Editor’s note: This article was originally published on August 4, 2017 and is part two of a five-part series.

More on the Five Sola Statements

Most historians mark the start of the Protestant Reformation to the 1517 publication of Martin Luther’s list of 95 complaints against a practice known as selling indulgences. This year (2017) marks the 500th anniversary of that great event. Tourists are flooding the great cities and sites where Luther’s reformation unfolded, and people are thinking and talking about the great ideas of the Reformation.

Those ideas are often expressed in a series of five statements called the five solas. The classic solastatements of the Reformation were and are:

Sola Scriptura (Scripture Alone)
Sola Fide (Faith Alone)
Sola Gratia (Grace Alone)
Sola Christus (Christ Alone)
Sola Deo Gloria (Glory to God Alone)

A previous article discussed the idea of sola scriptura (scripture alone). Here are some thoughts on the second statement, sola fide – “faith alone.”

What is Faith?

Christians of every background understand the value of faith and know that in part, being a Christian means believing in Jesus Christ and what He did for us. Yet the cry of the Reformation was not faith, but more specifically, faith alone. The idea was that we receive forgiveness of sins and are made right with God on the basis of our faith alone.

This means that the only thing we contribute to the receiving of our rescue is faith.

Not faith and our good deeds. Not faith and our promises to do better in the future. Not faith and ceremonies, but faith alone. This was one of the things that set the preaching and writing of Martin Luther and the other reformers apart from the Roman Catholic Church and even the Eastern Orthodox Church. All Christians believe that faith is important and has a place in our salvation; not all believe in faith alone. Some believe in faith plus something.

It’s important to remember that faith is not some kind of great work that makes God in debt to us. We don’t deserve salvation because of our faith. In this sense, faith is simply believing what God said is true and trusting that He keeps His promises.

Think of it like this: Faith is not calling God a liar.

It means that when God says something or makes a promise, we believe He is true and can be relied on.
So, when God tells me that I am a sinner who needs a Savior (Romans 3:23), I believe Him. When God says that my sin will lead to eternal death (Romans 6:23), I believe Him.

When God says that Jesus died for me and for my sins while I was still a sinner (Romans 5:8), I believe Him. When God tells me that if I put my trust in who Jesus is and in what He did on the cross for me I can be saved (Romans 10:9-10), I believe Him. I regard God as true and worthy of trust in everything He says and promises. Because of all this, I don’t deserve any credit for my salvation. My faith doesn’t actually rescue me; it simply receives what God promised by His grace. Believing God is true and is not a liar doesn’t make me a wonderful person; that’s just common sense.

Good Works and Commitment to God

We may also add that this does not mean that good works and our commitment to God are not important. The Apostle Paul (in places like Titus 2:14 and 3:8) and the Apostle James (James 2:14-19) and others in the New Testament told us how important our good works are. This idea has been expressed by a famous phrase: “Faith alone saves; but the faith that saves is not alone.” When faith is real, it will have good works with it.

If faith doesn’t have good works with it, one can sincerely question if that faith is real.

One last thought regarding faith. In the Bible, faith usually carries the idea of much more than simply believing something to be true. It includes that, but goes much further. The Biblical idea of faith has the further idea of trusting love. It has the sense of to trust in, rely on and cling to. Faith is trust, and we trust God because He loves us and we love Him in response. That kind of faith alone receives what God so graciously gives us in Jesus Christ.

Editor’s note: This article was originally published on June 21, 2017 and is part one of a five-part series.

Introduction to the Five Solas

The great men of the Reformation: Martin Luther, Ulrich Zwingli, John Calvin, and those associated with them, declared their beliefs in a series of “solas” (solae if you are really into Latin). From Latin, sola means “alone” or “single.” We get our words “solo” and “solitary” from this Latin root. The classic sola statements of the Reformation were and are:

Sola Scriptura (Scripture Alone)
Sola Fide (Faith Alone)
Sola Gratia (Grace Alone)
Sola Christus (Christ Alone)
Sola Deo Gloria (Glory to God Alone)

Sola Scriptura appears first on most lists of the five solas, and for good reason.

The Bible is a book that truly stands alone. It is unique in its continuity, its circulation, its translations, its survival, its honesty, its reliability, and its influence. The Bible stands alone in so many ways.

The True Meaning of Sola Scriptura

Yet when the Reformers proclaimed Sola Scriptura, what they really had in mind was to declare the Christian’s source of authority. Our fundamental authority is God, and God has expressed His mind and His will in and through the Holy Bible, the Hebrew and Greek Scriptures that we commonly call the Old and New Testaments.

God expresses His mind and will in other ways. He reveals Himself in creation (Romans 1:20). God reveals Himself in the conscience of man (Romans 2:15). God can also speak through traditions (1 Corinthians 11:2). Yet, none of those things are the ultimate authority. God’s word—the Bible—is always the ultimate authority (2 Timothy 3:16).

So, we say Sola Scriptura because the Bible stands alone in authority.

Yet remember that Sola Scriptura was never meant to deny that those other ways God speaks have their place and can be useful, but it does mean that the Bible has more authority than any of them or all of them. Everything comes back to the Bible.

Beyond Tradition: The Ultimate Authority

In the Middle Ages, it was often taught that the Bible and church tradition were equal in authority. God raised up mighty men like Martin Luther to stand against that wrong idea. Therefore, in his famous Leipzig debates with John Eck in June and July of 1519, Martin Luther said: “A simple layman armed with Scripture is greater than the mightiest pope without it.”¹

Almost 20 years later, Martin Luther wrote: “The true rule is this: God’s Word shall establish articles of faith, and no one else, not even an angel can do so.”² This was a powerful foundation for the remarkable work God did in the Reformation.

To thoroughly bring everything back to the Bible and recognize it as the true authority for faith and practice was something of a revolution.

We may respect traditions and religious authorities, but our ultimate authority is God’s Word as given in the Bible.

We recognize this even over the teaching of the Reformers themselves. It has sometimes been observed that if Martin Luther time traveled to our present day and walked into a typical modern evangelical church (let’s say a good, Bible-believing one), there would be much he would not approve of. To begin with, he would not approve that babies were not being baptized. He would not approve that the Lord’s Supper was not observed every week and in a certain ceremony. He probably would not approve of the lack of liturgical structure.

In regard to that, I would say, “Thank you, Martin Luther.” He and other reformers of his time firmly planted the flag for the authority of the Bible, even above their own authority. In fact, I think we honor Dr. Luther when we take him at his word and do what we earnestly and honestly believe the Bible instructs us to do, even when it disagrees with Luther’s own thought and practice.

We respect these great men of the past and want to learn what we can from them. We do not arrogantly dismiss their thinking and conclusions with the automatic thought that we know better today. Yet, at the end of it all, we stand where they told us to stand: Sola Scriptura, the Bible itself is our ultimate authority.

References

¹Roland Bainton’s classic biography on Luther, Here I Stand:A Life of Martin Luther [Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1950], p. 117

²Smalcald Articles, Part II, Article 2.15

Doubt, often regarded as the evil twin brother of faith, is a condition that frequently casts a long shadow over the believer’s life. Many grow up in the Church with the idea that “good Christians never doubt,” all the while struggling under the weight of crippling doubt themselves.

It is far too ordinary for the young Christian to hide their doubts, never wanting to raise their hand in the Sunday-school classroom for fear of looking foolish at best or being judged as one of little faith at worst. So, doubts are suppressed, buried deep within the psyche. Eventually, the young Christian finds themself stepping outside of their Christian bubble and into a secular environment where the dam of unanswered questions finally bursts, unable to withstand the pressures of postmodern and post-Christian culture.

For the Christian struggling with doubt, following Jesus can feel like reaching for the light while you sink into the depths of the ocean.

