Josh Benner

Category: Commentary

  • 8 signs of a maturing Christian

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    For a person who believes in the gospel, Jesus did not save us from our sin to keep us the same. Salvation happens in an instant by means of faith. But for the rest of life, a person is on a Spiritual journey. The Bible calls for us to walk and live Godly lives, to grow and mature in our faith.

    In our society, we have ma

    But what does that look like? Here are some of the really significant examples that come to mind through the Bible.

    This list is most definitely not exhaustive.

    1. A maturing Christian is committed to love for God and people.
      A maturing Christian follows the Greatest Commandment. As a result, he loves God and loves people (Lev. 19:18; Deut. 6:5; Matt. 22:36 – 40; Mark 12:28 – 31). He loves the Lord with all of his heart, soul, mind, and strength. Further as part of loving God, for a maturing Christian, faith is supreme over everything else in life (Matt. 10:38, 13:45-46). Along with the idea of loving God, a maturing Christian also loves people. It goes hand in hand with the Greatest Commandment, in regards to loving God. It is impossible to truly love God without loving people (Matt. 22:37-40). He shows love to other Christians and grace to non-Christians. He is not prideful, but recognizes shortcomings and the grace of God in his own life (Matt. 28:19; 2 Tim. 4:2). For non-believers, the maturing Christian is more concerned with a desire for the lost to know Jesus and become his disciples than in judging. The maturing Christian is flexible in ministry and evangelism. He’s not afraid to put in the time in to building relationships. He meets people where they are in life (Acts 17:16-34). He also relates to people as individuals (1 Cor. 9:19-23). A maturing Christian recognizes that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6). Because of this, the maturing Christian has a desire to see others come to know Christ, because a person’s eternal future depends on faith in the gospel. He knows that God has ordained the means through which the gospel is spread to be through his word and through the proclamation of the gospel.
    2. A maturing Christian pursues God daily.
      A daily pursuit of God fosters transformation and growth. While a person is justified once and for all at the moment of conversion, the process of maturing and growing in faith is continual. Means through which a believer grows include prayer, the study of scripture, and fellowship with believers, and obedience to God. Christians also mature through various trials they face in life (James 1:2-4; Romans 5:1-5). A maturing Christian understands that testing from God and discipline from God are part of the Christian life (Deut. 8; Heb. 12). While we don’t have to like the challenges in and of themselves, a maturing Christian knows that God is sovereign, God is providential, God is good, and that all things will ultimately work for good (Rom. 8:28). Through tests, the result for the maturing Christian will ultimately be growth and increased dependence in God and love for God.
    3. A maturing Christian views it as a divine mandate to make disciples.
      In making disciples of all nations, Christians recognize the command of Christ to go out into the world baptizing and telling people the gospel (Matt. 28:16 – 20). Making disciples is more than evangelism (although evangelism is a part of this process). Making disciples is working with converts and helping to challenge and encourage them in their walk with Christ to an even greater love for Jesus, His Church, and people (Prov. 27:17).
    4. A maturing Christian obeys
      The Bible has much to say about God’s moral will for our lives (Exodus 20:1-17; Deut. 6:4-6; Matt. 5-7). As the maturing Christian grows in the knowledge of the word of God through the Bible, the proclamation of the word, and through Christian community, a cognitive dissonance is created where a person knows what they ought to do and has opportunities to either obey or sin.
    5. A maturing Christian repents.
      While a person is forgiven from sins at the moment they come to faith in the Lord Jesus, people still do commit sins in reality (Rom. 7). Christians are called to confess sins and to repent (Matt. 3:8, 4:17; Luke 17:3; 1 John 1:9). Repentance is turning away from sin and turning to God. A maturing Christian recognizes that how she lives matters, and that God has a moral will for how Christians ought to conduct their lives. In having a high value of the weight of sin, a maturing Christian is enabled to have a greater love for the grace of gospel.
    6. A maturing Christian uses his Spiritual gifts to serve in the Church.
      A maturing Christian understands that the purpose for involvement in a church is not merely how it benefits himself but how God can use the gifts which He has given the believer to serve and build up the Church (Rom. 12:6 – 8; 1 Cor. 12:8 – 10, 28; Eph. 4:11). He uses his gifts in building up the body of Christ (1 Cor. 12:12-31) and understands that he is part of the priesthood of all believers. He also considers himself to be a minster of God, regardless of vocation (1 Tim. 2:5; 1 Peter 2:5-9; Hebrews 3:1).
    7. A maturing Christian is sensitive to the commands of God in loving those marginalized by society.
      Believers are called to love those society looks down upon (Matt. 25:31 – 46; Luke 10:25-37). This is from a recognition of the restoration that Jesus ushered in during his earthly ministry (Luke 4:18-21). The Bible also repeatedly talks about loving widows and orphans (Jas. 1:27). The maturing Christian is called to remember those society forgets.
    8. A maturing Christian bears fruit.
      Followers of Jesus will be known to the world by the good fruit that they bear (Matt. 7:16-20). Depending on if a person has faith or not, a person can grow good or bad fruit (Matt. 3:10, 12:33). Bearing fruit is a direct result of fellowship with the Lord Jesus (John 15:4-5). The maturing Christian brings glory to God when fruit is produced in life (John 15:8). Believers are chosen to become more like Christ and a natural product of this is the bearing of fruit (John 15:16). People who are not in relationship with the Lord are incapable of producing good fruit (Luke 6:43-44). The sinful desires are opposed to the Spirit, which produces fruit (Gal. 5:17, 19-21). The life that is led in accordance with the work of the Holy Spirit results in the bearing of the fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22-23).

