Author Archives: Jan Hettinga

Tickets To The Far Country

When love for your kids leads you away from Truth

The cycle of ancient Israel: repentance and obedience lead to God’s blessing. Then the children pursue the pagan culture and idol worshiping spouses. And the parents and grandparents, motivated by love, accommodate the choices of their loved ones. This always meant redefining the Word and law of God in order to remove the tension produced by the drift of the next generation.

Then the nation would inevitably slide into idol worship, immorality, and departure from the Creator. So, God brings the enemies of Israel in to enslave His rebellious people, to drive home the seriousness of their choices…until they cry out to Him in repentance. And, the record shows, God forgives them. Again, and again.
He provides a judge or a king to deliver them from the enslavement of their enemies. Their bondage is broken. They are initially grateful and walk in obedience. God showers His blessings of peace and prosperity upon them. And the cycle of predictable wandering hearts and values begins again. Once the threat of ruthless enemies is gone and everything seems to be going just fine again, the same old wandering pattern begins.

The children and grand children are again attracted to the culture of the surrounding nations. Then to the marriageable youth and their exciting Idol worship. Their intermarriage and the condoning, accepting and affirming pattern begins again.

And now fast forward to today. The so-called bible believing conservative evangelical churches of North America are experiencing the exact same cycle. The “prodigals” (i.e.: children, grandchildren, brothers, sisters, cousins, and nephews who have walked away from God, the Bible, the church and the Christian culture.) draw those who love them into the world’s culture. In the attempt to stay close to those who are choosing to journey to the “Far Country” many conservative Christians have elected to join them, affirm them, and celebrate them.
Long time mature believers are adjusting their biblical beliefs to accommodate the sinful choices of the people they love…just like the Israelites!

This is what progressive woke evangelicalism is about. The sinners are leading the saints into the far country of the world’s culture. The ring in the noses of those being led is…LOVE.
The problem that emerges, is love is only real love when it is married to truth. Truth defines love. Love does not define truth.

The situation we are creating is a trap of good intentions. We simply cannot bear to be separated, even though we have always known that the bible teaches that sin separates. In following our loved ones, we have done them a terrible injustice. In joining them we have removed HOME! There is no place for turning around and going back to real love.

There is now no place for repentance, no Father’s house, no Father’s welcoming arms for the returning wanderer. The Father’s arms of love and acceptance must not travel. They must wait! And so must all fathers and mothers who truly love their children.

This is the lesson of the most famous story Jesus told. Luke 15:11-24

The Collision of Kingdoms

Bible believing and practicing Christ followers have always been regarded by the rest of the Western World as extremists or even fanatics. If believers merely strive to be “nice”, do good works and community service they can expect to be tolerated. If they actually speak and live according to their Bible’s instructions, they are now seen as intolerant and practitioners of hate speech.

What’s going on when tolerant society is blatantly intolerant? What is behind the obvious reality that it is culturally OK to hate those who have been labeled “haters”? The Bible is ultra-clear on this subject. Jesus warned His followers in John 15:20 “If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also.” Faith in Jesus Christ is always about taking sides with God in a cosmic war. As soon as people pledge allegiance to King Jesus, they are targeted by the kingdoms of this world system.

In North America today, nobody would dream of speaking negatively about Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists or Native American religions. But it is open season on Christians. This is a phenomenon that can also be seen all over the world. True Christianity inevitably stirs up animosity and opposition wherever it is practiced. The reason is starkly obvious. There is a spiritual battle going on. The kingdoms of this world are arrayed against the Kingdom of God.

That’s just the way it is.

So, what are we who follow Jesus to do about it? We keep on telling the absolute truth! We keep on standing strong in the face of all the lies and smears that are hurled at us. We are a people of extreme courage because of our convictions. We know with certainty that we are on the winning side. We know how history ends. And we know our King is coming soon!

Rediscoveing the Kingdom

What you will do with the Kingdom frame of reference that Jesus taught us.

Will it be just another interesting tidbit of truth or will it be the kingpin? Will you see it as a component or as the motherboard concept that properly aligns all the other Biblical ideas?

