DownshoreDrift

St. Athanasius on the Incarnation of Christ, Part 2

I am reading through St. Athanasius' The Incarnation of the Word of God as part of my Advent study. This passage is just stunning. We should put away trite explanations of why Jesus came and consider what Athanasius, the Father of Orthodoxy and the theological force behind the First Council of Nicea and the Nicene Creed (325 AD) had to say:

The Divine Dilemma and Its Solution in the Incarnation

(6) We saw in the last chapter that, because death and corruption were gaining ever firmer hold on them, the human race was in process of destruction. Man, who was created in God's image and in his possession of reason reflected the very Word Himself, was disappearing, and the work of God was being undone. The law of death, which followed from the Transgression, prevailed upon us, and from it there was no escape. The thing that was happening was in truth both monstrous and unfitting. It would, of course, have been unthinkable that God should go back upon His word and that man, having transgressed, should not die; but it was equally monstrous that beings which once had shared the nature of the Word should perish and turn back again into non-existence through corruption. It was unworthy of the goodness of God that creatures made by Him should be brought to nothing through the deceit wrought upon man by the devil; and it was supremely unfitting that the work of God in mankind should disappear, either through their own negligence or through the deceit of evil spirits. As, then, the creatures whom He had created reasonable, like the Word, were in fact perishing, and such noble works were on the road to ruin, what then was God, being Good, to do? Was He to let corruption and death have their way with them? In that case, what was the use of having made them in the beginning? Surely it would have been better never to have been created at all than, having been created, to be neglected and perish; and, besides that, such indifference to the ruin of His own work before His very eyes would argue not goodness in God but limitation, and that far more than if He had never created men at all. It was impossible, therefore, that God should leave man to be carried off by corruption, because it would be unfitting and unworthy of Himself.

(7) Yet, true though this is, it is not the whole matter. As we have already noted, it was unthinkable that God, the Father of Truth, should go back upon His word regarding death in order to ensure our continued existence. He could not falsify Himself; what, then, was God to do? Was He to demand repentance from men for their transgression? You might say that that was worthy of God, and argue further that, as through the Transgression they became subject to corruption, so through repentance they might return to incorruption again. But repentance would not guard the Divine consistency, for, if death did not hold dominion over men, God would still remain untrue. Nor does repentance recall men from what is according to their nature; all that it does is to make them cease from sinning. Had it been a case of a trespass only, and not of a subsequent corruption, repentance would have been well enough; but when once transgression had begun men came under the power of the corruption proper to their nature and were bereft of the grace which belonged to them as creatures in the Image of God. No, repentance could not meet the case. What—or rather Who was it that was needed for such grace and such recall as we required? Who, save the Word of God Himself, Who also in the beginning had made all things out of nothing? His part it was, and His alone, both to bring again the corruptible to incorruption and to maintain for the Father His consistency of character with all. For He alone, being Word of the Father and above all, was in consequence both able to recreate all, and worthy to suffer on behalf of all and to be an ambassador for all with the Father.

(8) For this purpose, then, the incorporeal and incorruptible and immaterial Word of God entered our world. In one sense, indeed, He was not far from it before, for no part of creation had ever been without Him Who, while ever abiding in union with the Father, yet fills all things that are. But now He entered the world in a new way, stooping to our level in His love and Self-revealing to us. He saw the reasonable race, the race of men that, like Himself, expressed the Father's Mind, wasting out of existence, and death reigning over all in corruption. He saw that corruption held us all the closer, because it was the penalty for the Transgression; He saw, too, how unthinkable it would be for the law to be repealed before it was fulfilled. He saw how unseemly it was that the very things of which He Himself was the Artificer should be disappearing. He saw how the surpassing wickedness of men was mounting up against them; He saw also their universal liability to death. All this He saw and, pitying our race, moved with compassion for our limitation, unable to endure that death should have the mastery, rather than that His creatures should perish and the work of His Father for us men come to nought, He took to Himself a body, a human body even as our own. Nor did He will merely to become embodied or merely to appear; had that been so, He could have revealed His divine majesty in some other and better way. No, He took our body, and not only so, but He took it directly from a spotless, stainless virgin, without the agency of human father—a pure body, untainted by intercourse with man. He, the Mighty One, the Artificer of all, Himself prepared this body in the virgin as a temple for Himself, and took it for His very own, as the instrument through which He was known and in which He dwelt. Thus, taking a body like our own, because all our bodies were liable to the corruption of death, He surrendered His body to death instead of all, and offered it to the Father. This He did out of sheer love for us, so that in His death all might die, and the law of death thereby be abolished because, having fulfilled in His body that for which it was appointed, it was thereafter voided of its power for men. This He did that He might turn again to incorruption men who had turned back to corruption, and make them alive through death by the appropriation of His body and by the grace of His resurrection. Thus He would make death to disappear from them as utterly as straw from fire.

Is Our Christianity Actually Christless?

I was rereading some of Michael Horton's Christless Christianity the other day and I ran across this passage where Horton talks about some of George Barna's research on the current state of the church and Christians and what they believe. It was interesting to me and the implications are pretty huge. I will reprint it here, but know that this is Horton quoting and interacting with Barna. Until I pick up again at the end, this is not mine.
 It comes from pages 30-32.

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Based on numerous studies conducted by his research group, George Barna concludes, "To increasing millions of Americans, God - if we even believe in a supernatural deity - exists for the pleasure of humankind. He resides in the heavenly realm solely for our utility and benefit. Although we are too clever to voice it, we live by the notion that true power is accessed not by looking upward but by turning inward."

Unless something changes, Barna thinks,

It will be every man for himself, with no second thoughts or regrets about the personal or societal implications of this incredibly selfish, nihilistic, narcissistic way of life . . .

Most Americans have at least an intellectual assent when it comes to God, Jesus Christ, and angels. They believe that the Bible is a good book filled with important stories and lessons. And they believe that religion is very important in their lives. But this same group of people, including many professing Christians, also believe that people are inherently good; that our primary purpose is to enjoy life as much as possible.

Eighty-two percent of Americans (and a majority of evangelicals) believe that Benjamin Franklin's aphorism, "God helps those who help themselves," is a biblical quotation. A majority believe that "all people pray to the same god or spirit, no matter what name they use for that spiritual being" and that "if a person is generally good or does enough good things for others during their life, they will earn a place in heaven." It should not surprise us, then, when President Bush says, "I believe that all the world, whether they be Muslim, Christian, or any other religion, prays to the same God. That's what I believe."

After citing a series of reports, Barna concludes,

In short, the spirituality of America is Christian in name only . . . We desire experience more than knowledge. We prefer choices to absolutes. We embrace preferences rather than truths. We seek comfort rather than growth. Faith must come on our terms or we reject it. We have enthroned ourselves as the final arbiters of righteousness, the ultimate rulers of our own experience and destiny. We are the Pharisees of the new millennium.

... Barna's studies suggest that most Americans value time and efficiency over everything else, minimizing long-term commitments, maintaining "independence and individuality at all costs," even to the point of being skeptical of institutions, people, and authorities. After all, people are being told every day, "You are unique" and you shouldn't submit to the expectations of others. Above all, "Trust your feelings to guide you. Relying upon absolute principles places unrealistic limitations on you. Only you know what's right or best for you at any given moment, in those circumstances."  Finally, "Set goals and achieve them . . . Have fun . . . Stay in good health . . . . Discover and revel in the purpose of your life." These are the principal values according to Barna's survey of American adults today...

