The article below was published in the Indianapolis Star, Faith and Values page of January 25, 2014.  The title was not my choice as it implies my weighing in on the current Indiana Legislature debate on adding an amendment to the Indiana state constitution, defining marriage.  I do support such an amendment, but that is not my focus here, rather an effort in the very limiting space of 350 words to offer a historic Christian and biblical perspective to counter the common arguments that the Bible does not give defining limits to marriage.  I address that issue more fully in my post of last June, Before Citing the Bible, Be Sure to Read It First.

Seeking Grace in Marriage Debate

Last summer, I preached nine sermons on Sex in a Broken World, based on Paul’s New Testament letter, 1 Corinthians.

My goal in preaching is biblical faithfulness, and following Jesus, “full of grace and truth” (Gospel of John 1:14), especially when preaching highly sensitive subjects like sex.

I hold to the historic Christian understanding of marriage as a monogamous covenant between a man and a woman, a commitment “until death do us part.” God’s design from creation reflects His purpose for the two sexes, for the raising of children, for family relationships.

I also affirm, consistent from Moses to Jesus to Paul, that sexual relations are sacredly designed for marriage between one man and one woman.  Any other sexual relationship is outside of God’s will and is destructive to those who participate and to society.

So how does that work in a culture where hook ups, co-habitation, divorce, polygamy, homosexual relationships and even more are widely accepted?

The changing winds of morality do not dissuade me from preaching what I believe God reveals.  So, where is grace?  How do grace and truth coexist? How does the church respond where marriage is redefined to be outside of the historic time tested boundaries?

While holding to what I believe is truth, I also celebrate the grace modeled by Jesus – to a woman who had multiple marriages and other relationships, to more than one adulteress or prostitute, to at least two cheating tax collectors, to a young man bound to his money. Yet, as Jesus expressed extravagant grace, he didn’t back off from truth, “Go now and leave your life of sin” (John 8:11).

In our sexually permissive and sexually confused culture, how do we express grace?  1) Honor the dignity of all persons; 2) Sympathize with the struggle (we all have that in common); 3) Distinguish between temptation and behavior (temptation is not sin; surrendering to it is). 4) Declare the grace of God in the Gospel and call to repentance.  There is hope for us all.

Christ, by highest heav’n adored, Christ the everlasting Lord:

Late in time behold him come, Off-spring of the virgin’s womb.

Veiled in flesh the God-head see, Hail the incarnate Deity!

Pleased as man with men to dwell, Jesus, our Emmanuel.

Hark! The herald angels sing, “Glory to the newborn King!”

O for a thousand tongues to sing My great Redeemer’s praise,

The glories of my God and King, The triumphs of His grace.

He breaks the power of canceled sin, He sets the pris’ner free,

His blood can make the foulest clean – His blood availed for me.

Christ the Lord is ris’n today, Alleluia! Sons of men and angels say, Alleluia!

Raise your joys and triumphs high, Alleluia! Sing, ye heav’ns, and earth reply, Alleluia!

 – Charles Wesley –

* The above was lifted from the sidebar of my brother’s Christmas letter, featuring verses from three of the greatest hymns – Hark! the Herald Angels Sing, O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing, and Christ the Lord is Risen Today.  My brother’s name is Wesley, no doubt named after the 18th Century Wesley brothers, John and Charles Wesley.  Our younger brother’s name is John Charles. This was also no doubt influenced by this love of my parents for their Wesleyan heritage, the preaching and hymn writing of John and Charles Wesley.

Is there a war on Christmas?  If so, how should we respond? Is it time for a new crusade to take back Christmas from the infidels? Should we invest our time, money and energy to engage this war, take no prisoners, and defeat the ACLU and all the enemies of God and Christmas?

The announcement of this war has come primarily from Tim Wildmon and the AFA (American Family Association) through the AFA media arm, One News Now, a helpful source for what is going on in government that threatens religious freedom.

I receive regular emails from One News Now with powerful evidence of this war on Christmas.  It is primarily an effort by America’s retailers to replace Merry Christmas! with Happy Holidays! and AFA’s effort to force them to reverse that policy and put Christmas back in their ads, on their websites, and in the mouths of their employees.  With threats of boycotts, naughty and nice lists, and appeals to the heads of these companies, the AFA has succeeded in getting numerous companies to put Christmas back in their stores. Is that a victory for Christmas and Christians?  And retailers who refuse, such as Radio Shack, are listed for boycott.  Is this the way to fight for our Lord? Continue reading “The War on Christmas?” →

Xmas is coming!  Does that offend you that Christ has been replaced by X?

I confess that I often use X as an abbreviation, not so much in published writing, but in my own note taking, my very limited form of shorthand.  I use X for Christ and Xn for Christian.  Shocked?  Horrified?  Worried about me?

I understand that X can mean the unknown factor in Algebra or various other uses for X in our culture.  But none of that is the background for Xmas.  Rather there is a longstanding history, at least 500 years, of using Christograms, that is symbols of Christ.

The X in Xmas is really not the 24th letter of our English alphabet, but the Greek χ, anglicized as Chi.  But the use of  χ for Christ  has a much longer history, going all the way back to the first century, the first letter in the Greek  χριστός, Christ.   In the early church of the first  century, the Greek word for fish, ἰχθύς, served as a symbol of Christian identity.  This is an acronym for the Greek words, Ἰησοῦ χριστοῦ θεὸς υἱοῦ  σωτὴρ, which is translated Jesus, Christ, God, Son, Savior.

Because few know that background, I don’t commonly refer to Xmas in public writing or speaking.  but I hope the X will now trigger for you, not the unknown factor, but the wonder and beauty of Xmas, which is all about Jesus Christ.

For further detail, take a look at What Does the X in Xmas Mean? by R.C. Sproul and from the dictionary.com blog What is the X in Xmas?

And for those who do see X as the unknown factor, let that be a challenge to you to share the good news that the X is Christ!

What is the essential nature of the Gospel of Jesus Christ as expressed in Scripture?  Is it the ethics of Jesus, the love ethic?  Is it the example of Jesus? What about the death and resurrection of Jesus, the substitutionary sacrifice for sin?

What is the Gospel?

A popular catchy saying is, “Preach the Gospel everywhere.  If necessary, use words.”  Are words necessary?  Or are the words of Gospel proclamation secondary to the good works of the Gospel?

This is not a minor issue! Continue reading “What is the Gospel?” →