For those of you who love Randy Harris and his unique perspective on the Bible, he now has a blog, several actually, so you can feed on his insights into spiritual formation.
The first is http://postmodernmystic.org/.
The other is dedicated to a covenant group of young men that Randy is discipling: http://monkwarrior.org/
The question I'm begging to ask from the latter site is, "What does it take to be a 'Monk Warrior?'"
Seems they anticipated my question by providing a statement describing their committment to their covenant relationship. It is called the "Neophyte Rule" and it goes like this (emphasis is theirs):
Specifically, as a NEOPHYTE MONK WARRIOR, I make the following vows to God and my brothers.
1. I will read the Sermon on the Mount 4 times a week and begin to commit it to memory.
2. I will meet for prayer, confession and encouragement 2 times a week with another monk warrior.
3. I will treat Everyone with respect as ones created in the image and likeness of God. I will value people over technology.
4. In every situation, I will seek to do acts of service, take the lowest place, place others’ needs above my own.
5. I will cultivate the discipline of a warrior. I will do my part to improve our physical benchmarks and excel in school. I will practice the “One”—giving my all. I WILL NOT WHINE.
6. I will cultivate the contemplative life of a monk, by practicing silence, solitude, and fasting. I will enter the dangerous way of prayer. Specifically, I commit to fast one day a week and spend 15 minutes a day in silence before God.
7. As Jesus taught us, I will be a bearer of love, peace, and reconciliation, to those who are Jesus followers and to those who are not—especially to those who in our world are “the least of these.” I will participate in some small way in “The coming of the Kingdom” everyday.
I ask my brothers to hold me graciously accountable to this rule and I pledge to do the same for them, for the sake of the kingdom of God and truly meaningful life.
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Sunday, June 6, 2010
No conviction
The first chapter of The Orthodox Heretic by Peter Rollins is a parable called "No Conviction."
In a world where following Christ is decreed to be a subversive and illegal activity you have been accused of being a believer, arrested, and dragged before a court.
You have been under clandestine serveillance for some time now, and so the prosecution has been able to build up quite a case against you. They begin the trial by offering the judge dozens of photographs that show you attending church meetings, speaking at religious events, and participating in various prayer and worship services. After this, they present a selection of items that have been confiscated from your home: religious books that you own, worship CD's and other Christian artifacts. They then step up the pace by displaying many of the poems, pieces of prose, and journal entries that you had lovingly written concerning your faith. Finally, in closing, the prosecution offers your Bible to the judge.
This is a well-worn book with scribbles, notes, drawings, and underlinings throughout; evidence, if it were needed, that you had read and reread the sacred text many times.
Throughout the case you have been sitting silently in fear and trembling. You know deep in your heart that with the large body of evidence that has been amassed by the prosecution you face the possibility of a long imprisonment or even execution. At various times throughout the proceedings you have lost all confidence and have been on the verge of standing up and denying Christ. But while this thought has plagued your mind throughout the trial, you resist the temptation and remain focused.
Once the prosecution has finished presenting their case the judge proceeds to ask if you have anything to add, but you remain silent and resolute, terrified that if you open your mouth, even for a moment, you might deny the charges made against you. Like Christ, you remain silent before your accusers. In response you are led outside to wait as the judge ponders your case.
The hours pass slowly as you sit under guard in the foyer waiting to be summoned back.
Eventually a young man in uniform appears and leads you into the courtroom so that you may hear the verdict and receive word of your punishment. Once you have been seated in the dock the judge, a harsh and unyielding man, enters the room, stands before you, looks deep into your eyes and begins to speak.
"Of the charges that have been brought forward I find the accused not guilty."
"Not guilty?" your heart freezes. Then, in a split second, the fear and terror that had moments before threatened to strip your resolve are swallowed up by confusion and rage.
Despite the surrounding, you stand defiantly before the judge and demand that he give an account concerning why you are innocent of the charges in light of the evidence.
"What evidence?" he replies in shock.
"What about the poems and prose that I wrote?" you reply.
"They simply show that you think of yourself as a poet, nothing more."
"But what about the services I spoke at, the times I wept in church and the long, sleepless nights of prayer?"
"Evidence that you are a good speaker and actor, nothing more." replied the judge. "It is obvious that you deluded those around you, and perhaps at times you even deluded yourself, but this foolishness is not enough to convict you in a court of law."
"But this is madness!" you shout. "It would seem that no evidence would convince you!"
"Not so," replies the judge as if informing you of a great, long forgotten secret.
"The court is indifferent toward your Bible reading and church attendance; it has no concern for worship with words and a pen. Continue to develop your theology, and use it to paint pictures of love. We have no interest in such armchair artists who spend their time creating images of a better world."
"We exist only for those who would lay down that brush, and their life, in a Christ-like endeavor to create a better world. So, until you live as Christ and his followers, until you challenge this system and become a thorn in our side, until you die to yourself and offer your body to the flames, until then my friend, you are no enemy of ours."
In a world where following Christ is decreed to be a subversive and illegal activity you have been accused of being a believer, arrested, and dragged before a court.