...The challenge before us as Christian witnesses is whether we will offer Jesus Christ as the key to fulfilling our narcissistic preoccupation or as the Redeemer who liberates us from its guilt and power. Does Christ come to boost our ego or to crucify our ego and raise us up as new creatures withour identity in Him? According to the Apostle Paul, there is a glory awaiting us, to be sure, but it is the glory that comes to us by virtue of our being in Christ: "For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him n glory" (Col. 3:3-4). Our righteousness before a holy God is not inheient; it is a gift to those who are in themselves unrighteous."

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Me again: So, the question is, "Are we trying to find self-fulfillment, or fulfillment in God alone?" Reading the above, I can hear the hiss of the Serpent in the Garden of Eden as he tempted Adam and Eve to eat the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.  He questioned what God really said. He questioned God's goodness. He told them that God was holding something out on them, that He didn't want them to be like Him (even though God had made them in His likeness).  So, He tempted Eve to grasp for life outside of what God had provided - to grasp for what she could get for herself. Adam went right along with her. The result was shame and blame and running from God and trying to cover ourselves with fig leaves, which are just the ways that we try to improve ourselves and cover our shame on our own. Spiritual and physical death resulted and Adam and Eve were banished from God's presence. But, God covered them with the skin of animals, which required the shedding of blood, foreshadowing that the only way that we could be covered is through the sacrfice of Christ on our behalf - only God could heal us (see Genesis 3).

Since then, we have set out on a quest for self-fulfillment and personal improvement projects. We have even tried to use God (religion?) to have our best life now so that could gain more prosperity and self-esteem. But, all the while, the Cross of Christ stands on a lonely hill beckoning us to come to Him for life. We must die to self and embrace Christ and who He is and what He has done. He is our only hope - not gaining happiness for ourselves in this world.

The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.  Jesus alone makes this possible. We need Jesus.    

Blaise Pascal on Accepting What God Sends Our Way

Tomorrow, I go in for surgery on my stomach to address an issue from two years ago as an infection has come back. Not fun. But, tonight, I was putting together the notes for the Wednesday Night Bible Study and I ran across these words that Blaise Pascal prayed in his Pensees:

With perfect consistency of mind, help me to receive all manner of events. For we know not what to ask, and we cannot ask for one event rather than another without presumption. We cannot desire a specific action without presuming to be a judge, and assuming responsibility for what in Your wisdom You may hide from me. O Lord, I know only one thing, and that is that it is good to follow You and wicked to offend you.  Beyond this, I do not know what is good for me, whether health or sickness, riches or poverty, or anything else in this world. This knowledge surpasses both the wisdom of men and of angels. It lies hidden in the secrets of Your providence, which I adore, and will not dare to pry open.

We really can see the events of each day as opportunities to experience God in fresh ways, to grow in Him, and for Him to prove Himself strong in our lives. Instead of shrinking back from difficulties and challenges, we can go through these things with God.  May it be.

The Apology of Aristides, Fasting, and the Lifestyles of Early Christians

At LIFE Group this past Friday night, we were sitting outside by the fire and talking about prayer and fasting and how the discipline of fasting has a two-fold objective, which is to put away distractions and dependencies to bring us to God and then to give ourselves away to others.  Gabe Posey, a member of our group, brought up The Apology of Aristides, which was a 2nd century writing by the Athenian philosopher, Aristides, that he delivered to Emperor Hadrian as a defense of Christianity.  I had never heard of this, so I asked him to send it to me, which he did.  This is really interesting:

But the Christians, O King, while they went about and made search, have found the truth; and as we learned from their writings, they have come nearer to truth and genuine knowledge than the rest of the nations. For they know and trust in God, the Creator of heaven and of earth, in whom and from whom are all things, to whom there is no other god as companion, from whom they received commandments which they engraved upon their minds and observe in hope and expectation of the world which is to come. Wherefore they do not commit adultery nor fornication, nor bear false witness, nor embezzle what is held in pledge, nor covet what is not theirs. They honour father and mother, and show kindness to those near to them; and whenever they are judges, they judge uprightly. They do not worship idols (made) in the image of man; and whatsoever they would not that others should do unto them, they do not to others; and of the food which is consecrated to idols they do not eat, for they are pure. And their oppressors they appease (lit: comfort) and make them their friends; they do good to their enemies; and their women, O King, are pure as virgins, and their daughters are modest; and their men keep themselves from every unlawful union and from all uncleanness, in the hope of a recompense to come in the other world. Further, if one or other of them have bondmen and bondwomen or children, through love towards them they persuade them to become Christians, and when they have done so, they call them brethren without distinction. They do not worship strange gods, and they go their way in all modesty and cheerfulness. Falsehood is not found among them; and they love one another, and from widows they do not turn away their esteem; and they deliver the orphan from him who treats him harshly. And he, who has, gives to him who has not, without boasting. And when they see a stranger, they take him in to their homes and rejoice over him as a very brother; for they do not call them brethren after the flesh, but brethren after the spirit and in God. And whenever one of their poor passes from the world, each one of them according to his ability gives heed to him and carefully sees to his burial. And if they hear that one of their number is imprisoned or afflicted on account of the name of their Messiah, all of them anxiously minister to his necessity, and if it is possible to redeem him they set him free.

And if there is among them any that is poor and needy, and if they have no spare food, they fast two or three days in order to supply to the needy their lack of food. They observe the precepts of their Messiah with much care, living justly and soberly as the Lord their God commanded them.

Every morning and every hour they give thanks and praise to God for His loving-kindnesses toward them; and for their food and their drink they offer thanksgiving to Him. And if any righteous man among them passes from the world, they rejoice and offer thanks to God; and they escort his body as if he were setting out from one place to another near. And when a child has been born to one of them, they give thanks to God; and if moreover it happen to die in childhood, they give thanks to God the more, as for one who has passed through the world without sins. And further if they see that any one of them dies in his ungodliness or in his sins, for him they grieve bitterly, and sorrow as for one who goes to meet his doom.

This gives us a great picture of the lifestyles of the early Christians. Apparently, they were dramatically different from the pagans around them. What I find of particular interest here is the statement above in bold that says that if there were any who were poor and needy among them who had no food, others would fast for two or three days to supply what was lacking in the poor in their midst.  Those who had food would sacrifice for those who did not.  This goes along with the injunctions about true, Biblical fasting in Isaiah 58:6-9.

⁶ “Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:
to loose the chains of injustice
   and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free
   and break every yoke?
⁷ Is it not to share your food with the hungry
   and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—
when you see the naked, to clothe him,
   and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?
⁸ Then your light will break forth like the dawn,
   and your healing will quickly appear;
then your righteousness will go before you,
   and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard.
⁹ Then you will call, and the LORD will answer;
   you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.

The perspective of the early Christians was that their life was not their own and that they were to sacrifice for one another. May we have the same perspective.

 

The Implications of "Jesus Is King"

I found a very interesting article today by Michael F. Bird called Counter Imperial Gospel: Only One King. It makes the point that during the early Roman Empire, the claims of "Jesus Is Lord" ran right up against the claim that "Caesar Is Lord" and it was very controversial and subversive. It is a short post:

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As I read more of Greco-Romans sources, I’m increasingly convinced that the gospel would have been perceived as counter-imperial. Paul’s colleagues in Thessalonica were mobbed because: “They are all defying Caesar’s decrees, saying that there is another king, one called Jesus” (Acts 17:7).  This story reminds of an an episode from Caligula’s life described by Suetonius (Caligula 22):

“Upon hearing some kings, who came to the city to pay him court, conversing together at supper, about their illustrious descent, he exclaimed,

Eis koiranos eto, eis basileus.
Let there be but one prince, one king.

