Who Can Ascend God's Holy Hill?

Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord?
And who shall stand in his holy place?
He who has clean hands and a pure heart,
who does not lift up his soul to what is false
and does not swear deceitfully.
He will receive blessing from the Lord
and righteousness from the God of his salvation.
Such is the generation of those who seek him,
 who seek the face of the God of Jacob.

The selection of scripture above is what I read yesterday in Psalm 24:3-6. As I read it, a sinking feeling began to form deep in my heart.  You see, I want to ascend the hill of the Lord and I long to stand in His holy place.  Only as I read this Psalm I knew that I could not.

I did not have clean hands.
I did not have a pure heart.
I do sometimes lift up my soul to what is false.
I swear deceitfully.

I am not worthy to ascend the hill or stand in the holy place and no amount of effort or work on my part will ever change that.

What hope is there for a sinner like me?

There is hope only in the cross........
There is hope only in a God who became flesh.......
There is hope only in a High Priest who bore the wrath of God for me.......
There is hope only in a perfect Savior who gives me His righteousness.......

I am not worthy to ascend the hill or stand in the holy place and no amount of effort or work on my part will ever change that.

Praise God that Jesus Christ is worthy!
In Christ I can ascend the hill.
In Christ I stand in the holy place.

For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. -- 2 Corinthians 5:21

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Elephant Room, Unity, and Race

The fallout from the round two of the Elephant Room continues to rain down.  The latest salvo in the back and forth between James MacDonald and his critics is fired by MacDonald himself in the form of this video.  Go watch and then hurry back.

Let me very honest and plain spoken about this.  Watching this video made me alternately want to scream in frustration and then cry with heartbreak.  I am completely taken aback by the things said and the accusation leveled in this video by all involved.

To begin with, MacDonald states that he has been humbled and wants to let these three pastors who attended the Elephant Room conference speak to its success or failure rather than declaring it a success himself.  That sounds like a noble gesture but a couple of issues seem to undermine the MacDonald's credibility from the start.
First, are we supposed to believe it is just some coincidence that all three of these pastors are African-american?  Considering the rather lengthy discussion on race that concludes the discussion, obviously these pastors were chosen intentionally, at least in part, for their race.
Second, if MacDonald is serious about hearing legitimate criticism about the Elephant Room or from hearing from African-american pastors, why not interview someone like Voddie Baucham who has already gone on record with his concerns about ER.  (As an aside, if you are looking for an example of how to voice serious concerns with other believers doctrine or practices in a way that is firm, gracious, and loving.....you can't do much better than Baucham did.)

Leaving these initial concerns, let me move to the actual content of the video.  Not surprisingly, all three of these pastors gave glowing reviews of ER2 and of all that took place there including the rubber stamping of T.D. Jakes as orthodox.  Going by recent events, one might conclude that unequivocal agreement with MacDonald on these topics was the prerequisite of being interviewed in the first place.  The idea that anyone who criticizes or disagrees with any aspect of the ER, and especially the session dealing with T.D. Jakes, is an uninformed, unbiblical, love abandoning pseudo-Christian was clearly implied throughout the video.  As arrogant and distasteful as that implication is, I found what was actually stated by one of the interviewed pastor to be worse by far.

Bryan Lorrits accused some black pastors who criticized the Elephant Room and its handling of T.D. Jakes of doing so in order to gain access into the "middle-aged, white reformed world". (You can find this beginning at the 4:25 mark of the video.)  I have no idea what this accusation is based upon and suspect it isn't based on much of anything.  And the fact that MacDonald just accepted the accusation at face value without any clarification I find just as appalling as the accusation itself.  This reeks of playing the "race card" so that no one can disagree with what you have said without being labeled a racist. (And how ironic is it that T.D. Jakes has somehow escaped this charge despite the fact he is at a conference basically asking for acceptance from MacDonald who is a white, middle-aged, (semi) reformed pastor?)

What I find so disturbing about all of this (at least in part) is that MacDonald and company are doing the very same thing in this video they are accusing their critics of doing. See, they accuse their critics of being unloving, uncharitable, and unwilling to accept the possibility of being wrong.  And yet nothing put out by the ER2 crew in response to their critic has given any indication that they themselves are willing to loving, charitable, or receptive to the possibility of error.  They assume they are right and if anyone needs to change their minds it is necessarily those who disagree with them. It is the saddest of ironies.

