It’s impossible to avoid the advertising and impossible to miss the claims. Sports are great, they say, but do you know what makes them even better? Adding a little wager. Sports are exciting, they say, but even more exciting when you’ve got a bit of money riding on them. So why not enjoy them all the way? Just download our app and try it out. It’s easy. It’s harmless. And it’s so much fun.
In the past few years, sports betting has exploded into the mainstream. You can’t watch a game without seeing ads for it and, if you’re within their target audience, you can’t surf the web or visit an app store without seeing the banners. If you’re a man, and especially if you’re a young man, they’re after you. They want you. And they know you’re vulnerable.
But young man, I want to encourage you: Don’t consider it. Don’t do it. Don’t even make that first bet. I’m going to give you four reasons that betting is not only unwise but also sinful—four reasons that you should avoid it altogether.
First, betting is an expression of idolatry. We all understand what it is to have a discontented spirit and to want to have more than we do now. Yet God commands us to be content with what he has provided. And, even better, he also promises to provide all that we need. Ultimately, we are to be content in him, no matter what we have or don’t have. Betting is a sure sign of discontentment and proof that you have an idolatrous relationship with money—proof that you are looking to money to provide what God wants you to derive from your relationship with him. “Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you’” (Hebrews 13:5).
Second, betting represents an illicit form of gain, not one that receives God’s blessing. God means for us to work to earn money, not to gamble for it. “He who tills his land will have plenty of food, but he who follows empty pursuits will have poverty in plenty. A faithful man will abound with blessings, but he who makes haste to be rich will not go unpunished” (Proverbs 28:19-20). Betting is the ultimate form of “making haste to be rich” instead of laboring to have enough. God does not sanction gambling as a means of gaining wealth. He will not bless it.
God does not sanction gambling as a means of gaining wealth. He will not bless it.Share
Third, betting is a failure to love others. God calls us to love others and to always seek their good. Yet by definition, betting is a form of taking rather than giving. It is not the exchanging of goods or services for money, but the enriching of one person through the impoverishment of another. You can only win when somebody else loses. Hence, to win at betting may be a greater evil than to lose at it, for in losing at least you are only victimizing yourself. “He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8). Betting is not loving, not just, and not merciful.
Fourth, betting is dangerous. All sin is progressive and all sin aims at the uttermost. The invitation to sin in a small and seemingly harmless way is actually an invitation to sin in the greatest and most substantial ways. Adultery begins with just a peek and murder begins with just an angry thought. In that vein, the invitation to make even a small bet is actually the invitation to theft, to addiction, and to financial catastrophe. “My son, if sinners entice you, do not consent … For in vain is a net spread in the sight of any bird, but these men lie in wait for their own blood; they set an ambush for their own lives. Such are the ways of everyone who is greedy for unjust gain; it takes away the life of its possessors” (Proverbs 1:10, 17-19).
I don’t mean to deny the claims that betting makes sports more exciting. If you’ve ever participated in a really good fantasy league, you’ve probably experienced a kind of “enhancement” to sports that makes them all the more exciting. But what you need to know is that everything in this world is ultimately disappointing. The greatest thrills still fall short of what we long for. Hence, there will always be an element of disappointment or dissatisfaction. That’s true of sex, true of drugs, true of gambling, and true of everything else. You would almost think that God has purposely put dampers on even the greatest pleasures to help us understand that nothing in this world will ultimately satisfy our restless souls—and, of course, to cause us to look beyond this world. And should you win thousands or millions, even that thrill will soon fade and your heart will continue to be restless and discontent.
So, my friend, don’t listen to their lies. Don’t let them persuade you. Don’t make that first bet.
But if you are unpersuaded and choose to disregard me—if you go ahead and make that first bet—I have a hope for you. I hope that you’ll lose badly. Losing badly would be God’s grace in your life and his means of warning you away from much more dire consequences. As De Witt Talmage said a very long time ago, “The only man who gambles successfully is the man who loses so fearfully at the start that he is disgusted and quits. Let him win at the start, and win again, and it means farewell to home and heaven.”

