with it, and giddy at the prospect of inflicting immense suffering on the disabled, the children, the single parents, the immigrants, those who are desperate for medical care, and anyone else whose stories of suffering are inconvenient. So they call him David, thinking that this will somehow excuse their hatred and exculpate them when the gulags begin to be built.

The church first became a safe haven for thieves (a den, in Jesus’ words), threw out the ones who objected, and mesmerized the rest with promises of cheap eggs, cheap gas and dead transvestites and they bought it hook, line and sinker.

And yes, like in the days of Ahab and Jezebel, there are still prophets – but they will find themselves hiding in caves in the years to come.

So now that they are promising to banish American citizens with the military and do an ethnic cleansing, where will you be?

When the single moms can’t feed their children, where will you be?

When your daughter can’t get medical treatment because she can’t work and doesn’t have insurance, where will you be?

When the girl who conceived during her rape must send her child to her rapist because “he has rights too” – where will you be? And yes, this is happening all over the country.

When your wife miscarries and is arrested and jailed because someone who has no understanding or concern about women’s bodies thinks she had an abortion and she has no one to cry to, where will you be?

I think we are in for a rough 4 years. I wonder where the church will be?
And if you say, “Not everyone!” I hope not. But let’s back that up. Give to your local advocacy center. Take the discount on taxes and the discount on eggs and gas that you think you are going to get, and give weekly to that single mom who doesn’t know where her kid’s next meals are coming from.

Call up your local school and pay off the lunch fees of every kid there.

And here’s a thought – maybe the ego of your pastor doesn’t need a 4 million dollar cross or 50-million-dollar jet. Maybe give to the gay kid that just got kicked out of their home. Maybe set up a legal fund for the immigrants who will suffer immensely. Maybe set up weekly groceries for the family about to lose all of their SNAP funding.

Years ago, a man walked into a store and saw a hat with WWJD on it. He asked the clerk what it meant. The clerk said, “What would Jesus do?” The man said, “Probably not pay 19.99 for that hat.”

Jesus, with infinite resources and infinite power, never once used them for his own ego trip. In fact, it is what the devil tried to tempt him to do, but he refused.

Instead he fed the crowds. He healed the sick. He welcomed the foreigner. He taught the crowds, he held the children, he touched the unclean. And he commanded us to do the same.

But instead of doing what Jesus did, we rejoice in wickedness. We are giddy with the thought of not having to feed the poor, of kicking the foreigner out, of destroying health care and education. We celebrate adultery, insurrection, violence, theft, greed and pride. But here is a beautiful promise: God will set things in order. It is time for us to truly do what Jesus did and follow his example.

Psalm 50:14–23 (NIV)
14“Sacrifice thank offerings to God, fulfill your vows to the Most High,
15and call on me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor me.”
16But to the wicked person, God says: “What right have you to recite my laws or take my covenant on your lips?
17You hate my instruction and cast my words behind you.
18When you see a thief, you join with him; you throw in your lot with adulterers.
19You use your mouth for evil and harness your tongue to deceit.
20You sit and testify against your brother and slander your own mother’s son.
21When you did these things and I kept silent, you thought I was exactly like you. But I now arraign you and set my accusations before you.
22“Consider this, you who forget God, or I will tear you to pieces, with no one to rescue you:
23Those who sacrifice thank offerings honor me, and to the blameless I will show my salvation.”

It is a beautiful thought. Cry unto him, open your wallet, show Jesus’ love to the world and especially your neighbor. And wait for the day when God will set his accusations before the wicked.

PS – in the Greek, “hospitality” is literally “love of foreigners, strangers, non-citizens” – philoxenia.

Practice hospitality – God says. If you are rejoicing at the prospect of immigrant families being torn apart, you do not have the mind of Christ. Period.

 

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October 3, 2024 · 6:35 am

Do you want to be made well?

This is edited from a few years back. I hope it brings some peace and clarity.

5 And a certain man was there, who had been thirty-eight years in his sickness.
6 When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he had already been a long time in that condition, He said to him, “Do you wish to get well?”
7 The sick man answered Him, “Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, but while I am coming, another steps down before me.”
8 Jesus said to him, “Arise, take up your pallet, and walk.” (John. 5:5-8 NAS)

I read this account a day or two ago and it has been on my mind since then. I don’t know if you have had that experience, where something that the Lord says grabs you and you mull it through your mind. “Do you wish to get well?”

