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This past Monday morning, I was shocked to find a message in my family’s group text about the death of Kobe Bryant, his daughter, and several other people in a helicopter crash. Bryant was perhaps the most famous basketball player in the world due to his popularity not only in North America, but also in China and Europe. He retired several years ago, but still maintained a captive fan base. As a person who played basketball through high school and university, I followed all of Bryant’s career. Perhaps because of this close observation, the news of his death struck me like the passing of someone I knew personally.

I don’t recall, in my lifetime, seeing more publicity or reaction to the death of a person from any walk of life, not even royal families. Multiple professional sports leagues paid homage to Bryant, as well as postponing events. One comedy show host did a non-comedic show saying he thought it was inappropriate to continue after the news of the tragedy broke. The media has reached out for comments and opinions from athletes, coaches, and even politicians. It is a practical example in the study of worldviews. When tragedy strikes, we want an explanation that satisfies our beliefs. We want a mechanical cause that helps us understand why the helicopter went down. We want more than the simple answer that these lives are gone never to be known again. These observations reminded me of this text in Ecclesiastes 7 –

² It is better to go to the house of mourning
than to go to the house of feasting,
for this is the end of all mankind,
and the living will lay it to heart.
³ Sorrow is better than laughter,
for by sadness of face the heart is made glad.
⁴ The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning,
but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth. ESV

The timing of the tragedy is unique. It is the beginning of Super Bowl week. Many American’s hearts are turned towards pleasure and revelry. The “live for the weekend” mentality is vibrant. But then an event, simple and small from a global perspective, strikes a nerve that causes the world to take pause. In the Wuhan province in China, an outbreak of a new type of coronavirus has already killed many with the death toll expected to rise. We are receiving warnings in Uganda to be cautious as many Chinese citizens travel to Uganda for tourism and business. Why is it good to dwell on these tragedies?

There is one most important question in life that most people seek to avoid. Do I have peace with my Creator? Many people live in the moment. We smoke knowing it will most likely kill us, but it hasn’t killed us yet, so we continue. African nations have some of the highest rates of HIV in the world. Friends of ours who do ministry trying to get prostitutes to leave the local brothels have related to us that the rate of HIV positivity in brothels is perhaps 100%. If not that, it’s very near to it. And yet, the brothels have a steady stream of customers. We are so nearsighted that we destroy ourselves without considering the important questions. This is why the Bible describes tragedies like these as God’s mercy. They cause us to momentarily look up and think. The disciples asked Jesus about such tragedies in Luke 13 –

There were some present at that very time who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. ² And he answered them, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way? ³ No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. ⁴ Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? ⁵ No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.” ESV

We want an answer to tragedies that assuages our fear and secures our beliefs, but this is God’s answer. We all need forgiveness. Unless we repent, we will likewise perish. God has overcome death, but we must accept his gift. We must pass judgment on our sin in agreement with him. Experience shows us that as time passes, these tragedies will be forgotten. Perhaps Bryant’s former team will win the championship this year and say nice things about his legacy, but soon the nerve touched by Bryant’s passing will quiet. Most will return to the house of mirth not remembering this warning to look up. Our prayer as believers should be that through these things, there are some who look up and ask themselves the hard questions about their relationship with God. And that they would find peace with him and newness of life in the free gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

 Two evenings ago, I watched a question and answer session by a pastor addressing an issue raised by inquirers online. I was interested to see this particular pastor’s response to the topic. I’ve read one book of his in which he demonstrated creative thinking and logical progression in his arguments. He also showed he is very well read. I had heard his view on the topic was opposed to mine, but as I’ve debated this topic in numerous churches with many people, I was interested to hear if this pastor would bring anything new to defend the counter-perspective to my own. I was highly disappointed.

The presentation was about 45 minutes of what a friend of mine refers to as “theological gymnastics.” This is a process where a person works hard to show how their understanding is Biblical through the use of ambiguous texts and takes the texts that speak clearly on the issue and attempts to muddy them to ambiguity. None of what the pastor said was new to me. You can find it all easily by simply Googling the topic. However, the pastor insisted he had come up with this solely from his own Bible study and he never really addressed the fact that his presentation was a reversal of his previous stance on the topic. In his words, he claimed the colleagues he contacted to get insight into the topic said they had none. So (once again in his words) he, like Marin Luther by candlelight with his Greek New Testament, had to come up with his own understanding of scripture’s statements on the issue he was addressing.

As I watched, and all the logical and Biblical objections I had in my mind with how I would rebut his points came to me, I decided there was one question I would have asked him if we were there on stage together discussing the topic. The question would be this, “if you were pastoring your church 100 years ago and culturally this would have been a non-issue (or perhaps culture may have even opposed his new perspective) would he maintain the same position? The pastor had repeatedly made statements that seemed to be motivated by concern people were just going to say he had shifted his position because of cultural pressure. He was adamant that this was because he was being Biblical. It’s difficult though to defend that when your position trends to be more in line with what culture says than what the Bible says. It seemed the whole purpose of the inquiry stemmed from something that had become a cultural issue.