The Kingdom was the biggest of big deals to Jesus. It seems reasonable to credit Him with the best mind in human history. He was, after all, God in human flesh. Intellectual genius was behind His selection of how to frame the issues of sin, salvation and sanctification.

We somehow tend to forget how smart He was and is! As a result we have historically tried to “improve” His message or taken the liberty to re-frame it. The basic assumption is that He is the best communicator of His message and the ageless standard or benchmark for us.

It’s time for the church of Jesus Christ to rediscover the power and effectiveness of the Kingdom message of our Leader. Let’s not just stick the word Kingdom into our stuff. Let’s start over with the Kingdom at the center and integrate everything into that eternal reality. Let’s “kiss the Son” in allegiance and affection as Psalm 2 commands.

I’m totally convinced that the results will be a far more powerful, life-changing gospel. A gospel that releases “the power of God unto salvation” (Rom. 1:16) will produce attractive, healthy, growing churches of Christ followers.

The Word Made Flesh

John the beloved disciple said it, “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it. The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us, and we beheld His glory as the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

Jesus, the Word of God, a designation which we normally equate with the written scriptures, became a human being! Amazing! Ultimate intelligence, the treasure of all wisdom and knowledge…approachable, accessible, and personal.

Could it be that information, intelligence and God have always existed together? That is the logical conclusion of the assertion that “the Word was made flesh.” The Word is synonymous with language and communication. The Word is the sum-total of knowledge.

Even the cells of the human body are each a library of information. Where did that information come from? The creation is a massive deposit of information and communication. Nothing in what we call the universe could exist without intelligent design and supervision. As we advance into the age of AI (artificial intelligence) we must face the fact that our creation of robots with computer-based intelligence is merely a mirror image of what our own creator initiated when He created us.

Only stubborn denial and a rebellious refusal to acknowledge what is obvious could explain how individuals with high or average IQ can dismiss the existence of a super intelligent Creator. Humans simply want to be gods. They ruthlessly eliminate all competition, including their own designer in order to be free of all accountabilities. Don’t kid yourself, that’s exactly what we have done and still do.

Don’t tell me you are a sceptic or an atheist. I know you because I know myself. You and I act like adolescent children. But isn’t irrational rejection of those who gave us existence incredibly petty? Treating your parents with contempt is selfishness proclaiming a kind of immature independence. And it leads to Me-ism…a silly self-idolatry that kills what is real and objectively true.

The Word became flesh.
Jesus came into our world.
He was God incarnate in a human body.

He was the Communicator…the Word. He told us and showed us who God is and what He is like. He told us who we are and that we are valuable and deeply loved! As a result, we cannot claim that the Heavens are silent. We have been given all the information we need to come back to the Creator we have spurned or ignored.
We can no longer assert He is a self-focused tyrant. He came as a servant, a carpenter, a back country rabbi. There was nothing pretentious or egocentric about Him. He was beautifully humble. He was a giver not a taker. And we killed Him! We rejected His claims to be our King. We crucified Him. Why? Why would God in a human body permit such victimization? And why would He proclaim that if anyone has seen Him, he or she has seen God?
That is why Christmas is such a big deal!

Our Creator has contacted His creation. He came down. He became one of us so that we can return to our original destiny. He revealed that behind all the data of science, behind all the stuff of the material universe is intelligence and love. He invited us to come back to His Kingdom. He came down so we can come home. He opened the door to forgiveness at the cross with great self-sacrifice.

You and I exist because He does. We think because He does. Let’s each close the distance between our hearts and His this Christmas! Give Him your what’s left of your life. Intelligence demands it!

The Unexamined Life?

Socrates is credited with the statement, “The unexamined life is not worth living.” That is one of those pithy observations that proves more and more true the longer one lives.

In youth there’s often an attitude of “Who cares about examining my life, I just want to live it to the full! I don’t see any need to evaluate my choices because I don’t want to limit them. I want to enjoy everything, try everything and deny myself nothing pleasurable.” And then the price tags start piling up.