You have been under clandestine serveillance for some time now, and so the prosecution has been able to build up quite a case against you. They begin the trial by offering the judge dozens of photographs that show you attending church meetings, speaking at religious events, and participating in various prayer and worship services. After this, they present a selection of items that have been confiscated from your home: religious books that you own, worship CD's and other Christian artifacts. They then step up the pace by displaying many of the poems, pieces of prose, and journal entries that you had lovingly written concerning your faith. Finally, in closing, the prosecution offers your Bible to the judge.
This is a well-worn book with scribbles, notes, drawings, and underlinings throughout; evidence, if it were needed, that you had read and reread the sacred text many times.
Throughout the case you have been sitting silently in fear and trembling. You know deep in your heart that with the large body of evidence that has been amassed by the prosecution you face the possibility of a long imprisonment or even execution. At various times throughout the proceedings you have lost all confidence and have been on the verge of standing up and denying Christ. But while this thought has plagued your mind throughout the trial, you resist the temptation and remain focused.
Once the prosecution has finished presenting their case the judge proceeds to ask if you have anything to add, but you remain silent and resolute, terrified that if you open your mouth, even for a moment, you might deny the charges made against you. Like Christ, you remain silent before your accusers. In response you are led outside to wait as the judge ponders your case.
The hours pass slowly as you sit under guard in the foyer waiting to be summoned back.
Eventually a young man in uniform appears and leads you into the courtroom so that you may hear the verdict and receive word of your punishment. Once you have been seated in the dock the judge, a harsh and unyielding man, enters the room, stands before you, looks deep into your eyes and begins to speak.
"Of the charges that have been brought forward I find the accused not guilty."
"Not guilty?" your heart freezes. Then, in a split second, the fear and terror that had moments before threatened to strip your resolve are swallowed up by confusion and rage.
Despite the surrounding, you stand defiantly before the judge and demand that he give an account concerning why you are innocent of the charges in light of the evidence.
"What evidence?" he replies in shock.
"What about the poems and prose that I wrote?" you reply.
"They simply show that you think of yourself as a poet, nothing more."
"But what about the services I spoke at, the times I wept in church and the long, sleepless nights of prayer?"
"Evidence that you are a good speaker and actor, nothing more." replied the judge. "It is obvious that you deluded those around you, and perhaps at times you even deluded yourself, but this foolishness is not enough to convict you in a court of law."
"But this is madness!" you shout. "It would seem that no evidence would convince you!"
"Not so," replies the judge as if informing you of a great, long forgotten secret.
"The court is indifferent toward your Bible reading and church attendance; it has no concern for worship with words and a pen. Continue to develop your theology, and use it to paint pictures of love. We have no interest in such armchair artists who spend their time creating images of a better world."
"We exist only for those who would lay down that brush, and their life, in a Christ-like endeavor to create a better world. So, until you live as Christ and his followers, until you challenge this system and become a thorn in our side, until you die to yourself and offer your body to the flames, until then my friend, you are no enemy of ours."
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Blessings for Shavuot
Tomorrow (or tonight at sundown if you want to count your days like a Jew) is the Feast of Shavuot; better known to us westerners as Pentecost. "Shavuot" is translated into English as "weeks" and it gets its name from the fact that it begins seven weeks after Passover. The Jews didn't make this up, they were commanded to observe this feast in Leviticus 23:15ff. Seven Sabbaths would be counted until the day after day 49 (7x7) when the feast of Shavuot would be celebrated. Thus there were 50 days between Passover and Weeks. In these 50 days we get the Greek word "Pentecost."
Shavuot is one of the three great pilgrimage feasts commanded by God in Deuteronomy 16:16 where all males must appear before the LORD in the place where He put His Name.
That's why in Acts 2 there is such a crowd from all around the Middle East gathered at Jerusalem.
Neat huh?
Modern celebrations of Shavuot consists of an all-night study of the Scriptures. And you thought week long gospel meetings were tough?
Observant Jews will stay in their synagogues all night tonight to learn of the Torah to prepare themselves for tomorrow when they will read the 10 commandments anew, recommiting themselves to do all the LORD has commanded.
The Jews have celebrated the giving of the Law, by God at Mt. Sinai to Moses, on Shavuot since before Jesus' time although the practice of remaining awake and studying all night is a modern custom rather than a commandment and is to express one's desire to draw closer to God.
Modern Jews carry out this tradition to counter the behavior of the Jews who slept at Mt. Sinai instead of waiting for the Torah. By staying up the entire night and studying, they strive to right that wrong and honor God's Law.
Shavuot is very important to Christians as well. Just as Jesus fulfilled the Feasts of Passover, Unleavened Bread, and First Fruits with His death, burial, and resurrection; Jesus fulfills Shavuot by sending the Holy Spirit.
Compare these two texts:
In Exodus 32, Moses returns from Mt. Sinai with the tablets of the Ten Commandments. What does he find in the Israelite camp? Idolatry in the form of golden calf worship. Moses asks for those loyal to God to come to him and the Levites rally to him. God commanded those Levites to go through the camp killing his brother, friend, and neighbor. Look at verse 28:
"The Levites did as Moses commanded, and that day about three thousand of the people died."
