Complete Reading List 2016

BOOKS 2016 (Rated out of five thumbs up)

The Theology of Augustine, Matthew Levering 👍👍👍👍
Augustine on the Christian Life, Gerald Bray 👍👍👍👍
Confessions, St. Augustine 👍👍👍👍👍
What is the Mission of the Church, Kevin DeYoung 👍👍👍👍
Being Mortal, Atul Gawande 👍👍👍👍
The Man Of Sin, Kim Riddlebarger 👍👍👍
1&2 Thessalonians, John Stott 👍👍👍
Religions Next Door, Marvin Olasky 👍👍
Christianity and Religious Pluralism, Harold Netland 👍👍👍👍
The Baptized Body, Peter Leithart 👍👍👍
Public Faith, Miroslav Volf 👍👍👍
Silence, Endo 👍👍👍👍👍
Ordinary, Michael Horton 👍👍👍👍
Silence and Beauty, Fujimura 👍👍👍
Four Views on Salvation in a Pluralistic Age 👍👍👍
Janson Equation, Robert Ludlum 👍👍
Blood in the Water (Destroyermen Series), Taylor Anderson 👍👍👍👍
Only One Way, DCosta, Knitter and Strange 👍👍👍
A Theology of Inclusivism, Neal Punt 👍👍👍
Who Can Be Saved, Terrance Thiessen 👍👍👍👍
Top Secret, WEB Griffin 👍👍👍👍
Hillbilly Elegy, JD Vance 👍👍👍👍
Assassination Option, WEB Griffin 👍👍
The Samauri, Endo 👍👍👍👍👍
To Change the World, James Davidson Hunter 👍👍👍👍
Introduction to the Blues, Elijah Wald 👍👍👍
How not to be Secular, James Smith 👍👍👍

My Best Reads of 2016 (Fiction)

So my 'Best of 2016' list is not the best books published in 2016, it's the best one's I read during the year. My pics this year range from fiction, to theology, to biography. I really enjoyed some good books this year.

Fiction

1. Silence and The Samurai by Endo. These two books are heartbreaking, but important. Fewer than one percent of Japan is Christian, but that was not always the case. In the fifteen and sixteen hundreds, Japan was the focus of a massive mission effort by the Catholic Church of which Francis Xavier was the pioneer. Thousands of Japansese became Christians during this time. But, it wasn't long before the church in Japan fell under relentless persecution and many fell away from the faith (though not all - there is also the history of the hidden church in Japan that continued, cut off from the larger church, and morphed in inexplicable ways).  These two novels explore the mixed motives of the missionaries, the converts, and the faithful. They wrestle with questions related to persecution and apostasy, raising questions we, in the West, out to be thinking about. The novel Silence is considered one of the great novels of the twentieth century, has inspired musicians (Symphony #3 "Silence," by MacMillan), and is a soon to be released motion picture by Martin Scorsese.

Soon I will be posting favorite Biographies, books on culture, Christian living, and theology of 2016.

I call Bulls--t!

This week I read an article that a friend posted on Facebook. I shouldn’t have, it rarely turns out well. Normally though, it doesn’t produce such rage and almost never the kind of tirade you’ll be reading if you continue.The article was so bad, it has brought me out of blogging retirement.

Sam Eaton begins his article, “12 Reasons Millennials are Over the Church,” by stating he wants to love and be excited by the church, but just can’t. Cool. I guess Jesus would be okay with that right? The church has blemishes and sin. It’s not perfect. What is there to love? At least you want to love it Sam. 

But wait, didn’t Jesus love us when we had blemishes, sin and were generally unlovable! Didn’t Christ command us to love others, though they’re flawed and sinful, just as he loved us in our wretchedness. And, doesn’t Christ love his church – yes HIS CHURCH, his Bride, warts and pimples and all. It seems to be an inescapable conclusion: if we’re Christ followers who love him, we MUST love his church, not just want to love it. And here is my real, big picture problem with Sam and his article – he is justifying a lack of love for the church, giving space for millennials (or anyone really) to feel as if their lack of love for the church is acceptable. IT IS NOT.

I know Sam doesn’t speak for all millennials. I know plenty of them who are engaged with the church, love the church, and serve her not because they’re blind to its faults, but because they know their own, and they know how they contribute to the church’s beauty and mess.

