Could you address Hebrews 10:26...If you were to accept Jesus and truly know that murder was wrong and do it anyway that is not God moving from you, but you moving from God and that you can lose your everlasting life.
Let's take a step back and look at the larger context of Hebrews 10. The author is laying out the difference between the law and the new covenant. He describes the law as a shadow, not substance, unable to make one perfect, a reminder of sin. In other places it speaks of the law stirring up sin, and causing it to spring to life. No one was ever made righteous by the law, but only by faith. The law is a deal you make with God that says "Be Good and I'll bless you, disobey and suffer." Because of our flesh, this doesn't work on us--we can't be good. Just saying "Be good" makes us be bad.
Hebrews 10:26-27 says "If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, 27 but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God." If we understand that God is good, accepts us, has paid for us, and called us to be his eternal children, the nobility of the universe...and instead of acting in line with that reality act out our disbelief--behave like we must manage our own comfort and security and make our own way, we are not remaining in Christ.
To be saved, we must confess with our mouth AND believe in our heart. What we believe in our heart is demonstrated with our lives. The "work" we are to do in Christ is to believe. Not avoid murdering or stealing, but to believe that God is for us, that he's given his Holy Spirit and that he relates to us as the Bible says he does. That belief plays out in a righteous quality of action. If a person has everything they need, they don't steal. If you are contentedly loved, you don't play the harlot. If you have an awesome future and everything you need right now, it is only logical that you will want to give and love. Out this wealth and secure identity, righteousness flows naturally. If you are living out of something that says that God has not given you this wealth and identity, you are not abiding in Christ.
Monday, February 18, 2008
Forgiveness
Forgiveness: How Forgiven are You?
The wages of sin is death. If your sins are not forgiven, you are dead. There is no other halfway mark given in scripture--if God is counting your sin against you, you're dead. If God is not counting your sin against you, then you are alive and forgiven--your sin is removed as far as the east is from the west. How do you get to this state? You believe him when he says he paid the price for you. If you ask God to forgive you for something he said he already forgave, you are not believing what he said--you may be sad and sorry, but you are not believing God and so not acting in faith.
There is a difference between confessing your sins one to another, repentence, and asking for forgiveness from God. Confession is good for bringing sin to light so that the devil can't accuse you in the dark about it. When you admit the truth of your wrong doing to other people, you agree with God that it is wrong and take a big step in the process of repentance and the embracing of forgiveness. It's humbling and honest. It is easy to tell yourself lies inside, but when you bring your inner discussion to the community, truth bears down on you.
Let's say you sin, let's pick one: you believe that your boss is underpaying you, that he's unfair and won't pay you what you are worth so you take matters into your own hands and steal from the company. Please note that stealing is the fruit of what you believe. At the bottom of this evil act, there is a blasphemous belief that God isn't good--he won't bring you justice or provide for you so you must do it yourself. But you are a believer, trusting in Christ. When Christ died, all your sins were still in the future. He paid the full price for all of them, once and for all. When you accepted Christ as your savior, you applied that payment to your account, once and for all. No more payment will be demanded as long as you are in Christ.
So, this sin does not bring you death, it is forgiven. What does it do? Does it hamper your relationship with God? To the extent that you are falsely accusing God and not resting in the reality of his nature and care for you, yes, you are hampered. But it is not because God has something against you, it is because you are not walking in the truth. If you would be free, you don't need to make it up to God, or clean up your act. If you would be free, you must repent--bring your heart to the truth. "God loves you and will care for you." That doesn't mean you are going to suddenly feel warm and fuzzy about God taking care of you, it means you are going to act as if what is true, IS true. If God is good and going to care for you, then you can open your hand and give back what you've taken and face your consequences. It doesn't really matter how you feel about that act, it is in line with the truth, and is the essence of Faith. All the sorry sobbing in the world will not substitute for believing (acting as if its true) that God loves you and calls you His Own--and that he has fully forgiven you when you asked the first time, just as he promised he would. And that does awaken great thankfulness for the forgiveness that he gave, because we realize more and more how little we deserve.
When you come to God and pray to be his child, you ask for your sins to be forgiven. At that raw moment, you don't even know what you're asking. As we mature in Christ, we become increasingly aware of how corrupt our motives have been, how mixed we are and how desperate we are for grace. Every day we walk with God, we come more into the light and see more of what has been there all along in the shadows of our souls. And when we die, we will not have seen every recess and corner. There is no hope of enumerating our sins to God or anyone else. We are like a rotting stump, shot through with the tendrils of the mushrooms of sin--the fruit pops out here and there, but inside, the web of its roots is pervasive. If God didn't save us from this body of death, we would be without hope. We are unable to even properly ask for forgiveness--to admit each wrong attitude or action. And where would we be if we made an attempt at this? In continual self-examination, always finding new reason for self-flagulation. We are not told to spend our lives looking inward in this manner.
We are told to fix our eyes on Christ. In short, watch where you're going! Do you want to walk closer to the sin in your heart? Then focus on it. Do you want to become more like Christ? Then trust that he is creating you, has forgiven you, and keep your eyes on his holiness, love and grace. His payment was completely adequate and your work is this: believe it.
