What Would Jesus Buy?

Morgan Spurlock (the mutton chops behind the documentary "Super Size Me") has produced a new flick entitled "What Would Jesus Buy?" http://wwjbmovie.com/ The film follows the Rev. Billy (no, he's not really a minister or even a Christian) and his Church of Stop Shopping as they crusade against box stores and consumerism in general.

WWJB has received favorable reviews although it has raised the eyebrows of many Christians who think that the Rev. Billy is making fun of their faith. For the record, Billy, the son of a Dutch Calvinist minister, insists he is only making fun of televangelism (which is fine with me) while making a political point.

I will probably watch WWJB (even though I thought that Supersize Me was overrated...if you want to see a truly funny documentary then check out Michael Moorer's Roger & Me (1989)) but its premise is ridiculous.

Don't get me wrong, I'm against materialism but the idea that stopping box stores, etc. will actually help America has proven false time and again. A return to a high-tariff, protectionist, so-called "fair trade" approach will also fail to fix any of our country's ills (and we have fewer fiscal ills than any other country in world) and will hurt the economies of poorer countries. Ask a person in New Delhi what they think about making $5 American a day? I have. You might be surprised by the answer.

Don't get me wrong, I think they should be paid more too but poverty has dropped in these countries because five American dollars goes a lot further in a third-world country then it does here.

It still amazes me how few so-called well read Americans have actually perused a book on economics. Try Thomas Sowell's Basic Economics or even P.J. O'Rourkes "Eat The Rich" or, heaven forbid, something truly weighty like "The Road To Serfdom."

Save Me From This Book

I was really looking forward to reading Brian "Head" Welch's autobiography "Save Me From Myself" but boy do I wish I had the time I wasted on that book back!

For those of you who don't know, Brian Welch (or "Head") was the lead guitarist for the nu-metal band Korn. He left the group just as they were about to sign a huge multi-million dollar deal because he had become a Christian and no longer felt that he could write and play the type of music that made Korn famous.

His conversion was world wide news as was his dramatic baptism in the Jordan River. He stated in interviews that once he accepted Christ, his addictions to alcohol and speed disappeared as did the constant depression that once enveloped him.

I was a huge Korn fan. They are heavy, unique, talented and boast the best bass player since Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers emerged in the mid-80's. It was exciting news that one of them had been saved and I eagerly looked forward to reading the book which has sat in my "To Read" pile for months.

Yet, the book is a major disappointment. The first half is the typical Behind the Music fodder that has just become boring and the second half is clearly the rantings of a very immature Christian. To be fair, he has only been a Christian for a few years but that's why there are ghost writers and/or co-authors! Head, his nickname comes from childhood taunts about having a disproportionally large noggin', arrogantly advocates praying in tongues and searching your dreams for prophetic announcements rather than studying scripture and engaging in other spiritual disciplines. Don't get me wrong, I'm not against tongues and certainly if God wants to speak through dreams then that's His business, but many secular Korn fans who pick up the book may be misled by Head's version of charismatic legalism.

I certainly am glad that Head has come to Christ and, as a former Korn devotee, I eagerly await his debut Christian Metal album (which is already well overdue) but do yourself a favor and skip the book. Hopefully in 10 years he'll write another one that's a little deeper and more reflective.

The Need for Atonement

The dishonoring of God's holiness by our sin merits death. Eternal death. A life must be given in order to avert God's great wrath. The blood of bulls, goats and lambs as required by the Sinai Covenant was not enough (see Hebrews 9-10). Thus, the very son of God became THE Passover Lamb. Jesus' sacrificial death is described by John, Paul and the writer of Hebrews as a "propitiation", which means "a turning away of anger" (Rom. 3:25; Hebrews 2:17; 1 John 2:2, etc.). Christ not only took the sin of the world upon himself, he also took all of God's wrath upon himself. This is a necessary component of the doctrine of "the atonement" or the bring of God and us "at-one."