I would assert that this sad reality does not have to be the fate of our youth. Instead, we may turn to the Scriptures to see the straightforward reality that doubt need not be the end of robust faith, but rather, the beginning!

Throughout the pages of the Bible, we repeatedly see that God does not reject those who doubt; rather, He works in and through them despite their doubts.

Character Study: Doubting Thomas

Now there is no better character with which we could start our examination of this theme than the disciple known to many as “doubting Thomas.” Note that this nickname was not given to him by his mentor, Jesus, but rather by Christians in modernity. They identify him by his doubt, but the question we must ask is, “How does the Lord Jesus identify him?” and even further, “How does Jesus respond to those who doubt?”

The answer is found in the Gospel accounts. In the latter half of John chapter twenty, we find Thomas struggling with his doubts and discouragements. Earlier in the chapter, we observe the risen Jesus appearing to Mary Magdalene and ten of the remaining eleven disciples.

Thomas, however, is not present for these miraculous encounters. When the others joyfully tell him Jesus is alive, Thomas has a hard time believing this, having just witnessed his lord and master beaten and crucified on a Roman cross. Thomas responds to the others with a skepticism born out of deep grief, saying, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.” (John 20:25).

A week later, Jesus directly responds to Thomas’ doubt. He appears before Thomas, saying, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.”

It could be easy for us to focus merely on Jesus’ words at the end of the verse, “stop doubting and believe,” yet we must remember not to divorce the words of Christ from the actions of Christ. The passage’s focus is not on a God demanding His follower stop doubting. It is on a God willing to reveal Himself to a struggling doubter experiencing the dark night of the soul.

Philosopher Dallas Willard notes:

“Let’s remember that Jesus didn’t leave Thomas to suffer without the blessing of faith and confidence; he gave him the evidence he required. That is typical of Jesus’s approach to doubt; he responded to honest doubters in the way he knew best, the way that would help them to move from doubt to knowledge.”

In His actions, Jesus reveals a heart full of love for “doubting Thomas.” He does not storm into the room, demanding Thomas fall to his knees and repent from his foolishness. Instead, He shows up with evidence and relational experience. The result is Thomas declaring, “My Lord, and my God!” (John 20:28).

Pastor David D. Flowers writes:

“Jesus’ willingness to accommodate Thomas’ unbelief is a reminder that God can handle our doubt. And that the rationalist doesn’t need to see, touch, or run a lab test in order to believe in the resurrected Christ. Jesus told him, “You believe because you have seen me. Blessed are those who believe without seeing me” (Jn 20:29) This is not a plea to accept what goes against reason, but it is an invitation to discover a faith that goes beyond it. The example of Thomas is for the stubborn skeptic in us all.”

The Hall of Faith / The Hall of Doubt

We see in this story the willingness of Jesus to tear down relational walls between His followers and Himself, to bridge the gap between doubt and knowing. This theme is not unique to the New Testament.

Consider the famous “hall of faith” in Hebrews chapter eleven. Many revered characters are listed in this passage specifically for their faith. For example, we are told that by faith Noah built an ark, Abraham traveled to a distant land, Sarah had a son in old age, Moses left a life of royalty to lead God’s people to freedom, and Samson defeated the Philistines.

However, carefully examining the Hebrew Scriptures will reveal a dark mirror in the hall of faith. Nearly every character praised for their faith in Hebrews eleven also has moments of doubt recorded in Scripture.

By doubt, Noah becomes drunk and brings sin into his family. Abraham sleeps with a servant girl because he does not trust God to allow his aging wife to get pregnant. Sarah laughs when God says she will bear a child. Moses murders an Egyptian man and flees into the desert. Samson sacrifices his calling and strength for frivolous sex.

Despite all these moments of doubt, these flawed characters I have listed are celebrated for their faith. This reveals a core component of God’s heart: He is a God who can put up with our doubts. He is more than willing to work in and through us despite our tendency to doubt. He is not looking for perfect faith. Rather, He is looking for a willingness to believe, even if imperfectly. He desires to hear us say, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24).

In his analysis of the thinking of Danish philosopher Soren Kierkegaard, philosophy professor Donald Palmer writes:

“Kierkegaard’s argument runs something like this: The negative is present in all consciousness. Doubt accentuates the negative, Belief chooses to cancel the negative. Every mental act is composed of doubt and belief, but it is belief that is the positive, it is belief that sustains thought and holds the world together.”

Indeed, every moment the Christian makes is composed of either doubt or belief. One may be a believer sitting in the Sunday sermon but turn into a doubter and functional atheist the moment he pulls up the balance on his bank account. Nevertheless, Jesus seems to invite us into each moment with the reassurance that He is there, walking with us through these moments of doubt.

Character Study: Peter

Another fantastic character study is the Apostle Peter. Interestingly, we give the title “the doubter” to Thomas, yet it is Peter who has not one but two moments of severe doubt recorded in the New Testament. At the sham trial of Jesus, Peter doubts the Lord’s ability to keep him safe, so when others nearby ask if he is a disciple of Christ, he denies three times that he even knows Jesus at all (Luke 22:54-62).

One of Peter’s greatest moments of faith is immediately followed by one of his greatest moments of doubt. By faith, he literally walks on water, stepping out of the boat to meet Jesus among the waves. By doubt, Peter sinks, noticing the severity of the storm and doubting the power of Christ to keep him afloat.

Matthew writes:

Jesus immediately reached out His hand and took hold of him, saying to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” (Matthew 14:32).

Again, we must not divorce Jesus’ words from His actions. It was the power of Christ that allowed Peter to walk on water. It was the love of Christ that pulled him up when he sank. In Peter’s most significant moments of faith and doubt, the constant factor was Jesus being present with him. He does not allow Peter to sink into his doubts but instead pulls him upward and onward.

We see this further when at the end of John’s Gospel, Jesus restores Peter to ministry with a merciful breakfast on the beach. This posture towards doubters goes even beyond Thomas and Peter.

In a sermon on doubt, Pastor Evan Wickham says this:

“In Matthew 28:17 we see the reaction of his disciples “when they saw him, they worshiped him, but some doubted.” The resurrected Jesus is now physically standing before them and some are still in doubt! That is fascinating to me. It gets even better… in his very next statement, Jesus still commissions them!

To believers and doubters alike, he says, “go and make disciples.” On that Hilltop, alongside the risen Jesus, the believers and the doubters both belonged. This story provokes us to open up to the best news in the universe: we are all invited to belong to something bigger and more beautiful than we dare to dream.”

Conclusion

I genuinely believe that if we are to help the future generations of Christians, we must teach them not to suppress doubt but embrace it as an utterly regular part of the faith life and journey. A doubt held under the lordship of Christ is an invitation not to deconstruct one’s faith but to journey into deeper knowing as we “ask, seek, and knock.”

One can hold a theological doubt in tension with trusting that God is good and that in time, whether directly through His Spirit or the mentorship of Spirit-filled Christians, He will meet us right where we are at to “show us the holes in His hands.”

Whether we find ourselves walking on water or sinking into the waves of doubt, we can trust He is present, patient, and loving, hand outstretched, willing to pull us deeper into faith, and willing to put up with our doubts every step of the way.

It is when we understand and fully embrace this truth that I believe we can help Christians, both young and old, move beyond the shadow of a doubt.

If you enjoyed this article, Aaron has a sermon the article was based off of. Feel free to listen and share it with anyone you know who is struggling with doubt!

Guest Jila Adel addresses the joy of the Lord, Muslim religion and the Great Commission on this episode of “Living Grace.” As Jila recalls in this episode from Hebrews 4:12, “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”

Dear Kanye,

Along with the rest of the buzzing world, I recently heard about your conversion to faith in Jesus. Like many, I was initially struck with curiosity. I wanted to find sources presenting you personally explaining what is going on in your life. As I did, my opinion is that the things you have been saying sound like what people should say when they have come to know and follow Jesus, according to the New Testament.

