Bible College Stereotypes
So it happens that some of the stereotypes that are formed about Bible colleges are completely wrong. And some of them are completely right. Due to having nothing scheduled at this moment I figured I’d check them out here at my new school.
Stereotype #1: Guys and Girls Do Not Hang Out
True. At least, so far. I know I’ve only been here for a day, but the gender division is already running strong. Maybe once the rest of campus gets here it will be different, but us new students have kept to the boundary lines like it’s our job. Not that I, personally, am avoiding the opposite gender. It’s more like a peer pressure thing, though I’m not happy to admit that. And plus, I’ve met some girls that I am enjoying hanging out with, so it’s not terrible. I actually think it’s rather hilarious that this has happened because at my last college the group of people I spent the most time with consisted almost exclusively of three guys.
Stereotype #2: Girls Are Only Here to Get Their MRS Degree.
Even split. Again, at least as far as I can tell. I, for one, am most certainly not here for that reason. I have a very specific goal in mind that attending this school is helping me to reach. Though, I had noticed an unusually high number of couples and/or persons with wedding bands when I visited here in September. We’ll see how that goes. I always feel like it’s hard to converse with people who are dating, engaged, or married. Especially when they’re my age or not much older. It kind of makes me feel like a child for being single and for only having dated once. But, as I said, the reason I’m here is not to “find a man” as some would put it. So, yes, it seems to be an even split between girls who are here for that reason and girls who are not. But we’ll still all be lumped together into a group of potential wives. Maybe we should form a club.
Stereotype #3: Everyone is Perfect
Um, what planet do you think we’re from? Of course we’re not perfect. This kind of goes without saying. As with any group of people who live together for an extended period of time and only sees that group of people most of the time, there will be issues that crop up. It’s kind of inevitable. Everybody is an individual with certain opinions, tastes, and traits. Sometimes, when these things are combined, things can get a little messy. The only thing to do is attempt to work everything out in a mature, selfless manner.
There is nothing else I can think of, so I’ll leave it at those three. Actually, I’d stick to the first two. The third one I added because I couldn’t think of any other stereotypes and I wanted there to be an even (odd, really) number of these. (You don’t need to tell me how lame I am).
Randomness: I wholeheartedly believe that bowling allies are the worst invention ever.
P.S. For your viewing pleasure: a YouTube video.
Interestingly enough…
… Only two posts ago it was June and I was hoping to keep up with posting. Camp was much busier than I expected and what little precious free time I had was used to do laundry, attempt to contact home or take a rare nap. I’m not sure when I will get around to discussing the YWAM fiasco, but I have no desire to do it right now. In fact, I have little desire to even maintain this blog for the time being, but I desperately need a hobby and I know that it could be good for me to be actively engaging in this somewhat productive activity. I’ll definitely get around to my own personal little Bible studies again on this blog, but I have a bunch of things that I want to say if I’m going to be on this site. In a way, this is kind of like a public journal anyway, so I want to record things for my own sake, as well as to (hopefully) occasionally receive feedback. Don’t worry, the main journal-type posts remain saved privately in my drafts. (Drat!)
So, exciting news. I’m no longer going to the university that I attended for two years. As I recently mentioned, I withdrew from school due to some crazy ideas. But, not to worry, I’ll be in school again come January. Thankfully, at a much more appealing school. Bible college! I am stoked out of my mind to get to this place. Honestly, January 14, 2012 cannot come soon enough. I NEED to be there. I’ve gotten to the point where I love being home and seeing my family, but I feel stuck and sometimes stifled because life is so much different when you’re living at home and working as an older teenager (very nearly adult) than when you’re on your own and surrounded by people your own age, with limitless opportunities before you. I miss the freedom and the vibrance life had when I was at school. Don’t get me wrong, my family isn’t horrible. It’s just that everyone has their own thing that they do and I can’t do my thing because my thing isn’t here. Does that even make sense?
Anyway. I deleted my facebook account not long after returning from camp. I just couldn’t bear it anymore. Since ridding myself of its evil, I feel much freer and happier, but I’m also online much less, which, in part, led to the lack of upkeep on this site.
For now, then, I bid you good night.
Randomness: I have a strange fascination with North Korea as of late. I’ve literally read as many articles as I could find online everyday for almost a week straight now. I even bought a book from my favorite online retailer.
P.S. I did not proofread this post so if there are mistakes it’s because I currently don’t give a hoot. 
Where do I go from here?
[This post was drafted on August 24, 2011. Now, almost two months later, I am posting it with an update to follow shortly.]
The summer is now drawing to a close and here I am, at home, wondering how the summer went by so quickly. Several people have asked how camp was. Overall, it was a good experience, but not one I’m liable to repeat. It was a fun summer, but I regret that I didn’t have or make the time to keep up with this, if mainly for my own benefit.
