Christin Ditchfield and I have this in common: we are both on Crossway's roster of authors. Crossway published my book The Discipline of Spiritual Discernment and has published several of Christin's including A Way With Words and A Family Guide to Narnia. But just this weekend we discovered that we have something else in common. It goes back. Way back. Back to before we were even born.

When I was growing up, my mother used to tell me stories about her life before she became a Christian. As a young woman she was a student at Bishop's University in Lennoxville, Quebec, and had determined that life was meaningless. She was depressed and distraught and utterly convinced that she was evil, that other people were evil. Everyone she spoke to assured her that she was wrong and that people were good, that she was good. But she knew better. She saw no hope, no escape from the endless meaninglessness. Then a fellow student invited her to meet a couple of of his friends, expecting that they may have some encouragement for her. She did not want to go, and even planned to cancel the time together, but somehow felt compelled to do the right thing and to keep her promise.

She arrived at the home of those friends and was introduced to a young woman named Bernice. Bernice's fiance, Stephen, and her grandmother were visiting that evening as well. As my mom sat down in the living room, Bernice asked a simple question: How are you? She got a longer answer than she had expected. My mother told her how she hated life and was in utter despair and was convinced that she and others were full of evil. Bernice and Stephen listened patiently while the grandmother sat quietly in a corner looking like she was praying. Finally Stephen spoke up and, to my mother’s amazement, told her that he agreed with her assessment. She was evil. We are all evil. Finally--finally!--someone agreed with her. Finally she had found someone who could affirm what she knew to be true. And not only that, but he told her that he had a solution. He explained that the solution was the gospel, the good news, of Jesus Christ.

Stephen asked her another simple question: Do you want to pray and ask Jesus to be your Savior? After a moment's reflection she knew she did want that and Stephen led her in prayer. And in that moment she immediately felt all that despair give way to joy. She was utterly and permanently transformed.

Bernice and Stephen soon moved on and my mother knew them only as the people who had given her hope and led her to the Lord. This testimony to the Lord's grace in my mother's life was something I heard often while I was growing up.

Meanwhile, Christin Ditchfield had grown up hearing a very similar story.

This is the 23rd installment in a series on theological terms. See previous posts on the terms theology, Trinity, creation, man, Fall, common grace, sin, righteousness, faith, pride, election, revelation, atonement, adoption, sanctification, incarnation, idolatry, the church, holiness, salvation, judgment, and heaven.

The Bible warns us that those who do not accept the gospel of Jesus Christ “will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might” (2 Thessalonians 1:8-9).

Away from the Presence of the Lord

If the most essential thing we can say about heaven is that it is where God is, the most essential thing we can say about hell is that it is where God is not. If the presence of God in heaven is the assurance of abundant and eternal joy, the God-lessness of hell necessarily removes all hope of joy or blessing.

But hell is far worse than merely the absence of God’s blessing. As Paul stated in the verse above, hell is also “the punishment of eternal destruction.”

Punishment

Punishment implies that those who are in hell have not simply been abandoned by God. Rather, they have been actively condemned, incarcerated, and consigned to endure the just wrath of God against them for every sinful thought, word, and deed. This clarifies that when we say that hell is the absence of God, we really mean that it is the absence of his blessings and the presence of his wrath.

Eternal

Eternal speaks to the duration of God’s punishment. For sinners who do not repent and believe in the gospel of Jesus Christ, God’s wrath will burn against them forever. There will be no escape; they will never repay their debt; they will never cease to exist or be annihilated. Their punishment will be eternal.

Destruction

Destruction speaks to the severity of God’s punishment. The wrath of God in hell will be so severe, complete and consuming that the only way to describe the condition is utter destruction. In this place of “weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matthew 13:42), there will be no relief, no tolerance to the pain, no comfort in the company of other sufferers.

Even though the doctrine of hell is an uncomfortable truth, it ought to make us grateful for at least five reasons:

1. It honors the justice of God. Our God is a God of equity, and he will fairly punish every wrong done.
2. It honors Jesus Christ. Meditating on the doctrine of hell helps us understand the great price Jesus paid on Calvary and displays the magnitude of the salvation he offers.
3. For believers, it keeps us aware and afraid of the cost of abandoning our faith in Jesus Christ, and in this way helps us continue following him through the difficulties of the Christian life.
4. Also for believers, it gives powerful motivation to share the gospel with those facing such a horrendous punishment.
5. For unbelievers, it is a powerful call to repent and believe in Jesus Christ today, while there is still opportunity to receive God’s mercy.

* I added a clarifying statement on God’s presence in hell.

This is the 22nd installment in a series on theological terms. See previous posts on the terms theology, Trinity, creation, man, Fall, common grace, sin, righteousness, faith, pride, election, revelation, atonement, adoption, sanctification, incarnation, idolatry, the church, holiness, salvation, and judgment.

