the gate

We’ve decided to shut down the blog. You can still find us live and in person.

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God’s blessings at times come to us through our labors and at times without our labors, but never because of our labors; for God always gives them because of His undeserved mercy.
– Martin Luther, Exposition on Deuteronomy 8:17-18

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How did Christianity spread so rapidly in the first couple of centuries A.D.? Michael Green gives this answer.

[Ordinary Christians, not primarily the apostles,] went everywhere spreading the good news which had brought joy, release and a new life to themselves. This must often have not been formal preaching, but the informal chattering to friends and chance acquaintances, in homes and wine shops, on walks, and around market stalls. They went everywhere gossiping the gospel; they did it naturally, enthusiastically, and with the conviction of those who are not paid to say that sort of thing. Consequently, they were taken seriously, and the movement spread.
Evangelism in the Early Church, p. 173

So go ahead, gossip the gospel like they did!

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It was not a silent night
There was blood on the ground
You could hear a woman cry
In the alleyways that night
On the streets of David’s town

And the stable was not clean
And the cobblestones were cold
And little Mary full of grace
With the tears upon her face
Had no mother’s hand to hold

It was a labor of pain
It was a cold sky above
But for the girl on the ground in the dark
With every beat of her beautiful heart
It was a labor of love

– from A Labor of Love, by Andrew Peterson

Our idyllic misconceptions create in us false expectations about life in this world. Life in this world was not easy for Jesus, yet he was filled with peace. Life for his mother, Mary, was not easy, yet she too had peace. None of the apostles had an easy life, but they had peace . . . and great joy. “…I am overwhelmed with joy despite all our troubles.” (2 Corinthians 7:4)

While holding baby Jesus, Simeon told Mary that a sword would pierce her soul. “Then Simeon blessed them, and he said to Mary, the baby’s mother, ‘This child is destined to cause many in Israel to fall, but he will be a joy to many others. He has been sent as a sign from God, but many will oppose him. As a result, the deepest thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your very soul.’” (Luke 2:34-35) What an apt description of what she must have felt as she watched Jesus insulted, mocked, and opposed so many times, and ultimately as she watched him crucified.

Do not let the misconceptions of so many song writers or Christmas card writers distort the meaning of Christmas. Here is the real promise of Christmas –

“I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. While you are in the world you will have many trials and sorrows. But be of good cheer, because I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)

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Back in May, Pablo had posted a clip of Pastor Matt Chandler giving a powerful illustration entitled, “Jesus Wants The Rose.” On November 26, Matt Chandler had a seizure and passed out. He has been diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor. Doctors have removed as much of the tumor as possible and will decide on the future course of treatment in the days ahead. Please pray for Matt and his family and church.

In Matt’s response to his cancer, we see a powerful example of the peace and comfort the true gospel gives. Rather than causing fear, guilt, hopelessness, and condemnation like the false health and wealth gospel, the true gospel of Jesus gives real comfort and hope.

You can sense Matt’s peace in this statement he made before his surgery:

I am thankful that I have deep, real friendships at The Village [his church] . . . They have been such a comfort to me and my family this past week. Pastors should have good friends on their staff. It’s risky but worth the risk.

I am grateful for the men of God in my life, namely John Piper who taught me to hold my life cheap and to join with Paul in saying “I don’t count my life of any value or as precious to myself if only I might finish my course and complete the work that He gave me to do to testify to the Gospel of the grace of God. I’m nothing, I just have a job. God keep me faithful on the job and then let me drop and go to the reward.” Without this strong view of God’s sovereign will, I’m not sure how you don’t despair in circumstances like mine.

Below is the statement the church has issued regarding his pathology report. Again, you can hear the peace and honesty it conveys. They are not playing “name it & claim it” games. They’re not living in fantasy like the proponents of the health and wealth delusion. They are being real, which is what the true gospel of Jesus enables us to do.

