God Reveals His Great Love - Steve Demme

     I have heard and preached the gospel for over 30 years, but I have been helped to comprehend 2 Corinthians 5:21 afresh. “For our sake, he made him to be sin, who knew no sin, so that in him, we might become the righteousness of God.”

“For our sake”

     God the Father, and God the Son, suffered, for us. They did what they did with us in mind. As we will see, it was not only Jesus who suffered, but the Father suffered as well, in ways we can only begin to fathom.

“Made him to be sin”

     Sin separates us from God (Isaiah 59:2). The wages, or result of sin, is death (Romans 6:23). “And you know that Jesus came to take away our sins, and there is no sin in him” 1 John 3:5.

     When Jesus was made sin, He took our punishment, our wages, our death, as well as our separation upon Himself. He took our place. As a result, He received the full punishment, the full death and the complete separation from His Father. For the first time, He saw the back of God.

“Who knew no sin”

     We have all sinned. We have all experienced the dreaded distaste of being separated from a loving parent or friend when we have sinned. Jesus never sinned. He had never experienced this feeling of being apart from His Father. They had only experienced complete and total harmony and unity. They were one and had been from eternity.

     I have tasted being estranged from those I love. I have walked through breaches in relationships because of my behavior that have been painful. I have plenty of experience with sin and the painful fruit of sin. But no one has ever been as unprepared for sin and the consequences of sin as Jesus.

     Yet for our sake, He became alienated from God for the first time, for the only time since the beginning of eternity. As I have meditated on this event, I not only begin to grasp the incredible pain of God’s Son, I also sense the awful agony of His Father. For He too, had never been severed from the Son. They had only tasted the bliss of perfect and complete communion since before the foundation of the world.

     We can not replicate how these words sounded as Jesus cried in a loud voice: “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?”, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”, but I believe that no sentence has ever been so infused with pain and despair. Jesus suffered at the absence of the Father, and the Father grieved at having to forsake his beloved Son, because of our sin.

     Some Christians believe that Jesus’s cry of agony echoed from one end of eternity to the other, to reach the ears of the Father. Perhaps this is true since Jesus removes our sins as far as the east is from the west.

     This incredible sacrifice is the basis for the good news, our justification. Or as I like to think of it, just-as-if-I-had-never-sinned. I confess I had never viewed the cross from heaven’s perspective, nor had I grasped the price that God paid, nor had I perceived in this ultimate sacrifice, His great love for me. But I’m beginning to get it.

     “God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten son” -means so much more to me now. God loves me. And He showed His love for me by sending His son to die for me.

More of the Good News:

     I have understood how Jesus took my place, and my sin, through His death on the cross. I think I have had a pretty fair grasp of justification. But my eyes were opened this past summer as I read the second half of that powerful verse. So that “In Him” we might become the righteousness of God.

     I am eternally thankful that God took away my sin. That is good news, tremendous news. My slate is clean. He has “blotted out my transgressions, washed me thoroughly from my iniquities, and cleansed me from my sin!” Psalm 51:2

     That fact is enough to inspire praise for eternity. But the revelation of His great love continues. He not only pays my debt, but transfers His assets to my account. Let’s pretend that I have a massive personal debt the size of the U.S. debt. I will never be able to pay it in a hundred lifetimes. Then Jesus writes a check and cancels my debt. Incredible! Fantastic! Great News!

     But then I receive my bank statement, to my everlasting surprise I see that not only has he eliminated my obligations, he has transferred the assets from His account into mine. This news is mind boggling. I am now a rich man. This is good news beyond my ability to take it in. Since I am now “In Him,” I have become the righteousness of God.

     Let’s move beyond the money illustration and consider the state of my soul. When God looks at me now, clothed in Christ, He doesn't see my sins, for they have been separated from me as far as the east is from the west. They are gone, forever. All of my bad deeds have been paid for and eliminated.

     What He does see is Christ, the righteousness of God. Credited to my account are the good deeds of Jesus, His righteousness. He sees Jesus raising the dead, feeding the 5,000, healing the lepers, opening the eyes of the blind, casting out demons, and teaching the multitudes.

     I confess that I did not grasp the completeness of the gospel. I viewed justification as a new beginning and my life as a blank slate. Now, with God’s help I would write a legacy to be proud of and endeavor to live a life that was well pleasing in His sight. I would make my life count for Christ and hopefully earn His well done.

     But now looking back, I would have to admit that I haven’t lived up to what I perceived are His expectations or my own. Even though I KNOW He loves me, I fear that deep down He is probably disappointed with my efforts.