There are times when I receive a new book and find myself saying “I don’t think we need a new book on that.” After all, some topics have been covered so skillfully, repeatedly, and exhaustively that yet another book on the subject could only be overkill. Yet sometimes I receive a new book and find myself saying, “I’m so glad someone has written a book on that!” There are some topics that may not have been covered sufficiently or that may reflect such new realities that we are still awaiting good analyses.

The Gender Revolution falls squarely in the second category. This is a book that has been written to provide a biblical, biological, and compassionate response to the modern day gender ideology that has been flooding our world and sweeping away so many victims. It is written by a fascinating combination of authors: Patricia Weerakoon who is a now-retired medical doctor, counsellor, sex therapist, speaker, writer and academic; Kamal Weerakoon (Patricia’s son) who is a missions director at a Presbyterian church; and Robert Smith who is a long-time lecturer in theology, ethics and music ministry at Sydney Missionary & Bible College.
So why have they teamed up to write this book? The introduction makes it clear:
Sometimes a particular cultural moment calls not only for clear statements of the truth, but also for a strong rebuttal of false and dangerous ideologies that oppose the truth. This is not only part of loving our neighbours and promoting social good, but also part of the gospel call to “take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ” (2 Cor 10:5). There are moments, then, when the only way to love others truly is to speak the truth with clarity.
In our judgement, this is such a moment. This is partly because of the aggression and vehemence with which many transgender ideologues argue their position. It is also because this flawed ideology is taking hold of too many hearts and minds. But mostly it is because hurting and vulnerable people, especially children, are being left damaged and scarred (in more ways than one) by this ideology. This is not the moment to be silent or to put our heads in the sand.
Indeed, it is not. This errant worldview needs to be countered and this book is their attempt to do so. Yet they make it clear that their protest is not against people—especially the mostly-young people who are falling victim—but against ideology. Their goal is to promote the health and well-being of all people, and especially those who are so vulnerable and so susceptible to damage.
The book begins by explaining today’s sexual and gender ideology. They offer the analogy of a tree to describe a model of sexuality that features four distinct elements: biological sex; gendered behaviours or expressions; sexual orientation; and gender identity. Some readers may be concerned that they cede too much ideological territory in using terminology like “gender identity,” but they do defend the decision and broker no compromise with their understanding of sexuality.
In the following chapter they explain that their interest in this book is defending “how science has affirmed, and continues to affirm, the goodness of our given biological sex.” Hence they rely on Scripture to guide and shape them, but are especially eager to show how God’s natural revelation demonstrates the goodness of the biblical view of sexuality. Not only that, but they also want to show how modern gender ideology, and transgender ideology in particular, has absolutely no scientific basis to commend it. It is, in fact, ideological and anti-scientific.
As the book continues, the authors cover a host of important issues: harmony and disharmony between inner feelings and biological reality, the binary nature of human sexuality, gendered behavior and what it has to do with being men and women, and the nature of desire, whether that desire is for someone of the opposite sex or the same sex. It concludes with a pair of lengthy chapters meant to help Christians live well and to live without compromise. How should we respond to young people in our churches if they express gender confusion, and perhaps especially in a context like Canada or Australia where to even have the conversation is to risk falling afoul of the law? Should we grant a person who claims to be transgendered their newly-chosen opposite-gender name? What should we do if asked to provide our pronouns at work or school? They answer these questions and many more and do so in very satisfying ways.