Dear church,

In the first chapter of Philippians, the Apostle Paul writes that whatever imprisonments, beatings and trials he may have suffered, they all “serve to advance the gospel” of Jesus Christ. We implore you to keep the gospel of Christ as the main focus as we walk with Matt and Lauren through this trial.

On Tuesday, Dr. Barnett informed Matt and Lauren that the findings of the pathology report revealed a malignant brain tumor that was not encapsulated. The surgery to remove the tumor, the doctor said, was an extremely positive first step; however, because of the nature of the tumor, he was not able to remove all of it.

Matt, who is being released from the hospital today, is meeting with a neuro-oncologist this week to outline the next steps of the recovery process. There is a range of treatment possibilities but the exact course of action has not yet been determined. He will continue outpatient rehab.

The Lord is calling Matt and Lauren and The Village Church body to endure this trial. It will be a challenging road for Matt, his family and our church body. The gospel is our hope and the Lord is our strength. Matt and Lauren continue to find solace and hope in Christ. They weep facing this trial, but not as those without hope and perspective. The gospel clarifies their suffering and promises more of Christ through it all.

You have done a wonderful job respecting the family, and we ask that you continue to do this. They are processing all of this together and need you to give them precious space. Please do not visit them at their house unless personally invited by the Chandlers. The best way to serve the family is to continue to be faithful in prayer. Specifically, pray for the following:

* Wisdom for all the coming decisions
* Strength and peace to endure
* The kids’ (Audrey, Reid and Norah) hearts; pray the Lord is merciful as they process and that their little hearts do not grow embittered
* The Chandlers and The Village would suffer well because of the gospel and for the sake of Christ’s name

As you hurt and weep for the family, do not do it alone. Gather with your home group and with other believers in homes and pray together. This is a time to walk together with others and to endure this trial in community. If you wish, send cards and letters to Matt and Lauren at 2101 Justin Road, Flower Mound, TX 75028.

We will continue to keep you informed as new information is made available. Please be patient with the frequency of the updates. May God strengthen us all and may His glory shine brightly through this.

Two days ago, Matt himself tweeted this:

Path report is 2ndary at best…good report doesn’t mean much, bad report doesn’t mean anything…my days r numbered and nt by ths report.

These posts on illness are not just words to fill space — they are about real life in this world. Only the true Good News of Jesus enables us to deal with the realities of life in this fallen world. I pray that we at Gateway will build our lives and our community according to the true gospel of Jesus. Please pray for those in our fellowship undergoing the trials of illness, and other kinds of trials.

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Related posts:
The Christian and Sickness - Part 1
The Christian and Sickness - Part 2
But How Does It Affect You?

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We live in a world under the curse of Genesis 3. We, even as Christians, are not excluded from that curse, as long as we are in this world. In Romans 8:18-24, we are told:

18 I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.
19 The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed.
20 For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope
21 that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.
22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.
23 Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.
24 For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has?

Paul speaks of his — and our — sufferings in v18. He says in v23, “we ourselves” are waiting for “the redemption of our bodies.” The point of v24 is that we do not yet have the fulfillment of all God has promised. There is more to come. Christians are not excluded from the effects of the Fall as long as we live in this world. God tells us that “outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day” (2 Corinthians 4:16). We groan while living in our earthly bodies, longing to be clothed with our “building from God” (2 Corinthians 5:1-4). Only after our resurrection from the dead will we receive our imperishable, uncorrupted bodies (1 Corinthians 15:42-54).

Paul says to Timothy, “Stop drinking only water, and use a little wine because of your stomach and your frequent illnesses” (1 Timothy 5:23). Timothy was frequently sick. Paul does not rebuke him for a lack of faith. He does not tell him that he would not get sick if he only had more faith. He told him to drink wine for his sickness. They didn’t have the same medicines we have today, but they knew that wine somehow helped fight off certain stomach sicknesses and other illness. Dr. Harvey Finkel, Clinical Professor of Medicine at Boston University Medical Center, says, “Wine has been demonstrated to be an effective inhibitor of a trio of fearsome bacteria, Escherichia coli, Salmonella, and Shigella, [common] causes of ‘traveler’s diarrhea.’ [Wine can also help prevent] typhoid and related diseases, and bacillary dysentery.” That’s not all. He goes on to say, “The bacterium Helicobacter pylori … causes much chronic gastritis, a large majority of peptic ulcers, and a substantial proportion of cancers of the stomach … Drinking wine appears to help eliminate this bacteria.” Paul was essentially telling Timothy to take medicine when he got sick.