     As I pen these words I am embarrassed to admit how hollow and unbiblical they sound. I sound like a foolish Galatian. Galatians 3:3 “Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?”

      I began well by embracing the gospel of forgiveness, but then sought to live for God and find His favor by contributing to building His kingdom.

     BUT, or NEVERTHELESS (a wonderful biblical word). I now see that I am ALREADY pleasing to Him. I am in Christ, and am thus seen as the righteousness of God. My account at salvation was not a black slate, but a complete, fully funded, overflowing inheritance.

     By God’s grace, I hope I never lose a zeal for the kingdom or a desire to run the race set before me. But knowing that I am already well pleasing because of Jesus is huge. I am not a disappointment, I am His son. I am not a well meaning failure, I am loved, and liked, with an everlasting love.

     Furthermore, nothing, absolutely nothing, can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:39. May God enlighten our hearts and minds and give us faith to really believe the good news.

     Now as I read the good news throughout the New Testament, I see two components, instead of just one. Consider Romans 5:1 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Justified by faith AND peace with God through Jesus Christ.

     In Romans 5:17 notice the second half of the good news: “For if, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ."

     Another similar passage is found in Romans 5:10: “For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.” I love that expression “much more.” This is what I have seen this year, how “much more” good news there is for each of us as believers.

      I can only echo John. 1 John 3:1 “See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are.”

     Steve Demme is a homeschool dad, author of the Math curriculum Math-U-See, and speaker who focuses on families and what a godly family looks like. Be sure to check out his website at http://www.buildingfaithfamilies.org/about/ .

Innocent Entertainment or Sin-Centered Cinema?

Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.

Proverbs 4:23

Oh great, here comes a rant about how children’s movies corrupt the world and will be the ruination of us all. No, my goal is not to slam children’s movies. My goal is to present you with some observations that have caught my attention in children’s films—Disney in particular—that concern me, and to get you thinking (this is The Thought Box) about what children really watch.

Families—Think of the children’s movies you’ve seen. The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, The Jungle Book, Cinderella. Now remember how many of those movies had a family with both parents. Not very many, eh? Movies portray families as broken instead of whole. Perhaps a character may have both parents, but rarely do you find a family with both parents living together contentedly playing a key role in a film. Kids watching these parentally challenged movies do not observe how a complete family interacts, but just how one parent interacts with the character, and how one parent can play the role of two.  Now, I understand that a broken family can be essential to a plot like Cinderella, but overall, why not show how God designed families to cooperate as a whole? Instead, children observe single parents or separated parents running or attempting to run the family rather than the unity God designed.

Authority—Authority is continually mocked in children’s movies, portraying authoritative figures as weak and inept. Have you ever noticed that in kids’ shows, parents don’t seem to know what their kids “truly” need, and they often don’t listen to nor believe what the kids tell them (like in How To Train Your Dragon)? Policemen play the bumbling fool or cold-hearted villain, such as the Sheriff of Nottingham in Robin Hood, unreasonably restricting and not permitting characters to have fun or save the day. Sadly, cruel stepmothers or wicked witches often represent motherly authority, as in Cinderella and Tangled. In the movies, adults control cruelly, do not take kids seriously, or act as idiots.

When you look at Scripture, you find, “‘You shall stand up before the gray head and honor the face of an old man’” (Leviticus 19:32), and, “…the authorities that exist have been established by God” (Romans 13:1, NIV1984). However, young viewers notice from what they watch that authority in general goofs up. Kids—the smart, sensible characters—know much more than their foolish authorities, and this encourages them to rebel.

Rebellion—This is the biggest theme in Disney films (and found in other films as well). To name just a few examples: Ariel ignores her father’s warnings, Rapunzel sneaks out of her tower, and Mulan defies her father’s orders by enrolling into the army. Not only do characters rebel, they moreover get rewarded in the end for their disobedience. Ariel’s father gives her what she wants: human legs (and her dream man). After running away, Rapunzel realizes her mother held her back from a wonderful world, discovers the woman she called “mother” kidnapped her at birth, and finds her true love. Mulan—perhaps the best illustration—saves all of China.

Many are familiar with Ephesians 6:1: “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right” (ESV). Yet they are taught by the movies to rebel, for this is right. Why obey when rebellion accomplishes more? According to what the children watch, “This is just a part of growing up. A little adventure, a little rebellion... that's good. Healthy, even” (Tangled).

