Well, technically, I’m not moving. My blog is.

For months I’ve been praying about the ministry of this website, seeking God’s will as to whether to keep Living to God going or shut it down. My desire has always been that God would use this site to impact the local church for good — for His glory.

As I tracked readership, however, I began to be concerned that this desire was not striking a nerve. I’d been blessed with a strong core of faithful readers but the readership wasn’t growing. I was on the verge of deciding to shut it down, convinced that maybe this wasn’t part of my calling.

Then, by God’s providence, I was contacted by the editor of a much larger website about the possibility of using some of my writings on his site. After using just a few of my older posts, he contacted me again about migrating my web “ministry” to his site. The benefit? For him, another writer. For me, a wider audience — to the tune of 5 million plus per month – a bigger stage, a higher platform, a chance to make a greater difference for the kingdom of God.

It seems that God isn’t done with Living to God just yet. So, that said, His will clear, I’m moving. Effective February 2, I’ll be posting my blogs exclusively at www.christianity.com. If you don’t see my face on the home page, click on the “Blogs” link.

Thanks for reading. God bless.

All too often some Christians will claim the high ground by saying that while they might disagree with something or someone, the biblical admonition to “judge not lest ye be judged” prohibits them from handing down a moral verdict on someone else’s behavior. Please. That’s not biblical. That’s not ethical. That’s not helpful. That’s an out. That’s the proverbial washing of one’s hands. That’s moral cowardice.

Setting aside the exegetical fact that the command to judge not is in the context of eternal judgment, and ignoring the fact that Jesus elsewhere in the same book describes the necessity of church discipline (which requires moral judgement) and displays righteous indignation (clearing of the temple), the argument just doesn’t hold water. Are we as Christians to stand aside and assume that we are to have no say in matters of clear moral importance, matters that the Bible clearly addresses?

Take for example an the ongoing trial of Kimberly Trenor. Horrifying details of the beating death of her child are coming out at her trial in Texas.

A plastic container was found in Galveston Bay in October 2007. In it were the decomposed remains of what police would come to call Baby Grace. It turns out the body was that of 2-year-old Riley Ann Sawyers. The child had been clearly beaten to death, fractures to her skull causing the mortal wounds.

Her offense? She didn’t say “please” and “yes, sir.” For that, her mother and husband proceeded to spank the child with a leather belt. They held her head underwater. They pushed her face into a pillow. All the while, she begged for mercy, crying out to her mother, proclaiming her undying love.

The response? The daylong torture session continued. The abuse ended only after Royce Ziegler, Trenor’s husband, threw the child across the room and against the wall several times. After allegedly attempting CPR, Ziegler handed the limp child to her mother who set the child down and watched her die, afraid to call for help, afraid of the consequences for her own action. They then purchased a plastic tub and lid. The placed Riley in her Wal-Mart tomb and set her to sea.

How’s that sit with you? Should we just look the other way? Are was Christians to deny our outrage, to suppress our grief? To ignore the righteous indignation and anger that rightly wells up in the bosom of any normal mother or father? All because we’re not supposed to judge one another? Give me a break.

This episode sickens us to our core because we know in our hearts it is wrong. The Bible says so. The account of Baby Grace’s murder angers us because sin angers God. Our response is part of our human nature. Made in the image of God, that which angers God angers us. As Christians our response should be all the more stronger because we now have the Spirit of God living in us.

To look away from this violent tragedy, since we cannot overlook it, is to deny the truthfulness and authority of biblical teaching. To claim that “it’s not my place” to judge this woman and her mate is to ignore Christ’s mandate to love the little children, to care for the orphans, and to clothe the unloved.

God will judge Kimberly Trenor and Royce Ziegler. Their eternal fate is in His hands. “Vengeance is mine saith the Lord.” He can have it. It’s His. The government and a body of jurors will also judge these two lowly creatures. I am not to exact revenge for Riley. That job has been entrusted to our government by God and our own submission.

However, I am not to sit idly by and pretend I’m not allowed to evaluate and judge the morality of the behavior that has taken place. As a Christian, I am to proclaim as loudly as I can that the death of this child is a violation of the loving will of God. That requires judgment. As a father, I am teach my children such behavior is unacceptable. That requires judgment. As a citizen, I am to do my part to make sure it never happens again. That requires judgment.

I don’t have a choice. I don’t have the convenience of saying “that’s not my job” or “that’s above my pay grade.” I am to call sin “sin.” I am to judge between right and wrong. I am to avoid on my part and prevent on the part of others. If I don’t I am guilty by implication. Remember Peter’s accusation on the day of Pentecost: “This Jesus whom you handed over to be crucified (my paraphrase).” Those people in the crowd didn’t bind Jesus. They didn’t beat Jesus. They didn’t crucify Jesus. They stood by and did nothing to stop it. And, they were found guilty by silent association.

“Judge not lest you be judged?” Please. It doesn’t apply and it doesn’t fly. I am angry. I am grieved. I am morally outraged. As a Christian, I’m supposed to be.

If you have a vested interest in the abortion debate, either pro-life or pro-choice, you need to check our John Piper’s passionate plea to President Obama. You can find it here.

Well, the revisionists are at it again. They’re rewriting history to fit their skewed worldviews or political goals. We’ve seen this tact before. The idea is to deny some historical reality, be it embarassing or inconvenient, in order to advance your agenda or your ideology so that in the future others will begin with your presuppositions. This time it’s Bishop Richard Williamson and his denial of the holocaust.