Rom 6:22-23 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Ps 130:3If you, O LORD, kept a record of sins,O Lord, who could stand?
Rom 10:9-119 That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. 11 As the Scripture says, "Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame."
James 5:1616 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.
Rom 14:23 everything that does not come from faith is sin.
1 Peter 3:188 For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God.
Heb 9:27-28 just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, 28 so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.
Rom 8:1-21 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.
John 8:31-32 Jesus said, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. 32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."
John 6:29
29 Jesus answered, "The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent."
The wages of sin is death. If your sins are not forgiven, you are dead. There is no other halfway mark given in scripture--if God is counting your sin against you, you're dead. If God is not counting your sin against you, then you are alive and forgiven--your sin is removed as far as the east is from the west. How do you get to this state? You believe him when he says he paid the price for you. If you ask God to forgive you for something he said he already forgave, you are not believing what he said--you may be sad and sorry, but you are not believing God and so not acting in faith.
There is a difference between confessing your sins one to another, repentence, and asking for forgiveness from God. Confession is good for bringing sin to light so that the devil can't accuse you in the dark about it. When you admit the truth of your wrong doing to other people, you agree with God that it is wrong and take a big step in the process of repentance and the embracing of forgiveness. It's humbling and honest. It is easy to tell yourself lies inside, but when you bring your inner discussion to the community, truth bears down on you.
Let's say you sin, let's pick one: you believe that your boss is underpaying you, that he's unfair and won't pay you what you are worth so you take matters into your own hands and steal from the company. Please note that stealing is the fruit of what you believe. At the bottom of this evil act, there is a blasphemous belief that God isn't good--he won't bring you justice or provide for you so you must do it yourself. But you are a believer, trusting in Christ. When Christ died, all your sins were still in the future. He paid the full price for all of them, once and for all. When you accepted Christ as your savior, you applied that payment to your account, once and for all. No more payment will be demanded as long as you are in Christ.
So, this sin does not bring you death, it is forgiven. What does it do? Does it hamper your relationship with God? To the extent that you are falsely accusing God and not resting in the reality of his nature and care for you, yes, you are hampered. But it is not because God has something against you, it is because you are not walking in the truth. If you would be free, you don't need to make it up to God, or clean up your act. If you would be free, you must repent--bring your heart to the truth. "God loves you and will care for you." That doesn't mean you are going to suddenly feel warm and fuzzy about God taking care of you, it means you are going to act as if what is true, IS true. If God is good and going to care for you, then you can open your hand and give back what you've taken and face your consequences. It doesn't really matter how you feel about that act, it is in line with the truth, and is the essence of Faith. All the sorry sobbing in the world will not substitute for believing (acting as if its true) that God loves you and calls you His Own--and that he has fully forgiven you when you asked the first time, just as he promised he would. And that does awaken great thankfulness for the forgiveness that he gave, because we realize more and more how little we deserve.
When you come to God and pray to be his child, you ask for your sins to be forgiven. At that raw moment, you don't even know what you're asking. As we mature in Christ, we become increasingly aware of how corrupt our motives have been, how mixed we are and how desperate we are for grace. Every day we walk with God, we come more into the light and see more of what has been there all along in the shadows of our souls. And when we die, we will not have seen every recess and corner. There is no hope of enumerating our sins to God or anyone else. We are like a rotting stump, shot through with the tendrils of the mushrooms of sin--the fruit pops out here and there, but inside, the web of its roots is pervasive. If God didn't save us from this body of death, we would be without hope. We are unable to even properly ask for forgiveness--to admit each wrong attitude or action. And where would we be if we made an attempt at this? In continual self-examination, always finding new reason for self-flagulation. We are not told to spend our lives looking inward in this manner.
We are told to fix our eyes on Christ. In short, watch where you're going! Do you want to walk closer to the sin in your heart? Then focus on it. Do you want to become more like Christ? Then trust that he is creating you, has forgiven you, and keep your eyes on his holiness, love and grace. His payment was completely adequate and your work is this: believe it.
Rom 6:22-23 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Ps 130:3If you, O LORD, kept a record of sins,O Lord, who could stand?
Rom 10:9-119 That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. 11 As the Scripture says, "Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame."
James 5:1616 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.
Rom 14:23 everything that does not come from faith is sin.
1 Peter 3:188 For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God.
Heb 9:27-28 just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, 28 so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.
Rom 8:1-21 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.
John 8:31-32 Jesus said, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. 32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."
John 6:29
29 Jesus answered, "The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent."
Monday, February 11, 2008
Nasty Nice
I think I discovered today something that is one of my biggest hot buttons: nasty-nice people. Perhaps you have had a nasty-nice encounter? That's where the person you are dealing with makes a face that is meant to look like a smile, and says words that are meant to be polite, but everything else in their manner suggests that they really hate your guts?