What a question! He’d been unable to walk his whole life. Why would Jesus ask that question?

“Do you wish to get well?”

The philosophers and theologians discuss “Do you have free will?” I was trained in the Reformed tradition but the pop version of TULIP popularized by celebrity preachers who seek preeminence has erased the nuance and depth of the question. The question of will has to do with our humanity.

On the one hand, apart from regeneration, the human will is in bondage to misery and death and needs to be freed from that bondage. Luther has masterfully written of this in his classic “The Bondage of the Will”.

On the other hand, humans are gloriously and wondrously made and loved by God who sent his son to conquer death and sin and misery on the Cross. Christ the victor has destroyed the bondage of sin by his person and his work on the cross. When the stone rolled away and the life blood started flowing again in his body, death was conquered and the captives were set free.

But this is a different question than “Does a person have the ability to will and to choose, and is that choice free?”

Without free will, a human is not a human. I decide if I want to marry this woman or that woman. I decide to love or to hate and to destroy. I choose to hurt or I choose to heal, choose to smile or choose to frown. No one coerces me.

It is not my nature, nor is it the will of God, that places my will in bondage. It is sin. Luther masterfully discusses this in his classic “The Bondage of the Will” so I will not belabor that point any further.

But it is the devil who hates the image of God in me. Being in God’s image, I have the ability to choose – I am not a horse or a mule that must be led about by bit and bridle. It is the hardness of sin that makes me like that. Regeneration sets me free. (Think about Psalm 32:9).

9 Do not be as the horse or as the mule which have no understanding, Whose trappings include bit and bridle to hold them in check, (Ps. 32:9 NAS)

Jesus did not come to make me a horse and a mule, to drag me like a robot and force me to behave. He came to give life and healing. He came to restore and redeem me as a human being, in the image of God.

A man like this one, unable to walk, has been severely limited in choices. He couldn’t even decide to get into the water, for he had no one to help him. He had no strength, no friends, no resources.

Which means that he had very few choices.

Jesus didn’t come to put him in further bondage. He came to set him free. The curse that is on the world took away his voice – who would care about the opinions of a poor crippled beggar? And it took away his choice. He was at the mercy of forces outside of his control.

Jesus came to restore to this man far more than simply the ability to walk. He came to restore the image of God that the curse had taken away. He came to give him back his voice and give him back his will.

“Do you wish to get well?”

“You don’t understand, Jesus. I’ve been here a long time. I don’t have anyone to put me in the pool. I can’t get to the water fast enough. Whether I want to or not, I don’t have the strength.”

“Get up and pick up your bed.” And he was healed.

After he was healed, his will was set free. He picked up his bed and he walked.

Of course, he immediately got into trouble with the Pharisees. Abusers hate when the “sinner” has the gall to speak, or to choose, or to make decisions. Their power is over when the bed is picked up. When Jesus heals, the Pharisee loses control.

And the devil never gives up his kingdom easily.

From this point on, the Jews sought to kill Jesus – because he healed on the Sabbath day – the very day that the prisoner was to be set free, according to the scripture.

“Do you want to be well?” Do you want your voice back? Do you want to be light and salt in the ugly and dark and hateful world? Do you want to know the Sabbath rest and be at peace with God and with the world?

Do you want to be free of rage and free of the ugliness that has been binding you to the ground for so long? Do you want to get up and walk?

Are you ready to fly? Do you want to soar above the petty kingdoms of this world and see where Christ is, at the right hand of God? Do you want to be free from sin? Do you want to be well, to be free of covetousness and the love of money that keeps our heads in the trough so we can’t see the sky.

Jesus didn’t come to make you a horse or a donkey. He came to set you free.

This world and the devil have assaulted your body long enough. You have been denigrated and rejected, hated and mocked and scorned. You have had your choice taken away like the ground under a plow (Psalm 129). That is the curse on this world.

But Jesus’s question is for you: Do you want to be made well?

