Josh Benner

Category: Commentary

  • Are evangelicals making a mistake on abortion laws?

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    Statehouse of Ohio

    I’m pro-life. I believe life begins at conception. At the moment of conception, a fertilized ova is genetically distinct from both of the parents.

    My home state, Ohio, has a proposed bill that would totally ban abortion.

    The nation is roughly evenly split on being pro-life vs pro choice. There is also a lot of nuance within both of those positions. For instance, most people who are pro-choice are not proponents of late term abortions. And most people who are pro-life are not pro-life is an absolute where they think there’s never a circumstance in which an abortion is morally justified.

    It’s interesting as I’ve seen my camp (the conservative evangelical camp) approach this issue.

    With the question of constitutionality, if Ohio’s bill were passed and signed into law, I am seeing pro-life Christians arguing as to why it would be constitutional. Others are arguing that even if it were unconstitutional, who cares about the courts, and that the state should just ignore it for the sake of protecting life (not saying I disagree with that sentiment).

    I think this is the wrong starting place.

    It doesn’t matter if it would be constitutional or not. Because no state would pass a law where abortion were legally viewed as tantamount to murder. Even among pro-life people, that view is a minority.

    The idea that states can simply ban it, when there is no ban, when most people favor it in certain circumstances, as moral as the suggestion might be, what’s morally right is not always realistically passable.

    I think this “all or nothing approach” overlooks the real efforts that lawmakers are working on in states all over the country. 41 states have passed laws where there must be a licensed doctor providing the procedure. 42 states have passed laws that limit when an abortion can happen within a pregnancy.

    More work needs to be done. I’m not saying this is ideal. I’m not saying the current laws are good. I’m just saying that as much as Christians (myself included) might want more laws to protect the lives of the unborn, that we also need to be pragmatic in pursuing something that is an uphill battle and that millions of people disagree with. That millions of people see as a right. All victories for the pro-life movement are hard fought.

    Even if a total ban were proposed, it would likely be struck down (an Ohio law banning abortions on fetuses with downs syndrome was put on hold last week). And even if the state chose to ignore a court ruling, you would still need to find a jury of 12 people who would convict a doctor or a mother for having an abortion?

    We need to keep beating the drum, educating people that life truly does begin at conception. We need to make sure that the necessary programs have the sufficient funding to support a baby that goes up for adoption. We need to keep chipping away at the laws.

    To think an all out ban could pass is to be divorced from reality.

    Once again, I’m pro-life, I feel that a baby has a right to be born and to live. It’s a child created in the image of God. And it’s tragic.

    But it’s a sinful and fallen world, and we can’t always accomplish everything we want in one fell swoop.

    I feel like these attempts are trying to sprint a marathon.

    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.

  • If you want to be a runner, run. If you want to be a Christian, run to God.

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    Let’s say you say you’re going to start running. And so you buy running shoes, you subscribe to runner’s magazines, you start wearing spandex, like all the time. And then six months goes by, and you still haven’t taken your shoes out of the box…
    You’re not a runner.
    Having all of the things a runner has doesn’t make you a runner. RUNNING makes you a runner!
    Just because you’re in church, or know all of the right Bible answers, or listen to Christian music doesn’t mean that you’re walking in faith.
    Just knowing a lot about the Bible and following all the rules doesn’t mean you have faith. In the Bible, Jesus constantly has run-ins with the Pharisees. They were experts in the Old Testament Law. The Pharisees knew the scriptures like the back of their hand but were ultimately clueless about God.
    They might have been good at following the rules, but the key to acceptance with God is faith. True faith, results in obedience. Faithless obedience is worthless because at the heart of the gospel is Jesus dying for those who have faith in him. Earning salvation through obedience makes Christ’s death meaningless.
    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.

  • Tips for developing a daily Bible reading plan

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    I did a survey of people who say that they spend time reading in the Bible everyday. I asked “For people who read the Bible everyday, curious if it’s ever a challenge?”
    I gave two possible answers
    1. There are days where I definitely have to push myself.
    2. Nope, never ever a challenge, never fight being lazy about it. Always love it.
    Of the 134 people who responded, 133 chose option one.
    Spending time in the Bible everyday is hard.
    It’s a challenging book to read. It’s highly self-referential. We’re reading it in different cultures separated by thousands of years of history. We often don’t understand the significance of events and teachings. Some things can seem cryptic.
    It can be easy to get discouraged.
    It can be easy to put it off.
    But in the Christian life, it is so important to spend time in the Bible every single day.
    If this is something that you’ve tried and failed at doing, here are some tips on developing a daily devotional life.
    1. Figure out a reading plan
    There are lots of great Bible reading plans. If you need any suggestions, Bible Gateway has a list.
    What’s the best plan?
    It’s the one that has you in the Bible everyday.
    Different plans might work for different people. One popular plan has four readings a day from four different books. That’s not my personal favorite but it works well for many others.
    Some plans go through the Bible chronologically. Some plans go through the Bible in its canonical order.
    Find a ;lan that has you going through the whole Bible.
    1. Find a time of day that works best for you. 
    For  me, this has changed at different times of my life. It used to be in the evening. Lately, I like to do some reading in the Bible as soon as I wake up, before my feet even touch the ground.
    Fifteen minutes a day, and you can read through the whole Bible in a year.
    1. If you miss a day, don’t let that be a reason to derail the entire plan. 
    It happens.
    1. Some days will be easier than others. 
    Just like the result of my survey. Even for people who read from the Bible everyday, there are definitely times where you do it more because you feel like it’s what you should do than it being what you want to do on that day.
    If you’re holding out for a time when it’ll always be easy, and you’ll always be in the mood to read, that day will never come.
    Don’t make Bible reading about doing it only when you feel like it. I’m not knocking the Bible. As sinful people, we struggle.
    1. Some days are more enriching than others. 
    If you workout with any frequency, you know that not all workouts are equally good. Somedays, it’s an amazing workout.
    Other days, you went to the gym, you did your program, but it just didn’t feel as productive.
    But it’s still worth working out. You might not always see huge gains. But working out over time produces results.
    The Bible is unlike any other book. The book of Hebrews says: “the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12).
    Matthew 24:35 says: “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.”
    Somedays, you can read a passage in the Bible, and it almost seems like it was put there just for your situation and what you’re facing.
    There can be other times where you read, and think “I don’t understand what’s going on at all.”
    1. Get a good study Bible. 
    A study Bible can help to make some connections and point out some things about the background and history of a verse or passage that you wouldn’t have noticed.
    My favorites are the ESV Study Bible and the New Bible Commentary.
    1. Start today! 
    Don’t wait. Don’t put it off. It’s the word of God. It is the story of God’s work in a sinful world. It tells us God’s gospel. It points us to moral truths which God desires for us to live by.
    “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it” (Luke 11:28).
    I’d love to hear other things you’ve found helpful. Feel free to leave a comment below.
    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.