By the time a thinking person is middle aged, he or she understands self-analysis is strategically important. This is simply because pleasure is no longer the highest value. The parties, the exploration of drugs, alcohol, sex and other adrenalin laced adventures are no longer the measure of “the good life.” Examination has begun to make sense. A need for meaning, value and purpose has surfaced.

This is especially true for those who have become parents. The overriding question now has become: What values and principles do I want to pass on to my children? How do I provide guidance and wisdom that could help them avoid the pain of my bad choices? Suddenly, love for one’s progeny brings caution to former patterns of recklessness. With other lives at stake, I quite naturally find myself wanting to do what is right and good and model it.

And then comes the era of self-analysis…old age. This is all too often a time for regrets. “If only” and “I wish I had done things differently” become familiar territory. But it’s not possible to go back. I don’t know how old Socrates was when he uttered his famous line, but I would bet he was not in his youth. Thinking deeply and carefully about what is best and choosing accordingly is the product of experience. Avoiding pain has become not only important but a high priority.

Jesus greatly expanded the wisdom of Socrates. His sermon on the mount is a collection of ideas that have helped countless people examine their lives with good outcomes. If you haven’t read this famous piece of literature lately, you can find it in the first book in the New Testament of the bible. Matthew chapters 5,6, and 7 record a glimpse of the life we are designed to live forever…if we grasp its value.

This great discourse finishes like this:
“Therefore, everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came and the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash!”

So, examining where you build your life and what materials you use is essential to successful living. It really is that simple. The unexamined life is a “sand based” life. The storms always come, and the crash is inevitable. Rock solid living seems to make a lot more sense!

Remain in Me?

After coming to Jesus and choosing to follow him there is another stage of relationship that He calls, “remaining in” Him. Once again it is not automatic. It is entered into by intent…by choice.

John the Apostle is the primary source for the ‘remain in me’ language in the New Testament. The upper room discourse in John 15 is the largest passage on the subject. The focus is on the illustration of the vine and the branches and the importance of the relationship between Jesus and his followers.

Is “remain in me” a warning that suggests that a person can lose their salvation? Remain or else? Does the command to remain in Jesus make the relationship one-sided in that the branch is being required to sustain the connection while the vine is passive? Remain by your own effort?

The old King James English is helpful here. It uses the word abide instead of remain. The meaning of the two words is very close but abide has a much more relational feel to it. It sounds more like the sustaining of a living arrangement or a family unit. Some other combinations that would be close in meaning would be; live in, stay close to, stay connected, and settle in. The intent seems to be the defining of a close life giving relationship that is productive.

The relational connection between Jesus and His followers has an organic basis. It is a life link. The branch can do nothing if it is severed from the vine. It’s source and sustaining host is the vine. So it is with the followers of Jesus. He is essential to us. Nothing of any value or lasting worth can be found outside of him. Life is the vine.

Let me tell you about what one person’s relational connection with Jesus is like. For me, remaining in Jesus is eminently desirable. It is the richest, deepest, most enjoyable relationship I have ever experienced. It is similar to companionship. He is always there. Not that I am always aware of Him. My human limitations don’t permit me to be aware of Him 100% of the time. I can get preoccupied with other people or activities and lose the sense of His presence. But as soon as I ‘surface’ into relational consciousness…He is there.

Many Christian believers speak of their faith in terms of a relationship. You don’t have to listen very long to figure out that what they are describing is not a relationship that is remotely similar to any other relationship. It is far too theoretical…too religiously correct.

It has become fashionable to speak of the Christian life as an intimate personal relationship with Jesus. When that is defined…it is apparent that few if any are actually describing something that resembles a real relationship with another person. Perhaps because it is the invisible God over all, it seems inappropriate to speak of our love for Him in the same kind of language we would use for other relationships. But when we are reluctant to do that, we lose a lot more than we gain.

The God of the Bible is a personal being. Created in His image, we have the capacity to love Him in all the same ways we experience love for each other. This is not a special “religious” relationship. It functions at all the same levels of personality and emotions that any other relationship between two people does. We must first insist that what we are calling a relationship is actually a relationship. Is there a real connection between two people? Second we must learn to talk about our relationship with Jesus in the same language that we use for all of our other relationships.