He was strongly inclined to assume the diadem, and change the form of government, from imperial to regal; but being told that he far exceeded the grandeur of kings and princes, he began to arrogate to himself a divine majesty. He ordered all the images of the gods, which were famous either for their beauty, or the veneration paid them, among which was that of Jupiter Olympius, to be brought from Greece, that he might take the heads off, and put on his own.”

Evidently, Caligula did not like the idea of their being other kings in other lands. So one must wonder what his response would have been to the first Roman Christians who believed in King Jesus. Would the birth narratives of the Gospels that establish Jesus’ Davidic and Divine credentials be a potential rival to Roman claims about the origins of their Emperors?

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The implications for us today involve the competition between Jesus as Lord and the existence of other king and kingdoms and empires that vie for our allegiance.  As Christians in a North American context, we are used to thinking that we live in a Christianized culture, so we don't have to worry too much about idol worship or about a culture that tries to subvert our worship of God. But, we do. We actually live in a world that is set against us following Jesus so it constantly calls for our allegiance to it and to its ways, often violently so. If you really take seriously the call of Jesus on your whole life, you will run into ways in which the kindgoms of this world oppose you and call for your submission to them.

In the ways that we deal with money, sex, and power, we find that Christ gives us an alternative to the world system. In how we treat other people, in whether or not we love our enemies, in how we deal with our possessions, and in where we get our worth from, we find that a Christian who takes seriously the commands of Christ will find himself in contrast with the world and its dominant culture. This even happens in areas that are considered to be heavily influenced by Christianity. We find instead that those areas are often influenced by a cultural religion that in key ways are something very different than biblical Christianity (for example, the South during Segregation days when it comes to race or now when it comes to consumerism and material prosperity).  To truly live for Christ will often mean that you have to step away from allegiance to Caesar, and that can be a very difficult thing to do.

We need an alternative community that can live out the implications of the Kingdom and the Lordship of Christ, what Eugene Peterson calls a Colony of Heaven in the Country of Death.  Enter the Church.

 

Christian Vocation and God's Benevolent Care

When we think about our "calling," we often think of someone being "called" into full-time ministry. But, that is a very truncated view of what our calling is.  From the Latin word for "calling" we get the concept of Vocation. Everyone has a God-given Vocation, a role to play in their family, church, workplace, and the larger society. God has uniquely shaped, equipped, and placed each one of us to contribute to His overall plan and care for Creation.  We all have gifts, talents, and abilities that God uses as He sovereignly places us in spheres of influence to display His glory and influence. I often say that God is not a character in our story, but rather, we are characters in God's Story. He has a plan for each of us and He exercises His rule through us. It is remarkable, when you think about it.

With this as a backdrop, we are able to look at the concept of work differently from the rest of the world. "Work" is not a way to establish ourselves as independent from God or anyone else. Nor is it a way to accrue wealth so that we will have safety and security. Work is not primarily about money nor is it something to hate or to get away from whenever we can. Many want to be wealthy so that they will not have to work and so they can do what they want when they want to - in other words, independence from others, from society, and from any real sense of responsibility to anyone or anything. All of this is from the Fall where work/labor became associated with the Curse related to sin (see Genesis 3:17-19) and it became something that was often seen as tedious and life denying.

But, there is a different way to see work. We can go back before the Fall and see that God created mankind to work in relation to His will and to be a part of how God rules over and cares for His Creation (Genesis 1:28-2:3). And, we know that in Christ, God is restoring all things to His intention for us and that He is renewing Creation. So, if we are in Christ, we are free to work with meaning and purpose in God's economy as His representatives and co-laborers.  Christ has destroyed the curse of sin so we are free to be creative and to add value to all that we do as we reflect and give thanks for the glorious freedom that Christ has provided us. The concept of Work as been redeemed and retrieved from the effects of the Fall and has been restored to God's original purpose as the way that we live out our calling in this world.

Message on Hell

Over the course of July, I have been preaching a series dealing with the Judgment of God and how God is just to judge sinners. The first week, I preached on God's righteousness. The next week, God's Wrath. I was going to preach on Hell last week, but we had some other stuff come up and I needed a good bit of time to cover it. So, I preached on Hell this week.  It is not something that I usually preach on, but I think that it is important for us to understand.

My main point was simply that God's mercy only makes sense to us if we understand His justified wrath against sinners. We are enemies of God. We are under His wrath and the inclination of our hearts is to rebel against God. So, Hell only makes sense for those who are choosing against God at every turn. It was initially created for the Devil and his demons because they rebelled against God in their pride. When we rebel against God, it only makes sense that we join the Devil in his fate and eternal punishment.

After a great deal of study, I am convinced that most of our objection ot the Doctrine of Hell comes from us working from a human-centered focus. We don't like the doctrine. It makes no sense to us. So, we soften it or change it up to make it more compatible with our ideas of what fairness is. We would not send anyone to Hell, so we don't understand why God would. But, it is true that we are enemies of God and that we are already under His wrath. God, in His mercy, offers us salvation through the way that He has created - His Son, Jesus Christ. If we reject Christ, there is nowhere else to turn. We have rejected God. So, God just gives us what we want - life and eternity apart from Him.

If you are interested in my notes, here they are. Of course, I filled in a lot of commentary between them and probably left some stuff out in what I actually preached. But, this gives you a decent outline.

Download Sermon on Doctrine of Hell

 

Short, Incomplete Review of Rob Bell's "Love Wins" - Do People Go To Hell?

I wanted to avoid this. Back in March, word hit that Michigan megachurch pastor, Rob Bell, was releasing a book about heaven, hell, and eternity. The blogosphere/twittersphere/facebook was filled with discussion, commentary, anger, personal assaults, snarky comments, and a good old-fashioned theological throwdown. I was actually in Guatemala with our church and read a little of it, but ignored most of it and was glad to do so.

Then, some folks from our church started asking about it and our youth minister started to teach the youth about the subject in response to some questions and I thought it might be good to preach on the topic this summer, which I had never done. So, two weeks ago I taught on God's righteousness, last week I taught on God's wrath, and this week, I'm preaching on hell. So, I broke down and read Bell's book.

Bad theology. That is what comes to mind. There are good things about Bell's book in his descriptions of the kind of lives that God wants us to live. But, how we get there is another issue altogether. We don't really need Jesus. I mean, we do, but we don't. Jesus did it all, and we just need to live good lives and not really come to know Him by faith. To say that he is playing fast and loose with the text is to compliment his approach. I want to stay away from personally attacking Bell (I don't know him), but I have no problem engaging the arguments in his book. Basically, he says that Jesus' death/resurrection was sufficient to save everyone, whether they know Him or not. That all that you need to experience salvation is to be a positive person, embrace the light, love people, be peaceful, joyful, etc. Even if you reject the name of Jesus, you can still know Him because you embrace those virtues. Hindus, Muslims, Buddhists - anyone who embraces the light is ultimately embracing Jesus, because all of that is him, no matter what form it comes in. Everyone will be reconciled to God because of the work of Jesus, either in this life or in eternity.

To make this argument, he takes Scriptures out of context, completely misses the point of others, and ignores many others. His view of God is as loving, tolerant, benevolent, and kind always, without any hint of wrath or punishment. The Cross really happened, but you don't need to really believe in Jesus or what He did for you to be saved - you will be saved anyway. Faith is not necessary on your part - just keep the commandments as best you can and live in the light that is Jesus, whether you know him or not. Hell, for what it is, is our own tragic life here on earth when we decide to live selfishly. Bell redefines the gospel, Jesus, and God Himself to make his point.

