Adoption is Thicker Than Blood

For many, adoption is a concept that is difficult to fully understand.  Most people have a surface level view that is typified in most Hollywood renditions -- a child is raised by his adoptive parents but one day he meets his "real" parents, i.e. his bioloical or birth parents.  It seems to be human nature to elevate the importance of biological parents over adoptive ones.  Some are more tactful than others, but deep down everyone harbors this prejudice.  I used feel this way up until I became an father by adoption.

The Bible teaches that followers of Christ are adopted into God's family (Romans 8:15, Ephesians 1:5).  Christians are aware that adoption is a beautiful picture of how God relates with us, but just like with earthly adoption most Christians have a shallow view of what it entails.  It is an abstract concept that doesn't make God's mystery of redemption any clearer.  My intent is to help you understand the power of adoption in both natural and supernatural aspects.  As with all things, however, we can only appreciate the natural in light of God's supernatural revelation.

As I've already said, I used to tacitly believe that being a parent by blood carried greater weight than being one by adoption. Adopting was always on my heart to do, but I thought that it would be later in life after we have "our own" children.  Biblically speaking, however, this elevation of blood genealogy is a sin.  By blood my father is Adam from whom I've inherited sin and rebellion against God (1 Corinthians 15:21-22).  That rebellion defines every fabric of my being, much like how inherited DNA defines the makeup of biological children.  Spiritually I was born a child of Adam, separated from God and unable to change my sinful rebellion.

But God...in His love and mercy...chose to adopt me into his family.  He chose me before I was born. He did not wait until after I was born to see if I was nice enough, smart enough, and without any defects.  He did not wait to choose me until I chose Him first.  He chose me to be in His family before He even created the world (Ephesians 1:4-5).  By His own choice He gave me His Holy Spirit, turned my heart, and received me into His arms when I came to Him in faith.  God brought me into His family through a covenant blood of Jesus Christ -- a covenant that He will forever honor.  By doing so, He rescued me from my biological inheritance of death and granted me His supernatural inheritance of heaven (Acts 26:18).  I now call God my Father instead of Adam (Galatians 4:6).  God is my father by His choice, and He exercised His choice by adopting me.  Choice is thicker than blood.

Once I understood this I had to repent for my sinful devaluation of myself as a father by adoption.  Just as God chose me before I was born, so I chose my son before he was born.  I did not wait until he was older to see what kind of boy he would be...I chose to love and father him irregardless of anything he would do, postivie or negative.  He bears my name and will receive my inheritance.  I chose to bring him into my family through a covenant with him -- a covenant ratified by a judge that I will never break.  My choice to be his father is thicker and stronger than any blood lineage.  The example of my adoption by God the Father erases any doubt or insecurity of my role as an earthly father by adoption, irregardless of what a godless society may believe.  Because adoption explicitly entails choice, adoption is thicker than blood.

How Do You Know? Knowledge By Revelation

Knowledge is something we really take for granted. We use the phrase, “I know (fill in the blank),” but have you ever stopped to think about how you know it? This is especially important when it comes to whether or not you’re a Christian.

Two forms of knowledge that are frequently cited by atheists are empiricism and rationalism. Empiricism holds that the only things that can be known are those which can be detected by our senses – seen, tasted, touched, felt, and heard. It has several presuppositions, some of which include that senses can be trusted, that they accurately relay information about the world around us, that they are the only faculties that can do so, and that the physical (material) world is all that exists. An extension of this is the belief that science (i.e. the scientific method) is the only source of knowledge since it (only) tests for things that can be verified with our senses. (Interestingly this also assumes the validity of the scientific method which itself cannot be tested by anything.)

Rationalism, on the other hand, holds that the only way to know anything is through logic and reason. In other words, we can only say we know something if our propositions are true and our reasoning process is valid – i.e. if our conclusions can be rightly drawn from the premise(s). This method also has its own presuppositions, including the validity of logic itself and the existence of non-physical/immaterial things like laws of logic, propositions, and the mind (atoms don’t evaluate arguments and form conclusions, they just move where they’re pushed. Consequently we must have an immaterial mind if we say we rely on reason for knowledge).

