The Web Site and Blog of Pastor Chris Brauns
A “local church” that is “local,” is not a local church. Our Lord mandated, “Go into all the world and make disciples (Matthew 28:18-20).
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UPDATE per the comment of OSU fan Brian McLaughlin:
Better said, a local church that is exclusively local is not a local church. Certainly, local churches should first be local – - but, it cannot end there.
One of the wonderful blessings of studying forgiveness is that I encounter so many stories of people who show the grace of Christ in their lives.
This morning, Cindy Swanson pointed me to article about evangelist Tim Lee and how he reflects Christ after losing both legs to a land mine in Vietnam.
Later this week, the Rev. Tim Lee will return to the place he lost his legs.
To a place that should conjure up bitter memories, a place you’d think he’d want to forget.
But it was 37 years ago that Mr. Lee stepped on that land mine in Vietnam – enough time, he said, to have healed not only physically but also spiritually.
His faith won’t let him be bitter.
G.J. McCARTHY/DMN
“If I could find the man who set the land mine, I’d tell him I love him,” he said.
Read the whole thing here.
HT: Cindy Swanson
I was driving back from Dekalb the other day and I figured out Joyce, who was riding along with me, is a bad influence.
It’s a long story, but Joyce is what I call my GPS unit. When I’m going somewhere that I don’t know, Joyce tells me where to go.
Joyce is usually right. And, we get along okay. I don’t generally rebel.
The trouble with simply obeying Joyce is that I never learn the map. So, I always rely strictly on the rules she gives without understanding the overall picture. Joyce barks out orders. And, I don’t generally look at the big picture.
Sometimes we as Christians try and live the Christian life by listening to a legalistic version of Joyce rather than by learning the map. If all we do is follow a verbal set of instructions, we’re bound to lose our way when the rules don’t allow for the detours that come up in life.
Rather than living rigidly by a legalistic list, Christians should pray Philippians 1:9-11, Lord, this is our prayer that our love would grow increasingly in knowledge and depth of insight so that we would discern what is best and be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Christ to the glory and praise of God.
Don’t just follow a legalistic GPS that sits on your dashboard and tells you what to do. Learn the map by immersing yourself in the Word so that you’re able to test and approve what God’s will is –his good, pleasing and perfect will.
I’m currently preaching a series on self-control. If anyone knows this guy personally, I would be happy to send him the cd’s.
You have to hand it to the guy. He’s a man of action.
HT: Vitamin Z
Cindy Swanson recently interviewed me about Unpacking Forgiveness.
The interview will air tomorrow (Sunday morning, Oct 19) at 5:30 AM on 101QFL (live stream at http://www.101qfl.com) and at 9 PM the same night on Radio 91 (live stream at http://www.radio91.com)
Click here for Cindy’s blog.
Misc updates regarding Unpacking Forgiveness –but, first, I want to give you one window into what our family prayer time looks like for this book. A few nights ago when we were praying together as a family, our five year old Mary Beth, prayed earnestly that when we get to Heaven we will meet someone who understood salvation because of this book.
We really are praying that many will be encouraged — for God’s glory and our joy. And, if we meet someone on the New Earth that has been encouraged, that it is really going to be cool.
You can read some of the specific ways I am praying here. I’m a pastor, so prayer for local churches is always on my heart in a particular way.
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The third and fourth winners in the Forgiveness Quiz book giveaway are:
Sarah Bjornstadt of California
Robert Hansel of North Carolina
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Molly Friesen mentioned Unpacking Forgiveness earlier this week on the Route 5:9 blog (click here). Molly has some helpful links about forgiveness. And, given that the Route 5:9 blog is connected with Peacemakers, a group that has done some great work in equipping local churches to resolve conflicts biblically, it is a blog you will want to reading often.
Since Molly posted, two things have changed. First, I sent a book off to Montana with instructions to find Molly. (She had not yet seen a copy).
Second, Molly also mentioned that she hadn’t see a review of Unpacking Forgiveness yet. There is at least one new review out there, and several other blogs have mentioned it one way or another.
Read Tim Challies review here.
Daryl Dash made initial comments here followed by a two part follow-up interview (Part I and Part II).
Tullian Tchividjian referenced Unpacking Forgiveness here.
Justin Taylor of Between Two Worlds posted an excerpt here.
And, there are at least three reviews now available on Amazon.
