My Thoughts About "RepentAustin.org..."
If you haven't seen it, then seeing it here will help. It's only 4 minutes long.
I promised Erin that I'd expound upon my thoughts here because I was too limited in the other venue. Firstly, I have to qualify that what is shown is only a small portion of the whole video. I don't know what else this man said, so my analysis is only from what he's saying here.
Originally, I said "I have [seen it] now. I think that he's off track. This isn't convicting, this is cathartic. He's allowing people to say "wow I suck, I must need to go to church more often." He didn't say the single most important thing: "THIS IS WHAT GOD LOOKS LIKE!" More on blog.." Then I ran out of room, so I posted another one real quick, "....and he talks about himself too much. More on my blog www.matthewhurleylife.blogspot.com"
So now you ought to be all caught up. But I digress...
In short, as I said above, what this man is saying is off track. Like a train that's off track, he's pointed in the right direction, but he's operating the wrong way. Also like a train that's off its tracks, he's not going to get where he intends to go and he will cause some destruction in the process, even to himself. Additionally, a train that is off its tracks will not be used by it's Conductor and will have to be straightened out before it can again be effective.
In order to be most convincing, let me list (and clarify) the rather inflammatory assertions that I just made. I'll also add a couple. (I'll call him Jobe because I don't know his name, and Job was a little off too)
1. Jobe is speaking wrongly.
2. Jobe is at least pointed TOWARD God and Scripture, but if he continues on his course, neither God nor Scripture will be his actual destination.
3. Since Jobe is not going in the right direction, he's going to cause other people some harm on the way by pulling them off track too and giving them a wrong view of God's Ways of doing things.
4. The damage done to himself will probably be temporal and impermanent, but the reward he looses in Heaven will be eternally lost.
5. Jobe's methods and goals are not useful to the Kingdom, and as a result God will need to work around Jobe, or in spite of Jobe, or maybe even without Jobe's cooperation (like He did with Jonah).
6. Before Jobe can enjoy the blessings of participating in the work that God is doing, he will have to change his goals, his method of pursuing those goals, and his reasons for pursuing those goals (in that order).
7. Jobe is speaking to people whom he doesn't know.
8. Lastly, but perhaps most significantly, Jobe is less interested in speaking the Truth than he is in being inflammatory.
Now that I've been clear, let me be thorough.
Firstly, Jobe speaks without love, or with too little. His language is inciting when they should be deliberate; his gestures are accusatory when they should be genuine, and he starts (only this portion, but it sounds like the beginning of the whole thing) by speaking about himself when he should start and end with God. Additionally, he does not speak from established authority. He's offering a broad rebuke that borders on anathema, but he speaks from the safety of anonymity, from the safety of distance, from the safety of a lack of intimacy with his audience. This idea of authority is important, but I'll deal with it later because it's not as important as some other ideas.
Let's look at Paul's dealings with what is considered to be the most sinful church in the New Testament, the congregation at Corinth. Paul wrote three letters to the body of believers at Corinth (a previous letter is mentioned in 1 Cor). Even in his second letter to them he asks them if they want him to stop the car. "What do you desire? Shall I come to you with a rod, or with love and a spirit of gentleness?" (1 Cor 4:21) So even in this second letter, the church is confused enough that Paul is already saying "don't make me come back there!"
How does Paul start the letters? They are similar to each other. Firstly, he greets them in Jesus Christ as an Apostle. This is important because God gave Apostles very special authority, even the authority to write scripture, among other things, and Apostles don't exist anymore (to be one, you must have been taught by Jesus Himself). Secondly, he addresses the Church of God who are at Corinth and throughout Achaia and who have been sanctified by Jesus Christ. Thirdly, he offers them grace and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Why am I going line-by-line? Because it's not until verse 10 (in 1 Cor) that Paul refers to God ONLY ONCE!! In 2 Cor, v5 is the first time this happens. Every other sentence before that refers to BOTH God AND Jesus at least once, sometimes twice each. Where is Paul's focus? On God. Why does Paul thank God concerning the Corinthians in his first letter? Because of WHO GOD IS to have blessed them when they didn't deserve it. Why does he bless God in his second letter? Because of WHO GOD IS to have comforted His children in times of affliction. What is Paul's primary focus? WHO GOD IS and WHAT HE'S LIKE.
