When the book and the movie The DaVinci Code came out several years ago, many evangelicals were alarmed. A myriad of books, pamphlets, videos, and websites were published addressing the errors and correcting the falsehoods in Dan Brown’s blockbuster novel. Willow Creek broadcast a video seminar that churches across the country received via satellite, including one megachurch in our area.
I tried to avoid The DaVinci Code. I have been successful at not watching the film – critics across the country panned it, and the buzz quieted quickly. But too many people from within the church had read the book and had questions about it. As a pastor, I felt an obligation to shepherd the sheep. So I blocked out an afternoon in June 2006 and read the book. Dan Brown’s religious agenda and the fictions in which he peddles are well-documented and obvious. The craft of the book itself is mediocre at best and shoddy at worst. I closed the book and wanted those four hours of my life back. But having read it, I was in a better position to pastor my congregation.
In regard to William Young’s book The Shack, I find myself in a similar circumstance. Only the stakes are higher. This is an enormously popular book among evangelicals. Eugene Peterson’s praise for the book comparing it to Pilgrim’s Progress has been widely cited on the Internet and is printed on the cover of the copy I read. I have been asked for my thoughts on the book by friends, family, and parishioners. I have tried to avoid this book, but as I pastor I do not think I can.
The biblical and theological problems with the book are well-documented. While I have some additional qualms with the book, I do not intend to rehash what others have done. There are some genuine strengths of the book that I want to discuss. But what I most desire to do is to offer a few thoughts about The Shack as a novel, to look at the elements that make a novel such as character, plot, setting, and conflict. At that point, I can offer my reflections on The Shack as a book and my concerns for The Shack as a phenomenon.
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Looking back and looking forward
At last, it feels like I can come up for air. The last two months have been chaotic as I have been working full-time and my wife has been caring for our daughter and her mother. At the same time we have been preparing to move to Richmond, VA, to begin what we pray will be a long and fruitful time of ministry.
Back at the end of October, I had the best of intentions for this blog: a final post or two about biblical interpretation, and a belated review of The Shack that will take at least two posts. And over the past weeks I have had several ideas for blog posts that never materialized, including a post reflecting on Payton Manning, last minute victories, and how we sometimes view the sovereignty of God (which I thought sounded incredibly creative at the time). But it never came to pass.
And now it is Christmas Eve. My family intends to go to church tonight, to have family worship and open gifts tomorrow morning, and to rest and enjoy being each other. In less than two weeks my wife, daughter, and I will begin the drive to Richmond. We have hopes and dreams for what that time will be like. But just as my blogging plans did not come to pass, so also the fulfillment of our plans for life does not always come to pass.
I was reflecting on Galatians 4:4-5 today: "But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons." When the fullness of time had come. Here we see God's intentions, God's plan. And His intentions are not like mine. What He intends comes to pass. And even before the foundation of the world, God intended to send His Son to become one of us to redeem His people and give them eternal life (Eph 1:4; 2 Tim 1:9-10; 1 Pet 1:20-21; Rev 13:8). What God intends comes to pass.
And I find that reality to be a great comfort this Christmas. So I still intend to post on biblical interpretation and The Shack. But not till after I enjoy this Christmas with my family.
May the wonder of God incarnate never cease to thrill your soul. And may you always remember the slain and risen Lamb who is the returning King when you think on the babe in a manger.
Back at the end of October, I had the best of intentions for this blog: a final post or two about biblical interpretation, and a belated review of The Shack that will take at least two posts. And over the past weeks I have had several ideas for blog posts that never materialized, including a post reflecting on Payton Manning, last minute victories, and how we sometimes view the sovereignty of God (which I thought sounded incredibly creative at the time). But it never came to pass.
And now it is Christmas Eve. My family intends to go to church tonight, to have family worship and open gifts tomorrow morning, and to rest and enjoy being each other. In less than two weeks my wife, daughter, and I will begin the drive to Richmond. We have hopes and dreams for what that time will be like. But just as my blogging plans did not come to pass, so also the fulfillment of our plans for life does not always come to pass.