The other great irony in all of this is that Voddie Baucham spoke warned against and denounced these type of racist tactics we see used by the pastors in MacDonald's video in his blog post where he graciously disagrees with MacDonald about T.D. Jakes. The quote below is from Baucham's blog.

You see, some of this boils down to what has sometimes been called, “the soft bigotry of lowered expectations.”  Asking black people to adopt orthodox theology (when Lord knows they don’t have access to the same schools, books, opportunities, and, in the minds of some... lack sufficient intelligence) is asking them to negate their blackness.  While, on the other hand, the solid, Reformed, well-educated black pastor is NOT REALLY BLACK.  Therefore, he’s fair game.  Irony of Ironies... that is racist!  And that’s what has to be dragged out of the shadows.

Of course, according to the logic of MacDonald, Baucham and all he says can be written off completely because he is only saying these things in order to gain admission to the white, reformed theological world.

All this just highlight the inherent problem with abandoning truth and sound doctrine for the appearance of unity.  You take a man, Voddie Baucham, who is know for his biblical faithfulness in the pulpit, and you make him an outcast because he won't toe the line when it comes to the agenda of "unity and charity" you have established as being of first importance.  Meanwhile, you take a man who is, at best, on the very edge of orthodoxy when it comes to the crucial doctrine of the trinity and you elevate him as being untouchable by any criticism.  Biblically faithful men are shunned and biblically suspect men are welcomed with open arms. (The maddening thing about all this is that even if Jakes had publicly and convincingly repented of modalism and embraced the historical, biblical view of the trinity, he would still be a false teacher peddling a heretical and dangerous false gospel. Meaning he still would not be deserving biblically of being fellowshipped with and endorsed as a brother in the ministry.) This man made attempt at unity is just creating greater disunity in the body.  As Phil Johnson (@Phil_Johnson) so aptly tweeted:

The inevitable fruit of any fleshly attempt to engineer unity apart from truth will be worse division than ever.

We are seeing firsthand what Johnson is speaking to.  True biblical unity cannot be separated from the truth and the solution to reconciling racial divides in the church is not to force feed T.D. Jakes into mainstream "white" evangelicalism.  Nor is it to accuse those who oppose Jakes of being racist themselves.  It is to confront racist attitudes, along with every other sin, with the power of the biblical gospel.

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Fighting For The Gospel

In the past couple of weeks there have been two events in the evangelical world that have been the objects of much attention and controversy.  The first of those events was the Code Orange Revival held by Elevation Church pastored by Steven Furtick.  The second event was the Elephant Room 2 created and hosted by James MacDonald.  Furtick, MacDonald, and T.D. Jakes were all participants in both events and were the lightning rods for the majority of the controversy as well.  Many at these events have said, insinuated, and implied that those who have serious concerns over what took place at both Code Orange and Elephant Room are simply jealous (of the numerical success of the participants mostly), haters, or misinformed.  While these labels certainly apply to some, I think there is a legitimate reason for some serious concern.

That concern is for fidelity and faithfulness to the biblical gospel.

"But wait a minute...all those men would confirm the gospel wouldn't they?" you might be saying.

I think they would all agree to the ideas of the gospel as Paul lays them out in 1 Corinthians 15:3-6.  We have sinned, Christ died for our sin, Christ was buried and raised again.  I also think they would agree that faith in Christ is the only way to God the Father.

"If that is true, then what exactly is your concern?"  Glad you asked.

My biggest concern is that these three pastors (perhaps MacDonald less so than Furtick and Jakes) seem to disregard many of the biblical underpinnings of the gospel even as they affirm the facts of it.  Let me try to explain.

In order to understand the gospel rightly, we must first approach it with the right perspective.  That perspective is that everything about the gospel is to be defined and understood from what the bible says about it and that the gospel cannot be isolated from the entirety of the biblical story. Our own ideas about its content, purpose, or method of delivery are useless.  We are fallen people with deceitful hearts (Jeremiah 17:9) and our own ideas about the things of God are not to be trusted.  We must obediently submit to God's definition of the gospel, His declaration of its purpose, and His means of communicating it.

So what does the bible teach about these things?  

The first (and most important) concept we must believe in order to remain faithful to the gospel is that all things exist ultimately for the glory of God (Romans 11:36, Colossians 1:16)  This means that more than anything else, including the salvation of sinners, His own glory is God's highest priority.  What this does is place salvation in its proper context. Ephesians 1:3-6 tells us that our adoption as sons is for the "praise of His glorious grace".  When we understand that even the salvation of sinners is a means to the end of God's glory then we have a much better chance of remaining faithful to the biblical gospel.  