Actually, Williamson isn’t denying the holocaust per se. He’s just denying that it was as extensive and deadly as historians have mistakenly believed. He contends that there is no evidence to support the commonly held number of 6 million Jewish victims. Regardless of his Catholic roots, Williamson’s remarks make him sound remarkably like Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s denial of the holocaust. The key difference is that Williamson doesn’t think Christians should evangelize Jews, Ahmadinejad just wants to annihilate them.

Christians are also guilty of selectively reading our history as well. We ignore facts that are embarassing. We overlook foibles that are regrettable though undeniable. Consider a few examples:

Protestants would love to forget the fact that Martin Luther was antisemitic. Of course, the cultured despisers of Protestantism won’t let us. Nor should they. However, we should learn from history. Luther was antisemitic. So were most other Germans. Luther reminds us that good theology doesn’t always guarantee good thinking.

Calvinists would love to forget the fact that John Calvin was involved in the execution of Michael Servetus. Of course, the theological haters of all things Calvin won’t let it go. Servetus was killed for his heresy. Calvin was involved though he sought a more humane method of execution. But, we need to realize that during the middle 16th century, the church and the state were essentially in bed together. Calvin didn’t kill Servetus. The ecclesiastical state did. Thus, we learn, just as the Anabaptists and Roger Williams among others would argue, a state enforced religion can be bad when that religion demands absolute adherence.

Southern Baptists would love to forget the fact that the formation of the Southern Baptist Convention revolved around the issue of slavery. Yes, the theological face of the debate was over missions. Yet, truth be told, the question at hand was the involvement or lack thereof of slaveholders. Moreover, many early SBC leaders owned slaves or were involved in the defense of the institution. Is slavery bad? Yes. Is it an ugly stain on our national and denominational history? Yes. Can we deny it? No. So, let’s learn from it.

Southern Baptists would love to forget the fact that the SBC had a less than favorable track record in the area of civil rights in the 1950s and 60s. So, let’s admit, learn from it, and never repeat it again.

Southern Baptists would also love to forget the fact that the SBC once espoused a pro-choice position that allowed for abortions in broadly defined circumstances. That position was all the rage early on. We were there too. No longer, praise the Lord. We can’t deny it. We can’t rewrite. Let’s repent and move on to the right position.

History is history. It’s in the past. Our selective memory, our political editing, and our wishful rewriting can’t change it. But, as bad as some of things are in our individual and collective pasts, we shouldn’t want to forget them. To forget is to ignore. We can’t afford to ignore the past. We need to learn from it. Change our ways. Make amends. Take steps to prevent it from ever happening again.

I have made mistakes that I hope my children will never have to experience. The way to protect them from my miseries and heartbreaks is not to deny my past or rewrite it in favorable terms. Instead, I can teach them to avoid my pitfalls only when I own them and share them for the purpose of illustrating the dangers of paths better not taken. I’d rather embarass myself than hurt my children. We should feel the same way about our national and denominational pasts as well.

Modern man at once rejects ultimate authority and seeks it in nearly every area of his life. He loathes the necessity of obedience to one external to himself and yet longs for the sanity offered by a stable government and a standardized way of life. Oddly, this dichotomy does not strike him as incoherent or inexplicable. He is the way he is and that’s all that he is.

Christians are much the same. We want to be autonomous in our churches and in our faith. We cry for the freedom of the local church and the priesthood of all believers in one breath and decry the behavior of others with the another. Likewise, we claim that the Bible is our authority for matters of the faith. Yet, we turn to the Christian gurus of our age for advice in all areas of the faith. We, too, fail to see the inconsistency of our confession and our actions.

Periodically, we must return to think again on the great doctrines of the faith, those things revealed in the Bible and revisited in history. It is time for the church to once again to relinquish our prideful control of self and submit to the final authority of the Bible once for all.

Southern Baptists began this process in the 80s and 90s as they battled for the denomination and lifted up the banner of the Bible. Unfortunately, even those who were willing to die on the hill called “inerrancy” have hedged their bets. They’ve raised one hand in allegiance to the Bible and kept the other on the books of men who profess to possess the secrets of church growth and spiritual happiness.

I write here not to downplay the value of many good books that line the shelves of the church. I write here to lift up the Good Book. It is time we seriously reconsider and rededicate ourselves to that great Reformation doctrine of sola scriptura.

At the most basic level, sola scriptura claims that Christians have no greater authority than the Bible alone. This authority is not shared with man or his institutions. It resides in the revealed word of God, the final word on all matters of faith and practice.

As such the Bible is not only inerrant, reflecting the perfect character of God, it is infallible and authoritative. Moreover, it is also sufficient for the church and all its needs.

The Bible is sufficient to accomplish God’s will – Isaiah 55:10-11.

The Bible is sufficient for evangelism – 1 Peter 1:23.

The Bible is sufficient for sanctification – Psalm 119:11.

The Bible is sufficient for guidance – Romans 12:2.

The Bible is sufficient for all areas of Christian living – 2 Timothy 3:16-17.

The church should praise God for the many gifted men and women he has graciously provided to guide and inspire us. However, we must never allow ourselves to blindly follow the word of men while we ignore the word of God. May he forgive us for doing so in the past. May he keep us from doing so again.

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