What reasons does Eaton give for not loving the church? Here they are, point by [ridiculous] point (with my thoughts interspersed).

1.      Nobody’s Listening to Us

Sam writes, “Millennials value voice and receptivity above all else.” He bemoans that the church plugs along without listening to the millennials and their concern. I have a stereotype of millennials, and unfortunately Eaton plays right into it. These comments are so self-centered and unaware, as if millennials are the first generation that wanted to be heard. He does know about the 60s, right?!  I want to say to Sam and those whom he speaks for, “Maybe the church heard your concerns and listened to your advice and didn’t take it. Maybe the institutional wisdom borne out of centuries outweighs your feelings and insights, you annoying little brat.” Ok, maybe that truth needs a little more grace seasoned in there, but he sounds like to twelve year old whose parents refuse to let him do whatever he wants and complains that no one understands him and gets him. No, we got you, but you aren’t always going to get what you want.

Eaton offers solutions. I selected a few.

• “Create regular outlets (forums, surveys, meetings) to discover the needs of young adults both inside AND outside the church.”  Hmmm. Maybe, just maybe, we have a book that tells us what millennials need, and boomers and xers and generation-whatever-comes-nexters too!  Really, we need a focus group? Dumb.
• “Invite millennials to serve on leadership teams or advisory boards where they can make a difference.” Again, this is so typically millennial it really is the low hanging fruit. I have something to say, I want to be a leader, I am ENTITLED to lead, so give me a role in leadership. Earn it? No. Give it to me!  But, maybe he has a point. No, no he doesn’t. The church I serve in has lots of millennials as deacons, small group leaders, even elders. I like that. But, I also believe these leadership roles should be guarded, ensuring people who occupy them have shown themselves to be qualified, hold sound doctrine, live upright and godly lives, etc. And, part of that would probably mean not bitchin and moaning that the church doesn’t do things my way. Sam, not been asked to serve as an elder? I think I know why!
• Hire a young adults pastor who has the desire and skill-set to connect with millennials. Ok, so there’s no millennials in the church (he has stats to prove it), but we should hire a pastor to connect with them. What percentage of churches have a budget to hire a full-time pastor to the millennials?  Very few I think. So Sam is likely talking here to about 1% of churches.

2. We’re Sick of Hearing About Values & Mission Statements

Well, on point two, we may agree. I do think the church has overdone it when it comes to adopting business models, including value and mission statements, strategic plans, etc.. Any you know what, that was in response to boomers and their generational paradigm. In a few generations, the youngins will hate hearing about ‘being authentic’ and ‘just serving’.  He writes, “We’re not impressed…with Christianese words on paper. We’re impressed with actions and service.” And there it is…the church exists to impress the millennial. That kind of thinking is often in the background; it makes it easier when it bubbles to the surface.

3. Helping the Poor Isn’t a Priority

Cough, cough, Sam-you’re-an-idiot, cough.  He urges us to “clock the number of hours the average church attender spends in ‘church-type’ activities. Bible studies, meetings, groups, social functions, book clubs, planning meetings, talking about building community, discussing a new mission statement…” and then compare it to the hours spent “serving the least of these.”  His response, “oooo, awkward.”

Jackass. (As you can tell, this point gets me pretty steamed, because it diminished the great work individual Christians and churches have been doing for centuries!) What if a good number of ‘the least of these’ are in our church activities and are being served – physically, socially, emotionally, and, oh yes, what the church is best equipped to do, serve them spiritually! 

Oh, and what about the many Christians who work in vocations where they serve, under the banner of Christ but in secular institutions, the least of these. Can we count their hours?  Like those who, in answer to a call on their lives, teach in impoverished communities, or work with foster families, or are employed by non-profits that feed the hungry. Do they and their hours count?

Oh, and what about all those Rescue Missions that care for the homeless in nearly every city. Who started those? Christians – often fundamentalist Christians!  And the Salvation Army. And Groups like World Vision, IJM…

Oh, the poorest countries. Who goes there? Lots of great organizations – Peace Corps, Red Cross, World Vision…and missionaries, sent by the church. Often the missionaries were the first to go.

Oh, and what about the work of the deacons…in most churches, aren’t they serving the needy?

