Jesus often astounded religious experts with answers that they did not expect.

One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”  

“The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”

In response to a question regarding the most important commandment, Jesus basically says “love God and love man.” Hmm. That seems so abstract! I’m sure after hearing Jesus’ response, the guy that asked the question probably thought “well thanks, that really clears it up.. not.” Yes, he  was the first person to ever use the “not” joke. He wanted a sin that he could avoid, especially if that sin was the most egregious sin in God’s eyes. That way God would think of him, “yea he messes up sometimes but he avoids the stuff I really hate. He’s a pretty good guy, I’ll let him into my kingdom.”

It still seems pretty unclear how we are supposed to apply this verse to our lives, at least on the surface. I mean how are we supposed to love a God that we cannot touch or see? It’s easy for us to conjure up a bunch of emotions, “feel” strongly devoted to Jesus, and think that we have checked off the greatest commandment. However, if our right feeling does not translate into right living then we are totally missing the point. A little digging in the New Testament will give us a more complete picture of what Jesus is saying and how we can practically live out the greatest commandment of all. I’ll break it up bit by bit.

1. Love the Lord your God with all your heart – The heart is vital to your living. It is the wellspring of life (Proverbs 4:23). Your heart determines your direction. “The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks” (Luke 6:45). Your heart is your true center, your inner being, who you truly are. Jesus wants our us to love God from the core of who we are. Ok, I know, still vague.. How do we know whether we love God with all of our heart? The best measure of our heart’s love for God is our spending; How we spend our time and how we spend our money, but especially our money! “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:21). Our hearts follow our money. If you don’t think your heart is in the right place and you want to change your heart. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you change your desires while you change the way you spend. Your heart will follow.
2. With all your soul – when we profess our need for Jesus and commit to following Him, the Holy Spirit takes up residence in our soul. For those of you thinking “wait, I asked Jesus into my heart, why would the Holy Spirit live in my soul?” Zip it. haha. That’s not important. The important thing is that God the Holy Spirit lives inside us and acts as our helper by revealing the mind of God to us. He will guide us in how we should live. Are you listening? He speaks in a still, small voice. The more you attune your ears to hear that voice, the louder it will get. To love the Lord with all your soul is to be obedient to the Holy Spirit.
3. With all your mind - Our thoughts are extremely important to who we become because our thought life is the window to our hearts. Consequently, the Bible has a lot to say about our thought life.  Be transformed by renewing of your mind (Romans 12:2), think on things that are excellent and worthy of praise (Philippians 4:8), etc. We can change who we are by changing the way we think! Think about that for a second. What we constantly think to be true, we will eventually believe to be true, and our actions will consequently be affected. If a girl fills her mind with celebrity news and frames her opinion of beauty off of what she reads in People magazine, she will believe that she doesn’t measure up and will be driven to an eating disorder. Just as what we think (mind) has an influence on what we believe (heart), what we believe influences the general direction of our thinking. We often fool ourselves that our heart is somewhere it is not. “Yes my heart belongs to Jesus” but is that where your thoughts drift when you allow them? Is that where your conversations naturally go? Loving God with our mind requires a disciplined effort to focus on the truth of Christ and looking to it as our guide in a world where it is easy to be distracted or led astray.
4. With all of your strength - “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies” (1 Cor 6:19-20). As the mind and the heart are connected, so are the body and soul. How we feel physically affects how we feel emotionally. When you are tired, it is easy to feel depressed. How do you treat your body? do you give it what it needs? your body needs fuel to run well and when you eat junk, you will feel like junk (for some reason I can picture Mr. T saying that).  Do you always give you body what it wants? When our stomachs are always full, it leaves no room for our souls to grow.  Do you exercise? Laziness is contagious. If you are slacking physically, it’s easy to slack off spiritually. Are you addicted to sugar or alcohol or drugs? Get help. How can you worship the Lord when you are controlled and enslaved by any substance?

** This is a guest post by my brother, Chris Carden

At last in the 21^st century we have finally erected a new colossus.  The colossus is the ideal or quintessential human persuasion articulated and evaluated by the highly educated political, social, and philosophical theorists of our time.  Unfortunately the colossus of our century is not a massive warrior, sculpted of rock, who stands guard at the entrance to our cities and universities ready to repel any attack against our preciously held convictions.

In fact, in his own city the modern colossus more closely resembles a court jester.  If he even knew where to take a stand he wouldn’t for fear of ridicule.  Instead he prefers to wander the streets and entertain his citizens with any subject that is both pleasing and inoffensive to their ears.  He thrives on popularity, and his greatest sin is alienation.  If he is not constantly on the move he will miss the shifting persuasions of the inhabitants and without an ability to appeal to the majority, he will find himself begging at the gates in short order.