I was reflecting on Galatians 4:4-5 today: "But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons." When the fullness of time had come. Here we see God's intentions, God's plan. And His intentions are not like mine. What He intends comes to pass. And even before the foundation of the world, God intended to send His Son to become one of us to redeem His people and give them eternal life (Eph 1:4; 2 Tim 1:9-10; 1 Pet 1:20-21; Rev 13:8). What God intends comes to pass.
And I find that reality to be a great comfort this Christmas. So I still intend to post on biblical interpretation and The Shack. But not till after I enjoy this Christmas with my family.
May the wonder of God incarnate never cease to thrill your soul. And may you always remember the slain and risen Lamb who is the returning King when you think on the babe in a manger.
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Historical and cultural context
I need to revisit a series of posts in which we were discussing different types of context and how they affect how we interpret texts of Scripture. So allow me to offer some thoughts in regard to the role of knowing historical and cultural context.
I have some reservations about the use of historical and cultural context. The controversy within evangelicalism surrounding I Tim 2:8-3:7 might help illuminate why. I am not going to attempt to enter fully into the debate about gender and roles in the church and home in this blog post. But as a complementarian, meaning that I believe that men and women are equal in dignity but different in roles and responsibilities, I read such passages and see male leadership in the home and church as rooted in creation and redemption. An egalitarian reading understands it as culturally and historically conditioned such that it does not apply the same way today. I become suspicious of any approach to Scripture that uses extra-biblical material to undermine what appears to be the plain meaning of the text.
But having reservations is not the same thing as refusing to make use of historical and cultural context. Another controversial issue illustrates how such information can be helpful. The New Testament never explicitly condemns the practice of slavery, and in some places even tells slaves to submit to their masters (Eph 6:5-8; I Pet 2:18). Slavery in the Old Testament was a means, tightly regulated in the Law, of protecting society against the effects of poverty (c.f. Exod 21:2-11). Practices such as the kinsman-redeemer and Jubilee made Hebrew slavery fundamentally distinct from the American institution of the 18th and 19th centuries (Lev 25:10-55). Kidnapping someone in order to enslave them was punishable by death (Exod 21:16). The apostle Paul’s letter to Philemon also effectively undermines the ability of Christians to keep slaves (c.f. Phm 1:15-17). Knowing that slaves in the world of the New Testament were often educated professionals who earned wages and were entrusted with significant responsibility also helps us understand the perspective from which the apostles Paul and Peter were writing.
The principle that seems to emerge is that historical and cultural context are not determinative for getting at the meaning of the text. What we need is there in the Bible. But culture and history are helpful in expanding or nuancing our understanding. Knowing Palestinian farming methods is not necessary for grasping the parable of the sower (Mk 4:1-20), but it does help bring the story to life. Knowing some basics about Ancient Near Eastern history is not necessary to understand what God wants us to see in 1 and 2 Kings, but it does add an element of concreteness – these things really happened in to real human beings.
I have some reservations about the use of historical and cultural context. The controversy within evangelicalism surrounding I Tim 2:8-3:7 might help illuminate why. I am not going to attempt to enter fully into the debate about gender and roles in the church and home in this blog post. But as a complementarian, meaning that I believe that men and women are equal in dignity but different in roles and responsibilities, I read such passages and see male leadership in the home and church as rooted in creation and redemption. An egalitarian reading understands it as culturally and historically conditioned such that it does not apply the same way today. I become suspicious of any approach to Scripture that uses extra-biblical material to undermine what appears to be the plain meaning of the text.
But having reservations is not the same thing as refusing to make use of historical and cultural context. Another controversial issue illustrates how such information can be helpful. The New Testament never explicitly condemns the practice of slavery, and in some places even tells slaves to submit to their masters (Eph 6:5-8; I Pet 2:18). Slavery in the Old Testament was a means, tightly regulated in the Law, of protecting society against the effects of poverty (c.f. Exod 21:2-11). Practices such as the kinsman-redeemer and Jubilee made Hebrew slavery fundamentally distinct from the American institution of the 18th and 19th centuries (Lev 25:10-55). Kidnapping someone in order to enslave them was punishable by death (Exod 21:16). The apostle Paul’s letter to Philemon also effectively undermines the ability of Christians to keep slaves (c.f. Phm 1:15-17). Knowing that slaves in the world of the New Testament were often educated professionals who earned wages and were entrusted with significant responsibility also helps us understand the perspective from which the apostles Paul and Peter were writing.