Three thousand died when the Law came.
That number should make the hairs stand on your head. What happened about 1200 years later on the day where the people of Israel celebrated Law coming down from God? Peter preached the first Gospel sermon and commanded repentance and baptism in the name of Jesus. What was the result? Look at Acts 2:
"Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day."
Three thousand were given new life when the Spirit came.
The Feast was fulfilled. The Holy Spirit came down on Pentecost; on Shavuot. God is Faithful and He shows His Faithfulness through His feasts.
Just ask Paul. He understands the power of the Spirit coming down to give new life.
2nd Corinthians 3:6 "He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant-not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life." (emphasis mine)
The letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.
3000 died at Sinai, 3000 found new life at Shavuot.
Some might see a coincidence. I see the mighty hand of God.
Shavuot is one of the three great pilgrimage feasts commanded by God in Deuteronomy 16:16 where all males must appear before the LORD in the place where He put His Name.
That's why in Acts 2 there is such a crowd from all around the Middle East gathered at Jerusalem.
Neat huh?
Modern celebrations of Shavuot consists of an all-night study of the Scriptures. And you thought week long gospel meetings were tough?
Observant Jews will stay in their synagogues all night tonight to learn of the Torah to prepare themselves for tomorrow when they will read the 10 commandments anew, recommiting themselves to do all the LORD has commanded.
The Jews have celebrated the giving of the Law, by God at Mt. Sinai to Moses, on Shavuot since before Jesus' time although the practice of remaining awake and studying all night is a modern custom rather than a commandment and is to express one's desire to draw closer to God.
Modern Jews carry out this tradition to counter the behavior of the Jews who slept at Mt. Sinai instead of waiting for the Torah. By staying up the entire night and studying, they strive to right that wrong and honor God's Law.
Shavuot is very important to Christians as well. Just as Jesus fulfilled the Feasts of Passover, Unleavened Bread, and First Fruits with His death, burial, and resurrection; Jesus fulfills Shavuot by sending the Holy Spirit.
Compare these two texts:
In Exodus 32, Moses returns from Mt. Sinai with the tablets of the Ten Commandments. What does he find in the Israelite camp? Idolatry in the form of golden calf worship. Moses asks for those loyal to God to come to him and the Levites rally to him. God commanded those Levites to go through the camp killing his brother, friend, and neighbor. Look at verse 28:
"The Levites did as Moses commanded, and that day about three thousand of the people died."
Three thousand died when the Law came.
That number should make the hairs stand on your head. What happened about 1200 years later on the day where the people of Israel celebrated Law coming down from God? Peter preached the first Gospel sermon and commanded repentance and baptism in the name of Jesus. What was the result? Look at Acts 2:
"Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day."
Three thousand were given new life when the Spirit came.
The Feast was fulfilled. The Holy Spirit came down on Pentecost; on Shavuot. God is Faithful and He shows His Faithfulness through His feasts.
Just ask Paul. He understands the power of the Spirit coming down to give new life.
2nd Corinthians 3:6 "He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant-not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life." (emphasis mine)
The letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.
3000 died at Sinai, 3000 found new life at Shavuot.
Some might see a coincidence. I see the mighty hand of God.
Thursday, May 13, 2010
David's feet
Of all the Old Testament characters, my hands down favorite is David. I'm honored that my name is Justin David King. I love the honest description of David in the text. I can believe the bravado of the Goliath showdown because of the brutal casualness of the Uriah murder. David's life was a roller coaster of highs and lows.
Up to the slaying of giants.
Down to En Gedi.
Up to the King of Israel.
Down to the body of Uzzah.
Up to the Ark in Jerusalem.
Down to the death of his son.
Up to the honor of Mephibosheth.
Down to the desertion of Absolom.
Up to the city of David.
Down to dashed construction dreams.
David's life was full of twists and turns, victories and defeats, thrills and heartaches. If you or I were to experience the life of David it might make us more poetic. It might make us express our feelings on paper. We wouldn't have some of our best Psalms without David.
Look at Psalm 18:2-3
"The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; My God, my strength, in whom I will trust: My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised. So shall I be saved from my enemies."
That entire Psalm is a collection of David's praise at the awesomeness of God as David's enemies were cast away and destroyed.
But David, in the middle of a great section dealing with warfare, gives us this line in verse 33: "He makes my feet like the feet of a deer, and sets me on my high places."
This is like Sesame Street. Which of these things is not like the other? Which of these things just doesn't belong? Arms, bow, war, bronze, deer, shield, battle.
It's the deer, right?
What is it about those little cute animals that hang around En Gedi?
This is one of the little guys that was waiting for us in the En Gedi parking lot on our trip to Israel.
This little fella (I'm assuming) was hanging out hoping for a little toss away cheese cracker lunch from the tourists.
