What Is Real About Reality TV?

I was recently listening to a podcast by The Gospel Coalition entitled "Going Deeper with TGC."  The topic was My Top 10 Theology Stories of2013 by Mark Mellinger, as interviewed by Colin Hansen. One of them asked an interesting question in the interview: "What is real about Reality TV?"  That grabbed my attention, because it was meant to be rhetorical.  The answer is nothing!    Reality TV is not real. 

Reality television is a type of program that attempts to show actual events and it seems to usually employ characters that aren't known to be movie stars (although that is not always true).   I read that it started in about the 1990s but by all accounts on my satellite provider's program listing, it is exploding!   In our home we watch such things as restaurant makeovers to Duck Dynasty.  From 'little people' to people with huge families, these shows seem to attract a huge audience – all on the pretense of reality!

So what is reality? The dictionary tells us it’s a noun that is:

1. The quality or state of being actual or true; or
2. That which exists objectively and in fact.

This hunger for reality is a tell-tale sign of the human frustration.  There is a sense where reality escapes all of us.  This quote is attributed to Heraclitus of Ephesus: “No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it's not the same river and he's not the same man.”  Everyone of us and everything in nature is in flux – changing.  There is only one being that is a true being.  As Dr. R.C. Sproul says, "God is being, not becoming, not changing. He is eternally the same. And so we say there’s one being."  We are becoming.  We are changing.  God is always the same.

In that sense there is but one reality in the universe: God. In Exodus 3:11-14 God reveals Himself to be “Ehyeh-Asher-Ehyeh” (I Am who I Am).  "[He] replied, I AM THAT I AM, using the verb to be (Heb hāyāh). It means "I am the One who is" . . . This is also supported by LXX reading: egō ei’mi o‘ ōn. God expressed the unchanging, eternal, self-existence of His being." [1]

God is always "I am".  He is eternal.  He is unchanging.  He can never be better than He was yesterday.  He needs no improvement.  God is the ultimate Reality.

Perhaps the hunger for Reality TV is a hidden passion to find something that is actually true – actually the way it is.  Many today are longing for that reality but don't know where to find it.  The Apostle Paul makes it clear: It is “. . . the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God . . . Jesus Christ as Lord . . ..” (2 Corinthians 4:4–5, ESV)  


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1. KJV Bible Commentary. 1994 (E. E. Hindson & W. M. Kroll, Ed.) (124). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.

 

 

The Christmas Angels Were Calvinists!

Author and pastor, Anthony Carter writes, “Our world is fond of talking about peace. We hold peace summits and rallies. We establish peace accords and treaties. We even hand out peace prizes . . . Yet, for all of its summits, accords, and Nobel Prizes, the world has not achieved peace . . ..”[1]  Of course you don't need to be a pastor or author to know that.  The world knows that!  Yet 2000 years ago a message came to the world through angels to shepherds: 

 “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men” (Luke 2:14, AV) (or so reads the King James Version.)

Paul identifies that this pronouncement of peace came at a great cost to our Savior.  In Colossians 1:19–20 (ESV).

¹⁹ For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, ²⁰ and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.

Christ came as the Prince of Peace that through the Cross He might provide peace to men and women. But unlike the translation omission of the King James Version, this peace just doesn't naturally fall upon everyone.  The ESV like the NASB, translates the angel’s announcement this way: ““Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”” (Luke 2:14, ESV).   The NIV renders the verse “. . . on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”” (Luke 2:14, NIV).

Our English Bibles seem to struggle with this announcement.  How do we properly communicate it?  As I study the text it seems as if the translators go around the issue.  So how should we understand what the angels are communicating?  Well Luke uses the same phrase in chapter 10. The NIV seems to capture the idea so well.  Notice what it says,

“At that time Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this is what you were pleased to do.” (Luke 10:21, NIV)

Now that phrase "what you were pleased to do" is the same phrase used by the angels.  Matthew also uses this phrase (the only other time it is used in the Gospels).  Notice what he writes (Again I'm using the NIV): “At that time Jesus said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this is what you were pleased to do.” (Matthew 11:25–26, NIV)

Consistently again the idea being conveyed by this word "what you were pleased to do." So if we were going to maintain our consistency, we must conclude that the angels' announcement conveys the idea that God peace is given to those whom "He is pleased to give to."  Daryll Bock, who has written an exceptional commentary on Luke and Acts notes:

"The praise of the heavenly host offers honor to God and peace to men on whom his favor rests. This last phrase is not a declaration of universal salvation but refers to those who are the special objects of God's grace . . . They are the "saved" or the "elect," those on whom God has bestowed the favor of his grace."[2]

This is supported by the original text as noted by the NET Bible notation.  I quote:

"'Most witnesses (א² B² L Θ Ξ Ψ Ë^1,13 Ï sy bo) have ἐν ἀνθρώποις εὐδοκία (en anqrwpoi" eudokia, “good will among people”) instead of ἐν ἀνθρώποις εὐδοκίας (en anqrwpoi" eudokia", “among people with whom he is pleased”), a reading attested by א* A B* D W pc (sa). Most of the Itala witnesses and some other versional witnesses reflect a Greek text which has the genitive εὐδοκίας but drops the preposition ἐν. Not only is the genitive reading better attested, but it is more difficult than the nominative.' The meaning seems to be, not that divine peace can be bestowed only where human good will is already present, but that at the birth of the Saviour God’s peace rests on those whom he has chosen in accord with his good pleasure” (TCGNT 111)."[3]

The point is that God’s peace is not something people, earn, it is gift – a gift given according to the delights of His own good pleasure of God’s will. When we truly experience God’s peace we learn that it is all of grace.  It is a gift.  John MacArthur notes: "The verb form of the same word is used in 3:22; 12:32. In each case, it refers to God’s sovereign good pleasure. So a better rendering here might be “peace toward men on whom God’s sovereign pleasure rests.”^[4]

A faithful rendering of the text this Christmas will not avoid the notion that peace and reconciliation are gracious gifts of the Father, bestowed upon those whom He has sovereignly and freely chosen.  “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.” (Ephesians 1:7–10, ESV).

The Christmas angels believed in the sovereign, merciful electing love of God in Christ. 

 

 

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[1] Carter; Anthony (2013-03-19). Blood Work (p. 61). Reformation Trust Publishing. Kindle Edition.

[2] http://www.biblegateway.com/resources/commentaries/IVP-NT/Luke/Birth-Jesus

[3] http://classic.net.bible.org/passage.php?passage=Luk%202:8-14#n22

^[4] The MacArthur Study Bible. 1997 (J. MacArthur, Jr., Ed.) (electronic ed.) (1515). Nashville, TN: Word Pub.

How Do You Apologize?

The current news out of Toronto involving Mayor Rob Ford raises the question, "How do you apologize?"  Back in 2006, Marvin Olasky, made some interesting statements about this.  For instance he wrote:

• "Requests for human forgiveness should be directed straightforwardly to the individuals sinned against.
• "Those who are caught should not plea bargain." (Some of what I said was true.)
• "It's not adequate to say, when criticized, I was just kidding."
• "It's also too bad when people to preserve their political or job status have to pretend they didn't mean what they meant."
• "Nor do two wrongs make a right."

The origin of the word 'apology' tended to lean toward self-justification, but today's cultural expectation lands more in the category of "saying your sorry." Marvin Olasky poignantly and brilliantly summarizes the best response to wrongdoing by a simple statement "to the offended human party and to God as well. 'I was wrong. Please forgive me.'"

My mother's sage wisdom taught me that when you say you are sorry, you are intent on not repeating it. Does this go without saying? She got that, I believe, from 2 Corinthians 7:10 [1]. In that passage, Paul, commended the Corinthians for their apologetic behaviour.  This is what he wrote:

“Just see what this godly sorrow produced in you! Such earnestness, such concern to clear yourselves, such indignation, such alarm, such longing to see me, such zeal, and such a readiness to punish wrong. You showed that you have done everything necessary to make things right.” (2 Corinthians 7:11, NLT) 

Did you see that?  "Do everything necessary to make things right."  That's a great standard for an apology.



  


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1. For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.

Not All Exaggerations Are Lies.

When the fish story is exaggerated; and the white-tail buck scores bigger in the narrative than on the tape, that's a lie.  But not all exaggerations are lies.  Some exaggerations are called hyperboles. A hyperbole is a means of speaking that is intended to make a strong impression.  It is never to be taken literally. An hyper, hyperbole is immediately recognized by that reality. A hyperbole is an overstatement as compared to a situation that is understated. When you are stuck in the mud, up to the floor boards and say, "I think I'm in trouble here;" that is understated.  To bring in the groceries for your wife and say, "This bag weighs a ton;" is overstated.

"Jesus used a hyperbole to impress His listeners with the gravity of sin. It would be better to sever a member of the body than to keep it and go to hell." [1]

 ““Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea. And if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than with two hands to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire. And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame than with two feet to be thrown into hell. And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into hell, ‘where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.’” (Mark 9:42–48, ESV)

Overstatements are not intended to minimize the situation, but to show its severity.  People who deny eternal suffering claiming that the Bible is just using metaphors fail to understand the role of the hyperbole.  But we who are Christians might also make a similar error.  Understanding grace and forgiveness may lead us to minimize the severity of sin.   "Jesus is not demanding the excision of our bodily members; he is demanding the cessation of the sinful activities of these members. Radical spiritual surgery is demanded. Nothing less is at stake than life, eternal life (cf. v. 47, where "kingdom of God" stands in parallel to "life" in vv. 43, 45)." (Expositor's Bible Commentary).

