Josh Benner

Category: Theology

  • Not exchanging the gospel for another to-do list.

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    Many people in our society don’t understand the gospel because they don’t understand the cost of sin. We can do nothing to earn forgiveness because of our sin. The only hope humanity has is the grace of God, freely given to anyone who trusts in the gospel of Jesus Christ.

    Many don’t understand that, don’t appreciate that, think that they’re basically good enough on their own.

    On the other side of the coin, a person can come to faith and have an appreciation for the magnitude of their own sin.

    One of the great struggles that Christians can face is making life about performance, even after you acknowledge that the grace is freely given by Jesus.

    But we’ll never be good enough on our own. That’s why we needed a savior!

    It’s a difficult balance to strike. Because I’m certainly not suggesting that we should just live however we want. We should live for God. But that must be done while also understanding that his love is not based on our goodness or obedience.

    When a person places faith in Jesus, you are saved from the sins you have committed and the ones you will commit. Jesus doesn’t just save you from the sins of your past and leave it up to you to figure it out in the future. Jesus saves you entirely, when you place your faith in him.

    We can know the forgiveness that we have though the gospel but still fall into the trap of making our relationship with God about our performance. Or acting like God has forgiven you, but like you have to earn his love. That’s not the gospel.

    That’s a good way to set a person up for a life that lacks joy and leads to an exhausting (and impossible) cycle of legalism and works based righteousness.

    For a Christian, you are adopted as God’s child. You’re his. God loves with an everlasting love. No matter how good you are, you can never make God love you more. Nor can any sin make him love you less.

    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.

  • Focus on being the right person, not finding the right person

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    We live in a soulmate focused society. We love the idea of finding the one.

    As a millennial, perhaps it’s because our generation grew up with VHS and we were able to watch and rewatch and rewatch the same Disney movies over and over again, seeing the happily ever after. But in fairytales, we never actually see the day to day of what the “ever after” ends up looking like.

    You don’t have a perfect person because YOU’RE not a perfect person. And a relationship takes two people. And since a relationship includes you, it’ll have problems. Now multiply that by two as you find someone who is also imperfect.

    The problem with trying to find the right person is that it’s inherently self-centered. It implies you can find one person who completes you, who builds you up, who makes you whole.

    That’s not how God designed us.

    It is God who makes us whole. It is in God that we find purpose and life.

    If we have the mentality that another person will be what completes us, we’re viewing the relationship as a taker. Thinking that a significant other or spouse’s sole job in life is to support you and build you up will lead to an unbalanced and unhealthy relationship. Too many relationships are made up of two takers.

    But that’s what we want. Instead of looking for that person, you need to be that person. You need to be a giver, you need to want to support and honor another person.

    “The doesn’t seem fair!”

    But it seems fair to look for someone who’s going to do that for you?

    Both people need to be focused on giving, being selfless, and serving the other. We’re imperfect and so we’ll do that imperfectly, but when people work to build that relationship, it’s a beautiful thing.

    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.

  • Tim Keller Tweets about the incarnation: disagreement ensues

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    Pastor and theologian Tim Keller made a Tweet in regards to the incarnation of Jesus this week. Keller said: “The God of the universe became a wiggling baby in order to get close to you.”

    James White, another theologian, was critical of Keller’s comment: “No sir, the second person of the Trinity took on a perfect human nature first and foremost to bring glory to the Triune God in the redemption of a completely unworthy people upon whom the Triune God had decreed mercy and grace in eternity past. That’s not getting ‘close to you.”

    I’m a huge fan of Keller, but I also really enjoy White’s work, but I disagree with the criticism that White is raising here. Both men are in the Reformed camp, and one of the great strengths of Reformed theology is its emphasis on the glory of God. As part of this idea, everything that God does is for his own glory. I affirm that belief.

    However I do think that people in the Reformed camp can sometimes emphasize the glory of God to the point where I feel that it can also undermine the love of God and that God is relational. It’s because God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish (John 3:16). Yes, God is glorious and we need to live to glorify God.

    I feel like we can treat glory almost like a utilitarian idea, that glory is the only thing that matters to God, and we act like the things that God does which happen to benefit humanity have nothing to do with God’s love for humanity. But we can’t reduce the attributes of God. Everything that the Lord is, the Lord is always, and to the superlative decree. So it’s not that God is sometimes glorious, sometimes loving, sometimes more or less loving, sometimes powerful. But it’s that everything God is, God always is.

    I’m not suggesting that White has a low view of the love of God.

    I do think that staunchly Reformed Evangelicals can communicate theological ideas which very much give that impression.

    Yes, Jesus came into the world to bring glory to God. But he also came so that everyone who believes in him can be with him. That’s the heart of the gospel. The God who created the world came into the world to save the world.

    Why go to theological battle over that?

    It’s not an either/or. It’s both/and.

    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.