The only thing that reviles our modern colossus is his ancient predecessor who stands guard at the entrance to other cities and refuses our entertainer’s entrance. Only against these intolerant obstructions will the colossus transform himself into a mighty warrior equipped with the weapons of slander and marginalization.  As a warrior, no manner of battle is restricted and no higher priority exists until the old colossus of conviction and reason comes crashing into the sea. As the old bronze head splashes into the water, the modern colossus transforms himself once again into an appealing entertainer and parades through the streets preparing the conquered peoples to celebrate the arrival of their new king, Public Opinion.

This subject has been of great concern to me for a long time, but its importance has only been heightened in recent years by the incessant marginalization of anyone branded as an extremist or a fundamentalist.  What reviles my conscience more than the insinuations and labels that are placed on such convictions is the model by which such convictions are judged.

Have we really progressed so far that we may now abandon the foundations of dialectal reasoning, and merely reject political and religious thought based on the degree of conviction and sincerity to which they are held?  Since all mankind is walking in the same direction on the same philosophical road, is there rebuke only for those who refuse to walk with the group or who find themselves in the emergency lane?  If our definitions and categories of fundamentalist and extremist are to maintain their negative validity, then all beliefs are essentially good so long as they are not pursued to the extreme.

On a massive linear scale we are able to find left and right-wing extremist on either side of the spectrum.  When the dividing line between what is acceptable and what is extreme has only a slight margin of subjectivity in the greater public opinion, should we with great bravado hail our ideal colossus’ position as dead center?

Rejection of the Linear Model

To find the center we utilize many guideposts with which we are more familiar than a 20-year spouse; like tolerance, equality, and consensus.  We don’t really even know who erected these guideposts or if they even understood their correct orientation, but we have confidence in the parade of the masses traveling in the same direction. As we gaggle to the center we affirm one another’s inalienable right to subjectively and contradictorily define truth, while demonizing those beyond the generally accepted extremism borders like Pat Robertson, Osama Bin-Laden, and Karl Marx.

As much as I have tried to divorce myself from the obligation of walking the singular road of modern philosophy, I found myself unwillingly pulled back today after reading an article by Susan Brooks Thistelwaite entitled “2012: The year when extremism self-destructs?”  As I quickly identified many of the guideposts that had earlier convinced me to leave this pathway all together, I felt sick thinking that even those who disagreed with Mrs. Thistelwaite would probably begin their argument on the same philosophical asphalt by a redrawing of borders and pointing with renewed cries of “Extremism!”

Is it really such a sin to be a religious extremist?  Shouldn’t our level of acceptance center more on the merits of the religion itself rather than the degree of personal commitment?  I would define myself as a follower of Christ and of the teachings found in the Bible, but I categorically reject the notion that if I were to pursue this faith with greater or even extreme conviction that I might find myself in possession of an intricately wired package of C4 outside an abortion clinic.  Anyone who diligently reads scripture would tell you that such an interpretation is a perversion of the faith and is not marginalized by passion alone but by core differences in the understanding of God and in his instructions to mankind.  Tomorrow I could take a case of automatic weapons to a Tea Party convention and wreak havoc among the faithful while praising Thistelwaitianism, but I am quite sure that my “messiah” would reject any relation to my madness.

In actuality, rather than arriving at an imaginary center paradise of our modern philosophy, society will continue to spin, lost in the circuitous attempts to reconcile modern tolerance with the truth claims that have excluded the extremists.  I am thankful that there have been those in history, like MLK and Mother Theresa, who, with a clear perception of truth and an extremist conviction to that ideal, have left the morass of public opinion and blazed a new trail for the rest of us to follow.  Here I must utter the greatest blasphemy known to modernity: “We are not all on the same road, and we cannot all be right.”

The Narrow Road

How amazing then that 2,000 years later the words of Pontius Pilate still echo at this critical juncture: “What is truth?”  For Socrates and many ancient philosophers the answer to this question was life’s greatest ambition.  For centuries the great thinkers analyzed the mental processes by which we might discover truth.  The dialectic approach takes many forms but at its core it calls us to differentiate truth claims from error. In this spirit, I think that our familiar model of a linear philosophy with volatile extremes, should instead be substituted with a star shape model with an objective goal of truth.  A change in models would thus require a shift in vocabulary and the words like extremism and fundamentalism, which have not assisted our moral education, would again be replaced with the politically charged yet helpful words: “right” and “wrong.”