A few minutes later, as we tried to get closer for pictures, this nimble footed creature jumped off the edge of the parking lot, hopped a concrete fence, navigated a very steep rock ledge, and then bolted away to safety.
If I had tried to run the obstacle course of this deer, I would be scraped, bruised, muscle sore, and beaten because I didn't have the feet of this deer.
I think that is what David is praising God for in verse 33.
David never asked for a smooth path. He never asked God to make his life easy. He never wanted God to take it all away.
What he did want was the right kind of feet.
If God would give David the right kind of feet, feet like a deer, David could handle any path God gave him.
So, like that deer that handled the rough path in Israel, David handled his life with the assistance of God.
Dear God, give me the right kind of feet in my life. Don't make my path easy, because if you did, I might forget you. God give me feet like the feet of a deer, that I might stand on the high places!
Up to the slaying of giants.
Down to En Gedi.
Up to the King of Israel.
Down to the body of Uzzah.
Up to the Ark in Jerusalem.
Down to the death of his son.
Up to the honor of Mephibosheth.
Down to the desertion of Absolom.
Up to the city of David.
Down to dashed construction dreams.
David's life was full of twists and turns, victories and defeats, thrills and heartaches. If you or I were to experience the life of David it might make us more poetic. It might make us express our feelings on paper. We wouldn't have some of our best Psalms without David.
Look at Psalm 18:2-3
"The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; My God, my strength, in whom I will trust: My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised. So shall I be saved from my enemies."
That entire Psalm is a collection of David's praise at the awesomeness of God as David's enemies were cast away and destroyed.
But David, in the middle of a great section dealing with warfare, gives us this line in verse 33: "He makes my feet like the feet of a deer, and sets me on my high places."
This is like Sesame Street. Which of these things is not like the other? Which of these things just doesn't belong? Arms, bow, war, bronze, deer, shield, battle.
It's the deer, right?
What is it about those little cute animals that hang around En Gedi?
This is one of the little guys that was waiting for us in the En Gedi parking lot on our trip to Israel.
This little fella (I'm assuming) was hanging out hoping for a little toss away cheese cracker lunch from the tourists.
A few minutes later, as we tried to get closer for pictures, this nimble footed creature jumped off the edge of the parking lot, hopped a concrete fence, navigated a very steep rock ledge, and then bolted away to safety.
If I had tried to run the obstacle course of this deer, I would be scraped, bruised, muscle sore, and beaten because I didn't have the feet of this deer.
I think that is what David is praising God for in verse 33.
David never asked for a smooth path. He never asked God to make his life easy. He never wanted God to take it all away.
What he did want was the right kind of feet.
If God would give David the right kind of feet, feet like a deer, David could handle any path God gave him.
So, like that deer that handled the rough path in Israel, David handled his life with the assistance of God.
Dear God, give me the right kind of feet in my life. Don't make my path easy, because if you did, I might forget you. God give me feet like the feet of a deer, that I might stand on the high places!
Monday, April 5, 2010
The narrow gate
Matthew 7:13-14 has been often quoted to bolster sectarian and denominational bias towards individual opinions and traditions. I have heard meeting preachers use this verse to spew venom and rancor toward those who differ in opinions with the established orthodoxy of the day. Unfortunately, this passage has been horribly misused to create division between believers by attempting to justify the user's narrow interpretation of "faithfully" holding firm to the only true way to heaven.
It's near the end of the Sermon on the Mount recorded in chapters 5-7 of Matthew and goes like this:
"Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it."
It is a tragic thing when many people use this as a proof text to justify small numbers in the congregations and the almost non-existent growth in the kingdom of God in North America.
Is it that Jesus was fatalistic? Was he pessimistic? That's how many have interpreted his words.
Paul gives us insight into how others could have been saved under God's covenant with Israel by saying: "Brothers, my heart's desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved. For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge. Since they did not know the righteousness that comes from God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God's righteousness. Christ is the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes."
In order to be on that "road that leads to life" in Matthew, you must be righteous. This, I think, is a given for all but universalists who think God will save us all no matter what. If God wanted to do that, He could, but the cross seems pointless if that's true, doesn't it?
So, if righteousness is required for us to be in right standing with God and saved from our sins, how do we come about this righteousness?
Is it earned? I think Paul went to great lengths in Galatians 3:21-29 and Romans 3:21-31 to show us that we could never be righteous by our own meritorious keeping of law. We are not righteous by our works. We are righteous by the atoning death of Jesus the Messiah who is the free gift of God.
Sadly, many of the Jews had missed this because of the misleading doctrines of the scribes and Pharisees who sought to establish their own righteousness according to the traditions of the elders and of the Law.
The parallel passage in Luke 13:22-30 gives us another insight into the Matthew text. In this instance, Jesus is not teaching, but is brought a question, "Lord, are only a few people going to be saved?"
The text does not tell us who this questioner is, but Jesus addresses "them" and not "him," so the answer is applied to the crowd around him. Jesus tells them to "Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to. Once the owner of the house gets up and closes the door, you will stand outside knocking and pleading, 'Sir, open the door for us.' But he will answer, 'I don't know you or where you come from.'"