4. We’re Tired of You Blaming the Culture

Ok, I don’t know what he means by ‘blaming the culture.’  I don’t know how the church blames the culture. We do point out the darkness in the culture, and hopefully celebrate light where we find it. Is this blaming? To point to violence, rampant immorality that is deemed perfectly acceptable, etc., is that blaming culture? If so, how can we “explicitly teach” how to live life differently from the culture, something you explicitly demand of the church, if we don’t point out the sin of our culture.

5.  The “You Can’t Sit With Us” Affect

He complains that there are cliques in church and suggests we seek a kind and more compassionate way to be, different from what people are used to outside.

My response…some people in your church are self-centered jerks if they say or imply that you can’t sit with them. That doesn’t mean my church is clique free. In a sense, we encourage cliques, but call them friendships. We also encourage people to be open and generous with their friendships.

And, please remember, Sam, that churches are made up of sinful people who are striving to get over themselves and their sinful tendencies, including the tendency to exclude others. You have your annoying and sinful traits too. Fixing them doesn’t happen all at one!

His solutions? They are ridiculous.

• “Create authentic communities with a shared purpose centered around service.” Ok, we’ll give that a try. Hadn’t thought of it before, but sounds good. Idiot. You do it – tell me when it’s done. We haven’t sought inauthentic communities, but sometimes they happen. They will in your generation too – maybe people will fake authenticity, then they’ll be inauthentically authentic. Awesome. And service again. What about worship…can we have a group centered around that? Or learning? If everything is serving, where do we get to learn about the one who served us!?
• “Create and train a team of CONNECT people whose purpose is to seek out the outliers on Sunday mornings or during other events.” Ok, don’t add programs. But get a team and train them? Sounds suspiciously like a program to me.
• “Stop placing blame on individuals who struggle to get connected.” He speaks here of the introverts who are overwhelmed by the risk of putting themselves out there. Ok, I’ll agree in part – it’s hard for churches to figure out how to get some connected who won’t venture out, and we may not always do it well. But at some point, you either risk or you lose out. That’s how relationships work. The church maybe ought to do better and reaching out, but that’ll only be a part of the equation.

6. Distrust & Misallocation of Resources

Part of me agrees with Eaton here – we do need to encourage frugality. And, there should be a level of transparency. But the level of transparency he calls for would be soul-crushingly oppressive to those who worked in the church. He writes, “We want pain-staking transparency. We want to see on the church homepage a document where we can track every dollar.”  Holy Crap! Well, there goes massive amounts of time and energy! For someone who wants his money to go provide “food, clean water and shelter for someone in need” this is remarkably short sighted. Do the kind of reports he wants on every church’s homepage generate themselves? No, they take time and energy from people who could be better used serving the church and those outside the church.

Part of his solution: church workers should be “asked to justify each purchase.”  Again, Holy Crap! That’s stupid. Kids need more crayons in the nursery…call a meeting to justify the purchase. The toilet is running constantly in the men’s room, call a plumber. Oh no, wait to a have a meeting to justify to the suspicious why we need to purchase a new flapper. Books for small group…justify it.

In addition, he wants staff to ask constantly, “Could these dollars be used to better serve the kingdom?” Two things: first, does he ask this of every dollar he spends, say on his pumpkin spice lattes? How many homeless people could I feed with my fufu drink purchases in a week?  Second, every staff member I know works hard to make dollars count, often contributing their own funds to make events successful, ministries run, etc. 

AND, serving the church is serving the kingdom. Doesn’t he get this!? 

7. We Want to Be Mentored, Not Preached At

Sam contends, “Preaching just doesn’t reach our generation like our parents and grandparents.” Instead, “Millennials crave relationship, to have someone walking beside them through the muck.” Ok, the sermon portion of Sunday services is now cancelled. In its place, cuddle time for the millennials. Everyone, find yourself a millennial and cuddle up.

They want mentoring?! I thought they wanted to be heard? I thought the older generation’s ways just weren’t working?  

Hey, I value relationships, advocate for intergenerational discipleship, but this is a totally false dichotomy. You need preaching  AND discipleship; you need proclamation of truth AND relationships.

You don’t value preaching. So what! Should we rewrite Paul to accommodate what you value?  “Preach the word, until it’s not connecting and some youngings don’t think it’s valuable. Then, do whatever they think is valuable. That’ll be good.”

