Testimonial Responsibility

Normally, I avoid writing about issues as politically charged as the Kim Davis situation. The reason for this is that such issues are usually so polarizing and divisive that I rarely find the resulting discussions useful. And the comment wars literally make me sick to my stomach. Let me just say that comment wars should be reserved for teens arguing over the Jacob verses Edward issue... if that's actually still a thing. Anyways, against my better judgment, here we go...

For anyone who is unaware of the situation at hand, let me summarize. Kim Davis is a county clerk in Kentucky who identifies as an apostolic Christian. The position of county clerk is an elected position with duties that range from registering voters to issuing marriage licenses. As most of you are aware, the Supreme Court ruled that homosexual couples are guaranteed the same marital rights as straight couple based on their interpretation of the constitutional amendment which made marriage licenses a thing. Kim Davis ceased the issuing of any marriage licenses following the judges ruling based on her moral opposition to homosexuality. It should be noted that she ceased the issuing of all marriage licenses, both traditional and same-sex, in order to avoid any accusations of discrimination. Mrs. Davis has taken this stand based on her belief that Gods law supercedes that of the governing body under which she serves. She also claims protection under her states religious freedom protection laws. She was recently jailed after being held in contempt of the courts for disregarding the courts ruling against her position. She was subsequently released after her subordinates resumed the issuing of all marriage licenses in her absence.

I'm not going to go into the legal aspects of this case too deeply as they don't actually relate to my position on the subject.

First, let me say that I do in fact believe that a Christian's religious convictions should govern his or her life over the laws and customs of the country in which he or she lives. We are indeed held to a higher standard by a much higher power in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I certainly hope, should I find myself in a position in which I have to choose between standing behind my religious convictions and bowing to the pressures of my society, that I have the strength of character to stand my ground. That being said, I hope that I have the discernment to choose my battles wisely and set my courses of action in a way that truly glorifies God and subsequently brings people to Him.

We answer to a higher power. We can also claim a higher calling. We are called to be “little Christs.” It is our calling to show people the love and grace of our Savior and do our best to bring them to a saving knowledge of Him through our testimony as well as a clear presentation of the gospel. As I view the Davis situation through the window of secular media outlets, I must come to the conclusion that Mrs. Davis' actions have failed to accomplish this calling in any capacity whatsoever.

Every decision we make should be made only after viewing the situation in question through the lens of testimonial responsibility. In other words, we must ask ourselves which action will bring God the most glory. Which course of action will most effectively show the world God's love? What can we do that will show the world the joys of being in God's family?

Sometimes, we as Christians have to choose whether to defend our government-given rights or to further our God-given cause. On occasion, we have the opportunity to do both, but often we sacrifice our testimony on the alter of self-martyrdom. After-all, is it really our job to change the world or is it simply our job to show the world that change is a possibility through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior?

I'm not going to tell you how you should feel about the situation. All I ask is that you put some thought into your position on the subject before you place yourself one side of the argument or the other. The fact of the matter is this: there are not simply two sides to the issue.

Did Jesus die for the sins of the world?

Let me tell you a story. About two thousand and some odd years ago, a man unlike any other died a horribly painful death as a sacrifice for the sins of the world. This man was Jesus Christ, the Son of God. You see, here's the thing. Everyone on the world is guilty of something serious enough to separate them from God. That thing is sin. God did not want the people of the world to be separated from Him so He sent His Son to pay the debt for the sins of the world. That is the story of salvation. One perfect sacrifice for the sins of the world.

Here's the other thing. Jesus didn't die for the sins of the world. He died for the sins of the individual. He died for your sins just as He died for my sins. My point is this. Jesus did not do a cost-benefit analysis at the foot of the cross to decide whether or not the shedding of His blood would save enough people to be worth the sacrifice. He could have, mind you. He very well could have looked into the future at every person who would potentially accept His gift of salvation and determined at that point, if the number of souls saved from eternal damnation would ultimately be worth the pain and humiliation of His death on cross. But he didn't. In fact, I have recently become convinced that if you or I were the only person left on this earth to save, and no one else would ever accept the love Jesus offered them, He would have gone through all that anyways. Just for you. Just for me.

In case you have a problem with this, allow me another paragraph or two to walk you through my reasoning.