He’s not the first minister in a “Christian” named ministry to take a culturally friendly stance. Several years ago, the Pope made a statement that he wasn’t in position to judge two people who loved one another, when addressing the issue of same-sex marriage. Sir Elton John responded to the Pope’s words by saying the church should make him a saint immediately. It’s an ironic position though. The Catholic church in Africa (where we are located) is supposed to be under the Pope’s authority. But homosexuality is very offensive in our culture here and you would never hear a priest speak in support or approval of it. In fact, it’s often vehemently condemned. I would ask the Pope the same question. 100 years ago, would you have held the same position?

More and more, we see ministries gearing themselves towards reaching “unchurched” people within the fellowship of the church. Some seem concerned that people will never listen to the church if there are principles the church obeys that are offensive to culture. I think this is actually killing the effectiveness of those churches and filling them with people who aren’t saved and don’t understand the gospel. My opinion is supported by the revolving door attendees of these ministries and the immorality in the lifestyles of the members. There is great flash and excitement around these ministries, but time reveals a lack of substance and a lack of fruit.

There was no person in history more aware of cultural nuances than Jesus, and yet he displayed a complete lack of care for what was culturally appropriate. He openly associated with women and allowed them to play an active role in his ministry (Luke 8:1-3). This was contrary to appropriate behavior for men in his day. He went to the Samaritans (who the Jews didn’t associate with) and spoke first to a woman, who was known for her immorality, and she became an evangelist to the people in Sychar (John 4:1-42). Even his disciples were passing judgment on him for that one. Jesus also repeatedly offended the cultural traditions of the Jewish leaders (Matt 12:1-8, Mark 7:1-9). There is something we should understand about the gospel –

¹⁸ For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. ¹⁹ For it is written,

“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.”

²⁰ Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? ²¹ For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach^[b] to save those who believe. ²² For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, ²³ but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, ²⁴ but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. (1 Corinthians 1:18-20)

The things of God don’t make sense to a lost person since he doesn’t interpret life through the lens of God’s Word.

¹² Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. ¹³ And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual.^[d]

¹⁴ The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. (1 Corinthians 2:12-14)

The gospel is not mean to mold into culture, but rather it should be distinct from culture.

 I appeal to you therefore, brothers,^[a] by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.^{[b] 2} Do not be conformed to this world,^[c] but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. (Romans 12:1-2)

Two of the greatest testimonies of the gospel’s influence on culture is the rights of women in modern times and the elimination of infanticide (until the practice of modern abortion). It was the church that first gave equal value and standing to women with men. Up to that period of history, women were largely treated as servants with few rights. It was the church that first spoke out to say, “you shall not kill what is born.” Over time as the gospel was preached and sinners repented, cultures were changed. I’m concerned at the trend we see where the church is rejecting God’s methods and instructions to be more agreeable to culture. Culture trends further and further away from God. In the end, we will find the church further and further from God. The only thing to do is to return to God’s Word. Salvation belongs to the Lord. It’s the Spirit that produces the fruit of the Spirit. If we follow culture, we may have larger congregations, but there will be fewer of God’s people. In trying to make the church more palatable to people, we will lose the gospel that can save them.

James 4:4 “You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.”

My family and I are home visiting family for the summer. We’ve been away from North America for a couple of years. Material circumstances are so much different here than in the developing world, but I’m struck by how similar people are throughout the world. That similarity is tied to our shared desire to find happiness and the things we believe will satisfy that desire. I find that all over the world people are lovers of illusion to the point of confidently defending delusion. 

Consider how many facades are part of the construction of our lives. We have clothes that make us look slimmer, shoes that make us seem taller, cars that make us seem wealthier, hair dyes that make us seem younger, charities that make us seem kinder, people who exercise not necessarily to be healthier and stronger, but to have the appearance of being stronger and healthier. Observing these methods of illusion makes it clear that we care very much about the way other people perceive us. Since what we do always flows from what we believe will make us happy, it logically follows that we believe approval from people will give us more happiness. What a cruel and fickle audience to hope to find happiness from. It seems like celebrities and political figures rise and fall daily in popular opinion. Those who claim not to care what people say or think betray themselves with their prompt responses to any source of criticism be it from a less or more significant source. 

We have many teenagers and early 20s adults in our program. It pains me to see them seek to fit in with culture’s definition of approvable or admirable people. There is one who loves us each exactly how we look, how we speak, how we are skilled, just as we are without one plea in fact. He is Jesus. He is our creator and our sustainer. His definition of us is a merciful, gentle one. 1 Timothy 2:3-4 “This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” ESV. Jesus once lamented like this over his city of Jerusalem – “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!” 

That is the key issue I perceive in people’s hearts no matter the cultural setting. We are unwilling to accept God’s definition because we love lies rather than truth. As I’ve said in previous posts, truth is defined by that which corresponds exactly with reality. Just observing some of the things I mentioned already shows how little we care about truth. Most North Americans struggle with large debts. They may live in a nice house and drive a new car, but they don’t actually own them. These illusions aren’t confined to our possessions, that’s simply one manifestation of our thinking. Consider the good old American notion that a person here can be whatever they want to be. That’s full of logical inconsistency. I can’t change my race, I can’t change my skill set, I can’t change my gender, I can’t change the timing of my life in history, and on and on the list would go. Yet humans wish to challenge each of the limits life presents them with. 

