Matthew 6:10 – Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
God, Grant Us Reformation In his book, Hot Tub Religion, J.I. Packer makes this observation, “…we look at the church of our day and say, ‘We need another reformation.’ But do we know what we are saying? …We are in danger of settling for too narrow a perspective of what reformation is – too narrow a notion of what it was in the past and too narrow a notion of what it will be in the future if God visits us once more.” Packer asks a good question. Do we indeed know what we are saying when we cry out for reformation? I was awakened to how little I comprehended the word when I began to study what reformation, biblically understood, truly means. I have discovered that this simple word is filled with great meaning. Contained within the word reformation are the ideas of revival, renewal, awakening, restoration, and even overhaul. As I have considered these words, I have come to realize that the coming of the Kingdom of God was and is a reformation. As our Lord Jesus ushered in the Kingdom of God, he brought forth revival and renewal to people’s hearts, minds, and spirits. He awakened them to their great need for the living God. He brought forth restoration where only brokenness existed before. He turned existing ideas about God and humanity upside-down as he revealed God and his good news. He exchanged the temporal perspectives of man for God’s eternal perspective for every sphere of life. Because of this, I have come to see the need for reformation, biblical reformation, in three essential areas of life. Reformation and the Individual God uses individuals to touch and transform the church and the world. A.W. Tozer writes, “It is mere common place to sing or pray, ‘Lord, send a revival, and let it begin with me.’ Where else can a spiritual quickening take place but in the individual life? There is no abstract ‘church’ which can be revivified apart from the men and women who compose it.” Tozer points out that which should be obvious; that the church and world will not be reformed until faithful men and women begin chasing after God and his ways. Individuals do not have to wait for the church before they can be renewed to newness of life and the things of God. Our own faith must be real and personal before it can be social and corporate. Tozer adds, “Every prophet, every reformer, every revivalist had to meet God alone before he could help the multitudes. The great leaders who went on to turn thousands to Christ had to begin with God and their own soul. The plain Christian of today must experience personal revival before he can hope to bring renewed spiritual life to his church.” It is true, or course, Christianity is about community and relationships. No Christian is called to live alone on an island. However, this community is a community of men and women who have been personally and individually touched by the Holy Spirit and brought forth from death to life. Reformation and the Church One aspect that unites great leaders from Christian history, such as the Apostle Paul, Martin Luther, and John Wesley, was their prophetic word to the church in their day. Sadly, they were sometimes viewed as John the Baptist – as lone voices crying in the wilderness. However, the Holy Spirit moved through these faithful men to bring about reformation in the church in their day. God is still using people the same way in our day. In my own denomination, the United Methodist Church, I see faithful men and women standing up for the true and living God and his Word. I also see God renewing lives in his church through a variety of renewal groups. And I know it is through the prayer of these men and women that God will bring a mighty reformation to our denomination. This is true for churches in every denomination or no denomination at all. However, we need to be guided by a proper understanding of reformation, so we might know what direction to take, and therefore, what path not to take. The puritan pastor and writer, Richard Baxter, has helped provide clarity concerning the notion of reformation. In his book, The Reformed Pastor, he showed that the idea of reformation, biblically understood, combines the heart and mind. In other words, we are not experiencing true reformation in the church when only one aspect is emphasized. Baxter points out that there must be inward spiritual renewal as well as outward correction of doctrine in Christ’s church. It does the church little good if she is only emphasizing correct doctrinal adherence and ignoring inward spiritual vitality. So too, a church that cares little for doctrinal faithfulness and only concerns herself with “religious feelings” cannot rightly be called faithful either. Instead, genuine reformation will reflect these two sides of the same coin. J.I. Packer comments, “The Bible records many striking movements that textbooks usually call reformations. In every case this same two sidedness applies. These movements had an outward aspect; immorality and idolatry were put away. But they also had an inward side; men and women were stirred to seek God and renew their covenant with him.” This is true reformation experienced in the Bible and in Church history. These two works, the inward and outward works of God, are really one work seen from two points of view. We cannot have one without the other. Prophetic voices must call Christ’s Church back to both emphases if we are going to experience real reformation. Martyn Lloyd-Jones declared that we have no reason to expect God to usher in reformation and revival if we are not being faithful to God in our present situation. Reformation and the World The Lord Jesus Christ came to a dark and lost world with the good and transforming news of the Kingdom of God. Individual believers, and the church, are called out of the world to bear witness to the Light of the world. We are called Christ’s ambassadors as we proclaim God’s message of reconciliation. Along with that beautiful, life-transforming message, God calls us to love our neighbors by serving them and standing up for them. We are called to be who we are in Christ – salt and light to a dark and decaying world. We live in the world though we are not of it. Our faithfulness in our little part of the world will help bring about the reformation God desires. The Kingdom Jesus ushered in and proclaimed was not about slight adjustments here and there. It was about a complete overhaul – in our thinking, speaking, attitudes, values, priorities, beliefs, and behaviors. As God’s will is done in our lives as it is in heaven, God’s Kingdom-influence will be extended to the various spheres of our lives. So, let us pray that God will bring biblical reformation into our lives for his greater glory and the blessing of our families, churches, workplaces, communities, and world. Walking Points
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A Definition
A Kingdom Disciple is, quite simply, a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ. The phrase, Kingdom Discipleship, is my shorthand way of communicating what it means to live faithfully as his follower, under his Lordship, and in his Kingdom. This distinctive is not really mine. It’s neither innovative nor original. However, my goal in emphasizing Kingdom Discipleship is to help Christians understand more fully what God has revealed in and through his Word. It is also my desire to stand squarely in the tradition of our Christian heritage, most especially my own particular lineage of John Wesley. Jesus Christ is Lord By using the phrase, Kingdom Discipleship, I wish to remind disciples of Jesus Christ that our call is to faithfully and obediently follow Christ in every sphere of life. I believe this is imperative because Jesus Christ is Lord over every sphere of life. It was God who granted Jesus authority over all heaven and earth (Matt. 28:18) and gave him the name above every name (Phil. 2:9). It would, therefore, run counter to the biblical witness regarding our Lord’s authority, for his followers to live compartmentalized lives. God doesn’t want us to submit to Christ for just 70 or even 95 percent of our lives. He wants all of us. To paraphrase Abraham Kuyper, there is not a square inch in all the universe Christ has not claimed for himself. Every Sphere Therefore, our call as his followers is to intentionally, faithfully, obediently, and joyfully extend his Kingdom – his rule, reign, will, and influence – into every sphere of our lives (in every area of responsibility, interest, relationship, and authority). Everything, what some might call the common and the uncommon, the sacred and the secular, is to be lived for God’s glory (1 Corinthians 10:31) and according to his will. God’s Kingly Influence The influence of the Kingdom of God and of his Christ must come through gracious, loving, and truthful persuasion, modeling, and witness, never through coercion or manipulation. The kind of transformed individual, family, church, state, society, and world God desires will not, indeed, must not come through violent political revolution or rebellion but by the regenerating power of the Holy Spirit and the subsequent “salt and light influence” of God’s people. The Local Church The primary means, humanly speaking, by which God’s Kingdom is extended in this way is through local assemblies of God’s people. It is in and through the local church that the life-giving, mind-renewing, and life-transforming Gospel of the Kingdom is proclaimed, taught, and lived out. It is only as men, women, boys, and girls are reborn by the Spirit of God that they are able to enter the Kingdom of God (John 3:3-8). Then, as they continue to grow in their faith, having their minds renewed and lives transformed, they become better educated, equipped, and encouraged to take this good news of the Kingdom into every sphere of their lives. And just as the woman in Jesus’ parable mixes her yeast into the dough and works it until it permeates all of it (Luke 13:20-21), so too is the Kingdom of God extended into every sphere of life by his disciples. Imagine the Difference