What is Jobe's focus? It's not God because it's not until 75% of the way through that he FINALLY mentions Jesus' Name (the Name above all other names, at the speaking of which every knee shall bow in Heaven and on Earth and under the Earth, yeah, that Name.) Yeah, he says "god" but so do my unbelieving coworkers. Is he really talking about God? No, he's talking about unbelievers. He's talking about himself. He's talking about his South American ministry. He's talking about his sleepless night. He's talking about his angst. He's talking about "Christianity," but he's not talking about the SINGLE MOST important thing in any person's life regardless of whether they're an Apostle, a hard-core believer, a back-slidden believer, an unbeliever, or a believer who has lost their salvation (this one is last on my list because at this point you can't get it back; yup, read Heb 6). He's not talking about WHO GOD IS. Paul managed to do it in his letters to the Corinthians even though he was very straightforward about their need to "straighten up." After the first 3 minutes, it doesn't matter what Jobe's focus WAS, because it wasn't God and that's all that matters.
What is Jobe's method? His authority is based on the fact that this is "the one thing that gave [him] a sleepless night." His tool is shocking condemnation. His object lesson is the Southern Baptist favorite, fear of Hell. When Jesus was trying to win people over to Himself, what was His method? He said "Hey! Look at this! I'm God!" How many times did Jesus even talk about Hell at all? 4 occasions that I can find. Once is in the Sermon on the Mount when He talks about sin being a matter of the heart, He says that sinners are destined for Hell (Matt 5). Another occasion is when He is telling His disciples not to fear men who can destroy the body, but to fear God who can "destroy both body and soul in Hell." The third occasion is when He's telling His disciples to hate sin as fiercely as God does because it's better to lose a part of your body than to be cast into Hell. The only other occasion that I can find is when Jesus is rebuking the Pharisees. From Matt 23 v15"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you travel around on sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves. ... v33 You serpents, you brood of vipers, how will you escape the sentence of hell?"
Jesus doesn't say "I'm worried that you might go to Hell," He says "how can you possibly escape Hell?!" He doesn't call them backslidden, He calls them "Sons of [their] father, Satan." These were not people who Jesus was interested in converting. He knew their hearts and He knew where they fit into His Father's plan. The people who Jesus was interested in "converting" were those people whom He LOVED. He MINISTERED TO THEM. He said "I forgive you, and so you will know that I have the power to forgive your sins, get up and walk."
Although it's a bit petty of me, I can't help but point out the irony of Jobe condemning his audience for their similarity to the world, when he sounds like every other "Hellfire and Brimstone" preacher out there. "Why is it ironic for a preacher to be like other preachers," you ask? Because his primary interest is in pointing out that they are comparing themselves to the image of worldly christians, but he himself is imitating other Christians. He's not looking at God and he's not telling them to look at God either!
This is my primary problem with this video and it can be used to validate every other assertion that I've made so far. If anyone has talked to me about semi-normal spiritual issues (meaning something other than Calvinism or YEC), then you've heard me say it many times: Look at God. Stephen has heard it more times than his fair share, but only because he's so graciously patient to listen to me rant and rave and say the same thing over and over and over again.
What is Jobe's message? His message is "salvation by faith in Christian works" (I know I'm saved because I'm a missionary to South America) or "salvation by faith in my Christian image" (I know I'm saved because I look like the "REAL" Christians in South America, who would excommunicate you hypocrites) or "salvation by faith in my faith" (I know I'm saved because I have so much faith that I can get up here and say this). But the Bible says, "All our righteous works are as filthy rags," so even our works are sinful. The Bible says, "There will be many on that day who say to Me "[But didn't we really look like real Christians with all the miracles and casting out of demons in Your Name?]" But I will say to them, "begone from me, for I NEVER KNEW YOU." He didn't say "because you didn't look like Me." He didn't say, "because your faith wasn't great enough." He didn't say "because you didn't go to South America." He said "because you WEREN'T LOOKING AT ME! I didn't KNOW YOU!" Our faith is in nothing less than the pure, unadulterated, merciful and gracious blood of the glorious Son of God! Our faith is in the fact that He will save us EVEN THOUGH we went to South America; EVEN THOUGH all our righteous works are as filthy rags; EVEN THOUGH our faith is only the size of a mustard seed; EVEN THOUGH ....
Praise be to the Father who has saved us from His own wrath! Praise to the Son who thought it not robbery to be made equal with God, but even STILL made Himself to be like us and was obedient unto death, even death on a cross; Praise be to the Spirit who comforts us even when we DON'T grieve the absence of our Groom, and who intercedes for us with the Father and groans on our behalf! Praise to the God who loves! Praise and all glory, adoration and all dominion to the God of gods and the King of kings who lives forevermore and is worthy of all worship and exultation! Holy holy holy is the Lord God Almighty who desires that we ENJOY Him! Worthy is the Lamb who was slain and was given the Name above all names. At that Name, every knee must bow... every knee WILL bow and every tongue confess in Heaven and on Earth and under the Earth that Jesus Christ is Lord!