If done correctly, empiricism and rationalism can give us glimpses of knowledge. But can we always trust our senses? Do we always properly think through something to draw the right conclusion? Obviously the answer to both of these questions is no. There must be another way we can know things, and that is by revelation.

Revelation simply means the revealing of something previously unknown or unrecognized.  If you stop and think about it, there are many things that we know based on revelation.  The easiest example is love – I know my wife loves me because she tells me so.  Her revealed love is also substantiated by empirical knowledge (a warm embrace) and rationality (her actions are consistent with her profession).  It is only in light of her revelation that the empirical and rational evidences make sense.  The empirical and rational evidences are important, but I can only know she loves me because she tells me.

Knowledge is not simply a belief…it is a justifiably true belief.  To know something by revelation requires the revealer to be an authority on the matter in question.  My wife’s friends and family could tell me she loves me, but they are not adequate authorities.  Only my wife, in charge of her own heart and feelings, has the authority I can trust to know that she loves me.  Let’s call this revelation by authority.

Another example of how revelation by authority works in my life is the existence of black holes.  While one may say they can be empirically measured and rationally discerned from the data, I personally could never know they exist because I don’t have access to the measurements and don’t understand the calculations.  Stephen Hawking, however, does have such capabilities.  And since he has proven to be a reliable authority on black holes, I personally can know they exist because I trust his revelation concerning them.

So lets apply this to Christianity.  God has revealed Himself to us in generalities through nature and in specifics through communication over the centuries with His prophets.  Jesus of Nazareth affirmed the Hebrew collection of revelations (a.k.a Old Testament) and solidified His authority for further revelation by performing miracles and rising from the dead.  Furthermore, the apostles also had authority because they personally knew Jesus before and after His resurrection, and they confirmed their authority by miracles.  This collection of revelations is known today as the New Testament.

It is because of God’s revelation that I can confidently say that I know God exists, that Jesus Christ is Lord, and that I have a personal connection to Him.  God’s revelation also teaches me a number of other things, including the dual nature of the universe (material and immaterial), the existence of objective morality, and the purpose of all creation, just to name a few.  Only after I accept knowledge through God’s revelation does everything else make sense – my empirical and rational knowledge about myself, the universe, morality, and reality finally fit together into a cohesive system.  Without God’s revelation, however, our bits and pieces of knowledge may be useful but end up being inconsistent and arbitrary when combined together as a system.  As in the example of my wife’s love, empiricism and rationalism can only give glimpses of our world and (if one is willing to admit it) its Creator.  Only the Creator Himself has the authority we can trust to fully know and understand our world, His ways, and ourselves. 

The key question then becomes “what is your authority?” As a Christian, one submits to God’s authority as He revealed it to man and is recorded in the Bible. Non-Christians reject God’s authority and supplant it with something else. Over the years they have tried to use their minds, senses, or a combination of both. Honestly, though, non-Christians place themselves as the ultimate authority – they will be the judge of what they claim as acceptable knowledge using a combination of methods that they deme as worthy to achieve their desired conclusion. This rejection of God’s authority for our own was the first sin ever committed and it is the one sin shared by all of humanity today.

There are many things you know already that are based on the authority of someone else.  If you haven’t already done so, I urge you to open the Bible and ask your Creator to reveal some knowledge to you today.  You might be surprised at what you learn and find yourself wanting more!

Understanding John 15:7 & 16:23

Have you ever wondered how the apostles John and Peter could so confidently say to the lame beggar "get up and walk" in Acts 3:6?  Furthermore, have you ever wrestled with Jesus' promise in John 15:7 and 16:23 that if we abide in Him and ask anything in His name He will do it?  I personally have always had trouble reconciling these clear promises of Jesus to answer prayer with the reality of Him not always doing so.  Maybe I'm not abiding enough?  Maybe I'm not asking correctly or believing enough? 

Such confusion and self-condemnation inherently comes when we interpret Jesus' promises in John 15:7 and 16:23 to mean that He is talking to us today.  This is the way I've always heard these verses taught -- usually they are pulled out of context and used to support the larger notion that Jesus obliges Himself to answer our prayers if they are in the right form.  Recently, though, I discovered that this is a wrong interpretation of these verses.  They do not apply to us today.  While that may sound disappointing at first, it is actually liberating and has actually strengthened my faith in the Scriptures.