“And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.’” (Revelation 21:3)

Perhaps the most essential thing the Bible teaches us about heaven is that heaven is where God is. This truth explains most (if not all) of the other things we learn about it.

Scripture teaches us that where God is, two things must be true:

1) Wherever God is, there is perfect happiness.

In your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore. (Psalm 16:11)

And the ransomed of the LORD shall return and come to Zion with singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away. (Isaiah 35:10)

He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away. (Revelation 21:4)

2) Wherever God is, there is unending worship.

No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. (Revelation 22:3)

And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and within, and day and night they never cease to say, “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!” (Revelation 4:8)

Whatever else is true of heaven, this is what is most essential: Perfect happiness and unending worship in the company of -- and on account of -- the Triune God. This is the eternal destiny of all who love Jesus Christ.

On one of those evenings when I was too tired to read but not tired enough to sleep, I began to browse the documentary section on Netflix. I came across Monica & David, a documentary about, well, Monica and David. The film traces their relationship from dating, to their wedding, to the early days of their marriage. It is quite a normal story in many ways but for this: both of them have Down Syndrome.

The two fell in love after meeting at a day program for people with intellectual disabilities and their mothers decided to honor their desire to marry (fathers are out of the picture). Down Syndrome is a condition with a spectrum of severity so that the effects are much more pronounced in some than in others. Monica and David are relatively high functioning, but are still visibly and profoundly disabled.

It is an interesting film and well worth the 1 hour and 7 minute investment. It displays both the joys and the trials of having Down Syndrome and of caring for people with Down Syndrome. Both of the central characters are so sweet and likable that it is impossible not to root for them as they embark on life together, as they try to find jobs, and as they try to live as normal a life as possible. Their mothers (and one step-father) love them dearly and are committed to doing what is best for them. 

The film raises unavoidable questions. If a couple is in their 30’s but mentally developed to the equivalent of a child only 8 or 9 years old, are they old enough to marry? Can they really understand the nature of their commitment? Are they ready and able to have a sexual relationship? Should they have children or should their guardians ensure that they take measures to prevent having a family? (Though most men with Down Syndrome are infertile, there is still a very small chance of conceiving a child.) Just how independent can such a couple be and, if they will always need close parental oversight, are they really a fully married couple? The film is deliberate in raising such questions and always honors disability and the decisions the couple and their guardians have made. At a time when the vast majority of babies with Downs are aborted long before they can reach adulthood, Monica & David is powerfully and perhaps inadvertently pro-life, showing that these are real people with real lives who can live and love and dream and enjoy life. They are worthy of life.

But this is not a review of the film. Rather, it is a chance to share an application that continues to stand out to me.

This is the 21st installment in a series on theological terms. See previous posts on the terms theology, Trinity, creation, man, Fall, common grace, sin, righteousness, faith, pride, election, revelation, atonement, adoption, sanctification, incarnation, idolatry, the church, holiness, and salvation.

Meditate much upon the day of judgment. Feathers swim upon the water, but gold sinks into it; so, light, feathery Christians float in vanity; they mind not the day of judgment; but serious spirits sink deep into the thoughts of it. - Thomas Watson, A Body of Divinity

The Bible teaches that the world as we know it now will one day end and every human who has ever lived will stand individually before the throne of Jesus Christ to give an account for how they lived (2 Corinthians 5:10).

This judgment, also known in Scripture as “the day of the Lord,” will come at a time people do not expect (1 Thessalonians 5:2), and the ruling for each person will be either eternal punishment in hell or eternal life with God in heaven (Matthew 25:46).

Eternal punishment will be the fate of those who have not believed in the only Son of God and therefore have no shelter from the wrath of God (John 3:18).

But those who believe in Jesus Christ--whose sins have been paid for by Jesus’ death on the cross and whose lives have begun to demonstrate obedience to him--will be brought into everlasting peace with God and granted eternal life (Romans 5:1, 9; James 2:17).

Pornography has traditionally been an industry that caters almost entirely to men. There have always been exceptions, of course, but it was predominantly men who bought the magazines and videos in a pre-digital age and it has been men who have made pornography a multi-billion dollar industry in the Internet age. If the industry has its way, that is about to change.

We tend to believe that men are particularly prone to the allure of pornography. Men tend to be stimulated visually, men tend to have a more prominent sex drive—we’ve heard the reasons. But consider this: What if that relationship between men and pornography is related to a very specific kind of pornography? What if women haven’t been drawn to pornography at least in part because the industry simply hasn’t attempted to create and market pornography that will appeal primarily to them? And what if that is about to change?

Women, you need to be aware because the pornographers are coming after you. Yes, you.

