Brad has given us a good exhortation in his last post. We should examine our doctrine and our lives . . . That reminder is a good one along with Kurt’s sermon on Sunday. Kurt spoke on the self righteous Pharisee and the tax collector. As part of watching our lives, we should certainly take care to be humble about our spiritual state. Any gifts, any right doctrinal understandings, any aspects of healthy church life that we have are not reasons to boast. Pride is not only offensive to God, but also is an effective opportunity to lose the truth that we have.

My wife had a great idea the other night: We decided to make an advent wreath to help our son understand why there’s all this to-do about Christmas. My son’s five years old now, which means he is highly excited by the prospect of all the gifts, cookies and candy that are in store for him over the next few weeks. But part of our job as Christian parents is to try to pry his little eyes off all that and refocus them on Jesus.

We have several traditions that we do as a family at Christmas, and the advent wreath we made will probably become part of that. As is my wont, I did some internet-research on the advent wreath, and found that there’s no real clarity regarding its origin, and no dominant tradition about its symbolism, either—people seem to kind of apply whatever symbolism they want to it. Though the tradition seems very medieval at first glance, most likely it started with German Lutherans sometime soon after the Reformation, but it only took real shape in the latter part of the nineteenth century and was then picked up by Roman Catholics and remains a significant part of Roman Catholic devotion to this day. As for the symbolism, some people say the purple candles are for royalty, others that they’re for mourning. The pink candle could be a number of things: either a mixture of the purple of mourning and the white of rejoicing, or a reference to an old Roman Catholic tradition of the pope giving roses as gifts during this season.

At any rate, there’s nothing in the tradition of the wreath that specifically ties it to the parts of Roman Catholic theology that I do not believe, and with a few “Protestantizing” changes and additions, it’s a great way to focus my son’s attention on something other than the gifts under the tree.

Last night, we lit the first candle, read from Isaiah 60, and thanked God for sending Jesus, the Light of the world, to us. My son, as usual, was most interested in which candle he was going to be able to light, but I have no doubt that he’ll remember some of this, and that in itself is worth it.

I’m writing this post at 8:30 at night on Thanksgiving. In a little over an hour I’ll be heading to bed only to have to get up at 3:30 in order to be at work by 5am. That’s right - I have to start selling phones at 5 am on “Black Friday.” This is a day that I’ve faced for the past few years with mixed emotions as a Christian sales representative. Let me explain.

Black Friday is usually a day of excitement because it’s a very good day of sales. The early Fall season is notoriously slow in retail sales. And this year is no exception. I’ve endured a number of long, slow and some times payless days. So to finally have a day that is nearly guaranteed good sales is exciting. Obviously, it’s exciting financially but it’s also exciting because of the fast pace of the day. On Black Friday there is barely time to eat. I’ve often returned an hour later to my half-eaten Chick-fil-a sandwich only to find it cold and soggy. On Black Friday there is alot of caffeine, the sleeves are rolled up, and the tie is loosened. Reps come ready and excited to be working. There is an excited energy that we share.

But eventually that excitement has to face the reality that I’m a cog in the machine churning and feeding consumerism. Every Black Friday I’m faced with at least one customer that has lost all sense of buying responsibility. It’s the kid that just dropped $150 on a pair of Jordan’s and now is spending $300 for the latest phone. It’s parents that feed their kids’ “must haves.” Or it’s fashionable moms toting the colored purse and now the matching phone. The examples are endless.

Now I know that I’m not finally responsible for their decisions. I regularly talk people out of purchases that I think they don’t need or can’t afford, but in the end if they say, “I appreciate your advice but I still want it.” I just have to give it to them and know that I bear no responsibility for their poor decisions. I know that’s the reality. But practically speaking, as a Christian I can’t help but have a sensitive conscience to the situation because I know their decision is antithetical to my Christian convictions and worldview. Thus, practically speaking, I do feel a bit responsible because I’m obligated to let some one make a decision that I know to be wrong.

I realize this is a bit of a personal confession and this conversation brings up a host of questions. But I think it serves as a pointer to the tension in the Christian life. We are “in” the world but not “of” the world. It is the blurred line between the City of Man and the City of God that Augustine wrote of. So as I start selling phones at 5am on Black Friday, Lord willing, I will be reminded that being a cog in the machine is like being the Christian pilgrim in a foreign land.

Brad’s last post was interesting and helpful. He is right that one rarely moves from belief to unbelief all at once. It is a series of many little steps. I read an essay by Nicholson Baker in his collection of essays entitled The Size of Thoughts that described well the process of changing one’s mind — it is many little changes of mind that culminate in one larger change . . .