The principle that seems to emerge is that historical and cultural context are not determinative for getting at the meaning of the text. What we need is there in the Bible. But culture and history are helpful in expanding or nuancing our understanding. Knowing Palestinian farming methods is not necessary for grasping the parable of the sower (Mk 4:1-20), but it does help bring the story to life. Knowing some basics about Ancient Near Eastern history is not necessary to understand what God wants us to see in 1 and 2 Kings, but it does add an element of concreteness – these things really happened in to real human beings.
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Weeks both recent and to come
There will be a delay before I can continue with the series on context and interpretation. The past week has been quite busy, as the next couple of weeks will be as well...
Last week on September 23rd, I had the privilege of preaching at Adirondack Bible Chapel. You can find the audio for the message here, though I seemed to have some trouble staying behind the microphone on the lectern. The text was Luke 15:11-32.
Last weekend my wife and I candidated with a Free Church in Richmond, VA. It was a great weekend, we made many new friends and enjoyed seeing some of Richmond, and the church is joining us in praying and fasting as we seek wisdom from God for 2010 and beyond.
This week will be spent packing. As much as we have enjoyed our stay in the Adirondacks and come to love the people of Adirondack Bible Chapel, the time has come for us to move on. We will be leaving this Monday to spend a few months with Michelle's family in Bloomington, IL, which we hope will be a time to serve her family and to enjoy the holidays with them.
So it's been quite busy, and will continue to be! Once we are more settled, I hope to continue the series on context.
Last week on September 23rd, I had the privilege of preaching at Adirondack Bible Chapel. You can find the audio for the message here, though I seemed to have some trouble staying behind the microphone on the lectern. The text was Luke 15:11-32.
Last weekend my wife and I candidated with a Free Church in Richmond, VA. It was a great weekend, we made many new friends and enjoyed seeing some of Richmond, and the church is joining us in praying and fasting as we seek wisdom from God for 2010 and beyond.
This week will be spent packing. As much as we have enjoyed our stay in the Adirondacks and come to love the people of Adirondack Bible Chapel, the time has come for us to move on. We will be leaving this Monday to spend a few months with Michelle's family in Bloomington, IL, which we hope will be a time to serve her family and to enjoy the holidays with them.
So it's been quite busy, and will continue to be! Once we are more settled, I hope to continue the series on context.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
An example of context in narrative
Last time I stated that noticing discourse is helpful not only for epistles, but also for other genres. I thought it might be helpful to present a narrative example.
In Mark 8:22-26, Jesus heals a man in two stages. Many a commentator and teacher has foundered in seeking an explanation, especially given that just a few verses earlier in Mark 7:31-37 Jesus healed a deaf-mute completely and immediately, and in Mark 10:46-52 He heals the blind beggar Bartimaeus. The suggestion has even been made that Jesus healed the blind man of Mark 8 in two stages because a two-stage miracle would have looked more powerful to the Jewish authorities in the cultural milieu of the day. I will comment on historical and cultural context in a later post. But for now let me observe that if we paid more attention to the broader flow of the text, we would come up with a more textually and theologically satisfying explanation.
One trope of the Gospel according to Mark is the “Messianic Secret.” More so in Mark than in the other gospels, Jesus commands those with whom He interacts not to tell anyone who He is. The series of stories in Mark 8 helps us understand why as well as what Jesus’ solution is. In vs. 1-9 Jesus performs a great miracle in feeding the 4000. In vs. 10-13 Jesus confronts the Pharisees, and then He warns the disciples about the yeast of the Pharisees in vs. 14-21. When they do not grasp what He means, Jesus rebukes them: “Do you not yet understand?” Why are you worried about mere bread? Do you not yet see who I am? Are you yet so spiritually blind?
Now they come to Bethsaida in vs. 22-26. Jesus partially heals the blind man. Initially he sees in part but not in full. So Jesus continues the healing and gives him full sight. When we see this healing, what we are seeing is an acted-out parable. Rather than telling us a parable about spiritual blindness, Jesus acts it out in a physical healing. The disciples only see in part, but eventually they will come to see in full who Jesus is. And when they do, it will be because Jesus Himself has granted them sight. It is no coincidence that in the very next passage Peter confesses that Jesus is the Christ, but then receives Jesus rebuke because he does not understand that the Christ must suffer (Mark 8:27-38). Messiah must be kept secret until His work is completed and they receive spiritual sight. But eventually Peter will understand.