Now of course there will be great debate when we set about defining our goal of objective truth or even begin to outline a standard by which we might define right and wrong, but unless we begin a discussion along those terms we will be forever locked in the spinning cycle of “tolerance.”

Having spent several years as a student in Paris, I love the Place de l’Etoile.  I haven’t thought too extensively about a better model for defining our political and religious views, but this little traffic miracle seems to me a great illustration.  Several times I have found myself with many frustrated Parisians locked inside the center ring, but each time I was never satisfied to remain there because I always had a destination in mind.  In order to get to the Place de la Concorde, you must exit onto the Champs-Élysées and proceed east for about a kilometer.  There are two other roads leading out of l’Etoile which also proceed somewhat east, but the further you travel down them the further you will find yourself from la Place de la Concorde.  Thanks to experience, study, and reason I can emphatically proclaim to someone on Ave Marceau that they are not proceeding to Place de la Concorde.

Now I hope that I can instill in my children a hunger for truth that will drive them fanatically in its search.  I hope that along their road of life that they will have an open ear to those on different paths who make truth claims contradictory to their personal beliefs.  I hope that they will evaluate those truth claims with reason and make educated decisions about which paths they must follow.  I expect them to also freely share their own convictions and that due to their diligent search I pray that their principles would ring with all of the extremism available in the face of shallow persuasions. You see, rightly defined extremism represents a degree of conviction. If someone can be extremely talented why can’t they also be extremely persuasive, influential, and moral?  I agree that someone might also be extremely dangerous, but in order to differentiate between the two I need to answer the question “What do they believe?” not “How much?”

Although determining truth in philosophy and politics is much more arduous than finding one’s way around Paris (debatable of course), we should not be afraid to frame our discussions in that pursuit.

I don’t want to brush over the topic of Demas because I think analyzing his story and comparing it to our own can reveal important truths about what it truly means to be saved.

We have the luxury of looking back at Demas at a time when it is comfortable and “easy” to be a Christian and say “he just didn’t have enough faith.” I wonder how we would have done in his shoes? Somebody once said “we are all inclined to judge ourselves by our ideals, others, by their acts.”

It is easy for us to look at someone like Demas and say “oh, well he was never really saved.” However, I’m sure Demas never thought that. I bet when he was traveling around with Paul, he wasn’t just enjoying a fun road-trip. No, I’m sure he at least thought he was saved and who knows, maybe he was. Was he still saved when he died? We can’t know.

Maybe this is why Paul was so adamant that we regularly test ourselves to see whether we are in the faith (2 Corinthians 13:5). We should be constantly saying to ourselves “ok, I can see in Scripture the direction I should be headed in if I truly believe in Jesus. Am I walking in the right direction?” Maybe Demas just stopped asking himself this question. Maybe he assumed that he couldn’t lose his salvation; that he could still “believe in Jesus” and live however he wanted.

Paul, on the other hand, tested himself right up until the day he died. He told Timothy “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.”

We know from Paul that we are in a race but our problem today is that many of us have mistaken the starting line for the finish line! We equate forgiveness of sins to salvation, but forgiveness of sins is only part of the process.

Kary Oberbrunner says that  “when we choose to follow Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we are justified. The rest of life, we’re in the process of becoming more and more holy. That is sanctification. The day we die or are raptured, we will be glorified. Thus, believers have been saved; are being saved; and they will be saved. This threefold process is the essence of salvation.” He also gives the following table to help explain this process.

I don’t personally know at what point a person becomes “truly saved” or whether a person can lose his or her salvation if they have truly been saved; I don’t think any of us can know. However, I feel that scripture does support the premise that we can lose our salvation more so than it does the idea that once we say a prayer we are guaranteed a ticket to Heaven.. Stay tuned for the follow up post

.

Some of you might have seen this letter before at artofmanliness.com but for those who haven’t, here is one of the greatest letters ever penned.

The following letter was written a week before the battle of Bull Run by an officer in the Union army, Sullivan Ballou. At the start of the Civil War, Ballou, gave up his career as a practicing lawyer, said goodbye to his wife and children, and enlisted in the Union army. He believed so strongly in the cause for which he fought that he sacrificed all that he held dear. It is hard to imagine a greater sacrifice.

July the 14th, 1861

Washington D.C.

My very dear Sarah:

The indications are very strong that we shall move in a few days-perhaps tomorrow. Lest I should not be able to write you again, I feel impelled to write lines that may fall under your eye when I shall be no more.