Speak to him. Tell him how powerless you are. Speak the truth to him. Tell him about how you have tried to overcome, but cannot. The water is too far away, and you are too weak. You have no resources. Your will is bound. Your strength is gone. You are helpless and without hope.

Tell him how long it has been.

He didn’t come for those who think they see. He didn’t come for those who think they walk. He didn’t come for the rich or the powerful or the entitled. He didn’t come for the ones on the top.

He came for the hungry, the oppressed, the afflicted, the widow, the orphan. Those that don’t have the strength to get to the water.

He came for those who have had their choice and their voice taken away. And he wants to hear you. He wants you to be the beautiful, strong, wise, and righteous one that he created you to be.

So here’s the question for you: “Do you want to be made well?”

No one who has come to him for mercy and freedom has ever been turned aside. But as a masterful physician delicately and patiently removes a cancer, so Jesus is patient. Directing, guiding, listening and setting us free.

It isn’t the work of a moment, for then we would be as stumps and stones – programmed robots.

It is the work of a lifetime which will be completed only when we see him face to face. And what a glorious day that will be!

So be patient with yourself and with one another. Practice kindness and generosity. You are not going to cure anyone by telling them what their problems are. They are aware of them far more than you are.

The cancer patient needs an excellent surgeon. And the sinner needs a savior.

Show the compassionate Savior, the Great Physician, in everything you do.

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July 18, 2024 · 3:26 pm

Dressing with dignity

I am almost finished with a remarkable book, the Subtle Power of Spiritual Abuse. It was published in 1991, which made me sad and a little defeated. If people have been saying this for over 30 years now, why are things worse and not better? And what can my voice add?

Anyway – like all great books, it gets one’s mind whirling and meditating. The authors have a passage on Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead that stopped me in my tracks. I’ve been meditating on it ever since.

38 Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. 39 “Take away the stone,” he said.
“But, Lord,” said Martha, the sister of the dead man, “by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.”
40 Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?”
41 So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. 42 I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.”
43 When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” 44 The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face.
Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.”

The New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), Jn 11:38–44.

The first question that the authors ask of the text is this: “Why didn’t Jesus use his almighty power to roll away the stone himself?”

And the second, “And why didn’t he just bring Lazarus OUT of his graveclothes himself?”

The answer to these questions speak of something very important in the life of the Church (not the outward corporation that has gotten so corrupt, but the people of God wherever they are found – usually in exile and hiding). In Ephesians 1:31, the people of God are called the “fullness” of Christ. The Son of God considers himself incomplete without his bride, his body, his people. We are so united to Jesus that his death is ours, his resurrection is ours, and his glory is ours. This is the point of Ephesians.

It also answers the questions so many people have about the Psalms. Are they about David, Jesus, or the people of God? And the answer is “Yes”. David was the type. Jesus was the reality. And we all, as his members, experience the same things in this life and the life to come. We suffer. We rise. We are glorified. We reign. We go to the abyss. We are rescued from the abyss. We long for God. We were born for another world. We are sinners. We are righteous. We are loved. We grieve our sins. We feel abandoned. We feel God’s love.

And we wait for the salvation of God. These realities are ours, and also belong to Jesus. And also to David in shadows.

But I digress.

Do you remember in Genesis where it was promised that the seed of the woman would crush the head of the serpent? We know that ultimately that crushing belongs to Jesus. But it also belongs to us, his bride.

20 The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.  Rom. 16:20.

Here is another example of our union with Christ our head (the head of our body, not our CEO – those are different concepts). He crushes Satan’s head on the cross. We crush Satan’s head taking up that same cross.

But I’m digressing again.

Jesus gives his people the astounding privilege of serving with him in his kingdom. He could, of course, have simply rolled away the stone. But he commissions his people to take their part in setting Lazarus free.

Only the Eternal, begotten Son of God can raise the dead. We can’t do that. But we CAN roll away the stone. We can remove the barriers. We can take away our own blinders, our prejudices, our hatreds and grudges – we can make sure that when the world stumbles, it is on the cross, not politics or laws or culture or gender wars or ANYTHING other that the voice of the Son of God who speaks and raises the dead.

Take away the stone and set the prisoners free.

And yes, they are still in their grave clothes. They are gross and they stink. We are all wrapped with the rags of all of those things that were our comfort in the tomb.