Here are a few quotes:

A staggering number of people have been taught that a select few Christians will spend forever in a peaceful, joyous place called heaven while the rest of humanity spends forever in torment and punishment in hell with no chance for anything better. It’s been clearly communicated to many that this belief is a central truth of the Christian faith and to reject it is, in essence, to reject Jesus. This is misguided, toxic, and ultimately subverts the contagious spread of Jesus’ message of love, peace, forgiveness and joy that our world desperately needs to hear. (viii)

“There are all kinds of hell because there are all kinds of ways to reject the good and the true and the beautiful and the human now, in this life, and so we can only assume we can do the same in the next” (79).

As soon as the door is opened to Muslims. Hindus, Buddhists, and Baptists from Cleveland, many Christians become very uneasy, saying that then Jesus doesn’t matter anymore, the cross is  irrelevant, it doesn’t matter what you believe, and so forth.

Not true.
Absolutely, unequivocally, unalterably not true.

What Jesus does is declare that he,
and he alone,
is saving everybody.

And then he leaves the door way, way open. Creating all sorts of possibilities. He is as narrow as himself and as wide as the universe.

…People come to Jesus in all sorts of ways.

…Sometimes people use his name;
other times they don’t.

…Some people have so much baggage with regard to the name “Jesus” that when they encounter the mystery present in all of creation—grace, peace, love, acceptance, healing, forgiveness—the last thing they are inclined to name it is “Jesus.”

…What we see Jesus doing again and again—in the midst of constant reminders about the seriousness of following him living like him, and trusting him—is widening the scope and expanse of his saving work.

I could go on and on. I read the book in one sitting, but made notes on every page, answering his questions one after another. I honestly don't have the time or energy to do a detailed analysis of this book, but I wanted to link to a few here that I read that do a good job of tackling the pertinent issues.

Kevin deYoung has a good review. At one point, he says,

So why do I say Bell is a universalist if he believes in hell? Because he does not believe hell lasts forever. It is a temporary “period of pruning” and “an intense experience of correction” (91). Bell’s hell is like purgatory except his “period of pruning” is for anyone, not just for Christians who die in a state of grace as Catholicism teaches. For Bell, this life is about getting ourselves fitted for the good life to come. Some of us die ready to experience God’s love. Others need more time to sort things out. Luckily, in Bell’s scheme, there is always more time. “No one can resist God’s pursuit forever because God’s love will eventually melt even the hardest hearts” (108). Bell does not believe every road leads to God. He is not a moral relativist. You can get your life and theology wrong. Heaven is a kind of starting over, a time to relearn what it means to be human.

For some this process may take a while, and during the process their heaven may feel more like hell. But even those who get everything wrong in this life, will eventually get it right over time in the next life. In Bell’s theology, ultimately, everyone will be saved. If he’s right, most of church history has been wrong. If he’s wrong, a staggering number of people are hearing “peace, peace” where there is no peace.

Also, Tim Challies and Justin Taylor have good reviews up. All of these guys are Reformed and are looking at this from a certain theological perspective. When I read their reviews, I agreed with all that they said and thought the same thing. Bell diminishes Christ, the Cross, the gospel, and the holiness AND grace of God down to and understandable approach.

No one wins when we do theology this way.

The Role of the Prophet in a Society Organized Against History

Walter Bruggemann, in his seminal work, The Prophetic Imagination writes about the work of the prophet to reclaim the imagination of the church in a society that has given away its past in search of the "urgent now or an eternal now."  He calls us to be prophetic and counter-cultural instead of a people who exist to affirm the culture's status quo. This is important, I think, and it is the role that we all play, as people of faith in a world gone mad.

The contemporary American church is so largely enculterated to the American ethos of consumerism that it has little power to believe or to act. This enculterartion is in some way true across the spectrum of church life, both liberal and conservative. It may not be a new situation, but it is one that seems especially urgent and pressing at the present time. That enculteration is true not only of the institution of the church but also of us as persons. Our consciousness has been claimed by false fields of perception and idolatrous systems of language and rhetoric.

The internal cause of such enculturation is our loss of identity through the abandonment of the faith tradition. Our consumer culture is organized against history. There is a depreciation of memory and a ridicule of hope, which means everything must be held in the now, either an urgent now or an eternal now. Either way, a community rooted in energizing memories and summoned by radical hopes is a curiosity and a threat in such a culture. When we suffer from amnesia, every form of serious authority for faith is in question, and we live unauthorized lives of faith and practice unauthorized ministries.

The church will not have power to act or believe until it recovers its tradition of faith and permits that tradition to be the primal way out of enculturation. This is not a cry for traditionalism but rather a judgment that the church has no business more pressing than the reappropriation of its memory in its full power and authenticity. And that is true among liberals who are too chic to remember and conservatives who have overlaid the faith memory with all kinds of hedges that smack of scientism and Enlightenment.

It is the task of prophetic ministry to bring the claims of the tradition and the situation of encultruration into an effective interface. That is, the prophet is called to be a child of the tradition, one who has taken it seriously in the shaping of his or her own field of perception and system of language, who is so at home in that memory that the points of contact and incongruity with the situation of the church in culture can be discerned and articulated with proper urgency.

Basically, we are to be rooted in something more than "the now" that our culture has lashed itself to. The church, following the culture as if often does, has done the same. What I think Bruggemann means by this is not some type of harkening back to the "good old days," or an abandonment of culture, technology, or the world in which we live. But rather, he is calling for an affirmation of an alternative perspective in the community of faith that finds itself rooted in the vision of God revealed in His Word and in His dealings with His people.  That affirmation requires a new way of imagining things that is not captive to the urgency of "the now" or the base desires of our consumer culture. It calls for a reimagining of what is in light of what God has done, is doing, and is going to do. Basically, we are to see life according to God's Story and not the stories that the world tells and we need people to artistically, creatively, and prophetically help us do that.

Where are the prophets that can call us to see this world and our experience in light of God's Kingdom vision of the renewal of all things?   

Where Does Righteousness Come From?

Where does our righteousness come from?  Where does the state of being right come from? From ourselves? From the approval of society? From some standard that we have lived up to?  Are we self-righteous? If, however, God is your standard, then on what basis are you declared righteous?  How do we become right with God? If we are looking to our behavior, we will be forever frustrated and condemned. We are not righteous. Our standing before God is that we are sinners.  We cannot even live up to our own standards, unless our standard is whatever our behavior is in the moment. The Israelites lived this way during the time of the Judges when they had no king and "did what was right in their own eyes" (Judges 17:6; 21:25).  But, that doesn't work for very long. One, we are not a very good standard. Our view is limited. Two, my standard bumps up against your standard and we are in endless conflict, trying to establish our standards and performance over and against one another. We constantly try to be right, but in doing so, we find we have neither the power, wisdom, or inclination to do so. Corruption is always at work within us. We constantly fail.

CS Lewis on the Beauty We Seek

Recently, I was listening to a Tim Keller sermon called "Seeing Him As He Is." You can find it on the Timothy Keller page on iTunes.  In that sermon, he read a rather lengthy quote for CS Lewis. It took a couple of minutes, which made me feel less bad about reading long quotes during my sermons. But, apart from that, it really spoke to me about the longing that we all have for beauty and for something that we cannot quite identify. We all seem to be seeking after something. CS Lewis, in "The Weight of Glory," tells us what it is we seek. (I began transcribing the quote, but then fortunately did a search for it and found that Pete Scribner had posted the very same quote just today! Thanks, Pete!).