Next, I heard you dropped an album that is exclusively about your new faith and intended to drive others to become followers of the biblical Jesus as well. I checked it out and was really encouraged by the lyrical content, and I enjoyed it very much from a musical/artistic perspective.

What I really want to talk about, though, has to do with the ways people are responding to your faith and some important stuff to consider at this moment of change for you. What caught my attention most in responses to your public statements about conversion to Jesus, and the content of your new album, is the suspicion and doubt that has been cast on you from professing Christians (though people who are not professing Christians have also doubted your sincerity in all of this). This line from, “Hands On,” on your new album, particularly grabbed my heart as I listened to it for the first time:

“What have you been hearing from the Christians?
They’ll be the first one to judge me
Make it feel like nobody love me”

Sadly, as I survey the internet, it is clear that those lyrics reflect your genuine experience in the wake of your public profession of faith in Jesus. In light of this, though I likely never will, I want to share a few things I would want to say to you at this important moment:

1. You’re in Good Company

You stand in a long line of genuine followers of God who have been met with suspicion and rejection while walking in the path God has for them. Two of the most notable are Jesus Himself and the Apostle Paul. When Jesus came to be the gospel to humanity, “He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him” (John 1:11, NIV et al). When Paul tried to join the community of Jesus’ people (the Church) after he met and became a follower of Jesus, church people were scared and skeptical and said stuff like, “I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done… Isn’t he the man who raised havoc…?” (Acts 9:13a, 21a). Luke, the guy who told this part of Paul’s story in the New Testament book called Acts, said peoples’ hesitance was rooted in fear: “He tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he really was a disciple” (Acts 9:26).

Beyond suspicion and rejection from God’s people, Jesus and Paul also had other more important things in common, most of all the approval and support of God the Father. In addition, Paul also had a couple Christians who were willing to embrace and encourage him in his new faith, even in the face of what seemed to be an overwhelming response of doubt from the Christian community (Acts 9:27-28).

My hope for you at this crucial time in your life is that you would have patience with the doubters while finding encouragement and community in your God and those Christians who are ready to embrace you and help you down the path of spiritual maturity that is before you.

2. Be Patient with Your New Friends & Family

When you became a follower of Jesus, you didn’t just get a new God, but a new family (1 Peter 2:9-10; Hebrews 12:22-24). You are now part of a global, multicultural, multiethnic family of people, from every tribe, tongue and nation, and from every culture and social strata (Ephesians 2:12-13; Galatians 3:28; Revelation 7:9). The most important thing we have in common is Jesus and His plan and message of reconciliation (Romans 1:16-17). Local churches are full of non-Christians, new Christians, cynical and jaded Christians, suffering Christians, thriving Christians, good theology and bad theology, true Christ-likeness and gross hypocrisy, victory and defeat. You will fit nicely into each of these circles at different times while you walk the path of your new faith.

What I would encourage you to remember as you struggle with yourself, and with the conduct of others, is that we are all midstream in a life-long, slow-cook process of personal transformation, from the inside out (2 Corinthians 3:18; 2 Peter 1:5-8). God is remaking us all to be more and more like Jesus in our affections, emotions, thought patterns, words and actions (Romans 8:29). It would be nice if this happened automatically when we first believed in the Jesus of the Bible, but it doesn’t. Welcome to the journey. But while we are on this journey together, all of us are going to be hypocrites from time-to-time, and we will need God to give us un-human levels of patience for each other in the process. You will be disappointed by how slow the process of change unfolds in yourself, and in others at times. Who is doing the transformation (God), and the inevitable certainty of it (Phillippians 1:6), is our collective hope, and source of mutual humility (Ephesians 4:2).

3. Be Patient with Your Historic Friends & Family

Something that many people go through when they first meet the true Jesus is they get what we call, “zealous” (i.e. hyper-passionate, stoked). They want to tell everyone they know about the Jesus they have met. This zeal is a good thing, but it often gets expressed in spiritually immature, condescending tones, words and actions. Some have called this, “the cage fighter stage,” of coming to faith. These well-intended but misguided ways of interacting often lead to the early experiences of our faith that we end up feeling embarrassed about later in our life with Jesus.

It will be important to remember that the things God has used to draw you to Himself are kindness, truth and love, not the arrogance, judgmental posture or condescension of professing Christians (John 3:16; Romans 2:4). Honesty about Jesus with others is essential. However, sharing His message in humility, patience and love will help you avoid the unnecessary burning of relational bridges. God wants to use relational bridges in your historic friendship groups, community and family to reach them as well. So while you stoke the fires of your new zeal to tell the world about the true Jesus, do what Paul said and, “Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone” (Colossians 4:6).

4. Keep the Real Standard Straight

There are probably some Christian leaders in your life you have already begun to value and look up to in special ways. This is a good thing. However, it is important to understand early on that even the most reputable, helpful Christian leaders will fail us. The Apostle Peter’s story in the New Testament is a great example of this if you haven’t checked it out yet (Luke 22:31-34; 54-62). It is important that you learn how to value and glean from Christian leaders, but that you do not get them confused with Jesus in the process. Otherwise, when (not if) they fail you, your faith can get twisted because your hope and expectations in human leaders were already twisted. Look to Jesus and His Word for the true standard and pattern of faithful Christianity and Christian manhood. In Him, you will never be disappointed (1 Corinthians 11:1; Hebrews 12:1-3).

5. Develop Tight, Christ-centered Friendships

All followers of Jesus simultaneously stand alone before God (Galatians 6:5), and as one of a large community before God (Acts 2:42-47). One of the most important things for you to develop at this transitional moment in your life is a small band of vulnerable, Jesus-loving Christians, who are committed to each others’ well-being and growth (Hebrews 10:24-25). You need a crew of friends and mentors who are committed to helping each other love, serve and be transformed by Jesus, to journey with throughout the rest of your life. We all need these kinds of tight, Christ-centered relationships. I encourage you to pursue these kinds of relationships with people who display the following characteristics:

• They love the gospel of the grace of God (Ephesians 3:7)

• They know you best (Phillippians 2:22)

• They love you most (and in authentic humility, Galatians 6:2-3)

• They are not afraid to say things you don’t want to hear (Colossians 3:16)

• Their motive is always your restoration (Galatians 6:1)

6. JESUS Really is King

I love the name of your new album, “Jesus is King.” It is true! That truth needs to shape our hope for humanity and be the hope for global peace we point people toward. Your relationship with Jesus has ramifications in every sphere of life, including politics. However, what God is doing in your life and in His world is not dependent on politics or politicians. Partly, I say this because I have learned that you feel it is important to publicly declare your political perspectives and support for certain politicians. I would never take that away from you, but it is important to remember that Jesus is the only One who is going to bring this world into a state of absolute peace, goodness, harmony, wholeness, etc. (Revelation 21:1-5). But He will do it through the work of His Spirit, gospel, people and direct presence, not primarily through legislation and human political authority. The relationship between your faith and politics is something you will have to work out for the rest of your life. What is most important is where we place our emphasis and ultimate hope. I hope you will continue to focus on loving and promoting the gospel, ways and works of Jesus, knowing He is going to take care of the rest.

7. Stay Immersed in the Gospel

The gospel message is beautiful, simultaneously simple and profound. Every day we need to remind ourselves that Jesus lived a perfect human life on our behalf. He never sinned or messed up in any way at the level of desire, imagination, thoughts, attitudes, words or actions. He died the death we deserved to die. He rose from the dead, which we could never do, defeating death for us. If we know and have embraced Him, we are no longer guilty in His eyes, but innocent. We are no longer shamed, but our honor is restored before the eyes and kingdom of God. We no longer need to be enslaved to fear, but we are filled with power to truly change and overcome the evil we encounter on the inside and around us.