That is because when we elevate the salvation of sinners to the ultimate end of God, we then begin to justify any means to that end.  After all, nothing is more important than converting sinners so nothing is off the table when it comes to methodology.  This misunderstanding has led to the epidemic of pragmatism in today's churches.  Whatever works is exalted and fruitfulness as defined by numbers is the measure of a ministry's success.

When we understand that the purpose of everything in the universe is to glorify God then we can release ourselves from the un-biblical idea that God wants us to use whatever means necessary to reach lost people.  What God wants from us is humble obedience to His word and a faith that our humble obedience is what it takes to reach lost people for the glory of God.  We are commanded by God to preach the gospel (1 Corinthians 1:17, 2 Timothy 4:2), trust in the power of the Holy Spirit in the gospel, and let God reach who He intends to reach.  Ultimately our job is not to reach people; it is to obediently proclaim the excellencies of the One who called us so that He might draw men unto Himself.

I don't dislike James MacDonald, Steven Furtick, or T.D. Jakes personally nor do I believe what they have done or said recently means they are not believers.  I do believe that in their efforts to have fruitful, successful ministries they have compromised the very gospel they say the believe and cherish and I believe that they need to repent where that has happened.  In Galatians 1:8-9 Paul says those that preach a false gospel are to be accursed.  It is imperative that we get the gospel right, for our hearers as well as for ourselves.

I will defend the gospel and call to accounts those, and especially those who wield such great influence, who by their words or actions defame or degrade that gospel.

If that makes me a jealous hater then so be it.

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Elephant Room, Unity, and the Gospel

The latest brouhaha in evangelicalism centers around the issues of unity and doctrine.  Specifically, what doctrines and beliefs are worth dis-unity with other professing Christians and which beliefs should unity take precedence over.  This has been thrust into the spotlight recently because of the Elephant Room conference created and run by James MacDonald of Harvest Bible Fellowship.
A brief recap of recent events:

• MacDonald announces that T.D. Jakes will be a participant at Elephant Room 2
• Controversy ensues dues to Jakes fuzzy definition of the trinity due to his background with Oneness Pentecostals (who hold a heretical view of the trinity) and his word of faith prosperity message.
• MacDonald defends his choice of Jakes and even goes so far to change the purpose of the Elephant Room.
• Jakes and MacDonald participate in Code Orange Revival at Elevation Church. Elevation is pastored by Steven Furtick who is also a participant at Elephant Room 2.
• Code Orange is blasted by many, including Chris Rosebrough,  for its man centered, prosperity messages (with the one notable exception of Matt Chandler's sermon).
• MacDonald resigns from his position with The Gospel Coalition stating that God has called him to different methods of ministry that TGC may not agree with.
• Chris Rosebrough is asked to leave an Elephant Room 2 satellite site and threatened with arrest if he does not do so.
• Elephant Room Session 4 takes place with all the participants seeming to believe that it has settled the issue of Jakes' orthodoxy and many others believing it has only perpetuated the belief that Jakes sidesteps the issue of orthodox trinitarianism and receives a pass for his teaching of the prosperity gospel.

The question that naturally arises out of all this is "Who is right?" because in this case "right" matters.  MacDonald, Driscoll, et al will tell you that as long as people are being reached for Jesus with the gospel then most other considerations can be overlooked and we can embrace each other despite our differences.  They also strongly implied that if you disagree with that position then you are a bible beating, divisive person who only wants to tear down other believers. These men wield a great deal of influence in evangelicalism so what they say matters.  Whether they are right or wrong here matters because they have been given/created a large platform from which to influence the church.

I have a couple of observations I would like to offer here.

First, the quote below is taken straight from the Elephant Room purpose statement:

The Elephant Room is more than an event. It is the outgrowth of an idea. The idea that the best way forward for the followers of Jesus lies not in crouching behind walls of disagreement but in conversation among all kinds of leaders about what the scriptures actually teach. We must insist on the biblical Gospel, right doctrine and practice but not isolate ourselves from relationship even with those who believe much differently.These are conversations about the most Christ honoring ways of building a church.  Our goal is unity, however a true unity cannot be fashioned in pretense or denial of truth nor can it be won among those who prefer sectarianism to the unity Jesus prayed for.  To advance Christ’s call to unity we must do what men have always done, we must push and prod and challenge and sharpen each other’s beliefs and methods.  Fidelity and fruitfulness, both matter.  No one has a corner on the truth and methods must do more than ‘work.’