My children were babysat in a mob today, where their care provider changed midway through. I picked them up from Nasty-Nice. Their comment? "Boy, mom, the FIRST babysitter was really nice!" The woman's words could only have been described as polite, but everything about her said, "You aren't okay with me." The kids recognized it--they just felt it, though they commented that the second lady said things with polite words.
You know, I think my impression of her first went awry when I called my children out and she came and spoke to them, not me, to tell them to come back in so I could fill out a form that I'd forgotten when I arrived. That annoys me. A lot. Why does that annoy me so much? It strikes me as insincere and dishonest and it makes me want to hurt somebody, to rip the mask off. I'm touchy about being accused of...well, anything, actually, but especially of poor parenting. And anyone who pastes on a mask to pretend to be loving my kids when they are really bugged by them, provokes me. I'd rather someone just say what's on their mind, in love. If you really reject me and my kids, then you can go jump in a lake. But don't pretend that you aren't rejecting them. I hate that. It doesn't equal love, its a farcical imitation--worse than hate, because genuine hate is at least genuine.
We went to the dentist a few months ago. My kids told him that they brushed their teeth like once a week. (I think that was an underestimation, we are a humble lot.) In my defense, my children are told twice a day to brush their teeth. I'm often bad on following up, but I have taken a stab at it! The child that had perfect dental health was stonily lectured by the dentist that she really must brush more or her teeth would turn green, hurt, fall out, and that it was up to her to be responsible for her health, etc. The child that had a cavity, bore it bravely. The dentist just told us she'd have to come back in to have it fixed. I wanted her to be prepared for the procedure and be reassured about what was going to happen to her so I asked the man to explain it to her. He made it sound as clinical and painful as possible, adding that if she didn't brush more she could expect more of the same. I sent the kids out, and had a talk with the dentist.
I told him that I didn't have to bring my kids to the dentist and we could have lied on his form and given the answers that he wanted. We could have avoided the embarassment of taking care of our teeth. I tearfully told him that while I'm no Mary Poppins, I do have my strengths and forced-teeth brushing isn't one of them, but I'm trying, and I'd thank him not to judge my family. I don't know what all I said or why I felt I needed to.
I had a similar conversation with a carpet cleaning guy that commented on how gross my rugs were, hoping to sell me more carpet cleaning services. Why do I have to do this? Why can't I just crawl under a rock and be embarassed quietly? Why do I have to hold my head up and refuse to hide my ugliness? I seem to need to declare, "This is my life, yes, I suck at it, but it's my life, so shut up!"
So I guess I'm especially vulnerable to people who can put on a face. They love law, and can carry it off--their carpets smell rosy, they brush their teeth and floss, and have clean, quiet children who can find both their (clean) shoes, and never say awkward things that pierce the veil of intimacy. I see that all that is good. It doesn't make me able to do it, though. It's my pride. And shame. And some flavor of faithlessness, I'm sure. I can't seem to be anything but a transparent mess, but heaven help you if treat me like one!
So that's the raw emotional content. There is theology behind this, too, though. Nasty-nice people think they are obeying God because they are mouthing what they think is the right words and doing what they think is right. But they are dangerous pits, not to be trusted. They have their faith in doing the right thing, and they pose their bodies in the shape of righteousness. They are physically faithful to their spouse, they are in church every single week no matter what, they don't smoke, they give to missionaries, they weed out questionable videos from their collections. They emphasize to their children that they must learn God's ways, and never lie, or be rude. God expects obedience and rewards it, disobedience causes suffering.
But they are like thin ice. They believe that they have obeyed because they have made the shape. But inside, lives something that says, "You, spouse, aren't living up to the standard. You, children, aren't living up to the standard. Poor me, I go to all the trouble to make my face a smile shape, but you just scowl at me for no reason. Poor me, I work and work at church and all those other loafers are slack in their duty!" They say "Welcome to my home!" but what they really mean is, "Don't you dare break anything! Must you be so loud?" Yes, we are loud, and we might break something. Why can't you just say, "AHHHHHH! don't break that! You're driving me nuts, why don't you go outside?!" Instead, Nasty-Nice keeps those feelings, makes a smile. Until the day when the internal dialogue reaches a scream and they lose it in violence. And it becomes clear that sure enough, that wasn't the fruit of the spirit, but just some wax imitation.
So, I don't trust them. And I won't play the game. And I'll never survive in church...
My children were babysat in a mob today, where their care provider changed midway through. I picked them up from Nasty-Nice. Their comment? "Boy, mom, the FIRST babysitter was really nice!" The woman's words could only have been described as polite, but everything about her said, "You aren't okay with me." The kids recognized it--they just felt it, though they commented that the second lady said things with polite words.
You know, I think my impression of her first went awry when I called my children out and she came and spoke to them, not me, to tell them to come back in so I could fill out a form that I'd forgotten when I arrived. That annoys me. A lot. Why does that annoy me so much? It strikes me as insincere and dishonest and it makes me want to hurt somebody, to rip the mask off. I'm touchy about being accused of...well, anything, actually, but especially of poor parenting. And anyone who pastes on a mask to pretend to be loving my kids when they are really bugged by them, provokes me. I'd rather someone just say what's on their mind, in love. If you really reject me and my kids, then you can go jump in a lake. But don't pretend that you aren't rejecting them. I hate that. It doesn't equal love, its a farcical imitation--worse than hate, because genuine hate is at least genuine.