The prophet Isaiah stated that it actually pleased God to offer His son to be "crushed" (Isa. 53:10). Again, not easy teaching and one we will return to later.

We Are Sinful and This Angers God.

The Bible teaches that all people have sinned. There are a number of Greek and Hebrew words that we translate as "sin." Sin is rebellion. Sin is evil. Sin is darkness. We all sin and this angers God. In fact, God hates sin so much that the unrepentant sinner (i.e., one who wallows in sin without attempt to turn from it) becomes God's enemy and is cast into eternal torment.

Paul Washer preaches that God tells the planets to spin and they obey. He tells the stars to explode and they obey. He tells the mountains to rise and they obey. He tells the seas to stop at the shore and come no farther and the seas obey. But he tells us to obey and we say "no."

Such a response dishonors God and is an affront to His great Holiness. Such an affront carries the death penalty.

Not an easy teaching but a true one.

More later.

The Holiness of God

There is no harder theological task then accurately describing the "holiness" of God. Various Greek and Hebrew words are translated as "holy" and each word can be used various ways depending on context. Holy can be mean "separate" or "not common" or "morally perfect" or "unblemished", etc. but none of these really does the job.

God's holiness is such that it creates earthquakes when His presence intensifies, evokes such fear in an individual that he or she instinctively falls to their knees and hides their faces (hence, our normal posture for prayer) and even strikes those dead who dare to dishonor it.

God is holy and there is no concept more difficult to understand until we stand at the throne.

More later here and from CCC this weekend as this subject is the second prong of my sermon on "The Lamb of God."

Hope to see you there.

The Lamb of God

Sometime in the first half of the first century A.D., John the Baptist was out in the sticks of Israel yelling at people (I'm not the only one whose loud when they preach) and then holding some of them under water when he saw his cousin Jesus walking by and screamed:

"Look! There is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!" John 1:29b

John is most certainly referring to the sacrificial lamb offered during Passover. During the 10th day of the Hebrew month of Abib (roughly April), a Jewish family would buy a spotless lamb and take it home. For 4 days, this lamb would hang around their house. Maybe they would tie it to a post in their back yard. The kids would want to play with it and pet it and feed it. Then on the 14 day of Abib the family would take the lamb to the Temple, lay their hands on it, pray over it and then slit its throat over a basin.

Horrific huh?

Why? Because God is holy, we are sinful and the product of sin is death. More on this later. Preaching on it this weekend.

Thankful

I'm thankful for so many things this year. My salvation is always first and foremost. My beautiful wife and amazing son are second and not far behind are my parents (better known as Scott & Alice Kaye). My parents have worked so hard to escape poverty and near poverty, respectfully, put 5 kids through college (and in some cases grad school) while serving as God's instruments to build a church of 1000+ attendees in a town of roughly 20,000 (that's a better percentage than Smilin' Joel Osteen).

More importantly, they have modeled Christ for me (and many others) for decades. They have taught me that life is not about degrees or material goods but about shining the light of Christ into the darkness and standing before the throne as loyal warrior of God (albeit still relying on grace through the cross).

I am thankful not only for the grace of the cross but for the great grace of having been born into a home where Christ is rightly viewed as King.

Which reminds me, many people ask me when my parents are going to slow down and retire into the "good life." I tell them that I hope they never retire! Their ministry may change but they should never stop (On this topic, see John Piper's great book "Don't Waste Your Life"). Perhaps my father will hire an executive pastor and do nothing but preach and teach or maybe the opposite (I don't know of anyone who is better at running the day-to-day operations of a church) or who knows what God will call him to do. Perhaps my mother will oversee a team of women's ministers or take up some type of social justice or outreach ministry but God forbid they ever retire! They have been called by God and need to follow that call all the days of this life.

Don't be surprised if 20-25 years from now they're sitting in wheel chairs with Bibles in hand teaching in a "retirement community" like Francis Schaeffer did up to the day he went to worship before the Throne.

Praise God for them both.