    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.

  • Not man’s gospel

    Originally published January 18, 2017

    In Paul’s letter to the Galatians, he says “For I would have you know, brothers, that the gospel that was preached by me is not man’s gospel” (Galatians 1:11).

    That is one of the most fundamental misunderstandings that 21st century American society has with Christianity.

    It is not man’s gospel.  (more…)

  • The power of the gospel

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    10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

    -Matthew 5:10-12 

    I think there are two things that totally separate the men from the boys Spiritually. The first is persecution, and another one is health problems, especially really severe health issues, where it’s life and death.
    In both of those situations, there are incredible testimonies form people of the work of God in their lives through the situations that seem like they should be the most bleak.
    And the reason for that, at least in part, is that those are the situations where the most is taken from you, at least in a worldly sense. And you look to God, and you can either be mad at him, to hate his plans, or you can see that God is all you need. That you were designed to live for God.
    We so often associate blessing with a thing that God gives to us. Perhaps it’s a certain lifestyle, a certain amount of happiness in life, success in our relationships.
    But in the Beatitudes, we hear of the blessedness for the poor in spirit, those who mourn, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, the peacemakers, and even, those who are persecuted.
    And the thing that undergirds each of these is a relationship with God.
    It’s counterintuitive to us that the person who is persecuted for rightouesnes sake is blessed.
    That seems like a curse.
    Part of the reason that those who are persecuted for the sake of Christ are blessed is that there are times in the face of persecution where a person who overcomes evil with good, overcoming darkness with light, is something that God can use as a witness to the world of the grace to which that person testifies.
    That which the world means for evil, God can use for good.
    Sometimes, it’s because a person is in a place where they can be persecuted that they are enabled to share the message of Christ with those who are persecuting them.
    One such story is Virginia Prodan.
    She was a Christian in Romania when communism reigned and having faith could bring persecution.
    Prodan was a lawyer who stood up for Christians in her country. One day, she came to her office and a man was waiting for her. He had come to kill this woman. In that life and death situation, she shared the message of the love of Christ with this man.
    Writing for Christianity Today in 2016, Prodan said to this man: “You are here because God put you here, and he has put you to a test. Will you abide in God or in the will of a man—your boss, President Ceausescu, who requires you to worship him? God has given you free will to choose.”
    She continued to talk to this man:
     the good news is that God has prepared a way out for every one of us through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross: ‘For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.’ ”
    As I continued to talk with him, he appeared smaller and more peaceful.
    Finally, he brought his hand to his forehead and said, “You are right. The people who sent me here are crazy. I do need Christ.” He promised, “I will come to your church as a secret brother in Christ. I will worship your powerful God.”
    -Christianity Today
    Today, that man is a pastor.
    What incredible examples those stories are of the power of the gospel.
    Stories when the power of the gospel takes root in the life of someone who had opposed that message. And the gospel is that powerful. Hardened hearts can be made soft. The gospel is a message that gives new life to the dead.
    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.

  • Robert Kennedy’s speech the night of Martin Luther King’s assassination

    On this night, 50 years ago, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee.