We went to the dentist a few months ago. My kids told him that they brushed their teeth like once a week. (I think that was an underestimation, we are a humble lot.) In my defense, my children are told twice a day to brush their teeth. I'm often bad on following up, but I have taken a stab at it! The child that had perfect dental health was stonily lectured by the dentist that she really must brush more or her teeth would turn green, hurt, fall out, and that it was up to her to be responsible for her health, etc. The child that had a cavity, bore it bravely. The dentist just told us she'd have to come back in to have it fixed. I wanted her to be prepared for the procedure and be reassured about what was going to happen to her so I asked the man to explain it to her. He made it sound as clinical and painful as possible, adding that if she didn't brush more she could expect more of the same. I sent the kids out, and had a talk with the dentist.
I told him that I didn't have to bring my kids to the dentist and we could have lied on his form and given the answers that he wanted. We could have avoided the embarassment of taking care of our teeth. I tearfully told him that while I'm no Mary Poppins, I do have my strengths and forced-teeth brushing isn't one of them, but I'm trying, and I'd thank him not to judge my family. I don't know what all I said or why I felt I needed to.
I had a similar conversation with a carpet cleaning guy that commented on how gross my rugs were, hoping to sell me more carpet cleaning services. Why do I have to do this? Why can't I just crawl under a rock and be embarassed quietly? Why do I have to hold my head up and refuse to hide my ugliness? I seem to need to declare, "This is my life, yes, I suck at it, but it's my life, so shut up!"
So I guess I'm especially vulnerable to people who can put on a face. They love law, and can carry it off--their carpets smell rosy, they brush their teeth and floss, and have clean, quiet children who can find both their (clean) shoes, and never say awkward things that pierce the veil of intimacy. I see that all that is good. It doesn't make me able to do it, though. It's my pride. And shame. And some flavor of faithlessness, I'm sure. I can't seem to be anything but a transparent mess, but heaven help you if treat me like one!
So that's the raw emotional content. There is theology behind this, too, though. Nasty-nice people think they are obeying God because they are mouthing what they think is the right words and doing what they think is right. But they are dangerous pits, not to be trusted. They have their faith in doing the right thing, and they pose their bodies in the shape of righteousness. They are physically faithful to their spouse, they are in church every single week no matter what, they don't smoke, they give to missionaries, they weed out questionable videos from their collections. They emphasize to their children that they must learn God's ways, and never lie, or be rude. God expects obedience and rewards it, disobedience causes suffering.
But they are like thin ice. They believe that they have obeyed because they have made the shape. But inside, lives something that says, "You, spouse, aren't living up to the standard. You, children, aren't living up to the standard. Poor me, I go to all the trouble to make my face a smile shape, but you just scowl at me for no reason. Poor me, I work and work at church and all those other loafers are slack in their duty!" They say "Welcome to my home!" but what they really mean is, "Don't you dare break anything! Must you be so loud?" Yes, we are loud, and we might break something. Why can't you just say, "AHHHHHH! don't break that! You're driving me nuts, why don't you go outside?!" Instead, Nasty-Nice keeps those feelings, makes a smile. Until the day when the internal dialogue reaches a scream and they lose it in violence. And it becomes clear that sure enough, that wasn't the fruit of the spirit, but just some wax imitation.
So, I don't trust them. And I won't play the game. And I'll never survive in church...
Monday, February 4, 2008
Response to Fragipane on Unity
The following is a response to Fracis Frangipane's article, "The Credibility Factor," at http://www.frangipane.org/
Frangipane confused me a bit in the early part of this essay by stating that godly men created denominations to protect and lift up truth in a dark age--one like he claims ours is. (And I'd agree.) Yet he demotes these convictions to "traditions" and says that they aren't worth fighting for any more. He makes this appeal for a line between who to be one with and who not to: "Please remember, I am not suggesting we should strive for unity with churches that do not believe in Christ or God's word or the Holy Spirit or the virgin birth or the second coming."
The definitions of these terms matters very much. I believe in Christ. So do demons. Mormons believe in the Bible, and they believe if they are good they may be given the Holy Spirit. Jehovah Witnesses believe something about each of those things too--they think Jesus' second coming was quite a while ago. Most of my readers may not be in those sects, but each of us undoubtedly has misconceptions about some aspects of True Faith (pretty sure I do, anyway...). Obviously, just believing in some definition of those words does not embody orthodoxy and the line between who's in and who's out is not so easily drawn. But what we mean by "believe in Christ" matters, as I believe Frangipane would agree since he felt the denominational reformers were right in their early declarations.