God is very clear in the Bible about His view of rebellion. “An evil man seeks only rebellion, and a cruel messenger will be sent against him” (Proverbs 17:11, ESV). “Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves” (Romans 13:2, NIV1984). “For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft” (1 Samuel 15:23, NKJV). Yet children are watching and absorbing examples to rebel, for everything will turn out fine in the end; after all, the children know more than their parents.

Other Themes—Themes such as “believe in yourself” and “follow your heart” also pepper Disney movies. While they may sound wholesome at a glance, a biblical look shows otherwise. “Believe in yourself,” says the movies. “Believe in the Lord Jesus” (Acts 16:31, ESV), says God’s word, “…and lean not on your own understanding” (Proverbs 3:5). What does “believe in yourself” mean, anyway? That if you believe hard enough, you can do things? “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me”: Christ, not myself (Philippians 4:13, NKJV).

“Follow your heart,” says the movies. “The heart is deceitful above all things,” says God’s word, “and desperately sick; who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9, ESV). Often, when movie characters follow their heart, they follow it no matter what it takes, even if it means rebelling.

Redeeming Qualities—If Disney and such children’s movies were filled only with such rubbish as I have portrayed, no one would have them on their shelves. Don’t get me wrong: there are positive values and virtues. Snow White shows kindness to the dwarves and receives kindness in return. Cinderella humbly works hard without grumbling. Many characters show loyalty to each other. And it is good to pursue your dreams if your dreams are biblical/where you feel God is leading you. However, after boiling it down, I don’t believe the good outweigh the bad.

            Some might be thinking, “You’re being over sensitive. It’s just a children’s movie.” That’s my point: children watch these things. I’ve seen my little sister’s altered behavior from watching a show where the main character manipulates to get her way. Afterwards, my sister whined and tried (note: tried; it didn’t work) to use the characters same tactics to get her own way. Do you think a four-year-old can discern for himself that rebellion and “follow your heart” are just silly qualities of a movie? You and I can watch the films and enjoy the animation and humor because we know that it’s just pure amusement, and we can compare the themes to Scripture. Young children don’t do that on their own.

 My main intention is not to never let children watch Disney. I’m urging you to watch it with them. Point out the good and bad qualities. Compare with them the character’s actions with Scripture. Teach them not to love the things of the world as the movie portrays. Train them how to evaluate the things they watch to “guard their heart” (Proverbs 4:23, NIV1984). Because I’m pretty absolutely sure God’s themes trump the movie’s themes.

Klipsie

Image by Leaping Lizard

Desensitized Violence

"Know therefore that the LORD your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments.

Deuteronomy 7:9

     Someone came up to me wondering if violent video games are sinful. Today I would like to answer this question. While violent video games have not always been around since Jesus’ day, violence has. The Bible has a lot to say about violence but not much to say about violent video games. Therefore, most of what I have to say in this posting comes from gleaning Bible verses about exposure to violence.

     Sometimes, in order to get a quick answer, we only have to look at the nature of God to know what He is not and what He doesn’t stand for. God is a God of love:

"Know therefore that the LORD your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments. (Deuteronomy 7:9 NIV)"

     Because God is a God of love, He does not take lightly to violence. In Psalm 11:5, the Bible says, “The LORD examines the righteous, but the wicked, those who love violence, He hates with a passion.” Violence doesn’t always take the form of bloodshed, according to God. Violence can come in the form of divorce, adultery, thievery — basically, the Bible defines violence as wrongdoing to neighbor or otherwise.

     The problem with violent video games is that they teach indifference to violence. The player will accumulate points with each person he or she kills. This is a reward system based on bloodshed. God has never wanted bloodshed for His people. When the earth started to become overly violent was when God decided to send a flood to rid the earth of the wicked (Genesis 6:11-13). It wasn’t as if God wanted just a few people to be gone. It was the entire earth that was consumed with violence and/or wickedness. There was only one righteous family left — Noah’s.

     God sees blood as precious. It is life-giving and contains the life of the animal or person who contains it. Science even confirms this. Blood contains our genetic identity. It is what makes us who we are. To God, our individuality, and the beauty and diversity of His creation are what make it precious. When Abel’s blood was spilled, God described the land being poisoned by it. Because of Cain’s unjust murder of his brother Abel, he was sentenced to be a nomad and to reap a harvest of thorns and thicket when he would try to get food.