God has been watching out for the individual since he created Adam. When the world became so wicked that God decided to flood it, He noticed one man who still worshiped him. He reached out to Noah and gave him a way to save himself and his family. Noah built an ark using plans directly from God. This ark was something that had never been built before. I would say it was the Titanic of its day except that there had never been a boat of any kind built before the ark and it was designed by God, so it actually was unsinkable. God knew that Noah's descendents would eventually develop such a superiority complex that they would attempt the construction of a tower that they intended to reach heaven. The result of their efforts was basically, the need for the Rosetta Stone. God saved Noah anyways.

When Sodom and Gomorrah reach the height of their depravity, God decided it was time for them to go. Fire and Brimstone was the fate that awaited them. Abraham, on having heard Gods plan for these wicked cities, plead with God for the life of his nephew, Lot. God still carried out his plans for Sodom and Gomorrah, but He created an escape for Lot and his family. He sent a couple angels directly to Lots door. These angels told Lot and his family to leave the city and they did. This family of individuals left the city and reached safety in the caves with the exception of Lots wife. God knew that Lot's daughters would eventually get their father drunk and commit incest with him for fear of having no offspring. The results of these acts were Moab and Ben-ammi. Moab was the father of the Moabites. This group of people was more or less at constant odds with the Israelites. The nation spawned by the Ben-ammi wasn't much better. Their relationships were so strained that the Israelites chose to go into the wilderness after escaping slavery in Egypt rather than go through the land of the Moabites or the Ammonites. God very well could have listened to Abraham's pleas for his nephews life and said, “Look, Abraham. I could save Lot. But if I do, two nations will be born that will cause trouble for Your descendents for centuries. I've done a cost-benefit analysis of the situation and it's really better in the long run if I allow Lot to perish with the rest of the city.” Instead, he saved Lot and his family anyways. He also used the Moabites in the lineage of Jesus through Ruth.

All throughout history, God has directly intervened in the lives of individuals. He saved these people before they had a chance to earn His help and despite their sinful natures. Many of these people went on to be used greatly by God. Consider David, Peter, and Paul. Some went on to disappoint. Consider Saul of the Old Testament who, despite repeatedly being given opportunity after opportunity to repent, died an enemy of God. Consider also Judas Iscariot. He spent three and a half years walking with Jesus and ended up betraying his Lord to the Romans and Jewish leaders.

My point is this. Jesus, being the Son of God, died that horrible death on that cross all those years ago, because God is interested in saving you.

The lenses for Sin

Lets take a moment to talk about sin. Sin is defined as an immoral act specifically against divine law. We can argue about the divine law part, but that's not really the direction I'm going here. I am writing from the position that God is the divine being to whom we are accountable. Period. Now that I have that established we can move on to the point of this post.

I believe that most people would agree that we are all guilty of sinning in some way, shape, or form. If there is any doubt, we can look to the ten commandments for confirmation of our lacking in perfection. There is not a person alive who hasn't coveted, lied, or stolen.

There are two general ways that sin is viewed. The first is through a societal lens and the second is through a divine lens. It would probably be more appropriate to switch the order of these since God, being responsible for the divine lens has existed for ever. However, this is the order in which I will be discussing them.

The societal lens refers to the way we as humans view sin. We look at various sins and rate the severity of a sin based on the effect it has on the society as a whole. For instance, infidelity is not illegal in America because it doesn't have a direct effect on the society as a whole. In this case, the cheater, the mistress and the spouse are theoretically the only ones affected by this sin. Therefore, there are no laws against it.

However, theft has an effect on the local economy. If someone steals a car, the dollar amount of that car has been removed from the local economy. The car lot must suffer the loss of the value of the car from their inventory. This affects their ability to pay their employees and may possibly cause their insurance rates to go up. The insurance company may seek to recover their losses by increasing the rates of all the car lots in the area, burdening the local economy in a broader sense. Because of the effect of this sin, the perpetrator will be fined over $1000 and imprisoned in a federal facility for at least one year.

Murder removes a person from a society forever and effectively squelches any potential that person had for contributing to society. By killing someone, one destroys anything that person might have become whether it be good or bad. Society takes this very seriously. Murder is considered one of the worst sins by societal standards and is punishable by life in prison or the death penalty.

The societal lens is very useful. It allows us to provide second chances for those guilty of “lessor” crimes and give them a chance to contribute to society.