Let me start by stating the difference between Scriptural interpretation and application.  Interpretation is the meaning that the passage of Scripture is trying to convey.  It is a function of the historical and Biblical context, the original audience, the literary form (hyperbole, poetry, parable, narrative, etc.), and of course the words used.  Application is simply how we apply the passage's meaning to our every day experiences.

What then is the proper interpretation of Jesus' promises in John 15:7, "If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you," as well as similar promises in John 14:14, 15:16, and 16:23? We must first examine the context -- who is Jesus speaking to?  He is speaking to the eleven disciples who would soon become His apostles, Christ's officially sanctioned witnesses who would spread the Gospel after His ascension.  It was to these men, and these men only, to whom Jesus obliged Himself to answer every prayer offered in His name.

This was critical since these men would later use miracles as a confirmation of their apostolic authority (2 Cor 12:12).  Let's use the previous example of Peter and John -- they weren't "led" by some intuition, or "received a word" to go heal the beggar.  They saw an opportunity to glorify Christ and they confidently took it, knowing their prayer would be answered because Jesus promised it would be.  These men claimed to carry God's message and their miracles affirmed their authority.

The fact that this promise is for the apostles and not for me does not dwindle my faith; rather, it increases it.  No, I can't claim that Jesus is obliged to answer my prayers if I do everything correctly.  But I do have more confidence in the authority of the New Testament and the apostles who originally proclaimed it, based on the historical accounts of their miraculous signs in Jesus' name.  My faith is strengthened in their Gospel message.

Now, although Christ's promises in John 14-16 do not apply to us today, the principles and application contained therein still do.  We are commanded to abide in Christ (15:4-6), keep His commandments (14:21), pray in Jesus' name (16:24), etc.  We also learn a lot about the role of the Holy Spirit (14:16-17, 26; 15:26; 16:7-13), God's love for His followers (14:23), God's promise of eternity for believers (14:1-3, 16:22), the tribulation we will face as believers (16:33), etc.

Knowing that Jesus' promises in John 14-16 are not for me is a relief -- I am no longer confused and disappointed in God when my prayers go unanswered, even when I try my hardest to abide and pray.  John 14-16 still has a lot of valuable instruction for me that I hope to grow in.  And I'm at peace knowing that Christ entrusted the founders of my faith with His promises and affirmed their authority with signs and wonders. 

Peter's Tips For Fruitful Christianity

Faith and Maturity

Wow, I apologize for the long hiatus. Let's get back to it!

Candy and I were priviledged to be under the teaching of a wise Sunday School teacher on Easter morning. As part of our lesson we read a passage out of 2 Peter 1:5-9. Within the context of the lesson, the verse was meant to illustrate that our growth in our Christian life is a process. That process will result in fruitful success if certain qualities are developed within us. Peter indicates that these qualities are successive and are built upon each other. To paraphrase, faith is the foundation of the Christian life; upon faith we are to develop moral excellence, then knowledge, then self-control, then perseverence, then godliness, then brotherly kindness, and then finally love.

As I pondered the application of this passage, it dawned on me that faith, albeit foundational and essential, is only the beginning of a successful and fulfilling Christian life. Looking back at our time under Word of Faith teaching I remembered the constant emphasis on faith. It seemed that the sole purpose of the Christian life was to have enough faith so as to be comfortable and never have any problems. Faith was the subject of every sermon, every Bible study, every application. It always seemed unfulfilling and shallow, but at the time I could never give a concise explanation as to why. After studying this passage, though, I found my answer.

Pastors, churches, and Christians who focus so much of their Biblical study and teaching on faith are depriving themselves of a well-rounded Christian life. Faith is both the genesis and the sustenance of our journey towards sanctification, but Christians who seek to solely develop their faith end up neglecting other important qualities that should also accompany sanctification. At best the result is Christian immaturity; at worst the result is disillusionment with Christianity and withdrawal from corporate fellowship.