8. We Want to Feel Valued

Oh wait, we’re back to this one again. I thought this was point one. Ok, but this time IT’S WORSE!!! For one, his whining makes no sense.

We want to be valued, he says. Churches tend to rely heavily on young adults to serve, he contends. And also, “Millennials are told by this world from the second we wake up to the second we take a sleeping pill that we aren’t good enough. We desperately need the church to tell us we are enough, exactly the way we are. No conditions or expectations.”  What? 1 + 1 = 287?  I smell on non sequitur.

And theologically, it’s bulls--t! Millennials, you aren’t enough exactly the way you are. You are a stinky, smelly bag of sin and other nastiness. And, so am I. We’ll accept you, but with “no conditions or expectations”?  We won’t do that. We can’t. If we did that, we wouldn’t be very loving and we would cease to be ‘the church’!  Being a part of the church means accepting conditions, and it comes with a lot of expectations. Thank God there’s grace, because we all fall short of meeting them. But we can’t set them aside for you or your namby-pamby friends.

9. We Want You to Talk to Us About Controversial Issues (Because No One Is)

Now here I need to recognize that I serve in a church where our motto is “we may not have all the answers, but we’re not afraid of the questions.”  I feel like all we talk about sometimes is controversial issues. So, maybe there are churches that refuse to do so.

My biggest problem with this complaint is how he wants to address it. He acknowledges a sermon series on the nitty-grittys of sex may not be appropriate in a church service with kids, “but we have to create a place where someone older is showing us a better way because these topics are the teaching millennials are starving for.”  This from the guy who said shut down the programs unless they are serving the poor. This is a program…in some churches it might be called a Young Adult Sunday School!  The whining circles back on itself to the point where you think he actually means cut every program in the church except the ones I (and my friends) need.   

10. The Public Perception

Well, here I agree. He writes, “It’s time to focus on changing the public perception of the church within the community. The neighbors, the city and the people around our church buildings should be audibly thankful the congregation is part of their neighborhood. We should be serving the crap out of them.” I would suggest a rewording though…I prefer “serving the spit out of them” – alliteration is cool.

The church does have a public perception problem, especially if you carry the label ‘evangelical’. We should work to overcome this and have a “good reputation with outsiders,” so far as it depends on us. The church has always been maligned, even when serving the bejezers out of the community and rescuing newborns from the streets. But, if we’re honest, we certainly have contributed to our own PR problems of late. 

11. Stop Talking About Us (Unless You’re Actually Going to Do Something)

He writes, “words without follow-up are far worse than ignoring us completely…We are scrutinizing every action that follows what you say (because we’re sick of being ignored and listening to broken promises).”  Here’s my promise – I won’t kowtow to your whining. I won’t jettison preaching because you don’t think it reaches you. I won’t jump on your band wagon of slander directed towards Bride of Christ. I will call you out as a wolf who’s leading sheep to turn their back on the lifeboat of the church. Promises. May God find me faithful to keeping them. 

12. You’re Failing to Adapt

Heard you loud and clear. Here we stand, we can do no other. You want us to cease to be the church, to jettison tradition (that we’re called upon to hand down from one generation to another), to devalue what God values. You are right, this generation is “terrifyingly anti-church” – at least, this generation in the West.  You place the blame ENTIRELY on the church. Admittedly, there is sin in the church – we aren’t all we are called to be. But we’re still beautiful…and still embassy of the kingdom of God. 

Maybe – no, certainly, you are to blame as well, with your "it’s all about us and feeling valued" mentality. Why must the church change…why don’t you change! 

His Conclusion

The condescending attitude of his article reaches a peak in his conclusion. He writes, “You see, church leaders, our generation just isn’t interested in playing church anymore.” So, up to now, or at least for the past generation or two, you Christians are just playing church. Now the millennials are here and we want to show you how to do it right. Sam, you’re an arrogant a--hole (and you need to hear it). 

He continues, “It’s obvious you’re not understanding the gravity of the problem at hand and aren’t nearly as alarmed as you should be about the crossroads we’re at.” Uh, no, we get it. GenXers whined too – doom and gloom (I know, I am a GenXer) and we started new churches and services just for them. And we get it, you don’t like church. More, “You’re complacent, irrelevant and approaching extinction.” Umm. No!  The church, is growing worldwide. Maybe the millennials in the U.S. aren’t around much, but that hardly amounts to a threat to extinction!

