Not mocked

“I use the rules to frustrate the law. But I didn't set up the ground rules.” ~ F. Lee Bailey

“Destiny is no matter of chance. It is a matter of choice.” ~ William Jennings Bryan

A couple of the extracurricular activities my children have taken advantage of during their high school years are the Forensics and Mock Trial teams. Some of the activities that are a part of Forensics include public policy debate and Lincoln-Douglas debate as well as storytelling and extemporaneous speaking. This is an excellent opportunity for teens to develop logic and reason skills as well as sharpening their ability to clearly and concisely articulate a thought or idea. Mock Trial is the act or imitation of a trial where students are assigned the roles of attorneys and witnesses, and they must prepare to compete in a court room as either the defense or the plaintiff. These trials are rehearsed and it allows them to learn the rules of the legal system and take that knowledge to compete against other schools in regional, state and national competitions. I have written about this in the past, and it has prompted some thoughts and themes that point to faith in Christ.

This past weekend my oldest son participated in our state Mock Trial competition, and I drove to the state capitol to observe the proceeding. It is truly amazing to see these fine young minds memorize the details of the case and also the legal language and various articles of the law. They must think on their feet very quickly to raise an objection and respond to an actual serving judge to convince him or her to overrule or sustain the objection. They need to know legal terms like hearsay. They need to know if an out of court statement is allowable, if an attorney is leading a witness, if a question is argumentative, if the facts are relevant to the case, or if testimony is prejudicial, speculative or out of scope. The challenge for these young adults is that unlike an actual courtroom they have a time limit. Their opening statements, their testimony, cross-examination and closing arguments must be completed in a predetermined and fixed amount of time. If you dwell too long on a certain aspect you put yourself and your entire team at risk.

My son’s team is very well prepared and has excellent coaching. They spend literally hundreds of hours preparing for these competitions. These cases are purposely ambiguous; that is the facts of the cases are open for interpretation and does not favor the defense or the plaintiff. The cases are civil in nature and not a criminal matter so the goal is not to determine innocence or guilt, but to test theories from the provided materials. Scoring and winning is not based on the merits of the case, but on the overall effectiveness of their given role.

During the recent competition it came time for the final round to determine which team would represent our state at the national competition. The team they faced was well prepared and quite a formidable challenger. As a parent of a competitor it is difficult to be impartial but I was struck by that the impression the other team was focused more on gamesmanship rather than litigation, and they were using tactics to win on a technicality rather than on the merits of their presentation. They seemed to be parsing words or looking for nuances in the case transcript to get points deducted through a rules violation. When their witnesses were on the stand they appeared to purposely waste time by giving a monologue rather than testifying. They monopolized the allotted time by long-winded testimony and constant objections when the opposing attorney attempted to move the case along. Like the quote from F. Lee Bailey, they used the rules to frustrate the law and the contest. In the end their tactics worked to their advantage and by a mere one point they advanced to the national competition.

Throughout the Bible God is pictured as a righteous judge. The word righteous means acting in accord with divine or moral law. God’s very attributes are wrapped up in righteousness and gives Him both the authority and the right to judge; He is free from guilt or sin and this sets the precedence that His decision is final. David acknowledges this in the Psalms and in chapter 9 he rightly states; “But the LORD sits enthroned forever; he has established his throne for justice, and he judges the world with righteousness; he judges the peoples with uprightness.” God the Father shares this authority with His Son, Jesus Christ and we see this in the gospel of John in chapter 8 when Jesus states; “Yet even if I do judge, my judgment is true, for it is not I alone who judge, but I and the Father who sent me.” We can rest assured that God’s judgment is right, true, pure and unbiased. There is no higher court.

The writer of the book of Hebrews warns all mankind in chapter 9 when he states; it is appointed for man to die once, after that comes judgment. We know God’s judgment is sure and that should truly be a sobering thought for us all. We will not be able to stand before God hoping that the case against us is purposely ambiguous. We will not be allowed to monologue or avoid giving a direct and concise answer. There will be no objections about the evidence being inadmissible, prejudicial, and circumstantial or hearsay. We cannot hope to win on rules violation and we cannot rely on a special circumstance to save us. We cannot attempt to “poke holes” in the prosecution’s case, rather than making a case on our own behalf. We cannot present or spin the facts to our advantage or tell the Righteous presiding Judge that the facts are open for interpretation. We will be held accountable and the Bible is very clear about this in Galatians 6:7; “Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap.” Eternity will not be won or lost on a technicality.

