Justification of War

Christians throughout the centuries have formulated specific criteria for the justification of war. The list of these criteria may vary, but in its most essential form, the classical just-war doctrine consists of seven points which can be classified into two categories: (1) The choice to go to war, (2) the proper actions during war.

(1) The choice to go to war

Just cause. The right to self-defense against an aggressor has consistently been regarded as fundamental. Only defensive war is legitimate.

Last resort. War may be waged only when all negotiations and compromise have been attempted and have failed. In his “Commentary on the Sermon on the Mount,” Luther remarks that “anyone who claims to be a Christian and a child of God, not only does not start war or unrest; also he gives help and counsel on the side of peace wherever he can, even though there be a just and adequate cause for going to war.”

Formal declaration. Since the use of military force is the prerogative of government and not of private individuals, properly constituted procedure for declaring and waging war must be followed. As Thomas Aquinas commented, “it is not the business of a private individual to declare war ... as the care of the common weal is committed to those who are in authority.”

Just Intention. War must be carried out to secure a just peace, not for territorial conquest, economic gain, or ideological supremacy. The only legitimate intention of war is to secure peace.

(2) The proper actions during war

The principle of proportionality. The weaponry and force used should be limited to what is needed to secure a just peace and attain better conditions after the conflict than existed prior to it.

The principle of discrimination. Since war is an official act of government, noncombatants and civilians should be immune from attack.

The principle of limited objectives. Since the purpose of a just war must ultimately be peace, unconditional surrender or the complete removal of the social or political institutions of a nation is unwarranted.

Resource: John F. Johnson, "Can War Be Just?"

ONLY ONE LIFE, TWILL SOON BE PAST - A Poem by Charles Thomas Studd

Two little lines I heard one day,

Traveling along life’s busy way;
Bringing conviction to my heart,
And from my mind would not depart;
Only one life, ’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.

Only one life, yes only one,
Soon will its fleeting hours be done;
Then, in ‘that day’ my Lord to meet,
And stand before His Judgement seat;
Only one life,’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.

Only one life, the still small voice,
Gently pleads for a better choice
Bidding me selfish aims to leave,
And to God’s holy will to cleave;
Only one life, ’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.

Only one life, a few brief years,
Each with its burdens, hopes, and fears;
Each with its clays I must fulfill,
living for self or in His will;
Only one life, ’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.

When this bright world would tempt me sore,
When Satan would a victory score;
When self would seek to have its way,
Then help me Lord with joy to say;
Only one life, ’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.

Give me Father, a purpose deep,
In joy or sorrow Thy word to keep;
Faithful and true what e’er the strife,
Pleasing Thee in my daily life;
Only one life, ’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.

Oh let my love with fervor burn,
And from the world now let me turn;
Living for Thee, and Thee alone,
Bringing Thee pleasure on Thy throne;
Only one life, “twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.

Only one life, yes only one,
Now let me say,”Thy will be done”;
And when at last I’ll hear the call,
I know I’ll say “twas worth it all”;
Only one life,’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last. ”

— extra stanza —

Only one life, ’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.
And when I am dying, how happy I’ll be,
If the lamp of my life has been burned out for Thee.

Q: How do we know who to believe when there are so many interpretations of the Bible?

A: Unfortunately or fortunately, there is no infallible interpreter of the bible, nor is there infallible denomination or church. Therefore, no one is able and qualified to be the judge of biblical interpretations. Even after we are regenerated by the Holy Spirit, we are still tainted by sin, aren't we? We all make mistakes. But the key is that all the essentials of our faith are clear in the bible. We don’t need infallible interpreter to determine that God is the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, that Jesus atoned for our sins and was risen from the dead, that Jesus is the one and only way to salvation, that salvation is received by grace thru faith, that there is heaven and hell.