There is much that can be said about the 50 Shades of Grey series of books; what is beyond dispute is that the books—there are currently 65 million in print—shocked the publishing world by revealing the existence of a previously untapped market. The secret is out: There are millions of women who will read pornography even if they have little interest in watching it. Publishers, both mainstream and pornographic, are taking note. They are studying the 50 Shades phenomenon to see how they can duplicate it, or at least cash in on its success. Like any industry, they have surveys and focus groups and statistics and endless amounts of data that first measure and then transform behavior. 

A recent article at CNBC explains that traditional pornography was created by men, for men. This pornography tends to eschew anything more than the most rudimentary plot in favor of the blatant display of extreme fantasies. It is pure carnality and women tend not to find it particularly alluring. In fact, many find it downright repulsive, especially if they think that their husbands want them to act out some of these things. But 50 Shades and other recent products are proving, to the surprise of many, that women, too, are sexual. Where pornographers once thought that most women simply weren’t interested, now they are seeing that women may be very interested, but that it will take a different kind of product. The industry is branching out in an attempt to take advantage. They are now working hard to create pornography for women.

In contrast to the pornography so prevalent today, this new pornography has a story, a plot. The founder and president of one company says, “We’re not shooting hardcore positions or the more extreme elements of X-rated films. This is more making love than [vulgar term].” It focuses on issues that may resonate with women: falling in love for the first time or an exciting escape from a marriage that has lost its spark. It is essentially a romantic comedy, a lighthearted romance novel, but with the sexual content ramped up both in length and in explicitness. After all, what is 50 Shades of Grey but a romance with 60 or 70 pages of graphic, kinky sex? One female screenwriter and director of this kind of film is quoted at Slate saying, “We've done enough research on that demographic to know that a large percentage of women watching our stuff do not want to see [graphic, vulgar sex acts]. … They want connected sex and lots of foreplay. We find that older couples enjoy watching this because they're of the age before the internet, and what we're offering is something that's so much more tame and built into the moment instead of just being right there in your face.”

A few months ago I shared a few lessons I’ve learned along the way—a few things I’ve learned about preaching since I rather unexpectedly found myself regularly standing in the pulpit. I learned that preaching can be discouraging, that preachers are fragile, that success in preaching is difficult to measure, and that preaching is a joy. Upon further reflection, I want to add a couple of items to my list.

Don’t Romanticize It

Another lesson I’ve learned is that the process of sermon preparation doesn’t live up to the romanticized version you might read about in books or in punchy little quotes. So much of sermon preparation is just plain hard work. I suppose it is possible that I have been going it all wrong, but I don’t think that’s the case.

I read several books about preaching before I ever preached a sermon. I read hundreds of great quotes about preaching and listened to sermons by some of the best preachers of our generation. I even attended several conferences for preachers and about preaching. Somewhere along the way I got the idea that preparing a sermon would be a blessed time of being carried along by the Holy Spirit as he gave me startling insights into His Word. I would spend hours in prayer, a few minutes reading commentaries, and just allow the Spirit to guide my pen.

But it turns out that most of sermon preparation is a tough slog of trying to understand difficult words, of desperately trying to find some kind of a structure in the text and then allowing that structure to inform the sermon. It is a battle of the mind and an all-out spiritual battle. There is prayer, to be sure. The Holy Spirit really does help in very tangible ways. And yet sermon preparation is a long and difficult battle full of metaphorical blood and very genuine sweat and tears. Reading books and listening to sermons didn’t prepare me at all to understand just how difficult it is to take a relatively straightforward passage, to understand it, to structure it, and to have something worthwhile to say about it.

Of course a lot of life is like this. There is what we imagine it will be like, or what we think it should be like, and then there is the reality. A young couple is eagerly expecting their new baby, and mom is imagining the joy of nursing a child, of snuggling that child as she feeds him. But then there’s the reality. Sure, nursing is sweet, but as so many moms can attest, it doesn’t always live up to its billing. There’s a lot more discomfort and pain than most young moms expect. Some women find they cannot do it at all, or that their child only wants a bottle. Infections set in. It doesn’t look a whole lot like the sweet pictures in the books. You could draw similar illustrations from just about every area of life. 

This is the 20th installment in a series on common theological terms. See previous posts on the terms theology, Trinity, creation, man, Fall, common grace, sin, righteousness, faith, pride, election, revelation, atonement, adoption, sanctification, incarnation, idolatry, the church, and holiness.

In the 9th sermon of John Piper’s epic series on the book of Romans he comes to Romans 1:16 (9 sermons and he’s only 16 verses in!), and tackles the question, “What is salvation?” The text is one you know well, I’m sure: “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.”

Piper argues that salvation is best understood here as,

the final triumph of the gospel in bringing believers to eternal safety and joy in the presence of a holy and glorious God.

