Josh Benner

Category: Bible

  • The importance of the Old Testament to the New Testament

    Bible
    Photo courtesy of Flickr Creative Commons @freaktography

    Originally published April 19, 2016

    I recently had a friend ask me a question about a verse in Paul’s letter to the Ephesians. Paul will have passages where every verse seems to have different possible interpretations and where they can seem impossibly difficult. As I was researching this complicated passage, I couldn’t help but think “The Old Testament is so much simpler!” (more…)

  • What’s the greatest danger to the church?

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    There are 300,000 churches in America.
    There are many wonderful churches that boldly proclaim the gospel and faithfully teach the Bible every week. There is no perfect church in the world, because every church is full of members who are imperfect people.
    I think that the biggest issue the American church faces today is related to truth and love.
    Love that undermines truth and truth that doesn’t practice love. I’ll briefly explain what that means.
    Love that undermines truth 
    Love is important. The greatest command in scripture is to love God and to love people. God is love.
    But some churches can emphasize love to the point where it undermines truth.
    For instance, there is a temptation in some Christian circles to consider the love of God and reason that: “since God is love, his love extends to all people, whether or not they believe in God and whether or not they want or accept his love.”
    God is love. But that is just taking a slice of the character of God and acting as if that’s the whole pie. God is love. But he is also just, and righteous, and holy. He judges, he has wrath towards sin. God has all of those qualities at all times.
    God is love. But the idea of love is not only exclusive to what our culture defines love as.
    We tend to value acceptance and tolerance as what it is to love. And it’s true that God meets us where we are, but Jesus doesn’t save us to keep us the same. God is a perfecting God. We sin. We sin so much that we needed a savior, and the gospel is not a message that teaches us that we’re ok and we should just keep doing what we’re doing. We need to live for God and pursue him.
    Making love purely about acceptance and tolerance is not the full Biblical scope of what love is. And so it undermines the truth of scripture. And it runs the danger of undermining the inerrancy of scripture (taking the Bible as practical wisdom rather than the infallible word of God). And this view runs the risk of undermining the gospel itself.
    Assuming that love and  demand for justice are mutually exclusive.

    I observe this being the great risk in more liberal denominations.

    Truth that doesn’t practice love

    I think this is more of a danger in conservative and evangelical circles. We place a high value on the scripture and theology. And well we should because both of those are hugely important.

    But we can get so preoccupied with having the right answer that we lose sight of actually living out what we know. This is very similar to the failure of the Pharisees in the gospels. They were very well studied and trained in theology, but they missed the heart of the message.

    It can be easy to know the right answer but it’s difficult to live it out in practice.

    Truth and love. It comes down to belief and practice. We need both.

    Josh Benner is the associate pastor at Cornerstone Evangelical Free Church in Fergus Falls, Minnesota and has a Master of Divinity from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He enjoys writing about faith and culture. He lives with his wife Kari in Minnesota.

  • The gospel in the exodus journey

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    The exodus journey is the seminal event of the Old Testament. It’s the story of God miraculously delivering the Israelites from slavery for the purpose of bringing them to the promised land.
    The Old Testament constantly calls upon the Israelites to remember what God had done.
    For Christians today, there are a number of parallels between the exodus and the gospel.
    The Israelites were in slavery in Egypt. We were enslaved to sin and Christ redeemed us.
    During the wanderings in the desert, the Israelites complain and rebel. For Christians,  we continue to struggle and rebel.
    God redeemed Israel to bring them to the Promised Land. And Jesus is bringing us into a land too. To a new heaven, a new earth, and a new Jerusalem.
    Both the exodus and the new covenant of the gospel are commemorated with meals. The passover meal was celebrated annually, as a reminder for God’s deliverance in the exodus event and for him sparing the Israelites. With the gospel, we celebrate the Lord’ Supper, communion which is a reminder of Jesus body that was broken for our sin and his blood that was shed for our sin.
    Exodus was in fulfillment of the promises of God to Abraham for land and to Moses for deliverance from slavery. The gospel is fulfillment of God’s promise of providing a Messiah, a king from the Davidic line, a perfect and spotless lamb to be sacrificed.
    In both stories, we see victory in a place where it appeared to be defeat. Israel was caught between the Egyptian army and the sea. It seemed there was no way out. In the gospel, Jesus died on the cross, where it looked like that was the end of Jesus’ ministry. In both stories, what appeared to be the end was just the beginning.
    It was entirely the work of God in freeing his people from slavery in Egypt. And the gospel is entirely the work of the Lord in redeeming us from the penalty of sin.
    Both events are undeniable, indisputable, irrefutable, unimpeachable proof of God’s love. God loved Israel. And God loves you. God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have enteral life (John 3:16). God shows his love that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8).
    This event, Israel was constantly called to remember. Because it showed God’s love, it showed his goodness, it showed that he was for his people.
    We see that in the gospel.
    We sin, we have struggles, we have baggage. And everyday, we have opportunities to sin, to respond without faith, to question the goodness of God.
    But instead what we must do is to remember his goodness through the gospel. To remember that Jesus saved us, that he redeemed us.
    To remember that God delivers his people from slavery to freedom. For Christians, because of what Jesus did on the cross, that we have the promise of eternal life. We serve a good God.