When you are dead, (using spiritual language) you still have the clothing of the dead. That clothing has brought your comfort. You thought that it would take away your shame and your disgrace. You thought that you could find significance, security and strength – and you hold really tightly to all of those things. It is terrifying to think of losing your graveclothes (still speaking in metaphor, people).

Before the voice of Jesus called you and made you alive, you tried to find dignity in the brokenness of this present evil age, and it wasn’t there. But it is even scarier to let those things go.

Remember C.S. Lewis in the “Voyage of the Dawn Treader” when he “undresses” the dragon skin off of Eustice? Eustice recounts that losing his skin was the most painful thing he could imagine, but that it also felt good watching it tear away like a scab.

This is what it is like to lose the grave clothes. And it is even worse when those called out of the tomb are ridiculed for their clothes. Shamed because of it. Excluded and disgraced because they didn’t get rid of them fast enough.

And how shameful it is when those called by God to “loose him and let him go” just stand by and say to themselves “I thank God I am not like that poor guy.”

The scribes and the Pharisees stood by and watched, then plotted to kill Jesus.

And when Lazarus and Abel and Jacob and Amos and Zechariah and Zacchaeus and Mary Magdalene and Bathsheba and Ruth and Junia and all the rest are called from the tomb, there will always be the scoffers, refusing to soil their hands helping a terrified loved one of Jesus remove their graveclothes.

But that brings me to the concept in the book that floored me. When Jesus rose from the dead, he left his grave clothes behind. He could have done the same thing with Lazarus. So why didn’t he?

Because Lazarus would have had to walk out of the tomb exposed and naked in front of everyone.

Wow.

By telling his people to “loose him and let him go”, he is preserving Lazarus’s dignity. The people of God can get him changed without exposing him to the ridicule and shame of the passersby, and that is huge.

Shame has never changed a soul. Reviling and disgracing anyone has never saved anyone. Jesus came that we might have life, and to restore the dignity with which we were created – human beings, image-bearers of God.

Men and women, slave and free, rich and poor – clothed with Christ, the grave clothes come off easily. But it still hurts. It still is terrifying. It is still a long process.

We need compassion and the people of God need that compassion – the same compassion that Jesus had when HE was stripped naked and crucified so that We might be clothed.

 

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May 14, 2024 · 9:34 am

The Proverbs 31 Woman

This is something that has been germinating in my head for a long time. Remember – this is a blog, and not a theological treatise. The purpose is simply to spark imagination and meditation down perhaps a different line.

The genre of Proverbs is “wisdom literature”. Proverbs are not laws, nor are they epistles, nor are they history books. They are short, pithy statements designed to be meditated on and remembered. They are to be savored, floated over the tongue, read aloud, tasted, tasted again…

Perhaps this is why so many people who are “black and white” oriented have such a hard time with them. For example, neo-reformed theologians are notoriously short on imagination, and tend to think that everything in the bible is about making other people know their place.

So when the Proverbs speak about sons and rods, they can’t see anything other than beating children.

And when Proverbs speaks of an “excellent woman”, they can’t help but think of a list of rules designed to keep women in line.

But maybe that isn’t what it is about at all.

 

Proverbs is a book about wisdom. Read the first nine chapters. The first nine chapters introduce us to two women: Lady Folly, and Lady Wisdom. Lady Wisdom is with God from before all worlds. Lady Wisdom guides the feet in the right path. Lady Wisdom leads to health and life, and is more valuable than rubies. If you have Lady Wisdom, you have life.

Naturally, we don’t have Wisdom. We are allured by Lady Folly into the paths of death and ruin. But if we ask for wisdom, if we diligently seek her as we seek for hidden treasures, the Lord will give her to us.

Then we will find life. We will avoid the pitfalls and temptations of drunkenness, fornication, laziness, greed, pride – and all the other things that lead to ruin.

But if we find Wisdom, our lives will be rescued from destruction and our feet saved from the pit…

And then we go into the long pithy sayings of the differences between wisdom and folly. These were compiled over the centuries and put together into the inspired book we have now.

As the book concludes, we read about a woman again. She is described in many of the same images and types as she is throughout the whole book. He who finds her finds a good thing.