The divine lens gives us an entirely different view of sin. God looks at all sin as being the same. Where society arranges sin by severity based on the effect it has on the community, God sees all sin as the same. This is something the we as humans struggle with. The average citizen is probably guilty of speeding, lying on occasion and coveting his neighbors boat. This citizen would cringe at being placed in the same category as a murderer or rapist. But to God, we are in the same category.

Let me explain. God places us in two categories. Those with Him and those separated from Him. It doesn't take much to separate us from God. All it takes is sin. One sin. Any one sin. God is perfect and does not tolerate imperfection in his presence. It doesn't matter how close to perfect you think you are, you're not close enough.

Think of two glasses of water. One of them has one single solitary pellet of rat poison in it. You can look into the glass and see the pellet sitting conspicuously on the bottom. The other glass has five pellets of rat poison in it. Which glass are you going to drink? I'm guessing you said neither because one pellet of rat poison is enough to separate you from that water. That is how I view sin. One single solitary sin is enough to make me unworthy of stepping into Gods presence.

To summarize, God looks at all sin the same because every sin has the same effect on our relationship with Him.

Now, here is my point. We as Christians have the inside scoop. We know better than to categorize our sins based on severity. This should make it easier for us to relate to unbelievers. It should make it easier for us to leave our judgmental tendencies behind when we're reaching out to non-believers. The problem is that we forget that we were once every bit as separated from God as the murderers on death row. We forget that we all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. We forget that Jesus Came not to call the righteous but the sinners. We forget that we are all in the same boat without God and that boat is sinking straight to Hell. We as the followers of Christ need to stop looking at sin through the societal lens and view it as God does. Only then can we reach out to minister to those around us where they are.

Comprehending the incomprehensible

I have recently been struck by the amount of people struggling to understand God. I have read several articles written by people in religious circles, each revolving around a particular issue pertaining to our Lord and Savior which has been particularly difficult for each respective author to understand. (An example of a topic of an article could be the eternal nature of God) Typically, the authors will work through the problem using every form of logic and several historical references and arrive at a conclusion. Unfortunately, I feel that many of these conclusions fall short or attempt to limit God in some way.

These discussions are good. They spur us into productive lines of reasoning and get us thinking deeply on subjects of spirituality. It's important to think about our God and how He relates to us.  Here's the problem as I see it. We have this idea that we must come to a conclusion regardless of whether or not we are capable of coming to the correct conclusion.

Our God is infinite in nature. Has always existed and always will. God created the entire universe, a universe that scientists have yet to find the edge of, in six days. And He created it out of nothing. As a carpenter, I build things all the time. Projects such as bookcases, toy chests, amioures, and end tables have all come out of my small shop. However, I wouldn't even think of starting a project without lumber. I'm not talking about a tree. I need boards cut to a regular thickness and width. I need fasteners, glue and tools. And more often than not, I need a lot more than six days. This is all for something that can be built in my twenty by twenty foot shop. God created a universe out of nothing. And what he made is beautiful beyond compare. Romans 1:20 says For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.


Gods love is unbelievable. Thousands of people go to hell every week because they don't believe it. God loves the worst of us so much that He gave His only Son as a sacrifice for us. Jesus died for the worst rapist and murderer who has ever walked this earth. His love is so infinite that He loves that guy. He loves that guy so much, He wants to spend eternity with him in heaven. I'm not sure I would care to spend a half hour in the same building with him let alone eternity. I most certainly would not give my son as a sacrifice for his sins. I wouldn't sacrifice my son for the best of us. But God did. And His love will be a constant for eternity. 1Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good, For His lovingkindness is everlasting. 2Give thanks to the God of gods, For His lovingkindness is everlasting. Psalms 136:1-2

We are far from infinite. I don't know a single person who would argue with me on this point. In the scope of this universe, we're tiny. For centuries, humankind has struggled to build empires to define themselves and set themselves apart in history. The Egyptians and the Mayans built pyramids. The Greeks built the Parthenon and the Romans, the Colosseum. America is responsible for the Mount Rushmore National Monument. The French, the Eiffel Tower. Every one of these structures is a man made marvel. every one of these is already showing signs of decay, some more than others. No matter how hard we try we can't begin to match Gods creation.