What would our culture look like today if the church lived as the salt and light that Christ said we in fact are? How might our society be transformed if every Christian and every local church functioned according to their true identity as salt and light? Can you imagine? These are not hypothetical questions. These are real questions for real times to real people – to us. Sometimes we may reflect on how bad off our culture is and bemoan the fact there’s nothing we can do about it. Yet the Church in every age has found itself in a similar struggle. We can learn much from Christians in earlier generations. Lessons from History Note the following examples of Christians who made an impact in their day, an impact that eventually led to their culture’s significant transformation. For all of its virtues, the mighty Roman Empire was a decadent place. It was in the midst of that Empire the church was born. When the early Christians weren’t being persecuted for their faith, they were, at best, only being tolerated. Additionally, they were merely one faith on a buffet table of many faiths. Sound familiar? It’s impressive, therefore, that this small, seemingly insignificant group of marginalized and oppressed people could so powerfully influence such a mighty Empire, so much so it would eventually be declared the official religion of Rome. What happened to bring that about? Many things to be sure, but consider these two examples: Rescuing Babies First of all, it was customary for unwanted babies to be discarded in the garbage heaps of Rome. Usually, such a child was not born the desired sex for the family and was seen only as a liability. The family would take the baby down to the garbage heap and leave the child there to die. The early Christians kept a sharp eye out for such things and their response was amazing. When babies were “thrown away,” our brothers and sisters in the early church would go to the garbage heaps, retrieve the children, and take them home to raise them as their own. Costly Compassion Second, throughout Rome’s history there were times when devastating and deadly plagues broke out in densely populated living quarters. The response of most Romans was to leave as quickly as possible in hopes their own lives would be spared. But our brothers and sisters in the early church remained behind. Why? To care for the sick and dying. To show Christ’s love, even in the midst of the devastation. That sacrificial servant-mentality cost some Christians their lives. But it also accomplished something great. It revealed the life-transforming power of the gospel through an outward witness. It showed Christian discipleship isn’t merely for Sunday mornings. It declared to all of Rome that Christians didn’t just “talk the talk” but they also “walked the walk.” The Result As a result many people turned to Christ. Christianity grew. Jesus Christ was mightily exalted. A culture began a process of positive transformation. These two examples show us what can happen when Christians function as salt and light in their world. The early Christians took seriously the call of Christ to live as the salt and light that he said they already were. Matthew 5:13-16 is a wake-up call to the church today. Jesus Preaches We find these words of Jesus about being salt and light on the heels of the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:3-11). These familiar words of Jesus are found at the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount. It’s there Jesus shows us a picture of what every Christian should look like. He says in Matthew 5:3-10, [3] “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. [4] Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. [5] Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. [6] Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. [7] Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. [8] Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. [9] Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God. [10] Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. These words describe what every Christian should look like. These aren’t to mark the “super spiritual” among us. These characteristics are to mark all who follow Christ – everyday, ordinary, rank-and-file Christians. These characteristics are countercultural. They describe countercultural men and women whom Christ asserts are salt and light for a dark and decaying world. We cannot easily imagine these words printed as a vision statement on Wall Street or in the hallowed halls of Washington D.C. or in some Hollywood executive’s office, can we? These are not the valued character traits in many places of power and influence. The State of the Church Yet, we sometimes find these same characteristics absent in the Church as well. According to George Barna, the greatest problem in the Church today is, instead of the Church influencing our culture, the culture is influencing the Church. We don’t look much different from the world. Barna writes, “Two out of every three American adults claim that the United States is a Christian nation. Don’t believe it. Never have so many been deceived. Based on an analysis of 131 measures of distinctive attitudes, values, beliefs and behaviors, we have developed a means of assessing the influence of the Christian community in America. This evaluation is based on a comparison of the similarities and differences between Christians and non-Christians. The data demonstrate that although Christians are distinct in some areas of thought and deed, they generally represent an invisible and ineffective presence in the U.S. Surprisingly few Christians have developed a holistic, integrated and balanced form of Christianity that provides non-believers with a viable lifestyle alternative to consider.” And then, after he reveals that unbelievers and Christians are virtually identical in many spheres of life, Barna concludes, “The bottom line is that in the dimensions of life where Christians can truly influence their world – i.e. in the non-religious domain – we have failed to demonstrate the power of our faith. Christianity is not losing influence in America because it is overmatched by the challenges of the day; it is losing its impact because believers have been unsuccessful at merging faith and lifestyle outside the walls of the church. Non-believers expect us to have different religious beliefs and practices; those differences fail to impress them. Only when those beliefs and practices shape every other walk of life do they sit up and take notice.” This is an important insight. In the Beatitudes, Christ tells us about the inward and personal character of his followers. Then he makes an important shift. He tells us it’s impossible to follow the norms of the Kingdom – to be his disciples in the world – in a purely private way. Donald Carson comments, “The righteousness of the life you live will attract attention, even if that attention regularly takes the form of opposition. In other words, the Christian is not poor in spirit, mournful over sin, meek, hungry and thirsty for righteousness, merciful, pure in heart, a peacemaker – all in splendid isolation. Our Cultural Commission No, these countercultural norms, faithfully practiced in a sinful world, make up a major aspect of our witness as Christians. That’s why Jesus follows up the Beatitudes with his teaching about salt and light, what we might call our Cultural Commission, our outward witness to the world. Jesus develops two metaphors to give us a picture of how his disciples must, by the lives they lead, leave their stamp on the world. He calls us salt and light. This is what I call Kingdom Discipleship. Consider these questions.
I know many of you do much of this already, but can we agree we have much further to go? Jesus told us plainly that we are salt and light to a world in need. We’ll unpack in more detail what it means to be salt and light in the next two chapters. As I conclude this chapter, I want to share this: I’m on a recruiting mission. I’m looking for a few good men and women. I’m looking for Kingdom Disciples. Kingdom Disciples What is a Kingdom Disciple? A Kingdom Disciple isn’t simply someone who has a few right beliefs about God, Jesus, salvation, and the Bible. It’s not someone who’s only concerned about his or her personal salvation. It’s not someone who merely attends an occasional worship service or Bible study, listens to Christian radio stations, says a blessing before lunch at a restaurant, or gives to charity. Those are all good things to be sure. They’re important things. But if that’s what our view of discipleship is, then we have a truncated understanding of what it means to follow Christ and thus limit our ability to participate in transforming our culture for Christ. Chuck Colson wrote in his book, How Now Shall We Live?, the following: “Right after signing the contract for this book, and while still plagued by writer’s remorse (was I really convinced that this book needed to be written?), my wife, Patty, and I visited old friends for a weekend and attended their local evangelical church, which is well known for its biblical preaching. I found the message solidly scriptural and well delivered. That is, until the pastor outlined for the congregation his definition of the church’s mission: to prepare for Jesus’ return through prayer, Bible study, worship, fellowship, and witnessing. In that instant, all lingering doubts about whether I should write this book evaporated. Don’t get me wrong. We need prayer, Bible study, worship, fellowship, and witnessing. But if we focus exclusively on these disciplines – and if in the process we ignore our responsibility to redeem the surrounding culture – our Christianity will remain privatized and marginalized. Turning our backs on the culture is a betrayal of our biblical mandate and our own heritage because it denies God’s sovereignty over all of life.” A Kingdom Disciple is a follower of Christ who understands that because Jesus is Lord over every sphere of life, our faith is therefore, a total, balanced, and integrated world and life view. As a consequence, such a follower of Jesus Christ lives in faithful response to that truth in the various areas of his or her life. It’s only this kind of radical, biblical discipleship that will transform our culture for Christ. This is nothing more and nothing less than what Christ has called us to be in the Sermon on the Mount. Our faith ought to pervade every aspect of who we are – as individuals, husbands, wives, employees or employers, church members, neighbors, citizens, and so on. The Dutch theologian, Abraham Kuyper, put it this way. He said, There is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry: “Mine!” A Social Religion What if we lived our lives as though that were true? John Wesley and George Whitefield did. It’s been said that England was on its way to its own bloody revolution, like France before it, were it not for these men and the gospel they preached and lived. They preached a gospel that took in the totality of life. John Wesley screamed from the rooftops that Christianity is a social religion. Yes, it absolutely deals with an individual’s personal relationship with Christ. That’s essential. But that personal relationship must bear fruit corporately, socially. The church is a covenant community, not a village of hermits. We must be here for one another, and as we are, we can help transform our culture. The revivals of the early Methodists produced not only spiritual revival, but brought forth political, educational, and economic reform in England. Lives were so completely and radically changed by the gospel of Christ, that a violent revolution was avoided. This is our heritage. Jesus declares in Matthew 28:18, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” Paul says in Colossians 1:15-17: He [Jesus] is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. [16] For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. [17] He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. (emphases mine) Can there be any doubt that these texts, and others like them, teach that Jesus Christ is the Lord over the entire universe. And if he is, what does that mean to us? What will that truth look like in our lives? How can that truth transform, not only individual lives, but families, churches, workplaces, neighborhoods and communities, a culture, a world? Walking Points