 "And this brings me to the other sense of glory--glory as brightness, splendour, luminosity. We are to shine as the sun, we are to be given the Morning Star. I think I begin to see what it means. In one way, of course, God has given us the Morning Star already: you can go and enjoy the gift on many fine mornings if you get up early enough. What more, you may ask, do we want? Ah, but we want so much more--something the books on aesthetics take little notice of. But the poets and the mythologies know all about it. We do not want merely to see beauty, though, God knows, even that is bounty enough. We want something else which can hardly be put into words--to be united with the beauty we see, to pass into it, to receive it into ourselves, to bathe in it, to become part of it. That is why we have peopled air and earth and water with gods and goddesses and nymphs and elves--that, though we cannot, yet these projections can, enjoy in themselves that beauty grace, and power of which Nature is the image. That is why the poets tell us such lovely falsehoods. They talk as if the west wind could really sweep into a human soul; but it can’t. They tell us that “beauty born of murmuring sound” will pass into a human face; but it won’t. Or not yet. For if we take the imagery of Scripture seriously, if we believe that God will one day give us the Morning Star and cause us to put on the splendour of the sun, then we may surmise that both the ancient myths and the modern poetry, so false as history, may be very near the truth as prophecy. At present we are on the outside of the world, the wrong side of the door. We discern the freshness and purity of morning, but they do not make us fresh and pure. We cannot mingle with the splendours we see. But all the leaves of the New Testament are rustling with the rumour that it will not always be so. Some day, God willing, we shall get in. When human souls have become as perfect in voluntary obedience as the inanimate creation is in its lifeless obedience, then they will put on its glory, or rather that greater glory of which Nature is only the first sketch. For you must not think that I am putting forward any heathen fancy of being absorbed into Nature. Nature is mortal; we shall outlive her. When all the suns and nebulae have passed away, each one of you will still be alive. Nature is only the image, the symbol; but it is the symbol Scripture invites me to use. We are summoned to pass in through Nature, beyond her, into that splendour which she fitfully reflects."

So, if Lewis is right, the beauty that we seek is really something that we will never fully find in this world. We will only find hints of it that will keep us searching for more. He says,  "If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that we were made for another world." This is basically called "Argument from Desire."  We search and search for something to satisfy us and find that true satisfaction is just beyond our grasp. Thus, the desire is actually telling us that we are made for something else, someplace else - and that this world and the things of this world can never truly satisfy us. Lewis believes that our desires, twisted as they can become, are actually evidence that we were made for God and that only God can satisfy us.

G.K. Chesterson once famously said, "Every man who knocks on the door of brothel is looking for God." What he meant was that, even the man who goes looking for prostitutes is, in fact, looking for transcendence and the very thing that only God can satisfy.  He is actually looking for something that this world can never give him - that is why he goes back again and again. That water will make you thirsty all your life. But, Jesus is the Living Water, that when you drink of him, you will never thirst again (John 4:13-14).  Keller quoted John Flavel, a Puritan writer from England (1628-1691) who said,

“All that delights you in earthly things can never satisfy you for all of your desires are in God. The comforts you have here are only drops inflaming, not satisfying the appetites of your soul, but the Lamb will lead you to fountains of living water.”

So, the issue is not that we seek after beauty. It is not that we have desires. We do and there isn't much that we can do about that, nor would we want to if we could. The problem is that we take our desires to the wrong place. We take them to the things of this world that will never satisfy and will only lead to death. We take our desires to idols. We fail to believe that God will satisfy us more than ten thousand charms. We are deceived and think that what we are looking for can be found in the finite, when it reality, we were made for heaven. As CS Lewis says at the end of "The Weight of Glory,"

If there lurks in most modern minds the notion that to desire our own good and earnestly to hope for the enjoyment of it is a bad thing, I submit that this notion has crept in from Kant and the Stoics and is no part of the Christian faith. Indeed, if we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that our Lord finds our desires, not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.

 

 

St. Augustine: That in Adam's sin an evil will preceded the evil act.

Pride comes before the fall.

St. Augustine basically says the same in The City of God. Ever wonder what led to Adam and Eve's sin? Augustine of Hippo (354-430) lays it out nicely and says that Adam and Eve were corrupt before they ate of the forbidden fruit. Their hearts had already begun to wonder from God, else they would not have been deceived and have looked for life outside of God.  It makes for an interesting perspective. Read and tell my your opinion.

Book XIV, Chap. 13

That in Adam's sin an evil will preceded the evil act.

Our first parents fell into open disobedience because already they were secretly corrupted; for the evil act had never been done had not an evil will preceded it. And what is the origin of our evil will but pride? For "pride is the beginning of sin." And what is pride but the craving for undue exaltation? And this is undue exaltation, when the soul abandons Him to whom it ought to cleave as its end, and becomes a kind of end to itself. This happens when it becomes its own satisfaction. And it does so when it falls away from that unchangeable good which ought to satisfy it more than itself. This falling away is spontaneous; for if the will had remained steadfast in the love of that higher and changeless good by which it was illumined to intelligence and kindled into love, it would not have turned away to find satisfaction in itself, and so become frigid and benighted; the woman would not have believed the serpent spoke the truth, nor would the man have preferred the request of his wife to the command of God, nor have supposed that it was a venial trangression to cleave to the partner of his life even in a partnership of sin. The wicked deed, then,--that is to say, the trangression of eating the forbidden fruit,--was committed by persons who were already wicked. That "evil fruit" could be brought forth only by "a corrupt tree." But that the tree was evil was not the result of nature; for certainly it could become so only by the vice of the will, and vice is contrary to nature. Now, nature could not have been depraved by vice had it not been made out of nothing. Consequently, that it is a nature, this is because it is made by God; but that it falls away from Him, this is because it is made out of nothing. But man did not so fall away as to become absolutely nothing; but being turned towards himself, his being became more contracted than it was when he clave to Him who supremely is. Accordingly, to exist in himself, that is, to be his own satisfaction after abandoning God, is not quite to become a nonentity, but to approximate to that. And therefore the holy Scriptures designate the proud by another name, "self-pleasers." For it is good to have the heart lifted up, yet not to one's self, for this is proud, but to the Lord, for this is obedient, and can be the act only of the humble.

There is, therefore, something in humility which, strangely enough, exalts the heart, and something in pride which debases it. This seems, indeed, to be contradictory, that loftiness should debase and lowliness exalt. But pious humility enables us to submit to what is above us; and nothing is more exalted above us than God; and therefore humility, by making us subject to God, exalts us. But pride, being a defect of nature, by the very act of refusing subjection and revolting from Him who is supreme, falls to a low condition; and then comes to pass what is written: "Thou castedst them down when they lifted up themselves." For he does not say, "when they had been lifted up," as if first they were exalted, and then afterwards cast down; but "when they lifted up themselves" even then they were cast down,--that is to say, the very lifting up was already a fall. And therefore it is that humility is specially recommended to the city of God as it sojourns in this world, and is specially exhibited in the city of God, and in the person of Christ its King; while the contrary vice of pride, according to the testimony of the sacred writings, specially rules his adversary the devil. And certainly this is the great difference which distinguishes the two cities of which we speak, the one being the society of the godly men, the other of the ungodly, each associated with the angels that adhere to their party, and the one guided and fashioned by love of self, the other by love of God.

The devil, then, would not have ensnared man in the open and manifest sin of doing what God had forbidden, had man not already begun to live for himself....