Getting down to specifics, here are some examples of what I am talking about:

•Jesus genuinely likes me. As Brendan Manning puts it, “Jesus is fond of me!”
There is no sense of him merely putting up with me. He looks forward to our times together as much or more than I do. The miracle of God being able to love all of his human children equally is breathtaking. I can’t understand it but I can enjoy it.

•Jesus knows everything about me and yet He stays. In spite of all the unholy thoughts and deeds he sees, He does not withdraw his affection. He knows that I am like a flower in its absolute dependency on the sun. With out his love I would wither and die…so He stays. Thank God, He stays!
•When I’m with Him, I’m drawn out to be my best. Somehow He brings out the best in me. My mind is sharper. My personality is more vivid. I feel like I’m functioning at a peak capacity level. I was created to live in splendid fellowship with my Lord and Savior. “He walks with me and He talks with me and He tells me I am His own.”
•He is accessible. I could never expect to have personal contact with the celebrities of this earth. I’ll probably never have a personal conversation with a president of the United States for instance. But, incredibly, the top leader in the entire universe makes himself available whenever I want to be with Him! Availability generates affirmation and affection. I love Him because He first loved me and always will!
•There are deep feelings in real relationships. Loving Jesus, walking with Jesus, and staying close to Jesus all have the warm emotional connection that any love relationship can have. Emotions are measured by language that focuses on closeness or distance. At any given moment we “know” where we are in any specific relationship. Staying close at the heart level is as possible with Jesus as it is in a good marriage or a best friend relationship.

The Blind Spot In Today’s Gospel

There is a debilitating blind spot in the primary message of the evangelical world. With few exceptions, the Bible is read, studied and taught out of a mindset that filters out the centrality of the Kingdom of God. Why?
The Apostle Paul refers in II Corinthians3: 14-15 to a “veil” that lies over the hearts of the Jews.

This mental obstruction makes it extremely difficult for them to see the truth of the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ. Conservative Bible-believing Christians seem to have a similar “veil” over their minds when they read the New Testament and encounter the Kingdom of God and the gospel of the Kingdom. They either equate the Kingdom to ancient Israel, the universal Church, or the future millennial reign of Christ. As a result, they find no compelling reason to work with the Kingdom theme, language and explanation of the Gospel.

Jesus consistently called His message, ”The Gospel of the Kingdom.” He trained His disciples in the Kingdom message and sent them out to preach the same good news He was preaching. After the cross and the resurrection, in the 40 days before His ascension, He concentrated on reviewing and amplifying His Kingdom teaching. (Acts 1: 1-3) Obediently, the disciples turned apostles, preached the Kingdom message throughout their lifetimes. The recorded history of the early church in the book of Acts makes that abundantly clear.

The Apostle Paul did not change the gospel of the Kingdom, as many have mistakenly assumed.
He was a Kingdom teacher until the day he died. (see Acts 28: 25-31) His insights on justification by faith and the manifold grace of God were expansions on the message of Jesus, not replacements!

So, why have we changed the language and the Kingdom focus of the New Testament? Why did we stop referring to the gospel Jesus taught as the gospel of the Kingdom? And, what has a Kingdom-less gospel done to us? Frankly, it has changed the definitions of essential doctrine. Sin, salvation, sanctification and strategic mission have all been drained of much of the vitality of the original content.

The result is a message that is relatively impotent. Without Kingdom definitions of basic doctrine, the incomplete truth changes us only superficially. It simply lacks the dynamic power of the original. Our deliberate or inadvertent modifications have actually originated or perpetuated our most frustrating and bewildering problems.

My friends, let’s return to the Kingdom paradigm of the Bible. Everything we believe, everything we are becoming, and everything we are doing must be informed by Kingdom revelation and realities. If indeed Jesus Christ, our great King, is coming soon in power and great glory to set up His eternal Kingdom on earth, then we must be cooperating fully with His plan and counting on His prophetic perspective. Jesus promised in Matt. 24 :14 “And the good news of the Kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world, and then, finally, the end will come.”