Knights for Jesus
When my oldest son was six years old, we went on a Father-Son campout together, along with some of the other fathers and sons from our church family. It was a lot of fun, at least as much fun as you can have with a bunch of six-year old boys who had to go to the bathroom at the worst possible times. All kidding aside, it was a special time I’ll always cherish. We had fun, acted silly, made a fire, and hiked in the woods, all the things you’re supposed to do on a father-son campout. What really made the campout special was the spiritual theme of the weekend. We told the boys they were in training to become godly men. And the “bigger-than-life” vision we held before them was they were in training to become, “Knights for Jesus.” We told them a knight, back in the Middle Ages, was called to be faithful to Christ, selfless, courageous, and wise. After a man became a knight, he was no longer to pursue his own agenda, but God’s. He wasn’t expected to fight in his own strength, but with the strength of God. There was a great celebration on the day a man became a knight. The rest of his life would be dedicated to living out that commitment. There’s an important connection between what we shared with those six-year-old boys on that camping trip and what this chapter is about, God’s Sanctifying grace. Grace from Beginning to End Grace is the undeserved or unmerited favor of God. In earlier chapters we saw there are different ways to understand God’s grace, according to the time in our lives we experience it. Prevenient grace, for example, is the grace of God that goes before us, drawing us to God (even before we’re aware of God) and awakening us to our need for Christ. God’s Justifying grace is the grace of God that enables us to say yes to what God has done for us, in and through the person and work of Jesus Christ. It’s the grace that enables us to enter into a right standing or right relationship with God. However, what we need to remember about all these understandings of grace is this: All grace is God’s grace – from beginning to end. The different names for our experience of grace, prevenient, justifying, and sanctifying, are simply ways for us to understand how God is working in our lives. Continuing with the knight imagery, before a boy became a knight, he spent his life in preparation to become one. He would first serve as a page and then a squire, learning all about what it meant to be chivalrous, godly, and so forth. He was on a track that would one day lead him to become a knight and enable him to live like one the rest of his life. I think that looks a great deal like prevenient grace in the Christian experience. It’s a time of preparation. Prevenient grace is the work of God that prepares you from the time you are born to the day you give your life to Christ. Then there’s the great ceremony where the boy who reached manhood finally becomes a knight. With a great ceremony he pledges his loyalty to his king. Similarly, we experience God’s justifying grace when we pledge ourselves to our King – the King of kings – and enter into a right, deep, and personal relationship with him. Sanctifying Grace That leads us to our focus in this chapter, Sanctifying grace. What is it? Sanctifying Grace is the grace of God that provides us with the desire and the power to grow in our relationship with God and to become increasingly like Christ. Sanctification is a vital concept for us to understand and embrace. Our Christian walk doesn’t end the moment we give our lives to Christ. That’s just the beginning. A mentor of mine once told me the Christian faith isn’t hard, it’s impossible. It’s impossible, that is, if you’re trying to live it out on your own, in your own power. Instead, just as we’re justified (saved) by grace through faith in Christ, we’re also sanctified (made holy or Christlike) by grace through faith in Christ. God is our power. In fact, in John 15, Jesus teaches, John 15:4-5 – Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. [5] “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. Vine, Branches, Fruit Christ is the vine. His life-giving power has to flow from him into us, just as the life-giving, life-preserving nutrients of a vine have to flow into its branches or else the branches will die. Those life-giving nutrients of the vine flow into and through the branches which enable the branches to bear fruit. Just like those branches, God wants you to bear fruit. And not just fruit, but good fruit. And not just good fruit, but much good fruit. And not just much good fruit, but much good fruit that will last. John 15:7-8 – [7] If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. [8] This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. Jesus tells us there are two reasons he wants us to bear fruit. First, because it glorifies God, and second, because it shows the world, we’re his disciples. Pilgrim’s Progress But bearing fruit for the long haul is hard. Our journey, like a knight’s, is filled with winding roads, peaks, valleys and all sorts of obstacles. Pilgrim’s Progress is a great allegory of a man who experiences the trials and temptations of the Christian life as he heads toward the Celestial City. It describes the man before his conversion, hearing the gospel for the first time, and through various experiences (prevenient grace) comes to lay his burdens at the foot of the cross and places his trust in Christ (justifying grace). What struck me the first time I read the book was that the first two parts of the book make up only a very small part of the man’s journey. Most of the book is dedicated to his sanctification – the idea of walking with and for Christ throughout the rest of his life, until he reached the Celestial City. Walk the Walk It’s interesting how often the Bible uses the imagery of “walking” to describe what it means to carry on a close relationship with the Lord. For example,
Those verses give us the marching orders to “walk the walk,” and not just “talk the talk.” How do we “walk the walk?” I’ve already said the road is hard. We can’t do it on our own. That’s what sanctifying grace is all about. The question is, what does sanctifying grace look like in our daily lives? How can we experience it? In keeping with our vine, branch, and fruit imagery, I will use the word RIPE to describe this idea. If you’ve ever been on the Walk to Emmaus spiritual retreat, you may have heard some version of this. Restoration The R stands for Restoring our relationship with God and others. One of the results of our sinful nature is our fractured relationships with God, other people, and ourselves. Through God’s grace, those relationships can become whole again, at least closer to becoming what God wants them to be. Perhaps you’ve discovered in your own life, upon occasion, you and someone you’re very close to get into an argument. Maybe you’ve noticed one of the characteristics of those arguments is how often the sin of pride makes an appearance. In my life I have often found the argument isn’t about whatever it was originally thought to be. After a while, it becomes a turf war, with neither person wanting to give in. It’s when God’s Spirit starts convicting me of sin, I begin to realize I’m being proud, stubborn, and selfish. That’s when I discover I must say two of the hardest words in the English language, “I’m sorry.” They must be followed with, “I was wrong, will you please forgive me?” I know they may be hard words to say, but it’s only as they are genuinely spoken that true restoration of the relationship can begin to take place. That’s an example of God’s sanctifying grace at work. It’s as his grace works in and through us over the course of a lifetime, we become more like Christ than when we first began. That’s our goal, isn’t it? We want to be able to say, “I’m not yet where God wants me to be, but by God’s grace I’m not where I once was.” Impartation Our next letter is “I,” which stands for Imparting new life, new light, new strength, and a new heart. As we continue to faithfully walk with God, he pours out his sanctifying grace upon us. This is the process by which the righteousness of Christ is imparted to us. It progressively becomes a part of who we are. As we grow in God’s grace, we begin to look more and more like Christ in our daily lives. I adore my children. I thank God for them each and every day. Yet I must say my beloved children have taught me one very important doctrine of the Christian faith. The doctrine of Original Sin. Why? Because, I never had to teach my children to be selfish or self-centered. That’s true of all children, isn’t it? Sin is part of our spiritual DNA at birth. Thus, one of my jobs as a father is to serve as an agent or ambassador of God’s justifying and sanctifying grace in the lives of my children. Think of it this way: I work for the King, and he wants me to help steer my children toward him. He also wants me to help them know him, love him, and become like him. That’s going to take God imparting Christ’s righteousness into my children’s lives through grace. As the old saying goes, you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink. So too, you can lead a person to Christ, but it’s God alone who changes a person’s heart. Perfecting The third letter is “P.” The “P” stands for “Perfecting us in the image of God and the likeness of Jesus Christ.” We were all created in the image of God. However, sin messed that image up. It’s not gone completely, but the image is stained. When we place our trust in Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, we are RE-created. The result of this RE-creation is we become new creations in Christ. 