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Understanding how the Lordship of Jesus Christ extends to all areas of life.
Thomas Kinkade "Painter of Light"
Thomas Kinkade, the “Painter of Light” died of natural causes on “Good Friday,” April 6, 2012 at his home in California. The irony of the timing of his passing has inspired me to share with you a personal conversation I once had with Mr. Kinkade.
A week or two before I met him, I had read a magazine article on his work that made the claim that Kinkade was trying to reflect a utopian world. The author said that Kinkade wanted to demonstrate what life would be like if there had been no original sin, or no Fall.
If you think about it, you hardly ever see any tragedy in his work. It’s all very lovely and picturesque.
So I asked him if that was an accurate reflection of his goal in creating Art; to show us what life might be life if sin had not entered the world. He paused for a moment, obviously considering if that was true. Then he said, “No, definitely not. In fact, the piece that I consider to be perhaps my most definitive work is ‘The Cross.’ If that isn’t a reflection of sin entering the world, the fallenness of humanity, and our need for redemption, than I don’t know what is!”
Once again he became thoughtful. “No, I think that every artist, within the body of their work, has a responsibility to reflect the world as it truly is; broken. However, as a Christian, I don’t want to dwell on that brokenness. There are plenty of artists who do that, I’m not making judgments about their work. For me personally though, my desire is to give people a message of hope. You can see despair everywhere you look. If I am going to take the time to paint something, I want it to reflect beauty and give people hope.”
His line about despair made me think of Dr. Francis Schaeffer, and his teachings about the Christian and artistic expression. I asked Kinkade if his work had been influenced by Dr. Schaeffer, and if so, in what way.
“Oh, most definitely. I’d say the thing that I gained the most from Dr. Schaeffer was the concept that beauty has value in itself; because it reflects the nature and character of God. Beauty is an inseparable part of God’s nature; of who He is. So when you create Art that is beautiful, you are reflecting the nature of God.”
I think it is ironic that Mr. Kinkade, whose pivotal artistic work was “The Cross,” was able to enter a world that TRULY has no pain or suffering (a perfect world), on the day when we celebrate his Lord’s payment for sin and death. I’m sure that he will be amazed to find his resting place to be far more beautiful than he could ever reflect in his paintings.
Israel Wayne is an author and conference speaker who serves the Lord through Wisdom’s Gate Ministries.
I saw a post on a friend’s Facebook wall the other day. There was a discussion about worship styles (traditional vs. contemporary) and someone made the statement, “Well, who are you to say what is worship and what isn’t?” I can’t get that out of my mind.
The person making the statement was implying (I believe) that there is no objective standard by which to determine what is, or is not, proper worship. That is simply not true. On the other hand, WE as mere humans are NOT that plumb line. The scripture says “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in Spirit and in Truth.” (John 4:24)
True worship must be intellectual. We must love our God with all of our minds (Luke 10:27). It should not be shallow or meaningless repetition (Matthew 6:7), but should be directed to God, and must reflect accurately who He is and what He has done.
True worship must be Christ-centered. There is no other name that has been given under heaven whereby we must be saved (Acts 4:12). Apart from the Lordship of Jesus Christ over the totality of life, all worship is devoid of purpose.
True worship must be heart-felt. We should not fall into the trap of going through the motions in an attempt to psych ourselves up emotionally, or trying to impress God with our stalwart devotion. We are to LOVE God with ALL of our heart (Luke 10:27).
Worship is not about what we like. It is not about style. It is about worshiping God in the way that He wants to be worshiped. Worship is about giving all that we are, for all that He is. Worship should not be a narcissistic expression of us and how great we are. In worship (which is much more than just music or singing), we should respond to God out of a heart of gratitude for how great He is, and for what He has done for us.
While we cannot help but express our thankfulness to God in culturally diverse ways (we are, in fact, culturally diverse), true worship is ultimately not about culture, or Art, or expressions of talent (although these factors are sometimes involved). Worship is about the God who is there. It is about knowing Him, and being known by Him.