You know what, the gates of hell will not prevail against the church, I’m not afraid of a bunch of complacent, wussy whiners like you taking it down. There’s plenty of Biblical millennials who are on board with God’s mission AND the church’s role in it!  You do not speak for your generation you little brat. This is not the end. The church will endure continue its kingdom work until Christ returns.

Want to be a part of it?

Sam, we’re only a couple of years apart. I’m about 5 years too old to be a millennial. But we couldn’t be further from each other. I know I’m an asshole, and can be self-centered. Thing is, I don’t expect the church to change itself to accommodate my every whim. Where do you get this right? Oh, are you entitled to it?

I am so glad I work in the church I do because I know for a fact that Sam doesn't speak for an entire generation. There are plenty of millennials involved, working with, serving, and loving the church!  I get to see it every day. Do they see the flaws? Of course, who doesn't. But they know God's mission and that he has a church for his mission, so they're on board, striving to make it as holy, as effective, and as beautiful as they can...without pissing off everyone who's been a part of it for more than they're the past twenty years or so!

Postlude

Not surprisingly, Eaton has received a lot of backlash from ‘angry Christians’ who just don’t want to listen. Hmmm.  For someone as self-focused (listen to me, accommodate me, do it my way), it’s hard to image someone being so self-unaware at the same time. 

Why may his words have sparked anger?

Because they were an attack on the church.

Because he accused previous generations of ‘playing church’.

Because he insinuates we don’t care about the poor.

Because his words read as a threat – do it our way of we’ll kill you off.

Sam, complaining about the anger you stirred up is like a little kid playing with matches mad he burnt his finger. Sorry. Kinda.

A Beauty Regimen for God's People

This fall I've been teaching on the topic of holiness in my ACG. I decided on this topic for two reasons. First, there was the desire to tackle something more practical than topics we've covered recently. Second, the connection between holiness and the church's (and believer's) witness is a strong one in both the Old and New Testaments. The holiness of God's people is to be attractive and beautiful, an adornment to the proclamation of the gospel.

This second theme is one that is counter-intuitive to many of us because when we think of holiness it doesn't seem all that at attractive or beautiful. In fact, when asked what images or thoughts come to mind when we think of holiness, the response was typically negative. That's not true when I asked about we think about God's being holy, but when asked to think of people who take holiness seriously, the images were stogie, prudish, unhappy, grumpy, etc.

This shouldn't be the case. Holiness is beautiful. Just look at Psalm 29:

      Ascribe to the LORD, you heavenly beings,
         ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.
       Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name;
         worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness.


There's an ambiguity in the last phrase above. It's unclear if the holiness referred to is God's holiness or if the psalmist is calling us to come and worship God clothed in holiness. Either way, the fact remains - holiness is deemed beautiful, splendid!  The same words come again in Psalm 96

      Worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness;
         tremble before him, all the earth.

Think also of the scenes of heavenly worship we're given access to in Isaiah 6 or Revelation 4. The angelic beings sing 'Holy, holy, holy'. Yes, these words are definitely filled with a reverent awe. But it's more. It's also an appreciation of that which is supremely beautiful.

Here's an important bridge in my thought process. The holiness we as believers are called to ought to be beautiful since God's is. Theologians divide God's attributes into two categories: incommunicable attributes and communicable attributes. The incommunicable attributes are those which we, as creatures do not share, like eternality, like self-existence (aseity). God's communicable attributes are those which he shares with his creation - like love, patience, and holiness. There is a difference in how we are holy when compared to God. God is holy. We are made holy by God, by sharing in his holiness. So, if we're sharing in God's beautiful holiness, our's ought to be beautiful too.

Why don't we see holiness as beautiful? I think there's two key aspects of a full answer. First, those who speak much of holiness are often displaying a caricature of holiness - a version of holiness that is culturally conditioned and usually has a lot to do with lists of taboos (cards, drinking, dancing, movies, etc.). I once worked at a summer camp that was serious about holiness. I was handed a list of tshirts I had worn to work that were deemed inappropriate. It included a Petra shirt (yes, the classic Christian rock group) and a Levi's "Button your Fly"  shirt (remember those you children of the 80s/90s).  If that's what holiness is, it's not beautiful.