When we grasp the narrative flow of Mark’s Gospel, we are kept from confusion and speculation. Instead we arrive at textually grounded truth that is a great encouragement. Jesus gives spiritual sight. Those that belong to Him can come to Him asking for greater insight into the Word of God, and can ask expectantly knowing that Jesus will indeed give sight to the blind. We can also be encouraged in regard to those who do not have faith in Jesus, who lack that kind of "spiritual sight," that Jesus is able to give it to them even as He has done for all who now believe in Him.
In Mark 8:22-26, Jesus heals a man in two stages. Many a commentator and teacher has foundered in seeking an explanation, especially given that just a few verses earlier in Mark 7:31-37 Jesus healed a deaf-mute completely and immediately, and in Mark 10:46-52 He heals the blind beggar Bartimaeus. The suggestion has even been made that Jesus healed the blind man of Mark 8 in two stages because a two-stage miracle would have looked more powerful to the Jewish authorities in the cultural milieu of the day. I will comment on historical and cultural context in a later post. But for now let me observe that if we paid more attention to the broader flow of the text, we would come up with a more textually and theologically satisfying explanation.
One trope of the Gospel according to Mark is the “Messianic Secret.” More so in Mark than in the other gospels, Jesus commands those with whom He interacts not to tell anyone who He is. The series of stories in Mark 8 helps us understand why as well as what Jesus’ solution is. In vs. 1-9 Jesus performs a great miracle in feeding the 4000. In vs. 10-13 Jesus confronts the Pharisees, and then He warns the disciples about the yeast of the Pharisees in vs. 14-21. When they do not grasp what He means, Jesus rebukes them: “Do you not yet understand?” Why are you worried about mere bread? Do you not yet see who I am? Are you yet so spiritually blind?
Now they come to Bethsaida in vs. 22-26. Jesus partially heals the blind man. Initially he sees in part but not in full. So Jesus continues the healing and gives him full sight. When we see this healing, what we are seeing is an acted-out parable. Rather than telling us a parable about spiritual blindness, Jesus acts it out in a physical healing. The disciples only see in part, but eventually they will come to see in full who Jesus is. And when they do, it will be because Jesus Himself has granted them sight. It is no coincidence that in the very next passage Peter confesses that Jesus is the Christ, but then receives Jesus rebuke because he does not understand that the Christ must suffer (Mark 8:27-38). Messiah must be kept secret until His work is completed and they receive spiritual sight. But eventually Peter will understand.
When we grasp the narrative flow of Mark’s Gospel, we are kept from confusion and speculation. Instead we arrive at textually grounded truth that is a great encouragement. Jesus gives spiritual sight. Those that belong to Him can come to Him asking for greater insight into the Word of God, and can ask expectantly knowing that Jesus will indeed give sight to the blind. We can also be encouraged in regard to those who do not have faith in Jesus, who lack that kind of "spiritual sight," that Jesus is able to give it to them even as He has done for all who now believe in Him.
Monday, September 14, 2009
The context of the discourse
Previously we looked at the importance of linking words, of conjunctions and repeated words that link a passage to its immediate context. In a sense, that is just an example of the next type of context, what I will call the context of discourse.
I should note that this post is getting as close as I am going to come to the discipline of discourse analysis. If discourse analysis were a well, then I have taken only a drink or two from it. But there are insights here into handling the biblical text that are helpful. The basic idea is that even as there is structure to a sentence, so also is there a deeper structure to the "discourse" or "text" that goes beyond the grammar of its component sentences.
What I intend to do is take this basic insight that sentences are placed in paragraphs, and paragraphs in larger units, and these larger units in books of the Bible, and apply it to how we handle the Scriptures.
Every book in the Bible is written to make a point or a bundle of points. Genesis tells God’s people how they came to be and where they are situated in God’s world. Isaiah prepares God’s people for their coming exile and offers the hope of pardon and return, particularly through the Servant. Matthew describes Jesus as the new Moses and the true Israel, and defends the Gentile mission to Jewish believers. Galatians serves as a polemic against legalism.