    That evening, while campaigning for president, Robert F. Kennedy was scheduled to give a speech in Indianapolis. He was warned by law enforcement to cancel the event due to fear of riots.

    Kennedy wrote a few notes down. When he got up to speak, he informed the crowd of what happened. You can hear the shock in the crowd when he informed them of King’s death.

    It’s an amazingly eloquent and optimistic speech. Kennedy shows tremendous leadership as he offers words of comfort.

    Tragically, 63 days later, Robert F. Kennedy would meet the same fate by an assassin’s bullet.

    What we need in the United States is not division; what we need in the United States is not hatred; what we need in the United States is not violence and lawlessness, but is love and wisdom, and compassion toward one another, feeling of justice toward those who still suffer within our country, whether they be white or whether they be black.

    We can do well in this country. We will have difficult times. We’ve had difficult times in the past. And we will-we will have difficult times in the future. It is not the end of violence; it is not the end of lawlessness; and it’s not the end of disorder.

    -Robert F. Kennedy

    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.

     

     

     

  • MLK’s dream still alive 50 years after his death

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    Martin Luther King was assassinated 50 years ago today outside his hotel room in Memphis, Tennessee.
    In our age with all of the politics and spin, and counterspin, I find it sad to admit that I feel like I don’t really know anything about this man.
    Obviously I know he was the most prolific leader during the Civil Rights Movement. That he gave one of the greatest speeches in American history (his “I have a dream” speech is right up there with the Gettysburg Address).
    I know that he was murdered. I know that he’s one of the most significant men of the 20th century.
    I think that part of why I feel like I don’t really know much about the man, is that I think we see the good things he stood for, and we like to see those things in ourselves and what we believe. It’s for that reason, I believe, that people from both of our major political parties find things that Dr. King said and reason that he would have been on their side, had he lived.
    The dream still lives 
    Martin Luther King clearly articulated the America that he envisioned.

    It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

    I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.”

    I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

    I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

    I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

    I have a dream today.

    I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification; one day right there in Alabama, little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.

    I have a dream today.

    -“I have a dream” speech

    There are many different opinions today of if that dream has been realized.
    We are a nation that is deeply divided.
    Has his dream been realized?
    If you believe that it has, when was it?
    I think we can look back 50 years, 60, 70, 100 yeas ago and see times where that dream most certainly was not a reality for every American.
    Today, we still live in the fallout of the sins of past generations. And as a result, there are generations of minorities who were intentionally enslaved, and then intentionally marginalized and discimriated against. But the subsequent generations have also been born into disadvantaged situations. And it becomes a vicious cycle. If someone is born into poverty, they will also have a lower quality of education, live in areas with higher crime rates, and be more likely to have run ins with the law.
    I believe in the American dream. I believe people can overcome if they work hard and use their talents and abilities to achieve their goals. But I also believe that if someone starts out from a lower position, it’s harder to overcome the obstacles. It’s not impossible, it’s just more of a challenge.

    I’m certainly not the authority on society’s ills. But I don’t think we can kick back, look at Dr. King’s dream and say it has been fully realized. Because there is still work to do. I wasn’t alive 50 years ago. I think it’s fair to say that much progress has been made.

    But just because things aren’t as bad as they used to be doesn’t mean they’re as good as they need to be.

    It’s easier to not do something than to do it. It’s easier to not care than to be challenged. I know I personally have much to learn.

    It’s easy to act like there aren’t still racial issues. But if we deny that there are, when so many in the black community feel that there are, aren’t we essentially confirming that there are in fact issues?

    Racism and prejudice are ugly ideas. I think it can be tempting to want to deny them, or explain them away. I think this is a mistake. The first step is admitting our society still has a problem.

    If two people are married, and one says, “We need to talk, we’ve had some issues, and I’ve been really hurt by some of these things.” And the other person says, “No we don’t, we’re fine,” which of the two do you think is more in touch with reality?

    Every African American I know thinks there are still racial problems in our society. Again, it can be tempting to want to downplay that. But I can’t be condescending to an entire race of people and think they’ve just all got it wrong. I haven’t walked in their shoes and lived their experiences.

    I try to listen, but I can do it better. I try to pray for people and for our nation, but I need to do it more often. I try to know people who are different than me (not just along racial lines).

    The Bible is clear about the sinfulness of our world. And one of the biggest ways how humanity sins is in finding ways to oppress those who are different.

    What are you doing to help make the dream a reality?

    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.