As Christians, how do we minister faithfully amidst such an attitude? What saves a person? 2 Thessalonians 2:10 “and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved.” Lying to people who are lying to themselves about themselves will not help anyone. We must tell the truth. It’s not easy to speak to an alcoholic friend and tell them that if they continue what they’re doing, they will destroy themselves, but it’s the only way to help them. Making them feel like that behaviour is alright would actually be the opposite of love. It would be selfishness on your part because you don’t want to do what is hard. We have reached a crisis in social thinking where once again as much as ever, Christians need to tell people the truth. No, men and women are not essentially the same. No, it’s not alright to kill unborn children. Yes, there are consequences for the evil things we do. No, you can’t be whatever you want to be. Everyone seeks happiness, but it’s only found in truth. We know the truth and the truth has set us free. Preach the truth brethren always, and let us not allow our love to grow cold.  

Can we define ourselves? Or perhaps a more appropriate way to phrase it, can we redefine ourselves? That is a question each of us asks in one aspect or another. The question puts forward two aspects, ability and authority. According to Webster’s 1913 edition, the word define means – “to fix the bounds of; to bring to a termination; to end.” Are we able to set the bounds for ourselves, to adjust our limits? Secondly, do we have the right to do so?

A good story to illustrate this occurrence in human thinking comes from the first person to experience the question of self-definition. Consider the story of Eve’s temptation in the Garden of Eden.

Genesis 3:1-7 The snake was more clever than all the wild animals the Lord God had made. He asked the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must never eat the fruit of any tree in the garden’?”

² The woman answered the snake, “We’re allowed to eat the fruit from any tree in the garden ³ except the tree in the middle of the garden. God said, ‘You must never eat it or touch it. If you do, you will die!’”

⁴ “You certainly won’t die!” the snake told the woman. ⁵ “God knows that when you eat it your eyes will be opened. You’ll be like God, knowing good and evil.”

⁶ The woman saw that the tree had fruit that was good to eat, nice to look at, and desirable for making someone wise. So she took some of the fruit and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.

⁷ Then their eyes were opened, and they both realized that they were naked. They sewed fig leaves together and made clothes for themselves.

First, let’s consider our ability. Not one of us is self-made. We didn’t fashion ourselves in our mother’s womb. We played no part in our body’s natural development, besides feeding it with proper nutrition and sleeping and exercising. We can’t control whether we are a natural blonde or brunette. We can’t control the color of our skin. We don’t have a say about how tall we grow up to be. We didn’t choose what century we were born in, or to whom we were born too. We also didn’t get to select what natural abilities we have. It’s possible to improve and gain new skills, but ultimately, we refine what we are already able to do. We can’t all be Mozart just because we’d like to play the piano well. So, as we think about it, we can see that our ability is limited. We can dye our hair, we can wear platform shoes, we can take piano lessons, but at best we are working within constraints we have no control over.

Secondly, do we have the authority to define our boundaries? The question about ability is a physical concept, whereas authority is metaphysical. Is it moral for us to define ourselves? Do we have the right? My answer is no, and here’s why I think that. If something is made, the implication is that it was made for its maker’s purpose. In fact, usually the limits in an object’s use (or ability in our case) accords with the intended purpose its maker designed it with. A hammer is an excellent tool for pounding nails, but could you chop down a tree with it? If you don’t have the ability to do something, you also don’t have the authority to do it.

Satan told Eve she could be like God knowing good and evil. Satan’s lie was that Eve could play God. The tragedy is that knowledge of good and evil only condemned us to lose the freedom God created Adam and Eve with. We became slaves to sin.

Satan still attacks the boundaries God has set. Feminism says who are you to say what I should and should not be? Sexual immorality says who are you to say I must be monogamous? Homosexuality says who are you to tell me what my sexual orientation is? And transgenderism says who are you to decide my sex? One song writer laments,

“I thought you were holding out on me now
to keep me from being free
how could I have been so wrong?

I tried and tasted what’s forbidden
And it filled me with delight
But now I’m still hungry inside”

Those boundaries were set in a place by our maker for one particular purpose. It is given to us in Acts 17: 24-27

²⁴ The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man,^{[c] 25} nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. ²⁶ And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, ²⁷ that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us.”

You are where you are right now so that you might seek God and find him. Your purpose is to be in relationship with the one who made you, the one who knew you before you were born, and the one who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for you. I was once a sexually immoral person. I found no satisfaction in my behavior. Casting off God’s restrain only enslaved me to myself. It’s through accepting God’s definition of yourself that you can be truly free.

²⁸ Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. ²⁹ Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰ For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

Forgive us Lord for living like we are not yours.