Worship should never be divorced from sound theology. Worship should not be divorced from church history. Worship should never be about preference and style, and most importantly, worship must NEVER be about us.
Israel Wayne is an author and conference speaker who serves with Wisdom’s Gate Ministries.
This is a great little clip from my friend, Dan Jarvis, a pastor and blogger, on dealing with your doubts as a Christian:
Asaph said in Psalm 77:
6I will remember my song in the night;
I will meditate with my heart,
And my spirit ponders:
7Will the Lord reject forever?
And will He never be favorable again?
8Has His lovingkindness ceased forever?
Has His promise come to an end forever?
9Has God forgotten to be gracious,
Or has He in anger withdrawn His compassion?Selah.
10Then I said, “It is my grief,
That the right hand of the Most High has changed.”
11I shall remember the deeds of the LORD;
Surely I will remember Your wonders of old.
It is in remembering the faithfulness of God in the past, that we have strength and hope for our future.
Since I wrote my last blog post “What is Wrong with Libertarianism?”, I’ve been called everything from a Theocrat, to a Globalist, to a Christian Fascist. It’s always lovely to see how nicely Christians can agree to disagree.
Some folks have made some major false assumptions. Since I have dared to critique the Secular Humanist worldview behind the Objectivist-style Libertarian philosophy; many have concluded that I must, therefore, be a warmonger who loves big government, exalts Federalism, despises State-sovereignty, worships the Federal Reserve, dislikes cats and wants to institute a Christian version of Sharia Law on the American people. Allow me to rest your fears. None of those things are true. Quite the contrary. (Well, okay, I don’t like cats.)
Before I address a few of the problems with Conservatism, let me tell you what I don’t like about Liberals (just because this is my blog and I can!). Liberals are Utopians. And Utopians are bad.
The Liberals think that government can fix everything. The government needs to do everything for us. It needs to raise our kids, feed us, provide us with free education, housing and healthcare, give us clean air, regulate the internet so we never see any bad things (like “hate speech”), manage our retirements, and protect us from being hurt (by taking away our guns). There is only one little problem with this worldview; It is wrong.
Okay, so with that out of my system, the reason I have a problem with Conservatism is that Conservatives tend to be Utopians as well. Their view is that government is bad. Unless they are in leadership, and then it is good. Big government is really bad; unless they are in control, and then it is really good. For whatever reason, once a Conservative gets elected, nine times out of ten, he becomes what he hates.
I like how Reagan put this:
“Government is not the solution to our problem government IS the problem.”
Do you remember when George W. Bush was elected? We had endured eight miserably intolerable years of the Clinton regime, and the Religious Right had enough! So, we elected perhaps the most outspoken Evangelical Christian to ever serve in the White House. How did that work for us? Now please don’t get me wrong, I’m not here to bash Bush. That’s been done enough, especially by the current administration! I can’t think of anyone with whom I’d rather play horseshoes, and barbeque steaks, than former President Bush (Go Rangers!).
George W. Bush
But just because someone loves Jesus and says his bed-time prayers, that DOESN’T mean that he knows how to think according to a Biblical worldview (or apply a Biblical Ethic to matters of public policy). For example: “The cumulative debt of the United States in the fiscal years 2001-2007 was approximately $4.08 trillion, or about 40.8% of the total national debt at the time of that completion of approximately $10.0 trillion.” Unemployment also rose in January 2009 (his last month in office) to 7.8%, the highest level in more than 15 years. (See Source)
And it’s not just the economy. Over those eight years, Americans did NOT become a more moral or religious people. In 1990, 86% of Americans identified themselves as being Christian. In 2001, that was down to 78.6%, and in 2009 it was down slightly to 78%. (See Source)
During the W. Bush administration, there were still millions of abortions, there were thousands of cases of adultery and murder, there were hundreds of thousands of violent crimes, parents yelled at their children, people kicked their dogs, and the Cubs didn’t win a World Series.
Now you may say, “Hey, that’s not fair to blame all of that on the President!” Exactly. Now you’re catching on!