The different aspects of truth that were lifted up at the reformation, and by others over time are worth preserving. But something else has happened as we bought one brand of Christianity and clung to it--we froze the pursuit of what these words mean to the Author of them. Imagine an ordained denominational pastor pursuing truth and finding that some of the definitions of those words that his denomination clings to are not biblical. Is he free to grow closer to truth? No, he's bought a brand and a set of beliefs and he may not preach and follow the new discoveries he's made. It would be like his congregation walking into a McDonald's and finding they no longer serve hamburgers!
And yet it is not effective to ask the various denominations to toss out truth and say, "Oh, well, it doesn't really matter WHAT you preach about Christ, so long as you use the word, we are brothers." Such an embracing of any old thing would bring about unity, but we couldn't call it Christian unity.
Unity will be developed when we stop thinking of "church" as a religious club that holds events where a guy speaks and we sing and we have monthly potlucks and try to be good together, and restore the meaning of the words that were translated as "church" in our Bibles: eklesia, the called out ones. The assembly of the saints. The household of God. The things that we call churches contain a mix of those are truly believers and those who are merely religious. There is no way around that, and it is probably as it should be (wheat and tares, and all that.) But the called out ones are the called out ones, and must love one another, where ever they are on Sunday morning.
Does love let your friend go on in destructive error? While pride and selfish ambition are sometimes expressed in arguing, a disagreement and discussion does not mean two parties are not being humble and receptive. We must pursue truth together without battling about "who's right" so much as what's true, and be free to embrace truth as we find it in the Word, without denominational constraints.
Our denominational organizations can be useful: they give us structure and a framework to in which to work. They bring order, both social and functional so that we can be with the same people week to week and do more than we could as separate believers. But if our denominations begin to say that it doesn't matter how we use the words that Frangipane lists, we need to use caution. God does mean something by what He says, and we need to understand Him with increasing accuracy, both as individuals and as congregations. Realizing the benefit of walking with other believers of every stripe in this process of Spirit powered growth is (super) natural unity.
Frangipane confused me a bit in the early part of this essay by stating that godly men created denominations to protect and lift up truth in a dark age--one like he claims ours is. (And I'd agree.) Yet he demotes these convictions to "traditions" and says that they aren't worth fighting for any more. He makes this appeal for a line between who to be one with and who not to: "Please remember, I am not suggesting we should strive for unity with churches that do not believe in Christ or God's word or the Holy Spirit or the virgin birth or the second coming."
The definitions of these terms matters very much. I believe in Christ. So do demons. Mormons believe in the Bible, and they believe if they are good they may be given the Holy Spirit. Jehovah Witnesses believe something about each of those things too--they think Jesus' second coming was quite a while ago. Most of my readers may not be in those sects, but each of us undoubtedly has misconceptions about some aspects of True Faith (pretty sure I do, anyway...). Obviously, just believing in some definition of those words does not embody orthodoxy and the line between who's in and who's out is not so easily drawn. But what we mean by "believe in Christ" matters, as I believe Frangipane would agree since he felt the denominational reformers were right in their early declarations.
The different aspects of truth that were lifted up at the reformation, and by others over time are worth preserving. But something else has happened as we bought one brand of Christianity and clung to it--we froze the pursuit of what these words mean to the Author of them. Imagine an ordained denominational pastor pursuing truth and finding that some of the definitions of those words that his denomination clings to are not biblical. Is he free to grow closer to truth? No, he's bought a brand and a set of beliefs and he may not preach and follow the new discoveries he's made. It would be like his congregation walking into a McDonald's and finding they no longer serve hamburgers!
And yet it is not effective to ask the various denominations to toss out truth and say, "Oh, well, it doesn't really matter WHAT you preach about Christ, so long as you use the word, we are brothers." Such an embracing of any old thing would bring about unity, but we couldn't call it Christian unity.
Unity will be developed when we stop thinking of "church" as a religious club that holds events where a guy speaks and we sing and we have monthly potlucks and try to be good together, and restore the meaning of the words that were translated as "church" in our Bibles: eklesia, the called out ones. The assembly of the saints. The household of God. The things that we call churches contain a mix of those are truly believers and those who are merely religious. There is no way around that, and it is probably as it should be (wheat and tares, and all that.) But the called out ones are the called out ones, and must love one another, where ever they are on Sunday morning.
Does love let your friend go on in destructive error? While pride and selfish ambition are sometimes expressed in arguing, a disagreement and discussion does not mean two parties are not being humble and receptive. We must pursue truth together without battling about "who's right" so much as what's true, and be free to embrace truth as we find it in the Word, without denominational constraints.
Our denominational organizations can be useful: they give us structure and a framework to in which to work. They bring order, both social and functional so that we can be with the same people week to week and do more than we could as separate believers. But if our denominations begin to say that it doesn't matter how we use the words that Frangipane lists, we need to use caution. God does mean something by what He says, and we need to understand Him with increasing accuracy, both as individuals and as congregations. Realizing the benefit of walking with other believers of every stripe in this process of Spirit powered growth is (super) natural unity.
Saturday, February 2, 2008
Good Enough?
