Josh Benner

Category: Gospel

  • 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…)

  • Blessed are the persecuted: the Christian life and opposition

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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

    Almost 2,000 years ago when Jesus preached these words, they also would have been radical to his audience. Persecution is never looked at as a blessing.
    But in Matthew 5, Jesus says that it is.
    Part of what Jesus is saying in these verses is that there is blessedness for the person who’s life is so clearly devoted to God, who is so clearly living out their Christian faith, that they face opposition because of it.
    If a Christian goes through life and never faces opposition, you might be living too comfortably in the world.
    If you never face any heat because of your faith, you might not be associating with anyone who disagrees with what you believe.
    In 2 Timothy 3, the Apostle Paul talks about persecution.
    “Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.”
    ALL who live for Christ will be persecuted.
    Persecution is part of the Christian life. The Bible does not shy away from this fact.
    Shortly before the time of his crucifixion, Jesus said to his disciples in John 5:18-19:
     “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.
    Something doesn’t have to be a matter of life and death to be persecution. In American society, we don’t generally hear stories of a person being killed just because they are a Christian. It’s not absolutely unheard of, but it’s rare.
    The persecution American Christians face is often times more social or legal. That can still put us in situations where it’s tempting to sin, where it’s tempting to respond a certain way that we shouldn’t. That still puts us in situations where it’s easier to just go along with what the world is doing than taking a stand for what you believe.
    I know a mechanic who’s a Christian. He was committed to being honest in his dealings with customers. He was so honest that his boss didn’t like him and eventually fired him.
    My wife told me a story about how when she was in high school, she was interviewing to be part of a local youth leadership program in her community. While she was at her interview, one of the people making the decision saw that she was a student at a Christian high school. He started berating her with questions about her faith, questioning how she could believe in Jesus. Asking nothing about this youth organization. Essentially just harassing her about her faith.
    Again, the gospel is a message that some find offensive. “To one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life (2 Corinthians 2:16).”
    There have been examples of groups trying to silence coaches of public school teams from praying with players before games, even when it’s voluntary. I read a story today about the Freedom from Religion Foundation suing a public school in Ohio. A local pastor was leading a Bible study with students at lunch. It was optional. But FFRF still needed to swoop in and sue. There have been legal pressures on Christian universities to cover abortions for staff.
    Those are just a few examples.
    But in living for Jesus, in a fallen world, it is inevitable that there will be times when a person’s faith comes under fire.
    Responding 
    When a person is being persecuted and has a choice of if they’re going to respond in a Christlike way or if they’re going to respond in a hostile way. You can be light to a dark world or you can just spread the darkness.
    The Apostle James talked about the various trials that Christians face:
    “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).”
    As evil as the persecution that Christians face can be, it’s an opportunity to respond with love. Jesus told us to pray for our enemies (Matthew 5:44).
    God can use those situations as a way to strengthen us in our own faith. To focus us on what we truly value.
    Another part of the reason why persecution is seen as a blessing is that the harsher the persecution, the more that is taken away from a person, the more someone is able to live in total dependence on God and reliance in his ability to preserve them. That’s not to say that the persecution is good in itself. It’s obviously not. That’s not to say that sin is good. It’s not. But through the evils that people commit, God can still use that for good.
    Again, if you’re not ever facing any pressure because of your faith, you might not be living in a way that is distinct from the world. I’m not saying we should go out of our way to be combative. The verse does not say that all persecution is good. It’s when a person is following Jesus and is persecuted for righteousness’ sake that blessed a person.
    It’s a radical idea. But let us remember that we have a savior who faced the ultimate persecution for righteousness’ sake.
    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.

  • 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.