In reading MacDonald’s writings, I would describe their primary characteristic as pictures of the love of God. He writes, “Everywhere is God. The earth underneath us is his hand upholding us; the waters are in the hollow of it. Every spring-fountain of gladness about us is his making and his delight. He tends us and cares for us; he is close to us, breathing into our nostrils the breath of life, and breathing into our spirit thoughts that make us look up and recognize the love and care around us.” It is said that when he was first taught the doctrine of unconditional election, he wept, even though assured that he was one of the elect. It offended his perception of God’s love.

Unfortunately, in defending God’s love, he swung to the opposite conclusion: That no one would be eternally damned. What then was the fire of hell for? McDonald writes, “Salvation is a process of evolution toward Christ-likeness.The wrath will consume what they call themselves; so that the selves God made shall appear.” What was the purpose of the cross? For Macdonald, it was the epicenter of a great battle in which Christ destroyed the “disease of cosmic evil,” the cause of sin. "Did he not foil and slay evil by letting all the waves and billows of its horrid sea break upon him, go over him, and die without rebound—spend their rage, fall defeated, and cease?” His view of the cross was a saving from sin but not from the penalty for sin. The cross did not appease the wrath of a holy God or satisfy a judgment. His erroneous doctrine violates the plain reading of scripture in two ways: First, by denying that Christ’s death was substitutionary, one must also deny man’s guilt before God. Secondly, by denying the reality and eternality of hell, one must also deny God’s justness. The sum of these two errors makes pointless the sacrifice of Christ. Why go to the cross if there is no penalty? Why pay the penalty if there is no punishment?

I’ll cover each of these individually, but for now I want to point out this most pitiable fact; that George MacDonald, a man infatuated with the love of God, missed the greatest example of love that was ever illustrated to mankind.

Isaiah 53:5 – But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed.

1 John 4:10 -  In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation [satisfying sacrifice] for our sins.

His error is that he substituted man’s thoughts for God’s Word. He reasoned emotionally and did not accept the plain scriptures. MacDonald wrote that men corrupt God’s message when they do not “interpret the great heart of God… by their own hearts.” There is his error. “The heart is deceitful above all things… Who can know it?” (Jeremiah 17:9)

Like I said, the newspapers talking about evolution versus creationism is very much an attack on science as a type of religion—believing that the scientific method is some type of religious belief. And it’s not! That kind of attack absolutely is damaging science exploration across the whole country. I do think that’s a significant problem. And until we can get our head out of the sand and realize that science isn’t about truth—…

While Adam is a proponent of molecules-to-man evolution, he makes a couple of good points in this quote. He says that the scientific method isn’t “some type of religious belief.” He’s right, too. The scientific method (which is limited to operational science and cannot operate experientially in the area of origins) is a tool. Even so, religious belief does factor into the scientific method.  Religious belief is the bias that inherently determines how one interprets the results of the scientific method. These results can provide evidence for vastly different presumptions, whether they be of supernatural creation or or evolutionary naturalism. The problem is that evolutionary naturalism is a religion, a dogma as faith based as any religion. Consider this statement that the famous evolutionist Theodosius Dobzhansky quoted in The American Biology Teacher journal: “Evolution is a light which illuminates all facts, a trajectory which all lines of thought must follow.” Or Michael Dini of Texas Tech University, who refused to give letters of recommendation to students who would not verbally proclaim factuality of evolution. Which brings one to the second part of Adam’s quote.

The second part of the quote, “science isn’t about truth,” is likewise correct. This doesn’t make science useless; far from it!The results of scientific endeavors have greatly benefited the quality of our lives. The point of facts is that scientists don’t know everything, and therefore science deals in theories, both weak and strong, but never in facts, and no matter how strong a theory is, it is always subject to change. Consider the following exchange:

Naturalist: Creation is not science because a creationist’s views were set by the Bible and, therefore, are not subject to change.

Creationist: The reason scientific theories change is because we don’t know everything, isn’t it? We don’t have all the evidence.

Naturalist: Yes, that’s right.

Creationist:But, we will never know everything.

Naturalist: That’s true.

Creationist: We will always continue to find new evidence.

Naturalist: Quite correct.

Creationist: That means we can’t be sure about anything.

Naturalist: Right.

Creationist: That means we can’t be sure about evolution.

Naturalist: Oh, no! Evolution is a fact!

The fact is that science and the scientific method cannot confirm our origins for either creationist or evolutionary naturalist. All it can do affirm what we already believe. For the Christian, that belief is based on the authority of the scriptures and the eye witness account of creation contained therein. For an evolutionary naturalist, there is only the belief that no supernatural force exists… for science does not tell truth.