Kanye, all of this is part of the good news of the gospel you have believed. And there is much more to the gospel than what I have said here. But what I want to say is the gospel is not Christianity 101, which you will now move beyond into deeper and better things in your faith. The gospel is forever the motivation, fuel and hope of your relationship with God, personal transformation, peaceful and authentic human relationships and future. Please spend the rest of your life dwelling deep in the implications of God’s love for you in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, and that organizing principle for life will bring all other things into proper orbit (Romans 16:25; 1 Corinthians 15:1-2).

8. Welcome to the family.

Marty was my favorite.

I came up as a worship leader in the days of Hillsong United’s early albums. Joel, JD, Jad, Marty and Matt were like The Avengers for worship leaders. Everyone had their favorite, and Marty Sampson was mine.

After flying under the radar for years, Marty shared an explosive Instagram update:

“I’m genuinely losing my faith, and it doesn’t bother me”

“All I know is what’s true to me right now.”

My heart broke when I saw this. Not because it’s wrong to wrestle with your faith. Not because doubts and uncertainty don’t come our way. But because his full statement revealed something deeper. He had rejected the God of the Bible for a god of his own design. And this god had failed him.

He isn’t alone.

The version of Christianity Marty has rejected reaches throughout the globe.

I’ve been a pastor for 10 years, and I can confess, I’m tempted by its seductive call. This version has an age-old allure. We are the hero of our story. We are the masters of our fate. Here are a few statements from Marty’s post:

“How many preachers Fall? Many.”

Seeing our leaders fall is painful. When a pastor succumbs to moral failure, it’s undeniably destructive. Right now, many of us still feel the pain from wounds wrought by an unfaithful pastor.

But these failings are not an indictment on the holiness of God. They’re an indictment on the sinfulness of man. If anything, they just confirm that what God said about us is true. We are sinners. They confirm what Jesus has done is essential. We need a savior.

It’s easy to hang our faith on leaders. In our head, we know Jesus is the only mediator between God and man. He is the only pure and perfect image of God. “But hey, what about this guy? Can he be my mediator too?” And if he falls, you crumble.

If you put your faith in man, your faith will fail.

“How many miracles happen? Not many”

My wife and I were told we may never be able to have kids. Doctor’s appointments and tests revealed that conceiving would be nothing short of a miracle. And then it happened. We got pregnant. After countless hours of prayer, our miracle baby had come.

And then she was gone.

Our miscarriage is the most devastating thing I’ve been through. Not only because we lost a cherished life but because my wife and I were floating on our miracle. When that miracle was pulled away, we fell hard.

What is a miracle? It’s God’s supernatural intervention into our human world. Although God does choose – at times – to supernaturally intervene on our behalf, this isn’t His ultimate purpose.

He’s already performed the ultimate miracle. “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” God became man and made a way for eternal reconciliation and rest with the Father.

Physical Healing can fade.

Financial provision can be lost.

Salvation is eternal.

Because of God’s immeasurable grace, many of us receive both God’s eternal miracle of salvation and experience temporal miracles throughout our life. But remember, God does not promise your preferred answer to every prayer or desired miracle for every hurt.

God is not obligated to conform to your will.

His primary mission is not to supernaturally sweep away every hurt and pain and replace it with ease and comfort.

If you put your faith in God doing what you want Him to do, your faith will fail.

I’ve been in pain and despair and hurt. I’ve cried out to God to intervene, and He hasn’t. And many of you have far more reason to cry out and far more reason to despair when only silence returns.

Jesus warned “In this world, you will have trouble”

But praise God this isn’t the end of the story!

“Take heart! For I have overcome the world.”

“How can God be love yet send four billion people to a place, all ‘coz they don’t believe?”

This is a tough one. Hell is a hard pill to swallow. It’s no wonder many pastors and churches gloss over it like the black sheep of the theological family.

My purpose here isn’t to dig into the existence of hell but to dig into what this statement is really saying.

“How can God do something I don’t understand?”

“How can God do something I disagree with?”

“How can God do something I wouldn’t do?”

When you begin asking these questions your faith is on a fault line. One day soon the plates will shift, the earth will open, and you’ll be swallowed whole. It’s true, we’d all like it if God were just a little more like us. If He did things our way.

But we are not God.

His ways are higher than our ways. His thoughts are higher than our thoughts. His plan for redemption may contain things we don’t understand.

There is the God of the Bible, and a God we’ve conformed into our image. You have to decide who you believe in.

If you put your faith in your personal version of God, your faith will fail.

I’m certain that Marty’s faith journey is much more intricate, complex and nuanced than his brief post reveals. Looking at his statements is not so much a judgment of him as a warning for me.

I see myself all over his remarks. This version of Christianity is constantly pulling me into its comforting clutches.

I want to believe in physical, audible preachers as my proxy for Jesus.

I want to believe God will always supernaturally intervene when I need Him most.

I want to believe God will do everything the way I think He should.

But the true God is so much better than any man. Any miracle. Any construct of my invention.

I choose to put my faith in Him. I hope you do too.

“What would you do if you knew you couldn’t fail?” That was the motivational catch-phrase of years past.

Current best-selling author Brené Brown has added a significant twist by asking, “What’s worth doing even if I fail?”, crediting Theodore Roosevelt when he said, “If he fails, at least fails while daring greatly.”

Brown should know: She’s a researcher on vulnerability and shame whose first TED talk about these issues hit a record-breaking 10 million-plus viewers on YouTube. Her five NY Times best-selling books have been translated into numerous languages, and her various seminars, talks and articles dominate the internet, translated into many languages. The message Brown is telling the world is that vulnerability (merely showing up and being present, win or lose) is the secret to “wholehearted” living. And the world is listening.

Vulnerability in Christian Leadership

But what about the Church, particularly us as leaders within it? Are we listening (not necessarily to Brown but to this idea of vulnerability)? One would correctly argue that the Church has a different goal than the world. As the Westminster Shorter Catechism clearly states: “What is the chief end of man? To glorify God and to enjoy Him forever.”

So, we know that the “right answer” for Christians is not about succeeding or failing (or even “showing up”) but rather to “glorify God.” However, if we’re honest, the idea of glorifying God rarely allows for anything close to what one would consider “vulnerability,” let alone “failure.”

Ministry ventures that deliver “lackluster” results are often judged to be “lacking proper planning and faith” or being “outside of God’s will.” A change of direction in ministry without “logical reasoning” can also be suspect. However, might the result of those ministries’ be precisely what God had planned? Is there a possibility that those ministries fall perfectly within His will?

Peter – A Portrait in Vulnerability

In Matthew 14, we see the famous story of Peter walking on water. It began with the disciples in a boat as a storm started to form. Jesus had sent them off without Him, and then, early in the morning, He came walking across the water. They were frightened, thinking Him a ghost.

Jesus comforted them, saying, “Don’t be afraid. Take courage. I am here!”

It was only Peter who responded: “Lord if it’s really you, tell me to come to you, walking on the water.”

In this passage, Peter’s “impulsiveness” is often made to be the focus despite the text speaking to the contrary. In reality, Peter demonstrated healthy caution (“If it’s really you”) coupled with submission shown in words (“Lord”) and actions, all with a willingness to wait on Jesus’ command (“tell me to come to you”).

It really was the Lord, and He did call Peter out. How frightening and exciting that must have been!

If Jesus had answered, “No, stay there!”, before Peter jumped out of the boat, those who remain critical of Peter’s impulsiveness might have grounds to criticize. Peter didn’t act impulsively, but instead, was merely obedient. Jesus called, and he came.

The story goes on to say how Peter saw the crashing waves and was understandably terrified, and began to sink. Thankfully, Jesus didn’t abandon him to sink completely. Peter cried out, “Save me, Lord!” And Jesus reached out and grabbed him.