2 Cor. 5:17 – Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! Galatians 6:15 – Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is a new creation. Because of the imputed righteousness of Christ, we are able to stand in a right relationship with God. He no longer sees us as sinful people. He sees us as new creations who’ve been redeemed by his Son. But then God says something very important to us. God declares, “Go and be who you are. You are holy, now go and be holy. You are a new creature in Christ, now go and live like a new creature in Christ.” Hebrews 6:1 says we must go on to maturity in Christ. The Apostle Paul confesses, Philippians 3:12-14 – … I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. [13] Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, [14] I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. (Emphases added) Sanctification is about going on to maturity, pressing on toward the goal, and straining toward what is ahead. We must not remain content where we are. Each day should be marked by striving, by God’s grace and power, to become more like Christ than we were the day before. Equipping the Saints The final letter is “E,” which stands for “Equipping us to do the work of Christ in the world – to be the hands and feet of Christ.” In the Great Commandment Jesus reiterated the Old Testament by teaching that we’re called to love God with all we are. Christ reminded us the second great commandment is like it. We’re to love our neighbors as ourselves. In the Great Commission Jesus told us we’re to go into all the world and make disciples, teaching them to obey everything he commanded. How do we do that? How can we build Christ’s Church and extend his Kingdom into every sphere of life? The answer is God equips his children with gifts for ministry to accomplish the mission he sets before us. Every follower of Christ has at least one spiritual gift that God has given him or her for the building up of his body. That means every one of you who calls Jesus Lord and Savior, has been gifted by him so he can use you to minister to his church and the world, in his name, and for his glory. That’s what it means to be equipped by God. It’s All About Grace This is the heart of who we are as followers of Christ. The Apostle Peter encourages us with these words at the end of his second epistle. He writes, 2 Peter 3:18 – …grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen. Growing in the grace of God is what sanctification is all about. We start off in grace, before we’re even aware of it. We’re given the power to turn from our old destructive and selfish ways and place our trust in Christ alone. From that day on we’re supported, empowered, nurtured, and guided by God to live the life to which he calls us. From beginning to end, it’s all about God’s grace. Walking Points
Memorizing Psalm 23
The summer between my 10th and 11th grade year of high school, I took a 3-week trip out west with eight friends and three teachers. For three weeks we hiked up and down mountains, camped in tents, and fished for food. It was great. Only one night during those three weeks, on the way from one site to another, did we stay in a motel. One of the reasons why I’ll never forget that night is because it was that night a friend helped me memorize the 23rd Psalm. I had a Sunday School teacher who had memorized it and I had always admired him for that. It inspired me to do the same. So, with our motel Gideon’s Bible, over the course of a couple of hours, my friend helped me memorize Psalm 23. I’ve remembered it ever since. The Comforting Power of Psalm 23 Psalm 23 is one of the most widely recognized Scriptures in all the Bible, right up there with John 3:16. I’ve read it to the older members of my church who are homebound. I’ve read it to our folks who’ve been in the hospital or in hospice care. And, of course, we often read it together at funeral services. It’s very familiar to many of us and can be a great source of comfort when we need it most. In fact, I would encourage you to take the time to memorize Psalm 23. It’s such a blessing to place God’s Word deep in our hearts and minds so we can recall it during tough times. Written By a Shepherd Psalm 23 was written by a shepherd, a shepherd who was also the son of a shepherd. King David was often called the “Shepherd of Israel.” He certainly knew what he was talking about as he referred to shepherds and sheep. I think it’s important to remember that shepherds were the lowest of the low in the social circles of their day. That fact ought to amaze us because it was to shepherds that the angels came to announce the birth of Jesus. And it was a lowly shepherd boy who was chosen by God to be King over Israel. God doesn’t look at people the way we often do. It’s also fascinating that God chose the metaphor of “shepherd” to describe himself in his relationship with us. Job Description So, what was the job description of a shepherd? A shepherd would actually live with his sheep 24 hours a day with unwavering devotion, day and night, both in fair weather and bad, to nurture, guide, and protect his sheep. The shepherd would assume full responsibility for the needs and safety of his flock, even risking his own life for their protection. (Holman OT Commentary) Isn’t it awesome that the King of the universe, the Creator of all there is, chose to call himself a shepherd? But David points out that the Lord isn’t just a shepherd, or even the shepherd, but he is my shepherd. He’s your shepherd. He’s our shepherd. Bad Shepherds How precious and comforting those words must have been for the people of Israel, generations later, as those appointed to “shepherd” them, often betrayed them. Take in these words from Ezekiel 34:7-10, 7 “‘Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: 8 As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, because my flock lacks a shepherd and so has been plundered and has become food for all the wild animals, and because my shepherds did not search for my flock but cared for themselves rather than for my flock, 9 therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: 10 This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am against the shepherds and will hold them accountable for my flock. I will remove them from tending the flock so that the shepherds can no longer feed themselves. (Emphasis mine) God takes this very seriously. That’s why Jesus picked up this theme about bad shepherds when he said in John 10:8, 10, All [shepherds] who ever came before me were thieves and robbers… The thief [false shepherd] comes only to steal and kill and destroy; Our Good Shepherd Therefore, in light of those bad, untrustworthy, and false shepherds who were stealing from God’s people and leading them astray, here’s what God said in Ezekiel 34:11-12, 14-16a, 1 “‘For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I myself will search for my sheep and look after them. 12 As a shepherd looks after his scattered flock when he is with them, so will I look after my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on a day of clouds and darkness. 14 I will tend them in a good pasture, and the mountain heights of Israel will be their grazing land. There they will lie down in good grazing land, and there they will feed in a rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. 15 I myself will tend my sheep and have them lie down, declares the Sovereign Lord. 16 I will search for the lost and bring back the strays. I will bind up the injured and strengthen the weak, (Emphases mine) That sounds like Psalm 23 in action, doesn’t it? That sounds like the ministry of Jesus in action, doesn’t it? Jesus emphasized this role of a good shepherd when he said he came so the sheep “could have life, and have it to the full.” Jesus said he was the good shepherd and that he lays down his life for the sheep. Isn’t that the kind of shepherd you want watching over you, leading and guiding you, protecting you, and caring for you? The Shepherd We Need and Want The good shepherd leaves 99 of his sheep that are safe and secure so he can go out and find the one sheep that’s lost and in danger. And then he celebrates once he’s finds it. Don’t you want that kind of shepherd? Our Good Shepherd meets our physical needs. Verse 1 says, we will lack nothing. Our Good Shepherd meets our emotional needs – Verse 2 says, “he leads me beside quiet waters.” Our Good Shepherd meets our spiritual needs – Verse 3 says, “he refreshes my soul.” Our Good Shepherd meets all our needs, our needs for living each day, our deepest needs. Verse 3 says, he guides us along right paths (v. 3). Even when we walk through the darkest valleys of our lives, we don’t need to fear because he has promised to be with us during those times (v. 4). And best of all, God promises his sheep that our relationship with our Good Shepherd is not temporary, but eternal. Verse 6 says, Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Isn’t that the kind of Shepherd you want guiding you, feeding you, protecting you, seeking you, sacrificing for you, knowing you, and healing you as you travel through this life? Isn’t that the Shepherd you want to call upon when you’re too scared and too panicked to lie down and rest in green pastures? Isn’t that the Shepherd you want leading you down the right paths of life, giving you his living water when you’re thirsty? Isn’t that the Shepherd you want protecting you as you travel, as Amazing Grace puts it, “through the many dangers, toils, and snares” of this world? And isn’t that the Shepherd you want at the end of your life, as you prepare to cross the waters of death? David reminds us that that Shepherd is not just a shepherd, or just the shepherd, but he’s your Shepherd. And Jesus reminds us that he is that Shepherd, the Good Shepherd. Hebrews 13:20-21 puts it this way, 20 Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, 21 equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen. (emphasis mine) This very same Good Shepherd (great Shepherd) can be your Good Shepherd if you’ll answer the call of his voice to trust and follow him, wherever he leads you. Walking Points
The Heidelberg Catechism: Lord's Day 9
26. Question: What do you believe when you say: I believe in God the Father almighty, Creator of heaven and earth? Answer: That the eternal Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who out of nothing created heaven and earth and all that is in them,[1] and who still upholds and governs them by His eternal counsel and providence,[2] is, for the sake of Christ His Son, my God and my Father. [3] In Him I trust so completely as to have no doubt that He will provide me with all things necessary for body and soul,[4] and will also turn to my good whatever adversity He sends me in this life of sorrow.[5] He is able to do so as almighty God,[6] and willing also as a faithful Father.[7] [1] Gen. 1 and 2; Ex. 20:11; Job 38 and 39; Ps. 33:6; Is. 44:24; Acts 4:24; 14:15. [2] Ps. 104:27-30; Matt. 6:30; 10:29; Eph. 1:11. [3] John 1:12, 13; Rom. 8:15, 16; Gal. 4:4-7; Eph. 1:5. [4] Ps. 55:22; Matt. 6:25, 26; Luke 12:22-31. [5] Rom. 8:28. [6] Gen. 18:14; Rom. 8:31-39. [7] Matt. 6:32, 33; 7:9-11. Dr. Craddock