Why Racial Division in the SBC Is a Gospel Issue (#sbc2011)

Supposedly, the SBC meeting in Phoenix will issue a new declaration on racial discrimination within the Convention that will be multifaceted. This is really important and I am glad that my denomination is continuing to see this as a gospel issue.  Dave Miller at SBC Voices explains how he has pushed for this and is excited to see what the SBC is doing here.  I responded to Dave with the following comment that I wanted to lift out post here. I think that racial division in the body of Christ is a gospel issue, not just a social issue (but, of course, the two are related).

The last strong vestige of racism in the SBC is found in the realm of “personal preference” and “worship styles.” That has become code-language for, “I don’t want to be with “those” people.” We will be with them if they become just like us, but that then becomes a kind of circumcision-separation in the body of Christ. If they take on our culture, our customs, our vocabulary, our way of doing church, and our music, then we will fellowship with them. That is just like the Judaizers saying that the Gentiles had to be circumcised, obey dietary laws, etc. to be accepted with the people of God. Of course, we don’t make our preferences soteriological like the Judaizers did, but we do make them ecclesiological and even missiological, and if you understand the implications of the gospel in Ephesians 2:11-22, Christ is our peace and tears down the dividing wall – there is neither Jew, Greek, Barbarian, Scythian, slave, free, male, or female. We are all one in Christ. So, that Oneness must be our priority, not our preferences, styles, methods, and approaches. All of those divisions are products of the Fall and are erased in Christ.

The only way through this is Agape – Sacrificial Love. If I truly and sacrificially love my black brothers and sisters in Christ, I will recognize that the divisions that we have are all from the institutional and cultural sins of racism, slavery, and segregation – sins that my Baptist ancestors promoted and codified. So, love for God and others requires that I not wait for them to come to me and become like me – rather, it requires that I go to them and identify with them, bringing the Incarnation of Christ into the still-existing broken relationships.

Could the healing of America be found in white, Baptist (and other), Southern Christians going to black, Baptist (and other) Southern Christians and laying down their lives sacrificially to communicate something other than our personal preferences? What if we truly laid down our lives for them in every way – for the health of their churches and communities and their future? What if their concerns became our concerns? What if we did not leave the cities because there were problems, but instead joined together with our black brothers and sisters and pastors and churches to identify with them and to carry their burdens? Might we then see the healing that we so desire. Isaiah 58 seems to say so.

Yes, Dave. This is crucial, but true healing requires much more of us than we can imagine. This is the work that we are doing in Montgomery, AL and it requires every bit of our lives. But, the witness of the Kingdom is at stake and Christ demands it of us.

I sincerely hope that we will see the tearing down of racial divisions in the body of Christ in America in the coming years to the point that we no longer consider a church to be a "white" church or a "black" church, but simply a church made up of followers of Jesus.  May it be.

Notes, Quotes, and Links: Pentecost and World-Change

Sometimes, I link to stuff on Facebook just as a placeholder for things that I find interesting or thought-provoking so that I can go back to it later. Not all of it makes it to Facebook, however, because I realize that I am junking up all of my FB friend's feeds with stuff that they probably aren't that interested in anyway, so I hold back. This is my attempt to put links and quotes from the past week that I find interesting or helpful all in one place. The theme this week is on Pentecost and the change that happens to us when the Holy Spirit comes, when the breath of God transforms our imaginations and our witness in the world. When young men see visions, old men dream dreams, and the Spirit falls on men and women, how might the world be different? Here are some thoughts.  

Sunday is Pentecost Sunday. Read what I wrote about that last year.  How many Baptist churches are celebrating Pentecost? Not many, I don't think.  What if we prayed Pentecostal Prayers? This is a good starting point for talk about changing our world with the onrushing Kingdom of God.  

Andrew Jones talks about the importance of festivals, feasts, and throwing big parties. I like his ideas and would love to see us do more of this in the future.  The Hebrew people did this and throwing big parties helps to give us a foretaste of heaven and the coming Kingdom and renewal of the heavens and earth. What would it look like if Christians in a city or region came together to celebrate the salvation story and to promote justice, mercy, and humility with God? What would it look like if we did this in Montgomery? Hmmm.

NT Wright on the Bible and the Christian Imagination.  Our imaginations are so shrunken by the plastic, consumer-oriented, "me first" world that we live in, that we often miss the Big Story that God is writing and our place in it. Wright, in this essay, calls us to recover our Christian Imagination through the arts, beauty, and our engagement with culture.

Erich Bridges on how we should not follow our passions, dreams, goals, or desires for self-fulfillment, but instead, we should follow Christ. He takes on graduation speeches and the religious ethic and impulse of secular America in the exaltation of self instead of living for a greater purpose outside of yourself.

Mark Scandrette, my old friend from San Francisco, on how the church can address violence in the neighborhood and be peacemakers to bring about a better future. The Church in Montgomery could really stand to hear this message. We can make a difference.  There is violence all around us. Kids are dropping out of school at an alarming rate. Girls are getting pregnant out of wedlock and children are being born into broken homes in astounding numbers. How can we tell a better story?

Consider changing the life of a child in India through direct sponsorship.  Our church, Gateway, is doing this and for only $40 a month, you can change the life of a child in North India forever. 100% of your sponsorship goes to take care of this child, as the administration for this is all done by volunteers. We could really use your help - and so could these children. Check it out.

Finally, a Pentecost video: 

 

Easter, Resurrection, and The Great Reversal

How are we shaped by the Easter event?  Life breaks forth from death. Death cannot hold the Son of God. He was crucified and died for our sins - the sins of the whole world placed upon the innocent Lamb of God. He who had no sin became sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God (2 Cor. 5:21).  But, death couldn't hold Him. He was raised by the power of the Holy Spirit. The tomb is empty. Death, the most sure thing in life that everyone must experience, was swallowed up in victory (See John 20).

 Death has lost its sting.

Sin has been atoned for.

Sin has lost its power.

Satan has been defanged.

Jesus is the First and the Last. He is the Living One. He was dead, and behold He is alive for ever and ever! He holds the keys of death and Hades (Rev. 1:18).

God has rescued us from darkness and has brought us over into the kingdom of the Son he loves (Col. 1:13-14). He died for our sins, once for all, to bring us to God (1 Peter 3:18).

He is the God who gives life to the dead and calls things that are not as though they were (Romans 4:17).

The Resurrection proves that nothing is impossible with God.

Jesus is the Way. He is the Truth. He is the Life (John 14:6).

Yet, we often don't believe. We live with eyes shut, unhearing and unperceiving. He calls to us through the gospel, through the church, through Scripture and the Holy Spirit. He works on our behalf. He gives us rain and food and shelter and clothing. He gives us the air we breathe. But, we go on in our own way, living by our own truth, drawing from the strength of our own life, oblivious to the God who is at work all around us. But, He keeps calling.

 We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
   each of us has turned to his own way;
and the LORD has laid on him
   the iniquity of us all (Isaiah 53:6).

We are, by nature, wanderers. It started in the Garden when Eve and Adam reached for the forbidden fruit. At that point, separation, alienation, self-worship and self-focus entered the human experience. We tried to make ourselves gods. We made gods for ourselves, in our own image. We began to grasp and strive and look for our own pleasure. We were made in God's image, but it became distorted and, like Humpty-Dumpty who fell off the wall in the nursery rhyme, we could not put it back together again. We were broken.