This definition is helpful in the way it summarizes several crucial points about the Christian doctrine of salvation:

First, Salvation comes through believing the gospel. The Bible teaches us that anyone—absolutely anyone—is a prime candidate for salvation. The only requirement is that they believe the good news of who Jesus is and what he did on the cross. Paul says this news is “the power of God for salvation for everyone who believes” (Romans 1:16). Notice the present tense of the word “believes”—those who would be saved must not only be converted to faith in Christ but must also persevere in that faith (1 Corinthians 15:1-2).

Second, Salvation has come … and is coming. We who believe in Christ “have been saved” (Ephesians 2:8), and yet we are still awaiting the “salvation ready to be revealed in the last time” (1 Peter 1:5). Paul captures this reality when he says that believers have been “sealed for the day of redemption” (Ephesians 4:30) by the Holy Spirit: we are sealed for redemption (salvation), but the day of its fulfillment is still coming.

Third, Salvation is safety and joy before a holy God. The term salvation acknowledges that we have been saved from something. But what? The New Testament mentions a number of things that we are in bondage to apart from God’s salvation: demonic powers, the corruption of our bodies, sin, and so on. However, it is clear that the ultimate obstacle to our being saved is the holiness of God himself. “Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God” (Romans 5:9). Salvation is both from and to: the gospel grants us safety from God’s wrath, which then frees us to enjoy the wonders of a saving God for all eternity.

More than once I have been accused of being a bibliolater, a person who idolizes the Bible, who has excessive reverence for the letter of the Bible. I'm sure many other Christians have been accused of this as well. In my experience, this charge tends to be leveled against those who affirm the infallibility or inerrancy of Scripture; it may also be leveled against those who affirm the sufficiency of Scripture. People who level such a charge are objecting to what they see as a woodenness of faith and practice that stems from an understanding of Scripture they deem too literal.

I am quite sure that I do not idolize the Bible and I am quite sure it is far more difficult to do than the accusers may think. Let me tell you how I think about this charge.

We, as sinful human beings, have lost the right and the ability to have unmediated access to God. Before they fell into sin, Adam and Eve had the privilege of walking and talking with God. They had direct, face-to-face access to the Creator. This is a privilege we eagerly anticipate reclaiming when the Lord returns, but in the meantime, polluted as we are by sin, we have severed that direct communication. We now rely on communication from God that is mediated by Scripture. John Stott once said, "God has clothed His thoughts in words, and there is no way to know Him except by knowing the Scriptures. ... We can't even read each other's minds, much less what is in the mind of God." God’s Word tells us that we can only know God as he actually, truly is, through that same Word.

The Bible is the Word of God. John Frame, in Salvation Belongs To The Lord, defines the word of God as "God's powerful, authoritative self-expression." God's word is powerful in that it does more than merely communicate, but also creates and controls. Frame says, "the word is the very presence of God among us, the place where God dwells. So you cannot separate the word of God from God himself."

Did you catch that? You cannot separate the word of God from God himself. The word reveals God. Frame goes on to show that the speech of God has divine attributes. It is righteous, faithful, wonderful, holy, eternal, omnipotent and perfect. Because these are attributes of God they are also attributes of his Word. He shows also that the word of God is an object of worship, quoting Psalm 56:4 where David writes, "In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can flesh do to me?" The Psalmist repeats this in verse ten, saying ‘In God, whose word I praise, in the Lord, whose word I praise...’ This is remarkable, for only God is the object of religious praise. To worship something other than God is idolatrous. Since David worships the word here, we cannot escape the conclusion the word is divine."

This is the nineteenth installment in a series on theological terms. See previous posts on the terms theology, Trinity, creation, man, Fall, common grace, sin, righteousness, faith, pride, election, revelation, atonement, adoption, sanctification, incarnation, idolatry, and the church.

In a lecture titled “The Meaning of Holiness” (video), R. C. Sproul identifies two major scriptural meanings to the word holiness, one primary and one secondary, one in relation to God and one in relation to human beings.

The primary meaning is in relation to God, and it refers to his being separate or other. “When the Bible speaks about God’s holiness,” explains Sproul, “the primary thrust of those statements is to refer to God’s transcendance, to refer to his magnificence, to refer to that sense in which God is higher and superior to anything that there is in the creaturely realm.”

This meaning of holiness is implied all throughout the Bible, as it characterizes all of God’s attributes. God is holy in glory (Isaiah 6:3), power (Isaiah 52:10) and righteousness (Isaiah 5:16). For God to be holy means that, unless God makes it so, there is no one and nothing like him in any way.

Your way, O God, is holy. What god is great like our God? (Psalm 77:13)

Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify your name? For you alone are holy. (Revelation 15:4)

The secondary meaning refers to our righteousness and purity. Holiness is the manner in which, by the Holy Spirit, God’s people live and act as imitators of God’s character, which is separate and other from the manner in which the world around us lives.

As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” (Peter 1:14-16)

Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God. (2 Corinthians 7:1)