When the first week of July came around I had already been at camp for three and a half weeks. It was then, after constant prayer and what I thought was a sufficient amount of research, that I decided to withdraw from my university. The plan was to work for a year and a half and then to get involved in Youth With a Mission (YWAM). Actually, that was the plan up until today [August 24,2011].
You see, I was texting with my good friend, Justin, yesterday (after that infamous earthquake that rocked the east coast) when I brought up my plan. He warned me to be careful. Unsure as to why, I asked and he informed me that “they have wacky theology”. I found this interesting, because from their website everything had looked fantastic and I was sure that they were an upstanding organization. More on this later.
I have arrived!
Today, after a long break from posting, I have finally arrived at a place where I can hopefully keep up with this a little more than in the past two weeks. Strangely, I’ve really missed posting on this site. I’m exhausted and currently “facetiming” with my family, whom I haven’t seen since last Saturday. I miss them!
I’ve already met several people from outside the U.S. which is pretty stinking cool. I love their accents. A guy from Scotland, two girls from Australia, a girl from Germany, and another from Ireland. I know there will be many more, but these are merely those I’ve already conversed with.
I miss everybody so much and just hope that this will be a good summer. Please pray for me to be a godly example to these people! I want Him to be glorified in all that I do.
Psalm 46:10
He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”
A little change…
If you’re one of my daily readers (Hi Dad!) you may have noticed that I’ve taken a short hiatus from posting. I expect that with the end of this week, this may become more common of an occurrence due to a busier schedule and limited access to a computer. This situation may actually be good for me; I’m hoping that the posts I make during the time I’m away are more focused on quality than quantity, an area I feel I need to work on in this blog (gosh, I cannot stand the word “blog”). I will also endeavor not to burden you with lengthy quotes as I have done, though in my defense, the things I’ve been reading have been so striking that I wish to share and hope that you will be impacted in the same way as I.
So for tonight, I will continue that trend. I wish you a marvelous evening.
Until next time!
Randomness: I will make no promises as to when “next time” is.
P.S. It won’t be as bad as the first time when I said I was taking a break. I’m not taking a break.
What about those who have never heard?
Tonight, I want to share with you something that I read today in Radical.
All people are guilty before God. (Romans 3:19)
The end of verse 12 says, “No one does good, not even one.” Simple enough, I think, but Platt goes on and adds an illustration that I found really interesting and made it much easier to understand this (already) simple verse.
Human beings are constantly trying to do good to earn God’s favor, but the more we try to do good, the more we expose how evil we all truly are. Many Christians have come to the conclusion that those who have never heard about the gospel or Jesus Christ are automatically excused from God’s condemnation. These people will go to heaven because, after all, they never got to hear about Jesus while they were alive.
Not so. This line of thinking asserts that never hearing about Christ will give a person an automatic pass into heaven. If this were the case, why would we have been commanded to spread the good news? Not only is this unbiblical, but we must rationalize the absurdity of this claim. If never hearing about Jesus automatically gives you a free pass into heaven, why would you spoil a person’s chances of getting in by telling them about Jesus; now they might go to hell because they’ve heard of Him. Thanks a lot!
Imagine that an international student is attending your college. You go up to her and ask her if she’s ever been told about Jesus and she responds that she has not. If she is going to get into heaven because she’s never heard about Jesus, the best thing to tell her would be “If anyone does, you should immediately run away with your fingers in your ears while yelling very loudly.” This is the practical result of the conclusion referenced above.
Still, some people will question how God could condemn people for not believing in Jesus. The key, though, is not the belief in Jesus, it’s the acceptance of God, which Platt mentions a few pages earlier. The only thing we can know about the judgment of these people is that they will have a different type of accountability than us.
Those of us who have heard the gospel have had the opportunity to accept or reject it, and we are responsible for our decision because of that.
Randomness: Please, if you would, pray for a friend of mine whom I met at Focus. He’s going through a very rough spot.
Justification Through God’s Righteousness
The next section of the book that I’m getting into deals with God’s grace. This is described throughout Romans 3:21 all the way to Romans 8:39. I’m excited to get to know more about this, but at the same time, it’s a daunting task to undertake.
This chapter of Mr. Stott’s book breaks the text into sections. This section talks about how God’s righteousness is revealed in Christ’s cross in verses 21 through 26 of chapter 3.
Romans 3:21-26 is an absolutely beautiful passage that truly reveals just how much God loves us, even in our current state.
“But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished—he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.”