One of my favorite words in the entire English language is “propitiation” which means to gain or regain favor or goodwill; to appease. When we stand before God our one and only hope is placing our complete faith and trust in the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross. His death propitiates or appeases God’s judgment on us. This is no mere technicality but the sole means of a favorable decision in God’s final court. Jesus Christ is the only undefeated litigator in history. He covered the “billable hours” with His blood on the cross to represent you and I before the Father. He will be our advocate "pro bono" if we will only humbly seek Him and ask.

“My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.” ~ I John 2:1-2

“For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.” ~ Romans 5:10

An element of truthiness

“The truth is incontrovertible. Malice may attack it, ignorance may deride it, but in the end, there it is.” ~ Winston Churchill

"As it is written: "None is righteous, no, not one" ~ Romans 3:10

We are daily bombarded with ideas, opinions and observations that oft times sound good or logical but typically contain only an element of truth. Our generation has even coined a word for this known as “truthiness”; a "truth" that a person claims to know intuitively "from the gut" or because it "feels right" without regard to evidence, logic, intellectual examination, or facts. How do you define an element of truth? It is a figure of speech which simply means some narrative, story, rhetoric, propaganda, hyperbole, rant or rave has SOME truth in it. By implication it means there are things there within that is not truth.

One of the blessings of social media is that friends and family can post encouraging and entertaining videos, pictures and quotations that bring a smile to your face or reaffirm and confirm something that we endorse. Often these pictures go “viral” and depending on how many connections you have you will see these same things “shared” or re-posted over and over. To “like” or “unlike” that is the question.

The other day a couple of my Facebook friends posted this picture and on the surface I can “like” the thought it conveys. An individual who has placed his or her faith in the Gospel of Jesus Christ would and should agree that their beliefs do not make them a better person. If they are truly following the Jesus of the Bible they have come to a point where they have acknowledged that they are in fact NOT the better person. On the contrary, they have come to the realization that they are a sinner or someone who has rebelled against God, the rightful ruler and Lord of their life. They have recognized that they were guilty of cosmic treason against the Creator and Sustainer of this world and their very life. In the light of the Gospel they have come to the place where they have thrown themselves on the mercy of God and accepted that there is only way to be reconciled to Him-they must place their faith IN the better person; the perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the Cross. They have experienced what Martin Luther has called “The Great Exchange”; our sins for the righteousness of Jesus Christ. Through this exchange they have been reconciled to God through a very costly sacrifice; the death, burial and resurrection of God’s own Son. This does NOT make them a better person; in the light of the Gospel they realize that apart from the work of Christ there is nothing good about them. This knowledge should motivate them to tell others about who is truly the better person; Jesus Christ.

The key thing to remember is that God is not asking for simple “belief” in His existence. Nor is He asking for belief that Jesus was an actual historical figure or that He was a good man. The belief that God demands is not simple intellectual assent or what has been described as head knowledge. If that type of belief was enough then the demons themselves would be the “better person.” In the New Testament book of James it states; “You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe--and shudder!” Demons believe in God and in Matthew’s gospel account they even address Jesus as the Son of God. This acknowledgement or belief did nothing to improve their lot in life. God is not asking for a tip of the hat or mere intellectual assent. He demands much more.

I can believe that Abraham Lincoln was the 16^th President. I can believe that Steve Jobs was a genius. I can believe that saving the whales is right or that I should do what I can to stop genocide in Darfur. I can believe that we should feed the poor and homeless. There are many great causes in the world that we can and should take up. No matter how good and noble these beliefs are, they do not make me a better person. So back to the posted picture; I agree that belief in and of itself does not and cannot make anyone a better person.