What I mean is that the core/essential truth a person needs to know in order to be saved is clear in the bible – is summarized in the creeds (Apostles, Nicene, Athanasian). Even on the non-essentials, if the principles of sola scriptura were consistently applied, there would be unanimity. One of the principles, as the Westminster Confession states, is that in order to understand unclear passages of Scripture, one ought to examine clearer passages to understand the more ambiguous ones.

Ok, let me wrap this up with citing this adage, "In essentials, unity (we are united in the essential truth); in non-essentials, liberty (but we are all responsible to the LORD); in all things, charity (no hate or bitterness, but love)."

Q: Are we Christians because we were born into a Christian family?

A: Let me first ask you questions: How do you explain the conversion of Paul? He came from a very strong Judaistic family/culture/education, how did he become Christian? How do you explain the conversion of Muslims - who had been born and grew up in Iran - into Christianity? We Christians believe that we are saved by grace alone. And nothing is impossible for God.

But perhaps this question came from a relativist, or a pluralist. S/he believes that all truths are the product of social conditions, that we are conditioned by our upbringings, our families, our cultures, and so on. Ok. If that’s the case, I would remind him/her that that belief itself is socially and culturally conditioned. S/he won't even ask that question if s/he was born in China, say 60 years ago. I agree that social conditionedness of our lives is a fact, but it can’t be used to argue that all truth is totally (or absolutely) relative. Because that very argument refutes itself. As Peter Berger says, "Relativity relativizes itself."

I suggest you read: Tim Keller, The Reason for God.

If homosexuals are not supposed to practice homosexual tendencies, it is safe to assume that they are called by God to live single lives? So why does God call people to live single lives? Isn't everybody entitled to a spouse?

A: You have two questions here, and they are related to each other. First, are people with homosexual tendencies called to live single lives? People with homosexual desires are called to repent and live a holy life. According to the Bible, homosexual desires (tendencies) are sinful. People with that desires should struggle and fight against them. They can experience true change, healing and victory or live a single life.

Second, why does God call people to live a single life? Isn’t everybody entitled to a spouse? Singleness is a gift and call. Paul says, “I wish that all were as I myself am. But each has his own gift from God, one of one kind and one of another’ (1 Corinthians 7:7). In his writings, Paul always uses the word “gift” to mean an ability God gives to build others up. So being single is a gift and call. The call of being single is to bear fruit in life and ministry through the single state. When you have this gift, you might struggle with your singleness, but God will help you to grow spiritually and be fruitful in the lives of others.

The purpose of both singleness and marriage is to create communities (the church) which are a sign of the glory of the coming (and present) kingdom of God. To do that, every church needs a combination of both Christian married couples and Christian singles. Both couples and singles can minister to each other. Singles and marrieds both point to the hope of Christ in different ways. And the world needs to see both.

So isn't everybody entitled to a spouse? No. We should avoid idolizing marriage. Even the best marriage cannot by itself fill the void in our souls left by God. Without a deeply fulfilling love relationship with Christ now, and hope in a perfect love relationship with him in the future, married Christians will put too much pressure on their marriage to fulfill them, and that will always create pathology in their lives.

Christians are to choose between marriage and singleness not a) for the basic contemporary motive (idolatry) of personal fulfillment nor b) for the traditional motive (idolatry) that you aren’t ‘anybody’ unless you have a family and children. Rather, we marry (or not) on the basis of which state makes us best a sign of the kingdom of God.

Note: my response to the second part of the question is based on Tim Keller's article, "Gospel-Community: Singleness, Marriage, and Family".

Q: What happens to the people who die without being exposed to the word of God?

A: People who knows the Gospel but choose to reject it, they simply don’t get God. Paul made his points explicitly in Romans 3: 9-10. They are all sinners, and thus they earn the wages of sin, namely death (Romans 6:23). But your question is, What about those who haven’t heard the Gospel in their lives? In this case, my position can be designated as “agnostic” (I don’t know). That means all I can say about this as a minister of the Word is that I don’t know. I have never been told about it. All I can tell you is unless you get Jesus Christ, unless you are reunited with him sometime, there is no eternal future of glory for you. Therefore, if Jesus is who he says he is, then one needs to get Him to get God and to be saved. That’s the only thing I know: you need Jesus. I also certainly know that God is wiser than me, more merciful than me, and I do know that when I finally find out how God is dealing with every individual soul, I won’t have any questions about it.