She is worth more than rubies. Her paths lead to life and beauty and order. The one who finds this woman finds success and thrives. Her children call her blessed.

Maybe, seen in the light of the whole of Proverbs, this isn’t about a list of duties to keep proper women in line. Perhaps this is again the urging of the Holy Spirit to find wisdom or die.

 

If you read chapter 8 carefully, wisdom is personified. She is exalted, and she is searching for her children. She is begging mankind to turn in to her and away from folly.

And throughout the history of the Church, theologians of every kind have seen Christ in Proverbs 8. HE is the wisdom of God, who was made flesh.

He calls us. He searches for us. And he begs us to find him and find life.

And he is also freely given by God to all who diligently seek him.

“Her children rise and call her blessed” – Agur

“Wisdom is justified of her children” – Jesus

“Here am I, and the children you have given men” – Isaiah, quoted by the writer to the Hebrews.

Do you see where I am going?

Now, read Proverbs 31 again.

Proverbs 31:10–31 (NIV)

Epilogue: The Wife of Noble Character

      10 A wife of noble character who can find?
          She is worth far more than rubies.
       11 Her husband has full confidence in her
          and lacks nothing of value.
       12 She brings him good, not harm,
          all the days of her life.
       13 She selects wool and flax
          and works with eager hands.
       14 She is like the merchant ships,
          bringing her food from afar.
       15 She gets up while it is still night;
          she provides food for her family
          and portions for her female servants.
       16 She considers a field and buys it;
          out of her earnings she plants a vineyard.
       17 She sets about her work vigorously;
          her arms are strong for her tasks.
       18 She sees that her trading is profitable,
          and her lamp does not go out at night.
       19 In her hand she holds the distaff
          and grasps the spindle with her fingers.
       20 She opens her arms to the poor
          and extends her hands to the needy.
       21 When it snows, she has no fear for her household;
          for all of them are clothed in scarlet.
       22 She makes coverings for her bed;
          she is clothed in fine linen and purple.
       23 Her husband is respected at the city gate,
          where he takes his seat among the elders of the land.
       24 She makes linen garments and sells them,
          and supplies the merchants with sashes.
       25 She is clothed with strength and dignity;
          she can laugh at the days to come.
       26 She speaks with wisdom,
          and faithful instruction is on her tongue.
       27 She watches over the affairs of her household
          and does not eat the bread of idleness.
       28 Her children arise and call her blessed;
          her husband also, and he praises her:
       29 “Many women do noble things,
          but you surpass them all.”
       30 Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;
          but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.
       31 Honor her for all that her hands have done,
          and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.

If you hold to this as an instruction manual on how proper wives are to behave, there are only two end results:

1 – either despair. You give up and say that living the Bible is too hard and you can’t do it – maybe you don’t have enough faith, or God doesn’t love you enough.

OR 2 – pride. Worse than giving up is the conclusion that you have accomplished the proper Proverbs 31 wife role. And you join the ranks of the Church Ladies who look with scorn on those who haven’t quite accomplished it.

The children of folly are ugly, aren’t they?

But wisdom is justified of her children. Wisdom’s children rise up and call her blessed.

When you seek diligently after wisdom, and the Lord grants you wisdom, then your words change, your actions change. You find life and peace and beauty and order.

Not because you sought to exalt yourself above your neighbor by baking your own bread, homeschooling your kids, growing your own flax and trying your damndest to be the proper Proverbs 31 wife…

But because you sought wisdom in the only place it can be found:

2 My son, if you accept my words
          and store up my commands within you,
       2 turning your ear to wisdom
          and applying your heart to understanding—
       3 indeed, if you call out for insight
          and cry aloud for understanding,
       4 and if you look for it as for silver
          and search for it as for hidden treasure,
       5 then you will understand the fear of the LORD
          and find the knowledge of God.
       6 For the LORD gives wisdom;
          from his mouth come knowledge and understanding. (Proverbs 2:1-6)

And where do we find that wisdom? Only in Christ. He is become wisdom for us that we might find life in him. And then, of course, if your skills and love are growing flax and baking bread and sewing garments, have at it, whether you are male or female, because this isn’t about that. It is about finding wisdom and the life that comes from it.

