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Why Flee to the Mountains?

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When trouble comes, you have two choices: fight or flight. Fleeing is the underrated choice. In these days of belligerence and bullying, the temptation is to fight or die. Yet Jesus told his disciples that there would be times when fleeing is the better option: Whenever they persecute you in one city, flee to the next. (Matthew 10:23) Contrary to what you may have heard, Jesus does not expect you to die for the cause. He died so that you might live, and sometimes that means running for your life. Live a life of authentic Christianity, and you will be persecuted, especially if you preach the gospel of grace. If you decide to fight whenever trouble comes, you won’t last long. “Endure to the end and be saved,” said Jesus, and the context – believe it or not – was running away. Consider the Apostle Paul. He experienced trouble almost everywhere he went and his usual response was to move away (e.g., Acts 17:10, 14, 20:1). He heeded the words of the Lord and lived. Imagine if he hadn’t. Imagine if Paul had been a fighter instead of a runner? He would’ve died in Iconium (Acts 14:5-6). Or Lystra (Acts [...]

Is God the Author of Evil?

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Whenever I tell people that God-is-all-the-time-good, I am invariably rebuked by those who say he isn’t. And they’ve got the scriptures to prove it. Job 1:21 says God robbed Job 1 Samuel 2:6-7 says God makes people poor and kills them Exodus 4:11 says God gives people disabilities Isaiah 45:7 says God is the creator of evil and darkness I enjoy unpacking these scriptures and proving, from scripture, that God is not the villainous Dr. Evil that some people think he is. In fairness, those who say God does evil are usually quick to add that it’s a good kind of evil. “His ways are higher than our ways.” So when we do evil, it’s bad, but when God does evil, it’s good. Makes total sense. Let’s not mince words. To be evil is to be “profoundly immoral and wicked” and God is neither. For you are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness; No evil dwells with you. (Psa 5:4) God and evil go together like light and dark. With that settled, let’s look at three scriptures that seem to suggest that God speaks or does evil. Is it not out of the mouth of the Most High [...]

Every Knee Shall Bow: Was Paul a Universalist?

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Here’s a verse to fire the imagination: It is written: “As surely as I live,” says the Lord, “Every knee will bow before me; every tongue will acknowledge God.” (Rom. 14:11) What picture comes to your mind when you read these words? Some see this verse as pointing to universal salvation. “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved (Rom. 10:13), and this verse says everyone will acknowledge God.” Could it be true that the Apostle Paul was a universalist? Before you answer that, here are three things to consider. First, calling on the name of the Lord is not the same as acknowledging God. One is an appeal – “God have mercy on me! Jesus save me!” The other is merely an acknowledgement. Even the demons acknowledged Jesus as the Son of God (Matt. 8:29). Are demons saved? Of course not. Paul is saying that when the Lord returns, everyone will acknowledge and bow before God. Like turning one’s eyes away from the midday sun, it will be impossible not to. When God shows up in glory, BAM! Our knees will buckle. The second problem is the context: In Romans 14 Paul is not discussing [...]

Does Jesus Want You to Sell your Stuff? (Luke 12:33)

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The Bible is full of treasures that we are afraid to open. We fear scriptures that are meant to bless us, and we run from words that should fill us with joy. Here’s an example: Sell your possessions and give to the poor. (Luke 12:33) There is treasure here. Do you see it? Do you realize what Jesus is saying? “He’s saying we have to sell our stuff to be saved. Being rich is wrong because ‘it’s hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom’.” Nope. It is harder for the rich and self-sufficient to receive from the abundance of God’s grace, but the kingdom is received, not purchased. “Your Father is pleased to give you the kingdom,” says Jesus in the previous verse. “He saying we have to sell our stuff to be blessed. ‘Blessed are the poor’ and all that.” Nope. The poor are blessed if their poverty leads them to Jesus our Source, but poverty is not a blessing. Nor do we earn the Lord’s unmerited favor by selling our stuff. “Giving to the poor earns us heavenly brownie points.” Nope. If that were the case, why did Jesus do it (John 13:29)? Jesus didn’t need [...]