The retort on the picture takes another path that again, on the surface sounds reasonable. Beliefs don’t make you a better person, your behavior does. But is that true? But if our goodness and our behavior is the determining factor in what makes us “better” there is another big problem…who decides what behavior is good? Who decides what behavior is acceptable? Who holds the cosmic scales and determines who meets the standard? I don’t want to have that burden placed on my shoulders because I am a finite human who has a proclivity for making mistakes and being wrong repeatedly. Honestly, do you want me or any other human you know to be the final arbiter on who meets the nebulous standard? We humans are fickle, moody and imperfect so why would we want to trust in the whims of imperfect beings to make the right choice on our behalf? Who keeps this list and is it set in stone? Actually the answer to that question is yes; they are set in stone. You may have heard of that perfect standard; it’s called the 10 Commandments. The only problem with that list is that no one in all of the history of mankind has been able to meet that standard with one exception. His name was Jesus Christ the Son of God.

Faith in the Gospel of Jesus Christ is not a matter of behavior modification. The Bible is very clear on that and calls our righteousness or deeds “filthy rags” or a polluted garment (Isaiah 64:6). No amount of changed behavior is going to change our eternity. Faith in the finished work of Christ and His work on the cross is all that matters. The Apostle Paul reinforces this thought in Titus 2:5-7 when he states; “he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.” If our behavior made us acceptable to God then Jesus Christ would have never had to die a painful and bloody death on our behalf. If good behavior was all it took then we could be boastful about how we did it all by ourselves and again, the Apostle Paul blows this idea to pieces in Ephesians 2:8-9.

Many of us know and can recite from memory John 3:16. It is not some trite or quaint idea but the lynch pin of our cosmic destiny. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” What you might not be familiar with is verse 17 which continues with; “For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.” Believing this does not make me or anyone else better than any other human on the face of the planet. But the knowledge of this has changed my behavior in the sense that “those who are forgiven should gladly put aside their sinful ways and walk in newness of life.” My behavior cannot and will not make me acceptable to God. My behavior has been changed because I desire to be an ever so faint image of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I am not better, but I am forgiven and that makes all the difference in the present world…and the world to come.

"For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins" ~ Romans 3:23-25

So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, "If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." ~ John 8:31-32

Gonzo Grace

“No man is so foolish but he may sometimes give another good counsel, and no man so wise that he may not easily err if he takes no other counsel than his own. He that is taught only by himself has a fool for a master.” ~ Hunter S. Thompson

“If your preaching of the Gospel doesn’t provoke the charge from some of antinomianism you’re not preaching the Gospel.” ~ Martyn Lloyd Jones

I think it is safe to say that no 20^th century writer was as self indulgent as Hunter S. Thompson. I first became aware of Thompson through his articles in sports magazines and also through Garry Trudeau’s “Doonesbury” comic strip and the character Duke who was a thinly veiled caricature of Thompson. Thompson was a journalist, author and hedonist who was fueled by sex, drugs and insanity and he covered events ranging from the Kentucky Derby to the 1972 Presidential Campaign. He most notably wrote for Rolling Stone and Sports Illustrated, and his articles and own books chronicled his drug-fueled self destruction. His most “notable” book was aptly titled “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas” which chronicled his pursuit of the American Dream through illegal narcotics.

Thompson is credited with coining the term “gonzo journalism” which is a style of reporting that the journalist becomes a central part of the story on which they are reporting, and involve themselves in the action, rather than simply serving as a detached observer. They insert themselves into the story to such a degree that they become the central figures rather on whom or what they are reporting on. It has been said of the gonzo style that the best fiction is far more true than any kind of journalism. It is based more on style over fact and it is journalism without any claims of objectivity.

At times I wonder if followers of the Gospel of Jesus Christ have unwittingly torn a page out of a Hunter Thompson book. Rather than fully embrace the grace of the Gospel we settle for a poor facsimile of grace, and our life’s story could be titled “Fear and Self-Loathing; Gonzo Grace on the Trail of Life”. We readily accept only a portion of the grace in which we stand and spend the rest of our Christian existence trying to earn the balance. In the words of Tim Keller; “Without the Gospel we hate ourselves instead of our sin. Without the Gospel we’re motivated through all sorts of awful fear and pride to a change and it doesn’t really change our hearts; it just restrains our hearts.”