I initiated a discussion with my kids over dinner tonight, about the sermon at the Grand Prix. (See previous post.) My oldest started by saying that she liked it a lot. So I asked them what they thought the main point was. They agreed that it was that God wants us to confess our sins and loves us even when we mess up. They could accurately recount the stories he told to support his point. Then I asked them what was similar between the allegory and the reality of Christ, and they gave good, true, and perceptive answers. They were able to see some differences between what the story king did and what the real king Jesus did.
They had been listening. What they learned was predominately true and good. And it gave us a chance to talk about things.
I wish that this kind of discussion was not treason. Why is it that we must fully agree with every word and not poke and test things? I want my kids to have these discussions, in their heads, and at home. But I try to warn them strongly against trying it in church. My oldest asked me not long ago how old you had to be to argue with the teacher in church. I told her it would never be okay. That makes me sad.
I also wonder how accurate teaching needs to be to be good enough. There is a line there somewhere. I am not talking about judging others and deciding who's in and who's out of the kingdom. I'm talking about choosing one's company, one's traveling companions. I'm willing to accept that a lot of folks I think are very wrong about some things are indeed part of God's family. How much does right belief matter, anyway? This preacher kid had the main point correct: God loves us and wants us to come to him, dirty or not. If he had other parts of it mixed up, how uptight should we be about that? What he taught may put a stumbling block in front of someone. Does God take false things and teach truth through them? Surely true teachings have been taken and used to teach falsehood.
When my kids are learning to write, I do not at first insist that they spell everything right. I do not at first insist that they put spaces between their words. But as time goes on, I show them the right way to punctuate, and spell, and use language. As they grow, I expect them to move closer to "correct writing." I wonder if God does this with our theology.
But if I kept on saying, "write whatever you want, don't worry about rules or right," then my kids wouldn't move towards writing well. If correct theology isn't honored and lifted up, will we move toward orthodoxy? Or will we believe--and live--in a way that is the equivalent to gibberish and hen scratch?
And what is orthodoxy, anyway. The Holy Spirit is supposed to lead us into all truth, and yet it is possible to find a church that teaches and practices almost anything, even among those that share the same Confession. That's annoying.
They had been listening. What they learned was predominately true and good. And it gave us a chance to talk about things.
I wish that this kind of discussion was not treason. Why is it that we must fully agree with every word and not poke and test things? I want my kids to have these discussions, in their heads, and at home. But I try to warn them strongly against trying it in church. My oldest asked me not long ago how old you had to be to argue with the teacher in church. I told her it would never be okay. That makes me sad.
I also wonder how accurate teaching needs to be to be good enough. There is a line there somewhere. I am not talking about judging others and deciding who's in and who's out of the kingdom. I'm talking about choosing one's company, one's traveling companions. I'm willing to accept that a lot of folks I think are very wrong about some things are indeed part of God's family. How much does right belief matter, anyway? This preacher kid had the main point correct: God loves us and wants us to come to him, dirty or not. If he had other parts of it mixed up, how uptight should we be about that? What he taught may put a stumbling block in front of someone. Does God take false things and teach truth through them? Surely true teachings have been taken and used to teach falsehood.
When my kids are learning to write, I do not at first insist that they spell everything right. I do not at first insist that they put spaces between their words. But as time goes on, I show them the right way to punctuate, and spell, and use language. As they grow, I expect them to move closer to "correct writing." I wonder if God does this with our theology.
But if I kept on saying, "write whatever you want, don't worry about rules or right," then my kids wouldn't move towards writing well. If correct theology isn't honored and lifted up, will we move toward orthodoxy? Or will we believe--and live--in a way that is the equivalent to gibberish and hen scratch?
And what is orthodoxy, anyway. The Holy Spirit is supposed to lead us into all truth, and yet it is possible to find a church that teaches and practices almost anything, even among those that share the same Confession. That's annoying.
Congratulations, Now You Can BE GOOD! (aren't you happy?)
I've complained a lot about the charismatic church we sometimes attend. I'm not going to do that today. Today, I'm going to complain about the Baptist church.
Our kids attend AWANA at the Baptist Church where I first came to God. It has been, by and large, a blessing. We've bounced around a lot in the last five years, attending two home churches, two large churches, and visiting many others, but most of the time just skipping it. But the kids have been at AWANA every Sunday come hell or high water.
Why would a person, such as myself, who hates all that is religious, choose to put her kids in a program that is hugely religious? Well, first of all because the kids are memorizing scripture. And, while I do not always agree with how it is used at AWANA, the kids are banking it away, and it often pops out of their mouths as we explain spiritual principles to them. Secondly, it has provided stability in their "church" sector when we couldn't. They have several close relatives at the Baptist church. Since we homeschool, I felt like it was important to keep something like this going in their lives.
So, I preface my complaints with the utimate conclusion that the overall experience is a benefit to us. Some claim that the kids have been a blessing to others in the program, too, but I have a hard time buying that.