     

     

     

  • A sinner’s guide to repentance

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    Originally published March 22, 2017

    Repentance is sincere remorse or regret for an action. Theologically, repentance is associated with the idea of turning away from sin and turning to God.

    James 4:7-10 gives what’s almost like a “how to” guide for repentance. It’s not exhaustive, but he says five things that are important to repentance.

    1. Repentance involve submission to God

    Repentance isn’t just about moralism. It’s about an actual desire for God.

    It’s not “well I’ll just drink less” or “get control my temper better.” It’s not just “don’t do that,” but it’s a turning to God. It’s recognizing that God is greater than your sin, that he is better. That his ways are better. That turning from sin is turning to a better way. (more…)

  • Strength through the toughest struggles

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    At the beginning of Romans 5, the Apostle Paul is speaking of the glories of justification by faith.
    Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
    -Romans 5:1-2
    But beginning in verse 3, Paul seems to randomly change topics:
    Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope.
    -Romans 5:3-4
    For a Christian who has been justified, God gives them his Spirit. And through God’s Spirit, a person is sanctified (made Holy).
    There are other places in the Bible that talk about sanctification and its result. In Galatians, Paul. talks about the fruit of the Spirit. And the point of that passage is that for a person who has the Spirit, which is synonymous with a person who has faith, the Spirit of God working in a person produces fruit, virtues like love, joy, peace, patience. (Galatians 5:22-23)
    In Romans 5, Paul is saying that another way how people grow with God is through struggles.
    That might seem absolutely counterintuitive.
    Many people get frustrated with God when they’re struggling, suffering.
    It can so naturally be this sense of “where are you God?” Or “Why is this happening to me?” “It’s not supposed to be this way.”
    Suffering is part of life.
    It rains on both the saint and the sinner.
    And the Christian life is one that is lived in a fallen world. Where we still sin, and have to deal with the ramifications from that. Where other people still sin, and where we have to deal with the ramifications from that. And where there is still sickness, illness, disease, hurt.
    And there’s something we all have to understand. The Bible doesn’t promise a Christian’s life will be free from suffering.
    In fact, the Bible literally promises the opposite of that.
    James tells us to look at trials as a reason for joy:
    Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
    -James 1:2-4
    So in James, the result of trials is that it refines a person. It’s meant for a person to actually be “perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” God uses suffering to refine a person.
    We so often think life is all about happiness.
    It’s not. That is not what the Bible says the Christian life is all about.
    It’s all about knowing God and serving God.
    If life were all about happiness, if this life were all there was, then yes, suffering would interfere with that.
    But suffering does not interfere with knowing God. And in fact, it can often times enhance our relationship with God.
    Some people struggle and suffer, and they turn their back on God.
    It’s tragic.
    But for others, they grow in a deeper relationship with God than they ever thought possible when going through the greatest challenges and struggles. You name it, people have been able to love and follow God through it.
    And again, it’s not that suffering is good for its own sake.
    It’s that the result, the strength that comes from the tension, the greater relationship we can have with God is what can often times be the biggest blessing.
    A radical idea that is puzzling to our world.
    When you lift weights, you don’t get from the workout itself. It’s that when you lift weights, it creates all of these little micro-tears in your muscles. And after you workout, the muscles repair themselves and as a result of that, you’re stronger.
    Faith gets strengthened through the heavy lifting.
    If we never face difficult situations, then we never grow.
    And different types of workouts work different muscles. Different ways how we’re tested strengthen us in different way.
    Sometimes it’s not until the dust has settled that we can look back and truly appreciate what God was doing in us.
    Sometimes you don’t see the beauty of the journey until you’re on the top of the mountain and are able to see where the difficult path was leading you and to appreciate the beauty that it brought.
    I’m sure some of us have experienced things that were extremely difficult at the time, things that were horrible. But things we can look to and as hard as it was at the time,we can see how it helped shape us, how it helped make us into who we are today.
    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.