The Bible often talks about God miraculously healing people. We should not hesitate to ask him to do the same today. But the Bible also tells us people got sick, and God did not always heal them miraculously — neither of which were because of a lack of faith. Paul says, “…but I left Trophimus sick in Miletus” (2 Timothy 4:20). Paul was unable to heal Trophimus, and had to leave him behind, still sick. Paul doesn’t say that he just couldn’t muster up enough faith to heal his coworker. He doesn’t say that Trophimus remained sick because of his unbelief. God just chose not to heal him. In Philippians 2, Paul talks about his friend Epaphroditus that battled a prolonged sickness and almost died. Why didn’t Paul just heal him when he first got sick? And when he did get well, it never says that God healed him miraculously. Also, why did Jesus not heal all who were gathered around the pool of Bethesda? Why did he heal only one man (John 5:1-14)?

In the time between Genesis 3 and Revelation 21, sickness and death will be part of life in this world, even for Christians. And the Bible expresses so well what is in our hearts, that we long for the day, after we depart this life, when we will be finally and fully redeemed from the curse of Genesis 3. Only Christians have this hope and assurance.

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There is a lie from hell that claims to be true Christianity. Though it is known by many names, I’ll call it the health and wealth gospel. It contradicts the Bible as a whole, but is supported by prooftexting, and sounds quite convincing. That should be no surprise — Satan usually sounds quite convincing (see Genesis 3).

One of the problems with the health and wealth gospel is that it denies the sovereignty of God. Its proponents teach that humans are in charge, and God is bound to respond and act according to our faith and words. He must do what we say in faith. Why people do not see that this teaching turns God into a puppet or genie or divine butler, rather than bows to him as sovereign Lord, is beyond me.

Another problem with this belief system is that it heaps guilt on any person who is sick or not wealthy. People are told the only reason they are not healthy or wealthy is because of their lack of faith. They are told that God allows what we allow, and we are to blame for allowing this sickness or circumstance. Who does the Bible say is the accuser of believers? Satan (see Revelation 12:10). Those proclaiming a health and wealth gospel are Satan’s minions. Paul speaks of them in Galatians 1:6-9.

Paul tells us in Galatians that he was sick: “Surely you remember that I was sick when I first brought you the Good News.” (Galatians 4:13) He talks about some of his other coworkers’ illnesses (more about that later). They experienced sickness even though they had great faith. God never rebukes any of them for being sick. They never rebuke, or heap guilt on, each other for being sick. Simply put, God tells us illness and infirmities are part of life in this world.

Joni Erickson Tada became a quadriplegic through a diving accident. In the past, she has been deceived and condemned by those teaching the health and wealth gospel, but is now resting in the truth of God’s word, free from condemnation and guilt. She tells of reading John 5 and wanting to be healed like the man at the pool of Bethesda. Finally, there came a day when she too encountered Jesus at the pool of Bethesda.

Just last year my husband Ken and I had a chance to visit Jerusalem, and we chose to do the old city on a hot, dry, dusty day, midday, when we knew no tour buses would be around and we’d have the place pretty much to ourselves. And Ken was pushing me in my wheelchair down the cobblestone streets and we arrived at the sheepgate, made a lefthand turn, and there, a couple of hundred yards down the path, it opened up into this grand old ruins of — my goodness, it’s the pool of Bethesda. Ken, I said, would you look at this. And although you could not make out the colonnades because the ruins were crumbling and tumbling, and there’s no water in the pool yet, the place was empty, and as I leaned against the guardrail with my elbow, Ken hopped the guardrail to jog down to the bottom of the pool to see if there was any water in one of the cisterns.