So, look at God and show people what He looks like. Nothing else matters.
I promised Erin that I'd expound upon my thoughts here because I was too limited in the other venue. Firstly, I have to qualify that what is shown is only a small portion of the whole video. I don't know what else this man said, so my analysis is only from what he's saying here.
Originally, I said "I have [seen it] now. I think that he's off track. This isn't convicting, this is cathartic. He's allowing people to say "wow I suck, I must need to go to church more often." He didn't say the single most important thing: "THIS IS WHAT GOD LOOKS LIKE!" More on blog.." Then I ran out of room, so I posted another one real quick, "....and he talks about himself too much. More on my blog www.matthewhurleylife.blogspot.com"
So now you ought to be all caught up. But I digress...
In short, as I said above, what this man is saying is off track. Like a train that's off track, he's pointed in the right direction, but he's operating the wrong way. Also like a train that's off its tracks, he's not going to get where he intends to go and he will cause some destruction in the process, even to himself. Additionally, a train that is off its tracks will not be used by it's Conductor and will have to be straightened out before it can again be effective.
In order to be most convincing, let me list (and clarify) the rather inflammatory assertions that I just made. I'll also add a couple. (I'll call him Jobe because I don't know his name, and Job was a little off too)
1. Jobe is speaking wrongly.
2. Jobe is at least pointed TOWARD God and Scripture, but if he continues on his course, neither God nor Scripture will be his actual destination.
3. Since Jobe is not going in the right direction, he's going to cause other people some harm on the way by pulling them off track too and giving them a wrong view of God's Ways of doing things.
4. The damage done to himself will probably be temporal and impermanent, but the reward he looses in Heaven will be eternally lost.
5. Jobe's methods and goals are not useful to the Kingdom, and as a result God will need to work around Jobe, or in spite of Jobe, or maybe even without Jobe's cooperation (like He did with Jonah).
6. Before Jobe can enjoy the blessings of participating in the work that God is doing, he will have to change his goals, his method of pursuing those goals, and his reasons for pursuing those goals (in that order).
7. Jobe is speaking to people whom he doesn't know.
8. Lastly, but perhaps most significantly, Jobe is less interested in speaking the Truth than he is in being inflammatory.
Now that I've been clear, let me be thorough.
Firstly, Jobe speaks without love, or with too little. His language is inciting when they should be deliberate; his gestures are accusatory when they should be genuine, and he starts (only this portion, but it sounds like the beginning of the whole thing) by speaking about himself when he should start and end with God. Additionally, he does not speak from established authority. He's offering a broad rebuke that borders on anathema, but he speaks from the safety of anonymity, from the safety of distance, from the safety of a lack of intimacy with his audience. This idea of authority is important, but I'll deal with it later because it's not as important as some other ideas.
Let's look at Paul's dealings with what is considered to be the most sinful church in the New Testament, the congregation at Corinth. Paul wrote three letters to the body of believers at Corinth (a previous letter is mentioned in 1 Cor). Even in his second letter to them he asks them if they want him to stop the car. "What do you desire? Shall I come to you with a rod, or with love and a spirit of gentleness?" (1 Cor 4:21) So even in this second letter, the church is confused enough that Paul is already saying "don't make me come back there!"
How does Paul start the letters? They are similar to each other. Firstly, he greets them in Jesus Christ as an Apostle. This is important because God gave Apostles very special authority, even the authority to write scripture, among other things, and Apostles don't exist anymore (to be one, you must have been taught by Jesus Himself). Secondly, he addresses the Church of God who are at Corinth and throughout Achaia and who have been sanctified by Jesus Christ. Thirdly, he offers them grace and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Why am I going line-by-line? Because it's not until verse 10 (in 1 Cor) that Paul refers to God ONLY ONCE!! In 2 Cor, v5 is the first time this happens. Every other sentence before that refers to BOTH God AND Jesus at least once, sometimes twice each. Where is Paul's focus? On God. Why does Paul thank God concerning the Corinthians in his first letter? Because of WHO GOD IS to have blessed them when they didn't deserve it. Why does he bless God in his second letter? Because of WHO GOD IS to have comforted His children in times of affliction. What is Paul's primary focus? WHO GOD IS and WHAT HE'S LIKE.