30 It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. 1 Corinthians 1:30 (NIV)

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May 9, 2024 · 7:38 pm

9 things about Marriage and Divorce in the Bible

1. The Bible was written in the context of a patriarchal culture. But everything that the Bible promises is the obliteration of the patriarchal culture in the kingdom of Christ, where there is no more male or female, rich or poor, bond or free, but all are one body in Christ.

2. The instructions on marriage and divorce in both the Old and the New Testaments were given to protect the weak – particularly the women and children – from the power of the strong. Redemption would only come from Jesus. But the law was designed to give a measure of protection from the worst abuses until Jesus came.

3. The Bible does not say or teach anything like “God hates divorce”.

4. The leaders of the Jews were in the middle of a debate about whether Deuteronomy 24 teaches that a man could kick his wife out for any reason . This is the background behind Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 5 and Matthew 19. It has nothing to do with a woman fleeing an abusive spouse.

5. There is no such thing as either an “ecclesiastical divorce” or a “marriage in the eyes of God”.

6. According to the Bible, if one is married, one is married. If one is divorced, one is divorced. There is no category for perpetual separation. It only breeds confusion. 1 Corinthians 7 is addressing another issue entirely.

7. There are no instructions anywhere about getting the permission of your church leaders before filing for divorce. Apparently this practice only began after the church took over the duties of the magistrate after the fall of Rome. Wherever it came from, there isn’t a whisper of it in the Bible. You don’t have to ask the elders’ permission to marry. You also don’t need their permission to divorce.

8. If you have fled a spouse, filed a divorce, separated from a spouse and are now convicted that your reasoning was indeed sinful, God has washed you completely clean, you have no stigma, no stained garment and no spoiled rose. Christ’s blood is powerful and effective against every stain. Make whatever amends you need to make, right whatever wrongs you need to right, and move on.

9. Any theology that one espouses that makes one the superior of another one of God’s children – no matter what language you use – is not from God. You can call it “loving leadership”, or “Covenant headship” or “leadership roles” or right of creation, or anything else you wish – the fact remains. No where, in all of scripture, does a person have a God-given right to rule over the body and soul of another human being. King James called it “The divine right of kings”; White southern Presbyterianism called it the “order of creation” for whites to rule over blacks. And modern theobros call it “gender roles”. It boils down to the same garbage. To be a Christian is to become the slave of all – (Phil. 2), just as Christ did, and love our neighbor, including our spouses, with the same love with which we love ourselves.

 

More to come. If you are in danger, or live with abuse – whether spiritual, physical, emotional, or sexual, please find safety. Please call 1-800-799-SAFE

God redeemed you, body and soul to be free. He did not redeem you to become the target of an angry spouse’s rage. He desires to set you free.

If you would like to talk these things over, please make an appointment with me at www.sampowellministries.com

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April 26, 2024 · 6:20 am

The “Billy Graham Rule” revised

A while back, I wrote a blog to correct the misinterpretation of 1 Thessalonians 5:22. You can find it here. I am certainly aware that in terms of the age of internet news, Mike Pence and the Billy Graham rule are the equivalent of 200 years ago, but I can’t seem to let bad theology go, especially when it harms the sheep.

I also know that most readers skim, so please – before you skim, read this paragraph: I have nothing against Mike Pence and his apparent love for his wife and his desire to protect himself as a famous politician with a great deal of power. It seems like a wise thing to do, given his position in our country. So PLEASE don’t think that this post is about that. Also, I don’t know anything about Billy Graham or his rule, having never read his biography. How Billy Graham does things rarely enters my mind.

What this post is about is the bad theology that has surfaced in the aftermath of the discussion. I find it concerning and harmful.

The whole discussion seems to center around whether or not a pastor should be alone with a woman who is a member of his congregation. Apparently, the only danger is if the woman is attractive, because that seems to be the word attached to “young woman” every time she is spoken of.

I am not at all against acting in wisdom, walking circumspectly and being above reproach.

That being said, there are others who practice the so-called “Billy Graham Rule” but for reasons I reject completely. Here are some of those reasons.