And while he was gone and the wind was warm and dry and the sun was hot, tears began cascading down my cheeks as I looked over this pool of Bethesda and I said, “Oh, Lord Jesus, how good of You to wait 30 years, almost as many years as that man laid on his straw mat; You waited this long to bring me to this place, a place where I imagined myself so many years ago, and I’m so grateful that You did not pass me by, because a ‘no’ answer to a request for healing has meant purged sin from my life, and it strengthened my commitment to you, Lord Jesus. It has forced me to depend on Your grace. It has bound me with other believers. It has produced discernment. It has disciplined my mind. It has taught me to spend my time wisely. It has given me a hope of heaven. Lord Jesus, You were so good in not healing me.”

And I know there are many people listening now who wish to be free of their circumstances — they are looking for an escape hatch, or maybe a quick fix for their affliction, and they think they might find it in a divorce or they are pondering maybe with the idea of suicide, such as one caller mentioned earlier. Or they’re thinking that they’ll find it in pills or medication, or a healing service. But the 32 years that I’ve been in this wheelchair and being at the Pool of Bethesda last year, has taught me that suffering is that good sheepdog, always snapping at my heals and driving me into the arms of the Shepherd. For that, I am so grateful. I am so grateful.  (click here to read what else she said in this interview)

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Do you have a friend or loved one living in sin, yet professing to be a Christian? Or are you becoming hopeless about the sin in your own life? Then think of God’s relentless grace, and patiently trust in him.

Human sin is stubborn, but not so stubborn as the grace of God and not half so persistent, not half so ready to suffer to win its way. . .[We must never] forget that the center of the Christian religion is not our sin but our Savior.
- Cornelius Plantinga, Not The Way It’s Supposed To Be, p. 199

As the hound follows the hare, never ceasing in its running, ever drawing nearer in the chase, with unhurrying and imperturbed pace, so does God follow the fleeing soul by His Divine grace. And though in sin or in human love, away from God it seeks to hide itself, Divine grace follows after, unwearyingly follows ever after, till the soul feels its pressure forcing it to turn to Him alone in that never ending pursuit.
- Francis Thompson, Hound of Heaven

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I don’t know all that Jesus would say (or is saying, or will say) to Tiger. But C.J. Mahaney gives us some powerful and helpful thoughts about what we should and should not be saying, thinking, and doing regarding Tiger.

For example, he says we should not hunt Tiger (to shoot him) like the media is. We should not find entertainment value in his sin and pain. We should not seek out all the sordid details of his sin. We should pray for him and his family.

Sin lied to Tiger, and it lies to us every day. Sin is always out to hurt us and our loved ones, and destroy us. Our biggest concern should be OUR OWN BATTLE against the lies of sin, not the sin of Tiger Woods. I need Jesus at least as much as Tiger, and so do you.

Go read all that C.J. says about this ordeal, and pray that not only will we all remember and do what he says, but that God would make us more Christ-like in regard to other people’s sins.

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Modern prophecy teachers have traditionally looked to current events for signs of the end, to stir end-time enthusiasm among Christians. While the goal may be worthy, the methodology runs counter to Jesus’ own teaching. After listing many of the signs (usually hardships) that characterized the end among contemporary Jewish thinkers and visionaries, Jesus declares that the end is still to come [in other words, they are not signs of the end - steve] . . . Besides missing Jesus’ point, modern prophecy teachers are also almost always wrong.

While catastrophic events do not allow us to predict how soon the Lord is coming — such events have happened throughout history — they do remind us that such problems characterize this age, summoning us to long for our Lord’s coming all the more fervently.

– Craig Keener, Matthew, The IVP New Testament Commentary
(Matthew 24)

Jesus was not giving us signs to look for, he was telling us the current thinking of his day was wrong. How sad that so many people today believe the soothsayers, rather than Jesus.

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Related post:
Are We Living In The Last Days?

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