Our movement may be one of a few days duration and full of pleasure-and it may be one of severe conflict and death to me. Not my will, but thine O God, be done. If it is necessary that I should fall on the battlefield for my country, I am ready. I have no misgivings about, or lack of confidence in, the cause in which I am engaged, and my courage does not halt or falter. I know how strongly American Civilization now leans upon the triumph of the Government, and how great a debt we owe to those who went before us through the blood and suffering of the Revolution. And I am willing-perfectly willing-to lay down all my joys in this life, to help maintain this Government, and to pay that debt.

But, my dear wife, when I know that with my own joys I lay down nearly all of yours, and replace them in this life with cares and sorrows-when, after having eaten for long years the bitter fruit of orphanage myself, I must offer it as their only sustenance to my dear little children-is it weak or dishonorable, while the banner of my purpose floats calmly and proudly in the breeze, that my unbounded love for you, my darling wife and children, should struggle in fierce, though useless, contest with my love of country?

I cannot describe to you my feelings on this calm summer night, when two thousand men are sleeping around me, many of them enjoying the last, perhaps, before that of death-and I, suspicious that Death is creeping behind me with his fatal dart, am communing with God, my country, and thee.

I have sought most closely and diligently, and often in my breast, for a wrong motive in thus hazarding the happiness of those I loved and I could not find one. A pure love of my country and of the principles have often advocated before the people and “the name of honor that I love more than I fear death” have called upon me, and I have obeyed.

Sarah, my love for you is deathless, it seems to bind me to you with mighty cables that nothing but Omnipotence could break; and yet my love of Country comes over me like a strong wind and bears me irresistibly on with all these chains to the battlefield.

The memories of the blissful moments I have spent with you come creeping over me, and I feel most gratified to God and to you that I have enjoyed them so long. And hard it is for me to give them up and burn to ashes the hopes of future years, when God willing, we might still have lived and loved together and seen our sons grow up to honorable manhood around us. I have, I know, but few and small claims upon Divine Providence, but something whispers to me-perhaps it is the wafted prayer of my little Edgar-that I shall return to my loved ones unharmed. If I do not, my dear Sarah, never forget how much I love you, and when my last breath escapes me on the battlefield, it will whisper your name.

Forgive my many faults, and the many pains I have caused you. How thoughtless and foolish I have often been! How gladly would I wash out with my tears every little spot upon your happiness, and struggle with all the misfortune of this world, to shield you and my children from harm. But I cannot. I must watch you from the spirit land and hover near you, while you buffet the storms with your precious little freight, and wait with sad patience till we meet to part no more.

But, O Sarah! If the dead can come back to this earth and flit unseen around those they loved, I shall always be near you; in the garish day and in the darkest night-amidst your happiest scenes and gloomiest hours-always, always; and if there be a soft breeze upon your cheek, it shall be my breath; or the cool air fans your throbbing temple, it shall be my spirit passing by.

Sarah, do not mourn me dead; think I am gone and wait for thee, for we shall meet again.

As for my little boys, they will grow as I have done, and never know a father’s love and care. Little Willie is too young to remember me long, and my blue-eyed Edgar will keep my frolics with him among the dimmest memories of his childhood. Sarah, I have unlimited confidence in your maternal care and your development of their characters. Tell my two mothers his and hers I call God’s blessing upon them. O Sarah, I wait for you there! Come to me, and lead thither my children.

Sullivan

**Continuing the series on salvation, I would like to share a passage from the book Called by Kary Oberbrunner, which in my opinion is one of the best books I’ve found on describing what it truly means to be a Christian and how to find our role in the larger story.

In my experience, the extent of discipleship I’ve been presented with goes something like this:

1. Accept Jesus and ask him into your heart.
2. Don’t do bad things now.
3. Withdraw from culture.
4. Hang out with Christians.
5. Go to church.
6. Read your Bible and pray.
7. Be happy that you are saved and not going to Hell.
8. Tell other people about how happy they can be if they follow these seven steps

Is it just me, or is this a lame life? Where is the passion? Where is the adventure? Where is the abundant life that Jesus promised? No wonder we’re bored. The Jesus we’ve been presented with asks for way too little. No one wants to devote his life to something that requires nothing of him. As the saying goes, “people figure if id don’t ask much, then it ain’t worth much.”

What about the Jesus who says something like this?

1. I want your whole life – everything – including your heart, soul, mind and strength.
2. I want you to become like me.
3. I want to transform you and then have you transform culture.
4. I want you to be in the world as I was.
5. I want you to be the church, the incarnation of me.
6. I want you to embody the word to others.
7. I am giving you abundant life now and will do so throughout eternity.
8. Be my hands and feet in this world and see people as people, not projects to convert.