So my answer is I don’t know. But I also want to add this: Although theoretically possible that those who have never heard the gospel could respond to God via general revelation (Romans 1:18-32), there is little biblical warrant to say that God ever does save anyone that way. J. I. Packer once said “we have no warrant to expect that God will act thus in any single case where the gospel is not known or understood.” Moreover, Packer asserts, “Living by the Bible means assuming that no one will be saved apart from faith in Christ, and acting accordingly.”

I hope it helps.

Bagaimana semestinya kita bersikap terhadap kehilangan pekerjaan dan pekerjaan yang tak memuaskan?

Implikasi persatuan dengan Kristus dalam menghadapi kehilangan pekerjaan dan bekerja dalam pekerjaan yang tidak memuaskan.  

Kehilangan pekerjaan 
Dalam budaya kita, pekerjaan dipandang penting. Untuk beberapa orang malah pekerjaan merupakan sumber security dan identitas. Maka, kehilangan pekerjaan tidak hanya dapat mendatangkan financial stress, tetapi juga bisa menghancurkan hidup seseorang, ketika ia memertaruhkan security, identitas, masa depannya pada pekerjaan. Bagaimana semestinya orang Kristen melihat karir? Orang Kristen menemukan identitas dan security-nya dalam Kristus. Kehilangan pekerjaan tentu bisa menyakitkan, menyebabkan stress, tetapi hal yang paling berharga tidak dipertaruhkan. Karena bersatu dengan Kristus, orang Kristen punya resources melampaui wisdom, karakter, kekuatannya sendiri. Christ is in control, dan selalu bermaksud mendatangkan kebaikan bagi mereka yang percaya. Ini akan melindungi orang Kristen dari discouragement dan memberi keberanian, iman, dan harap dalam masa sulit.  

Bekerja dalam thankless job atau pekerjaan yang tak memuaskan. 
Jika kita memandang hubungan, circumstances, prestasi sebagai fulfillment, tentulah kita akan menjadi putus asa, marah, pahit, bekerja dalam pekerjaan yang tak memuaskan. Tetapi jika fulfillment kita ada pada Kristus, kita tidak mendekati hidup dengan feeling needy. Kita akan menghadapi tantangan thankless job setiap hari dengan kepuasan (contentment) dan sukacita NO JOB COULD EVER GIVE. Ini tidak berarti kita tidak akan pernah menjadi discouraged, capek, bosan. Ini berarti kita punya seseorang yang kita percaya, yang akan menolong kita melewati masa sulit. Yes, your job may bore you. Yes, you had hoped to do something more significant. Yes, you wish you could find a way out. Tapi kita tidak pergi bekerja untuk mencari fulfillment. Yes, pekerjaan bisa memberi sense of dignity, tapi ia tidak akan mendefinisi diri kita. Karena dalam Kristus kita penuh, joyful, puas. Meski kita melakukan pekerjaan yang thankless, kita tahu Kristus tidak pernah melupakan apa yang kita lakukan demi nama-Nya. Persatuan dengan Kristus memberi meaning pada segala sesuatu yang kita lakukan dan katakan.

Sobat, kita mungkin capek, tapi kita tidak akan putus asa. Kita mungkin sedih, tapi kita tidak akan hopeless. Kita akan merasa sakit, tapi kita tidak akan menyerah. Kita akan nikmati berkat, tapi kita tidak akan jadi pongah. Hidup kita tidak hanya terdiri dari apa yg kita punya, kita rasakan, kita capai, tetapi dalam siapa kita dalam Kristus. Ini akan menjadi kekuatan kita setiap hari.

