Apology
Many Christians have expressed extreme dismay over the recent revelations regarding the abhorrent sin patterns of Apologist Ravi Zacharias. I have received notes and read articles full of anger; others are more sorrowful; a few are using the opportunity to propose sweeping changes to biblical sexuality; and one person wrote to tell me that she had to increase her anxiety medication as a result of learning about her Christian hero’s exposed wretchedness.

One thing no one has done, at least in my hearing, is apologize for Dr. Zacharias. That seems healthy, as nothing is gained by excusing sin. However, the idea of apology may be one of the most important things to consider as one learns from the fall of Ravi.

An “apologist” is one who speaks in defense of something. Early Christians used the term of their efforts to explain Christianity with logic, as commanded in 1 Peter 3. Over the centuries, apologists have made many great contributions to biblical understanding and broader human thought. One of the best known is C.S. Lewis, whose copious 20^th century output continues to bear fruit today.

Warning
In the first Socratic Digest [a magazine that published the notes from respectful discussions held between Christians and atheists in Oxford], Lewis wrote, “If I may trust my personal experience no doctrine is, for the moment, dimmer to the eye of faith than that which a man has just successfully defended.”

This is very telling. Lewis is confessing that he personally struggled with the diminishment of trust in God especially when he won an argument. In his excellent book The Narnian, professor Alan Jacobs notes that Dr. Lewis spoke to this problem on other occasions. In a speech about “Christian Apologetics,” Lewis said this to group of youth leaders in Wales:

One last word. I have found that nothing is more dangerous to one’s own faith than the work of an apologist. No doctrine of the Faith seems to me so spectral, so unreal as one that I have just successfully defended in a public debate. For a moment, you see, it has seemed to rest on one’s self: as a result, when you go away from that debate, it seems no stronger than that weak pillar. That is why we apologists take our lives in our hands and can be saved only by falling back continually from the web of our own arguments…into the Reality – from Christian apologetics into Christ Himself.

Reality
Here is a brilliant and biblical response to the weakness of human defenders of the faith – continually fall back on Christ. When we rest on Jesus – the author and perfecter of our faith – we have no need for bonfires to destroy Dr. Zacharias’ videos, no need to waste time trying to change God’s clear and wonderful words on sex, and possibly less need for anxiety meds. Turn to Reality instead of self or any other human.

Notice that Peter has the same idea in mind, commanding us to honor Jesus as Lord. In our hearts, i.e., what we might call the “center of our will,” we must respect and respond to Jesus as the Master, the only one holy and wholly in charge. This prepares us for all the wretchedness of sin revealed in self and others, protecting us especially from self-righteousness and despair.

God bless,
Wayne

Propaganda
I received an intriguing note from a podcast listener. He was concerned about the recent NY Times suggestion that the US President establish a “reality czar” to police thoughts and opinions. [See https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/02/technology/biden-reality-crisis-misinformation.html] Our ATD friend had this comment:

Throughout history, that kind of control seems designed for one purpose – to keep anyone from noticing when they are “naked.” The accepted propaganda line will be pushed as Pravda [Truth] but will almost certainly deny the only timeless and trustworthy source of truth, the word of God.

About the same time, Martin MacDonald, a member of my pulpit team, sent an observation that delved more deeply into the concern raised by the podcast listener. Martin shared a comparison between human propaganda and the first three chapters of the Bible:

Propagated as Truth                Truth
No God                                    God
Macro evolution                       Creator God
Define your own gender          Created sexual and gendered
No difference in genders         Made them male and female
No Satan                                 Satan exists
No hierarchies                         Man has dominion
Man is an animal                     Man is created in God’s image
Man defines marriage             Marriage between a man and a woman
Multi-sexuality fine                  Heterosexual monogamy
Children are a burden             Be fruitful and multiply
Man is good                            Man is depraved
Work is a burden                    Work is good, even through thistles
No self-denial                          Do not eat of that one tree

Whether we ever suffer under a false “Ministry of Truth” or not, Genesis 1-3 (and the rest of the Bible) will stand true. Be sure to spend more time in it and less time immersed in or worrying about propaganda.

God bless,
Wayne

“How can we possibly change the world NOW?”
In the continuing aftermath of the recent US elections, two kinds of communication have dominated my inbox. Utopian-minded Christians, mostly young people, are terribly bothered that whatever the outcome of the presidential vote, their vision of a wholesale rewrite of their country was obviously rejected. Conservative Christians young and old are very concerned about religious freedoms that face increasing attacks. Each bunch is worried about their ability to effectively bring positive change to a broken world.

A way forward from Peter
In such a situation the Christian needs to start with self. This is counterculture and rather difficult since the problems all seem to lie with others. However, starting change with self is scriptural, even in dark times. Peter wrote to people facing serious and frankly frightening blockades – not only to their biblical mission, but also to their very existence. Nonetheless, 1 Peter calls for Christians to continually focus on one’s own walk with God. Admiral McRaven famously echoed this priority in a speech given at the University of Texas, where he said, “If you want to change the world, make your bed every morning.”

Through Peter, God guides every Christian to understand the simple truth of God’s grace and live by it alone. Christians should dwell on earth as people who are:

• bound for a future grander than anything temporal
• transformed by God’s gracious election
• operating according to a greater purpose

Sadly, that is rarely our experience, necessitating engagement with God’s word from Peter. When we so engage, the Lord changes us and through us He changes the world. Trapped in their difficult context, Peter’s original readers likely couldn’t fathom the blessings they bequeathed to us. May future generations say the same of us.