The reason the world rejects Jesus is not because He asks too much. The Jesus we present asks too little. Jesus tells us that if we’re going to be His disciples, we must be ready and willing to die. Sounds like fun, doesn’t it? No wonder few people want to talk about the cost of discipleship. No wonder there is so much confusion. Our understanding of discipleship has been watered down.

Many of us are caught up with our own agendas, desires and plans. Why wouldn’t we be? We’ve been told to accept Jesus. He comes to us. He knocks at the door of our hearts. He’s waiting for us…isn’t He?

The Jesus I see in Scripture says, “follow me.” We don’t put Jesus in our pocket as some kind of trinket that grants our wishes and wards off evil, bad weather, and police who pull us over for speeding. Discipleship is much larger, much grander.

Thanks to Kanye West we learned that “Jesus Walks with Me.” As with his 2004 song, so went the need for following Jesus. The version of the video I saw had Kanye leading the way with Jesus following him around. The Jesus in the video looked like a poor imitation of the plastic Burger King guy in those old TV commercials. He was aloof and detached, hardly a picture of the Son of God or Lord of lords. Has the call of Jesus been reduced to a pseudo allegiance of merely allowing Jesus to intersect our lives on rare occasions while following us as we lead the way?

Kanye is hardly to blame. I think we have bought into a new Jesus who allows us to live our lives any way we desire. Things rarely get difficult because Jesus never calls us to do anything. There is no following Him. He’s the one who follows us. He’s our personal genie who answers our every desire. He helps us win our fantasy football league or gives us the right answers on our final exams.

I’ve been in churches where you might think Jesus has some kind of codependent complex. It’s as if He can’t go on with life if we don’t receive Him. We’re made to feel guilty if we don’t ask Him into our hearts. It’s as if Jesus is in a pitiful state, sitting by the telephone waiting for us to call. He’s made out to be a desperate reality show contestant who can’t exist without us.

Where did we learn to view salvation like this? In the Scriptures I see a Jesus who says something like:

• Look, if you’re not willing to count the cost ahead of time, then don’t bother coming to me.
• I love you beyond words, but you’re going to have to carry a cross here. I’ll help you carry it, but discipleship takes effort.
• I’m not offering you a cheap ticket out of hell. It cost me everything and so I want all of you. It’s free for you, but in a way it will cost you everything. I’m offering abundant life, here and now, and for all eternity. But you’re going to have to die to yourself every day.

Jesus has great compassion. He cares for us and loves us so much. But we do Christianity no favor by lowering the bar on discipleship. When we present an accommodating, no-commitment version of discipleship, we’re altering the gospel. That is part of the reason that there is so much confusion about discipleship. Discipleship is the reason why we’re left on earth. Discipleship is the crux of the Great Commission. And discipleship is the issue perplexing the church today.

I believe there are a few out there willing to cut through the confusion. Jesus said, “Many are called, but few are chosen.” Maybe you’re one of those “few.” Are you willing to fulfill the Great Commission and make disciples? If you’re not sure you are a disciple, are you willing to explore what it means to truly be one? It’s time we return to a biblical understanding of what it means to be an authentic disciple. Somehow it seems as though its meaning has ben lost along the way. And strangely, it seems as though many of us have gotten lost along the way as well.

Chris raised an interesting topic in his last post on the story of Demas, a man who served with and eventually deserted the apostle Paul at a time when the early church was rapidly expanding and God’s power was frequently made apparent through the miracles done in His name. Chris’s conclusion was that Demas was probably never truly saved. He might have been attracted by the power of Christ that he saw working in Paul or the joy he felt in partaking in something that was much greater than himself but he never truly allowed Christ to be ruler of his life. The fact that someone could have served with Paul as a missionary and never have been saved is troubling because it would put into question the salvation of a lot of us who live in the US. Some might think it a blessing but I think we in the western world are plagued by an easy Christianity. For this reason, I want to spend some time on the topic of salvation, on what it takes to be saved, if we can lose our salvation, and finally if we can be assured of it.

As a reminder, the purpose of this blog is to separate truth from cultural conceptions of Christianity. I do not presume to have all the answers to these questions but I can lay out my arguments based on what I think the scriptures tell us. These questions are abstract and can hardly be proven. God alone knows the heart of man and many of these questions will not be answered until we die. Despite this uncertainty I still think it is vital to discuss since we are called to test ourselves to see if we are in the faith (2 Cor 13:5).

Salvation:

I think we are only kidding ourselves if we think that “raising our hands when all eyes are closed” or “walking an aisle” or even “praying a prayer” makes us a Christian. We have taken Romans 10:9-10 completely out of context and shaped it into what we want it to say. The NIV version says “if you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.” This verse is pretty comforting to a lot of people because they think all they have to say is “oh yea, of course, I believe in Jesus, I prayed a prayer” and that secures their ticket to Heaven. Sadly, I think the true meaning of this verse is lost to the masses, many of whom will probably never bother to actually read the Bible to see if there might be more required for salvation than what it seems on the surface of Romans 10:9.

