Corby Stephens

The Washington Post has a very interesting article on a new report that suggests all humans are descended from three “families”. You can head over and read it, or hang here because I’m going to walk through most of it and show how some faulty thinking and bad assumptions lead to bad science and conclusions.

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There are many things in life that are either/or kinds of things. For example, either Jesus is the Son of God, or He isn’t. You either have money in the bank, or you don’t. You either like country music, or you are normal. There are also many things in life that are both/and kinds of things. They can be both/and because it can depend on the perspective from which you look at it. Truths that appear to be contradictory really aren’t, unless you take them to an extreme that excludes the possibility of the other.

This can be illustrated by a pendulum. If you aren’t sure what that is, just imagine a grandfather clock. That swingy thing is a pendulum. The pendulum has two extremes; all the way to the left, or all the way to the right. In politics we have the liberal left and the conservative right. People who seem to have a good grip on things are usually in the middle.

This picture works well in areas of theology as well. Some people focus heavily on the sovereignty of God. Others focus heavily on the sovereignty (or free will) of man. Yet the Bible clearly teaches both. Problems occur when one swings all the way to one extreme. When you take God’s sovereignty to the extreme, you have a God who causes people to sin, but that is contrary to scripture. When you take man’s sovereignty to the extreme, you have a God who is out of control and always having to compensate and adjust to what mankind does or chooses. That is also contrary to scripture. The truth of is seems to be in the middle. Some will operate to one side or the other of the middle, and that’s OK so long as it isn’t to the exclusion of Biblical truth. Is God sovereign, or man? Yes.

Sanctification; are we sanctified by what we do or by what Jesus has done? Yes.

The Gospel; is it about what Jesus has done or those who benefit from it? Yes.

The end times; do we need to be on the lookout for what is to come, or do we need to not worry about it and be about the Father’s business? Yes.

Do you need to do a pendulum check? Do you swing too far to one side or the other? Is it an either/or or an both/and issue? If you find yourself fighting a lot with other, or struggling with yourself on something, take a beat and do a pendulum check.

[youversion]Job 15:20[/youversion]
Eliphaz, like many Bible teachers and many the believers who follow them, is under the misconception that people who do bad things only and always only have bad things happen to them, while people who are good and “Godly” will only and always ever have good things happen to them. Really? What about Jesus? What about Paul? What about all of the Apostles who were martyred and lived under persecution? Sometimes those who live apart from God to reap the consequences. Sometimes they live the life of a king. Sometimes those who live for the Lord endure trials and tribulations which James tells us count all as joy. Sometimes they live in peace, rest, and blessing. But there is no simple one-to-one equation of good gets good, bad gets bad. When we are experiencing what we perceive to be bad things, we need to ask ourselves if they are the consequences of our own action, or if it is a test from the Lord to build our faith Like He did with Abraham and so many others. When we are experiencing what we perceive to be good things, we need to check ourselves to see if we have a sense of “I earned this, I worked for this” versus “this is a blessing from God, I don’t deserve it, thank you Lord.”

[youversion]Habakkuk 2:9-11[/youversion]
Before I throw this out there I want to say that I’m not trying to overly spiritualize these verses. This observation isn’t my attempt to communicate the primary point or application of these verses. It’s just something that occurred to me as I was reading them. If they are of the Lord and them bless you, awesome. It seems to me that many Christians, myself included at least one time in my walk with the Lord, have isolated themselves from the world in the name of being holy. There is no question we are called to being set apart. In Deuteronomy God commands his people to “be holy for I am holy.” Peter echos this in his epistles to Christians. However, bring holy does not mean isolating ourselves in our own little Christian-culture bubble and having nothing whatsoever to do with the world. Paul addresses the distinction in 1 Americans, er, I mean Corinthians when discussing sexual immorality he tells clarifies for them that when he first told them to avoid sexually immoral people, he meant those within the body of Christ, not those outside in the world. Otherwise there would be no opportunity to witness and lead people to Jesus. The Church has cut off many peoples by letting those who are already “in” in. It has set its nest on high to be safe from the reach of harm, of the world. This is the exact opposite of the example we have from Jesus. Jesus was set apart from the world, and set apart to God to go into the world and save many people alive. When we cut ourselves off from the world we also forfeit our lives, the abundant lives that Jesus came to give us. If we don’t cry out the stones and beams we have built around our selves will. I don’t know about you but I’d rather not have a rock sit in for me.

[youversion]1 Peter 3:15[/youversion]
I love apologetics. I love discussing God’s word with believers and non-believers. I think that the (legitimate) ministries that exist to provide a logical, reasoned, and in some cases scientific defense of the faith are fantastic. It’s important to always be prepared to make a defense. But what has been lacking in my own life at times, and what I think is missing in many people who call themselves “apologists” who seem to do nothing but argue about the word, is the whole point of this verse. It isn’t about “anyone who asks”. It’s about “anyone who asks for a reason FOR THE HOPE THAT IS IN YOU.” Too many of us are the watchmen on the wall with arrows and spears ready to fire and hurl at those who would attack the fortress of our faith, the word of God. Granted Paul calls the word of God the sword of the Spirit, and that Hebrews calls it a double-edged sword. A sword is both an offensive and defensive weapon. Yes, we are in a war, a battle. But that battle isn’t against flesh and blood. The need to give a defense is not the need to clobber our “opponent”. The need to give a defense (with gentleness and respect I might add) is because someone else sees hope in us, not because we are an enemy. Too often we make our defense without gentleness, without respect, and without any hope in us. Too often we are almost eager for a fight, ready to show just how wrong someone is, then the reality is that they need Jesus. Be ready to give an answer, to make a defense. Just make sure it is because your hope is shining brightly as a city set on a hill, a lamp on its lamp stand, a light shining before men that they may glorify your Father in Heaven.

Greg Laurie would be considered by some to be a superstar pastor. I used to think that was always a negative thing. After tonight I don’t. Why not? Because God uses superstars. Read the rest of this entry »

So far as I know I’m not a prophet like Daniel or Ezekiel, people whom God used to convey facts about the future. Still, watching words and thoughts and books that are all the buzz these days, I can see the potential for something to happen as it relates to the emerging and the emergent church, and of course, post-modernism. And Bible teaching, Jesus centered churches like Calvary Chapel could be be in a prime position to meet the need. That is, unless, we get sucked into allowing for or enabling re-imagined Christianity for the 21st century in our fellowships. That’s the kind where Jesus isn’t really Jesus, sin isn’t really sin, God isn’t really God, you get the idea. Read the rest of this entry »