Amin.

Sumber: Tim Lane & Paul Tripp, How People Change.

Childlikeness

I got this from Rev. Scott Hoezee's sermon entitled "The Strong Father."

William Sloane Coffin once noted that when we think about Jesus' call to receive the kingdom like children, we often think only about the natural humility of kids. But, Coffin said, we should not underestimate the sweet idealism of children. It's children, after all, who want to save the seals, save the whales, and save everybody else while they're at it. It's kids who set up lemonade stands and sell cookies so they can then turn their nickels and dimes over to this or that relief agency. It's children who take home the little church-shaped piggy banks, fill them with copper coins, and then bring them back to the minister, really believing that those pennies will help make a new addition to the church a reality. It's children who have a neighborhood walk around Oakdale Christian School, holding up homemade signs calling for racial reconciliation and really believing that they are making a difference by taking to the sidewalk that way. And, of course, we encourage this in children. We buy the lemonade, compliment the delicious cookies, and stick our loose change into empty coffee cans. But then the day comes when we start to discourage in older children the very idealism we encourage in children below a certain age. Why do we do that? Would Jesus think that's a good way to make a Christian child grow up?

Appetite for God

Apa sebenarnya experience of God itu? Apa yang terjadi jika saya mengalaminya? Seperti apa? Bagaimana saya tahu bahwa pengalaman rohaniku otentik, bukan dibuat-buat?

Baca Mazmur 63.

Dua prinsip menandai pengalaman rohani yang otentik, yang dengannya dapat kita uji pengalaman rohani kita.

1. Having an appetite for God. // memiliki selera rohani
2. Turning information about God into sensation of God. // Informasi mengenai Allah menjadi pengalaman rohani.

1. Appetite for God // Selera rohani

Selera berarti perasaan absen. Jika saya tidak punya selera, apakah karena sakit atau obat penekan selera yang saya pakai, maka saya akan melihat makanan apapun di hadapan saya tanpa rasa ingin. Punya selera berarti punya rasa kurang dan dorongan untuk memenuhi. Berbicara mengenai selera spiritual, rasa menginginkan Allah (desiring God) tdk bisa terjadi tanpa Allah menyentuh hati kita lebih dulu (Mazmur 63:2). A sense of God’s absence is a sense of His presence in your life. Sdr/i, selera rohani ini crucial. Tidak berselera berarti sakit, atau bahkan mati.

Spiritual check-up: Apakah Sdr/i berselera rohani? Adakah kerinduan akan Allah di hatimu? Dapatkah Sdr/i berkata seperti Daud, “Jiwaku haus akan Engkau.”

2. Sensasi rohani

Tanda lain pengalaman rohani yang otentik adalah kita memperoleh perasaan yang baru (a new sensation).

Jonathan Edwards pernah berkata:

There is a difference between believing that God is holy and gracious, and having a new sense on the heart of the loveliness and beauty of that holiness and grace. The difference between believing that God is gracious and tasting that God is gracious is as different as having a rational belief that honey is sweet and having the actual sense of its sweetness.

Pada Spring 1721, Edwards merenungkan 1 Tim 1:17: “Hormat dan kemuliaan sampai selama-lamanya bagi Raja segala zaman, Allah yang kekal, yang tak nampak, satu-satunya bijak! Amin.” Setelah melalui disiplin rohani ketat, sesuatu terjadi padanya. Ketika ia berjalan di kampus Yale, merenungkan ayat tsb. Allah memberikan pengalaman baru padanya. Ia mengaku, Allah yg begitu jauh jadi begitu dekat dengannya. Berikut kesaksiannya: 

As I read the words, there came into my soul, and as it were diffused through it, a sense of the glory of the divine being; a new sense, quite different from anything I ever experienced before. Never any words of Scripture seemed to me as these words did. I thought with myself, how excellent a Being that was; and how happy I should be, if I might enjoy that God, and be wrapt up to God in heaven, and be as it were swallowed up in him. (Works 16, 792-3) 