But, we kept trying. King Manassah in 2 Chronicles 33:1-11 is a good example of someone who was raised in the house of God, but he went his own way. He forgot about his God. He tried to find his own way, live by his own truth, establish his own life. He didn't believe in the God of his forefathers, so he began to pursue other gods. He consulted witches and astrologers. He engaged in detestable practices. He led others to do the same. God warned him and warned him, but he wouldn't listen. Finally, God took him from his throne and put him in captivity. It was over for Manassah. He lost everything.

But, he did something surprising. He turned back to God and called out to Him.

God heard and rescued Manassah. It wasn't over for him afterall. Once God stepped into the picture, everything changed. God is the God of life and restoration and healing and hope. Manassah was set free and restored to his throne and he led Juday to repent and turn back to God.

This is what the Resurrection is all about. We can return to God. We can be born again. We can start over. Death and self and sin and this world system is not the final answer. God speaks to all of this and He sent His son, Jesus, as the definitive answer to what is real and true and sure. Jesus' way is one of sacrificial love, sacrificial death, and then resurrection by the Spirit of God. His truth is that He is the center of all things and that God has turned the world over to Him. His life is eternal and pure and is available to all who believe in Him, who turn from the worthless idols they make to Jesus, the Giver of Life.

Easter says definitely that new life in Christ is possible for all of us IF we throw our faith into Jesus. Maybe you feel locked in to death or sin or yourself. YOu have tried to change, but realize that you can't. Or, you have been seeking pleasure and hope and rest, but have found out that nothing satisfies the ache within you. Come to Jesus. He is your creator, your salvation, and your hope. He will forgive and restore.

Easter says that everything tainted by sin can be reversed and made new again. Even you.   

C.S. Lewis (Not Rob Bell) on Eternity and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived

Recently, with the dust up over Rob Bell's new book, Love Wins, and his statements about heaven, hell, and the fate that awaits every person who ever lived, there has been a push to say that C.S. Lewis would have basically agreed with Bell on his perspective that eventually, almost everyone will get in to heaven because, well, love wins. One, I haven't read Bell's book, so I don't know exactly what he says on the subject. I have better things to do than to bash Rob Bell. Two, I haven't read everything that Lewis says on the subject, so I don't fully know if the two agree or not, but when I read statements from Lewis like the one following, I am at least aware of his declared need for a choice in this life - not after this life.  It matters how we live now and it matters what we do with Jesus now. Will we believe in Him and walk in His way, or will we go our own way, and then hope that everything will work out and we will get another chance?  Lewis clearly states in Mere Chrstianity that we must worship Christ now, not later:

Why is God landing in this enemy-occupied world in disguise and starting a sort of secret society to undermine the devil? Why is He not landing in force, invading it? Is it that He is not strong enough? Well, Christians think He is going to land in force; we do not know when. But we can guess why He is delaying. He wants to give us the chance of joining His side freely. I do not suppose you and I would have though much of a Frenchman who waited till the Allies were marching into Germany and then announced he was on our side. God will invade. But I wonder whether people who ask God to interfere openly and directly in our world quite realise what it will be like when He does. When that happens, it is the end of the world. When the author walks on to the stage the play is over. God is going to invade, all right: but what is the good of saying you are on His side then, when you see the whole natural universe melting away like a dream and something else - something it never entered your head to conceive - comes crasing in; something so beautiful to some of us and so terrible to others that none of us will have any choice left? For this time it will be God without disguise; something so overwhelming that it will strike either irresistible love or irresistible horror into every creature. It will be too late then to choose your side. There is no use saying you choose to lie down when it has become impossible to stand up. That will not be the time for choosing: it will be the time when we discover which side we really have chosen, whether we realised it before or not. Now, today, this moment, is our chance to choose the right side. God is holding back to give us that chance. It will not last forever. We must take it or leave it.

Pretty strong words from someone who is being called upon as support for Bell's position. I understand that Lewis' position was not simplistic and that he embraced some views that I might not fully agree with on this subject. But, here, I believe that Lewis is dead on. It makes perfect sense to me, from not only a Biblical perspective, but also from a justice and mercy perspective, that God gives us a chance in this life to respond to His gracious offer of salvation in Christ. I am not a determinist or a fatalist. I do believe in free will and I do believe that salvation is all of God and none of us (I also believe in God's sovereignty, but I will save how all of that comes together for another post - or, perhaps I will leave it to the realm of mystery where it belongs). But, we are called upon to respond and God is graciously giving us that opportunity. Will we respond to God?  Will we awaken to the eternal life that He offers us, or will be begin and continue down a path of eternal death and separation from God?

It seems that the way that we respond to that question is probably the most important thing about our lives on this planet for however long we have here.

Can Southern Baptists Be Missional? Part 3: Is the Gospel a Proposition or a Person?

See Parts One and Two if you want to read the background to this series.

I think that we struggle with the gospel. I don't pretend that I have some great revelation into what the gospel is that was heretofore not seen. It is pretty clear in Scripture. But, we still struggle with it.  As Southern Baptists, we seem to have reduced the gospel to a series of propositions that must be believed and accepted. Those who articulate it like we do are in and those who don't are out. We get this tendency from Evangelicals, revivalism, and our application of modernism to our theology.  The gospel becomes "Four Spiritual Laws," or "Steps to Peace With God" that we believe in order for us to get into heaven when we die. We need our sins forgiven to get to heaven, so Jesus provides that if we repent of our sins and ask Him to forgive us. No one wants to go to Hell, so Jesus gets us out of Hell and gets us into Heaven where we will "have a mansion over the hilltop" and see all of our loved ones who have gone on before us. We'll walk on streets of gold and spend eternity in a state of bliss.  Believing in Jesus is how we get there, so we make sure that do that and "pray a sinner's prayer" to gain entrance.  All of this "gospel shorthand" might be helpful in a "gospel" presentation, but it is not necessarily helpful in positioning us to live missional lifestyles now. Nor, is it necessarily biblical.

One of the places where Paul defines his gospel is in 1 Corinthians 15:1-8.  He gets pretty explicit. This is the kerygma, or what was preached about Jesus.  

   ¹ Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. ² By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.

 ³ For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, ⁴ that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, ⁵ and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve. ⁶ After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. ⁷ Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, ⁸ and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.

This is all about Jesus. It is about who He is and what He did. It is about Jesus the Man, the Person. The Gospel is the Good News of Jesus Christ.  When we are confronted with the Gospel, we are to be confronted with Jesus Christ Himself.  Do we believe in HIM? Do we throw our faith into HIM? Do we entrust ourselves to HIM and follow HIM?  When the Philippian Jailer saw the power of God in the release of Paul and Silas from prison and asked what he must do to be saved, Paul answered, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved - you and your household" (Acts 16:30-31).  He didn't say to believe things about Jesus or to make a transaction with Jesus to forgive your sins so you could go to heaven when you died.  He told the jailer to believe IN or upon Jesus.  He introduced the man to a person, not a system or a set of propositions.

Are Southern Baptists Capable of Being Missional? Part 2

See Part One here.   Please note that I am writing with broad generalizations about overall trends and perspectives. I have seen many exceptions to what I am writing here. But, they stand out in my mind because they are exceptions, not the rule.

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A couple of days ago, I asked if Southern Baptists were capable of being missional. Of course, the answer is a qualified "yes." Anyone is capable if they are in touch with the Spirit of God and are participants in God's Kingdom. But, is it likely? For all of our talk about evangelism, the Great Commission, and missions as a people, I am leaning toward the answer being "no."