2 Peter 1:5-9 teaches us that there is a lot more to being a fruitful and victorious Christian besides faith. To be fruitful and useful to God takes more than just my "receiving" it or "claiming" that I am so; it requires diligence on my part to also grow in moral excellence, knowledge, perseverence, and love.

Now comes the hard part...my actually doing it.

By His Stripes We Are Healed - Isaiah 53:5

I am going out on a limb here by sharing my views on this verse. I know I run the risk of offending some of you, so I ask at the outset for grace to make my argument. I want to share with you why I believe this passage is misquoted by Christians to “claim” physical healing, believing that Christ was scourged for our physical health. It’s not my intent to debate whether or not God miraculously heals today. I believe that He does and there are Scriptures to prove that – I just don’t believe Isaiah 53:5 is one of them.

There are two common ways that I’ve heard this verse interpreted. The first is what I call the “face-value” interpretation and is used by those who claim this verse for physical healing. It draws on the fact that the Hebrew words for “healed” means literally that – physical healing. The second interpretation is to spiritualize what healing really means. They like to cite Luke 4:18 (and its origination in Isaiah 61:1) where Jesus says he comes to heal the brokenhearted, as well as Psalm 147:3 which says “[God] heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds”. Consequently, the healing implied in Isaiah 53:5 is not a literal physical healing, but rather some kind of emotional or spiritual healing in our soul, or in our relationship to God, or something akin to that.

These two interpretations both have serious flaws. Both interpretations pull this verse out of its larger context and try to apply a meaning to it that is not found within that context. The face-value interpretation has serious theological implications – if Christ underwent scourging and crucifixion for the forgiveness of my sins and my physical health, if I get sick, should I not also doubt my forgiveness, too? How can my forgiveness be complete but my physical health incomplete if the same sacrifice paid for both? Furthermore, the spiritualized interpretation to me seems lacking in credibility. While it is a bona fide Biblical teaching that Jesus heals our broken hearts, it is a stretch to draw this interpretation out of the context of Isaiah 53:5 which has to do with sin and iniquity rather than sadness and loneliness.

So then what is left? Well, I believe there is a solid case for this passage of Scripture being interpreted as a figure of speech called a metaphor. A metaphor is “a figure of speech in which a word or phrase is applied to an object or action to which it is not literally applicable” (Wikipedia). This explains how a word like “healed” can be literally understood while meaning something apart from physical healing. This is at least an equally valid interpretation of Isaiah 53:5 since it takes into account the greater context of sin and forgiveness found in the entire passage. If this was an isolated occurrence of sickness and healing being used as metaphors, I would understand your skepticism about this interpretation’s validity. However, this is not an isolated occurrence in Scripture.

“Sickness” and “healing” are commonly used metaphors in Scripture for sin and forgiveness, respectively. Therefore, this passage in Isaiah 53:5, as well as in its greater context, illustrates how Christ’s sacrifice on the cross paid the penalty for our sin and reconciled our relationship to God. Let’s give a brief overview of how this figure of speech is used elsewhere in Scripture. While I don’t claim this to be an exhaustive treatment of the subject, I do believe there are enough verses to make a solid case for this interpretation. I will only write out select verses so you for illustrative purposes – I encourage you to look them all up before passing judgment on this interpretation.

Sickness is used as a metaphor in the following verses: Isaiah 1:5-6, “Where will you be stricken again, as you continue in your rebellion? The whole head is sick and the whole heart is faint. From the sole of the foot even to the head there is nothing sound in it, only bruises, welts and raw wounds, not pressed out or bandaged, nor softened with oil.”; Psalm 38:10, “There is no soundness in my flesh because of your indignation, there is no health in my bones because of my sin.”; Jeremiah 17:9, “The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick; who can understand it?”. Also see Micah 1:9, Hosea 5:13, Jeremiah 10:19, and Jeremiah 13:19-20.

Healing is used as a metaphor for forgiveness in the following verses: Isaiah 19:22, “The LORD will strike Egypt, striking but healing; so they will return to the LORD, and He will respond to them and will heal them.”; Isaiah 33:24, “And no resident will say 'I am sick'; the people who dwell there will be forgiven their iniquity.” Also see Jeremiah 17:14, 2 Chronicles 30:18-20, Isaiah 3:7, Isaiah 6:10, and Jeremiah 46:10-12.