     Indifference to violence also means desensitization to violence. If a video game depicts killing people and so does a news broadcast, what young mind can differentiate between the two? If a movie shows the violent deaths or mutilation of people with as much ease as you can show a wedding in the same movie what difference does it make to a child if it is happening in real life or on TV? Adults have somewhat of a filter between real and make-believe but children don’t. A newscast looks a lot like a movie to a kid. This is another reason why I hate Halloween so much. It is a violent holiday that comes too close to reality. The night prior, in Detroit, we used to hear of all types of violent acts being committed — especially arson. But people always assumed that the next day would be better because it involved kids and candy — innocent enough, right? Wrong. The two days are related. One day people act violent, the next they look it. To a child, what is the difference? When you look the part you get candy. It’s a scary proposition.

     I do believe that engaging in any activity that God sees as wicked is a sin. If God sees violence as a sin, my guess is that He would see violent video games as sinful material that defiles its user.

Haron

TheoBiology

But ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds of the air, and they will tell you; or speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish of the sea inform you.9 Which of all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this? 10 In his hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind. 

Job 12:8-10

     Theology is the study of God. Biology is the study of life. When you study biology in a Biblical perspective, you are studying God: the Creator, Sustainer, and Life of all living things. If you look around yourself, especially if you are in your office reading a blog, you probably don’t see many living creatures. Yet your own body is full of this miracle called Life. 

     When God looked at all he had made: land-forms, plants, animals, light, humans, etc., each according to their own kind, he saw that it was “very good.” Everything he made, and every way he made them points to how perfect, wise, and caring our Creator is. 

     God created our earth with the perfect sustenance for life. Take, for instance, the atmosphere. The three dominant gases that make up the atmosphere (hydrogen, oxygen, and ozone) have just the right kind of molecular bonds to absorb three low-energy (harmful to life) light rays: ultraviolet, gamma, and X-rays. Not only that, but once the double bond in the ozone molecule is broken by the ultraviolet, the leftover oxygen molecule is used to brake the gamma rays.[1] Truly “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.”† 

     If any animal needs this protection from radiation, it is the camel. Besides the camel spending numerous hours in the hot sun, it encounters sand storms, dehydration, and the hot sand. It counters each of these with specialized features unique to its kind. The camel has closable nostrils, and extra hair to block out the sand from its eyes, nose, and ears. It keeps from sinking in the sand because of its expanding foot pads. They also conserve water by regulating their own body temperature. It can hold fuel in its humps and hold much water in their blood cells. They can also drink twenty gallons of water in less than ten minutes.[2] 

     An animal that has no risk of dehydration in its habitat is the sea turtle. Whereas other creatures’ lungs would rupture under such great water pressure, the turtle’s lungs are designed to collapse when they exhale, storing the oxygen in their red blood cells, which they have in greater proportions. Their eyes eject fluids that can protect their eyes from the sand while they dig nests for their eggs or rid their bodies of excess salt from the salt water around them.[3] 

     Not short of designer genius is the long necked giraffe. The giraffe’s diet consists of greens, herbs, and shoots. While some may be found in trees and shrubs, many are found on the desert ground. The giraffe must lower its six-foot neck to reach the herbs. When it has taken enough, it raises its head back up those six feet to digest its food. Most humans would fall over unconscious if they attempted this feat. What allows the creature to do such a rapid, heighty motion without falling over and becoming lion food? While the human brain allows the flow of blood through the brain, sometimes causing dizziness, the giraffe’s skull allows blood flow around the brain, not interfering with the functions of the brain. Obviously God cared for his creation enough that giraffes would live without the fear of extinction! 

     God designed this world so well that all its inhabitants work together to “keep it turning.” This very moment, millions of bacteria are living on your skin, surviving on you perspiration. Not only does your skin coolant and detox system sustain these harmless bacteria, but these bacteria, in turn fight off deadly pathogens to keep you healthy.[4] When the human body exhales carbon dioxide into the air, that gas will be the “air to breathe” for all plants. Those plants will convert that gas into more oxygen for humans to breathe and restore oxygen to the atmosphere. That is testimony to how efficient and full of foresight our Creator is. 

     But God’s providence and insight don't stop there. “Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! ... Consider how the lilies grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 28 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith!”† God may care for camels and all other creatures of this earth, but he never ceases caring for his people. 

     Living proof that God is the Creator Sustainer and “glue” of all living things is the protein laminin. Laminin is found by every cell structure in the body. It literally holds our membranes, muscles, organs, and bones together. Sounds exciting, doesn't it? The very structure of laminin is shaped like Christ’s cross. Nothing could be truer when God says “He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.”† 

     Our world, from the heights of the giraffe’s neck to the depths of the turtle’s sea habitation, is living testimony to a loving Creator. In John 14:6 Jesus says, “I am the … Life.”† God is both our earthly life and our eternal Life and Salvation. God breathed life into Adam and Eve, and as long as they didn't sin and fall away from their Holy Creator, they had a carefree life without sin and suffering that was to last forever on a perfect earth. But man did sin and their lives were diminished lengthwise and spiritually, and suddenly bore suffering and depravity. 