Jesus then says that "People will come from the east and west and north and south, and will take their places at the feast in the kingdom of God." That phrase that includes the 4 points of the compass is there to indicate that many, not few, will find their way to the table of God. Who will be excluded?
Those thrown out were the self-righteous who did not know the righteousness of God. Jesus says, "Indeed there are those who are last who will be first, and first who will be last."
Sectarians misuse this passage when they proclaim their man-made pattern of self-righteousness as the "narrow gate." They do not do this to be mean, they do it because they believe their pattern to be the most error-free of all. They exclude others from the table of God because they do not measure up to the righteousness of their own pattern.
Is this not the same kind of arrogance that Jesus encountered from those who put themselves forward as "first?"
The heresy of righteousness by the most error free and complete pattern is that it compels strict judgment against any and all variations of that pattern and it encourages praise for like-minded support of the pattern. It attempts to bolster a camaraderie of self-righteous judgments against anyone who disagrees as a matter of freedom, faith, conscience or reasonable disagreement.
Trying to earn your salvation by your own obedience is pointless and it is the broad road that leads to destruction. This is the "way" that the vast majority of the world attempts to earn God's approval.
Ask yourself honestly: What would happen if you died in the next three minutes?
Would you go to heaven or hell?
What is your answer?
Did you answer something like this? "I hope I've done enough to make it."
Or, how about, "I've tried to be a good person."
This was mine for years: "God knows that I love Him, and He and I have a good relationship."
None of those will work.
Those are not the Gospel.
The Gospel is that you could never merit God's approval by your own works and, knowing the hopelessness of your condition, God met those righteous requirements Himself in the person of Jesus and, having met those requirements, gave you His Righteousness, apart from law, as a free gift to all those who have faith in the Messiah.
The narrow gate is Jesus. He is the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes to the father unless it is by Jesus.
John said it pretty well: "God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."
It's near the end of the Sermon on the Mount recorded in chapters 5-7 of Matthew and goes like this:
"Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it."
It is a tragic thing when many people use this as a proof text to justify small numbers in the congregations and the almost non-existent growth in the kingdom of God in North America.
Is it that Jesus was fatalistic? Was he pessimistic? That's how many have interpreted his words.
Paul gives us insight into how others could have been saved under God's covenant with Israel by saying: "Brothers, my heart's desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved. For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge. Since they did not know the righteousness that comes from God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God's righteousness. Christ is the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes."
In order to be on that "road that leads to life" in Matthew, you must be righteous. This, I think, is a given for all but universalists who think God will save us all no matter what. If God wanted to do that, He could, but the cross seems pointless if that's true, doesn't it?
So, if righteousness is required for us to be in right standing with God and saved from our sins, how do we come about this righteousness?
Is it earned? I think Paul went to great lengths in Galatians 3:21-29 and Romans 3:21-31 to show us that we could never be righteous by our own meritorious keeping of law. We are not righteous by our works. We are righteous by the atoning death of Jesus the Messiah who is the free gift of God.
Sadly, many of the Jews had missed this because of the misleading doctrines of the scribes and Pharisees who sought to establish their own righteousness according to the traditions of the elders and of the Law.
The parallel passage in Luke 13:22-30 gives us another insight into the Matthew text. In this instance, Jesus is not teaching, but is brought a question, "Lord, are only a few people going to be saved?"
The text does not tell us who this questioner is, but Jesus addresses "them" and not "him," so the answer is applied to the crowd around him. Jesus tells them to "Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to. Once the owner of the house gets up and closes the door, you will stand outside knocking and pleading, 'Sir, open the door for us.' But he will answer, 'I don't know you or where you come from.'"
Jesus then says that "People will come from the east and west and north and south, and will take their places at the feast in the kingdom of God." That phrase that includes the 4 points of the compass is there to indicate that many, not few, will find their way to the table of God. Who will be excluded?
Those thrown out were the self-righteous who did not know the righteousness of God. Jesus says, "Indeed there are those who are last who will be first, and first who will be last."
Sectarians misuse this passage when they proclaim their man-made pattern of self-righteousness as the "narrow gate." They do not do this to be mean, they do it because they believe their pattern to be the most error-free of all. They exclude others from the table of God because they do not measure up to the righteousness of their own pattern.
Is this not the same kind of arrogance that Jesus encountered from those who put themselves forward as "first?"
The heresy of righteousness by the most error free and complete pattern is that it compels strict judgment against any and all variations of that pattern and it encourages praise for like-minded support of the pattern. It attempts to bolster a camaraderie of self-righteous judgments against anyone who disagrees as a matter of freedom, faith, conscience or reasonable disagreement.
Trying to earn your salvation by your own obedience is pointless and it is the broad road that leads to destruction. This is the "way" that the vast majority of the world attempts to earn God's approval.
Ask yourself honestly: What would happen if you died in the next three minutes?
Would you go to heaven or hell?
What is your answer?
Did you answer something like this? "I hope I've done enough to make it."
