20July2011

The Art of Communication

Written By robfaircloth1 Comment on The Art of Communication

The finest art of communication is not learning how to express your thoughts. It is learning how to draw out the thoughts of another.

(Tedd Tripp, Shepherding a child’s heart)

In his book, Shepherding a child’s heart, Tedd Tripp asserts that biblical parenting involves both rich, full communication and the use of the rod. He challenges parents not to think that communication with their child is simply the child hearing what the parent has to say, but actually talking with the child.

Tripp’s admonition and encouragement are applicable not only to parent-child relationships, but to all relationships in the church, in that communication is not merely one-sided, but involves hearing what the other has to say (and drawing it out, if need be).

7July2011

Save-less, life-less faith

Written By robfaircloth2 Comments on Save-less, life-less faith

What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him. … So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead (James 2:14, 17 ESV).

This is the point at which many think that James and Paul are at odds, because Paul says that we are not saved by works but by grace through faith. It is one of the reasons that Martin Luther considered James to be an “epistle of straw.”

But James and Paul can be reconciled, if not altogether easily. Their reconciliation is not easy not in the sense that their respective positions on faith and works are inherently opposed, but in the sense that reconciling them requires close attention and thought.

One means of reconciling them is to consider the error they were addressing. Paul addressed the problem of people believing that they were made right with God by their works, to which he responded that we are, instead, saved by faith alone. James addressed the problem of people believing that they need not do anything as alleged believers in Christ, to which he responded that instead, saving faith motivates actions.

This view of faith and works has prompted the slogan “we are saved by faith alone, but not by a faith that is alone.” This is not trite sloganeering, but a true reflection of the spiritual reality.

Our works cannot save us. But once we are saved through faith by grace, that grace-filled and grace-empowered faith will produce works. According to James, a “faith” that has no works cannot save — that is, a faith that does not produce works did not truly save — and is dead.

The specific example James gives is that of how the alleged believer responds to someone who needs clothing and food. A faith that provides nothing for the one in physical need, but only says — even in super-spiritual, Bible-quoting, sanctimonious language — “be warmed and be filled” is not true faith, and the one who says it is not saved.

What good, after all, is a faith that has no works?

6July2011

On Trial Sermons

Written By robfaircloth

…”candidating” Sunday — basically a dog and pony show where you preach you best sermon and then hope the congregation votes to have you come and preach your not-so-great sermons…

Larry Osborne, in Sticky Church

5July2011

How do you measure success?

Written By robfaircloth

There can be no recovery of delight in the Great Commission without a renewal of the church’s conviction that it not only came into being but is sustained in every moment by the will and work of the Father, in the Son, by the Spirit. It is this confidence that motivates a missionary in Saudi Arabia to labor for years before witnessing a single conversion. So why do so many of us, as American Christians, measure success in our own churches by other standards, based on what we can accomplish and see on an impressive scale?

— Michael Horton, The Gospel Commission

1July2011

Every good thing

Written By robfaircloth

Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change (James 1:16-17 ESV)

James first cites this origin of good things to counter false notions that temptations are from God. He acknowledges that trials, testings, tribulations could be of godly origin, but to prove that God is not the author of evil desires in our hearts, makes this positive claim about the character of both good things and the character of God.

In doing so, he asserts two “true facts”:

1. if something is good, then it came from God

2. only good things come from God.

The first, alone, doesn’t eliminate the idea that our “bad” things come from God, but the second does.

Not many of us, upon looking around and surveying our condition, would find nothing negative, uncomfortable, or sinful. There are, of course, bad economies, crimes, bad jobs, hungry children, vexatious wives or husbands…because God is sovereign, all these circumstances are under his complete control. Yet in having control of them, God does not sin. Nor does he tempt us to sin.

The wicked consequence of pedestrian circumstances arises because of the response our wicked hearts make to them. God is not responsible for the produce of our heart.