In additional to Brad’s suggestions, I would add that being present with the church routinely is a great aid to preserving one’s faith. Also, it’s essential to pray that God would continue to give us the grace to believe. As Josh M. mentioned last night, we should all be like the father who cried out, “I believe, help my unbelief.”

Depending on when you read this post, one of our members will be preaching or has already preached from Hebrews 6 reminding us that the way to unbelief is a slippery slope. Apostasy is not usually a grandiose event or, to continue the analogy, a walk of a cliff’s edge. A Christian doesn’t just wake up one day and decide not to believe the Gospel. It’s not the same explosion of a Mentos dropped in a Diet Coke. It’s more like a Coke that sits in a freezer for hours on end, slowly building pressure, until it suddenly burst. There are small steps that we take each and every day that if not carefully placed, we will find ourselves on our way to not believing the Gospel.

So what can we do to prevent such a thing from happening? What are some small steps we can take when we realize we are on a slippery slope? Well, let me try to speak as elder that has been charged with shepherding God’s flock.

1. Talk to someone immediately. This is probably the most important step. But unfortunately, it is too often neglected. As soon as you find yourself deeply struggling with a particular sin, questioning your church’s Statement of Faith (SoF), or find yourself enticed by a some teaching outside your SoF, go to someone immediately and talk to them. That may be another member, elder, or pastor. If it’s been said once, it’s been said hundreds of times by the elders of this church - “Why didn’t he or she say something earlier? Why are we just finding out about this?”

A delay in talking to someone usually indicates a couple of things. First, it indicates a misunderstanding of church membership and it’s benefits. Second, it shows the naivety in thinking you can handle “it”, whatever “it” may be, by yourself. I recognize in my own sinful heart the temptation to keep silent. But as an elder, I can’t emphasis enough the value of immediately talking to someone despite any awkwardness or embarrassment you may experience.

2. Realize this is a perilous slope. If you can be tempted to be silent then you can also be tempted to down play the seriousness of your situation. Spiritually speaking, sin disorients our senses. We think we have 20/20 vision when in reality we are blind. Apathy and indifference are two of our biggest spiritual enemies. They are not a help to nor an indicator of spiritual life. They will only deceive you into thinking that what you are believing, doing, or not doing aren’t serious nor urgent. In addition, we can be tempted to excuse our sin because of our circumstances. For example, I may excuse my neglect of properly leading and caring my wife to my “busy” circumstances. I may be busy but it doesn’t excuse me of my responsibilities.

I completely agree with everything that’s been said, and I’m not adding anything new here either. I just wanted to repeat what Mark Dever said at T4G. He was speaking to a group of pastors, but I think his comment is applicable to all Christians in a local church. He asked, “When was the last time you inconvenienced yourself for another member?” I think he’s spot on. Our comforts can so often be an aid to our laziness and sin. They can wrongly make us think someone else is taking the intuitive.

This is why I love the biblical image of membership being a building (1 Cor. 3.9; 2 Cor. 6.16; Eph. 2:21; 1 Tim. 3:15; 2 Pet. 2.5). As bricks in this building we have to help support and rest on one another. You have to inconvenience yourself because the spiritual well-being of the brick above you depends on it.

I’ve been studying this week on what salvation means in Islam. And just to give a sneak peak on this week’s lesson, part of what is means is a striving to stay on the “straight path”, the path Allah laid out in the Qur’an and Muhammad exemplified in his life (Hadith).
Well, time and time again in this study I’ve had to go back and re-articulate the Gospel. (This has become especially true for this class.) And in so doing my mind has often drifted to my responsibility to fight the good fight of faith (1 Tim. 6.11-12). This afternoon I was studying while listening to Indelible Grace’s remake of “For All The Saints” and was struck by these words. I hope you too are encouraged by them.

For all the saints, who from their labors rest,
Who Thee by faith before the world confessed,
Thy Name, O Jesus, be forever blessed.
Alleluia, Alleluia!

Thou wast their Rock, their Fortress and their Might;
Thou, Lord, their Captain in the well fought fight;
Thou, in the darkness drear, their one true Light.
Alleluia, Alleluia!

O may Thy soldiers, faithful, true and bold,
Fight as the saints who nobly fought of old,
And win with them the victor’s crown of gold.
Alleluia, Alleluia!

And when the strife is fierce, the warfare long,
Steals on the ear the distant triumph song,
And hearts are brave, again, and arms are strong.
Alleluia, Alleluia!

The golden evening brightens in the west;
Soon, soon to faithful warriors comes their rest;
Sweet is the calm of paradise the blessed.
Alleluia, Alleluia!

But lo! there breaks a yet more glorious day;
The saints triumphant rise in bright array;
The King of glory passes on His way.
Alleluia, Alleluia!