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1.  KJV Bible Commentary. 1994 (E. E. Hindson & W. M. Kroll, Ed.) (1988). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.

The Unique Relationship of Prayer and Faith

“And he said to them, “This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer”” (Mark 9:29, ESV).  So reads the NIV and NASB.  The King James Version reads: “And he said unto them, This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting.” (Mark 9:29, AV).  Matthew records the same narrative this way: “He said to them, “Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.”” (Matthew 17:20, ESV).

There is a direct connection between faith and prayer.  It likely is something like: prayerlessness equates to faithlessness. "Apparently they had taken for granted the power given them or had come to believe that it was inherent in themselves. So they no longer depended prayerfully on God for it, and their failure showed their lack of prayer."  (Expositor's Bible Commentary).    But the opposite might be true also.  Not only with faithlessness produce prayerlessness, but prayerlessness produces faithlessness.  But of course the positive is this: even the minute faith of a mustard seed will lead us to pray which in turn stimulates greater faith.

What Did The Pharisees And Herod Have In Common?

I've heard a lot about Pharisaism but never before did I notice it's connection with King Herod. It is recorded in Mark 8:11, "Watch out; beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod."  As this Study Bible notes: "The Pharisees and Herod seem to be an odd combination."[1] What is the connection with Herod?  The KJV Bible Commentary continues with this reasonable explanation: "Matthew unites the Pharisees and the Sadducees (Matthew 16:6) with a common leaven, If Herod belonged to the Sadducee sect, as many scholars believe, the common denominator would be their attachment to a false religion." [1]  "They were the deists or sceptics of that age." [2] Jesus called them hypocrites, wicked and adulterous (Matthew 16:1–4; 22:23).  The did not believe in the doctrine of the resurrection.

I think another possibility is that Jesus did not equate the concept of Herod with him as a person, but with a group that are called Herodians.  They were a Jewish political party who sympathized with the Herodian rulers in their general policy of government, and in the social customs which they introduced from Rome. They were at one with the Sadducees in holding the duty of submission to Rome, and of supporting the Herods on the throne.[2]

Now the Pharisees were "noted for their self-righteousness and their pride (Matthew 9:11; Luke 7:39; 18:11, 12)." [2]  But if Christ meant to warn the disciples of a common "leaven" that existed between the Pharisees and Herodians it had to be that the both hated Christ and sought to obstruct His Messianic mission. “The Pharisees went out and immediately held counsel with the Herodians against him, how to destroy him.” (Mark 3:6, ESV).

"What seems like an innocent, indeed legitimate request for a sign (on Herod’s desire for miracles, see Luke 23:8) is actually a rejection of His ministry and all His previous signs." [3] Could it be that self-righteous pride, hypocrisy and rationalism really obstruct the ministry and work of Christ? These attitudes lead us to being enemies of Christ rather than followers of Christ. Submission to rules or rulers apart from Christ position us as foes of Christ, not followers.

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1. KJV Bible Commentary. 1994 (E. E. Hindson & W. M. Kroll, Ed.) (1985). Nashville: Thomas Nelson
2. Easton, M. G. (1893). Easton’s Bible dictionary. New York: Harper & Brothers.
3. Whitlock, L. G., Sproul, R. C., Waltke, B. K., & Silva, M. (1995). The Reformation study Bible: Bringing the light of the Reformation to Scripture: New King James Version (Mk 8:15). Nashville: T. Nelson.

In A Single Moment

Revelation 18:1-4 is a vision of God's judgment on Babylon.  Babylon, not a particular place or city, but a religious system and worldview of massive proportions that is bent on power and wealth. The people of God are called to come out of such cultures.

“Then I heard another voice from heaven saying, “Come out of her, my people, lest you take part in her sins, lest you share in her plagues;” (Revelation 18:4, ESV)

The demise of Babylon in God's judgment is emphasized:

• “Therefore, these plagues will overtake her in a single day— death and mourning and famine. She will be completely consumed by fire, for the Lord God who judges her is mighty.”” (Revelation 18:8, NLT)
• “They will stand at a distance, terrified by her great torment. They will cry out, “How terrible, how terrible for you, O Babylon, you great city! In a single moment God’s judgment came on you.”” (Revelation 18:10, NLT)
• “In a single moment all the wealth of the city is gone!” And all the captains of the merchant ships and their passengers and sailors and crews will stand at a distance.” (Revelation 18:17, NLT)
• “And they will weep and throw dust on their heads to show their grief. And they will cry out, “How terrible, how terrible for that great city! The shipowners became wealthy by transporting her great wealth on the seas. In a single moment it is all gone.”” (Revelation 18:19, NLT)

 

This is how fast we can lose it all.  We need to distance ourselves from worldliness.  The things of the world can disappear in an instant.