The One about the Millstone and the Sea

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A pastor makes an announcement: “Great news, church. Our kids’ program is growing and we need teachers. If you have a heart for teaching children, let me know. But take care, if you do a poor job, God will punish you. It would be better for a millstone to be hung around your neck and for you to be drowned in the sea than mess this up.” Wait, what?! Okay, that never happened. And yet that is the message some take from these words of Jesus: Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to stumble, it would be better for him to have a heavy millstone hung around his neck, and to be drowned in the depth of the sea. (Matt. 18:6, also Mark 9:42, Luke 17:2) What is Jesus saying here? “Misleading believers is an offense against the Almighty,” says the serious man. “Don’t you know that those who teach will be judged more severely?” And you wonder why we have trouble finding people to run our kids’ programs! Contrary to what you’ve heard, Jesus is not talking about divine punishment or Sunday School teaching or anything like that. Let’s unpack this verse in context: [...]

Are Unfruitful Branches Lifted Up?

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Here is possibly the worst verse in the Bible: I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit. (John 15:1-2, NIV) I say worst verse because this is a shockingly poor translation. A better one is, “He takes up or lifts every branch in me.” If you’re not bearing fruit for Jesus, God helps you. He doesn’t lop you. Several years ago I wrote an article entitled “What happens to unfruitful branches?” In it I argued that most Bibles get it wrong when they translate Christ’s words as cutting off or taking away branches. Lifting is better. (Full disclosure: I was inspired by a book written by Bruce Wilkinson called Secrets of the Vine.) I wrote that article and moved on, but it turns out the cutting vs. lifting issue has become something of a hot potato. I had no idea until someone sent me this passage from a book: “No Free Grace publication produced any evidence from the ancient world that said that unfruitful vines or branches were ‘lifted up.’” I was intrigued. You want evidence? I’ve got plenty. A bit more digging revealed that this [...]

The Sign of Jonah

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The scribes and Pharisees could have won the gold medal for insensitivity. One minute they’re accusing Jesus of being in cahoots with the devil; the next they’re asking for some sign of his divinity (Matt. 12:24, 38). Jesus responded by telling them: A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. (Matthew 12:39-40, NIV) The sign to look for was Jesus rising from the dead after three days. But there’s more to the sign of Jonah than this. Much more. Consider these ten interesting parallels between Jesus and Jonah: Jonah spent three and nights days in the belly of a fish (Jonah 1:17); Jesus spent three days and nights in the belly of the earth Jonah, as good as dead, rose from the depths (Jonah 2:10); Jesus rose from the dead After he rose, Jonah preached for 40 days (Jonah 3:4); after he rose, Jesus preached for 40 days (Acts 1:3) Jonah, understood [...]

Did Peter Preach Conditional Forgiveness to Simon the Sorcerer? (Acts 8:22)

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If God loves you, God forgives you, and God loves you indeed! God’s forgiveness is revealed in the matchless and unrepeatable sacrifice of the One who died for all sin. In Christ, you are eternally and unconditionally forgiven. Good news, no? It’s a liberating truth, yet many haven’t heard it. They’re bringing sacrifices of tears and confession and they are trying to earn what God has freely provided. Their efforts are all for naught. Grace cannot be purchased; it can only be received by faith. So thank the Lord for his forgiveness and live free. But what about… Whenever I tell people that God’s forgiveness is complete and unconditional, I invariably get hit with questions like these: What about the Sermon on the Mount? What about 1 John 1:9? What about James 5:15? What about 2 Peter 1:9? My answers to these questions can be found in the links above. But what about when Peter said this to Simon the Sorcerer: Therefore repent of this wickedness of yours, and pray the Lord that, if possible, the intention of your heart may be forgiven you. (Act 8:22) May be forgiven. That doesn’t sound like unconditional forgiveness. It kind of sounds like [...]