I finally and irrevocably cast out the pretend demon god that controlled my mind. I am discovering life without the surveillance cameras that were implanted in my brain at a very young age. For in him, I NO LONGER live and move and have my being. I AM FREE!

My brain belongs to me!

For the first time in my life; my heart, mind, thoughts, acts, vision, passion, strength, weakness, virtue, failure, limits and talent all belong to me.

TO ME!

It is all mine!

MINE, MINE, MINE, MINE, MINE, MINE!

This strikes a chord with me because, in the past, I pondered becoming an atheist for the same reasons that this lady expresses. It just seemed like freedom. I could do everything I ever wanted to do. I could create that long term art project I’ve always wanted to do. I could sleep in on Sundays. I could stay in the military. All the things that I put aside for the sake of the World After this World, I could pick up again. No more evangelizing, no more Bible reading, no more quiet time, no more scripture memorization, no more restrictive moral compass. I could engage in baser behavior, curse, look at pornography, watch any movie I wanted, all without guilt.

Interestingly, there were a couple of caveats. I would have to become more crafty and conniving… I new that in a world where I was in control, everyone else was too, and my idea of morality might not apply to anyone else. Why be meek when the best way to get what you want is to force it? If everyone else played that game, I’d have to play it as well. The other point was that I never actually thought about not believing in God, I merely wanted to de-personalize him, reduce him to something abstract and unknowable. He could exist as long as he didn’t tell me what to do. [Some might say that this qualifies my thoughts as agnostic and not atheistic, but since it is impossible to prove the non-existence of  a supreme being, I do not believe that a philosophically viable form of atheism that pure is attainable.]   

For me, the ultimate end of atheism was to be my own god, deciding for myself what was right and wrong, good for me or bad for me. In Genesis 3:1,5 we see this desire expressed by the serpent: “He said to the woman, ‘Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden? For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God…’"

But here is the problem.

“You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God… I will make myself like the Most High.’ But you are brought down to the grave, to the depths of the pit.” (Isaiah 14:13-15)

It just doesn’t work forever. If you manage to get everything you want, it’s still so temporary. I’m halfway to decay. And after that, what? I had a professor tell me once, “I hope that if there’s a good place, I go to it, and if there’s a bad place, I don’t, but I don’t think there’s anything after death.” I’m not satisfied with a purposeless, self-gratifying existence, one dominated by “MINE, MINE, MINE, MINE,” for (hopefully) 75 years or so, and then nothing. But even worse, if the biblical God is a reality, the grave is the beginning of eternity. For those who reject Jesus Christ, a never-forever life, all to one’s self, for those who accept His Gift, an ever-forever life, all to Him.

I’d like to point out that I like RBC Ministries and that “Our Daily Bread” has been a real blessing to me. I’m not addressing the ministry as a whole, just this particular article. 

The literature was titled “Emerging Churches.” In it, Mart points out the pros and cons of the emergent movement. He closes with a plea:

Whether in emerging or traditional evangelical churches, all of us have our blind spots. Only when we are willing to listen to one another, and to come to terms with the downside of our own way of “doing church,” will we have the humility and spiritual sobriety we need to work for, rather than against, the body of Christ we share.

I agree that different churches have different ways of “doing church,” but I don’t want to fall into the trap of making excuses for bad doctrine, either. Mart uses the Seven Churches of Revelation 2 and 3 as an example of church issues and after citing their various problems, he states:

In each case, the Lord encouraged them to look at Him, as a way of seeing themselves, and then work to come to terms with the problems that were threatening their ability to represent Him.

But what if the seven churches had been doing the equivalent of writing books, posting Internet articles, and adding to the rumor mill about the problems of the other “six.” What if they had been calling attention to the failures of one another as if there were not serious issues with themselves?

So it is today.

Mart writes in a blog comment on his post that “the ‘elders’ who are doing the confronting and correcting need to do so with the attitudes of Christ…” But a reading of Revelation  two and three will indicate just what the attitude of Christ really was when doctrine was corrupted:

Revelation 2:14-16 – But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication. So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate. Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.

Revelation 2:24 – Now to you I say, and to the rest in Thyatira, as many as do not have this doctrine, who have not known the depths of Satan, as they say, I will put on you no other burden.

Revelation 3:19 – As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent.