One of the keys to adequately understanding a particular passage of Scripture is to understand how it functions to advance the argument of its book, or how it functions in the discourse. In other words, we need to ask each passage of Scripture how it relates to what comes before it and after it in the book. This is easiest to see in the New Testament letters. But this principle also holds for other genres.
The apostle Paul’s letter to the Philippians is often called “the epistle of joy” because its main theme is taken to be joy. And within this letter, Phil 4:10-13 is a key passage for understanding Christian contentment. But when we understand the rhetoric of the letter, we see that the letter is not simply about joy. In the first chapter, Paul reframes the difficulties that both he and they are experiencing so that they will see how God is being glorified and the gospel advanced through it all. In the second chapter, he exhorts them to work towards unity rooted in service for one another, using not only the example of Jesus Christ but also that of Timothy and Epaphroditus. In the third chapter he warns them against the danger of self-righteousness, using the negative example of the circumcision group and the positive example of his own life, pointing them to the righteousness that can only be found through faith in Christ. In the fourth chapter he begins by begging Euodia and Synteche to live at peace before continuing into the familiar teaching on prayer, anxiety, and contentment.
Paul’s immediate concern in Philippians seems to be preserving unity against dangers from without and broken relationships within. The key to unity is self-sacrifice. The ground of self-sacrifice is having our hope, encouragement, joy, and righteousness in Christ alone. So now we can turn to Phil 4:10-13 and understand better what Christian contentment means. Philippians does not teach that we should be content regardless of our circumstances. Too often this passage is used to teach resignation to whatever happens rather than gospel-centered contentment. There are some things with which we should not be content: broken relationships, disunity, self-righteousness, false teaching, lack of gospel-centered living and ministering. But the people who know Jesus Christ as their all-sufficient righteousness and joy, who are therefore freed to live in radical love and self-sacrifice, will not worry about whether they have plenty or poverty, whether they receive praise or disparagement. Those things do not occupy central stage in their hearts.
Seeing the flow of Philippians and the place of 4:10-13 within the book as a whole can keep us from confusing contentment with resignation. The former is a Christian virtue; the latter, as Martyn Lloyd-Jones helpful reminds us in his book Spiritual Depression, is stoicism.
I should note that this post is getting as close as I am going to come to the discipline of discourse analysis. If discourse analysis were a well, then I have taken only a drink or two from it. But there are insights here into handling the biblical text that are helpful. The basic idea is that even as there is structure to a sentence, so also is there a deeper structure to the "discourse" or "text" that goes beyond the grammar of its component sentences.
What I intend to do is take this basic insight that sentences are placed in paragraphs, and paragraphs in larger units, and these larger units in books of the Bible, and apply it to how we handle the Scriptures.
Every book in the Bible is written to make a point or a bundle of points. Genesis tells God’s people how they came to be and where they are situated in God’s world. Isaiah prepares God’s people for their coming exile and offers the hope of pardon and return, particularly through the Servant. Matthew describes Jesus as the new Moses and the true Israel, and defends the Gentile mission to Jewish believers. Galatians serves as a polemic against legalism.
One of the keys to adequately understanding a particular passage of Scripture is to understand how it functions to advance the argument of its book, or how it functions in the discourse. In other words, we need to ask each passage of Scripture how it relates to what comes before it and after it in the book. This is easiest to see in the New Testament letters. But this principle also holds for other genres.
The apostle Paul’s letter to the Philippians is often called “the epistle of joy” because its main theme is taken to be joy. And within this letter, Phil 4:10-13 is a key passage for understanding Christian contentment. But when we understand the rhetoric of the letter, we see that the letter is not simply about joy. In the first chapter, Paul reframes the difficulties that both he and they are experiencing so that they will see how God is being glorified and the gospel advanced through it all. In the second chapter, he exhorts them to work towards unity rooted in service for one another, using not only the example of Jesus Christ but also that of Timothy and Epaphroditus. In the third chapter he warns them against the danger of self-righteousness, using the negative example of the circumcision group and the positive example of his own life, pointing them to the righteousness that can only be found through faith in Christ. In the fourth chapter he begins by begging Euodia and Synteche to live at peace before continuing into the familiar teaching on prayer, anxiety, and contentment.