The Eagles are Coming

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For wherever the carcass is, there the eagles will be gathered together. (Matthew 24:28, NKJV) This is one of the strangest prophecies in scripture. It is also one of the most interesting. It is found in the middle of Christ’s warnings about the fall of Jerusalem. Jesus is basically saying there will be a dead body (the fallen city) and birds of prey will gather around it. But why eagles? Because that’s what the Romans carried on their aquila or ensigns, and it was the Romans who destroyed the city and burned the temple. But note that Jesus says eagles and not eagle. There’s more than one and this is particularly interesting once you understand the context of the temple’s history. When Herod built his temple he stuck a golden eagle on its gate, perhaps as a nod to Roman benevolence. It was a gorgeous sculpture, but the Pharisees didn’t like it one bit. “What blasphemy! Doesn’t Herod know we forbid the making of images?” The religious Jews loved the new temple but they hated the eagle, so a couple of scholars pulled it down. Herod was furious and had the two men burned alive. After that he let the [...]

Did God Hand Job Over to Satan? (Job 2:6)

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God good; Satan bad. That’s deep revelation, yet many don’t know it. They think a good God does bad things and that he sometimes employs the devil to do his dirty work. Take the subject of sickness, for instance. When we get sick it’s natural to ask, how did this happen? Did I catch a bug? Did I eat something bad? Is God punishing me for some sin? That last question is nuts, yet many think that’s how God operates. When sickness comes, they figure God sent it. Why am I sick? God must be trying to teach me something. Hallelujah. It’s absolutely bonkers. Jesus made nobody sick; he healed people, both good and bad. If you must blame someone for your afflictions, blame the devil (see Acts 10:38). “But didn’t God hand Job over to Satan? Didn’t God give Satan permission to afflict Job with sickness?” From where does this scandalous notion come? It comes from this scripture: “Skin for skin!” Satan replied. “A man will give all he has for his own life. But now stretch out your hand and strike his flesh and bones, and he will surely curse you to your face.” The Lord said to [...]

What Are Heavenly Treasures?

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We know there are heavenly rewards, because Jesus says so, but what are they? Some say God is going to dispense treasure, mansions, and even cities to those who have proven faithful. “There had better be some reward for my hard work—a gold star at least—otherwise why I am working?” Others say there are no rewards at all. “Everything comes to us by grace alone, so there can be no rewards for effort.” I have problems with both views. My problem with the God-of-the-gold-stars is that he promotes a servant mentality when we are sons. And my problem with the idea that there are no rewards, is that it contradicts what Jesus said: Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. (Matt 6:20, NKJV) The issue of heavenly treasures or eternal rewards is riddled with question marks. It’s a subject that has been abused by some (“Store up treasure by giving to my ministry”) and left in the too-hard basket by others. Grace-minded folk seem particularly allergic to any talk of earning rewards, and this is understandable. Grace and rewards don’t go together. Yet Jesus said [...]

The Myth of Exclusionism

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I know what you’re thinking. “Clear my diary because I’ve been waiting for someone to write about exclusionism. Finally!” No, you’re probably not thinking that at all. You’re thinking, “What’s exclusionism?” Exclusionism, in the context of grace, is a myth, a yeti. It’s a fake gospel. And apparently, I have been preaching it for years. Since I have been in the habit of warning people about the dangers of inclusionism, some have taken to calling me an exclusionist. At first, I had no idea what they were talking about. “Paul, I don’t know what you’re talking about. What are inclusionism and exclusionism?” They’re a pair of yetis. One is a counterfeit gospel; the other is a strawman. Inclusionism teaches that humanity was included in Christ’s death, resurrection, and ascension. In other words, every one of us was “in Christ” when he went to the cross. Humanity, whether we believe it or not, is now seated in heavenly places in Christ. I find this hard to swallow, especially since the Apostle Paul spoke of people being in Christ before him (Romans 16:7). Inclusionism: Jesus carried all of humanity on the cross Exclusionism: Jesus carried some of humanity on the cross The [...]

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