In his defense, Mart does say that “if someone within any church, either traditional evangelical or emerging, denies that the Bible is the Word of God or that Jesus, who died and rose for us, is the only way to God, they are denying foundational truths of following Jesus and need to be confronted in the appropriate manner.” On the individual level, if you know someone struggling with or questioning core biblical truths, a loving and measured response will go a long way toward resolving their problem. But a response in needed.

Jude 3 – Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints.

Last note: While doing a little searching, I found an Christian research organization that charges RBC with allowing references of books written by proponents  of “contemplative spirituality” to be placed in RBC’s publications. Lighthouse Trails Research defines “contemplative spirituality” as:

A belief system that uses ancient mystical practices to induce altered states of consciousness (the silence) and is rooted in mysticism and the occult but often wrapped in Christian terminology. The premise of contemplative spirituality is pantheistic (God is all) and panentheistic (God is in all).

You can find the article here.

The survey shows that:

30 percent overall admitted stealing from a store within the past year.  In 2006 the overall theft rate was 28 percent.

More than two of five (42 percent) said that they sometimes lie to save money. More than eight in ten students (83 percent) confessed they lied to a parent about something significant.

Cheating in school continues to be rampant and it’s getting worse. A substantial majority (64 percent) cheated on a test during the past year (38 percent did so two or more times), up from 60 percent and 35 percent, respectively, in 2006.

(Ok, I need to change the quote color in my theme, it needs more contrast.)

This survey represents the people who are going to be our CEO’s, governors, and other leaders in the coming 10 to 15 years.

Really though, the most startling facet of the survey  was the closing statements:

As bad as these numbers are, it appears they understate the level of dishonesty exhibited by America’s youth. More than one in four (26 percent) confessed they lied on at least one or two questions on the survey. Experts agree that dishonesty on surveys usually is an attempt to conceal misconduct.

Despite these high levels of dishonesty, the respondents have a high self-image when it comes to ethics. A whopping 93 percent said they were satisfied with their personal ethics and character and 77 percent said that when it comes to doing what is right, I am better than most people I know.

Two Biblical references come to mind:

2Timothy 3:1-5a
But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power.

Luke 18:10-14
“Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other men–extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.’ And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me a sinner!’ I tell you, this man [the publican] went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Comments?

“He [God] has sent Me to heal the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and to recover the sight of the blind; To set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD.”

He tells the Jews that the passage refers to Him. “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” When the Pharisees hear this they get pretty upset. Jesus responds that no amount of signs would convince them, and says, “no prophet is accepted in his own country.” He illustrates this fact with the following: In time of great unfaithfulness, God sent Elijah to Zaraphath, a widow of Sidon, and He sent Elisha to cleanse Naaman, the Syrian general, of leprosy.

The Jews get so angry they try to throw Christ off a cliff. Why? Because the Lord Jesus was telling the Pharisees that they were esteemed less than not just Gentiles, but also widows and lepers.

Jewish men had a prayer that they would pray daily. It said, “Blessed art thou, O God, for not making me a Gentile, slave, or woman.” The beautiful picture in this passage of Luke is that Christ came to break down this wall of separation. Everyone would have access to His grace; the women who were previously not allowed to worship, the gentiles who were not of the chosen people, the lepers who where cast out of the camp, the slaves who had no rights. “To set at liberty!”

Paul highlights this doctrine in Galations 3:28:

“There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” This isn’t a statement of rank or leadership position, but a picture of the universal offer of grace to all humankind.

Praise the Lord that in this age He has extended to us all the grace once reserved for His chosen people, and made us heirs and priests of God.
-T.A.

He came, out from God, a gift from the Father’s heart. Descending from the throne high and lifted up, He laid aside the garments of His majesty. The train of that robe of light filled the heavenly sanctuary with its radiance. Stepping down from the infinities of uncreated light, He passed through the creature realms of wondering angels, taking nothing of them. Still downward He came to one of the billions of His galaxies which He Himself had made. There His destination hung, a speck of sunlit stardust, so insignificant among gigantic suns and island universes that only He could find it, for in the eternal purposes of love and grace He had placed it there as a paradise for His creature man.

He arrived on the dark side of the planet, for it was night where He appeared. Yet that darkness must give way and bow to the Effulgence of God. The night sky blazed with glory. A multitude of angels heralded God’s praise in the heavens and man’s privilege and prospects on earth. Blessed creatures indeed all they of the human race! The Son of God had come to earth to bring heaven into their hearts and them into heaven at last. Though full well He knew the price His love would pay to make it so.