Richard Stearns wrote a popular Christian book titled – The Hole in our Gospel. The book condemns the type of Christian whose Christianity doesn’t extend beyond sitting in Sunday church service. There are several excellent points the book makes. I’m not rebutting the book in this post, but rather I’m responding to a perspective I’ve encountered in short-term missionaries based on their interpretation of works like The Hole in our Gospel. If you are interested in an excellent critique of Mr. Stearn’s book, read this post by Kevin DeYoung at The Gospel Coalition – https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/kevin-deyoung/a-hole-in-our-gospel/

 

Churches in the West crave measurable data. Every missionary can testify about letters they’ve received from supporters asking things like – How many churches have you planted? How many converts have you won? How many members do you have in your churches? This just isn’t how the Kingdom of Heaven has ever operated since it was brought down to us. The reality is, I’ve thought people were saved who later by actions revealed they didn’t know Christ. There are others who were rebellious and even enemies of ours for years before God did a work in their heart and they now serve him. Jesus spent 3 years in ministry majorly wrapped up in dialogue with 12 men (one of whom would betray him). Even those men didn’t believe him when he repeatedly revealed he would be crucified and rise again on the 3rd day. In John 6, when Jesus had gathered perhaps the largest crowd he ever had at a single time, he promptly sent his disciples in a boat across the sea and hid himself from the people. Jesus described the Kingdom of Heaven in this way, Matthew 13:31-33, “He put another parable before them, saying, the kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches. He told them another parable. The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, till it was all leavened.” God’s kingdom grows quietly over a long period of time. The outcome is unmistakable, but the process is not always so visible.

What is the gospel about? The famous prosperity teacher, Jesse Duplantis, once said “Jesus’ primary objective was to eliminate poverty.” Scripture resoundingly disagrees with this statement. Jesus told us “give to everyone who begs from you, and from one who takes away your goods do not demand them back.” That’s a recipe for extortion, not a way to get rich. James asks us “hasn’t God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith?” Is the gospel about improving people’s morality? Well, the Bible says that no person is good (Romans 3:10-12). Is it about making sick people healthy? Consider this story from the life of Paul – 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 “And by reason of the exceeding greatness of the revelations, that I should not be exalted overmuch, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, that I should not be exalted overmuch. Concerning this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. And he hath said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my power is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Wherefore I take pleasure in weaknesses, in injuries, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong” (ASV). So, what is the gospel about?

The gospel is not about making poor people rich, or sick people healthy, or bad people good, it’s about making dead people live – John 5:24-25 “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life. Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live” (ESV). Jesus came to deal with sin, specifically to make atonement for it.

Many of the visitors I’ve interacted with at our project and similar projects near us communicate a vision of support that is quite different than the gospel’s. Some people talk about buying solar panels for each mud house in the village. Some suggest educational techniques, small business plans, agricultural methods, and the like while observing life here in Central East Africa. They have diagnosed Africa’s major problem as development. This is the same perspective as the UN, WHO, USAID, and many other humanitarian organizations. I’m sad to say that many Christians see the world the same as a person from a secular perspective. History proves that there is a deeper issue at work. Money has been given to poor people, medicine has been given to sick people, and laws have been legislated for the barbaric. Study the history of aid in the continent of Africa, and you will throw your hands up like many and think, perhaps it would be better if the people who were “helping” quit trying to help.

As one of the directors of a Christian project that seeks to assist impoverished and needy children, I’m not saying we shouldn’t remember the poor. That is part of our Biblical mandate. I’m exhorting us not to lose sight of what each person in this world needs most.

Consider this testimony about Angola prison in Louisiana http://www.bpnews.net/27125/warden-saw-only-one-answer-for-troubled-la-prison-christ. I encourage you to read the whole article as it’s very encouraging and enlightening.

I’ve read that before Warden Cain took over leadership, Angola prison was so dangerous that each prisoner was given a knife upon entry for protection. The most violent criminals were sent there, and it had the largest percentage of death row inmates of any prison in the United Sates. Mr. Cain, a Bible-believing Christian, made some reforms. He put Bibles into each prison cell and organized evangelistic efforts. Here is an excerpt from the article about some of the prison’s accomplishments –

”A Southern Baptist, Cain invited New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary to launch a rigorous four-year college extension course for inmates who desired a college degree. The program is funded largely by private donations.

Every weekday, more than 100 men crowd into classrooms in a prison building to study the Bible and to take courses toward a college degree, accredited the same as one from Louisiana State University. Cain also began a certificate program for faith-based education, aimed at inmates who didn’t have a high school diploma or its GED equivalent. More than 100 inmates earned their certificate in 2006.

Each year, inmate seminary graduates who feel called to ministry are transferred “two by two” to other prisons in Louisiana to serve as inmate missionaries. They receive no special favors or time reduced from their sentences; they choose to serve God by sharing the Gospel with other inmates like no one else can.

The missionaries carry what they learned in seminary into the prisons’ living areas to help men “experience God.” In one year alone, they baptized more than 150 prisoners and averaged more than 15,000 evangelistic contacts a month throughout the state’s correctional system.

Cain raised corrections officers’ wages and instituted vocational training for the inmates. The prison’s standard of living “shot through the roof,” said one officer. Cain also started public speaking courses to prepare inmates to better communicate with others. The prison’s radio station, JSLP at 91.7FM, is endearingly called the “incarceration station.” Staffed by inmates, the station evangelizes by broadcasting uplifting music and sermons 24 hours a day.

As Cain shared what God was doing at Angola, his message prompted private donors to build more chapels on the prison grounds and to support the growing ministry programs.

While Angola is still very much a prison, the violent death rate has declined significantly, along with rapes, drug use and assaults on guards. It is largely due to the seminary inmates living and mingling among the rest of the population, observers note. Inmates can now be found holding prayer services in the yards, in their dormitories and on the work sites. Praise and worship services in the chapels are Holy Spirit-filled and rock with heart-felt gospel music from the inmate musicians and choirs.”