Paul’s immediate concern in Philippians seems to be preserving unity against dangers from without and broken relationships within. The key to unity is self-sacrifice. The ground of self-sacrifice is having our hope, encouragement, joy, and righteousness in Christ alone. So now we can turn to Phil 4:10-13 and understand better what Christian contentment means. Philippians does not teach that we should be content regardless of our circumstances. Too often this passage is used to teach resignation to whatever happens rather than gospel-centered contentment. There are some things with which we should not be content: broken relationships, disunity, self-righteousness, false teaching, lack of gospel-centered living and ministering. But the people who know Jesus Christ as their all-sufficient righteousness and joy, who are therefore freed to live in radical love and self-sacrifice, will not worry about whether they have plenty or poverty, whether they receive praise or disparagement. Those things do not occupy central stage in their hearts.
Seeing the flow of Philippians and the place of 4:10-13 within the book as a whole can keep us from confusing contentment with resignation. The former is a Christian virtue; the latter, as Martyn Lloyd-Jones helpful reminds us in his book Spiritual Depression, is stoicism.
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Children's Bibles
In this review by IX Marks, several children's Bibles are reviewed by Justin Taylor. Some friends whose theological judgment we trust had recommended The Big Picture Story Bible to us for toddlers, so we bought it and started reading it to our daughter before she turned one-year old. And indeed, it has been everything we had hoped for, with a big picture view of God's plan to bring His kingdom, just enough text but not too much for a child her age, helpful questions along the way, and detailed illustrations that keep both children and adults paying close attention.
But as much as we love The Big Picture Story Bible, we recognize its limitations too. Our daughter is now a very precocious two-year old, and soon we will want more text and more detail from the biblical narrative in the children's Bible that we use. So when we saw a copy of The Jesus Storybook Bible during a recent trip to a bookstore, we took a long look while our daughter ran amok in the children's play area.
And we were impressed. While preserving the big picture storyline of the Bible that culminates in Christ, and offering helpful illustrations, there is more explanation. This will help our daughter learn the Bible stories and connect them to the cross. So when Zondervan asked for bloggers to write about The Jesus Storybook Bible (and thereby enter a drawing for free copies), I was happy to oblige. The Jesus Storybook Bible will be the next Bible we use as our little girl continues to grow.
But as much as we love The Big Picture Story Bible, we recognize its limitations too. Our daughter is now a very precocious two-year old, and soon we will want more text and more detail from the biblical narrative in the children's Bible that we use. So when we saw a copy of The Jesus Storybook Bible during a recent trip to a bookstore, we took a long look while our daughter ran amok in the children's play area.
And we were impressed. While preserving the big picture storyline of the Bible that culminates in Christ, and offering helpful illustrations, there is more explanation. This will help our daughter learn the Bible stories and connect them to the cross. So when Zondervan asked for bloggers to write about The Jesus Storybook Bible (and thereby enter a drawing for free copies), I was happy to oblige. The Jesus Storybook Bible will be the next Bible we use as our little girl continues to grow.
The importance of linking words
After a lengthy hiatus, I would like to return to the importance of context in interpreting Scripture. In the last post, I wrote about literary context – the kind of writing in which a passage occurs.
The next topic I would like to discuss we could call linking words. Many churchgoers have heard this heuristic of Bible study: If you see the word therefore, ask what it is there for. And that idea is what I mean. We need to notice linking words that connect a passage with what comes before it or after it. That means noticing conjunctions (and, but, for, since, therefore, although, etc.) and repeated words and phrases.
Noticing these sorts of details is crucial to understanding what the writer of Scripture is trying to get done with the passage at hand. In a talk given at the Worship God 2009 conference, John Piper quipped that he spends two or three years with his students at Bethlehem just helping them see conjunctions. (Yes, John Piper quipped.)
An example should help us see how important conjunctions and repeated words are. In 2 John 1:4, the apostle John rejoices that the Christians he is addressing are following the truth. In v. 5 he writes “and now” (kai nun in Greek), indicating not a new command (entole) but a renewed emphasis on an old command to love one another. John tells us in v. 6 that we love God by obeying his commands, and goes on to say that the command we must obey is to love one another. Many commentators take vs. 4-6 and 7-11 as separate units. But notice that in v. 7 the apostle uses the conjunction “for” (gar) to link our love with the problem of false teachers. Through the use of conjunctions and a repeated word, the apostle is telling us that our love for one another within the church is vital to standing firm as a community against the danger of false teaching.