Walking on Water is Not the Goal

There are many great things to observe and learn from this passage. But it is the oft over-looked conclusion of this story that may be the most critical point in the entire narrative.

“When they climbed back into the boat, the wind stopped. Then the disciples worshiped him. ‘You really are the Son of God!’ they exclaimed.”

They saw that it was Jesus and worshiped Him!

Look at what happened here:

Peter demonstrated supernatural discernment: He recognized it was the Lord when the others were afraid, thinking He was a ghost. However, that didn’t convince those in the boat that it was indeed Jesus.

Bold declarations of submission to Jesus’ Lordship and willingness to bravely obey any command (“LORD – call me out!”) didn’t cause those in the boat to worship.

A definitive “call from the Lord” on Peter’s life still didn’t make the others in the boat realize who it was out there on the water.

Even Peter’s ability (albeit short-lived) to perform a supernatural manifestation (walking on water) had no positive impact on those in the boat.

It was when Peter began to sink, and Jesus rescued him, that those in the boat finally recognized that it was the Lord. Each one of those former fishermen had likely gone overboard at one time or another, but none of them had ever been able to save themselves. It was in Peter’s attempt to be obedient that the common weakness of his humanity revealed the strength of Jesus’ divinity. Only then was Jesus seen and worshiped by those still in the boat. To put it plainly, Peter’s “not being completely up to the task” showed how much Jesus was.

Long before He called Peter out, Jesus knew that Peter would begin to sink. From the start, Peter was insufficient for the call, but Jesus wasn’t. And He called Peter out anyway, just as Jesus has called many of us out.

Afraid of Vulnerability

Among those who strive to serve the Lord wholeheartedly, fully aware of our weaknesses, there is comfort in understanding that we are not expected to walk on water or be perfect. We know this. We remind ourselves of the truths in scripture such as, “we have this treasure in jars of clay.” So often, however, we work hard not to let any cracks in our “ministry pots” show. Like Instagram influencers setting up for a selfie, we’re sure to display only our “best side” in ministry, lest any perceived weakness or vulnerabilities show.

And this is understandable because Brown’s research overwhelmingly reveals that people equate vulnerability to weakness. In actuality, vulnerability is simply the potential for weakness. Brown’s study also showed that both acknowledging and walking into vulnerability was the most effective way to prevent mistakes and combat weaknesses. For believers, this should sound familiar, reinforcing what we accept as true; that “His strength is made perfect in weakness.”

Brown goes on to assert, “When we pretend that we can avoid vulnerability, we engage in behaviors that are often inconsistent with who we want to be.” And yet, even as Christians, so often we do exactly that; we run away from vulnerability and straight into behavior that is principally opposed to who we are and what we believe.

Because being vulnerable is frightening. Walking out on the water means we might start to sink. So, missionaries carefully craft newsletters to put the right spin on projects that didn’t turn out as planned. Photos are cropped to show a full hall, not empty chairs. Pastors stay in the pulpit even when they begin to sense a call to a different field. Changes in ministry direction are filed under the heading, “Well, we all miss God’s will sometimes.” Everything from tightly scheduled events going off schedule, to sparse turnout, to our programs, to less than “smooth operation” of our churches, you name it. And the critics send us into a tailspin of blame (self-directed more often than not), as well as doubt and depression.

So somewhere along the line, a few things begin to happen. We’re already following Jesus. We’re even gotten into the boat when so many stayed on the shore. But we can’t see everything clearly, and we begin to get frightened. So, we stop asking Jesus to call us out further. Or we don’t step out when He does call. Even if we do step out, instead of enjoying the thrill of obedience, walking with Him into the impossible, we’re preoccupied with not sinking. And when we do start to sink (as He knew we would before He even called us out), we work on damage control for those who might have seen us go under.

Jesus already knew what would happen when He called out to Peter, yet He called him out anyway. In the same way, He knows where and when we will start to sink, but He calls us out nonetheless. Why? Because God’s ultimate goal for us is not to walk on water. God’s ultimate goal (and therefore ours, too!) is that others would see Jesus and worship Him, using whatever it takes.

Embracing Vulnerability

George Markey, the founding pastor of the CC work in Ukraine, used to say, “Where we admit that we are weak, there God will be our strength. But where we try to be strong by ourselves, there God will be weak in our lives.”

This concept is made most explicit in Jesus’ life. The vulnerability that allowed Him to be tortured and crucified must have seemed like a failure to many looking on. But when God raised Jesus – fully man, dead in the weakness of human flesh – to new life, all of Creation saw Jesus, the resurrected Messiah, and worshiped Him. Showing the weakness of His humanity highlighted the strength of His divinity.

God does not ask us to be vulnerable because He delights in embarrassing us. Nothing could be farther from the truth! Rather, God’s great desire is to take us into His presence, beyond the fear of our limitations, and into the freedom of His limitless love! He invites us to be crucified with Him “in order that we too might walk in newness of life!” Vulnerability leads us to die to our sense of control, our pride, our fears and into the safety of His love. God wants us to know the power that comes when “perfect love casts out all fear.” God called His own Son to walk as a man, in ultimate vulnerability, so that Jesus might be the perfect demonstration of God’s perfect love. Jesus became vulnerable for love’s sake, and it’s for love’s sake that God calls us to vulnerability as well.

Stepping Out of the Boat

Peter stepped out. Peter made himself vulnerable, and he attempted to do what God was calling Him to do. Peter understood something that Pastor Paul Billings has said so well: “The truth is, if we don’t attempt, then we have already failed. The absence of failure is not ‘success.’ I wonder how many of us feel that we are succeeding in what God wants for us just because we aren’t experiencing failure. I would suggest that if you aren’t experiencing failure at times, then you probably aren’t attempting much.”

So, there’s Peter. He was bold, but he was also cautious. Peter waited on Jesus’ call and obeyed. He was also human, and he sank in the waves when he doubted. But he stepped out! Jesus taught him through this. More importantly, when Jesus rescued Peter out of his “human-ness,” others watching recognized that Jesus was the Savior, and they worshiped Him. Peter knew the love of his Savior. It was that love that spurred him headlong into some of the most vulnerable places of obedience.

Similarly, may we understand the love of our Savior, who modeled vulnerability to the point of death for us. May we also be willing to embrace vulnerability at His bidding; because it’s then that Jesus is revealed. And those who are watching will worship Him.

What is the Lord building in your life right now?

The Lord is always working in our lives. We might know about two or three of the things He is doing with us, but in fact, there are thousands of areas He is working in us, minute by minute, that we don’t even know about. “It is He who works in us both to will and to do for His good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13).

So I ask again, what is the Lord building in your life right now? Think about it for a minute.

Is He building perseverance, patience, faith, trust, peace, relationships, faithfulness…? We know the areas God is moving in our situation. Whenever God is leading us toward growth or a new calling or season, there is always a temptation to try to do it in our own strength. But God knows it must be His work, not ours; it must be a work of the Holy Spirit.

In Zechariah chapter four, we read about a vision that came to Zechariah about Zerubbabel. Zerubbabel was the civil leader of Israel in the time after the Babylonian exile. He was engaged in rebuilding the temple after the people had returned home. It was a huge undertaking, and there was much opposition from the surrounding peoples. God sent this word to Zerubbabel through the prophet Zechariah in chapter four, verse six, He says, “Not by might, nor by power, but by My spirit, says the Lord Almighty.”

What is the Lord building in your life?

What are the areas He is knocking on, wanting to come in with His spirit and bring order? Where are you trying so hard in your own strength, to no avail? The Lord wants to remind you today that it is not your work; you don’t have to do it. All you have to do is let His spirit in; don’t resist Him. He is the one who will complete the good work in you and bring order to the chaos you are experiencing in certain areas of your life.