Or, how about, "I've tried to be a good person."
This was mine for years: "God knows that I love Him, and He and I have a good relationship."
None of those will work.
Those are not the Gospel.
The Gospel is that you could never merit God's approval by your own works and, knowing the hopelessness of your condition, God met those righteous requirements Himself in the person of Jesus and, having met those requirements, gave you His Righteousness, apart from law, as a free gift to all those who have faith in the Messiah.
The narrow gate is Jesus. He is the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes to the father unless it is by Jesus.
John said it pretty well: "God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Psalm 22 and the cross
"My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"
Jesus cried those words from the cross. With his human skin torn, his human face beaten, his human body exposed, his human hands and feet pierced, and his human brow bleeding, it was being abandoned that hurt most of all. His connection with God was so unique and so cherished, it is amazing that he gave it up just so you and I could experience it as well.
But at this moment, his only companion is the deep, agonizing emptiness of solitary.
This wasn't the cry of a betrayed servant. It was the pain and loneliness of a scapegoat.
This soldier fought alone. He had to. He had been abandoned.
No one would be there to save him. No one would help him bear the pain. No one would help ease the weight of his body on those three Roman nails; the agony, ironically, caused by the gravity that he created.
Oh, how it must have hurt. Unspeakable, unimaginable hurt.
For you and me.
With it being Easter week and Passover on Tuesday, my mind is on the cross. It's meaning, it's purpose, and it's power.
Jesus is recorded to have spoken seven times from the cross. Matthew 27:46; Mark 15:34; Luke 23:43 and 46; and John 19:26,27,28 and 30.
Only one of these is an obvious quote from the Old Testament: "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" which comes from Psalm 22:1. But there are other sayings from the cross that also come from that Psalm.
Jesus, a master of the text, was reciting Psalm 22 when he died.
Don't believe me? Grab a copy of Psalms 22 and let's study together.
Verse 9 "Yet you brought me out of the womb; you made me trust in you even at my mother's breast. From birth I was cast upon you; from my mother's womb you have been my God.
From the cross: Mother, behold your son. Son behold your mother.
Verse 15 "My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth; you lay me in the dust of death."
From the cross: I thirst.
Verses 4-5 "In you our fathers put their trust: they trusted and you delivered them. They cried to you and were saved; in you they trusted and were not disappointed."
From the cross: Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.
Verses 8-9 "All who see me mock me; they hurl insults, shaking their heads: He trusts in the Lord; let the Lord rescue him. Let him deliver him, since he delights in him."
From the cross: Father, forgive them, they know not what they do.
Verse 23 "You who fear the Lord, praise him! All you descendants of Jacob, honor him! Revere him, all you descendants of Israel! For he has not despised or disdained the suffering of the afflicted one; he has not hidden his face from him but has listened to his cry for help."
From the cross: Today you will be with me in Paradise.
Verse 31 "They will proclaim his righteousness to a people yet unborn - for he has done it."
From the cross: It is finished.
You will most likely hear Psalm 22:1 quoted this week, but don't let that be the only verse of that Psalm you read. All 31 verses are like a "Jesus view" of Calvary. Our God is truly amazing.
And remember when you do hear that Jesus cried "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" He cried that so that I will never have to and neither will you.
1st Kings 8:57 "May the Lord our God be with us as he was with our fathers; may he never leave us nor forsake us."
Oh, and remember that he is not here. He is risen!
Jesus cried those words from the cross. With his human skin torn, his human face beaten, his human body exposed, his human hands and feet pierced, and his human brow bleeding, it was being abandoned that hurt most of all. His connection with God was so unique and so cherished, it is amazing that he gave it up just so you and I could experience it as well.
But at this moment, his only companion is the deep, agonizing emptiness of solitary.
This wasn't the cry of a betrayed servant. It was the pain and loneliness of a scapegoat.
This soldier fought alone. He had to. He had been abandoned.
No one would be there to save him. No one would help him bear the pain. No one would help ease the weight of his body on those three Roman nails; the agony, ironically, caused by the gravity that he created.
Oh, how it must have hurt. Unspeakable, unimaginable hurt.
For you and me.
With it being Easter week and Passover on Tuesday, my mind is on the cross. It's meaning, it's purpose, and it's power.
Jesus is recorded to have spoken seven times from the cross. Matthew 27:46; Mark 15:34; Luke 23:43 and 46; and John 19:26,27,28 and 30.
Only one of these is an obvious quote from the Old Testament: "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" which comes from Psalm 22:1. But there are other sayings from the cross that also come from that Psalm.
Jesus, a master of the text, was reciting Psalm 22 when he died.
Don't believe me? Grab a copy of Psalms 22 and let's study together.
Verse 9 "Yet you brought me out of the womb; you made me trust in you even at my mother's breast. From birth I was cast upon you; from my mother's womb you have been my God.
From the cross: Mother, behold your son. Son behold your mother.
Verse 15 "My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth; you lay me in the dust of death."
From the cross: I thirst.
