Chris Carr | August 11, 2011
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Week in Review

This is a little late, but here are some of the links from my time on the web last week:

Internet – Here are some staggering stats on Internet pornography.

Purity – speaking of pornography, here’s an excellent recent message on the topic of purity.

Over-churched Children – Doug Wolter has an excellent article on how not to over-church your children. His point about the Gospel is especially helpful.

Global Poverty - Global poverty is a huge issue, and Ed Stetzer provides some ways in which you can get involved in alleviating it right now.

Quote of the Week

When men talk of a little hell it’s because they think they have only a little sin and believe in a little Savior. – Spurgeon

Category: Week in Review |
Chris Carr | August 7, 2011
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Jonah and Repentance

Another issue that comes out quite clearly in Jonah is the matter of repentance. Jonah and the Ninevites give us a great example of the contrast between what Paul calls worldly sorrow and godly sorrow in 2 Corinthians 7:7-11.

Jonah certainly has his time of repentance while in the belly of the fish – he seems genuinely contrite for his disobedience. And his willingness to go to Nineveh when God calls him a second time seems to show that he finally “got it.” However, chapter 4 reveals the fact that what appeared to be godly sorrow on Jonah’s part was simply regret over the consequences – what Paul calls “wordly sorrow”. This is the “sorry I got caught” or “I am sorry that it hurt someone” kind of sorrow. It’s sorrow over the situation, not the sin.

On the other hand, in Jonah 3 the Ninevites wonderfully demonstrate the nature of true repentance:

  • They believed God
  • They fasted
  • They called out to God for mercy
  • They turned from their sin

This is exactly what Paul is referring to in 2 Corinthians 7:11 (NIV):
See what this godly sorrow has produced in you: what earnestness, what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what alarm, what longing, what concern, what readiness to see justice done.

In short, godly sorrow (true repentance) results in the sinner doing whatever is necessary to bring reconciliation. Worldly sorrow results in doing the least amount that is necessary to mediate the consequences

Here’s the key: Paul tells us that godly sorrow leads to salvation, and worldly sorrow leads to death. And as we study Jonah, we see this very clearly. The Ninevites repentance lead to their salvation (and I assume great joy) and Jonah’s regret led to his misery and requesting that God would kill him.

Proverbs 28:13 (NIV) a great verse to wrap this up:
Whoever conceals their sins does not prosper, but the one who confesses and renounces them finds mercy.

I couldn’t have said it better myself.

Category: God, Gospel, Grace, Theology |
Chris Carr | August 1, 2011
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Week in Review

Here are some links from my time on the web last week:

Planned Parenthood - Planned Parenthood performs 333 abortions for every adoption referral. No, that isn’t a typo.

Saying No – I need this one. Michael Hyatt gives 5 reasons why I need to get better at saying ‘no’.

Difficult Conversations - Seth Godin has some good advice about when not to use email. He applies it to the work environment, but it is just (and perhaps even more) applicable in any environment or relationship.

The Truth About David and Goliath – This brought a smile to my face.

Quote of the Week:

Theology, not morality, is the first business on the church’s agenda of reform, and the church, not society, is the first target of divine criticism. – Michael Horton

Category: Week in Review |
Chris Carr | July 29, 2011
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Running from God – Additional Thoughts from Jonah

Ray Stedman once stated that “Jonah is probably the best known but least understood book in the Bible.” After studying for my message last weekend on this great little book, I would have to agree.

The book contains only 48 verses, yet it is packed full of surprises, wonderful truths, challenging questions, and deep theology. Although I only had one week to preach through the story, it is well worthy of an entire series. So, over the next few posts I’d like to share a few additional truths that I didn’t cover in my message.

One matter that stands out almost immediately in Jonah is this: you can’t run from God. You certainly can try, but no one has ever done it successfully, and Jonah was no exception. He apparently forgot Psalm 139:7 (ESV): “Where shall I go from your Spirit, or where shall I flee from your presence?” The answer of course, is nowhere.

The reason for this is that we have a God who pursues us. Ever since the fall, man has been running from God. In fact, that’s essentially the first thing that Adam and Eve did when they sinned. But just as God pursued them, and Jonah, he also pursues us. The great thing about this is that he does it not to punish us but to save us.

You see, God knows that the most dangerous thing that a human being can do is to run from him. It never, and I mean absolutely never, turns out well when we do. And so God patiently and lovingly pursues us to save us from our self-destructive path.

All of us have run from God at times in our lives; and when we do God has pursued us to bring us back to Him. The questions are 1) how often are we going to run and 2) how much pain will we cause (for us and others) when we do run?

Here’s the simple truth: God’s way is always best, even when it doesn’t make sense. As another minor prophet proclaimed, “The righteous shall live by his faith.” Habbakkuk 2:4 (ESV). We have to trust (based upon past experience and God’s Word) that God is both sovereign and good, and when we are tempted to run, we have to trust instead.

Category: Bible, God, Gospel, Grace, Mercy |
Chris Carr | July 26, 2011
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A Message on Jonah

This past weekend I had the privilege of preaching at Oxford Bible Fellowship in Oxford, OH, where my brother Jeremy serves as the lead pastor. You can watch the message here:

 

Category: Gospel, Grace, Jesus, Theology |
Chris Carr | July 25, 2011
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Week in Review

Here are some great links from my time on the web last week:

What is Encouragement? - Matt Perman helps us understand the importance of encouragement.

Women and Sexual Purity: CM & BH - Here are a couple of good posts for women in regards to sexual purity, one from Carolyn McCully and another from Betsy Hart. By the way, we will be tackling this issue both for women and men at Bethel over the next couple of weeks.

Marital Prayer – Men, Zac Nielson gives us a good reason to pray with our wives.

Gendercide – John Piper warns about the inevitability of Gendercide.

My “Smokin Hot” Bride – This is a good one. Karen Swallow Prior gives us a list of the worst Christian cliches ever. I bet you find that you use one or more of them regularly

Bill Hybels has some great words about taking responsibility for Your leadership development:

Quote of the week:

One of the great uses of Twitter and Facebook will be to prove at the Last Day that prayerlessness was not from lack of time. – John Piper

Category: Week in Review |
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