Ravi Zacharias, who has visited and preached to the inmates at Angola more than once, shared this conversation he once had with an inmate who was serving life imprisonment there. Ravi asked the inmate if he was ever discouraged knowing he would never be able to be free again. The inmate responded by saying sir, I never knew what it was to be free until I came to know Jesus Christ inside these prison walls, and I’m freer now than I’ve ever been before. Then he asked Ravi to pray for his family members. He said they don’t know Jesus yet and even though they are outside these walls, they are the ones who are truly in prison.

Paul spoke of a similar transformation story among the Corinthian believers – “Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God” 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 ESV.

Jesus never claimed he would fix this world. This world is going to pass away – 2 Peter 2:7 “But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.” Jesus came to save us from this world – 2 Peter 2:9 “The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.”

There may be holes in our obedience to the gospel, but there is no hole in the gospel. If you are not active in your Christianity, scripture condemns you. But our actions must center around the gospel. That’s what people need. I spoke at a new church deep in the interior village beyond Lubumba. They arranged for me to teach from 11-6, but a neighbor in their community passed away, so I taught until 3:30. I asked, as I always do when teaching a new audience, what is the greatest need you have in life? A man named Battle raised his hand and said, “I must have eternal life.” The congregation is poor, living among other impoverished families. The area is going through a drought, which affects the believers as much as everyone else. But the believers have joy, where the lost have despair, because the believers have “the outcome of their faith, the salvation of their souls.”

Recently, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed a new abortion law entitled ‘Reproductive Health Act.’ According to the Associated Press Reports, the new law “safeguards rights laid out in Roe v. Wade and other court rulings, including a provision permitting late-term abortions when a woman’s health is endangered.” According to the New York State Department of Health, 285,127 induced abortions occurred in the state between 2012 and 2014. The average number of live births for the same three years was 237,499.

Let’s take a moment to further prove to ourselves that society is not evolving towards a higher plateau, but actually imploding on itself. The feminist movement, in its practical reality, is treating women like men and eliminating the gender construct entirely. Our solution to racism is to enact more racist policies. You don’t see what I mean? If the most important factor to an employer in choosing whether to hire or not to hire a candidate was their race, you would say that’s racism correct? Well, you’ve just described minority hiring programs as racist. The same holds true for our solutions to sexism. We describe abortion (the act of killing an unborn person, whether in your mind the person is not yet a baby or is a baby) as “reproductive health.” On a medical scale of unhealthy things, sugar consumption, smoking, and lack of exercise are things we’ve all heard about from Drs, but I’m guessing that every Dr. would probably say death is even more unhealthy. The definition of reproduction is, “the production of offspring by a sexual or asexual process.” So, categorizing abortion as part of reproductive health sounds a bit absurd right? Eliminating the production of what you’re attempting to reproduce sounds a bit….counterproductive no? But absurdity is our standard operating procedure in the West.

Abortion is the modern version of something that’s been common throughout human history – infanticide. You can read some brief details about infanticidal history here: https://www.wikigender.org/wiki/history-of-infanticide/

For my purposes, I’ve highlighted some things to note.

The Greeks and Romans –

The Greeks considered infanticide barbaric, but instead of outright killing their babies, they practiced exposure ^[3]. Exposure would be just leaving the child.it was not considered murder because a passerby or a God could take pity on the child and save it ^[4].
In Rome, exposure was common, in a letter from a man to his wife during 1 BC he says:
“I am still in Alexandria. … I beg and plead with you to take care of our little child, and as soon as we receive wages, I will send them to you. In the meantime, if (good fortune to you!) you give birth, if it is a boy, let it live; if it is a girl, expose it.” ^[5]

Another option would be to take the child to the family patriarch and they would decide whether the child should be killed or left to exposure. Usually babies with birth defects were killed. By 374 AD infanticide was illegal in Rome, but offenders were rarely ever prosecuted.^[6]

Pagan European Tribes –

German tribes also practiced a similar exposure to unwanted children. Many were left in the forest without food….this was especially common for children born out of wedlock. ^[7]Child sacrifice was common among the Gauls, Celts, and Irish. “They would kill their piteous wretched offspring with much wailing and peril, to pour their blood around Crom Cruaich”, a deity of pre-Christian Ireland ^[9]

In Japan –

Infanticide was called “mabiki” which means to pull plants from an overcrowded garden. Mabiki was still practiced in the 19th and early 20th centuries. ^[15]

In India –

Female Infanticide was common in India . Parents often threw their children into the Ganges River as a sacrificial offering. This practice could not be stopped until the early 19th century. ^[6

In Africa –

Children were killed if they were believed to have brought bad luck. So more often than no, twins were murdered because they were considered to be bad omens. Also if a parent died during childbirth, the baby would be buried alive. ^[6]

In China –

Marco Polo wrote about seeing many babies exposed in Mani ^[11]. Sex selective infanticide was common in China . Han Fei Tzu, a Chinese philosopher in the 3rd century BC wrote that
“As to children, a father and mother when they produce a boy congratulate one another, but when they produce a girl they put it to death”^[12] .
Many Chinese tribes practiced infanticide by putting the baby into a bucked of cold water, called “baby water” ^[13] .
The 2006 edition of a book by two prominent historians stated that even by now, in China, infanticide seemed more likely for a girl than a boy.^[14]

If you go back in history beyond the Greeks and Romans, you read practices of infanticide among Persian, Egyptian, Jewish, Canaanite, and other ancient civilizations as well. What galvanized the world’s population to consider these practices as barbaric? It wasn’t a what, it was a who, and the who’s name was Jesus. In the same history of infanticide, the author says this about Christians.