Verses 4-5 "In you our fathers put their trust: they trusted and you delivered them. They cried to you and were saved; in you they trusted and were not disappointed."
From the cross: Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.
Verses 8-9 "All who see me mock me; they hurl insults, shaking their heads: He trusts in the Lord; let the Lord rescue him. Let him deliver him, since he delights in him."
From the cross: Father, forgive them, they know not what they do.
Verse 23 "You who fear the Lord, praise him! All you descendants of Jacob, honor him! Revere him, all you descendants of Israel! For he has not despised or disdained the suffering of the afflicted one; he has not hidden his face from him but has listened to his cry for help."
From the cross: Today you will be with me in Paradise.
Verse 31 "They will proclaim his righteousness to a people yet unborn - for he has done it."
From the cross: It is finished.
You will most likely hear Psalm 22:1 quoted this week, but don't let that be the only verse of that Psalm you read. All 31 verses are like a "Jesus view" of Calvary. Our God is truly amazing.
And remember when you do hear that Jesus cried "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" He cried that so that I will never have to and neither will you.
1st Kings 8:57 "May the Lord our God be with us as he was with our fathers; may he never leave us nor forsake us."
Oh, and remember that he is not here. He is risen!
Thursday, March 25, 2010
The Celtic Way?
I have been thoroughly enjoying the book 'The Celtic Way of Evangelism' by George G. Hunter III, and I wanted to share some thoughts and excerpts.
The book is the summation of the evangelical mission of St. Patrick to the people of Ireland and the subsequent Christianization of that island, the rest of the British Isles and Western Europe by the succeeding generations of missionaries that continued Patrick's work.
The way that God used Patrick to bring the name of Jesus to the "Barbarian" people; the Britons (in what is now England), the Picts (in what is now Scotland), and the Scots-Irish (in what is now Ireland), is a great lesson for us today in how to reach Western cultures who are increasingly pagan and "Barbarian" in the eyes of Christianity.
From page 19-20
"Patrick's mission to Ireland was unprecedented and widely assumed to be impossible. The Irish context of that period, however, provided some strategic advantages for Patrick's mission. Ireland was populated by about 150 tuaths - extended tribes - each tribe fiercely loyal to its tribal king. Ireland's total population numbered between 200,000 and 500,000 people. By Patrick's time, all of the tribes spoke the same language that Patrick had learned while a slave, and they now shared more or less the same culture, so Patrick understood them.
Indeed, the fact that Patrick understood the people and their language, their issues, and their ways, serves as the most strategically significant single insight that was to drive the wider expansion of Celtic Christianity, and stands as perhaps our greatest single learning from this movement. There is no shortcut to understanding the people. When you understand the people, you will often know what to say and do, and how. When the people know the Christians understand them, they infer that maybe the High God understands them too."
Patrick was given an audience by the native Irish because Patrick chose to relate to them, he did not force them to relate to him. He understood and identified with them and he earned the right to speak to them.
As for the reaction outside of Ireland: Page 40-41
"You would think that the Roman wing of the Church would have been grateful for the expansion achieved by the mission of the Celtic wing and, begrudgingly, it was; but the Roman wing's leaders repeatedly criticized the Celtic wing for not doing church the "Roman way!"
The Celtic Christians...had not adopted Rome's innovations. David Bosch once observed that 'By and large...Catholicism endorsed the principle that a missionary church must reflect in every detail the Roman custom of the moment.'
A(n)...issue was indigeneity versus cultural uniformity. In the hairstyle matter, and many others, Celtic Christianity had adapted to the people's culture; the Romans wanted Roman cultural forms imposed upon all churches and peoples - a policy that was alien to the Celtic movement's practice and genius.
The driving issue, of course, was control. That is why it was so important, to the Romans, for everyone to do church the "Roman way." Once any society accepted Christianity, the politically dominant Roman wing of the Church insisted that the young churches organize in the Roman pattern of dioceses led by bishops and learn to worship in Latin, follow the liturgy from Rome, sing the music from Rome, etc.
The Synods of Whitby and Autun presumably settled the matter: the Roman way should be followed everywhere. In some cases, Celtic priests who refused to do church the Roman way were banished; in other cases, Benedictine rule was forced on Celtic monasteries. More often, presumably, church and secular leaders simply pressured Celtic leaders to conform, and they praised and rewarded those who did. Within two centuries of the Synods of Whitby and Autun, the Roman way largely prevailed throughout the Western Church."
This hits me very hard for three reasons:
1. We, and I mean all of us, who are in the Restoration movement, are heirs of Patrick's boldness to throw off the traditions of men and to lift up Jesus alone as God's answer to a broken world. Patrick dared to alter the pattern of his day to bring the truth of the Gospel to the ears and hearts of the "barbarian" people of his day.
The Stone/Campbell movement grew largely out of the Scotch/Irish church that maintained that rebellious tendency when presented with a choice between God and man. It also was a great influence on the origins of the United States of America.