But the second reason is even more to blame I think. We don't see holiness as beautiful because our eyes are out of focus. They're clouded by the remnants of our sinful natures. They don't quite see as God sees; not yet.

So, I pray that God will put lenses on to teach me to see that holiness is indeed beautiful. To fight for holiness isn't just to fight against sin, the world, and the devil...it's to fight for BEAUTY!

I love these words from Edwards,  "holiness is a most beautiful, lovely thing. Men are apt to drink in strange notions of holiness from their childhood, as if it were a melancholy, morose, sour, and unpleasant thing; but there is nothing in it but what is sweet and ravishingly lovely. Tis the highest beauty and amiableness, vastly above all other beauties; tis a divine beauty, makes the soul heavenly and far purer than anything here on earth…”

Missional Application of the Seven Letters: Emphasize Warnings and Promises

It is clear from the seven letters that the reward of eternal life with Christ is conditioned upon perseverance. Persecution is not the only pressure that threatens the church and her mission so perseverance is not only to be thought of in terms of enduring suffering, but also persisting in doing good, in pursuing holiness, and in loving well.

Throughout the study of the seven letters we have seen that faithfulness to the witness bearing mission of the church requires fidelity to God as the sole object of worship and does not allow for a syncretistic blending of allegiances or affections. Moreover, the mission requires the church to keep itself clean from the stain of immorality and pursue holiness. Love is also an essential element of the witnessing task given to the church – a love for God, love for brotherhood of believers, and a love for the unbelieving neighbor. In summary, the church is to be a contrast people, their uniqueness serving to draw the world attention and ire.

Jesus takes the mission of the church quite seriously and threatens to come in judgment upon those churches that forsake, compromise or abandon their missional calling. It is, I believe, the duty of the the church and especially its pastors to issue these warnings to its members on behalf of Jesus, calling her to become “conquerors” and so fulfill the mission given to them and attain the promise of eternal life in the kingdom.

In five of the seven letters Jesus issues explicit warnings and calls to repentance. Jesus threatens to come to Ephesus and remove her lampstand if they did not return and “do the works they did at first” (2:5). The church at Pergamum would face Jesus waging war against them with the sword of his mouth if they did not repent of their toleration of false teachers leading them into idolatry and immorality. In Thyatira, Jesus had given Jezebel and her followers ample time to repent, but proving unwilling they faced judgment including being thrown onto a sickbed and death. Jesus will come against Sardis like a thief in the night if the church does not wake up. The Laodicean church is about to be spewed out because they have become indistinguishable from their culture and hence useless.

Maybe even more significant are the conditional promises given to each church. In each of the seven letters the inheritance of salvation is made conditional upon “conquering” (νικάω). Implied in these promises is a threat that those who do not conquer (or “overcome”) forfeit the promised inheritance in the future kingdom. Two examples will suffice to emphasize the nature of these implied warnings. To the church at Smyrna Jesus says, “The one who conquers will not be hurt by the second death.” Implied in these words is the warning: those who don’t conquer will suffer a second, eternal death. Also consider Jesus words to the church at Sardis, “The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life.” Again, it only those who conquer will have their names indelibly written in the book of life. Could the stakes be any higher?

When considered together, the seven letters present the church with an urgent plea to overcome all that will threaten her ability to faithfully complete her mission of bearing witness to the world. Conquering always includes maintaining belief and refusing to give into disbelief, but it also includes overcoming sin that is a stain on the church's witness, false teaching that threatens to shipwreck the church, resisting idolatry and immorality and, in summary, being the distinct people of God.

Moreover, it is clear that conquering or overcoming must be a persistent activity; one does not conquer once, but must continue conquering, persevering to the end. Even those churches that were commended are called to persevere in their faithful witness and lay hold of their eternal reward.

This concern for perseverance in faith must inform the teaching ministry of every pastor; yet, several factors conspire to make many pastors reluctant to emphasize these and the many other warning passages of Scripture as well as the conditional nature of many biblical promises.

