Josh Benner

Category: Culture

  • 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.

  • 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…)

  • Wisdom is as wisdom does

    Originally published March 8, 2017

    There are two ways to go. The way of the wise and the way of the fool. This is based off of the wisdom tradition of the Old Testament. Which often talks about these two roads.

    In James 3:13, he asks a rhetorical question, “Who is wise in understanding among you?”

    Who’s wise?

    James has much to say about wisdom.

    There’s a difference between wisdom and knowledge. Knowledge is knowing facts. Wisdom is living out a life that is applying what God has revealed.

    Knowledge is knowing that you have brownie mix in the pantry. Wisdom is making brownies.

    Since wisdom isn’t just knowing things but living according to what God has made known, it follows that if a person really is wise, they should live a life that validates what they believe. James says, “Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom” (3:13).

    In the context of the Bible, wisdom begins with a fear of the Lord.

    The book of Proverbs says that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. And that fools despise wisdom and instruction (Proverbs 1:7).

    There are two ways to go. The way of the wise and the way of the foolish.

    Fear of the Lord leads to knowledge, which leads to humility before the Lord.

    Fear of the Lord is reverence for the Lord, for his power and might. Fear of the Lord is fear of the wrath that can come as a result of rejecting him. Fear of the Lord is the knowledge that we don’t deserve him on our own. That it is only because God is good that we have hope. Without the work of Christ on the cross, there would be no hope. The knowledge that Jesus died a death he didn’t have to die but he did it because he loved us. That he didn’t die to save righteous people, but he came to save sinful people.

    And realizing that is the beginning of wisdom. Proverbs 9:10 says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.”

    And along with having a fear of God is coming to him in humility.

    In Mere Christianity, CS Lewis said, “As long as you are proud you cannot know God. A proud man is always looking down on thing and people: and, of course, as long as you are looking down you cannot see something that is above you.”

    So we validate our faith by living out our faith. We show that we are wise by living a life that reflects our wisdom.

    We sometimes get too far into thinking that different opinions are all valid when it comes to faith.

    Now, certainly we should be loving to all people, regardless of what they believe. Certainly we live in a society where we have to function and coexist with different people who have different view in regards to faith.

    And that’s important for life.

    But that doesn’t mean all views are equally valid.

    But our society likes to think that’s true of God. That that’s how God is.

    But that isn’t reality. It is God who created us. God who created the heavens and the earth. God who rules and reigns. It is God who is sovereign over all creation. And it is we who are ultimately accountable to him alone. It is not the other way around.

    We like to judge God. We like to say how God should be.

    But all of this shows the vanity of the human heart. It shows the idolatry of the human heart. We try to make ourselves God. We try to make ourselves the judge. Too many people ignore the things that God has said. Too many people ignore the things that Jesus has said “I am the way and the truth and the life, no one comes to the father except through me.”

    We have an opinion about God that we like, and then we decide that’s just how God is. But sometimes we say things that have no Biblical basis.

    So a person doesn’t like the idea that God would judge, so they just decide that’s not how God is.

    People ignore the Bible and make arguments based on emotion or preference as opposed to what God has revealed about himself.

    Is that fear of the Lord? Is that humility with God?

    People want the good things with Jesus but they try to undermine that he alone is the way. That his blood alone cleanses sin. That his death alone paid the price.

    There are two ways in the Bible. The way of wisdom and the way of foolishness. When we try to make boxes and explain why God has to fit into that box, we’re keeping ourselves from God.

    We don’t get to invent God. The beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord. And in fearing the Lord, it is recognizing that God is God, and that God is the almighty creator and King of the Universe.

    True wisdom is showing humility, and at the foot of the cross, there’s no room for arrogance. In seeing what Jesus has done, in seeing his work, in seeing the death he died for the forgiveness of our sins. To see the tremendous cost of sin, the cost that Jesus paid for us, the death he endured for us. To see the life that he’s invited us to. To see the awesome holiness of God.

    To see where God is bringing us, the place he has prepared for us, the new heavens and the new earth he is making. That we are unworthy on our own. And it’s not that we can make ourselves worthy but this infinitely glorious home that God has prepared, that it is entirely because of the love of God, the goodness of God, the grace of 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.