Something that has struck me about not only myself but also my fellow Gospel believing friends and acquaintances is that we seem to be afraid of grace. Grace or God’s unmerited favor is truly shocking and scandalous, and conservative evangelicals and fundamentalist Christians seem to live in fear of accepting it or applying it to it’s fullest extent. At times it seems we would rather live in perpetual fear of disappointing or offending God (or the subculture), rather than joyfully accepting Sonship and fellowship with God. Without a doubt Sonship carries with it both obligations AND freedom. Sadly we settle for some obligations that are purely personal applications and preferences rather than biblical injunctions. I will freely admit there are some activities and venues that I avoid purely as capitulation to the subculture rather than out of deep conviction and this can lead to a form of gonzo grace.

Or maybe we chose to skulk around like some self flagellating monk with a hang dog look on our face chanting; “we’re not worthy.” Here is a news flash; no we are not worthy, but God in His infinite and unchanging mercy and love offers it freely anyway. He is not expecting us to live perpetually in sack cloth and ashes or to be constantly looking over our shoulder like someone in the witness protection program. Do we really embrace verses like John 8:36? John boldly tells us “So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed!” Do we live like it? What about the words of Paul? In 2 Timothy 1:7 he states; “for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control” and then in verse 9 when he declares; “who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began.”

One would almost get the impression that we don’t want to accept the gift of grace that God so freely offers and we fight with Him over it. It is like two people sitting in the most expensive restaurant on the planet; one the penniless pauper and the other the richest individual in all the universe. We are the honored guests and we want to tell the chef how to prepare the meal. Then the check comes to the table and we reach for it arguing about who is going to pick up the tab. The great problem is that God has already picked up the tab in the form of His Son Jesus Christ and the atoning work of the Cross. We cannot even cover the tip with our works or attempts at goodness, let alone pick up the check. But we still seem to insist that we can pay something; anything to contribute to the cost of grace. So we want to sneak into the restaurant and set the table, clear after the meal and maybe even wash the dishes. How is that graciously accepting the banquet set before us? It is an affront to the Founder of the feast!

The beauty of grace is that we no longer need to live in fear or self-loathing. God’s love is fixed on us and there is absolutely nothing we can do to make Him love us MORE or less. Through Christ’s sacrifice and through no merit of our own, we who were dead in our trespasses and sin have been forgiven! He has cancelled the record of debt that stood against us with all of it’s legal demand for justice, (Colossians 2:13-14). As Tim Keller has stated; “The Gospel of justifying faith means that while Christians are, in themselves still sinful and sinning, yet in Christ, in God’s sight, they are accepted and righteous. So we can say that we are more wicked than we ever dared believe, but more loved and accepted in Christ than we ever dared hope—at the very same time. This creates a radical new dynamic for personal growth. It means that the more you see your own flaws and sins, the more precious, electrifying and amazing God’s grace appears to you. But on the other hand, the more aware you are of God’s grace and acceptance in Christ, the more able you are to drop your denials and self-defenses and admit the true dimensions and character of your sin.”

We have been freed through Christ from the idols of sin, so why trade it for the idol of empty religion? We often fall into the trap of thinking grace is not enough to keep us in check spiritually and that the indwelling Holy Spirit needs our help. We must have lists, rules, structure and organization lest antinomianism (lawlessness) will run rampant in the church. After all, without us God’s plans and will be thwarted! We must insert ourselves into the mix and become central to the work of sanctification; at least where others and their choices are concerned. How utterly arrogant and self righteous beings we are! If God’s grace and mercy are not enough for us and they do not lead us to obedience and a pursuit of holiness than I honestly have no answers for you. None at all…

Don’t settle for gonzo grace; attempting to insert ourselves in the work of salvation and making it about us and our deeds, merits and conformity to a religious subculture rather than Christ, the central element of the Gospel and all of history. The beauty of the Gospel is that if you are in Christ you are free indeed! Live like it!

“If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the world, why, as if you were still alive in the world, do you submit to regulations-- "Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch" (referring to things that all perish as they are used)--according to human precepts and teachings? These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh.” ~ Colossians 2:20-23