Free Love and Strict Diets

Free Love and Strict Diets

I came across two interesting and inadvertently related articles on the 'net today. First, here: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/25/AR2009022503123.html?hpid=opinionsbox1 George Will points out that, while Americans in general have become quite casual about sex--anything goes-- many are becoming quite strict; even moralistic about food. Second, here: http://www.albertmohler.com/blog_read.php?id=3348
Al Mohler details the growing use of pornography in American life.

On sex, the scriptures lay out a well-defined standard. Sex is for and between a married man and woman only. All else is sin whether it be physical sex or sexual fantasy. But on food, while all eating is to be done in moderation, and while our physical health should be guarded, all meat is consumable by the Christian. "Every creature of God is good and is to be received with thanksgiving" Paul says.

Our society, having turned away from God, is completely mixed up in relation to these two.

If You Are The Son of God...

In the opening chapters of Luke, Luke shows that Jesus is the Son of God because He is born of a virgin. Then Luke shows that Jesus is the Son of God because He is declared by the Father to be his Son. Finally, Luke shows that Jesus is the Son of God because He demonstrates his Sonship through his obedience.

Satan comes to Jesus and three times tempts Him in the wilderness. On two of those occasions, Satan taunts, “If you are the son of God….” Jesus shows that he is God’s Son for when he is tempted to satisfy his hunger through his own power He remains dependent upon God for his daily bread. When He is tempted with “having it all” if He will only worship Satan (in place of God) He quotes the scripture and refuses. Finally, when he is tempted to act foolishly by throwing Himself from the temple, he refuses saying “You shall not tempt the Lord your God”.

Like Jesus, those who place their faith in Christ are declared to be sons of God. This is a judicial declaration (called justification) which is irreversible. However, salvation is more than being declared a son of God, salvation entails that we live in obedience to God through the power of the Holy Spirit (as Jesus was filled with the Spirit in the wilderness). It entails that we depend upon God for our daily sustenance, put Him first in our lives, and seek to obey Him in all areas of life. Of course, we will not do this perfectly as Jesus did, but we will do it increasingly as he empowers us, if we are the sons of God.

Who Pays for Hitler's Sins?

While it is true that all men are judicially guilty before God; that is, we are all unrighteous, some men sin more than others. Surely Hitler must be guilty of as many individual acts of sin as anyone who has ever lived. His sin was not simply a matter of the heart, it was a matter of his deeds.

So, who pays for Hitler’s sins? That is, who recompenses a righteous God for the sins of Adolf Hitler?

Someone may answer; Hitler has God’s wrath abiding upon him. He is in hell for eternity. So, Hitler pays. But Hitler cannot pay for his own sins. No one can do that. Yes, God is perfectly just in sending Hitler to hell, but, just as a murderer is justly put to death by the state for his murder, his death does not recompense his victim, for his victim remains dead. Additionally, God is not recompensed for the murder by the murderer’s just punishment in hell.

So, who recompenses God for the sins of Hitler? Herein lies the scandal of the cross: Jesus paid for the sins of Hitler! Jesus’ death is a perfect sacrifice for sin that completely satisfied God’s just and righteous anger against sin. Jesus recompensed the Father for all sin. Otherwise, God is never recompensed for sin throughout all eternity. That simply cannot be.

Obama's Sliding Pendulum

Politics tends to swing back and forth from the left to the right in American history. In the 1920s, the swing was to the right with a limited government and commerce that operated freely. With the Great Depression, federal invervention in the economy was necessary and the pendulum swung to the left with growing federal power from 1932 until the end of the Johnson presidency in 1969. With Nixon's election in '68 and the subsequent trouncing of McGovern in '72, few politicians proclaimed themselves to be liberal all the way to this present day. It has been a period of a rightward swing of the pendulum.

Obamas election is a swing of the pendulum to the left, yet it is more than just a swing of the pendulum. For, while the pendulum swings back and forth, the trajectory of American history is toward greater and more expansive federal power. The pendulum swings, but the frame upon which the pendulum hangs slides toward the left. This die was cast when Lincoln proclaimed that the states, once in the union, could not leave. And he enforced his conviction with a war. Since the Civil War, the power of the federal government has grown steadily, though there have been long periods in which the growth was curbed.

With the troubled economy and the collapse of finance and industry, greater federal intervention in the free markets is inevitable. Obama is ideoligically committed to this and historically positioned to accomplish it.

The Bush Disasters

I'm sure President Bush had goals for his presidency when he took office, but events displaced his priorities and forced him to respond to the unforseen. Consider the disasters that occurred during his terms: The enemy attack of 9-11, The natural disaster of Katrina, and The Financial Meltdown of 2008. Bush will be rated by historians according to his responses to these crises. How did he do?

9-11: He took extraordinary steps to ensure that an attack like this did not re-occur and he took extraordinary measures to retaliate against those who attacked. Both of these are on-going projects. If Bush's succesor(s) do not keep this in mind, our nation will suffer for it. Both responses cost him politically, but he pursued his policies to the end.

Katrina: I think officials at all levels were slow to realize the magnitude of this disaster and their response was slow. Now the question is: Should New Orleans be rebuilt at all? No one seems to be thinking about this.

Financial Meltdown: The solution here has been amazingly bi-partisan. The recovery from the meltdown is incomplete if it has begun at all. Unfortunately, the financial factors of deficit spending and legacy costs that caused this meltdown are in place to recur with even greater intensity within the next 20 years. There is a bi-partisan ignoring of this fact that almost assures a tragic outcome. Unfortunately, Bush is in no political position to propose a solution.

Well Done, Larry

Mr. Larry was a frequent poster on this blog. He was a good friend from my seminary days. He and I were roommates for about three years. On Sunday, his wife called and informed me that Larry had passed away. At 37, this was most unexpected.

Larry's lot in life was not an easy one. His problems seemed to compound and reached their nadir in 1999 when Larry's father passed away suddenly. Larry left school and moved away. I didn't think I'd ever hear from him again. But, God was good and Larry persevered. One day he e-mailed me and told me he had met a girl and was going to get married! He did just that. I was thrilled to meet Larry and his bride when Larry was a groomsman in my wedding in 2005.

I have no explanation for Larry’s death at such a young age. I believe that he made great strides in his spiritual life in the last five years that he lived. He met his obligations, finished his degree, got married and started a family, and was working towards being an elder in his church. He lived an honorable life and he finished well. Well done, my friend! I'll meet you in the morning....

Jonathan Turns Two

Yesterday was my son Jonathan's second birthday. It was a big day with friends and grandparents in attendance, lunch, and a delicious birthday cake that his mom made. "'appy Buthday" Jonathan!