Finishing Strong

Kim and Yang Li came to Seattle for graduate studies in computer science. Kim was one of the brightest young software designers in China and he found the high-tech mecca of the Northwest exhilarating.

A few months later after their arrival, the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon took place and the suicide bombings in Israel intensified. Yang Li started attending an English language learner conversation group. There she met a Christian who was able to answer some of her questions about what was going on in the world. She was loaned a book on Bible prophecy and both she and her husband read it. Eventually they found more material on the end times from a Biblical perspective and then began to read the Bible itself.

It took several months of reading and discussion for them to get used to a Biblical frame of reference, but one evening they admitted to each other and their friend that they were convinced it was true. Intense excitement gripped them and within weeks they became followers of Jesus.

Since then they have been devouring the Bible. Their attention keeps being drawn to passages that refer to how Christians should be living in the last days. Scriptures found in the Bible have had a huge impact on their lives.

I think the end-times portions of the Bible are without a doubt “our mail.” Most alert followers of Jesus who take the Bible seriously believe that we are living at the very end of the age. The only real question is what difference should that realization make? “Keep yourselves in the love of God,” is Jude’s clear and simple directive.

The New Song Phenomena

There’s a song that has stuck in my memory since the early years of my life. I still sing it to myself with joy.

“There’s a new song in my heart
Since the Savior set me free.
There’s a new song in my heart
It’s a heavenly harmony.
All my sins are washed away
In the blood of Calvary.
Oh, what peace and joy
Nothing can destroy
There’s a new song in my heart!”

The song is true to my personal experience of unquenchable joy in following the Lord Jesus.
It’s the song of a singing heart, the song of a soul set free. It overflows in the spontaneous expression of gratitude and praise which is always part of true worship. This is why adverse circumstances and significant setbacks don’t keep us down. As children of God we deal with adversity with optimism. We face fear and suffering with cheerfulness and a good attitude.

We can do this because the inner spring of hope, peace and joy flows from the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit. We sing in the confidence that we are on the right side of the cosmic battle raging in our world. We sing in the darkness of this worlds deceptive evil because we belong to the Kingdom of God. We know we are led by the one who conquered sin, death and hell and nothing our enemies can throw at us can remove us from His love.

My friends, let’s so deeply enjoy the benefits of our salvation that nothing and no one can take ‘the song of joy’ away from us.

The Kingdom Is the Gospel

Matthew 24: 14 “And this gospel of the Kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.”

The gospel or “good news” that Jesus proclaimed never changed and never should. His message was consistent: “the Kingdom of Heaven is here, repent and believe the good news”, Mark 1: 14-15. Some of today’s bible teachers and scholars challenge the inclusion of repentance in the gospel. They insist that salvation is by faith alone. They regard repentance as a “good work” which contaminates the exclusive ingredient of faith.

The big question is…why would Jesus be confused about the necessity of repentance? Why would he command it if it wasn’t essential to human access of salvation and His Kingdom? And why would he predict that repentance would be essential to the gospel until he returned?

Furthermore, why after a lifetime of preaching the gospel would the apostle Paul write that he “had declared to both Jews and Greeks that they must turn to God in repentance and have faith in our Lord Jesus.”? And again in Acts 26:20, why would he say, “First to those in Damascus then to those in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and to the Gentiles also, I preached that they should repent and turn to God and prove their repentance by their deeds.”

I believe that the new testament is clear and consistent on the subject of repentance being part of saving faith. We need to stop trying to find a way of avoiding surrender in our salvation message. Repentance is best defined as changing your mind about who Jesus is (the King of the universe) and pledging allegiance to His leadership. It all starts at the moment of new birth and becomes a life-long process of yielding to God’s reign.

This, my friends, is the only way to get back on the good side of the way living in a God controlled universe works. Repentance and faith will take you through the cross work of Jesus Christ which is the only doorway into the love of God and the Kingdom of God!