Why Social Networking?

Beginning today, the Daily Verse Online is undergoing a major overhaul, a big part of which is the incorporation of social networking-- specifically, commenting and conversation on the Daily Verses, and unified integration with Facebook and Twitter.  This is is a big change in direction, and it didn't come without a lot of thought and prayer.  As Christians, everything we do should be "abounding in love, with all knowledge and discernment" (Philippians 1:9).  That means that every action we take should be rooted in deep thought and deep love.  Deep thought about the things of God, and deep love for God and others.  So here are my thoughts about social networking, and why the Daily Verse Online is moving this direction.

First, a bad reason for social networking:
1) Everyone's doing it.  This is never a good reason to do anything.  The wide road is the one that leads to destruction (Matthew 7:13), and just because everyone's on the Web 2.0 social networking bandwagon does necessarily mean that Christians should jump onboard too.  There may be a place for Christian social networking, but NOT simply because the world is doing it.  If anything, the fact that social networking is so popular should make Christians pause before jumping in.  Friendship with the world is enmity with God (James 4:4).

Some cautions about social networking:
1) The tendency towards pride.  The habit of "tweeting" the details of your life and thoughts to an audience of followers as if those thoughts and details were somehow important is arrogance.  "The wise of heart will receive commandments, but a babbling fool will come to ruin" (Proverbs 10:8).  Christians should be striving to develop the humility of James 1:19-- quick to hear and slow to speak.  This is certainly possible with Twitter, but the very concept of Twitter works against this.  With Facebook, the temptation towards pride is different.  Reveling in your friend count, basing your worth on your accumulated contacts or number of people posting on your wall is dangerous.  "The LORD takes delight in His people" (Psalm 149:4); do not look beyond this for identity.
2) The tendency towards time-wasting.  Those who live in the world of Facebook know how true this is.  It is possible to waste hours on Facebook.  This is a tragedy.  The cross of Christ frees us from trivial pursuits to become a people for His own possession, zealous for good works (Titus 2:14).  We should take the command of Colossians 4:5 very seriously: "Make the best use of the time."  Life is a vapor, a mere breath before eternity, and with the souls of men dying around us, why would we consign ourselves to time wasted in front of TVs and computers?  God is calling us to something much greater.
3) The tendency towards triviality.  No one, not even your Twitter followers, really care what you had for breakfast this morning.  But sadly, this sort of conversation is common on Twitter.  Even those tweeting about relatively important things-- politics, social issues, etc-- are limited to 140 characters.  Neil Postman was right: the medium really is the message.  140 characters inherently limits and shapes discourse away from thoughtful reasoning and towards the sound-byte, the showy, and the shallow.

In light of all these tendencies and pitfalls, why is the Daily Verse Online embracing social networking?
1) Redeeming social networking.  All three of those potential pitfalls are not unique to social networking; they are inherent in the human condition.  And yet God, at great cost to Himself, has planned from all eternity to redeem not only a people for Himself, but all that is good and true and beautiful in human culture (Revelation 21:23-24).  As Christians, therefore, we should not shrink back from the public arena, but rather should seek to influence it for Christ.
2) Social networking belongs to Jesus.  "All things were created through Him and FOR Him" (Colossians 1:16).  Jesus Christ is supreme and sovereign over every area of creation, from supernovae to subatomic particles, from nations and history, to Twitter and Facebook.  Abraham Kuyper famously said, "In the total expanse of human life there is not a single square inch of which Christ, who alone is sovereign, does not declare,'That is mine!'"  To that end, let's use Facebook and Twitter and everything else, not as a means for our own pleasure and glory, but to make much of Jesus Christ who claims ownership over them, and us.
3) Serving you.  The Daily Verse Online's mission is to "ignite a passion for worship in all of life."  I recognize that today, many people live out a good part of their time on their smartphones, websites, and networks.  This is not necessarily a bad thing, as long as we are aware of the pitfalls above and are striving to submit our surfing to our Savior.  The DVO wants to help with that.  By expanding our ministry into these areas that touch so many parts of life, my hope and prayer is that Twitter and Facebook can become tools in your arsenal for your fight to see and savor and show Jesus Christ more fully.

For more thoughts on how Christians can tweet to the glory of God, you can read this older blog post.  John Piper at Desiring God also has very wise things to say.

Marriage and Justification

In my ponderings and strugglings over the doctrine of justification, I think I've come up with a really good way of describing what goes on in the "great exchange" whereby Christ takes all my sin and gives me His perfect righteousness.

I've noticed that all the talk of justification in the Bible hinges on our union with Christ. For example, Philippians 3:9- "and be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith." Or Romans 5:19, where Paul has been contrasting union with Adam versus union with Christ- "For as by the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man's obedience the many will be made righteous."

So here's my analogy: justification is like marriage. In marriage, a husband and wife are united and become one flesh, and suddenly everything that was his is also hers, and everything that was hers is also his. The wife’s credit card debts are now the husband’s credit card debts, and everything that was in the husband’s bank account now jointly belongs to the wife. God has decreed that our union with Christ means that everything that was ours (namely, our sin, shame, rebellion, and death) is His, and everything that was His (namely, His perfect obedience, death on the cross, resurrection life, and eternal inheritance) are ours.

No wonder He is described as the Bridegroom and the church is described as the Bride!

We Wish to See Jesus

Next week, I am starting my last Bible study at Center Presbyterian Church.  It has been a joy and incredible privilege for me to lead the adult Bible study there for the past year and a half.  We have done studies on Philippians, Hebrews, and Colossians, and this spring we will be looking at the "I am" statements of Jesus in the book of John.  I am really, really excited about this semester, because I see this study as the culmination of everything I have been teaching the last year and a half.  Below is my introduction to our study in John:

"Life in a fallen world is a tightrope dichotomy between searing pain and seductive pleasure.  In a world full of sudden tragedy, seemingly random violence, natural disasters, cancer, illness, heartache, and tearful goodbyes, where is a rock of refuge to which we can go?  And conversely, in a materialistic culture littered with the spiritual landmines of blinding prosperity, numbing comfort, earthly treasures, and broken cisterns, where is a transcendent and satisfying reality to which we can commit ourselves?

What we are looking for is Ultimate Reality, a person and a truth and a life that transcends the problem of pain and pleasure, eclipsing both in all-consuming glory.  The Ultimate Reality that we are looking for is the person of Jesus Christ.  Colossians tells us that He is "the image of the invisible God," that "all things were created through Him and for Him," and that "in all things He has the supremacy."  Hebrews speaks of this supreme Christ when we hear that "He is the radiance of the glory of God and exact imprint of His nature, upholding the universe by the word of His power."  Philippians tells us the implications of Christ's all-satisfying supremacy: "I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.  For His sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ."  Here, then, is the end of all things: suffering and satisfaction, gain and loss, united in the glorious Son.  To know Him will cost everything, yet knowing Him is infinite gain.

How then can we know this Glorious One?  How can we "know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge?" (Ephesians 3:19)  Hosea invites us into this eternal pursuit, saying, "Let us know; let us press on to know the Lord."  We want to say with the Greeks in John 12, "We wish to see Jesus!"  But how?"

The first lesson is all about my answer to that last question: God has given us His Word so that we can see Jesus in it and be supremely satisfied in seeing Him forever.