First: “All it takes is one accusation to ruin a ministry.” This might be true, but are not our calling and reputation in the hands of God? It seems to me that our calling is to be faithful stewards and submit ourselves to the sovereign hand of God, doing what we are commanded to do and leaving the rest in His hands. We are simply farmhands in God’s field, workers in God’s vineyard. It isn’t our ministry to begin with.

I also can’t think of one example where someone’s ministry was ruined by one false accusation. Every one of the “destroyed ministries” that I can think of were destroyed because of accusations that were backed up with stacks of evidence, multiple witnesses, over many, many years. When it comes to famous celebrity pastors, one accusation is almost never believed. It usually takes mountains and evidence and years and years of time. Even then, the celebrity pastor generally just goes away for a few months and then starts again. So it is a false objection to begin with.

But suppose it is true, and a reputation is destroyed because a pastor met alone with a woman who was a sinner. Isn’t that exactly what Jesus did?

Jesus “made himself of no reputation” when he saved us from our sins. The Bible tells us that this way of thinking is to be also in us (Phil. 2:5-12). Meditate on these verses for a while. Jesus, in order to save us from our sins, allowed himself to be viewed and treated as a sinner. He despised the shame of the cross, so great was his love for us. He came down from the glory of heaven and sunk right into our filth and mire and corruption in order to save our stinking rotten corpses. He healed our sicknesses and did it on the Sabbath day, knowing that it would “ruin his reputation”. In fact, this is specifically why they hated him.

I honestly cannot fathom why a Christian would not help one in need for fear that someone might ruin the reputation of his ministry. If this is your thinking, then the ministry that you have is truly yours, for it bears no resemblance to the ministry of Christ. Would it not be more pleasing to God to bear joyfully the reproach of Christ while helping those who need you?

This is the point of the account of the Good Samaritan. The priest and the Levite were on their way to Jerusalem when they saw the broken and bloodied man. They had no idea if he were dead or not. If they helped, and he turned out to be dead, they would have been defiled for touching a dead body. If they were defiled, they would have been unable to fulfill their ministry in Jerusalem. So they protected their ministry, and “passed by on the other side.” Their ministry was more important to them than the life of a man.

The Good Samaritan was already ceremonially defiled, being a Samaritan, so he had nothing to lose.

And Jesus said, “Go and do likewise.” We are  to consider ourselves already defiled, so that we might love others as Christ loved the church. Take up your cross with him; despise the shame. Make yourself of no reputation. “Let this mind be in you, that was also in Christ Jesus.”

Perhaps it is time that we start thinking about love, rather than reputation.

Second: “You need to be aware of the temptations of the flesh and put no confidence in it. You never know what will happen if you allow yourself to get too close.”

Really? Think about this one for a while. This one is so common it’s frightening. It’s almost as if fornication is like the flu, and you accidently catch it if you happen to be close to a woman. “Here I was, minding my own business, when all of the sudden! BLAM! I caught adultery. I couldn’t help it. Her knees were exposed.”

Sorry, guys. This one is on you. Pastors who commit adultery commit adultery because they want to. They take one step after another because they want to.

They start by complaining about how their wives never understood them. Because they want to.

They let a church member linger in their thoughts, and dance through their fantasies. Because they want to.

They hold hands a little too long, hug just a little extra, and let their imaginations flit. Because they want to.

Then it progresses to trying to find time alone – and here they use the excuse of pastoral counseling. “I’m just ministering to her.”

Now, at this point please use discernment and follow me. Elders and wives, if the pastor is insisting on counseling a particular women alone in a closed study, there’s a reason for it and it usually isn’t a good one. It is perhaps wise at this point to ask some questions. BUT the problem is the HEART, NOT because he was left alone with a woman. We have to get that straight.

The reason that we have to get it straight is because the Bible insists on it. Sanctification does not come because we have hedged ourselves about with extra rules. Sanctification is the work of the Spirit in the heart which comes through the gospel, not the law. You can make a rule about pastors counseling alone in their studies after hours, and maybe you should to protect your sheep, but the rule will never change the man’s heart!

39 “You search the Scriptures, because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is these that bear witness of Me; (John 5:39 NAS)

The Pharisees searched the scriptures looking for rules that would fix whatever problem they were having, and they missed Christ. When we search for rules to protect us from catching adultery, we also miss Christ.