 Spiritual check-up:

1. A new sense of God akan disertai dengan delight/sukacita-nikmat. Sukacita bukan terutama karena berkat, atau jawaban doa, atau benefit yang kita peroleh dari Allah, tapi semata-mata karena Dia. Kita bersuka karena Dia, dan akan Dia. Adakah sukacita semacam di hatimu? 
2. Kekuatan setiap hari. Kita cemas, takut, tapi kemudian kita membaca Roma 8. Di sana kita membaca bahwa Tuhan sangat mengasihi kita dan jika Ia berada di pihak kita, siapa dapat melawan kita? Pertanyaannya, apakah perkataan itu real dalam hati kita, tak sebatas kita ketahui? Sampai Firman Allah menjadi real dalam hatimu, se-real rasa cemasmu, ia tak akan mengatasi kecemasanmu atau mengubah hidupmu. Kalau kita melihat Mazmur, spiritual experience bukanlah experience yang asing bagi penulisnya. It's so real, as real as our physical sensory, taste, drink, eat, touch, and so on.

70 Resolutions

Jonathan Edwards is one of my favorite theologians. He wrote his resolutions at the age of 18 or 19. Yes, he was so young. Here you can see how madly passionate he was about the things of God. I think if I could just have half of his passion, my life would be ... 

Biblical Fasting

Fasting is a full body action.
Baca Psalm 35:13-14! Daud melibatkan tubuhnya ketika berdoa. Ia berpuasa dan mengenakan pakaian kabung. Ia melakukannya untuk menunjukkan kesungguhannya pada Allah. Jadi, puasa juga dapat dipahami sebagai intensification of prayer, atau embodiment of prayer.

Beberapa kutipan mendukung gagasan puasa sebagai a full-body action.

John Calvin:

Whenever men are to pray to God concerning any great matter, it would be expedient to appoint fasting along with prayer. Their sole purpose in this kind of fasting is to render themselves more eager and unencumbered for prayer . . . with a full stomach our mind is not so lifted up to God. // Ketika kita berdoa kepada Allah untuk urusan yang serius, mungkin kita perlu berdoa dan berpuasa. Maksud utama puasa ini adalah untuk menyatakan diri kita lebih sungguh dan bebas, tidak dibebani hal-hal lain, lebih berfokus, untuk berdoa. . . dengan perut kenyang pikiran kita tidak begitu terangkat pada Allah.

Andrew Murray, pendeta Reformed di Cape Town, South Africa:

Fasting helps us to express, to deepen, and to confirm the resolution that we are ready to sacrifice anything, even ourselves, to attain the Kingdom of God. // Puasa membantu kita mengekspresikan, memperdalam, dan menegaskan tekad bahwa kita siap mengorbankan apapun, bahkan diri kita sendiri, untuk memperoleh Kerajaan Allah.

John Piper, pendeta Bethlehem Baptist Church:

They (the saints) were hungry enough for God’s leading that they wanted to say it with the hunger of their bodies and not just the hunger of their hearts. // Mereka begitu lapar akan pimpinan Allah sehingga mereka ingin mengatakannya dengan kelaparan tubuh dan tak hanya dengan kelaparan hati.

Fasting is a response to a grievous sacred moment of life.

Puasa sebagai respon terhadap momen hidup yang amat penting dan serius, serta tak jarang menyebabkan kita menderita.

A: Sacred Moment Death Sin Fear Threats Needs Sickness

B: Response Fasting

C: Results Life Forgiveness Safety Hope Answers Health

Puasa biblical menekankan A - B. Bukan tidak ada C: Results. Tapi C tergantung dari kehendak Allah, dari apakah kita in tune tidak dengan kehendak dan rencana-Nya.