Yet even when we are in such tribulation, do we have food to eat? It is from God. Do we enjoy the laughter of our children? It is from God. Do we take pleasure in sunshine, find joy in family, rejoice in good music? All from God. And, if we are willing to stretch our notions of “bad” and “good” circumstances, we can discern that even those that we consider unpleasant are “good” in the sense that they turn our hearts to the goodness of God, affirming the validity of our faith and confirming the rightness of God.

30June2011

What do you want before you die?

Written By robfaircloth

Two things I ask of you; deny them not to me before I die: Remove far from me falsehood and lying; give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is needful for me, lest I be full and deny you and say, “Who is the Lord?” or lest I be poor and steal and profane the name of my God.  Proverbs 30:7-9

The Proverbs are filled with truisms about wealth, poverty, work and sloth. One might conclude that money is an obsession to the writers. If so, it is only because wealth is an obsession for people.

Here the Proverbs express a valid attitude toward money. It is not the only legitimate attitude, but truly captures the dangers of extremes with regard to financial resources and wealth. These extremes play upon man’s natural temptations that accompany both abundance and need.

With abundance the temptation is to forget God. Self-reliance, self-congratulation, self-worth are the inherent partners of financial success. If left unchecked, they will cause the one who attains is to suppose that it is his own strength, labor, intelligence that gained it for him. Pride, greed and envy are sure dangers, as well.

With dire need the temptation is to curse God. Coveting, grumbling, complaining attend this condition. Oddly, pride can compel our behaviors, because we think that we deserve better than the lot God has given us. Because we think we are entitled to better, we breach the command of God and either think wrongly about our neighbor’s relative better position (covet) or take action to “level the playing field” (steal).

Is being wealthy inherently sinful? No. Is being poor inherently sinful? No. Neither is better than the other, but the former thinks the latter inferior; the latter thinks the former undeserving.

One seeking to follow Christ faithfully should be very cautious about his attitudes toward his own financial condition, as well as his attitudes toward that of others.

29June2011

Do Politicians Build Up or Tear Down?

Written By robfaircloth

By justice a king builds up the land, but he who exacts gifts tears it down.  Proverbs 29:4

Obviously the principle elucidated here does not apply only to kings, else we would be left considering this only with regard to figurehead royalty in Great Britain and Luxembourg. Anyone who governs or rules over others in public policy would ostensibly fall within the polarities expressed here.

Tyrants? Yes. Dictators? Yes. Parliaments? Yes. Trifurcated government branches in a constitutional republic? Absolutely.

In the U.S., critics of government frequently focus their ire on the president alone, but in our system, it is the President, Congress and the Supreme Court who together constitute the “king” who can either build up or tear down. And, lest we too readily distance ourselves from the waywardness of government officials, we should remember that in our day of town halls, incessant polling, and the vox populi, it might just be we who are either demanding justice or “exacting gifts”.

One problem is determining what constitutes “justice.” In a courtroom, justice is appropriate punishment for a crime committed, or restitution for a wrong suffered. In biblical terms, justice for a king means doing what is right for the nation, not necessarily individuals who comprise it. Favoring a part over the whole, whether favor is shown to individuals or groups of them, is not justice, for one man’s “justice” could very well be another’s injustice.

And we consider ourselves far removed from the ugly picture of open bribes, and thus safe from the danger of “exacting gifts.” But in an era of billion-dollar fundraising campaigns, political lobbyists, and uncritical party loyalty, can we truly say that those in power are not exacting gifts from the rest of us?

We tend to suppose that monarchies are inherently inferior to democracies or republics. But in our system, the people must keep track of a total of 545 constitutional government officials, rather than 1 king. And this doesn’t begin to consider the vast number of cabinet members, “czars”, bureaucrats, administrators, and other politicos who have all been granted some measure of power t0 either mete out “justice” or to “exact gifts.”

We are commanded to pray for those who rule over us (1 Timothy 2:1-2). Pray for our “kings” to do justice and build up.