One of the highlights of attending seminary in Atlanta was sitting under the teaching of Dr. Fred Craddock. Dr. Craddock was a gifted and world-renowned preacher and preaching instructor. It was a privilege and blessing to take a preaching class taught by him. One of the things Dr. Craddock taught us, something that’s always stayed with me, came from a story he told us. He shared with our class a snippet of a conversation he had with one of his former students who had graduated and was serving a little rural church. The former student told Dr. Craddock he was going to wake that little country church up. He was going to bring them into the present. He was going to be new and fresh. As an example of this, he wasn’t going to preach the same old tired stuff during Christmas, stuff they all knew. He was going to hit them with something new. Dr. Craddock lovingly, and I’m sure, convincingly, shared with this eager new preacher that what those people needed, what we all need, especially during the seasons of Advent and Lent, is the old, old story of what God has done in Christ. The Old, Old Story It’s not that a preacher shouldn’t seek to know the needs of the congregation and connect with them in their context. The preacher should not seek to be irrelevant. However, the truth is, a clear and honest telling of the old, old story is the most relevant subject there is. Many hymns remind us that the “old, old story” is the Good News, the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Here’s how the hymn, “Victory in Jesus,” communicates the old, old story, I heard an old, old story, how a Savior came from glory, how he gave his life on Calvary to save a wretch like me; I heard about his groaning, of his precious blood’s atoning, then I repented of my sins and won the victory. O victory in Jesus, my Savior forever! he sought me and bought me with his redeeming blood; he loved me ere I knew him, and all my love is due him; he plunged me to victory beneath the cleansing flood. That’s the old, old story. When we think about the Gospel of Jesus Christ – the Good News of what God has done in and through the life, death, and resurrection of his Son, Jesus Christ, we usually go back 2,000 years. But the story is older than that. In one sense, it goes all the way back into eternity, into the mind of God who’s always existed. Look for Jesus We won’t go back quite that far in this lesson, but I do want to show the Good News fulfilled in Jesus was predicted and anticipated in the Old Testament. God didn’t “make it up” on the fly. When I used to teach Disciple Bible Study, a very detailed and comprehensive study of both the Old and New Testaments, people would often tell me how bogged down they were getting in the Old Testament. They would even tell me they thought it was boring and irrelevant. In response to this, one of the things I used to encourage them to do, in order to stick with it, was to start looking for Jesus in the pages of the Old Testament. Because he’s there! In fact, he’s all over the place in the Old Testament. The Testimony of the Apostles Below are a few Scriptures from the New Testament that help make the case. Romans 1:1-4 – Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God– [2] the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures [3] regarding his Son, who as to his human nature was a descendant of David, [4] and who through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord. 1 Corinthians 15:1-3 – Now, brothers, 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,… Galatians 3:6-9 – Consider Abraham: “He believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” [7] Understand, then, that those who believe are children of Abraham. [8] The Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: “All nations will be blessed through you.” [9] So those who have faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith. Acts 13:26-39 – “Brothers, children of Abraham, and you God-fearing Gentiles, it is to us that this message of salvation has been sent. [27] The people of Jerusalem and their rulers did not recognize Jesus, yet in condemning him they fulfilled the words of the prophets that are read every Sabbath. [28] Though they found no proper ground for a death sentence, they asked Pilate to have him executed. [29] When they had carried out all that was written about him, they took him down from the tree and laid him in a tomb. [30] But God raised him from the dead, [31] and for many days he was seen by those who had traveled with him from Galilee to Jerusalem. They are now his witnesses to our people. [32] “We tell you the good news: What God promised our fathers [33] he has fulfilled for us, their children, by raising up Jesus… (Emphases added) Peter and Stephen, in the book of Acts, declare the same truths: all that was accomplished in and through the Person and Work of the Lord Jesus Christ was anticipated and prophesied in the Old Testament. The Testimony of Jesus Maybe at this point you are saying, “Well, that sounds good, but that’s just Paul and Peter and Stephen. They’re just men. First, let me remind you that Paul’s writings and Peter’s preaching in Acts are just as inspired of God as anything written in the Gospels. However, just for emphasis, let me quote a little of what our Lord himself said, or what was said about him, in the Gospels. Luke 18:31 – Jesus took the Twelve aside and told them, “We are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written by the prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled. Luke 24:27 – And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself. Luke 24:44 – He said to them, “This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.” John 1:45 – Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote–Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” John 5:45-46 – “But do not think I will accuse you before the Father. Your accuser is Moses, on whom your hopes are set. [46] If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me. John 8:56 – Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad.” (Emphases added) The “Scriptures” Jesus, Paul, Peter, John, Philip, Nathanael, and Stephen spoke of were, of course, the Old Testament. That’s what I mean when I say we ought to look for Jesus and his Gospel in the Old Testament. It’s far from silent on the subject. That’s why we read so much from the Old Testament during the Advent and Lenten seasons. It points to our Lord. Thanks be to God. What is the Gospel? Thus far we’ve seen that the old, old story is much older than we usually think. But what is the old story about? What is the Gospel, the Good News, of Jesus Christ? The shortest and easiest answer is given to us by the Apostle Paul in Romans 1:16, I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the power of God for salvation. It’s God’s answer, his response, to our sin and sinfulness, fallenness, brokenness, rebellion, foolishness, hurts and pain, suffering, and lostness. God isn’t an aloof deity who sits in heaven, detached from his creation. Even though he created us in his image and declared his creation was good, very good in fact, we, along with our first parents Adam and Eve, have gone our own way. We’ve rebelled against God. We’ve declared ourselves in charge and have resisted him. And even though God in his perfect holiness and righteousness would have been justified in pouring out his wrath upon us, in his grace he poured out his love instead. As the Scriptures we’ve already seen tell us, God sent his deeply beloved, one and only Son to live, die, and be raised from the dead for us. Here’s how Paul makes this point. Romans 3:21-26 – But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. [22] This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, [23] for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, [24] and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. [25] God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished– [26] he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus. (Emphasis added) Our sinfulness, rebellion, foolishness, and willfulness, were paid for (atoned for) on the Cross by the Lord Jesus Christ. The Scripture says Jesus, who knew no sin, became sin for us. He received the punishment we deserved. Your Choice Because of that great expression of love, we can know God. We can enter into a personal, deep, and abiding relationship with God. We can actually start becoming more and more like Christ in our daily lives. We can be made holy and whole. We can receive both abundant and everlasting life. But it’s not automatic. This is where we must choose to enter into the old, old story. We must respond. We must not listen to the story of God’s good news and simply smile and say, “Well, that’s a nice story.” There’s no place for indifference to this story. We must believe the story. We must place our faith, our trust, in Christ - in who he is, the very Son of God – Son, Savior, and Lord. We must trust in his Work on our behalf – his death upon the Cross for our sin and his resurrection from the dead for our salvation. We must repent, which means to turn away from our sinfulness, selfishness, and rebellion, and turn instead toward God, in love for him and faithfulness to him. Turning away from sin and toward God doesn’t earn us our salvation. Our salvation is a free gift from God, just as Jesus is a gift to us. But it is a gift we must open, so to speak. We must respond to it. We must receive it in trusting faith. When we do, not only are we declared righteous before a holy God, but our lives will begin to bear fruit. We’ll show we really love and trust God and his Son Jesus Christ by seeking to live for him, desiring him, obeying him, and by loving our neighbors. Faith and repentance are not two separate things. They are two aspects of the same thing. They are, if you will, two sides of the same coin. That’s why Jesus says in Mark 1:15, “Repent and believe the good news!” Friends, this is the Gospel of Jesus Christ and there is no other! Enter the Story Yourself The United Methodist liturgy for Holy Communion describes all this in a beautiful way. It invites us to enter into the story – to become a part of it. In the United Methodist Church we believe that, through his Holy Spirit, we meet the main character of the old, old story, the Lord Jesus Christ. As we gather with our brothers and sisters in Christ and bow before him, Christ gathers with us in our midst. He is with us in and through his Spirit as we receive his body and blood he so lovingly and freely gave on our behalf. However, you must enter into this story by faith. United Methodists believe this sacrament is an outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace. In other words, we don’t receive this grace simply by going through the motions. Instead, it’s with joyful, thankful, love-filled hearts, we receive the bread and cup in faith, trust, and repentance. Our liturgy, based in Scripture, reminds us, Christ our Lord invites to his table all who love him, who earnestly repent of their sin and seek to live in peace with one another. A few pages further in the hymnal, another order of Communion says this, Ye that do truly and earnestly repent of your sins, and are in love and charity with your neighbors, and intend to lead a new life, following the commandments of God, and walking henceforth in his holy ways: Draw near with faith, and take this Holy Sacrament to your comfort, and make your humble confession to almighty God. If you’ve never genuinely and consciously repented of your sin and placed your trust in Christ as your Savior and Lord, today is the day of salvation. Same as it Ever Was