The only conclusion i can come to is this. God is infinite in everything. We are finite in everything. Job 36:26 tells us this. "Look, God is greater than we can understand. His years cannot be counted." For me to try to fully understand God in his infinite nature is live trying to park a Panzer tank in a single car garage. Something is going to break and it's not going to be the tank. Ephesians 2:8 tells us "For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God." God calls us to have faith because He knows that He is beyond our comprehension. We don't need to have the answers for everything. 2 Timothy 3:16 says All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness. If the Bible doesn't specifically address an issue, there's a good chance I don't need to understand it. This is not to say that we shouldn't seek the answers to the big spiritual questions. We should just be prepared for the possibility that they might be beyond our understanding.

Personally, I would rather follow a God I cannot fully understand. It makes it harder for me to co-occupy His throne.

the circumstances or the man?

I've been doing a lot of thinking lately. We've been talking a lot about idols in our church and how they can prevent us from becoming the people God intends us to be. It's been making me think a lot about various situations in my life that have been frustrating me in the last several months; Circumstances that I have found myself in that are completely outside of the realm of my control. I then began to reevaluate what I was asking God for in these different situations. The following are some observations of what I feel I have learned.

The first situation is the ordeal of buying a house. Who would have thought that purchasing a piece of property could be so much trouble and the source of so much frustration? The process was delayed over and over with one frustrating situation after another. Over and over I prayed that God would work this out so that we could get the house and get the situation resolved. I was so frustrated with the way things were going. I just wanted a place to call home. A place for my family to grow. Is that such a bad thing? I prayed over and over for this situation to come to some resolution. It just didn't seem like it was ever going to end.

The second situation was my job. Like many Americans with a degree, I am working a job that requires no education higher than a high school diploma. The work is hard and the days are long. I work with a group of men that are more brawny than brainy, who utilize a vocabulary more colorful than a box of crayolas. I get along with everybody just fine. However, I struggle to see a future for me in this company. I've prayed that God would open a door for me to a job within my field of study. I've prayed for a job closer to home. I've prayed for a job that would pay more. I've prayed for almost any job other than the one I have. This employment situation left me with frustrations above and beyond that of any job I have ever held.

Third... finances... ahh yes, the problem that everything that we need costs money. And the additional problem that your expenses will always rise to meet and sometimes exceed your income. This is not just a theory. This isn't just a business principal. This is in the Bible. Ecclesiastes 5:11 says “When goods increase, they increase who eat them, and what advantage has their owner but to see them with his eyes?” How can I pray against a Biblical principal? I did anyways. I prayed for a better paying job. I prayed for 'the wisdom to practice good stewardship'. I prayed for the ability to provide for the family that the Lord has blessed me with.

I prayed all these things. All of them good. All of them right. Here's the problem.

I prayed them to fit my agenda. I prayed that God would work my plans out for me. I never asked Him to show me the plans he had for me. He knows the plans he has for me. That's in the Bible too. Jeremiah 29:11... His plans are even good. But I didn't want to give my situations over to Him completely because then, I would have to accept his solutions. I wasn't ready to trust him with that much.

I didn't understand why the creator of the universe couldn't reach down into my life for just a second and work with me a little. All He had to do was adjust a couple little problems for me. That should be easy for the guy who created the world out of nothing in six days, right?

All I wanted from him was to change my circumstances.

God wanted to change me.

God wanted to use my issues to mold me into the man He wants me to become. Like the potter with the clay, He has a vision in His mind of the father/husband/employee/man that he wants to have before him when He pulls me out of the kiln.

How many times to we ask God to remove us from the wheel when we're still a lump of clay, useless and without form? How many times do we complain about the heat when He's firing us in the kiln of life to strengthen us in our relationship with Him? What clay vessel has ever come into existence knowing exactly what it was to become? I'll tell you the answer to the last question. None. Because even the lifeless lump of clay knows better than to think that it could form itself into a beautiful, useful vessel without the potters strong, firm hands.

For now, these situations are still unresolved. That's Okay. I am resolved to allow God to work His supreme will through every one of them. The circumstances that I find myself in are simply the means to an end. I hope that my prayer, from here on out, will be that God changes not the circumstances, but the man in the circumstances. Only then will I become the man he intends for me to be. Only then will I become the means by which He furthers His Kingdom.

not religious...why not?

We’ve all been in this situation…

“hi… my name is ___ I’m a Christian”

“so you’re religious, then?”