In the book’s opening pages there is a warning that helps explain why a book like this is so urgent. It says, “At the time of publication, in some jurisdictions (such as the Australian state of Victoria) it can be legally problematic to discuss with someone their sexual orientation or gender identity, even if that person is open to the discussion or requests the discussion. We urge readers to know the legal framework that applies to them and to exercise wisdom and discretion.” In other words, to offer this book to certain people or to even discuss its contents in certain contexts is to risk severe consequences. Yet as people who are committed to honoring God’s truth and people who are committed to loving others even at great cost to ourselves, we must know why modern gender ideology is so very wrong, we must know the beauty and order of God’s creation, and we must be prepared with answers and explanations. This book, written by people with particular expertise in the area and people who have a great love for the vulnerable, is a tremendous resource for parents, pastors, and anyone else. I highly recommend it.
(The Gender Revolution is published by Matthias Media, an Australian publisher, which makes it a bit tricky to track down. You can try Amazon (Print), Amazon (Kindle), or direct from the publisher.)
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The Bible can be an intimidating book. I suppose any book of the Bible’s size can be intimidating merely by virtue of its page count. But then there’s also the claims people make about the Bible—that it’s a book that transforms lives, that it’s a book that reveals the mind of God himself, that it’s a book that is without error. And beyond that, there’s the nature of the Bible as a collection of writings that span centuries, peoples, cultures, and genres, not to mention the outsized importance of the Bible in shaping the Western world as we know it. For these reasons and many others, the Bible can intimidate people to such a degree that they read it without confidence or perhaps fail to read it at all.

It’s little wonder than that Christians have often written books meant to help introduce people to the practice of reading the Bible and to help them read it profitably and in its entirety. New among them is The Epic Story of the Bible: How to Read and Understand God’s Word by Greg Gilbert. Using his own trek to Mount Everest (base camp, not summit) as a backdrop and illustration, Gilbert says his book is meant to “give you a briefing about what you’re going to see, what you’re going to experience, what you should look for and look out for as you set off on the long trek of reading the entire Bible.”
The key to reading the Bible well, he says, “is to understand that all of those authors and books—all 1,189 chapters of them—are actually working together to tell one overarching, mind-blowing story about God’s action to save human beings from their high-handed rebellion against him, and from the effects and consequences of that rebellion.”
That story is nothing short of epic as he illustrates in this very brief overview: “Wars between angels rage in the spiritual realm, while on earth kingdoms rise and fall, empires clash, cities are built and destroyed, priests perform sacrifices, and prophets point their bony fingers to the future. And in the end, a great throne is toppled and a great crown falls to the ground, only to be given finally to one thirty-year-old man—a subjugated peasant from a conquered nation—whom God enthrones over the entire world as the one who alone can and does offer mercy to rebels. If there’s ever been an epic story told in the history of mankind, this one is it!”
A story so epic is certainly worth reading and Gilbert means to help by introducing his readers to some of the things they will encounter and come up against as they attempt to do so. He begins with a description of what the Bible is and where it came from. From there he traces its grand storyline in a way that may be at least somewhat familiar to those who have read Graeme Goldsworthy—an author whose work on this subject Gilbert much admires.
Having done this, he turns to some of the major themes readers will encounter as they make their trek from Genesis to Revelation, which is to say, he introduces some biblical theology, a practice that “tries to see how different truths sit and develop as the storyline of the Bible unfolds.” In other words, rather than systematically studying what the whole Bible says about a theme, it studies how a theme develops from beginning to end and how it helps propel the narrative forward. Thus over four chapters he traces the theme of God’s presence, the theme of covenant, the theme of kingship, and the theme of sacrifice. The final chapter, “Setting Out,” offers a number of tips and practices that will assist people to make the journey well and to take it all the way to completion.
It is an unfortunate fact that many Christians have read parts of the Bible, but have never read the whole Bible. They have read parts of the narrative, but never followed it all the way through. They don’t know what they are missing! The Epic Story of the Bible is meant to help them not only learn what they are missing but also help them to set out and complete that epic, beautiful, and rewarding trek. And I am convinced it will serve well in accomplishing that very purpose. I highly recommend reading it—and highly recommend buying a few extra copies to give away to others so they, too, can embark on a life-changing journey.

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