It’s not a stretch to suggest that many Americans today seem to believe our age is the first time a pluralist society has existed. Furthermore, it seems that the conclusion drawn from this assumption is, therefore, that truth-claims and exclusive appeals to one’s own faith are outdated and bigoted concepts. However, this modern-day chauvinism is grounded upon a false assumption. Alister McGrath points out that the “Christian proclamation has always taken place in a pluralist world, in competition with rival religious and intellectual convictions.” In fact, many books in both the Old and New Testaments were written as polemics against the competing religions that Israel and the early Christian community faced daily. McGrath comments: “Ancient Israel was acutely aware that its faith was not shared by its neighbors. The existence of other religions was simply a fact of life for the Israelites. It caused them no great difficulties, in that they believed that theirs happened to be right, whereas others were wrong. The same pattern emerges in the New Testament. From the first days of its existence, Christianity has recognized the existence of other religions and the challenge they posed. …Christianity was born amid religious pluralism…” The early church faced the lions, became burning torches in Nero’s garden, and other such fates, because they actually believed the truth of what they were proclaiming. Therefore, they proclaimed that the Christian message was true and rejected false teachings. David Wells asks: “Why were [the early Christians] so adamant about the preservation, appropriation, and propagation of this doctrinally framed teaching? The answer is that it is the ‘truth’ (2 Cor. 4:6; Eph. 1:13; Col. 1:5; 2 Tim. 2:15; Tit. 1:14; 1 Pet. 1:22; 2 Pet. 1:12; James 1:8; 3 John 4) It is only by coming to know this ‘truth’ that one comes to know God, for he can be known only through Christ who is the center and object of this teaching (Tit. 2:4; Heb. 10:26; 1 Pet. 1:22; cf. 2 Tim. 3:7).” In The Apostolic Preaching and Its Developments, C.H. Dodd “showed in a convincing way that the apostolic preachers all followed a broadly accepted outline of key facts concerning the life and ministry of Jesus Christ when they presented the gospel to unbelievers.” Furthermore, this content-filled faith which proclaimed that Jesus Christ alone was the truth, was proclaimed “in the midst of a world that was more religiously diverse than any we have known in the West until relatively recently.” Is it not, therefore, arrogant (or, at least, misguided) to suppose that our modern-day culture is the first to deal with the issue of pluralism? It is important for Christians to maintain that “the faith once delivered” is a faith in what “really happened” in time-and-space history. It would be a destructive revision of history to suggest that early Christians were bringing to the world merely a subjective philosophy or worldview based on what they “wished” had happened. “It would be a remarkable example of cultural chauvinism if we supposed that our faith about what really happened, shaped as it is by our cultural perspectives, must necessarily displace that of the immediate witnesses” (Newbigin). Yet, on what basis can Christians proclaim that they have “truth to tell?” On what foundation can Christian truth-claims be made and defended? The Christian Worldview’s Foundation From the very beginning, the Christian faith has proclaimed and defended the position that it is a revealed religion. Never has it declared itself to be a speculative philosophy. It has always submitted to a higher, self-disclosing authority. Ronald Nash says that Christianity’s “touchstone proposition” is that “Human beings and the universe in which they reside are the creation of the God who has revealed himself in Scripture. The basic presupposition of the Christian world-view is the existence of the God revealed in Scripture.” This is both the ontological and epistemological foundation for the Christian faith. An appeal to any other authority than the living God, is an appeal to human speculation and vain autonomy. Carl Henry correctly observes that: “All merely human affirmations about God curl into a question mark. We cannot spy out the secrets of God by obtrusive curiosity. …Apart from God’s initiative, God’s act, God’s revelation, no confident basis exists for God-talk. …If we are authorized to say anything at all about the living God, it is only because of God’s initiative and revelation. God’s disclosure alone can transform our wavering questions concerning ultimate reality into confident exclamations!” Christians are therefore not arrogant because they claim to “know” the truth. Instead, Christians confess to be humble servants of the one true God who has graciously revealed the truth to them and has called them to be witnesses in the world to that truth. Furthermore, this same God has given Christians his Spirit so that they might have eyes to see and ears to hear what he has revealed. I hasten to add that it is not simply by “revelation-in-general,” that human beings come to this epistemological foundation. Instead, it is the Old and New Testaments of the Christian Bible through which God has specifically revealed himself, and not simply “in Christ.” Francis Schaeffer has brought attention to the fact that “the Reformation said ‘Scripture Alone’ and not ‘the Revelation of God in Christ Alone.’ If you do not have the view of the Scriptures that the Reformers had, you really have no content in the word ‘Christ’…” This is important to point out, because without the proper epistemological foundation, truth shifts to preference and utter subjectivity. Indeed, this is what has happened in far too many quarters. To be sure, God was most fully revealed in and through his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. And yet, without the proper authoritative source and correct interpretive lens, we cannot know or understand anything meaningful about him. The Results of a Wrong Foundation – or - Shifting Sand David Wells writes that, “Truth is now simply a matter of etiquette: it has no authority, no sense of rightness, because it is no longer anchored in anything absolute.” This certainly addresses the issue of why religious pluralism is running rampant. Carl Henry says that “The West has lost its moral and epistemic compass bearings. It has no shared criterion for judging whether human beings are moving up or down, standing still, or merely on the move only God knows where.” Henry goes on to suggest that: “Once the living God is banished, both Jesus Christ and the Bible become cognitive orphans. Not only are history and nature rendered godless, so that they can be assimilated readily either to mechanical determinism or to chaos, and not only is mankind rendered godless, so that humanity is free to play deity or to consider itself mere soulless specks of cosmic dust, but also the most basic referents of Christianity become embarrassing enigmas.” Gene Veith concurs in his suggestion that today’s apathy toward truth is because “there is no universal consensus about what is true.” He contends that the postmodern culture “teaches that meaning is created by a social group and its language. According to this view, personal identity and the very contents of one’s thoughts are all social constructions.” Thus, the postmodern person will want to shed any oppressive understanding of truth that “seeks to restrict” one’s autonomy to construct the world as he or she sees it. Postmodernism advocates relativistic variety and rejects restrictive structures that tyrannize individuals with “rules or criteria” for making or defending “truth-claims.” This philosophical underpinning can be clearly seen in the debate over the exclusivity of salvation through Jesus Christ. Until the participants of the debate can agree about what their epistemological foundations are, there will be no way to even begin the debate or dialogue. While both parties will appeal to an authority for their position, the Christian will point past autonomous reason to God himself. However, while the other participant is “free to reject the authority of Scripture, [he or she] will only substitute some other authority in its place.” Ronald Nash reveals that this is precisely what happened to the philosopher, John Hick. Hick once embraced at least some aspects of orthodox Christianity. However, once he gave up the epistemological foundations for those beliefs, he drifted away from orthodoxy into the pluralism he now embraces. The abandonment of truth in the secular world has certainly made powerful inroads into the church. David Wells comments, “Without this transcendent Word in its life, the church has no rudder, no compass, no provisions. Without the Word, it has no capacity to stand outside its culture, to detect and wrench itself free from the seductions of modernity. Without the Word, the church has no meaning. It may seek substitutes for meaning in committee work, relief work, and various other church activities, but such things cannot fill the role for very long. Cut off from the meaning that God has given, faith cannot offer anything more by way of light in our dark world than what is offered by philosophy, psychology, or sociology. Cut off from God’s meaning, the church is cut off from God; it loses its identity as the people of God in belief, in practice, in hope. Cut off from God’s Word, the church is on its own, left to live for itself, by itself, upon itself. It is never lifted beyond itself, above its culture. It is never stretched or tried. It grows more comfortable, but it is the comfort of anesthesia, of a refusal to pay attention to the disturbing realities of God’s truth.” This has certainly happened to much of the church at large in our own culture. Christ’s church has mirrored the culture instead of leading it. The result is that instead of clinging to the touchstone proposition of the Christian faith, the church’s anchor has been lifted and many of God’s people are epistemologically adrift. The result is that the polls taken now show that there are as many people in the church