Sickness and healing are used together as metaphors for sin and forgiveness in the following verses: Jeremiah 8:21-22, “For the brokenness of the daughter of my people I am broken; I mourn, dismay has taken hold of me. Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why then has not the health of the daughter of my people been restored?”; Isaiah 57:17-19, “’Because of the iniquity of his unjust gain I was angry and struck him; I hid My face and was angry, and he went on turning away, in the way of his heart. I have seen his ways, but I will heal him; I will lead him and restore comfort to him and to his mourners, created the praise of the lips. Peace, peace to him who is far and to him who is near’, says the LORD, ‘and I will heal him.’”; Jeremiah 33:6-8, “Behold, I will bring to it [Jerusalem] health and healing, and I will heal them; and I will reveal to them an abundance of peace of truth. I will restore the fortunes of Judah and the fortunes of Israel and will rebuild them as they were at first. I will cleanse them from all their iniquity by which they have sinned against Me, and I will pardon all their iniquities by which they have sinned against Me and by which they have transgressed against Me.” Finally, the best one for last -- Jeremiah 30:12-17, “For thus says the Lord, ‘Your wound is incurable and your injury is serious. There is no one to plead your cause; no healing for your sore, no recovery for you. All your lovers have forgotten you, they do not seek you; for I have wounded you with the wound of an enemy, with the punishment of a cruel one, because your iniquity is great and your sins are numerous. Why do you cry out over your injury? Your pain is incurable. Because your iniquity is great and your sins are numerous, I have done these things to you. Therefore all who devour you will be devoured; and all your adversaries, everyone of them, will go into captivity; and those who plunder you will be for plunder, and all who prey upon you I will give for prey. For I will restore you to health and I will heal you of your wounds’, declares the LORD, ‘because they have called you an outcast, saying ‘It is Zion, no one cares for her’”.

The greatest commentary on Isaiah 53:5, however, is given by the apostle Peter. In 1 Peter 2:24, right after he says that “[Christ] bore our sins in His body on the cross”, he quotes Isaiah by saying “for by His wounds you were healed.” I’ve heard Word of Faith preachers cite this verse as proof for their physical healing interpretation of Isaiah 53:5, but doing so is scripturally dishonest. Physical healing is not what Peter is talking about here – sin and forgiveness is. And Peter rightfully uses Isaiah’s metaphor to drive home his point.

So what is my point in all this? It is to offer a biblically sound interpretation for Isaiah 53:5 that is an alternative to the commonly held interpretation which is used to claim physical healing through Christ’s atoning sacrifice. Properly understood, this passage illustrates our sinful condition and how His crucifixion satisfied God’s wrath so we could be forgiven. This passage should not be cited as proof that Christ’s crucifixion guarantees physical health as part of the New Covenant. To do so is to misapply this portion of Scripture. Preachers and televangelists who proof text this verse and use it as a bedrock for their health and wealth gospel build a heterodox theology and thereby confuse many who trust in their authoritative style of teaching.

That’s all I got to say about that! Let me know what you think. Blessings to you all.

Marriage Encounter

It has been three weeks now since Candy and I went to the Marriage Encounter Weekend sponsored by the Assemblies of God. It was a wonderful time! And I can honestly say that our marriage is richer now for it, too. Candy and I had both been in a spiritual funk the last 2 years, and this was an excellent opportunity to reconnect with each other and with Christ. It was not “group therapy” or anything like that. Rather, the time was equally split between listening to presenters in a whole group setting and writing love letters to each other and dialoging about various topics. Most of all, the weekend reminded us of why we fell in love with each other and showed us what we needed to do to nurture and grow that love for the future.

Personally, I came to grips with some things that I have been dealing with for quite some time, and I was made aware of some things Candy had been wrestling with recently, too. Through letter writing and dialoging, however, Candy and I were able to grow closer and better understand each other’s needs. By the end of the weekend I felt a renewed sense of purpose for our marriage and love for Candy, but I also felt somewhat overwhelmed. You see, I realized on a much deeper plane how lovely and special Candy truly is. I also realized how precious her heart is and how great the responsibility is for me as her husband to guard and protect her heart. When I also considered my inadequacies as a man, though, this seemed like a lofty mark that I was doomed to miss at some point. Our culture, and specifically the Church of Jesus Christ, is littered with the ruins of failed marriages. How could I be sure that I would be the husband that Candy needs and deserves?