Adultery begins in the heart: in the will, and the reasoning, and the emotions and the desires. It starts with the idolatry that we were born with and progresses from there. We say in our hearts, “I will be as God and everyone will serve me.” This is what must be put to death. And the only way to deal with it is on your knees in confession, putting to death the old man with the lusts thereof and making alive the new man. And this can only come through the gospel. It only comes through Christ. You must be born again by the Spirit of God.

Finally, and this to me is the biggest problem. If you make the rule about never being alone with a woman because you are afraid of “catching adultery”, then your view of women is devilish and wicked, and you must repent of it. It is the same reason that non-Christian religions try to avoid fornication by covering up a woman from head to toe. It’s wicked, oppressive and wrong.

Let me explain. According to Scripture, a woman is a child of God, a firstborn son (Gal. 3:28-4:7), the image of God (Gen. 1:27), fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14), with gifts and abilities and personhood, filled with the Spirit, and thus the Temple of God (1 Corinthians 3:16-17).

The devil hates that and seeks to destroy it. One very effective weapon is through sexual assault, domestic abuse, rape and sexual harassment. The effects of sexual assault are that a woman is “reduced” in her mind and in the mind of the assailant, to a body to be despised and used and discarded.

And now she comes to the pastor for help and she is told that she can’t meet alone because the pastor might “catch adultery” from her.

To say that you won’t meet with her because you need to guard the heart is to confirm her worst fears: There is something wrong with her. She’s just a body to be gawked at and used. She has no worth other than sexually. She has to cover herself up and take responsibility for the pastor’s corruption. And this is the message that she is receiving from her pastor. It breaks my heart.

We should be restoring her to the image of God in Christ, giving her back her voice, her dignity, her worth. We should be talking to her as a whole person, in whom dwells the Holy Spirit of God. But instead, we are worrying about “catching adultery.”

25 percent of your congregation has been sexually assaulted. And this is how we respond. We may have a problem in our churches.

Perhaps I overreact. But I don’t know what else to think when I read comments that say, “So you would meet alone with an attractive woman in your study? Isn’t this an appearance of evil?”

I don’t know how else to take it. Let’s break it down. “Attractiveness” is apparently determined by the pastor. The fear is apparently that this woman would arouse so much lust in the pastor against his will that he will be unable to control himself. So really, it would be her fault – and his, by implication, for not hedging himself about with anti-adultery rules. If they get too close for too long, BAM – he catches adultery.

This rule also applies if she is in the car with him, walking down the sidewalk, or wearing a skirt a little too short. The solution, then, is burkas and isolation…wait a minute…

Do you see where this leads?

I believe that the Bible teaches another way. When we cast off the old man and put on the new, we start to learn to love our neighbor – men and women alike. This means that we MUST repent and flee from our fleshly tendency to view others as objects designed to give us what we want. Through the gospel, we are to reach out to humans AS HUMANS, made in God’s image. We must learn to see our sisters in Christ as sisters (1 Tim. 5:2), with thoughts, longings, dreams, hopes, fears. They also long for the marriage supper of the lamb. They also long to be closer to God. They long to be healed, just as we all do.

They long for a name, for significance and worth, for dignity – because they are in God’s image. We as Christians should begin to see one another as fellow-pilgrims, not as objects to be used and discarded. Cross the road and help the one in the ditch. Bear the reproach of Christ with joy.

Adultery starts when we reduce women to objects of possession, a collection of body parts, rather than sisters in Christ. This is where repentance must take place.

Please don’t use Joseph and Potiphar’s wife as an example. Joseph fled from her, not because he was afraid of “catching adultery”, but because he was a slave with no rights and was being sexually assaulted by someone in power.

We will never be effective pastors as long as we are afraid of the women in the congregation. When Paul said to have no confidence in the flesh, he meant that adding rules to protect yourself from sin would do absolutely nothing in the war against sin. Hedging the law with stacks of rules is exactly the “flesh” that Paul had no confidence in. Read all of Philippians 3 in the context to see what I mean. Paul was the expert in all the rules. A Pharisee of the Pharisees. THIS was exactly what he learned to have no confidence in. He counted it all dung, that he might know Christ.

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