2. It absolutely amazes me when I see an African church and the men are all wearing neckties. I see a church in Zambia where there are two songs, a prayer, a song, a lesson, an invitation, the Lord's Supper, a prayer, then they are dismissed. They've been taught the "new Roman way" of doing things. What would we say if they deviated from that?
I am finding myself more willing to release the old moorings of my customs and traditions and to be guided by God's Grace in all things.
3. I don't see any effort at all for our churches to reach out to a pagan and "unchurched" culture. I've been taught that the Church is there for the faithful Christians and if someone on the outside wanted Church of Christ "goods and services," then they must first become faithful members. That is not the pattern used by Patrick or by Jesus. Jesus never made anyone believe before He loved them. He loved them and they believed. They belonged before they believed.
Is that a pattern to follow? I think it is.
Oh, and get this book and read it!
The book is the summation of the evangelical mission of St. Patrick to the people of Ireland and the subsequent Christianization of that island, the rest of the British Isles and Western Europe by the succeeding generations of missionaries that continued Patrick's work.
The way that God used Patrick to bring the name of Jesus to the "Barbarian" people; the Britons (in what is now England), the Picts (in what is now Scotland), and the Scots-Irish (in what is now Ireland), is a great lesson for us today in how to reach Western cultures who are increasingly pagan and "Barbarian" in the eyes of Christianity.
From page 19-20
"Patrick's mission to Ireland was unprecedented and widely assumed to be impossible. The Irish context of that period, however, provided some strategic advantages for Patrick's mission. Ireland was populated by about 150 tuaths - extended tribes - each tribe fiercely loyal to its tribal king. Ireland's total population numbered between 200,000 and 500,000 people. By Patrick's time, all of the tribes spoke the same language that Patrick had learned while a slave, and they now shared more or less the same culture, so Patrick understood them.
Indeed, the fact that Patrick understood the people and their language, their issues, and their ways, serves as the most strategically significant single insight that was to drive the wider expansion of Celtic Christianity, and stands as perhaps our greatest single learning from this movement. There is no shortcut to understanding the people. When you understand the people, you will often know what to say and do, and how. When the people know the Christians understand them, they infer that maybe the High God understands them too."
Patrick was given an audience by the native Irish because Patrick chose to relate to them, he did not force them to relate to him. He understood and identified with them and he earned the right to speak to them.
As for the reaction outside of Ireland: Page 40-41
"You would think that the Roman wing of the Church would have been grateful for the expansion achieved by the mission of the Celtic wing and, begrudgingly, it was; but the Roman wing's leaders repeatedly criticized the Celtic wing for not doing church the "Roman way!"
The Celtic Christians...had not adopted Rome's innovations. David Bosch once observed that 'By and large...Catholicism endorsed the principle that a missionary church must reflect in every detail the Roman custom of the moment.'
A(n)...issue was indigeneity versus cultural uniformity. In the hairstyle matter, and many others, Celtic Christianity had adapted to the people's culture; the Romans wanted Roman cultural forms imposed upon all churches and peoples - a policy that was alien to the Celtic movement's practice and genius.
The driving issue, of course, was control. That is why it was so important, to the Romans, for everyone to do church the "Roman way." Once any society accepted Christianity, the politically dominant Roman wing of the Church insisted that the young churches organize in the Roman pattern of dioceses led by bishops and learn to worship in Latin, follow the liturgy from Rome, sing the music from Rome, etc.
The Synods of Whitby and Autun presumably settled the matter: the Roman way should be followed everywhere. In some cases, Celtic priests who refused to do church the Roman way were banished; in other cases, Benedictine rule was forced on Celtic monasteries. More often, presumably, church and secular leaders simply pressured Celtic leaders to conform, and they praised and rewarded those who did. Within two centuries of the Synods of Whitby and Autun, the Roman way largely prevailed throughout the Western Church."
This hits me very hard for three reasons:
1. We, and I mean all of us, who are in the Restoration movement, are heirs of Patrick's boldness to throw off the traditions of men and to lift up Jesus alone as God's answer to a broken world. Patrick dared to alter the pattern of his day to bring the truth of the Gospel to the ears and hearts of the "barbarian" people of his day.
The Stone/Campbell movement grew largely out of the Scotch/Irish church that maintained that rebellious tendency when presented with a choice between God and man. It also was a great influence on the origins of the United States of America.
2. It absolutely amazes me when I see an African church and the men are all wearing neckties. I see a church in Zambia where there are two songs, a prayer, a song, a lesson, an invitation, the Lord's Supper, a prayer, then they are dismissed. They've been taught the "new Roman way" of doing things. What would we say if they deviated from that?
I am finding myself more willing to release the old moorings of my customs and traditions and to be guided by God's Grace in all things.
3. I don't see any effort at all for our churches to reach out to a pagan and "unchurched" culture. I've been taught that the Church is there for the faithful Christians and if someone on the outside wanted Church of Christ "goods and services," then they must first become faithful members. That is not the pattern used by Patrick or by Jesus. Jesus never made anyone believe before He loved them. He loved them and they believed. They belonged before they believed.
Is that a pattern to follow? I think it is.
Oh, and get this book and read it!
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