When we let God’s spirit in, to do the building in our lives then, it is just like God spoke to Zechariah in the next verse of chapter four. Verse seven says, “What are you, oh mighty mountain, before Zerubbabel you will be level ground.”

You see, as Zerubbabel understood, the building of the temple was not by his might or power, but by the spirit; as he invited God’s spirit to do the building work, then all opposition (the great mountain) became level. No opposition can remain in the path of God’s Holy Spirit.

What are the mountains in your life that seem so great, so impossible, so insurmountable?

I would encourage you to remember the word of the Lord. Your might, your power, your intellect, your niceness, your effort, your desperation are simply not enough to overcome, but if you will hand the work over to the Holy Spirit, He will bring order and peace to your situation. He will build the ruins of your life, just as He empowered Zerubbabel to rebuild the temple.

God goes onto say in verse nine, “The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundations of this temple; His hands will complete it.” God was encouraging Zerubbabel that the work would not drag on hopelessly with no end in sight. No, he was telling Zerubbabel that He would see the work completed. What are those areas in your life that feel so hopeless, where you feel you’ll never see an end to it, never see it finished? Well, the Lord is encouraging you today, that by the power of the Holy Spirit, you will see an end to the struggle; it will not always be like this. “He who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it!” (Philippians 1:6).

Today, it may feel like you’ve barely even taken the first step up what seems like a looming mountain of fear. Perhaps you feel you haven’t even taken the first step, you’re just living perpetually in the shadow of your mountain of impossibility; well, here in verse 10 God says, “who despises the day of small beginnings?” Maybe inviting the Holy Spirit into work on your mountain seems like a very small beginning, but remember, you should not despise this. This is the first step up the mountain. God’s Holy Spirit will do such beautiful work in you, you will see His goodness transforming your life, “with God all things are possible” (Matthew 19:26).

You can’t do it on your own.

You are not up to the task, but it is not by your might, not by your power, but by God’s spirit. Hand your hidden areas over to God; give Him your chaos, your ruins, your mess. His Holy Spirit will do the work that you can’t do on your own.

And remember, when the work is done, all we can say is “to God be the glory; great things He has done,” because we know we didn’t do it ourselves.

One question I am sometimes asked is how a person can know what their “calling” in life is. Some of the Protestant Reformers had a particular view on this topic which is helpful for us in how we think about “calling” in our lives.

The words “occupation,” “job” and “vocation” are used more or less interchangeably by people today.

“Vocational training,” for example, refers to training specific to a particular line of work. However, for the Reformers, the word “vocation” had a distinct meaning.

The word vocation comes from the Latin word vocare, literally: “calling.”

For the Reformers, to speak of work as vocation, reflected their view that “secular” work is actually a calling from God to do his work in the world and to love your neighbor by serving them in practical ways.

This was in contrast to the view which was held by the medieval Roman Catholic Church, which made a strong distinction between sacred and secular realms of life, the sacred realm being reserved for things directly related to religious or church work, and the secular realm being that of all non-church-related activity. This view, however, is still very common – and the language of “secular” vs “sacred” is still very prominent. Think about all the times you have heard people talk about “secular music” as opposed to “Christian music,” or if you have heard people talk about “secular jobs” as opposed to “ministry.”

To this, Luther wrote:

“What seem to be secular works are actually the praise of God and represent an obedience which is well-pleasing to him.’ Housework may have ‘no obvious appearance of holiness, yet those household chores are to be more valued than all the works of monks and nuns.’” (From Luther’s commentary on Genesis)

To the person struggling to find their calling, Luther might have responded, “Are you a husband or a wife? Are you a mother or a father, a child or an employee?” (See Colossians 3:17-24)

The Reformers would have pushed back against the concept of “finding your calling.” Your calling, they would have said, is not something mysterious or difficult to discern. It is the current circumstances of your life. If you are a mother, then your calling is to be a mother. If you are an office worker, then it is to be an office worker. There is a freedom to change what you do, but whatever you do, you are to view it as a calling from God to serve Him by serving your neighbor in that context. This is not to diminish the fact that God does call some people into “vocational ministry,” but rather to elevate the value of work done outside the church realm as genuine callings, which can be done as ministry: being God’s instrument to accomplish His work in the world.

Martin Luther used this example:

“Jesus instructed his disciples to pray: ‘Give us this day our daily bread.’ Consider how many people and jobs are involved in God answering that one prayer: there is a farmer who plants and waters and harvests grain. There’s a miller, who grinds the grain into flour. There’s someone who produces oil. There’s someone who transports the materials. There’s a baker. There is a grocer who sells the bread. All of these people, as they do their jobs, are contributing to the answering of this prayer: ‘Give us this day our daily bread.’”

He went on to point out that Psalm 147 says that God is the one who strengthens and protects a city, and yet this work is done through lawmakers and first responders.

What transforms a job into a calling is faith.

By faith, we see our daily activities as tasks given to us by God to be done for His glory and for the benefit of others.

By these criteria, we can also determine which jobs are not worth doing. If you do not believe that what you are doing is honoring God or contributing to the flourishing of other people, or if the way you make your money is actually detrimental to others, then the right thing to do might be to find another job.

This principle should not be taken to mean that you must not leave your job if, for example, the working climate or culture is unhealthy, or if you would simply like to pursue another career. It simply means that you ought to view whatever you do as a way to glorify God and do His work in the world by serving others.

“And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother and fell down and worshiped Him” (Matthew 2:11).

The Magi did what they told Herod they’d come to do. They had not come to worship him, the old king. They had come to worship the “New King.” So when they saw Jesus, they fell down before Him in adoration. They worshiped Him as God and King.

Everyone knows about the gifts they brought, but before they presented gold, frankincense and myrrh, they gave something more meaningful, costly and significant. Honestly, any gift, offering or sacrifice which comes without this, is, to say the least, incomplete and perhaps unacceptable. What did they give first? THEMSELVES!

Perhaps you’ve heard someone say “Christianity isn’t about religion; it’s about relationship.” What’s the difference? Religion can be defined in terms of ritual, ceremony, schedules, symbols and liturgies filled with memorized prayers. But our hearts long for far more. We were created to truly know God as Father, Savior and Friend, and all of that begins with relationship the moment we present ourselves to God.

Oh, easier to toss a coin in an offering box, recite “Our Father” and kneel-sit-stand at just the right time. Too many settle for that ritual. But others won’t be satisfied with anything short of the personal surrender of themselves as a “living sacrifice” to God (Romans 12:1). It’s far more costly than a bag of gold, but that’s where life with God begins.

King David refused to present an offering to God that costed him nothing (2 Samuel 24:24).

God receives the surrender of our will, heart, hopes, like the true treasure it is. It is the very treasure Jesus came searching for.

What will you give Jesus? Start by giving Him YOU.

“There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the division of Abijah. His wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. They were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless. But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and they were both well advance in years” (Luke 1:5-7).

Here begins the brief sighting of another key couple in the Jesus saga: Zacharias and Elizabeth. Their Biblical profile gives us three important details. They were faithful, barren, and they were old.

1) Faithful

They were faithful, righteous, blameless, living by the book. The kind of people you want for neighbors (who you could trust to babysit your kids.)

2) Barren

But they were also barren or childless. In that culture, everyone wanted children. Certainly, they had prayed for children. Zacharias knew how to pray. He was a priest. But God hadn’t given them what they asked for. Decade after decade they prayed, waited and dreamed. But there was never a “baby bump” to giggle over. There would be no baby shower for Elizabeth.

3) Age

Though Zacharias would’ve dedicated countless babies, he had never dedicated his own. Yet, they remained faithful in their service to God in spite of their obvious disappointment and shame (read vs. 25).