I love reading the Amplified version of the Bible because of it’s emphasis on accurately conveying the true meaning of a word or passage. Look at the difference in Romans 10:9-10.. “Because if you acknowledge and confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and in your heart believe (adhere to, trust in, and rely on the truth) that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the hear a person believes (adheres to, trusts in, and relies on Christ) and so is justified (declared righteous, acceptable to God), and with the mouth he confesses (declares openly and speaks out freely his faith) and confirms [his] salvation”.

I think our inability to truly grasp the entirety of this verse’s message comes from the watering down of some words in certain translations of scripture. In particular, I think the word “believe” has lost much of the power it once had. To believe means to trust in or rely on something and when we say things like “I believe the Colts are going to win the superbowl this year” we dilute our belief into a casual hope that won’t really affect us whether we are proved right or wrong.

True belief necessitates change. Here’s a simple analogy. Let’s say I really love doughnuts and after eating half a dozen/day for a couple months I put on 30 pounds and almost have a heart attack. I go to see a doctor and he tells me, “you need to stop eating doughnuts because they raise your cholesterol.” I can agree with the doctor and say “yes, I agree with you, I believe doughnuts are bad for me,” but if I don’t stop eating doughnuts, I don’t really believe that they are bad for me.

So yes, I agree with Chris. I think there is a difference between a believer and a disciple and I would lean towards the idea that Heaven is reserved for disciples. Matthew 7:21 says “not everyone who says to me ‘Lord, Lord’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in Heaven.” And in James 2:18 we see that “faith without deeds is dead” and that belief in itself doesn’t mean much. Verse 19 goes on to say “You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that – and shudder.”

More to come..

** This is a guest post by my brother, Chris Carden, who is currently deployed to Afghanistan

Have you ever heard of Demas? Did you know he is mentioned in 3 books of the Bible? He was right there with Paul in Rome at the very beginning when Christianity began to take hold at the far reaches of the empire. I am sure that he saw God perform amazing miracles through the faith of those early believers, and I am certain that he was able to daily sit at Paul’s feet and hear the most God inspired teaching since Jesus’ death. Paul refers to him in Philemon 1:23-24 “Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, sends you his greetings. ²⁴ So do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke, my co-workers.” From this we can infer several things.

First, Demas is probably a diminutive as his full name is probably Greek in origin.  I suspect his full name is Demetrius and that he encountered Paul on his second or third missionary journey. It will become more interesting as we look at Demas to know that Demetrius means follower of Demeter or the Greek god of the harvest.  His hometown was probably Thessalonica as we will see in 2 Timothy. He had probably never heard of Jesus until the old apostle arrived in his fifties talking about some crazy events that recently took place in Judea.

Second, we know that Demas was given a greater opportunity to impact the world for Jesus than most people in history. The second time Demas is mentioned is in Colossians 4 right after he finishes praising men like Mark, Epaphrus, and Aristarchus: v14 “Luke, the beloved doctor, sends his greetings, and so does Demas.”  Let’s examine for a moment these other “laborers in Christ” who are mentioned alongside Demas.  Mark, who wrote one of the gospels, traveled all over Italy preaching the good news before he sailed for Egypt where he died or was martyred.  Luke, in fact, wrote 2 books of the Bible, his Gospel and the book of Acts.  He was not Jewish but since his conversion he remained with Paul through some of the most awesome moments of church history as well as some of the most frightening.

Third, since Colossians and Philemon were written during Paul’s first Roman captivity in about 60 AD, we can guess that Demas may have traveled to Rome to be with Paul during the rapid growth of the church there. Since the book of Romans was written before Paul’s first captivity we can know that there was already a church present by the time that Paul arrived. From history and from Paul’s list of a number of “big name” workers with him we can be sure that the Roman church was growing exponentially every day. During this captivity Paul was allowed to preach, write letters, and was only placed in house arrest. Besides Paul’s inability to travel this was really a high point for the early church. The followers of the Way were still too new of phenomenon at this point for the government to take too much of interest. They probably met in each other’s homes and gathered at the Forum to preach and encourage one another. The leaders of this church mentioned by Paul were probably well renowned among the growing Christian population. The lay people probably saw them daily entering Paul’s house to meet and pray with one of the last remaining Apostles of their faith.  They probably saw these men healing the sick and casting out demons in Jesus’ name. When one of these leaders met with a group of Roman Christians in their home everyone sat on the edge of their seat gleaning the purest Gospel truths they could since much of the New Testament had not yet been written. It is obvious by the praise Paul gives his “fellow laborers” that this was a real spiritual high for the church in Rome.  As closely in tune as Paul was with the Holy Spirit he was not God and thus did not know the hearts of men and he certainly did not know Demas’ heart at the time.