God bless,
Wayne

A disputed election after civil war
In 1876, America endured a contentious election that makes 2020 look tame. From what I read it appears our Christian ancestors were deeply dismayed. They had just fought a horrible civil war and ten years later the American experiment seemed again doomed to failure. Thankfully, the union endured and even strengthened. If you are interested in those events, I highly recommend Chief Justice William Rehnquist’s book Centennial Crisis.

While the political and social issues are notable, the spiritual response of our forebears seems most significant. A new wave of church planting sparked, missionaries were sent across the world, and ministries of reconciliation were begun.* Many sermons were preached on 1 Corinthians 13, noting especially our presently limited understanding (verse 12) and the indomitable nature of faith, hope, and love (verse 13).

Faith, hope, and love remain
I was talking about all this with two other pastors as we prepared to lead our respective churches through the outcomes of the 2020 election. One of them made a fascinating observation about faith, hope, and love. He said, “Faith, hope, and love exist in an unbreakable trinity for the Christian. God keeps us in love, hope, and faith even as we go through periods where the glass through which we see appears very dark indeed.”

We took his thought and developed it into the simple diagram below.

•    Hope and faith work together (a) to insulate us from the devastation of culture wars both hot and cold. We trust and know that this is not the end.

•    Faith and love combine (b) to keep the Christian engaged with culture, not as a political being but as a spiritual force. We trust the Lord and thus can boldly care for a world in need of Jesus.

•    Love and hope (c) dynamically deepen us as redeemed community. We love our brethren and have hope beyond this earth, allowing us to forgive, love, and bond together despite differences.

Whatever fears or disunities assault our senses in the days to come, please abide in faith, hope, and love. However dark the times seem and however limited our understanding, let’s act in faith, hope, and love.

God bless,
Wayne

* Note: Please don’t misunderstand. 19th century American Christians were just as prone to foolishness as we. There were many mistakes in their reconstruction, in fact, one could accurately apply Tolkien’s statement to their work, “Some things that should not have been forgotten were lost.” They experienced just as many manipulations and heresies as in our 21st c., but their achievements should nonetheless be applauded.

More than conquerors
Here’s the big idea in the book we’ve been studying, 2 Timothy:
The believer in Jesus [along with his pastors and churches] is called to power, love, and discipline. License, panic, and legalism are the exact opposite of God’s best for His child. Instead, we are more than conquerors through a disciplined life of power and love, confident in our eternal position in Christ.

There are also 3 important sub-themes in the epistle:

1.  Scriptural authority. The Lord speaks through Paul, defending scripture as the authoritative, inerrant, infallible breath of God.

2.  Salvation. Paul is certain to stress salvation. In fact, in the pastorals [1 & 2 Tim, Titus], he uses “save,” “saved,” and “salvation” in all three biblical senses: justification (e.g., 1 Tim. 2:4), sanctification (e.g., 1 Tim. 2:15), and glorification (e.g., 2 Tim. 2:10). In 2 Timothy, Paul especially highlights the grace of God that is the foundation of all aspects of salvation.

3.  Security. ἐπαισχύνομαι epaischynomai – what we render “ashamed” – appears in the negative often in the letter, more so than any other NT epistle. Paul is not ashamed; rather he is secure in Christ. ἐπαισχύνομαι epaischynomai is a particularly great word choice because it’s used throughout the NT and the Septuagint for the shame brought by the righteous judgment of God. The believer will face no such shame in glory and should live in sanctification so that he is unashamed temporally as well.

God bless,
Wayne

Overcoming
Recently I wrote about Romans 12 and overcoming evil with good. A few days later, my daddy died suddenly. In our grief, we are comforted by Dad’s sure status as a believer in Christ. We are also edified by the outpouring of notes from his former athletes, his friends, and members of his community. All remarked on his wonderful capacity to overcome evil with God’s good. Below was my poor attempt to capture our dad. As it has for me over a lifetime, I pray Benny’s example fleshes out Romans 12 for you.

Eulogy
Benny Braudrick liked hard work.
He liked playing games with his friends.
He liked watching OU sports.
And Benny Braudrick loved the people with whom he worked and played.

Benny liked building a warm fire.
He liked hot coffee.
He liked a house full of kids having fun.
And Benny loved his brothers and sisters, nieces and nephews.

Dad liked competing in sports.
He liked officiating.
He liked coaching – wrestling, baseball, football, and softball.
And Dad loved the young men and women he coached.

Pa liked kids, and they liked him.
He liked laughing.
He liked giving gifts – very much.
And Pa loved his granddaughter Jessica & her husband Grant. He loved his granddaughters Kathryn, Beth, and Rebekah

Pa liked Christmas.
He liked going to his kids’ and grandkids’ performances and contests.
He liked golf – a lot.
And Pa loved his grandson Michael, his grandson Benjamin and his wife Katya, and his grandson Keegan and his wife Emily.

Our Daddy liked buying dresses once he gained daughters in love.
He liked dogs, and that’s a great understatement.
He liked mountains.
And Daddy loved his daughters-in-law, Janna and Sarena.

Our Daddy liked teaching right and wrong.
He liked sweets.
He liked the cattle business.
And Daddy loved his sons, Bob and Wayne.

Mr. Benny liked driving.
He liked steak.
He liked Bethany, OK.
And Mr. Benny loved his wife, Ellen.

Benny Braudrick liked church.
He liked serving.
He liked a great story or song.
And Benny Braudrick loved his Savior, Jesus Christ, the Lord.

God bless,
Wayne