Yes, things were about to change for this lovely couple. We’ll see that in the next step of our “Advent Adventure.” But hover here for a while, and see what God saw. This pair was a match made in heaven. They were willing to keep following God’s call, even when they had to carry the burden and pain of disappointment.

We all carry some pain, but disappointment and unfulfilled dreams are some of the heavier burdens.

Thank you, Zacharias & Elizabeth, for teaching me how to keep walking with God, when dreams don’t come true, and for showing us how to be faithful in the long valley of disappointment.

Back in June, I wrote an article on “Why Jordan Peterson Matters,” and why Christians should take notice. My article got pushback from some Christians who — though I’m not sure they thoroughly read it — incredulously questioned why CalvaryChapel.com would run an article on Peterson, or why a pastor (me) would encourage people to listen to or follow such an individual. If one read the article, they would know I didn’t do that. That said, the conversations and feedback I received, and something I’ve heard Peterson say several times, got me thinking. I hope it might do the same for you as well.

In a recent interview on the PBS show “Firing Line with Margaret Hoover,” Peterson was asked a question, the gist of which he’s received many times before.

“I want to ask you about your personal faith. Christians who watch you have listened closely, over the last two years, about whether you self-identify as a Christian or not. … Why not take on this question of the existence of God?”

That is precisely the question that many Christians (and atheists for that matter) would like Peterson to give a concrete answer to. But his response, though not as clear-cut as they’d like, has been consistent for a very long time. And in the “Firing Line” interview, he gave a slightly amplified version.

“It isn’t obvious what belief means. People think that what they believe is what they say they believe. I don’t believe that. I believe that what people believe is what they act out. And so I said, ‘I act as if God exists.’ That’s a sufficient statement as far as I’m concerned. You know, what’s the old saying? ‘By their fruits, ye shall know them.’ Same idea, right? It’s a matter of action and a matter of commitment. It’s not a matter of me parading out my explicit statements about a metaphysical reality that’s virtually impossible to comprehend. You risk when you reduce, and I’m not willing to do that. And I’m not interested in providing people with easy answers.” (emphasis mine)

Don’t Reduce It to a Sound Bite

Immediately before giving that answer, Jordan said, “It’s not something to reduce to a sound bite, fundamentally.” I think there is a lot of truth to that. But that’s exactly what we often desire. We want the simple sound bite. The 240 character or less, tweetable proposition. Whether you’re a Christian or not, we like everything boiled down to broth, when in reality, these meaty issues require something far more substantial.

Unfortunately, our culture has been continuously digesting milk and not solid food for several generations. That is true among Christians, just as it is outside the church. In his 1985 book, Amusing Ourselves To Death, Neil Postman concluded that this was a product of broadcast television. It’s an issue that a preacher in the 1960s hit on when he said:

“And so it wasn’t long until it got to our generation where the whole plan of salvation was to give intellectual assent to a few statements of doctrine, and a person was considered a Christian because he could say, ‘uh-huh’ at four or five places that he was asked to. And if he knew where to say ‘uh-huh’ someone would pat him on the back, shake his hand, smile broadly and say, ‘Brother, you are saved.'”
— Paris Reidhead, Ten Shekels and a Shirt

Have we reduced it all that much? Thankfully, I’m finding that many of the people I interact with want more than mere one-liner propositional platitudes. I’m hopeful they’re not outliers.

More Than Mental Assent

Like it or not, Jordan Peterson’s answer is quite good: “I act as if God exists.” I took note of it the first time I heard him say it, and it has been stuck in my mind ever since.

As the Apostle Paul was testifying before Governor Felix in Acts 24, he said, “I have hope in God, which they themselves also accept, that there will be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and the unjust. This being so, I myself always strive to have a conscience without offense toward God and men.” Paul is effectively saying, “I act as if God exists.” He had hope in God, and in His promised resurrection, which caused Paul to live differently both before God (in whom he trusted) and man. Paul’s testimony is an echo of what James writes in his New Testament Letter.

“But someone will say, ‘You have faith, and I have works.’ Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble! But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead? Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect?” (James 2:18-22).

It is not enough merely to say “uh-huh” to the question, “Do you believe in God?” Belief cannot be a casual mental assent. It must become a conviction, resulting in action. Faith, if it has not works, is dead.

Actions Prove Our True Faith

On a few occasions, I’ve met with “believers” that are actively living in an adulterous relationship. They say they believe in God, but they act as if He were not there. The same is true for the Christian who perpetually looks at pornography. Or cheats on their taxes. Or lies to their spouse. Or lives a prayerless, thankless, anxious, hopeless life. It would be far better for one to act as if God exists than to simply say that they believe in His existence. Or better yet, say that you believe He exists, and let your actions say it too. Let’s not forget, it was Jesus who said, “Why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do the things which I say?” Or the most frightening of Christ’s sayings: “Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!'”

The devastating reality is that many professing believers are, unintentionally, practical atheists. Such practical atheism is one of the realities that make many atheists all-the-more steadfast in their unbelief. It strengthens their unbelief when you say you believe in God and live with little or no regard for His command or glory.

It is because of this that over the last seven to 10 years, I’ve stopped asking people to “believe in Jesus,” but instead to “trust in Him.” That may seem like nuanced semantics to you, I assure you, it’s not. The meaning and value of the word “belief” has diminished in our modern vernacular. “Belief” seems now to connote something of a loose, intellectual acknowledgment of an idea. But “trust” implies a certitude of confidence and conviction, which compels dependence, hope and expectation. When I ask someone to trust in Christ, I’m asking them to entrust themselves to Him and to act in accordance with His resurrected existence.

Life is unexpected. Have you noticed that things often do not turn out the way we think they will, even when we pray? Perhaps you have been praying for a certain friend or loved one, and you have not gotten the answer you had hoped for. Or perhaps you have been praying for a job or a mate, and it has not happened in the timing or the way you would like. Just like the disciples, we often do not get what God is doing. We don’t see the whole picture. Things don’t always turn out the way we think they should.

Jesus told His disciples to ask – to pray about everything.

He told us our Heavenly Father loves to give good gifts to His children. Jesus said, ”Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened” (Matthew 7:7). Sometimes though, our God seems to say “no” or “wait” to our asking and seeking. I have wondered what scripture has to say about these times, and I have found scripture does address these questions in many places.

Perhaps the oldest book of the Bible – Job – is an account of human suffering and records discourse about, and directly to, Almighty God. Job talks to God at length about his suffering and cries out for help and understanding. It is not clear from the text how long Job suffers before God answers, but it is clear that he had to WAIT on God’s timing. In Job’s case, God did eventually answer his prayers very clearly and with a blessed ending, though he would not see his children that had passed – ever again on this side of heaven.

The psalms are one big collection of communication with God through prayer and song.

Very often what we find in them is that God’s answers to prayer come slowly and sometimes very differently to what was expected. I think of Psalm 69 where the psalmist says:

“I sink in deep mire, where there is no standing: I am come into deep waters, where the floods overflow me. I am weary of my crying: my throat is dried: mine eyes fail while I wait for my God” (Psalm 69:2,3)

And I remember again Psalm 27:13,14:

“I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. Wait on the LORD; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; wait, I say, on the LORD!”

I am also reminded of the account of David as he prayed for the healing of his first child with Bathsheba. He fasted and prayed and cried out to God for this child to live, but God did not answer his prayer with a “yes,” (Read the account in 2 Samuel 11 & 12:1-23).

Another more familiar account of an unexpected and very clear “no” in prayer was recorded for us in 2 Corinthians 12 by Paul the apostle. This was a man who had experienced so many supernatural miracles of healing. He had seen a man raised from the dead in response to his prayers (Acts 20:9-12)! And people of Paul’s day only needed to hold a handkerchief of his in faith in order to receive healing (Acts 19:11-12). But we have the account in 2 Corinthians (12:7-10) of a time when his own prayers failed to prevail, in the sense that he did not get a “yes” from God. He shares this account with us:

“Because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me—to keep me from exalting myself! Concerning this I implored the Lord three times that it might leave me. And He has said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.’ Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.”