as there are outside of the church who reject the notion of objective truth. Yet in the face of this retreat from truth, the contemporary culture has not faced up to the logical consequences of a world and worldview without objective and absolute truth. What is Truth and How is it Tested? It is, of course, not enough to show that the culture and the church have strayed from their roots. The issue of what truth is and how a truth-claim may be tested now needs to be addressed. The essential nature of truth’s relationship to faith ought not be abandoned for relativistic pluralism. Elton Trueblood says: “If any religion or any part of religion is not true, we ought to give it up. To maintain the appearance of a faith merely because it is socially useful, or comforting, though believed to be false, is to deny what is asserted. If a religion is not true it is evil! If God is not, then prayer is a waste of good time and wholly indefensible. If there is no life after death, the sooner we find that out the better. In any effort to deal with religion philosophically, we must try to understand what we mean by truth. If we have differing or ambiguous conceptions of the nature of truth, further fruitful discussion will be impossible, for we may be arguing for different positions without knowing it.” Therefore, it makes sense that we ask the question, “What is truth?” Winfried Corduan provides a helpful way of understanding this question. He writes, “…there is some kind of reality that is constituted independently of what we say about it. In other words, either my car is in the parking lot or not; either the geometry of right triangles follows the Pythagorean theorem or not; either God exists or He does not. This reality is a given. Our statements are true if they correspond to the reality in question; they are false if they do not correspond. We call this the correspondence theory of truth…” In other words, regardless of what reality might be, if something is true, it corresponds to that reality. For Christians, the truth proclaimed relates to God because he is ultimate reality. Because truth is ultimately grounded in the person and character of God, truth is absolute or objective, unchanging, and universal. This absolute, unchanging and universal truth corresponds between a belief, a judgment or proposition, and a fact or state of affairs. Again, it is important for the Christian to respond to the charge of being arrogant with the humble claim that it is God alone who is omniscient. It is God who knows “all the truth about everything and knows it perfectly. As creator of all, he is the ultimate source of all our knowledge, so that our attempts to know truth are dependent on him and bear witness to him.” Thus, the Christian freely and humbly admits dependence upon the living God for his or her epistemological foundation. Nevertheless, it is one thing to assert that one’s proposition or religious belief is true while quite another thing to test that truth-claim. How does one test a religious or philosophical truth-claim? Ronald Nash suggests five such tests: reason, experience, outer world, inner world, and practice. While all five are extremely helpful in evaluating a worldview, the limitations of this post prohibit examining all of them. Therefore, only the test of reason will be considered. Nash says that by referring to the test of reason, he is referring to “logic or the law of noncontradiction.” The law of noncontradiction states that A cannot be B and non-B at the same time and in the same relationship. What this means is that when two contradictory truth-claims are stated and compared to one another, if one is true, then the other one is necessarily false. Nash says: “Since contradiction is always a sign of error, we have a right to expect a conceptual system to be logically consistent, both in its parts (its individual propositions) and in the whole. A conceptual system is in obvious trouble if it fails to hang together logically.” This test obviously will not be as useful for those religions or philosophies which make no universal truth claims. However, Carl Henry points out that “Logical inconsistency sacrifices plausibility; a logically inconsistent system cannot be valid or true.” Furthermore, any repudiation of the law of noncontradiction is purely artificial and temporary. Aristotle showed that the law of noncontradiction is indispensable for significant action, significant thinking and significant communication to take place. Any argument against the law actually assumes it. In order for significant action to take place one cannot therefore do and not do a certain task at the same time and in the same relationship. If significant thinking is to take place then one cannot affirm two contradictory propositions as true. Finally, if significant communication is to take place, then words and propositions cannot be contradictory or have infinite amounts of meaning. More importantly, the use of logic is not the use of a human invention or meaningless word-games. Ronald Nash writes: “‘The true nature of logical conclusions has not been arranged by men, rather they studied and took notice of it so that they might be able to learn or to teach it. It is perpetual in the order of things and divinely ordered.” For Augustine, the truth of propositions like ’2+2= 4′ does not consist simply in the mental act of making this judgment. Rather, its truth lies in the eternal reality which makes the judgment true. The truths of logic are not empty tautologies devoid of any reference to being.” Moreover, this is not merely a law of thought, but has a direct relationship to ontological reality. Nash suggests: “The denial of the law of noncontradiction leads to absurdity. It is impossible meaningfully to deny the laws of logic. If the law of noncontradiction is denied, nothing has meaning. If the laws of logic do not first mean what they say, nothing else can have meaning, including the denial of the laws.” Thus, a truth-claim, to be considered true, must actually correspond to reality or to the way things really are, and must not contain contradictions within the system. Once again, the test of reason can only serve as a negative test for truth. “…[T]he absence of contradiction does not guarantee the presence of truth.” However, as one of five tests for truth, it is extremely useful. The Christian Worldview Having laid the foundation for the importance, indeed the necessity of truth within the Christian worldview, it is now appropriate to consider what the truth-claims of Christianity are. There is no use speaking passionately about truth or why Christians claim to know the truth, if the content of that truth is absent. Once again, Christianity purports to correspond with reality as it has been revealed by a personal and omniscient God. It’s important to point out that, historically, Christianity has claimed that it is an internally consistent worldview without logical contradictions. When weighing worldviews, one must look at the beliefs of Christianity and competing truth-claims to evaluate which one actually corresponds to reality and is therefore true. At this point, one may ask if there really are differences between the world’s religions and philosophies, or are they all essentially saying the same thing. It is my contention that all religions cannot all be true. Though, from a distance, there are similarities, under closer inspection one notices the superficiality of those similarities. In reality, there are significant differences between them, which include crucial foundational issues. Gary Phillips and William Brown point out: “The nature of God, of matter, and of man are all defined differently by various religious systems. Therefore, when man confronts God, nature, and self, the worldviews that arise will be different. Is life after death a new sphere or level of personal existence, or are we simply absorbed into a transcendental impersonal force? How do we come to know God? Is it through asceticism…, through mysticism…, through the works of self-discipline, or by grace through faith. What about Jesus Christ? Is Jesus an eternal being, or was He a created being? Was He truly God and truly man, or was He exclusively human? Did He die for the sins of mankind (Christianity), did He die a disillusioned and misunderstood itinerant rabbi (Judaism), or was He taken up into heaven without dying at all–and therefore is not a Savior (Islam)?” If two truth-claims contradict one another, they cannot both be true in the same way and in the same relationship. Therefore, it is now important to consider the criteria to be employed in examining a worldview. To consider the Christian worldview, I will examine the five worldview elements drawn from two of Ronald Nash’s books and will additionally consider the person and work of Jesus Christ. God, Metaphysics and Epistemology The first area to consider is how a worldview understands God. Christians believe in much more than the “existence” of God. The God that Christians believe in is the God who has revealed himself in the Old and New Testaments. Even though I am a United Methodist and believe we have a rock-solid doctrine of God, perhaps the most comprehensively and clearly described doctrine of God can be found in the Westminster Confession of Faith. It says: 1.) There is but one only, living, and true God, who is infinite in being and perfection, a most pure spirit, invisible, without body, parts, or passions; immutable, immense, eternal, incomprehensible, almighty, most wise, most holy, most free, most absolute; working all things according to the counsel of His own immutable and most righteous will, for His own glory most loving gracious, merciful, long-suffering, abundant in goodness and truth, forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin; the rewarder of them that diligently seek Him; and withal, most just, and terrible in His judgments, hating all sin, and who will by no means clear the guilty. 