This passage sums up most of the gospel rather well. God’s righteousness has been made known to us, and the Law and Prophets (the Old Testament) are supporting evidence of that. Anyone who has faith in Jesus Christ is given this righteousness. We are all alike; we have all fallen short of God’s glory. “[His glory] could mean his approval or praise, which all have forfeited, but probably refers to his image or glory in which all we made but which all fail to live up to” (pg. 109). Though we have forfeit God’s approval, we are capable of the understanding required to be justified by His grace. The reason we can comprehend such a thing is because in our acceptance and faith in Christ Jesus God’s righteousness is demonstrated.
It is interesting that justification has just now been introduced as something that is a part of God’s grace, of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross. Before, forgiveness was the only thing that was mentioned in relation to what Christ had done for us. The difference between the two is that forgiveness says, “You are free to go. The penalty that your sin deserves has been taken care of.” On the other hand, justification (also, acceptance) says, “You may come, you are welcome in my presence because you have been forgiven.” (pg. 110)
This leads me to think that without justification, we are still unfit to stand before God. God’s justification of us allows us to take part in a relationship with Him. He is our Father and so to have constant contact with Him is important and is through our justification. On the other hand, if someone forgives you for hurting them, you are let off. The person you wronged has dismissed whatever punishment or rectification you may have had to endure for hurting them, but they may not necessarily want you to be in their presence after what you’ve done. God’s righteousness is so great that He has not only forgiven us of our sins, He has taken away the punishment we would have to endure, but He has justified us and said, “I want you. Seek my face and know Me.”
Isn’t God amazing?
Randomness: Early to bed tonight. Last night was an interesting night and I stayed up rather late (or, I suppose, early).
To God be the Glory
By the time he gets to Romans 3:9-20, Paul has already exposed the varying angles of unrighteousness of the ancient Gentiles and Jewish people. Now he moves on to the rest of the human race.
Take notice of the seeming discrepancy Paul makes when comparing verses 1 and 9 of chapter 3. In verse 1 (and the beginning of 2) Paul asks what advantage there is to being a Jew and answers with “Much in every way”. In verse 9, however, he asks, “Are we Jews any better off? No, not at all.” Only by clarifying what Paul means by ‘advantage’ can we determine what he has in mind. In verse 1, we can assume that the advantage is the privilege and responsibility of being God’s chosen people and that in verse 9 his meaning is that they have not been shown favoritism and God will not exempt them from judgment. (99) Why is this? Because “we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin.” (Romans 3:9b)
“As it is written:
‘None is righteous, no, not one;
no one understands;
no one seeks for God.
All have turned aside; together they have become worthless;
no one does good,
not even one.’”
These verses (10-12) point out the ungodliness of sin. “No one seeks for God.” If we are not seeking God it is because we have not put Him before us, as stated in Psalm 14:2. If we are not seeking God, we have no room for Him in our thoughts (Psalm 10:4). Our sin is evidence of our revolting against God. Ultimately, sins is self-deification, the reckless determination to occupy the throne which belongs to God alone (pg. 100).
God’s reason for putting us here on earth is to enjoy His grace and extend His glory. Because we turned away from Him from the very beginning, God sent His Son to drink the bitter cup of His wrath in our place. He did this because through our acceptance of this wonderful gift, His glory is furthered. God blesses us because in blessing us, He receives glory. We cannot earn our salvation through works because, in doing so, we would be the ones who are glorified. No one but God deserves any glory, and this is the reason we cannot earn salvation through good deeds, living a good life, or being a good person.
Randomness: I don’t have any comments today.
Paul Addresses the Jews
On Friday I went through Paul’s admonitions to the Gentiles for their hypocrisy in verses 1 through 16 of Romans chapter 2. Now, in verses 17 through 29, Paul address the Jews. (“But if you call yourself a Jew…”)
In Paul’s address to the Jews in this passage, he reveals several things that they are both self-conscious and self-confident about which have caused them to see themselves as better than the Gentiles.