Let's go back to how Southern Baptists started. We say that the Convention started over missions. The SBC was started in 1845 over the right of southern slaveholders to be appointed to serve on the mission field. Northern Baptists, dominated by abolitionists said no. Southern Baptists were offended by this and broke away from the northern baptists, starting their own convention in Augusta, Georgia in 1845. The peculiar institution of slavery had to be defended because that was where the South drew its economic lifeblood. The Southern "Way of Life" had to be protected. Eventually, a war would be fought and 600,000 people would be killed from both sides. Still, Southern Baptists didn't challenge the status quo and they became defenders of the "Lost Cause," a mythos that claimed that even though the South lost, she was in the right and was more pure and moral than the rest of the country.  Racial prejudices were recodified in the Jim Crow laws and segregation that emerged in the late 1800's and early 1900's and Southern Baptists went along, supporting the larger culture and the social economics of the day. The SBC became the state church of the South and helped to solidify the civil religion that emerged.

Are Southern Baptists Capable of Being Missional?

The entire conversation in the Evangelical Christian world has shifted to engaging ourselves with the larger culture missionally.  Even the Rob Bell dust up over the issue of the existence of hell has missionality as a foundation because he is trying to figure out how to discuss difficult issues with people who do not find our doctrines palatable. We are now living in a post-Christian culture in the West and much of what was once taken for granted has faded away. There is no longer a Christian or even a cultural consensus in the West and everyone is trying to feel their way through the resulting confusion. 

Enter Southern Baptists. Just about every blog, conference, and denominational leader is focusing on being missional. That is the buzzword of the day. Guys who didn't know what the word meant 4 or 5 years ago use it exclusively now. It is on the tip of everyone's tongue and the concept is being pushed at every level. SBC leaders like Ed Stetzer have popularized the term and everyone is getting in on it. The Great Commission Resurgence (GCR) was adopted recently (was that last year? It seems longer ago) and the SBC is supposedly realigning according to a "missional" focus. But, like Inigo Montoya famously said to Vezzini, "You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means."

The true definition of "missional" has to do with "sentness."  There is a recognition that God is both the sending God and the sent God.  The Missio Dei (Mission of God) has to do with His very character and essence, not just an activity. God doesn't add on "missional." It is who He is.  The Father "sent" the Son.  The Son was "sent." The Incarnation itself declares the missional essence of God.  The Father and Son "sent" the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit empowers and sends us out into the world as ambassadors of Christ, representatives of another Kingdom in a world that is false. This all happened before the foundation of the earth was laid, by the way. Christopher Wright, in his excellent treatise, The Mission of God, states that instead of the Bible giving us a biblical basis for missions, it is better to see that there is a missional basis for the Bible, for the Son of Man came to seek and save what was lost (Luke 19:10).

But, is that what we are seeing in the Southern Baptist world?  Are we living as sent people? Are we capable of it as Southern Baptists? Of course, it is possible, but the overarching perspective that we maintain continues to be a defense of the status quo, "us vs. them" positioning, church growth strategies, constant calls for more money, the exalting of celebrity pastors and megachurch expansion, and the building of our religious enterprises.  "Missional" does not equal church growth or denominational growth. They are not the same thing. One implies that we leave what is comfortable and live with open hands among the heathen. The other implies that we try to build our institutions larger and make them more secure. One implies risk and loss while the other implies safety, security, and more influence. The Way of Jesus seems conspicuously absent from what our Southern Baptist leaders are calling us to.  Calling for more expository preaching in our churches (while a great approach to communicating biblical truth) does not equal missionality. Having a missions program in our churches that sends people out on short-term mission trips is not being missional, necessarily. Those are good things, but they do not encapsulate the full range of living as sent people.

To "live sent" means that we are letting go of the need for safety and security and money and large crowds around us to reinforce our lifestyles. It means that we are willing to engage those who disagree with us and we are living life in relational terms with people different from us so that the life of God can flow through us to them. Our posture in the world changes from "insiders" who sit opposed to people who do not know God to those who might come alongside those alienated from God and actually identify with them and join our lives to theirs. This is what Jesus did in the Incarnation.

I wonder if Southern Baptists are capable of this? I wonder if our theology and historical experience allows us to live in any way other than as religious people defending our way of life in the world?  Are we confident enough in God and His Kingdom that we can take His life everywhere we go, even if we are not reinforced by money, power, crowds, and programs and systems?  I'm asking.  I have come to the conclusion that just talking about being missional does not make one missional and I'm wondering if the whole way that we see things might be an impediment to us actually joining God in His work and actual essence in the world.

Maybe the issue that holds us back is bigger than us just not being "sold out" enough. Maybe there are fundamental structural problems with how we see theology and the world.  More on this later.  

 

Advent Meditations: Joy or Happiness?

"Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord."  ~ Angel of the Lord to the Shepherds. Luke 2:10-11.

Joy is different from happiness. Being happy is related to our circumstances. It is related to our "happenings."  If good things are happening, I'm generally happy. If bad things are happening, I'm not.  Many of us ride up and down on waves of emotions caused by the current and winds of the various happenings in our lives. One day we're up. One day we're down. People ask us what's wrong and we tell them about so-and-so or this-and-that. Or, we're walking on air because we got that promotion or made that sale or something great happened with our children or someone likes us who didn't before. Our entire lives end up being based on the circumstances that "happen" to us.

Everyone wants to be happy, right? I mean, people want to feel good ,to look good, and to be good. We want to be liked and prosperous and have things go well for us. We want to be surrounded by people we love and people who love us. We want to be able to do want we want and have things go our way. Since life doesn't just hand us all that (despite what some might tell you), we attempt to secure it all for ourselves. We try and build a life that will guarantee us happiness. After all, isn't this what America was founded on - "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness?" 

To be happy, we'll do just about anything, take any drug, follow any number of steps, start and end relationships, change jobs, and change addresses. We'll do whatever it takes to experience our own version of happiness. "Well, as long as you're happy," we say.  "I just want you to be happy," we tell our loved ones. It seems that the whole world is pursuing happiness.

Then, why are so many so unhappy?  Why are rates of depression and the amount of medications taken for emotional issues so high?  Why are there so many broken marriages, broken homes, and broken lives?  Why are so many addicted to so many coping mechanisms and why are we so stressed?  It seems that for all of our striving, we are less happy than we've ever been.

Enter Jesus.  He didn't come that first Christmas to make us happy. He told us that we would have trouble in this world. He warned us that we would be persecuted and that people would turn away from us. But, through Him, we were promised great joy.  Joy is different from happiness. Joy speaks to a deep abiding assurance and confidence. It is a bubbling up of satisfaction from a well that will never run dry. Joy transcends happiness and does not change with circumstances. It lasts.

Where does joy come from?  It comes from the Lord.  Look at this progression of Scriptures:

"Be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the Devil's schemes" Eph. 6:10-11.

"for the joy of the Lord is your strength" Nehemiah 8:10.

"You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand" Psalm 16:11.

The Devil is a theif who seeks to destroy our lives.  How do we stand against him?  By being strong in the Lord, not in our selves. We look to God, not our own abilities. Where does our strength come from?  From the joy of the Lord.  We stand firm in joy that does not change or fade. How do we find this joy?  In God's presence.  If I want to stand through the trials of life, I have to be rooted in joy instead of happiness. Happiness is based on what is happening in the moment. Joy is based on what is eternal.  God doesn't promise us happiness, but He does promise us joy. I can only find joy in God's presence.

Here is a video that illustrates the difference between happiness as we define it and joy.  The Africans in the video might not have much to be happy about because their circumstances are so bleak. But, they have joy because they are tapped in to something beyond themselves, even though we are suffering. We can learn a lot from this.