What a story of the glory of God on earth, walking, working, weeping, among His creatures. Oh, how they would welcome this visitor of love and sweetness to this sordid world of tears and pain that man had made out of the paradise of God! Ah, sad and shameful is the record. He came, but there was no room for Him. They wanted His bread in their mouths but not His beneficent rule in their hearts. They wanted His healing powers but not His holy claims. They were filled with wonder at His grace but filled with wrath at His truth.

At last, their hatred exceeded. They must find Him and destroy Him. His radiance had exposed their sins. Their insect consciences scurried for cover. They mocked at His meekness and scorned His compassion for sinners. They had made their decision. The darkness they loved and therefore the light they must extinguish.

Gethsemane! So they found Him at the garden of the oil press . . . on the dark side of the planet. In the night He had prayed in agony till His sweat like great blooddrops fell to the ground. He had seen what none else but God could see. He had surveyed “the place afar off” where none else but He would go, and He bowed to the Father’s will. He stood before their rabble mob, Holiness personified.

Love was His banner and compassion the beating of His heart, even for those who hated Him without a cause. His body bathed in the sweat of His anguish and the traitor’s kiss still wet upon His cheek, they led Him away to the judgment of men.

Gabbatha! The soldiers gathered round in raucous glee. “A King?” they mocked, “Then anoint Him” and they spat in His lovely face. “A King? Then give Him a robe,” and they threw around His bleeding back a soldier’s cloak. “A King? Then give Him a staff of authority” and they put a brittle reed into His hand. “A King? Then give Him a crown” and they pressed a crown of thorns upon His blessed brow. “A King? Then He must have a throne,” and they took Him to Golgotha. There they nailed Him through His hands and feet to the only throne men ever gave Him.

Yet out of this race of sinners they have come by the millions. From habitations of cruelty and homes of respectability, from hell-holes of ignorance and halls of learning. Still they come! His cross, His suffering love, has won their hearts. His beauty has captured their affections. He is to them the Altogether Lovely One. They are His and He is theirs by eternal decree. Is it any wonder that, by faith, they gather around Him week by week and show forth His death, remembering with sweetest sadness the giving of His body and the shedding of His precious blood and looking forward “till He come”?

They shall be satisfied with the fatness of Your house; and You shall make them drink of the river of Your pleasures.

For with You is the fountain of life; in Your light we shall see light.

O continue Your loving-kindness to those who know You, and Your righteousness to the upright in heart.”

Ps. 36:7-10

“The fear of the LORD is to hate evil; Pride and arrogance and the evil way And the perverted mouth, I hate.”

Prov. 8:13

Self-righteousness is very hypocritical. While it makes you increasingly aware of other’s short-comings, it blinds you to the fact of your own sinful ways. We tend to become calloused to our own sin. We aren’t looking for areas in our life that are dishonouring to God because we aren’t even aware that it exists! Oh, we know that we sin everyday, but we lose the sinfulness of sin. It’s no wonder that God hates the sin of pride, it “renders men unwilling to hear his humbling, awakening, holy instructions,” as Matthew Henry puts it.

“There is the burden of pride. The labor of self-love is a heavy one indeed. Think for yourself whether much of your sorrow has not arisen from someone speaking slightingly of you. As long as you set yourself up as a little god to which you must be loyal there will be those who will delight to offer affront to your idol. How then can you hope to have inward peace? The heart’s fierce effort to protect itself from every slight, to shield its touchy honor from the bad opinion of friend and enemy, will never let the mind have rest. Continue this fight through the years and the burden will become intolerable. Yet the sons of the earth are carrying this burden continually, challenging every spoken word against them, cringing under every criticism, smarting under each fancied slight, tossing sleepless if another is preferred before them.

“Such a burden as this is not necessary to bear. Jesus calls us to rest, and meekness is His method. The meek man cares not at all who is greater than he, for he has long ago decided that the esteem of the world is not worth the effort. He develops toward himself a kindly sense of humor and learns to say, ‘Oh, so you have been overlooked? They have placed someone else before you? They have whispered that you are pretty small stuff after all? And now you feel hurt because the world is saying about you the very things you have been saying about yourself? Only yesterday you were telling God that you were nothing, a mere worm of dust. Where is your consistency? Come on, humble yourself, and cease to care what men think.’”

“The meek man is not a human mouse afflicted with a sense of his own inferiority. Rather he may be in his moral life as bold as a lion and strong as Samson; but he has stopped being fooled about himself. He has accepted God’s estimate of his own life. He knows he is as weak and helpless as God has declared him to be, but paradoxically, he knows at the same time that he is in the sight of God of more importance than angels. In himself, nothing; in God, everything. That is his motto. He knows well that the world will never see him as God sees him and he has stopped caring. He rests perfectly content to allow God to place His own values.”