I find it indefensible and comically hypocritical that an event whose purpose "lies not in crouching behind walls of disagreement but in conversation among all kinds of leaders about what the scriptures actually teach"  would begin by revoking the registration of one of their most outspoken critics.  I fail to see how this is anything other than the very sectarianism they rail against here.  How are they going to "push and prod and challenge and sharpen each other's beliefs and methods" if they don't allow those with significant disagreements to even attend a video simulcast of their event?

The whole thing smacks of the big evangelical superstars telling the rest of us peons to just let them take care of this one.  They know what is best for us and if we will just get out of their way and stop criticizing them, then they will be able to inform and instruct us on how to handle these types of situations.

The actual Elephant Room session with Jakes seemed to bear very little resemblance to a group of men trying to discern biblical truth.  It seemed that everyone there already decided they agreed (enough) on the doctrinal issues and their point was now to demonstrate that we can all just get along.

The bigger issue here, I believe, is a gospel issue.  The truth is that I agree in principle with what MacDonald and company are trying to say.  If the biblical gospel is being proclaimed and taught then that is something to be rejoiced in.  If another truly believes and proclaims the gospel of the bible then I think we can disagree on some other issues and still fellowship and labor alongside one another.  But where there is no gospel agreement, there is no unity.  Scripture is clear that what unites us is the work of Christ on the cross and our new identity as children of God.  The gospel unites us and the lack of gospel divides us.

The Elephant Room wants me to believe that Jakes and those like him are reaching people with the gospel and that should trump all other concerns. The question is which gospel are they reaching people with?  Is it the gospel of the bible?  Is Jakes' gospel the gospel of Jesus, Paul, Peter, and the rest of the biblical authors?

Let's look in His word and see, shall we? I know it isn't as controversial and exciting as The Elephant Room or a book on sex and marriage but it is the most important question to be answered if we want to see the name of Christ exalted among all the nations.

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"Yeah, But" Syndrome

I was strolling through the Twitter-verse today when I happened upon this tweet by Dan Phillips (@bibchr) of Pyromaniacs and Biblical Christianity

If you are ever tempted to think the professing evangelical church is fundamentally healthy, just say publicly that the Bible is sufficient and watch what happens. That'll cure you. Seriously.

As I thought about the sad truth Dan is speaking to, the phrase that continued to bounce around in my head was "Yeah, but...."   I am sure you have heard it before (and if you are like me, at some point uttered it yourself).
Usually it emerges during a conversation about life and the difficulties associated with it.
Someone mentions a struggle or problem they are dealing with or wondering about.
Usually someone else mentions what the bible has to say about that struggle of problem.
And then that is (way too often) followed with "Yeah, but....".

Let me give you a few examples......

A wife is struggling in her marriage and her friend points her to Ephesians 5 and councils her to respect her husband even if he doesn't seem to deserve it.  Her response? "Yeah, but....you don't understand my husband and the things he has done."

Or the flip side of that equation where the husband is encouraged to love his wife as Christ loved the church even if she doesn't seem to respond.  His response?  "Yeah...but some of the things she does...."

Or the pastor trying to figure out how to reach the people in his church and see them become excited about the mission God has called them to.  Another pastor recommends preaching exegetically through the bible. His response?  "Yeah...but they have so many issues that I need to address first."

Or the new church plant that wants to reach the community for Jesus.  It is suggested that they simply and clearly proclaim the gospel in their services.  Their response?  "Yeah...but we have to compete with this entertainment focused culture and people with short attention spans and......"

What all these people think they are saying is "I know that is what the bible says about my situation but my circumstances are unique and have dictated a different course of action for me".  What they are actually saying is that the bible doesn't really have the answer to my problem and I can and need to find an answer that will actually work.

We parents know the truth of this.  When my kids respond to a directive I have given them with "Yeah, but..." I stop them and say "No buts about it....go do it."  When we are in the position of authority we recognize "Yeah, but Syndrome" for what it is....an attempt to usurp and undermine our authority.

The truth is that when it comes to what God has revealed to us in scripture, "Yeah, but..." is just an attempt at a subtle substitute for "I deny the fact that the bible is the perfect, sufficient, revealed will of the sovereign God of the universe."

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