Moving day

This comment came in to moderation today: 

To Jon Burkett,

Writeguard is a United States registered trademark,owned by Writeguard Business Systems,Inc.,you need to change your blog title.You can varify this by going to United States Trademarks on the web.In advance,THANK YOU.

I checked and sure enough, this was true.  So, my version of the term was not actually applicable.  I was wronguarded!  That’s not the angle I’m going for.  So, I gave it some thought and decided to move again.  You’ll find my future updates here.

Guard the good deposit

“What you heard from me, keep as the pattern of sound teaching, with faith and love in Christ Jesus.  Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you–guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us.” – 2 Timothy 1:13-14 (NIV)

What was that “good deposit”?  It was not a retirement nest egg, but it was the gospel of Jesus Christ.  The teaching had a sound pattern to it and was based on fact.  The pattern was in God’s redeeming grace throughout history.  Paul and the Apostles beared witness to Jesus Christ as the Messiah who died and rose from the dead.  They met strong resistance and even imprisonment, stonings, and beatings.  The commitment to the spread of the gospel came at a cost.  While basic fact of salvation rests on the person and work of Christ, it requires us to take up our cross and follow Him.  The response was to repent and acknowledge His Lordship over every area of life.

I fear that the culture of “name it, claim it” is in essence cashing in on His Lordship.  In that way, it’s a “defame it” consumerism that plagues the materialistic gospel.  Rather, we should seek to serve Him by using the gifts He gives us.  God’s blessings on this earth far pail in comparison to what lies in store for those who find heavenly treasure.

Our claim to the gospel comes from knowing Him.  As our Creator, it is He who can lay full claim on our lives.  It is also presumptious to think that we should seek earthly riches from God when He knows all of our needs.  If He takes care of the little things, isn’t He sufficient to take care of the big things in our lives?  God speaks to us in a variety of ways, but it is often when we have little and are weak that we trust in Him a little more.

So, guarding the good deposit involves laying up treasure in heaven and taking a stand for His Lordship over all creation.  Like the apostles did in times of old, we need to bear witness to Him as the only way of salvation.  Our postmodern culture needs an authentic and deeply convicting absolute standard by which we live our lives.  Outside of God’s grace and mercy, our lives are as meaningless as it says in Ecclesiastes.  You can’t live on both sides of the fence.  It’s an all-or-nothing principle.  Seek the truth and it will set you free.

Absolutely

It doesn’t matter what you believe. It doesn’t matter what I believe. That because it has no bearing on what is actually true. That is the nature of absolute truth. What we believe only has bearing on whether we choose to accept that absolute truth exists or deny it. If you deny absolute truth, I challenge you to tell me the meaning of life. Any answer that you come up with is just an illusion. If you accept the reality of absolutes, there you will find the very nature of God as the source. It is impossible to fully understand God until we are with Him in glory. The pursuit of knowledge in this lifetime exists with the acceptance of reality. Get a grip people and realize that without absolutes, WE would cease to exist.  Without absolutes, we have no moral conviction.

Moral Relativism

One of the key features to postmodern thought is moral relativism.  However, the framework is a bit confusing.  It comes from the idea that truth is subject to its cultural context.  So, what does that mean?  It means that society’s norms determine truth for each culture.  Truth is not universal for all. 

If it’s all relative, then what value has religion?  Religion answers universal questions of why we’re here and where we’re headed.  If each person can determine that for themselves based on their experience (context), then religion becomes irrelevant.

The very nature of truth is at stake here.  Without an absolute framework, truth does not exist and all becomes irrelevant.  The foundations of society fall apart and all is lost.  Fortunately, an omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent God has interceded on our behalf.  He is the true relevancy of all creation.  He makes morals relative to mankind.

Without God as our supreme authority, there really is no such thing as moral relativism.  There are repeated warnings in Scripture when God’s people substitute His authority with their own.  “Everyone did as they saw fit” always led to God’s judgment on Israel.  God will judge the wayward church.  We need to return to Him the authority He rightfully deserves.

When the apostles started spreading the gospel outside Judea, they didn’t tell the Gentiles that it was ok to continue living in sin.  They were told to first repent from sin and believe upon the Lord Jesus Christ.  Then they would be baptized and receive the Holy Spirit. 

We live in a society that is afraid to make claims on your life for fear of intolerance.  This is a weak faith and is as good as no faith at all.  If we do not challenge people with the truth of the gospel, then we are doing them a disservice.  The real problem is that other gods have crept into our “christianity” and we’ve sold out to the idea that we can have it both ways.  We can cling to the sins in our lives that we’ve grown to love while claiming the freedom we have in Christ.  The apostle Paul warned us that we are slaves to that which we obey.

Liberty came at a cost.  We will still have to give an account.  No cultural context can escape this.  God the Father has revealed Himself in His Word through Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit.  He seeks a personal relationship with those He redeemed out of His love and mercy.  It is not of ourselves to determine this truth of the Gospel.

Confusing Confucius

This is a poem I wrote that appeared in the June edition of World Team’s newsletter, The Link: 

The words of Confucius were not a mystery
He spoke with the wisdom of men throughout history
For what gain was found in exchange for the soul
Men reach for their chest and find a huge hole

For the price that was paid for the wisdom of men
Came at the price for a soul filled with sin
Creation bears witness and the verdict is in
There’s nothing Confucius can do for you then

But the wisdom of God came at a high cost
He came down to earth; saved those who were lost
He bared all our burdens; took them to the cross
Submitted His will to the Father – the boss.

Christ blood was poured out; for us it was shed
His body was broken as he showed us with bread
For it doesn’t matter what Confucius said
Alas! Jesus Christ rose from the dead!

Confucius could talk ‘til he’s blue in the face
Could fight the good fight and run the good race
But when reality stared him back in the face
He found that his wisdom was without a trace

Man’s wisdom is void since the day of the fall
Man’s victory over death is in Jesus, our all
It’s on His name that all men must call
Why don’t you ask him to break down your wall?

Under Construction

Just like absolute truth to postmoderns, this site is currently under construction.  Unlike postmoderns, we’ll have a better understanding here.  Feel free to leave me a comment or shoot me an e-mail.  The “About the author” page will give you more background.  Thanks!