”Christianity abhorred infanticide. In Apostles it was written, “You shall not kill that which is born” ^[8]. In 318 AD Constantine I felt that infanticide was a crime. In 374 AD Valentinian stated that people must rear all children. The Council of Constantinople issued that infanticide was murder and in 589 AD the Third Council of Toledo worked on ending the Spanish custom of killing their children ^[6].”

History doesn’t portray people as trending upward towards higher states of moral, social, and political constructs. History reveals mankind trends towards animalistic behavior such as cannibalism and infanticide. The person who elevated our moral, social, and political constructs was not a revolutionary. He didn’t lead transformation of society, he preached transformation of the individual spirit. He was described as “meek and lowly of heart.” He was executed as a criminal, but according to historical evidence, he lived again. And wherever his followers went throughout the world, they brought about dramatic change in morality and society. Not through hostile takeovers, but by gentle love. Constantine and members of the Roman church may have used Jesus’ teaching for their own selfish purposes, but there’s no denying the historical effect that the teaching of Jesus had on each new location it was proclaimed. So, why do I say things are not going to get better? Isn’t it obvious that the West has turned it’s back on the one man who undeniably made things better? The next logical step after abortion is that we allow parents to kill babies after they’ve been born. This won’t be a new thing, it’s as old as time. The only hope for our society is to acknowledge our evil, ask for forgiveness, and as John the Baptist said, “Bare fruits in keeping with repentance.” Consider this commentary made by Malcolm Muggeridge on his observations of Western society through WWII into the modern years.

“So the final conclusion would surely be that whereas other civilizations have been brought down by attacks of barbarians from without, ours had the unique distinction of training its own destroyers at its own educational institutions, and then providing them with facilities for propagating their destructive ideology far and wide, all at the public expense. Thus did Western Man decide to abolish himself, creating his own boredom out of his own affluence, his own vulnerability out of his own strength, his own impotence out of his own erotomania, himself blowing the trumpet that brought the walls of his own city tumbling down, and having convinced himself that he was too numerous, labored with pill and scalpel and syringe to make himself fewer. Until at last, having educated himself into imbecility, and polluted and drugged himself into stupefaction, he keeled over–a weary, battered old brontosaurus–and became extinct.”

Jesus asked us this all-important and very logical question during his life – “What shall it profit a man if he gains the whole world, but loses his own soul?”

Do you know where you came from? Do you know why you’re here? Do you know what is truly right and wrong? And do you know where you are going? Jesus has answers to these questions that will satisfy your spirit. He is our only hope to transform our society once again, and he works through you and me.

Surrender the hunger to say you must know
And the courage to say I believe
For the power of paradox opens your eyes
And blinds those who say they can see

So we follow God’s own fool
For only the foolish can tell
Believe the unbelievable
Come be a fool as well

Michael Card – God’s Own Fool

Can man save himself? As a first-hand observer of a developing country, I’m given evidence each day that man alone has no hope of saving himself. In his book State of Africa, Martin Meredith points out that in the first 50 years of independence on the continent of Africa, over 500 billion dollars has been given to support the fledgling countries. But as Meredith chronicles the histories of those countries, he highlights the reversal of fortune in the majority even with generous outside support. Uganda is a hotbed of international NGO activity due to its relative stability and security in comparison with a few of its neighbors. Each organization has its own category of aid. Some are focused on health care, others on infrastructure, some on education, others on alleviating poverty and so forth. Truthfully, there are needs in each one of those categories. But studying relief organizations reveals an astonishing fact. We deliberately shy away from the question that is basic to solving any problem we encounter. When your vehicle begins making a strange knocking sound and you take it to a mechanic what does the mechanic do? When you visit the clinic and present yourself to your doctor with a runny nose, high fever, and swollen glands, what does your doctor do? They ask the why question. What is the cause of this knocking sound? Why does this person have a fever and congestion? Only when they’ve satisfied themselves with the answer, will they decide on a course of action. Most relief programs ignore this question. Why would they do that? Because the answer has serious implications for people, implications that most would rather not deal with. We treat HIV with ARV injections to protect the immune system. We build orphanages to care for orphans. We support education projects to alleviate poverty, but without asking the all-important question, why do these things exist? The way aid is given is essentially like your mechanic responding to your engine sound by saying, “we will increase the capacity of the muffler so that the sound gets quieter.” Can that solve the problem? I am undergoing treatment for my 12^th bout of malaria, since first coming to Uganda in 2012. Malaria is an interesting illness. It is caused by a parasite. The parasites invade and multiply for a number of days before you begin to have any symptoms to alert you that something is wrong. Typically, a patient will present with fever, vomiting or dysentery, terrible body aches, headache, and loss of appetite. A doctor can treat each of those symptoms individually, and sometimes I’ve made the mistake of taking pain relievers instead of immediately being tested. The pain relievers make you feel better, so you begin to live life normally again. Soon after however, you are struck with serious consequences for your delay in proper treatment. Poverty, HIV, high crime rates, promiscuity, child-abandonment, and the others I mentioned, are symptoms. They are evidence of a cause. But here’s the ugly word that no one likes to mention, and the reason aid organizations continue to pour money onto a fire that only continues to blaze stronger, sin. Sin is the cause of each of these symptoms. Let me prove it to you. Committing a sin means you have fallen short of a standard set by God. What is God’s standard for us to live by? Matthew 22:37 “And he said to him, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it” You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.” ESV