As I pondered this, Philippians 4:13 came to mind: “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.” I realized that as long as I stay submitted to Christ, the life of Christ in me would ensure that I am a loving, serving, and committed husband. In and of myself, I don’t have the capacity to be a good husband. However, as I submit to the authority of Jesus Christ and let the Holy Spirit challenge and change me, He empowers me to be the man that He’s called me to be. Galatians 5:15 says, “…walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.”

Candy is a wonderful woman and I am very thankful to God for our marriage. I am thankful, too, for Marriage Encounter, because through it our love has been rejuvenated and equipped for the future. And, most of all, I am thankful to Jesus Christ, for I know that a successful marriage is possible by His power in our lives.

Conversations With a Spiritist - Part II

Last time I shared with you some of the beliefs of a sweet little old lady I met in an airport who was a spiritist, i.e. someone who communicated with spirits. I questioned her on how she knew about spiritual truths, and her knowledge was based on her own relativistic opinion rather than the objective authority of Jesus Christ as revealed to us in Scripture. She mentioned a couple times about “the light of Christ” and its importance in discerning spiritual truth, but she could not explain this concept as anything more than just recognizing that Jesus was some really enlightened spiritual guy. Her view of Jesus was a typical New Age one – that Jesus realized His divinity and showed us how we could all become like God. When I responded that her view of Jesus differs from what is given to us in the Bible, she quickly pointed out that the Bible has been altered many times over the centuries and it cannot be trusted. When I told her about the solid textual evidence of the Bible’s authenticity and how we can be sure that what we have today is what the authors really wrote in the first century, she fell back on her relativistic “inner knowing” that told her the Bible was wrong.

As our boarding time was approaching I sensed a pause in our conversation and an opportunity to share the Gospel. I asked her why Jesus came to Earth. In line with what she already shared, she said that Jesus came to show us how to be spiritual people and to show us the way to God. I then asked if she would let me share what the Bible said about Jesus’ mission and she quietly nodded her head. I told her about mankind’s sin, his rebellion against God, the punishment we all deserve in Hell for our rebellion, that Jesus came and purposefully died in our stead and took our punishment upon himself on the cross, that He rose from the dead and ascended to the right hand of God, and that eternal life in heaven is promised to all who give their life to Him.

She sat there silent for a few seconds and then got up to use the restroom. I was so nervous that I was shaking – I had never done anything like that before! I have always been pretty shy about sharing the Gospel because I don’t like offending people. I didn’t know if she was going to come back or if she was going to avoid me from here on out. So, after I used the restroom I returned to see her sitting back in her old seat with my former seat still vacant. “What the hay,” I thought, “why not try sitting back down by her?” To my surprise she did not get up and walk away, but instead continued with our previous small talk. She then shared a few more of her spiritual encounters before we began to board. I never talked to her again after that, and she did not make eye contact as I passed her on the plane. Please keep praying for her, that she will be protected from the Evil One and that her eyes will be opened to the Truth.

Please understand that I am not trying to sound as if I am some great evangelist or that this was easy. In hindsight there are a lot of things that I should have said or could have said better. One example is that I wish I would have asked her to test the spirits – try reading the gospel of John out loud and see if the spirits try to stop her. I would expect them to be quite unhappy about her reading the Truth.

I suppose it will always be the case that we could have said more in these situations. We just have to remember that it is the Holy Spirit who draws the heart and not our eloquence or persuasive arguments. Paul boasted that he knew nothing apart from Christ crucified (1 Corinthians 2:1-2). Apologist Greg Koukl likes to say that his goal is not to win converts in these situations; rather, he wants to leave a stone in their shoe – leave them with something to think about that makes them question what they believe. I hope to see this sweet little old lady in heaven someday, as I hope to see all of you, too.
Until next time,
Chad