Josh Benner

Author: the Josh Benner Blog

  • The destructive force of our words

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    Originally published as “Only you can prevent forest fires: the destructive force of our words.” Originally published, February 20, 2017

    I was in Florida several years ago and Florida was having wildfires. Some areas were evacuating. If a person smoked a cigarette, they were told that they couldn’t throw it on the ground or it would start a fire.

    Something so small, such a small amount of smoke, could start a huge fire.

    With our words, the tongue, a relatively small part of the body, can be hugely destructive if a person isn’t careful.

    James uses fires as an illustration for the destruction that our words can cause. “How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire!” (James 3:5).  (more…)

  • Great American evangelist Billy Graham dies at 99

    In an era when so many churches are rocked by sin and scandal, Billy Graham was respected by both Christians and non-christians for his integrity.

    In an era where sexual harassment is rampant in seemingly every sphere of life, Billy Graham vowed to never spend time alone with a woman who was not his wife, mother, or daughter.

    In an era where many of our most famous pastors live in mansions, Billy Graham vowed to not live lavishly. (more…)

  • Life-changing days

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    It’s hard to believe that it was only a year ago that I sent a message to a woman on eHarmony who I thought looked cute and seemed nice.

    I had no expectations. If anything, I assumed nothing would materialize. Why wouldn’t I have thought that? I lived in Minnesota, she was in Georgia, about to move to St. Louis.

    I’m a planner. I like to have a plan, a backup plan, a backup backup plan. (more…)

  • Can a person truly have faith without living like they do?

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    Originally published December 20, 2016

    Vegans.

    When you’re a vegan, you don’t eat meat or use animal products. Being vegan is a lifestyle.

    Now if I said that I was vegan and invited you over to my place for dinner, and you said what are we having “surt and turt….we’re having some fish and steak” and then I was washing it down with a glass of milk, and my kitchen table was on a bearskin rug, and I was eating the meal with ivory handled silverware while wearing a fur coat, and we were facing my trophy wall that had deer heads….” You might start to think “you’re not vegan.”

    (more…)

  • The biggest mistake liberal Christians make

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    A few weeks ago, the Episcopal diocese in America voted to remove gender pronouns for God in updated versions of their Book of Common Prayer.

    I think many in our world believe in a gospel of “you’re ok.”

    I’ve been thinking a lot lately about liberal Christianity.

    They place a strong emphasis on love. And love is obviously important. The greatest commandment that Jesus gives is to love God and to love our neighbor. Not just to love our neighbor, but to love our neighbors as we love ourselves.

    But here’s where liberal Christians get it wrong.

    They emphasize love to the exclusion of other aspects of God.

    God is love. But he is not only love. God is also holy. God is also wise. God is also just and a judge.

    And when we hold up love as the only aspect of God that matters, it will ultimately lead to affirming that which is blasphemous.

    The gospel is not there to tell us that we’re all ok. Actually, it’s the opposite of that message. We are not called to love sin. Nowhere in the Bible is sin seen as a good thing. The Bible teaches that all of humanity is sinful. In fact, we are so sinful that the only way that we could be reconciled to God was for God to bear the cost of our sin. Jesus did that on the cross.

    God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8).

    Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends (John 15:13).

    Absolutely, we see the love of God in the gospel. But we also see his justice. Sin has an eternal penalty apart from Christ. And while he went to the cross to show his love, it also shows the cost of sin. Let us not take sin lightly.

    When we try to decide what is good apart from God’s moral law, it ends up becoming merely the opinions of men. As the common refrain in the Bible’s book of judges goes: “In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes (Judges 21:25).”

    God is love but he is also wise. And just as we can’t pick and choose who to love (we are called to love everyone, to want what’s best for everyone, to have concern for people) we also cannot pick and choose which aspects of God’s wisdom and morality we want to like. It’s all true.

    In the Beatitudes, Jesus teaches: blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

    Blessedness is not in pursing worldly goals, it’s not in “following your truth,” it’s not in doing what makes you happy. It’s having a desire for the righteousness of the righteous and holy God who created the universe.

    And because God loves us, he doesn’t desire for us to be kept the same when we come to him. It’s not a difference of opinion between us and God in regards to sin. It’s truth and falsity.

    jrb