  • Thousands sign petition for national holiday in honor of Billy Graham

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    There’s an online petition that’s gathered thousands of signatures in favor of doing just that. The petition currently has over 71,000 signatures and the numbers are surging.

    Billy Graham’s ministry and life revolved around pointing people to Jesus.

    It was a man telling the world about someone greater than he.

    So the idea of having a holiday named after Graham doesn’t honor his legacy. It goes against what he stood for. It’s too aggrandizing.

    From reading comments on change.org, many people talk about Graham’s impact (indisputable) and have this sense of Graham “deserving” this honor.

    If you want to honor Billy Graham and what he stood for, tell someone about Jesus.

    The petition says:

    Lets get a National Holiday for Billy Graham!! Mr. Graham preached the Gospel to more people in live audiences than anyone else in history—nearly 215 million people in more than 185 countries and territories—through various meetings, including Mission World and Global Mission. Hundreds of millions more have been reached through television, video, film, and webcasts. Mr. Graham’s counsel was sought by presidents, and his appeal in both the secular and religious arenas is evidenced by the wide range of groups that have honored him, including numerous honorary doctorates from many institutions in the U.S. and abroad. Help us with our cause of setting a national holiday to remember this great man.

    Undoubtedly, many non-Christians oppose this arguing “separation of church and state.” And to their point, I think it’s highly unlikely that this holiday would come to fruition.

    But even for Christians, we should not be concerned with lionizing mere men.

    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 science of timing and how to maximize your day

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    I’m finishing up the new book “When: the scientific secrets of perfect timing” by Daniel H. Pink. Pink writes on management and behavioral science.
    Everyone knows that timing is everything. But we don’t know much about timing itself. Our lives are a never-ending stream of “when” decisions: when to start a business, schedule a class, get serious about a person. Yet we make those decisions based on intuition and guesswork.
    Timing, it’s often assumed, is an art. In When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing, Pink shows that timing is really a science.
    This book was helpful for me. Since getting married last year, I’ve spent a lot of time evaluating my schedule and how I utilize time.
    How do we maximize our time?
    We all have times of the day that are more optimal for us to get work done. From “When” and numerous other books I’ve read on the subject, it is essential for people who work in fields that take a lot of mental energy to allow their minds time to recharge.
    To some, that might seem lazy.
    But it’s really just human nature. We have a finite amount of physical and mental energy.
    Pink talks in the book about how it used to be a badge of honor for people who worked long hours and sacrificed sleep to work. But how, often times, the quality of the work struggles when people do that.
    We aren’t robots who can just devote endless hours to accomplishing tasks.
    What is more likely to happen is that our minds start to wander and drift and we have time that is spent pretending to work, or looking like we’re working but actually accomplishing very little. In reality, people spend a lot of time socializing, texting, playing on their phones, looking online.
    In one study (not mentioned in this book), 1,989 British office workers were found to spend just less than three hours a day actually working.
    This is a reality of what happens.
    So my interest is in maximizing efficiency in that.
    And that’s where I found “When” helpful, because part of what this book did was analyze the rhythms of the day. It’s important to structure the day where we are working on what’s important at our optimal times of productivity.
    Many (not all) adults are able to hit the ground running in the morning. As the morning goes on, closer to lunch time, that mental productivity can wane. In the middle of the afternoon, around 2:30, our productivity hits another low.
    For many people, we hit a rut approximately seven hours after waking up.
     And the peaks and valleys of the day have real consequences. Citing numerous studies, in the late morning and mid-afternoon lulls, there is a statistical increase in medical errors during surgery; people who are up for parole have a higher chance of being denied; test scores go down for students.
    So with this knowledge and applying it to life, it might be a waste of prime mental real estate to start the day off by doing a relatively mindless task like checking emails.
    The book also talks of the importance of rest. But not just any rest but productive rest. Pink argues that checking text messages on a break can actually be counterproductive. We do many things that aren’t productive but which also aren’t conducive to rest and recharging. And perhaps the lack of rest also perpetuates the problem of a lack of productivity.
    Work hard, play hard.
    I thought the book was well-written, well researched, practical. I’d recommend it.
    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.