“It’s not religion… it’s a relationship”

What does that really mean? Religion as defined by Webster’s dictionary as the service and worship of God or the supernatural: commitment or devotion to religious faith or observance. Is that not what Christianity is? We build our lives around the belief that we are created by,  and therefore held accountable to, a supreme, supernatural and omniscient being to whom we refer to as God. There’s a word that we’ve decided to use to specifically describe our relationship with God. That word is religion. Other belief systems have adopted our term because they wanted to be accountable to a less powerful being based on human traits. However, since our God is eternal, they were forced to pattern their belief system after the one true religion. Does this mean that it is in our best interest to throw the term away entirely? I think not.

                The bible uses several comparisons to help us to understand the nature of our relationship with God. The reason for this is simple. It is impossible for finite beings to fully understand an infinite God. These comparisons are very helpful. However, in our humanity we make applications where applications shouldn’t be made. For instance, if you tell someone that God is your heavenly father, they might assume he’s absent from your life or that he’s abusive. If you claim Him as the eternal judge, they may picture him as one to be paid off for personal gain. If He’s your great physician, he’s an egotistical narcissist who holds control over your well-being. I could go on, but I digress.

                My point is, because of our humanity, our relationship with our savior is extremely hard to describe. He is a being that is full of paradoxes. He’s the Lion of the tribe of Judah and he’s the sacrificial Lamb. He lived a life of a servant so that He could be our sacrifice. He allowed himself to be beaten and perceived as weak, so that we could witness His power for eternity. He cannot abide sin; however He desires a relationship with the sinner. So yes, it is a relationship. However, it is also a religion. What other term can one use to describe an eternal relationship between mere humans and an infinite God who deserves our worship?

                But it’s such an antiquated term, you say. Do you know what else is antiquated? God’s love. God has been the same for an eternity past and will be the same forever. His love existed before time itself. Before he created time for us, He loved us with a love beyond our comprehension. Our lives as Christians are to be lived with Christ as our center. Every decision we make should be made in the context of eternity. We are servants of the most high God. It’s time we accepted the social stigma of being religious.  After all, in the context of eternity…this life is but a vapor.

Salvation Upgrade

A man died and went to heaven. He was greeted at the pearly gates by Saint Peter who was wearing a long sleeved dress shirt, tie and khakis.

“Where’s your robe” he asked jokingly.

Saint Peter chuckled and replied, “It’s casual Friday. Come on into my office while I pull up your account, John.” He continued.

He sat down at a desk and began typing on his celestial computer…

“Hmm, I see you received Jesus as your personal savior when you were twelve years old at summer camp… good… graduated high school… went to college…” there was a long pause.

Peter looked up from the computer with a disappointed look on his face.

“What’s the matter?” John inquired, “Is there something wrong?”

“Well,” Peter explained. “Our records indicate that you did receive Christ as your savior. That’s good. However, as we look into your account further we find that you never upgraded your salvation from the ‘1985 free edition’ to the ‘new millennium full edition’.”

“What does that mean?” John asked in a confused tone.

“Well, since you accepted the free edition and never upgraded, you’re only mostly saved.” Peter explained

“I didn’t realize that I could be mostly saved. I thought it was a free gift that covered all my sins!” John exclaimed.

Peter sighed as he explained “It is a free gift. There are just a few minor requirements as laid out in the fourth book of Maccabees. In order to upgrade to the ‘new millennium full version’ of salvation you would have had to either dedicate your life to the clergy, or die a martyr’s death. And before you ask,” peter added, interrupting Johns next question before he could ask, “the book of Maccabees is in the apocryphal books which the early church decided didn’t make the cut for the Gutenberg Bible. They were right on most of them, but I’m afraid they got one wrong.”

“Well, what does that mean for me now?” John asked dumbfounded.

“It means that you’re saved, but Lucifer still has partial custody.” Peter paused and then continued realizing that John didn’t understand what he was trying to say. “It means that you still go to heaven, but you have to visit hell every second and fourth weekend. By the way… this is the second Friday of the month so… see you Monday.”

Note from the author: it is important for the reader to understand that this short story does not reflect my personal beliefs. It is simply a humorous story intended to get the reader thinking about this… God does not limit his free gift of salvation. Why should we limit our ‘free’ service to Him?

-Scott Henning