Of course, threats and conditions will never be popular, even when the pastor is only communicating a threat made by the church’s Lord. But even courageous pastors are often reluctant to teach the biblical warnings. The main reason, I believe, is the lack of clarity regarding the complex of issues surrounding these warnings – issues related to the nature of faith, the importance of works, assurance of salvation, etc. In some cases this reluctance may be the fruit of an overly simplistic doctrine of perseverance of the saints or eternal security, while in others it may stem from a reluctance to preach anything akin to a work-based salvation.

While a complete study of the issues related to perseverance is not possible, a few truths need to be considered as important theological background to a proper presentation of these warnings. First, regarding faith, pastors need to acknowledge and teach a robust understanding of faith that is more than simple mental assent or belief. Schreiner and Caneday liken faith to a multifaceted gemstone and demonstrate how the many metaphors utilized in scripture for Christian faith are necessary to fully grasp what is required by the concept, metaphors that include athletic images (running a race, training, etc.), military images (fighting the good fight, armor, etc.), rational metaphors (knowing, understanding), sensory language (hearing, seeing), images of discipleship (following), bodily action (eating, drinking), and metaphors of endowment (receiving).

While some of these metaphors emphasize the passive aspects of faith, when taken as a whole it should not be missed that there are many active aspects to faith. Commenting on Hebrews 11, Schreiner and Caneday point out “In every case, faith sprang into faithful action. God commends each one [Abel, Noah, Abraham, Rahab, etc.], not merely for possessing faith, but for faith that obeys.”

This truth is also apparent, for example, in the letter to the church in Ephesus where Jesus calls them to “do the works you did at first.” Christ expected their faith to give rise to action. Schreiner and Caneday continue, emphasizing faith’s perseverance, “God is pleased with faith that perseveres; God does not commend a person for a singular act of faith that fails to endure. God does not reward faith that does not go the distance.”

This too is seen in several of the letters to the churches in Asia. To the church at Smyrna Jesus says, “Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.” This does, of course, raise the issue of a believer’s eternal security and assurance. How does one fit the necessity of perseverance alongside Biblical promises that seem unconditional and emphasize the believers secure standing before God?

In navigating these doctrines, teachers must avoid blunting the warnings by superimposing the promises overtop of the admonitions to persevere (and vice versa). Schreiner and Caneday are right, "We believe that God’s promises of assured salvation have their proper function to ground our faith in God and to assure us that God faithfully keeps his promises to his children. We also believe that God’s admonitions and warning have their distinctive function to evoke faith that perseveres in holy devotion to God’s heavenly call on in Christ Jesus. Thus, God’s warnings do not conflict with God’s promises. His warnings serve his promises, for his warnings elicit belief and confidence in God’s promises."

Pastors who blunt the warnings of Scripture, refuse to preach Biblical warnings, or avoid the conditional nature of biblical promises deprive their churches of the full counsel of God. In so doing, they fail to recognize that God uses these warnings, admonitions and conditions to reinforce faith and beckon the believer to persistence. Too often pastors get caught up explaining [away] these warning texts, importing the theological truths that those who truly comprise God’s people and have genuine faith will persevere till the end (being preserved by God’s sovereign power through his Spirit) and this truth’s corollary, that those who fail to persevere prove their faith was not genuine saving faith. But, the point of these texts is different.

The conditional promises of Revelation, let alone the repeated warnings, are not included in Jesus’ letters to the church to explain that those who have fallen away were not sincere in their faith to begin with (though other texts make this point), but to call the churches to repentance and encourage them to persevere and overcome. Schreiner and Caneday call attention to this propensity for pastors to interpret the “the biblical warnings from the retrospective vantage point of apostasy completed rather than from the prospective threat lest someone fall away.”

While the retrospective vantage point is the focus of some passages (i.e. 1 John 2:19), turning every passage this way is unwarranted and counterproductive – God inspired both the backward looking explanations of apostasy and the forward looking warnings for the good of his church. Just as the author of Hebrews urges individual believers to “lay aside every weight” that hinders them from running well and “run with endurance the race set before us,” so in Revelation 2 & 3 Jesus urges every church and every member of the church to cast off that which would hinder them from their mission of bearing witness and remain faithful so that they will numbered in the company of who conquer and lay hold of their eternal reward. Pastors must bring these pleas to their churches.