     Yet God loved us so much that he sent his only son Jesus, fully man and fully God, who never sinned, to take our sins upon his perfect life. He died, killing Death to give us new, everlasting Life in heaven. Now our Creator and Redeemer lives and offers us this life with him. 

Justin Gummi

†All Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, NIV1984.

[1] Jay Wile, Exploring Creation with Chemistry, 2nd Edition 

[2] Answers magazine, Answers in Genesis 

[3] Ibid.

[4] Jay Wile, Exploring Creation with General Science

Editor's Note:

This is Justin Gummi's last article for the time being. We hope you've enjoyed his articles over the past several months.

Image by Leaping Lizard

Sports, Good and Godly Exercise

     What benefits (if any) do sports hold? Are they merely physical, or do they branch out into other areas of life as well? Why shouldn’t I play sports? These are all valid questions. Some of which have been glossed over in the pursuit of worldly pleasure, success and popularity, and others in the pursuit of godliness and ‘in not of’-liness.

    I’m going to start with the second group of people, who would say that sports are inherently bad. There are little to no real benefits to be gained from them, and they are detrimental to our growth as godly young men and women in Christ. I would disagree. The benefits of playing and participating in various sports are numerous and varied. Not only do sports (by sports I mean team sports; baseball, football, basketball, Ultimate etc.) grow you physically, through the sometimes strenuous exercises, but they can also grow character, foster relationships and grow vital people skills.

     Any kind of game will grow your character, board games, card games, and sports. They teach us graciousness and humility in victory, while showing us how to keep our priorities in order when we lose. They teach us patience as we wait for our opponents. They teach us how to keep our cool when others don’t. They also give us insight into our own lives and hearts. “Out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks.” I have found this to be especially true with Sports. Sports bring out the best and worst in all of us. One of the best ways to judge a person’s character is to play a game with them. Their reactions and actions will act as a lens into their heart; the game will show their values and their character. With each game played, a new lesson is learned; a new character trait is grown and new insights are given.

     Relationships are also an inevitable part of sports. There are always at least two people involved in a game, and there are usually more. Every time you speak or interact with a person, you modify your relationship, for better or for worse. As I noted earlier, our attitudes manifest themselves most blatantly when playing a game. If your attitude and character are improper, then relationships will be harmed, not grown. Your teammates and opponents are all affected by how you play the game, and you can make lifelong friends or enemies (regardless of whose team they’re on) depending on how you interact with the others on the field.

     Communication is key in every area of life, especially sports. Without good communication a team will break down and lose, like in a place of business or a family. Teamwork, like communication, will carry you to victory, in sports and in life. As an aside, I have seen teams with half the skill in a certain sport defeat their opponents, simply by virtue (and necessity) of superiority teamwork.

     But nothing is all cake and no vinegar, there are a second group of people. These use sports to build up their self image and pride. What are some of the downsides of sports? Sports make visible the heart of a person, even those with bad attitudes. Playing sports provides an atmosphere that can allow these sinful heart attitudes to fester, resulting in a negative experience for those playing with the person, and making the already sinful character traits worse. Pride is frequently glorified in a sporting atmosphere, and competition can quickly grow into conflict.

     Sports can provide an excellent opportunity to grow and learn, to develop relationships and learn communication and teamwork skills. Keep in mind, as you’re on the field, that we have a propensity to show our hearts on the field. We should always strive to glorify Christ by our actions, on an off the field.

A shameless dig for Ultimate

I referenced a sport earlier called Ultimate. Generally called Ultimate Frisbee (but not officially, as ‘Frisbee’ is copyrighted by WHAMO®), Ultimate characterizes what an ideal sport can look like. Besides the basic game play (the rules of which can be found at www.upa.org ) which is awesome in and of itself, combining the athleticism of soccer, the footwork and headwork of basketball, with the field of football, Ultimate has, in its rules, a clause known as the Spirit of the Game™. The Spirit of the game is the core of Ultimate, which is the only major self-officiated and non-contact sport, and it puts virtue and sportsmanship over victory. I would encourage you to check out the rules and basic mechanics and try it out at your next church/homeschool/family/whatever gathering.

Leaping Lizard

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