Finally, Demas does not show his true heart to the world until sometime after the night when Rome became completely engulfed in flames.  By 64 AD the church in Rome and the Roman Empire must have been significant as it is believed that there were 1 million Christians by 100 AD. This number was no longer just some small sect at the far reaches of Nero’s empire.  The followers of the Way had crossed the entire Mediterranean Sea and now threatened the glorious image of a city built for the honor of the Roman gods. Didn’t Nero derive his power from Zeus himself? If this movement continued to explode as it already had, what would become of his reign?  As the flames that engulfed the buildings in Rome died down, new ones began popping up at neatly spaced intervals.  These were the bodies of many Roman Christians on whom Nero laid the blame for the destruction of Zeus’ great city.  It was at this time that the one of the greatest persecutions of the Christians faith began in earnest. Paul had been released from his house arrest by 62AD and was currently serving God on the most ambitious missionary journey of his life…at the age of 60!(Some retirement by the way)! According to various citations in some of his previous books we know that he had plans to visit the following: Colosse, Spain, Corinth, Miletus, Troas, Crete, Nicopolis, Philippi, Italy, Judea, Ephesus, and Macedonia.

During this time Nero’s thirst for Christian blood must have surely been known throughout the empire. In his annals written only a few years after the persecution of the Christians, Tacitus says,

“Therefore, to stop the rumor [that he had set Rome on fire], he [Emperor Nero] falsely charged with guilt, and punished with the most fearful tortures, the persons commonly called Christians, who were [generally] hated for their enormities. Christus, the founder of that name, was put to death as a criminal by Pontius Pilate, procurator of Judea, in the reign of Tiberius, but the pernicious superstition – repressed for a time, broke out yet again, not only through Judea, – where the mischief originated, but through the city of Rome also, whither all things horrible and disgraceful flow from all quarters, as to a common receptacle, and where they are encouraged. Accordingly first those were arrested who confessed they were Christians; next on their information, a vast multitude were convicted, not so much on the charge of burning the city, as of “hating the human race.”

In their very deaths they were made the subjects of sport: for they were covered with the hides of wild beasts, and worried to death by dogs, or nailed to crosses, or set fire to, and when the day waned, burned to serve for the evening lights. Nero offered his own garden players for the spectacle, and exhibited a Circensian game, indiscriminately mingling with the common people in the dress of a charioteer, or else standing in his chariot. For this cause a feeling of compassion arose towards the sufferers, though guilty and deserving of exemplary capital punishment, because they seemed not to be cut off for the public good, but were victims of the ferocity of one man.”

At some point around 66 AD many theorize that Paul was again recaptured and taken back to Rome.  It seems likely that this captivity was not quite as lenient as his first Roman captivity.  It was during this captivity that he wrote his final epistle 2^nd Timothy.  In chapiter 1 verse 12 he says “That is why I am suffering here in prison. But I am not ashamed of it, for I know the one in whom I trust, and I am sure that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him until the day of his return.” I love 2^nd Timothy because it is so rich in sentimentality.  If you knew nothing else about Paul and his other works you could read 2^nd Timothy and reasonably determine that it was probably the last letter written by an old man to a dear friend.  In it he compiles all his most precious truths that have guided him so faithfully during his ministry. In 4:6 he exclaims, “As for me, my life has already been poured out as an offering to God. The time of my death is near. ⁷ I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful. ⁸ And now the prize awaits me—the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on the day of his return.” He praises God for several of his faithful laborers in Christ, but he mourns the lack of faithfulness of many more.  It is at this point in 4:10 that we see Demas for the last time. He writes, “Demas has deserted me because he loves the things of this life and has gone to Thessalonica.”

What a sad last testament to a man who had such a great opportunity to witness for the Lord. Even Christian history has largely forgotten him. What is far more tragic is the fact that we might never get to meet Demas in Heaven. James 4:4 says, “You adulterous people,^[a] don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.” We don’t know exactly what motivated Demas to leave Paul, but my guess is that the fear of death and persecution may have given him the biggest incentive. When the passage first struck me a week or so ago I thought that his friendship with the world may have been something more related to material lusts. In my mind I pictured some bigger job opportunity awaiting him in his home town of Thessalonica or maybe it was a relationship that called him home.  I definitely disparaged him more before I studied the history of that time than I do now.  If perhaps, in the face of his friends being burned like candles, Demas did not have saving faith due to his attachment to the world, how many people in churches today will also not see heaven? How convenient and easy is it for Westerners to call themselves Christians?

