Justinroy

Sincere gospel confusion is a term I have coined for sincere Christians who teach something other than gospel.  The “sincere” might lead you to believe that I am being gentle, or that I don’t understand the severity of the issue.  Maybe I’m guilty of that at times, but I  understand the weightiness of mixing the gospel with worldly wisdom.

Usually gospel confusion is found in the form of behavior modification.  A sincere gospel confuser will teach and preach that “you need to change your attitude” or “try harder” or “be accepting”.  Preachers slip into behavior modification  when they want to start teaching something “relevant”, something that the people can “take home.”

Having a  new attitude and being a better person are not bad things to do,  they’re just not the gospel; it may be the result of the gospel, hence the futility in preaching those things to people who don’t know the gospel.  Preachers miss the concept that “trying harder”  or “attitude adjustment” don’t come from within ourselves, they come from the power of the gospel.  So, it does zero good to preach “try harder”, without allowing the gospel to change a persons heart. We can scold people when they do wrong. We can reward people when they do good, but this is nothing more than Pavlov’s dog , no heart change.

Behavior modification can never change a persons heart. Our hearts are wicked and bent  in constant rebellion.

What’s entertaining, but ultimately sad, is when we teach behavior modification along with the gospel. Here are a few equations for you:

Gospel + Behavior Modification = nongospel

Gospel + Anything = nongospel

We must be  careful that we are only preaching the gospel of God and nothing else.

Night Photography is one of my favorite things. I love the hassle of positioning the tripod just right. The anticipation, waiting for the shutter to snap, is like the cream in the middle of an Oreo- it’s delicious, it’s awkward and you don’t experience it  much. The shutter usually  opens for a 100th of a second, but with night photography, you can leave it open as long as you want. Night photography is usually a hit or miss; it’s trial and error.  All in all, we got some pretty good shots, however, the most memorable part of the trip wasn’t the pictures we took, but the ones we were afraid to take.

While we were driving/walking around downtown Cincinnati at 3 am, we met, or at least saw, many interesting people. They were the poorest of the poor. The prostitutes and homeless. Here I am walking around with enough camera equipment to probably pay their rent for a few months.  I’m actually ashamed that I didn’t help anyone. I was afraid.

Jesus came for the poor and the broken. My heart was burdened for them, but not broken. I want my heart to break for the weak and the poor. We saw a 23 year old girl selling herself on the street. Should I have purchased her for the night and taken her for coffee? Do I consider my own safety? Would she even listen to me?

Jesus came for those in need. He was a friend of sinners. He ate with the wretched. He is their savior.

Much has changed since I posted last.

I’ve come to realize that things don’t always go the way I plan.  I had planned to be far  from Claxton by the time I was 23.  I’m not sure what I thought I’d be doing, but I didn’t think it would be here. The tendency in young, optimistic  adults  to move away and become “someone“and do “something” is inspiring, but it’s not always biblical.  God has commanded us to be a vessel for him, not for ourselves. I had this prideful  attitude toward ministry and I’m sure it still lingers in my heart.

I’m still not sure where God is taking me.  But, for this semester, I will be in Claxton, Ga working and living with the people I love the most.  I will be continuing my Seminary education online, for now.

It’s inauguration day! (well, I think it’s actually the day after now).

The sky is changing colors. The trees are dead, but new life is on the way. This is my life right now.

Good luck Obama.