2 Corinthians 5:21 A Little More Graphic

Mike Leake 2 Comments

To help us see a 2 Corinthians 5:21 a little more graphically:

Son of Man!  Why have you behaved so?  You have cheated, lusted, stolen, gossiped—murdered, envied, hated, liked.  You have cursed, robbed, overspent, overeaten—fornicated, disobeyed, embezzled, and blasphemed.  Oh, the duties you have shirked, the children you have abandoned!  Who has ever so ignored the poor, so played the coward, so belittled my name?  Have you ever held your razor tongue?  What a self-righteous, pitiful drunk—you, who molest young boys, peddle killer drugs, travel in cliques, and mock your parents.  Who gave you the boldness to rig elections, foment revolutions, torture animals, and worship demons?  Does the list never end?  Splitting families, raping virgins, acting smugly, playing the pimp—buying politicians, practicing extortion, filming pornography, accepting bribes.  You have burned down buildings, perfected terrorists tactics, founded false religions, traded in slaves, relishing each morsel and bragging about it all.  I hate, I loathe these things in you!  Disgust for everything about you consumes me!  Can you not feel my wrath?

Not all of my readers will agree with this theology.  But I find what Joni Eareckston Tada and Steve Estes present here to be quite compelling.  Christ became our substitute and as doing such He bore the wrath of God and was treated by God as if He had done all of the things listed above (and more). 

I leave you with this…

He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?  –Romans 8:32

Are You a Fool?

Mike Leake

Paul Tripp using the Proverbs as his guide offers twelve characteristics of a foolish person.  A fool is a person who:

  1. Is convinced that he is right (12:15)
  2. Quickly shows his annoyance (12:16)
  3. Is hotheaded and reckless (14:16)
  4. Spurns discipline and correction (15:5)
  5. Wastes money (17:16)
  6. Delights in airing his own opinions (18:2)
  7. Is quick to quarrel (20:3)
  8. Scorns wisdom (23:9)
  9. Is wise in his own eyes (26:5)
  10. Trusts in himself (28:26)
  11. Rages and scoffs, and there is no peace around him (29:9)
  12. Gives full vent to his anger (29:11)

(Quoted from Paul Tripp, Instruments in the Redeemers Hands, page 291)

You are in this list.  So am I.  So is your teenager, your toddler, and your grandma. 

Discipleship is the process whereby fools are transformed into the image of the Only Wise God.  Jesus helps us stop being idiots.  He also helps us to patiently (wisely) help fools be transformed by Wisdom Himself.

Quick Review of Making the Best of a Bad Decision

Mike Leake

We have all made bad decisions. 

Some of them are minor, like getting a cake donut with white frosting, instead of that really awesome tasting cinnamon bun donut covered with white icing that you let your son have and you only got to taste of its awesomeness after he had gnawed it down to two bites. 

Some of them are major.  Like finding yourself in a dead end job, a horrible marriage, or on the sour end of a dumb financial decision.  Sometimes its simply eating the sour grapes of a really bad moral choice. 

Regardless of the decision, Erwin Lutzer’s new book Making the Best of a Bad Decision will cover it.  Maybe not in specific but through general principles Lutzer outlines what a person is to do whenever they have made a bad decision. 

There is much in this book that is commendable.  The general point of the book is very solid.  God redeems even really bad choices.  As Lutzer says, “God does not abandon us when we have made a foolish decision.  Sometimes our stupidity unveils his finest moments” (29).  Whether it is a bad moral decision or a simply dumb choice Lutzer reminds the reader that God offers forgiveness to those that seek Him. 

Lutzer also offers very good and pastoral advice.  There are many helpful statements that are peppered throughout the book, such as the advice to the person that has made a bad choice in marriage, that “faithfulness is much more important than happiness” (50).  Tough to swallow but sound advice. 

Again, there is much that makes this book commendable but the book still has a fundamental flaw.  It seems to me that it works from a very man-centered perspective.  Such statements as, “God can redeem your story, but you must let him” (39) seems to not go deep enough. 

This book may not be the first that I would recommend on the topic but many will certainly find it helpful.  You can buy your copy here.

I received this book free from Tyndale in exchange for a review.