There is nothing wrong with this period of comfort that God has allowed us, except for the fact that it allows many disciple pretenders to hide behind middle income salaries and luxury SUV’s with no dependence on Christ.  This is not condemnation, but simply conviction on my part. Would my faith stand in the face of persecution? I don’t think that salvation is best judged by a man’s measure of strength amidst persecution. Salvation is not something Christ gives you and then takes away if you fail a test.  I never knew Demas and only God can judge his heart, but I think that he was lost even while he prayed, sang, and worshipped with Paul. I think down in his heart he always loved the world and what it promised more than anything else. I think that he wanted to follow Christ… just not to carry his cross. Jesus said,

“If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will save it. And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul? If anyone is ashamed of me and my message in these adulterous and sinful days, the Son of Man will be ashamed of that person when he returns in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”

in Europe many people say “I am a  believer, but not a practicing participant  of any  religion.”  I think even in English the evolution of our language has totally cheapened the word “belief.”  When asked a difficult question we sometimes respond “I believe so,” as if to say I think so but my assurance is not so high that I would be willing to stake my life on it. I think it is very difficult for anyone today to understand what it means to be saved by simply saying “I believe in Jesus.”  I think Demas was very comfortable with that phrase.  Instead, I think we should ask each other and ourselves: “Am I a disciple?” 

There are probably far too many of us who have either lived as Demas or have had a Demas shake the core of their hearts.  It may have been a father who left your mother after 10 maybe 20 years of marriage to live his remaining years in sin. It may have been a friend who revealed a dark secret that you could have never imagined, and now you feel like you don’t know that person anymore.  Maybe it was a respected leader in your church who has left you struggling with disbelief that Christ could have loved a bunch of hypocrites enough to die for them.

I know for sure that Christians make mistakes and that we still wage a war with sin everyday just as Paul says, but I firmly believe that when we belong to Christ that he will not let us go.  Far be it from me to ever judge someone’s eternal destination.  We can only hold each other up to the light of the scripture and pray that Christ will sustain us until the end as he did for Paul.  How do you want your life to be characterized?  Are you a “believer” in Christ or are you a disciple?  Choose today to forsake everything and carry your cross as you follow him so that you might look back on your life and say “Thanks to Christ, I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful.”

Large food companies will be the first ones to preach personal responsibility, mostly because it directs the blame elsewhere. It’s easy to agree with them too. I mean McDonalds cannot force us to eat their hamburgers. They can however make their food so cheap, convenient and tasty that it becomes irresistible to a lot of people. Fast food is often the first thing people think of when they get hungry not only because of the factors mentioned above but also because they have been primed to think of certain foods by large corporations in a pavlovian sort of way.

Although I’m pretty sure it’s common knowledge that fast food is generally bad for you and what you unwrap rarely if ever looks like it does in the ads, the industry continues to grow (sell more food) and become more profitable year after year. I don’t doubt that a lot of the growth is coming from international expansion and I wouldn’t be surprised to hear 20 years from now that France has a per capita obesity rate similar to the US. I say this not because of any statistics I’ve seen but because of what I saw one day recently while using MSN France. It was so ridiculous I had to take a screenshot.

According to a study by Yale the fast food industry as a whole spent $4.9 billion dollars in 2009 on TV advertising, radio, magazines, outdoor advertising, and other media. “What’s the big deal?” You might ask. The big deal is that much of this advertising targets children (as young as 2 years old). The big deal is that when a company like McDonalds spends $800 million dollars a year on marketing, they are going to make it as hard as possible for you to say no to their food, or more appropriately, for you to say no to your child who wants a happy meal.

I don’t think that legislation is the answer, well maybe it is when it comes to marketing directed at children, but as a whole I think that business can be one of the best solutions. That is why I want to get into the restaurant business one day. I plan on one day making healthy food cool and as convenient as McDonalds.

Knowing that the government and large corporations do share some of the blame for obesity in America is nice but it does not solve the problem on a personal level. In that regard ultimate responsibility does lie with us. Yes it is hard to make healthy choices when eating but the pain is worth the gain loss. Maybe the most important lesson in this post is that you can’t always trust advertisements.

I can guarantee you that a Hardees thick burger is not really Padma Lakshmi’s “beauty secret”.. If you buy that, George Strait and I have got some ocean front property for sale in Arizona.