For some time, my favorite word to study has been the Greek word thlipsis. It has a broad range of meanings and applications. It literally means “pressure,” and is often translated “tribulation” in the New Testament, but a few cases it refers to the “anguish” of childbirth. In verbal form it can mean “to squeeze” or “to pinch.” As an adjective it can even mean “narrow,” as in the path Jesus tells us to walk.

My fascination with this word consists mainly in the implications of seeing life as one big thlipsis. If we pray that Christ would increase, and we would decrease, it naturally follows that in answering this prayer God would put us through tight spots to help the process. He reduces us so that Christ can increase.

Some of us God might even have to put through a big, final thlipsis at the judgment if he finds us still too full of ourselves to wedge through the pearly gates. I think I’d prefer the narrow road beforehand to that eternal embarrassment.

Dennis Kinlaw says it best: “When you come across an opportunity to sacrifice yourself, to lay down your own life,  you ought not run.” What most resembles death and pain to us just may be the birth pangs of new life, the Life.

Before commencing the third installment of Tuesdays With Wesley, I thought I’d pause and give a disclaimer: I am not Wesleyan, nor is anyone involved with ex-icarus or Lexington Christian Fellowship. The only name we want to be associated with is Jesus Christ, the name above all names. As far as “isms” go, (and I will say this again in the same way it’s been said before in this blog) it’s not what I don’t know that scares me, but what everyone else thinks they know. Having said that, I present to you an interesting perspective on the issue of sin in believers, as seen through the eyes of Mr. Wesley. I believe it to be solidly biblical and very enlightening, but give no weight to it as inspired truth. This should serve as a good follow-up to last week’s installment, Christian Perfection. (more…)

Once again, it’s time for our weekly delve into the sermons of John Wesley. Like last week’s selection, “The Almost Christian,” this week’s sermon is a very notable and defining one in the writings of Wesley. Sermon 40: “Christian Perfection,” addresses first what Christian perfection does not entail, and then suggests what is implied by this hotly debated biblical concept.

So often I hear people say, “Nobody’s perfect. I’m human. I still make mistakes.” What they really mean, though, is that they are in sin, and do not believe in the power of Jesus Christ to free them from sin. I believe wholeheartedly, both from scripture and experience, in freedom from the bondage of sin. I also agree that, yes, we are all in fact human. But Wesley, and also the Bible, leaves sin noticeably off the list of things that are inescapably human. If you are a Bible-believing Christian, you must come to terms with verses like Matthew 5:48: “You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” You must face the fact that sin has no place in the call of Jesus, and that his call is not an impossible standard, but an expected response. (more…)

Hello ex-icarusians. My name is Ben, and I am a part of Lexington Christian Fellowship along with Mr. Icarus himself. First off, I would like to thank Dan for graciously allowing me to enter the ex-icarus conversation.

Having said that, I will direct your attention to the first of hopefully many weekly reviews (playfully labeled “Tuesdays with Wesley”) of selected John Wesley sermons. Today’s Wesley tidbit comes from Sermon II, entitled “The Almost Christian.” In this sermon, Wesley lays out what is implied in being an almost Christian and contrasts this with what he sees as an altogether Christian. (more…)