  • SCOTUS gay marriage decision: 3 years later

    White_House_rainbow_colors_to_celebrate_June_2015_SCOTUS_same-sex_marriage_ruling.jpegIt was only three years ago today that the Supreme Court which guaranteed the right to marry for same-sex couples.

    It feels a lot longer ago than three years.
    It’s amazing how fast it all happened.
    Many years ago, the argument for recognizing the legal validity of same-sex marriages and unions was the “what if two people are in a loving relationship for many years and one is in the hospital. Their partner can’t visit them?”
    We’re so far beyond that now.
    A celebrity says something critical of same-sex marriage and there’s a backlash, efforts to boycott and essentially destroy the person.
    Tolerance has been traded for tyranny.
    The conversation has been crushed on this issue.

    State after state after state voted against it. 32 of 33 states where this was voted on, voted no. In 13 of those states, the vote wasn’t even close, with more than 70 percent of people voting to ultimately preserve the traditional American definition of a marriage.

    And now, it’s a fundamental right. And now, if a business owner doesn’t want to support it, he’s a hateful and bigoted. The public arena does not tolerate dissent, it doesn’t tolerate having any moral opinion on the matter other than enthusiastic support and affirmation.

    America has changed the definition of love, promoting the idea that you cannot love a person and simultaneously disagree with an aspect of his or her life. But love is not purely about affirmation. Everyone knows that. We see people do things all the time where we disagree with them but still love them.
    4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
    -1 Corinthians 13:4-7
    We flourish when we live in accordance with Godly wisdom. God’s ways are better than our ways. True joy and purpose is found in living for God, desiring to honor and follow God. Based on the Bible, it is my firm conviction that same-sex relationships are fundamentally inconsistent with this and are sinful.

    Love is meant to be unconditional. Love doesn’t mean to always love everything someone does but it means to love a person where they are today. Love is loving a person even if they never do live in agreement with what we think is moral or right.

    Love is also ultimately wanting the best for someone.
    In Evangelical circles, there have sadly been many examples of unloving treatment towards the LGBT community. This is tragic. Culturally, we’ve been losing the public discussion on LGBT issues.
    Part of the mistake that we make is we start at the wrong place. The Church shouldn’t be trying to save people to heterosexuality. We need to build relationships and spread the gospel. It is God who transforms souls and lives.

    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 Church: serving together in the Mission of God

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    What this is saying is that we have one body but our body has many parts to it.
    In 1 Corinthians 12, the Apostle Paul gives a fantastic illustration for the church. It functions like a human body. Everyone in the church is part of the body and has a purpose within the body. If a part of the body is unhealthy or is not functioning properly, that effects the rest of the body.
    The church exists to spread the gospel, to make disciples, and to support each other as the body of Christ on earth.
    The church is called to work together for the mission of God.
    I love the practicality of Paul’s illustration.
    For the body does not consist of one member but of many.If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body.And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body
    -1 Corinthians 12:14-16
    If the foot should say, “because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body.
     Feet.
    Kind of smelly.
    Often times out of sight. The foot isn’t nearly as glamorous as a hand.
    A hand brings pizza closer to your mouth.
    And so Mr. Foot might be tempted to feel like he’s not contributing much.
    But he helps you keep balance and to walk. The foot matters.
    “And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body.”
    The ear.
    Might be tempting for the ear to also be insecure.
    It’s not an eye.
    People get complimented for their eyes. “Oh you have such pretty eyes.”
    If someone has ears that are worth mentioning, it’s not for a good reason….
    But ears are important. They’re part of the body. They funnel sound in. They hold on our glasses.
    Everyone in the church has a place, has a role. You have an area where you fit. You’re part of the body. You have a way to serve that is valuable for the church.
    Verse 17 gets at the idea that it’s necessary for there to be differences of parts within the body.
    If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell?
    -1 Corinthians 12:17
     Imagine that.
    Just a big eye rolling around.
    Not only are there different parts, but there need to be different parts.
    We don’t all need the same gifts. We don’t need everyone to be a preacher.
    What a nightmare that would be!
    God equips us with gifts for his own glory. And the church flourishes when people are living on a mission and committed to living lives to serve God.
    Verse 20 is somewhat of a summary verse to this entire passage: “As it is, there are any parts, yet one body.”
    Verse 21 is affirmation from the passage how every part of the body needs every other part of the body.
    The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.”
    -1 Corinthians 12:21 
    Every part matters.
    In the world of theater, they have a saying “there are no small parts, just small actors” and the point is that everyone ni a production is still important to the story.
    Or I think about when I would play football with my friends as a kid. My friends and I always wanted to be the quarterback or running back or receiver. We never had dreams of being the kicker.
    But a kicker is still part of the team.
    Kickers are important.
    A kicker can win you a Super Bowl
    There’s no reason to be jealous of gifts that you don’t have. Because again, everything is part of serving God’s purposes. And those are eternal purposes. Because of his goodness and grace, God allows his people to be part of his mission in the world.
    Are you serving your church for the Mission of God 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.