Jika kita hanya menekankan movement B - C, maka puasa kita menjadi alat manipulasi. Dan itu bukan puasa biblical. Puasa instrumental, iya. Puasa biblical adalah puasa responsive. Ketika suatu peristiwa terjadi, maka umat Allah berdoa dan berpuasa, menyatakan isi hati mereka.

Is this the time for fasting?

Baca Matthew 9:14-17!

PRE-JESUS	JESUS	CHURCH	KINGDOM
Fasting	Feasting	Rhythm of Fasting and Feasting	Feasting

Ya, inilah saat kita berpuasa. Kita berpuasa karena kita merindukan Yesus yang akan datang kembali. Saat ini kita content tapi masih longing for more of Him. Kita ingin melihat kedatangan-Nya dalam kemuliaan, membarui segala sesuatu, menghadirkan Kerajaan-Nya di muka bumi.

John Piper dalam Hunger for God, berkata:

The more deeply you walk with Christ, the hungrier you get for Christ . . . the more homesick you get for heaven . . . the more you want “all the fullness of God” . . . the more you want to be done with sin . . . the more you want the Bridegroom to come again . . . the more you want the Church revived and purified with the beauty of Jesus . . . the more you want a great awakening to God’s reality in the cities . . . the more you want to see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ penetrate the darkness of all the unreached peoples of the world . . . the more you want to see false worldviews yield to the force of Truth . . . the more you want to see pain relieved and tears wiped away and death destroyed . . . the more you long for every wrong to be made right and the justice and grace of God to fill the earth like the waters cover the sea.

If you don’t feel strong desires for the manifestation of the glory of God, it is not because you have drunk deeply and are satisfied. It is because you have nibbled so long at the table of the world. Your soul is stuffed with small things, and there is no room for the great. God did not create you for this. There is an appetite for God. And it can be awakened. I invite you to turn from the dulling effects of food and the dangers of idolatry, and to say with some simple fast: “This much, O God, I want you.”

Yummy Bacon

Folks, if Tulip doesn't really work for you, or you just don't get it, my suggestion is try Bacon. I like bacon better so far. In fact, I like it so much. What??? Oh, don't worry, my friends. It won't make you fat. Just try it first, ok, ok, ok?

Rabu Abu

Masa Prapaskah mulai lebih awal tahun ini dengan Rabu Abu jatuh pada 13 Februari. Masa ini bukan sekadar masa kita berpantang (abstinence). Pertanyaan lebih penting untuk kita renungkan bersama di masa ini adalah Bagaimana kita bertobat dan berpulang pada Allah dengan segenap hati? Disiplin-disiplin apa yang dapat membantu kita selama hari-hari yang kita khususkan ini?

Mungkin baik kita bertanya pada diri sendiri:
o Bagaimana saya melakukan penyelidikan diri (self-examination) dan pengakuan dosa (confession) begitu rupa sehingga membawa kesadaran akan keadaan diri saya sebenarnya di hadapan Allah? (Mazmur 51:6)
o Bagaimana saya akan memberi? (Matius 6:2, 3)
o Bagaimana saya akan berdoa? (Matius 6:5-13)
o Siapa yang perlu saya maafkan dan dari siapa saya perlu memohon pengampunan? (Matius 6:14, 15)
o Bagaimana saya akan berpuasa? Apa yang perlu saya pantangi supaya membuka ruang lebih besar bagi Allah? (Matius 6:16-18)
o Apa harta duniawi yang amat lekat dengan saya dan bagaimana saya melepasnya demi berpartisipasi dalam pekerjaan Allah? (Matius 6:19-21)
o Bagaimana saya berdamai dengan Allah dan bagaimana saya terlibat dalam pelayanan pendamaian di masa Prapaskah? (2 Korintus 5)
o Bagaimana saya mempraktekkan “kerahasiaan” agar saya melaksanakan disiplin rohani ini secara lebih intensional? (Matius 6:1, 5, 16-17)