It’s gray and raining in the Valley. Jamie is busy, so I was on my own for lunch. I went uptown to the Royal Blue (our restaurant in town), had a cup of farmer coffee, some bacon and eggs, and read the Chicago Tribune.
I estimate that half of our one thousand people are out of town working. Things were pretty serene at the Blue. I was able to concentrate on the paper. Maybe, it’s just because I wrote a book on Forgiveness, but the paper seemed especially loaded today with forgiveness questions today. I’ll bet any one of these could spark major debate amongst Christians.
Thoughts?
Justin Taylor interacts with the thoughts of Robert P.George:
Readers of this blog know the esteem I hold for Robert P. George–in my view (and that of many others), he is one of the great moral philosophers and public intellectuals of our time. With a law degree and a theology degree from Harvard, and a doctorate from Oxford, he currently serves as McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence at Princeton University, and as the director of the James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions. He also serves on The President’s Council on Bioethics and previously served on the United States Commission on Civil Rights.
Dr. George is a man who chooses his words very carefully. And that is why his latest essay, Obama’s Abortion Extremism, is so significant. It begins in this way:
“Barack Obama is the most extreme pro-abortion candidate ever to seek the office of President of the United States. He is the most extreme pro-abortion member of the United States Senate. Indeed, he is the most extreme pro-abortion legislator ever to serve in either house of the United States Congress.”
Read the whole thing here.
Earlier I said that I think the ESV Study Bible is the most significant study Bible of my lifetime. I continue to hold that position. The number of Study Bibles written in my lifetime is relatively small. Within that group, many were written by one individual. Whereas, the ESV Study Bible was written by an all-star team.
This team approach shows up in that the notes do not take a firm position on controversial areas. You can read Tim Challies initial review here. Challies notices that the ESV Study Bible does not definite itself narrowly theologically.
Controversial Theology
One concern people are likely to have when considering a new study Bible concerns the theological perspective offered in the notes. Does this particular study Bible take a Reformed or Arminian position on salvation? A complementarian or egalitarian perspective on gender roles? An amillennial or premillennial position on the end times? I looked through many of the notes seeking what this Bible says on some of the more common controversies: end times, spiritual gifts and soteriology. I found this an interesting comparison with the Reformation Study Bible. It seems to me that the Reformation Study Bible came from a much more narrowly-defined theological position; it was Reformed, it was cessationist, it was amillennial. The ESV Study Bible, on the other hand, offers a wider or less-defined perspective. Where the doctrine is clear and undisputed among Evangelicals, so too are the notes. But where doctrines are controversial and within the area of Christian freedom or disputable matters, the notes tend not to take a firm position, even when the author or editor is firmly in one camp or the other. Whether this is positive or negative may well depend on the individual reader.
Click here to read the whole thing.
One of the statements on the Forgiveness Quiz was:
“There are times when it is wrong to forgive.”
I maintain that this is a true statement. (Read here). I won’t even concede that it’s a trick question.
Is it not relatively easy to identify examples when forgiveness is wrong:
God doesn’t forgive those who refuse to believe in Him.
It is wrong for Party A to forgive Party B when Party A is not the offended. How would you feel if your child was killed by a terrorist, and a Christian group not directly involved stepped forward and said, “We forgive them.”
So, how did we get to the point where 2/3 of people think forgiveness is never wrong? The answer is that people in our culture basically describe forgiveness as a feeling. What is meant by forgiveness is the absence of angry or bitter thoughts.
But, the Bible describes forgiveness as something that happens between two parties. One of the chapters in my book is, “More than a Feeling.” (I did go to college during the Boston era. I know the song well).
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Here area couple of helpful links about times when forgiveness is wrong.
Read Dan Phillips post about the Dixie Chicks here. Most of us have blissfully forgotten that the Dixie Chicks ever existed. However, this post is worth reading for Dan’s analysis of when forgiveness is not appropriate.
Read Mohler’s recent article here about “False apology syndrome.”
Read endorsements for Unpacking Forgiveness here.
Click here to order Unpacking Forgiveness.
“. . . Chris Brauns has done a magnificent job in helping us understand the true nature of biblical forgiveness. Every Christian will profit from reading and applying this book.” Jerry Bridges.
“ . . . Unpacking Forgiveness is an engaging, convicting but emphatically encouraging treatment of this hugely important (and sometimes mindbogglingly challenging) part of life. Dr. Brauns writes from the standpoint of a faithful, wise, experienced and caring pastor . . .” Ligon Duncan, First Pres, Jackson, MS
A Brick in the Valley