Here is the gist of the problem: “We have met the enemy, and it is us.” In a Constitutional Republic, America is US! WE are the problem. I love what the British author, G.K. Chesterton, once said when a newspater asked “What is wrong with the world?” He wrote a short note to the editor and said, “I am. Sincerely, G.K. Chesterton.”
Government can, and should, restrain evil.
1 Peter 2:14 says the role of the Civil Magistrate is to: “Punish those who do evil, and promote those who do good.”
Despite the popular Postmodern mantra that “you can’t legislate Morality,” the truth is that you can’t NOT legislate morality. (It just becomes a matter of WHOSE morality trumps someone else’s!) The guy who likes to steal cars doesn’t think that the police should impose their morality on him, but that’s how it works (unless you simply revert to mob rule).
What you CAN’T, and SHOULDN’T even attempt to, legislate is Holiness. The end goal for us as Christians is not to make people be moral. Yes, we need morality to help keep our streets safe and our prisons empty. People shouldn’t be allowed to molest children, engage in credit card fraud, or kill their neighbors. The Civil Magistrate does not bear the sword in vain:
“For he is God’s servant to do you good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing. He is God’s servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer.” (Romans 13:4)
But Jesus didn’t die for us to become moral. He died for us to become Holy. That is something that can only happen by the transforming power of the Holy Spirit. You can threaten someone with punishment, and modify his outward behavior (and sometimes this is vitally important), but you can’t change his heart. Only Christ can do that.
As Christians, we must never think that a strong government (or a complete lack of it) will solve all of our social and moral problems. We can’t fix all of the problems. WE ARE THE PROBLEM! That’s why we need Jesus. We need to stop being Utopians and believing that we can ever have perfection here on earth. We can, and should, seek to be salt and light here. We should seek to apply righteous justice for the betterment of the weak and oppressed. We should try to limit evil. But don’t be deceived into thinking that anything other than the Kingdom of God will last forever. The kingdoms of this world, as good as they may be, are still a reflection of our fallen humanity.
Personally, I’m longing for the day when:
“The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ; and He will reign forever and ever.” (Revelation 11:15b)
My ultimate goal, as a Christ-follower, is not to convert someone to becoming a moral Republican. At the end of the day, he will still die in his sins and go to hell. My chief concern is to share with Him the life-transforming gospel of Jesus Christ, that will not only modify his behavior, it will save his soul. That is where my hope lies.
Israel Wayne is an author and conference speaker. This article reflects his own personal views and are not necessarily those of any organization with which he is affiliated.
For some time now, I’ve been wanting to write a post about what is wrong with Libertarianism from a Biblical worldview.
First of all, it would be helpful for you to see visually, a basic graph revealing the current political spectrum.
The Political Sprectrum - Left to Right (Source: woody.typepad.com)
Most Christians who call themselves “Christian Libertarians” don’t really know much about the roots or true ideology of the Libertarian political philosophy. They like the idea of small government, reduced taxes, gun rights, property rights and a free-market economy. So far, so good. I’m right there with them.
The problem is in the inherent presuppositions embedded within the Libertarian worldview. One of the foundational beliefs of Libertarianism is the idea that “Anyone should be allowed to do anything they want as long as it doesn’t hurt anyone else.” Ever heard that? That is a Libertarian conception of Freedom and Liberty. That is NOT, however, a Christian view of Liberty and Freedom. That is a view of moral bondage.
For example, Thomas Jefferson said:
“A wise and frugal government which shall restrain men from injuring one another, which shall leave them otherwise free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned. This is the sum of good government.“ Thomas Jefferson (1801)“
Or:
“It is not the business of government to make men virtuous or religious, or to preserve the fool from the consequences of his own folly. Government should be repressive no further than is necessary to secure liberty by protecting the equal rights of each from aggression on the part of others, and the moment governmental prohibitions extend beyond this line they are in danger of defeating the very ends they are intended to serve.” Henry George
The Biblical definition of the role of government is found in 1 Peter 2:13-14:
“Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human authority: whether to the emperor, as the supreme authority, or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. “
The civil government, according to Scripture is supposed to “punish those who do wrong and commend those who do right.” How do you determine what is right or wrong in a certain society or civilization?