Jesus’ statement says that if you truly loved everyone more than you love yourself, you would never sin. You see love would always choose to suffer harm rather than do harm. It always places the needs of others above its own. Consider this example – I know a man who was married to a woman and both contracted HIV through promiscuous living. The man’s first wife left him, and the man married another woman. He didn’t inform his new wife of his HIV status and he gave her HIV. When asked how the man could so something so despicable, the answer was that he had fallen madly in love with his second wife. Now ask yourself, did the man love his second wife, or did he love himself? That is the issue we deal with around the world. Each of our problems stem from this common source – we love ourselves more than anyone else. That is the issue that must be dealt with for aid to become effective. It’s a comfort to me that I’m not alone in my observations. Matthew Parris, a British journalist born and raised in Africa, wrote for the London Times about this very issue. The title of his article grabs one’s attention, As an atheist, I truly believe Africa needs God.  I encourage you to read the whole article here: http://www.hopeinview.org/files/As_an_atheist_I_truly_believe_Africa_needs_God–Matthew_Parris.pdf

For my purposes, I will just quote one section from Parris’ statements –

“But travelling in Malawi refreshed another belief, too: one I’ve been trying to banish all my life, but an observation I’ve been unable to avoid since my African childhood. It confounds my ideological beliefs, stubbornly refuses to fit my world view, and has embarrassed my growing belief that there is no God.

 Now a confirmed atheist, I’ve become convinced of the enormous contribution that Christian evangelism makes in Africa: sharply distinct from the work of secular NGOs, government projects and international aid efforts. These alone will not do. Education and training alone will not do. In Africa Christianity changes people’s hearts. It brings a spiritual transformation. The rebirth is real. The change is good.

 I used to avoid this truth by applauding – as you can – the practical work of mission churches in Africa. It’s a pity, I would say, that salvation is part of the package, but Christians black and white, working in Africa, do heal the sick, do teach people to read and write; and only the severest kind of secularist could see a mission hospital or school and say the world would be better without it. I would allow that if faith was needed to motivate missionaries to help, then, fine: but what counted was the help, not the faith.

 But this doesn’t fit the facts. Faith does more than support the missionary; it is also transferred to his flock. This is the effect that matters so immensely, and which I cannot help observing.

 First, then, the observation. We had friends who were missionaries, and as a child I stayed often with them; I also stayed, alone with my little brother, in a traditional rural African village. In the city we had working for us Africans who had converted and were strong believers. The

Christians were always different. Far from having cowed or confined its converts, their faith appeared to have liberated and relaxed them. There was a liveliness, a curiosity, an engagement with the world – a directness in their dealings with others – that seemed to be missing in traditional African life. They stood tall.” (emphasis added)

I appreciate the writer’s honesty as he admits his observations contradict his own worldview. It is astonishing to me that his observations wouldn’t lead to a change in his worldview. This is a person with an atheistic perspective acknowledging that the Christian rebirth is real. And another very interesting point is that Parris goes on to make a distinction of which type of Christianity creates this transformation –

“Christianity, post-Reformation and post-Luther, with its teaching of a direct, personal, two-way link between the individual and God, unmediated by the collective, and insubordinate to any other human being, smashes straight through the philosophical/spiritual framework I’ve just described. It offers something to hold on to those anxious to cast off a crushing tribal groupthink. That is why and how it liberates.”

You’ll notice that Parris has excluded Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches (and any other church with an ecclesiological hierarchy) in this group of Christian transformation. Again, it’s fascinating that an atheist notes and highlights what is so much in support of the Biblical Christian perspective. God’s Word through the prophet Ezekiel emphasized the need for this solution. “And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules” – Ezekiel 36:26-27 ESV. It’s impossible to fulfill the standard of God while a heart of stone beats within us. We need a new nature that beats according to a different condition – the condition of love, which is God’s condition, “Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love” 1 John 4:8 ESV. This is the aid that people need, and this should be the thrust of all Christian ministry.

We receive occasional visitors to our organization from the west. It’s always interesting to listen to their perspectives. Many have been influenced by such works as Radical by David Platt or The Hole in Our Gospel by Richard Stearns. The unfortunate thing that I’ve noticed is that Christians are trending towards a perspective that aid in the areas of education, orphan care, and healthcare provide the transformation that, as Parris already pointed out, only the gospel brings.

We have had young people complete our high school program and go on to university or trade programs. Their lives give strong evidence in support of the point I’m making. The ones who really know Jesus and are serving him have come back seeking ways to support the younger students and the ministry. They tend to be stable, independent, and active in their communities. There are others who have left the program never to heard from again, or only in a financial crisis. Their input on social media tells of lives lived for themselves. These ones who have never given their lives to Christ blend back into all the negative statistics of Uganda, while those born again stand out in sharp contrast to the rest of their generation.