What is Jobe's focus? It's not God because it's not until 75% of the way through that he FINALLY mentions Jesus' Name (the Name above all other names, at the speaking of which every knee shall bow in Heaven and on Earth and under the Earth, yeah, that Name.) Yeah, he says "god" but so do my unbelieving coworkers. Is he really talking about God? No, he's talking about unbelievers. He's talking about himself. He's talking about his South American ministry. He's talking about his sleepless night. He's talking about his angst. He's talking about "Christianity," but he's not talking about the SINGLE MOST important thing in any person's life regardless of whether they're an Apostle, a hard-core believer, a back-slidden believer, an unbeliever, or a believer who has lost their salvation (this one is last on my list because at this point you can't get it back; yup, read Heb 6). He's not talking about WHO GOD IS. Paul managed to do it in his letters to the Corinthians even though he was very straightforward about their need to "straighten up." After the first 3 minutes, it doesn't matter what Jobe's focus WAS, because it wasn't God and that's all that matters.
What is Jobe's method? His authority is based on the fact that this is "the one thing that gave [him] a sleepless night." His tool is shocking condemnation. His object lesson is the Southern Baptist favorite, fear of Hell. When Jesus was trying to win people over to Himself, what was His method? He said "Hey! Look at this! I'm God!" How many times did Jesus even talk about Hell at all? 4 occasions that I can find. Once is in the Sermon on the Mount when He talks about sin being a matter of the heart, He says that sinners are destined for Hell (Matt 5). Another occasion is when He is telling His disciples not to fear men who can destroy the body, but to fear God who can "destroy both body and soul in Hell." The third occasion is when He's telling His disciples to hate sin as fiercely as God does because it's better to lose a part of your body than to be cast into Hell. The only other occasion that I can find is when Jesus is rebuking the Pharisees. From Matt 23 v15"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you travel around on sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves. ... v33 You serpents, you brood of vipers, how will you escape the sentence of hell?"
Jesus doesn't say "I'm worried that you might go to Hell," He says "how can you possibly escape Hell?!" He doesn't call them backslidden, He calls them "Sons of [their] father, Satan." These were not people who Jesus was interested in converting. He knew their hearts and He knew where they fit into His Father's plan. The people who Jesus was interested in "converting" were those people whom He LOVED. He MINISTERED TO THEM. He said "I forgive you, and so you will know that I have the power to forgive your sins, get up and walk."
Although it's a bit petty of me, I can't help but point out the irony of Jobe condemning his audience for their similarity to the world, when he sounds like every other "Hellfire and Brimstone" preacher out there. "Why is it ironic for a preacher to be like other preachers," you ask? Because his primary interest is in pointing out that they are comparing themselves to the image of worldly christians, but he himself is imitating other Christians. He's not looking at God and he's not telling them to look at God either!
This is my primary problem with this video and it can be used to validate every other assertion that I've made so far. If anyone has talked to me about semi-normal spiritual issues (meaning something other than Calvinism or YEC), then you've heard me say it many times: Look at God. Stephen has heard it more times than his fair share, but only because he's so graciously patient to listen to me rant and rave and say the same thing over and over and over again.
What is Jobe's message? His message is "salvation by faith in Christian works" (I know I'm saved because I'm a missionary to South America) or "salvation by faith in my Christian image" (I know I'm saved because I look like the "REAL" Christians in South America, who would excommunicate you hypocrites) or "salvation by faith in my faith" (I know I'm saved because I have so much faith that I can get up here and say this). But the Bible says, "All our righteous works are as filthy rags," so even our works are sinful. The Bible says, "There will be many on that day who say to Me "[But didn't we really look like real Christians with all the miracles and casting out of demons in Your Name?]" But I will say to them, "begone from me, for I NEVER KNEW YOU." He didn't say "because you didn't look like Me." He didn't say, "because your faith wasn't great enough." He didn't say "because you didn't go to South America." He said "because you WEREN'T LOOKING AT ME! I didn't KNOW YOU!" Our faith is in nothing less than the pure, unadulterated, merciful and gracious blood of the glorious Son of God! Our faith is in the fact that He will save us EVEN THOUGH we went to South America; EVEN THOUGH all our righteous works are as filthy rags; EVEN THOUGH our faith is only the size of a mustard seed; EVEN THOUGH ....
Praise be to the Father who has saved us from His own wrath! Praise to the Son who thought it not robbery to be made equal with God, but even STILL made Himself to be like us and was obedient unto death, even death on a cross; Praise be to the Spirit who comforts us even when we DON'T grieve the absence of our Groom, and who intercedes for us with the Father and groans on our behalf! Praise to the God who loves! Praise and all glory, adoration and all dominion to the God of gods and the King of kings who lives forevermore and is worthy of all worship and exultation! Holy holy holy is the Lord God Almighty who desires that we ENJOY Him! Worthy is the Lamb who was slain and was given the Name above all names. At that Name, every knee must bow... every knee WILL bow and every tongue confess in Heaven and on Earth and under the Earth that Jesus Christ is Lord!
So, look at God and show people what He looks like. Nothing else matters.
posted by Matt at 18:11
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