2.) God hath all life, glory, goodness, blessedness, in and of Himself; and is alone in and unto Himself all-sufficient, not standing in need of any creatures which He hath made, nor deriving any glory from them, but only manifesting His own glory in, by unto, and upon them. He is the alone fountain of all being, of whom, through whom, and to whom are all things and hast most sovereign dominion over them, to do by them, for them, or upon them whatsoever Himself pleaseth. In His sight all things are open and manifest, his knowledge is infinite, infallible, and independent upon the creature, so as nothing is to Him contingent, or uncertain. He is most holy in all His counsels, in all His works, and in all His commands. To Him is due from angels and men, and every other creature, whatsoever worship, service, or obedience he is pleased to require of them. 3.) In the unity of the Godhead there be three persons, of one substance, power, and eternity: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost: the Father is of none, neither begotten, not proceeding; the Son is eternally begotten of the Father; the Holy Ghost eternally proceeding from the Father and the Son. The Christian God described above in the Westminster Confession of Faith is not only different than, but actually in contradiction to other worldview conceptions of God, if indeed they have one. For example: atheism asserts the non-existence of God. Polytheistic religions believe there is more than one God. Pantheism contends that God is all and all is God. Islam and Judaism deny the Trinitarian understanding of the Christian God. Therefore, the glaring contradictions between these worldviews seem self-evident. They could all conceivably be false, but they can't all be true. The second area of focus is called metaphysics, which deals with ultimate reality. “These beliefs include answers to such questions as: What is the relationship between God and the universe? Is the existence of the universe a brute fact? Is the universe eternal? Did an eternal, personal, omnipotent God create the world? …[I]s there any purpose to the universe? Are miracles possible?” The Christian response to some of these questions is that God did create the whole universe out of nothing. In fact, Christians believe only God is eternal. Furthermore, as previously mentioned, Christians affirm that God is our personal Creator who is not a remote deity far away. God in his transcendence is not the same as his creation, yet in his immanence he is close at hand, participating in his creation. These are important elements of the Christian worldview to maintain. These metaphysical truths about the Christian worldview also contribute in distinguishing Christianity from its competitors. The third ingredient in a worldview is perhaps the hardest to understand, although every person implicitly holds beliefs on this subject. This third area has to do with one’s view of knowledge and is called epistemology. The subject of epistemology basically asks the questions: “how do we know what we know?” or “is knowledge possible?” For the Christian, knowledge comes from God’s self-disclosure concerning himself, the world, and humankind. Furthermore, God “is a God who created men and women as creatures capable of knowing his mind and will and who has made information about his mind and will available in revealed truths.” While Christians confess, they do not have complete knowledge about God, it is maintained that Christians have true knowledge about him. Therefore, the Christian worldview categorically rejects skepticism. Christians steadfastly affirm that knowledge about God, the world and humankind is possible. The foundation of God’s self-disclosure, once again, reminds the Christian to walk in humility because it is God’s graciousness, and not one’s own autonomous reason, which allows him or her to know anything at all. Ethics and Anthropology Christians readily confess that they do not have a monopoly on ethical living. Everyday there are believers and unbelievers living moral lives. However, Ron Nash shows that in relationship to worldview thinking, the question of how one justifies his or her ethical beliefs and conduct is quite another question. He says: “ethics as a worldview factor is more concerned with the question of why that action is wrong. Are there moral laws that govern human conduct? What are they? Are these moral laws the same for all human beings? Is morality totally subjective…, or is there an objective dimension to moral laws that means their truth is independent of our preferences and desires?” The Christian worldview claims that why one “ought” to behave in a certain way and what conduct is permissible or impermissible is grounded in the character of God. Christians claim that it is God’s good, righteous and holy character upon which the Christian ethic is grounded. Furthermore, Christians assert that God has revealed laws, rules and principles by which Christians are to live. There is no dispute, therefore, that unbelievers live ethical lives. The Christian responds, however, that only belief in the Christian God can truly justify ethical behavior. The unbeliever either borrows from the Christian worldview or lives by personal preference. Christians further maintain that because of God’s general revelation to all humanity, there is no reason to believe that the ethical systems of other religions should be totally different from Christianity’s. Arthur Holmes has said that “all truth is God’s truth wherever it be found.” However, Holmes does carefully follow up that statement by reminding his reader that, “We do not affirm that everything men take to be true is God’s truth.” This statement is important to understand. Though all truth is God’s truth, not every credal statement or worldview ethic is a representation of that truth. Christianity claims to properly have the fullest revelation of God’s self-disclosure. The second area we want to look at is anthropology. Nash suggests that every worldview should include a “number of important beliefs about human beings. Examples include the following: Are human beings free… Are human beings only bodies or material beings? …what is the human soul or mind, and how is it related to the body? Does physical death end the existence of the human person?” Quoting William J. Abraham, Nash considers what the Christian worldview believes about human beings. Abraham states: “Human beings are made in the image of God, and their fate depends on their relationship with God. They are free to respond to or reject God and they will be judged in accordance with how they respond to him. This judgment begins now but finally takes place beyond death in a life to come. Christians furthermore offer a diagnosis of what is wrong with the world. Fundamentally, they say our problems are spiritual: we need to be made anew by God. Human beings have misused their freedom; they are in a state of rebellion against God; they are sinners. These conclusions lead to a set of solutions to this ill. As one might expect, the fundamental solution is again spiritual… [I]n Jesus of Nazareth God has intervened to save and remake mankind. Each individual needs to respond to this and to become part of Christ’s body, the church, where they are to grow in grace and become more like Christ. This in turn generates a certain vision of the future. In the coming of Jesus, God has inaugurated his kingdom, but it will be consummated at some unspecified time in the future when Christ returns.” Christianity purports to know where human beings came from, why human beings are here, and what will happen to human beings after death. The questions of origin, purpose and destiny are answered by Christians by pointing once again to the God who has revealed himself. For a worldview to be taken seriously, it must deal adequately with the human condition. Christianity claims to offer the most realistic analysis of the fallenness of the human condition, and only Christianity knows how this fallen condition has been solved. The Person and Work of Jesus Christ Who was Jesus Christ? Was he just a good moral teacher? Was he merely a failed political revolutionary? Perhaps he was a lunatic who just didn’t know what he was doing. Or maybe, he was a con-artist looking to trick people into believing he was more than just a human being. Christians proclaim to the world that Jesus Christ was truly human and truly God. Furthermore, Christians claim that Jesus Christ was the Lord and Savior of the entire universe. What someone believes about the person and work of Jesus Christ, orthodox Christians believe, sets the pace for how one will live in this world and directly impacts issues related to eternity. Even pluralists such as John Hick feel the weight of the question about Jesus Christ’s identity. Hick says: “There is a direct line of logical entailment from the premise that Jesus Christ was God, in the sense that he was God the Son, the Second Person of the divine Trinity, living in a human life, to the conclusion that Christianity, and Christianity alone, was founded by God in person; and from this to the further conclusion that God must want all his human children to be related to him through his religion which he has himself founded for us.” Indeed, this is precisely what Christians have believed for 2,000 years. Norman Geisler reiterates this point. He says, “Orthodox Christianity claims that Jesus of Nazareth was God in human flesh. This doctrine is absolutely essential to true Christianity. If it is true, then Christianity is unique and authoritative. If not, then Christianity does not differ in kind from other religions.” Though a thorough investigation of this point is outside the scope of this post, Geisler provides a good outline for what the Christian apologetic is on this point. He writes: “The basic logic of this apologetic for Christianity is: (1) The New Testament is a historically reliable record of the life, teachings, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ… (2) Jesus taught that he was God Incarnate… (3) Jesus proved to be God Incarnate by fulfilling Old Testament prophecy, by a miraculous life, and by rising from the grave… Therefore, Jesus of Nazareth is Deity.” Therefore, what one believes about who Jesus Christ was and what he accomplished through his life, death and resurrection has profound implications for one’s worldview. One may believe Jesus was not God Incarnate, not the Savior of the world, did not rise from the dead on the third day, and not Lord of all. However, in believing that, one holds contradictory beliefs from what orthodox Christians embrace. Both beliefs may be false, but only one can be true. Conclusion It has been the goal of this post to show the necessary relationship between truth and the Christian worldview. Because Christianity claims to be a revealed religion, it is actually a sign of humility and obedience for believers to embrace, proclaim, and defend their Christian faith. To avoid or reject this responsibility is the real sign of arrogance because it reveals that one presumes to know better than God. John Hick properly understood the implications of confessing that Christianity alone was and is the fullest disclosure of God's self-revelation. What other response could possibly be more appropriate than to confess with one’s mouth and believe in one’s heart that Christianity is true, and not merely preferable? Christians believe that if Christianity is not true, then it is merely one religious preference among many. However, Christians have historically proclaimed, from the beginning, that they are the humble stewards of the one, true, and living God’s self-disclosure. |
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