    Josh Benner is the associate pastor at Cornerstone Evangelical Free Church in Fergus Falls, Minnesota and has a Master of Divinity from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He enjoys writing about faith and culture. He lives with his wife Kari in Minnesota.

  • You’re (probably) misquoting Philippians 4:13 – and why it matters

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    I can do all things through him who strengthens me.
    -Philippians 4:13
    According to Bible Gateway, Philippians 4:13 is the second most popular verse in the New Testament, only behind John 3:16.
    It’s a verse memorized and beloved by many.
    But for as popular as this verse is, it’s also often misunderstood and taken out of context.
    The context of the passage must always influence how we interpret it.
    And what’s the context?
    Paul has just said, in verse 12 that he knows the secret of how to be content in both good and bad circumstances. And it is in the light of that that he says these glorious words. The secret to being content: “I can do all things through him who strengthens me.”
    I did some searches online of people quoting this verse.
    Instagram, popular photo sharing sight, people have quoted this verse over 56,000 times. The most common references I saw were people quoting it in regards to some sort of exercise or fitness goal. I saw others quote Philippians 4:13 after winning beauty pageants or graduating from college.
    Some people, to my surprise, used it in reference to their diet: “Pre workout meal coming up. Healthy creamy chicken with mushroom and sundries tomatoes + brown rice” Philippians 4:13.
    I think this verse almost always gets quoted in conversation with some sort of goal.
    “This is what I want to do. And it’s me and Jesus.” I’m going to win that pageant, I’m going to run that marathon, I’m going to get that promotion because I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.”
    And certainly, Jesus is the God of everything in our lives. It’s GOOD to look at everything we do through the lens of walking with Christ.
    But Philippians 4:13 has nothing to do with accomplishing your personal goals.
    Philippians 4:13 is a verse that’s not about us. It’s about Jesus.
    The verse is not about the power of positive thinking, that you can accomplish your goals with Jesus. It’s not saying that you can overcome hurdles because of Jesus. It’s not telling you that you can do anything you set your mind to because of Jesus.
    Those things might all be true also.
    But that’s not what this verse is saying.
    The verse isn’t saying you can accomplish your dreams, it’s saying that you can survive your nightmares.
    And again, I know that goes against the popular keychain, coffee mug, t-shirt, poster interpretation of this verse.
    My point isn’t to ruin a verse for you that you might love. It’s to point you to the glorious Lord Jesus.
    Because our life is more than personal goals. It’s that when we have been run over, conquered, defeated, everything is going against us, that we can be content and walking in joy because of knowing Jesus.
    And that’s something else I notice when I look at people quoting Philippians 4:13. It’s always when something really good is happening in someone’s life.
    I don’t see people saying “I can do all things through him who strengthens me” when they’ve just lost a job. When they can’t afford to pay utilities.
    Philippians 4:13 is just as true in the bad times as it is in the good times.
    Because our contentment and joy and satisfaction need to always be found in Christ.
    This verse isn’t just calling us to be cheerleaders for God when we’ve finally gotten to the top of the mountain. But to always be praising the glorious God who invites us into life when we are at the bottom of the valley.
    But how do we do at embracing the reality of it?
    The secret of contentment in good times and in bad is knowing that you can do all things through Christ who strengthens you.
    When things really do get tough, when there is total upheaval and uncertainty, are you still able to walk confidently in faith knowing “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me?”
    In America, things are so comfortable for us, you have people living their lives thinking that they don’t need God. That they’re fine on their own. But what about when you’ve lost everything? What about you’re at your lowest?
    What about when you’re going through the worst experience of your life? In those moments, do you turn your back on God. Do you get mad at God? “Why would he do this to me?” Or do you walk with God? Do you rely on God more fully? Do you trust in Him more deeply?
    I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.
    Are you still able to say that when the going gets tough?

    Josh Benner is the associate pastor at Cornerstone Evangelical Free Church in Fergus Falls, Minnesota and has a Master of Divinity from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He enjoys writing about faith and culture. He lives with his wife Kari in Minnesota.

  • No, heaven will not be boring

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    Originally published in a slightly modified form November 21, 2016

    In Randy Alcorn’s wonderful book, “Heaven,” he tells a story of an English minister who was asked by a colleague what he expected after death. The man replied: “Well, if it comes to that, I suppose I shall enter into eternal bliss, but I really wish you wouldn’t bring up such depressing subjects.”

    Our views of heaven are too lowly. In life, things often times leave us disappointed.

    A movie looks hilarious in the previews….and then you see the movie and realize every funny scene was basically shown in the preview. People rave about a restaurant, and you think it’s just ok. We vote for a politician who we think will fix things, and they disappoint. (more…)