You really only have a few options:
This is where Libertarianism falls short. Ayn Rand and other Libertarians have tried to create a moral order called Objectivism. It teaches that you can have a moral law, without a Moral Law-Giver (i.e. God). Libertarianism and Objectivism (concepts that are joined at the hip) are both deeply rooted in Secular Humanism and the Epistemology of human reason alone being sufficient to determine Ethics.
Despite their protests to the contrary, a pure Libertarian can never truly say that anything is Objectively right or wrong.
This is why Ron Paul (whose worldview is Libertarian) will not say that homosexuality is a sin:
Any political philosophy that does not begin with Theism (a belief in a personal God) as THE FOUNDATION of all Law, will end up eventually in the ditches of Totalitarianism or Anarchy. It is important to view the political spectrum depicted above as a circle. Without the restraining influence of Biblical morality in our culture, Libertarianism quickly turns into Anarchy, which then quickly leads all the way back to Totalitarianism. Anarchy is not sustainable for any society, and only order and structural rule can hold it together.
There are only two forces that can keep a society from plunging itself off into the abyss of Egoistic Hedonism (the ethical theory — promoted by Libertarianism — that achieving one’s own happiness is the proper goal of all conduct) and Anarchy:
The Christian concept is NOT Libertarianism (nor is it Theocracy). The Christian concept is Individual Self-Government. You may say, “But that sounds like what Libertarians want! The ability to govern themselves.” Yes, but the difference is, they have cut off the source of all Objective Moral Ethics (i.e. God).
There is a quote that is often attributed to James Madison (and equally disputed), that I think sums up this idea quite well:
“We have staked the whole future of American civilization not upon the power of government, far from it. We have staked the future of all our political institutions upon the capacity of mankind for self-government, upon the capacity of each and all of us to govern ourselves, to control ourselves, to sustain ourselves according to the Ten Commandments.”
In the Libertarian view, Abortion, Drugs, Prostitution, Illicit Sex (including Homosexuality), Pornography and Suicide are all morally acceptable. They have, within their Epistemological system, no mechanism for denouncing these actions. A culture who embraces these things will NOT last long. These are the steps to Anarchy (and ultimately to Tyranny, the very thing Libertarians are hoping to escape!).
The only real solution is that people’s hearts must be changed, by the Holy Spirit, through the hearing of the Word of God as it is faithfully proclaimed by the True Confessing Church. Yes, people should be given political freedom and liberty, but without Ethics that are based in the Fear of the Lord, that “freedom” will quickly dissolve into Anarchy and Hedonism (as we are observing in rampant expansion in our culture).
Libertarianism cannot provide the Utopian dream of the good life because it is disconnected from the only source of all Good, which is God alone. Libertarianism (which is not rooted in Christian thought, but rather in the anti-Christian Enlightenment) could only work for a Christian society, that is guided by the Fear of the Lord. That is not our current cultural situation.
Statesmen, my dear Sir, may plan and speculate for Liberty, but it is Religion and Morality alone, which can establish the Principles upon which Freedom can securely stand.The only foundation of a free Constitution is pure Virtue, and if this cannot be inspired into our People in a greater Measure than they have it now, They may change their Rulers and the forms of Government, but they will not obtain a lasting Liberty. They will only exchange Tyrants and Tyrannies.
Letter from John Adams to Zabdiel Adams (21 June 1776)
“(W)e have no government, armed with power, capable of contending with human passions, unbridled by morality and religion. Avarice, ambition, revenge and licentiousness would break the strongest cords of our Constitution, as a whale goes through a net. Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.“ — John Adams, (11 October 1798)
My goal here is not to tell you which political candidates to vote for (or not to vote for). I am also not directing these statements toward any particular political candidate(s), but rather at the entire philosophy as a whole. My goal is to help you to understand these issues from a Biblical Worldview.
Israel Wayne is an author and conference speaker. These views are his views and do not necessarily reflect the views of any organizations with which he is affiliated.