History speaks of it on every page. Man can’t solve his problems, because he is the source of his problems. He needs a new heart that only God can give. And God gives us that new heart through his Son – John 5:24-25 “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life. Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live.”

Hebrews 1:1-2 – “Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.”

In ancient masonry, the cornerstone (or setting stone) was the first stone placed in the foundation of a building. It was extremely important as all the other stones would be placed in the building in reference to the cornerstone’s position, thus determining the entire position of the structure. Jesus is called the chief cornerstone. He is the measuring rod for all information to be compared to prove whether it is accurate or not. The Bible is the God-Man revealed to us. Who he was (and is)  and what he demands from people, is all made known through what he has said to us. Faster and faster, the world is running from the text of scripture. This is no wonder, as the text of scripture condemns all sin, and people want to indulge in sin without feeling guilty. What has been most unfortunate is that the body of Christ, rather than clinging to the Word, has followed the world’s example. I’ve heard many Christians lament the Bible’s antiquity and lack of practicality. Nothing could be a more inaccurate description of the book, but it is a reflection on a person’s lack of desire to know God. The Bible has refreshed me, inspired me, instructed me, cut me down and built me, what seems to be thousands of times. More than anything else, it has set me free. Free from doubt, free from fear, free from sin, and perhaps most of all – free from error. Not that I claim to have a perfect knowledge of it, nor do I know anyone who does. And even having accurate knowledge doesn’t keep a person from still making mistakes and committing sin. But the Bible makes its adherents wiser than people who are more intelligent than they are. The Bible speaks words that can be rejected, but not resisted. Now more than ever in the church’s history, we need to exalt God’s Word.

Our children’s consciences are being confronted by issues that our grandparents wouldn’t have imagined. The conscience is a wonderful mechanism to keep us from doing wrong, but it is flawed. The conscience merely responds to the environment it matures in and its sense of right and wrong is based on what it observes. A young man growing up in an ISIL controlled area has a conscience trained to think beheading people who don’t believe what you believe is right. He would feel no guilt over it. In fact, observation shows he would probably feel a sense of higher purpose in it. Cultures are not what we want to shape our children’s consciences. The Bible condemns the practice of homosexuality. God has clearly defined the purpose for sexuality in the Bible. But our children are growing up in a culture that says that type of belief system is cruel to those who experience same-sex attraction. Who should be able to say who is allowed to love who? My wife was trained in early childhood education at a school in British Columbia. She has commented to me that part of their instruction was to let children be who they want to be. If a boy wants to be a girl, or a girl wants to be a boy, why should you have a right to make that choice for them? A young person who grows up saturated by this type of thinking will certainly have a hard time when their conscience is offended by what the Bible says. That’s why we see “younger” churches placing less emphasis on statements of belief (or eliminating them completely) and placing a strong emphasis on how people feel about things. This has led to congregations that essentially pick and choose parts of the Bible to follow and others to twist to fit their way of thinking or leave out entirely. Carl Lentz, lead pastor of Hillsong Church NYC, has publicly interpreted 1 Thessalonians 5:14 in a way that he believes justifies the practice of homosexuality. The ESV translates the verse in this way “And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all.” Pastor Lentz uses the Message Bible (a topic for another day) which translates the part about being patient as “Be patient with each person, attentive to individual needs.” I watched a video of Lentz explaining this passage and he paraphrases it down to the verse meaning to “pay attention to individual needs.” Pastor Lentz believes that means you should make allowances for people depending on their natural tendencies. If a person experiences same-sex attraction, then it’s okay for us to approve of that behavior because it’s their individual need. 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 says “Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.” Salvation is the birth of a new spiritual man. The old man is not saved to continue in sin. We aren’t supposed to say, well Jonathan was an adulterer before he believed the Gospel, so we must allow for that natural tendency he has. Romans 6:1-4 “What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How an we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.” Does Lentz’s interpretation agree with what Jesus has declared? But who will our children more likely agree with by what their consciences are being trained with? Know for certain: the corruption of conscience that we’re seeing was set in motion long before these new issues of sexuality were raised. It began with approval in Christian homes of films that exalted sexual immorality between men and women. Even in the days of the black and white movies, Hollywood was still promoting romance that exalted premarital sex. Back then it was restricted to innuendo. In our times, it’s acted out for us on screen. If we surveyed Christian young people, how many would say they are fine with the idea of engaging in premarital sex? We don’t even have to ask because their behavior reveals it to us. Has compromise strengthened the Gospel’s effect?

Here’s a statement from the bio of a pastor I took from a church’s website that is atypical of the modern minister’s philosophy about growing the church.

“She has been passionate about building the local church her entire life, and about delivering the gospel in a method that makes sense to a generation that is desperately seeking a cause greater than themselves.”

People believe in changing the delivery of the gospel and, even beyond that, the content of the gospel. Paul said in Galatians 1:6-9 “I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel – not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed.”

Now more than ever, we need to sow the Bible into our hearts and minds. If we are going to have an impact for the gospel, we must use Christ’s method. There is no other way. There is no other truth. There is no other life. You can’t profess Christ is your Lord when you are not submitted to what he says. He should shape your world view. It’s not him to be fit into yours.