“In the meantime he will have attained a place of soul rest. As he walks on in meekness he will be happy to let God defend him. The old struggle to defend himself is over. He has found the peace which meekness brings.” The Pursuit of God-A.W. Tozer

I know that was a really long excerpt, but it’s very challenging to my own heart. I need to remember that I am nothing without Christ. Christ needs to be seen, not me. There is also the need in the church to let others see the real us; the faults, heartbreaks and pain, struggles and victories. We shouldn’t pretend that we are ‘perfect’ Christians. Hello, we aren’t! Yes, be wise in who you allow to see the depths of your heart, but let others see the real you, flaws and all. Yes, it’s hard to admit when we’ve messed up, but God calls us to humble ourselves and confess our sin to one another. When we let this be our practice, we cultivate a deeper love for God and for each other.

We should grow in love for one another, bearing each others burdens and building each other up in the Lord. We should cultivate a heart of compassion, for the lost and for the struggling. How can we reach the lost with self-righteousness written all over our faces? We all struggle with our own sinful hearts and satan’s fiery darts. So can we not admit it? Oh, how we need God’s grace to cover and flow through us! May the world see Christ’s bride as a place where they can be honest about their sin, where they see a love for Christ and for one another. May this love compel them to want to know our Saviour.

God is calling me and you out from the pit of self-righteousness. Pride is a lie telling us that we don’t need God or each other and we can depend on ourselves. This is so far from the truth of God’s Word. We are very needy people, needing love, forgiveness, grace, mercy, ect. We need our Shepherd’s loving hand to guide and mold us.

We need to be broken before our loving Father, crying out for His forgiveness and grace. Pray for His eyes of love and His heart of compassion for the lost and for the household of faith. Link arms with fellow believers and dive deep into true fellowship for in this there is true joy!

If I take offense easily;

If I am content to continue in a cool unfriendliness, though friendship be possible,

Then I know nothing of Calvary love.

If I feel injured when another lays to my charge things that I know not,

Forgetting that my Sinless Saviour trod this path to the end,

Then I know nothing of Calvary love.

If I am inconsiderate about the comfort of others, or their feelings,

Or even of their little weaknesses;

If I am careless about their little hurts and miss opportunities to smooth their way;

If I make the sweet running of household wheels more difficult to accomplish,

Then I know nothing of Calvary love.

If I myself dominate myself,

If my thoughts revolve around myself,

If I am so occupied with myself I rarely have ‘a heart at leisure from itself’

Then I know nothing of Calvary love.

A. Carmichael

“O God, I have tasted Thy goodness, and it has both satisfied me and made me thirsty for more. I am painfully conscious of my need of further grace. I am ashamed by my lack of desire. O God, the Triune God, I want to want Thee; I long to be filled with longing; I thirst to be made more thirsty still. Show me Thy glory, I pray Thee, that so I may know Thee indeed. Begin in mercy a new work of love within me. Say to me soul, ‘Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away.’ Then give me grace to rise and follow Thee up from this misty lowland where I have wandered so long. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.” -Tozer

B.Davies

• I know that it forgives when I would not (even myself)
• I know it can cleanse
• I know it can heal
• I know I am in desperate need of it every moment of every day
• I know that it knows me and loves me anyway
• I know I will never understand it
• I know it is higher and wider and deeper than anything else in existence
• I know that when I am unlovely He loves me still
• I know that when I am indulging in sin He loves me still
• I know that when I am not loving Him, when I willingly run to the other side and do the works He came to defeat- He loves me still
• I know there is no height I can ascend or depth I can plunge where He will ever cease to love me
• I know that I change from moment to moment and that His love changes never
• I know there are millions and millions who do not know this love that I take so lightly and often times treat as though it were nothing. This love is everything. It restores me- it makes me who I am- who He wants me to be. Without this love I am naught. I am but a passing piece of dust made flesh living and dying for a moment in this great expanse of time. But with this love, I am lifted from meaningless existence into light and life and eternity. I am extended eternal life in order to more fully comprehend and know the One, the Author of such love.
• I know this is the love I ought to own for others- for the brethren, for the lost.

Oh Lord give to me and make this love flow from you through me- not in my words and intentions only but in my feet, my hands, my mouth. Father please make me to decrease. Get rid of the sin and deceit. Expose the hidden ugliness of my soul and renew and rebuild as you see fit. Amen.

C. Turner