Today was the annual AWANA Grand Prix, a pine box car race wherein the dads compete to see who can most artistically fulfill their children's dreams of speed and victory. And being a religious activity, the program is arranged such that you cannot receive your trophy without sitting through a sermon. This year's edition was delivered by the church's youth pastor, who was about 20. This frustrated me to start with—don't teens deserve someone with some maturity and experience and wisdom? Not that he wasn't a nice 20 year old, maybe a good Bible student. But what did any of us know at 20? I don't think I know much at 38.
In any case, they gave the floor to this young man, so that he could share the wisdom of his years. Which isn't a kind thing to do to someone who is 20. (Or even maybe 38!)
The content of this young man's speech made my heart sink. His main point was that you could tell God when you mess up because he loves you. Which is a good and valid point. But his support for it revealed a very faulty foundation for his understanding. He illustrated his thesis with a couple personal stories, wherein he struggled to admit he had done something wrong. In both cases, his guilt was not very certain since they were accidents, and in both cases, the person to whom he confessed did not respond with grace. Not exactly a home-run in illustrating repentance and confession, but that wasn't the worst of it.
The worst was the allegorical story that he told that related the story of salvation:
A king had a lovely and happy kingdom that he ruled with wisdom and kindness. But one of his cities went renegade on him and stopped obeying him and didn't want him to be their king. They started to be rude and cruel to one another. And their city got worse and worse. The king had to do something. He couldn't just let them go on destoying one another because he loved them. He couldn't destoy them out of hand, because he cared too much for them. So, of course, he went and lived among them and showed them love and kindness, and they learned the error of their ways and started being nice again. But they were afraid to come back to the king, because maybe he wouldn't want them any more since they had been so bad. Then he showed his ring—I am the King! I am not mad! I still want you! Group hug, happily ever after.
There is so much wrong with this. Let's start with the nature of God. God has, in the past, gone right ahead and obliterated towns and peoples because he would not tolerate their faithlessness. He is not all that nice. And he will, ultimately, condemn most of the people he has made. They will suffer because of their rejection of him. It isn't safe to ignore him. We are his creations, and his rightful “property”, in the crassest sense. And while he is apparently letting some kind of story run its course, every sin will be paid for, one way or another.
Ex 34:6-7 "The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, 7 maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished.”
If the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, then we cannot neglect this element of his character, even with our tender children.
Another problematic element of the story is the mistaken hope that being a Christian means Now I Get to Be Good! Jesus was not primarily a moral teacher. Yes, he did come and model a perfect life. What was the essence of this perfect life? This is so, so important. Jesus perfect life was NOT NOT NOT the fulfillment of a list of right behaviours. It was a life lived in perfect step with everything the Father directed. The book of John is FULL of this. Here are a few snips:
John 5:19-20
"I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does.
Note: SEES, active and happening at that instant, not something he once saw, but the current action of the Father.
John 8:28-29
I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me. 29 The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases him."
John 12:49
For I did not speak of my own accord, but the Father who sent me commanded me what to say and how to say it.
John 14:10-11
Don't you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. 11 Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me.
Jesus was full of God. And through faith in him, all the fullness of the Godhead dwells in us also. Think on that for a moment. Because Jesus died and was raised, he could send the Holy Spirit to live in us, if we will. We are offered what he had—a live connection to God, to empower and direct us in living a pleasing life, no longer stupidly wallowing without power or wisdom.
Read this section of John with that in mind:
John 14:19-24
Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. 20 On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. 21 Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him."
22 Then Judas (not Judas Iscariot) said, "But, Lord, why do you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world?"
23 Jesus replied, "If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. 24 He who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.
If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. That can be a command or a statement of something that happens. If I let go of this brick, it will fall to the ground. God first loves us, we respond by loving him, and the natural fruit is obedience. Note that love comes first, the relationship comes first. In the story, the people did not love first. They figured out that living clean is good for you. This is not repentance, it's just common sense. Nice, but purely carnal. It has nothing to do with being saved or indwelt by God. In the end, they will still be destroyed because they refused to be owned.
What Jesus offered was Life. He was alive because the Father was IN him. We have that same chance, to be IN Christ, and to be alive in the same sense that Jesus was. What Jesus offered was emphatically NOT a pattern to copy, beyond his relationship to God.
So, I was disappointed that the church leadership inflicted this sermon on this kid, and on us. Why would a year or two of Bible School equip someone who is so young to shepherd teens? And how did he go to Bible School that long without, apparently, hearing the Gospel? If the role of leaders is to equip the saints to do the work of the ministry, why aren't there a large crop of older men to fulfill this role?
Apostasy, I tell you! ;-)
Our kids attend AWANA at the Baptist Church where I first came to God. It has been, by and large, a blessing. We've bounced around a lot in the last five years, attending two home churches, two large churches, and visiting many others, but most of the time just skipping it. But the kids have been at AWANA every Sunday come hell or high water.
Why would a person, such as myself, who hates all that is religious, choose to put her kids in a program that is hugely religious? Well, first of all because the kids are memorizing scripture. And, while I do not always agree with how it is used at AWANA, the kids are banking it away, and it often pops out of their mouths as we explain spiritual principles to them. Secondly, it has provided stability in their "church" sector when we couldn't. They have several close relatives at the Baptist church. Since we homeschool, I felt like it was important to keep something like this going in their lives.