Paul shares the wisdom he gained from this experience with us. He basically says, “I prayed deliberately three times about this and God said ‘no’ to me,” but he says, “God also showed me that it was for my good.” And Paul says that what he learned from that is that the “no” of God is for our good. God is still at work in our lives, and we can learn to rejoice – even in God’s “no’s,” because God still has our good in mind.

I am comforted by the truth that it’s not just my praying that doesn’t always bring my expectations to pass.

At the end of the day, I know God is God, and I am His. He has the final say in how things turn out. And I know that God is working something much better than I could think of, something “exceedingly abundantly above all I could ask or think” is what He has said (Ephesians 3:20). However, I know I have a very limited viewpoint from this side of eternity. I am unable to see the Big Picture that God has in mind. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 13:12, “For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known.” I know I have to trust God and believe Him for things to come, for the substance of the things yet “unseen” (Hebrews 11:1).

One more example of seemingly unanswered prayer comes to mind in closing. In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus prayed to the Father, “Abba, Father, all things are possible for You. Take this cup away from Me. Nevertheless, not what I will, but what You will” (Mark 14:36) (See also Matthew 26:39; Luke 22:42). And the Father’s response, we know, was NOT to take the cup of suffering, the wrath of God upon the sin of the world, away from Jesus. Jesus HAD to drink that cup, and He willingly did in the will of God. And we thank God that He did! Jesus willingly laid down His life, so that we might take up ours before God for eternity!

I was recently discussing this topic with our son Isaac and was blessed by the thoughts he shared with me. I will conclude with his comments on the subject. He said:

“As I struggle to reconcile with suffering and unanswered prayer, here lies my hope – That God who was faithful to fulfill His promises from the Old Testament in the person of Christ, will surely be faithful to us until the end. Even when we cannot possibly see how our circumstance could be part of God’s redemptive plan, when we can’t explain how a good God would not respond to our plea, we can reflect on how the same was said of Jesus’ sacrifice. Yet, God used the death of His own son to bring about salvation, that we all might become His children.”

Isaac concluded, “I realize that God doesn’t want to just give me gifts. He doesn’t just want me to find Him. He wants to beckon me into His home, so I can know Him intimately and experience His love in full as his child.”

Knowing that is true, I want to continue to press into God. I want to “seek, ask and knock,” because in the process, I will get to know my God better. I may come to know “with all the saints what is the width, length, depth and height” (Ephesians 3:18) of Christ’s love, even through the tough circumstances in my life.

My last article traced an introduction to my experience with panic attacks and this second part closes with further reflections on why I am (unexpectedly) thankful for them. In January of this past year, I took time for my first personal retreat weekend in Cornwall at a stately manor home, with a weekend set aside for reading and reflection in solitude. I have been discovering the richness and joy of the gift of solitude.

I thank God that these panic attacks were a catalyst to allow me to find new ways to listen to God’s voice.

During one of our teaching weeks at St. Mellitus, someone made the comment, “If you cannot hear the voice of God, be encouraged! You are learning to hear Him in new ways.” In the desert places, in the wilderness, in the seeking, in the doubt, I discover the new joy of a faith that has been part of all of my life, and specifically the comfort of the presence of Christ. This doesn’t mean that I have learned spectacular new tricks of hearing God’s voice, but rather that I am seeking God’s presence in ordinary ways, even in my places of pain. As one of the great fathers of the faith wrote, “God cannot guide you in any way that is not Christ-like. Jesus was supreme sanity…God is found most clearly and beneficially in the normal rather than in the abnormal. And Jesus is the Normal, for He is the Norm.”¹

Panic attacks became a plague to my sanity, but Jesus Christ, the great Healer, carried “healing in His wings” (Malachi 4:2) and walked with me, even when I needed to learn to trust Him in new and deeper ways than ever before. I have rediscovered, in the words of John Baillie, that, “…Our knowledge of God rests on the revelation of his personal presence…of such a presence it must be true that to those who have never been confronted with it an argument is useless, whilst to those who have, it is superfluous.”² Before my panic attacks, I was convinced of God’s ability to speak. After my panic attacks and learning to attune to His voice and presence in new ways, I am more convinced than ever of His care and authority in my life.

I thank God that living through my panic attacks has given me a deeper compassion for those struggling with mental health and a gentleness in approaching the conversations around the way our mental, emotional, physical and spiritual lives are interlinked. According to the BBC and the annual health survey for England, “One in four adults has been diagnosed with a mental illness at some stage during their lifetime.”³

Despite the prevalence of this struggle, the topic of mental health and mental illness still feels taboo in much of Christian culture.

I mentioned earlier that I posted about my panic attacks publicly on Facebook (which you can view below). That post, on World Mental Health Day, gathered 600+ responses, 300+ comments, 45 shares, and many responding with their own stories of panic, anxiety, PTSD, shame, fear and heartache. The opportunity to explore these questions publicly has given me the space to seek healing personally and learn with friends. As Brene Brown writes:

“Owning our story can be hard but not nearly as difficult as spending our lives running from it. Embracing our vulnerabilities is risky but not nearly as dangerous as giving up on love and belonging and joy—the experiences that make us the most vulnerable. Only when we are brave enough to explore the darkness will we discover the infinite power of light.”⁵

As in so many other spaces of my life, my companions on the journey of pain have spoken grace, truth and light over my struggles.

And finally, I thank God for my panic attacks because they give me an expectation, a confidence, a hope that my God is still the One who brings beauty from ashes (Isaiah 61:1).

My panic attacks drew me closer to the love and person of Jesus Christ.

These struggles enable me to say with clarity, “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28). Through our Spirituality module, we have explored a wide variety of Christian traditions and experience. One reading asked this question, “In short, does Jesus shed light on all aspects of human existence, or only those that have traditionally been associated with Christian spirituality?”⁵ It is a good and necessary question.

To ask it another way, does Jesus have something to say in and through my panic attacks? Is there space for this vocabulary within the breadth of Christian spirituality? Six months later, I can state with resounding confidence: Yes. Not only has Christ been present and brought help, healing and beauty to even the place of great pain and fear, but I have joined the companionship of the missionaries like Studd, the early desert mothers and fathers, the gentle St. Francis of Assisi, the modern Richard Foster to say, quite simply, that Jesus is my portion.

In light of these things, it is appropriate that I am in a continuing teaching and learning study at my home church, Tubestation, titled, Ancient and Awesome, drawing heavily from the classic book, Celebration of Discipline, by Richard Foster. Alongside my church family, I am rediscovering the joy of solitude, the depths of fasting, the intimacy of meditation, the freedom of submission. Like St. Francis, I am discovering that, “Christ wants you to go about in the world preaching, because God did not call you for yourself alone, but also for the salvation of others.”⁶ My journey of learning is far from finished, but my reflections have already proved valuable for the lives of many loved friends. I pray I continue to be brave enough to look at my own places of pain, darkness, panic, fear, distraction and mental health as spaces to invite a God who loves me to reveal more of Himself, even in my weaknesses.

¹ E. Stanley Jones, The Way (Nashville: Abingdon/Cokesbury, 1946), 283.
² John Baillie, Our Knowledge of God (New York: Charles Scribner’s, 1959), 132.³ https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-3…
⁴ Brene Brown, The Gifts of Imperfection (Center City: Hazelden, 2010), 6.
⁵ Marc Cortez, Christological Anthropology in Historical Perspective (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2016), 22.
⁶ Richard Foster, Celebration of Discipline, (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1989), 223.