Romans 2:17- 24 “But if you call yourself a Jew and rely on the law and boast in God and know his will and approve what is excellent, because you are instructed from the law; and if you are sure that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of children, having in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth—you then who teach others, do you not teach yourself? While you preach against stealing, do you steal? You who say that one must not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? You who boast in the law dishonor God by breaking the law. For, as it is written, “The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.“
Verse 24, the highlighted verse above, seems to combine Isaiah 52:5 and Ezekiel 36:22. In both verses, God’s name has been mocked because His people had been defeated and enslaved. (pg. 92)
Mr. Stott goes on to say this about the Jews’ seeming superiority to the Gentiles:
The argument of verses 17-24 is the same in principle as that of verses 1-3, and is just as applicable to us as to first-century critical moralizers and self-confident Jews. If we judge others, we should be able to judge ourselves (1-3). If we teach others, we should be able to teach ourselves (21-24). If we set ourselves up as either teachers or judges of others, we can have no excuse if we do not teach or judge ourselves. We cannot possibly plead ignorance of moral rectitude. On the contrary, we invite God’s condemnation of our hypocrisy. (pg. 92)
The Jews seemed to think that their standing as God’s chosen people, their devoted following of the law, and that they taught others the law would keep them from God’s judgment. This is the same as trying to be good enough to earn salvation, which, sadly, many people believe will actually work. Titus 3:5 states that we are saved, not through our good works, but through Christ’s merciful sacrifice of Himself for us. Likewise, Ephesians 2:8-9 say that we have been saved through faith and not by works of righteousness so that we cannot boast of having saved ourselves (which we couldn’t possibly do, anyway). We must be cautious not to attempt to earn our salvation through our deeds, and for those who have already accepted the gift of salvation, there is a cautiousness we must have about our words and actions. We do not want to cause others to stumble or inhibit them from following Christ because of something we say or do when we do not realize we are being watched. With salvation and the changed heart that comes with it, we should have the desire to follow Jesus faithfully and adhere to God’s law, and if we do, we should not have to worry about this happening.
Randomness: Thank the Lord for autosave! I was on the second last paragraph when I accidentally searched something without first opening up a new tab and could’ve lost everything. I can’t even begin to tell you how disappointing that would have been.
Radical
Today, instead of continuing Romans (though I didn’t yesterday, either) I am going to share some excerpts from a new book I just purchased. The title is Radical: Taking Back Your Faith From the American Dream and it is written by a pastor from Birmingham, Alabama named David Platt. This book has really been opening my eyes to some concepts that I had never really taken the time to think through before. The book asks “What is Jesus worth to you?” I know that most of us would say that he is worth anything and everything to us, but though we may say that with our mouths, we do not live it.
How would you respond to someone trying to talk you out of following Christ? The following is portions taken from pages 7 through 12.
At the end of Luke 9, we find a story about three men who approached Jesus, eager to follow him. In surprising fashion, though, Jesus seems to have tried to talk them out of doing so.
The first guy said, “I will follow you wherever you go.”
Jesus responded, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” In other words, Jesus told this man that he could expect homelessness on the journey ahead. Followers of Christ are not guaranteed that even their basic need of shelter will be met.
The second man told Jesus that his father had just died. The man wanted to go back, bury his father, and then follow Jesus.
Jesus replied, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”
A third man approached Jesus and told him that he wanted to follow him, but before he did, he wanted to say good-bye to his family.
Jesus wouldn’t let him. He told the man, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.” Plainly put, a relationship with Jesus requires total, superior and exclusive devotion.
Become homeless.
Let someone else bury your dad.
Don’t even say good-bye to your family.
Is it surprising that, from all we can tell in Luke 9, Jesus was successful in persuading these men not to follow him?
Jesus was simply and boldly making it clear from the start that if you follow him, you abandon everything—your needs, your desires, even your family.
The events of Luke 9 were not isolated incidents in the life of Jesus, either. On another occasion, when surrounded by a crowd of eager followers, Jesus turned to them and remarked, “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, hist brothers and sister—yes, even his own life—he cannot be my disciple.”
Then he continued: “Anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.” Now this is taking it to another level. Pick up an instrument of torture and follow me.
As if this were not enough, Jesus finished his seeker-sensitive plea with a pull-at-your-heartstrings conclusion. “Any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple.” Give up everything you have, carry a cross, and hate your family. This sounds a lot different than “Admit, believe, confess, and pray a prayer after me.”
“Follow me” contain[s] radical implications for [our] lives.
(Okay, I’m back)
The point that the author goes on to make is that the “comfortable Christianity” that we have created for ourselves keeps many from truly experiencing Christ. Our ABCs of accepting Christ (accept, believe, confess) are a perfect picture of the gospel being misconstrued to fit our lifestyle without us needing to make any sacrifices. To quote Platt again: Our modern-day gospel says, “God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life. Therefore, follow these steps, and you can be saved.” Meanwhile, the biblical gospel says, “You are an enemy of God, dead in your sin, and in your present state of rebellion, you are not even able to see that you need life, much less to cause yourself to come to life. Therefore, you are radically dependent on God to do something in your life that you could never do.” (pg. 32)
If we could only move past our self-righteousness and see that, while God does have a wonderful plan for each and every one of our lives, we are desperately in need of Him. Not only that, but coming to grips with the idea that Jesus should be worth more to us than anything or anyone on this earth and, if need be, we should be able to gladly give any of that up for Christ.
Randomness: 1. I had the privilege of spending some time with my dear friend Hannah today. It was marvelous to be able to sit and talk with her.
2. I know I quote things rather often. It’s not because I have no thoughts of my own, it’s merely because I often find the text to be so compelling that I couldn’t possibly say it better myself when I find that I wish to share it with you.