So, I preface my complaints with the utimate conclusion that the overall experience is a benefit to us. Some claim that the kids have been a blessing to others in the program, too, but I have a hard time buying that.
Today was the annual AWANA Grand Prix, a pine box car race wherein the dads compete to see who can most artistically fulfill their children's dreams of speed and victory. And being a religious activity, the program is arranged such that you cannot receive your trophy without sitting through a sermon. This year's edition was delivered by the church's youth pastor, who was about 20. This frustrated me to start with—don't teens deserve someone with some maturity and experience and wisdom? Not that he wasn't a nice 20 year old, maybe a good Bible student. But what did any of us know at 20? I don't think I know much at 38.
In any case, they gave the floor to this young man, so that he could share the wisdom of his years. Which isn't a kind thing to do to someone who is 20. (Or even maybe 38!)
The content of this young man's speech made my heart sink. His main point was that you could tell God when you mess up because he loves you. Which is a good and valid point. But his support for it revealed a very faulty foundation for his understanding. He illustrated his thesis with a couple personal stories, wherein he struggled to admit he had done something wrong. In both cases, his guilt was not very certain since they were accidents, and in both cases, the person to whom he confessed did not respond with grace. Not exactly a home-run in illustrating repentance and confession, but that wasn't the worst of it.
The worst was the allegorical story that he told that related the story of salvation:
A king had a lovely and happy kingdom that he ruled with wisdom and kindness. But one of his cities went renegade on him and stopped obeying him and didn't want him to be their king. They started to be rude and cruel to one another. And their city got worse and worse. The king had to do something. He couldn't just let them go on destoying one another because he loved them. He couldn't destoy them out of hand, because he cared too much for them. So, of course, he went and lived among them and showed them love and kindness, and they learned the error of their ways and started being nice again. But they were afraid to come back to the king, because maybe he wouldn't want them any more since they had been so bad. Then he showed his ring—I am the King! I am not mad! I still want you! Group hug, happily ever after.
There is so much wrong with this. Let's start with the nature of God. God has, in the past, gone right ahead and obliterated towns and peoples because he would not tolerate their faithlessness. He is not all that nice. And he will, ultimately, condemn most of the people he has made. They will suffer because of their rejection of him. It isn't safe to ignore him. We are his creations, and his rightful “property”, in the crassest sense. And while he is apparently letting some kind of story run its course, every sin will be paid for, one way or another.
Ex 34:6-7 "The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, 7 maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished.”
If the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, then we cannot neglect this element of his character, even with our tender children.
Another problematic element of the story is the mistaken hope that being a Christian means Now I Get to Be Good! Jesus was not primarily a moral teacher. Yes, he did come and model a perfect life. What was the essence of this perfect life? This is so, so important. Jesus perfect life was NOT NOT NOT the fulfillment of a list of right behaviours. It was a life lived in perfect step with everything the Father directed. The book of John is FULL of this. Here are a few snips:
John 5:19-20
"I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does.
Note: SEES, active and happening at that instant, not something he once saw, but the current action of the Father.
John 8:28-29
I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me. 29 The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases him."
John 12:49
For I did not speak of my own accord, but the Father who sent me commanded me what to say and how to say it.
John 14:10-11
Don't you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. 11 Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me.
Jesus was full of God. And through faith in him, all the fullness of the Godhead dwells in us also. Think on that for a moment. Because Jesus died and was raised, he could send the Holy Spirit to live in us, if we will. We are offered what he had—a live connection to God, to empower and direct us in living a pleasing life, no longer stupidly wallowing without power or wisdom.
Read this section of John with that in mind:
John 14:19-24
Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. 20 On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. 21 Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him."
22 Then Judas (not Judas Iscariot) said, "But, Lord, why do you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world?"
23 Jesus replied, "If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. 24 He who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.
If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. That can be a command or a statement of something that happens. If I let go of this brick, it will fall to the ground. God first loves us, we respond by loving him, and the natural fruit is obedience. Note that love comes first, the relationship comes first. In the story, the people did not love first. They figured out that living clean is good for you. This is not repentance, it's just common sense. Nice, but purely carnal. It has nothing to do with being saved or indwelt by God. In the end, they will still be destroyed because they refused to be owned.
What Jesus offered was Life. He was alive because the Father was IN him. We have that same chance, to be IN Christ, and to be alive in the same sense that Jesus was. What Jesus offered was emphatically NOT a pattern to copy, beyond his relationship to God.
So, I was disappointed that the church leadership inflicted this sermon on this kid, and on us. Why would a year or two of Bible School equip someone who is so young to shepherd teens? And how did he go to Bible School that long without, apparently, hearing the Gospel? If the role of leaders is to equip the saints to do the work of the ministry, why aren't there a large crop of older men to fulfill this role?
Apostasy, I tell you! ;-)
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