Noticing conjunctions and repetition will make us better students of Scripture, and it will help keep us from using a passage of Scripture for different purposes than that for which it was intended.
The next topic I would like to discuss we could call linking words. Many churchgoers have heard this heuristic of Bible study: If you see the word therefore, ask what it is there for. And that idea is what I mean. We need to notice linking words that connect a passage with what comes before it or after it. That means noticing conjunctions (and, but, for, since, therefore, although, etc.) and repeated words and phrases.
Noticing these sorts of details is crucial to understanding what the writer of Scripture is trying to get done with the passage at hand. In a talk given at the Worship God 2009 conference, John Piper quipped that he spends two or three years with his students at Bethlehem just helping them see conjunctions. (Yes, John Piper quipped.)
An example should help us see how important conjunctions and repeated words are. In 2 John 1:4, the apostle John rejoices that the Christians he is addressing are following the truth. In v. 5 he writes “and now” (kai nun in Greek), indicating not a new command (entole) but a renewed emphasis on an old command to love one another. John tells us in v. 6 that we love God by obeying his commands, and goes on to say that the command we must obey is to love one another. Many commentators take vs. 4-6 and 7-11 as separate units. But notice that in v. 7 the apostle uses the conjunction “for” (gar) to link our love with the problem of false teachers. Through the use of conjunctions and a repeated word, the apostle is telling us that our love for one another within the church is vital to standing firm as a community against the danger of false teaching.
Noticing conjunctions and repetition will make us better students of Scripture, and it will help keep us from using a passage of Scripture for different purposes than that for which it was intended.
Monday, August 3, 2009
Literary context
In the previous post, I argued that properly understanding any portion of Scripture requires knowing its context, and that most of our errors in interpreting Scripture would be corrected simply by being aware of context. In this post, I want to begin to look at specific ways in which context aids us in biblical interpretation. Or to put it another way, I want to begin to look at specific kinds of contextual tools.
One helpful way to understand context is to understand in what kind of book the passage of Scripture sits – the genre. We need to know the literary context of a passage. We do this automatically in our everyday lives. Take the words, “Toilet paper.” If those words occur on a grocery list, we respond to them differently than if they occur in a short story or newspaper advertisement. We read a grocery list differently than we do a personal letter, and both of those differently than a novel, and all of those differently than an essay in a journal. The kind of material determines how we read it.
The same thing is true in the Bible. When reading a letter, we will want to see how each passage is developing the writer’s argument, and application will often be more direct. When reading a narrative, we need to keep in mind elements such as plot, character development, and conflict when understanding the themes the writer is developing; application may be imitation of behaviors in the story, but may not be since narrative is fundamentally descriptive. And Hebrew poetry is organized around imagery, meter, and parallelism. It does not flow as a letter or a story, so it needs to be handled on its own terms. And there are other genres as well: legal material, apocalyptic, and so on.
Examples are always helpful, so we will look at Luke 15:11-32, commonly called the Parable of the Prodigal Son, to get a feel for the importance of literary context. Parables are short stories, which means they contain the elements found in narratives such as plot, character, theme, and conflict. In addition, parables describe everyday realities in order to make a moral or spiritual point. On the lips of Jesus, parables describe the kingdom of God.
I have heard Lk 15:11-13 used to illustrate the need for wisdom in parenting and in sharing wealth with children. No doubt many a father needs such wisdom, but using those verses to make that point takes them out of their literary context. A parable is a narrative, and we will not understand the role these sentences play in making Jesus’ intended point until the narrative is concluded and plot, character, and thematic development have been analyzed.
Later in the passage in Lk 15:22-24 the father calls for his restored younger son to be given a robe, a ring, and shoes, and for a fattened calf to be slaughtered for a feast. I remember a Bible study in college in which the leader went to great lengths to connect each of those gifts to an Old Testament passage to show what the gift represented (see for example Hag 2:23 or Isa 61:10). Although the effort was well-intentioned, it was also misguided. If a narrative is going to function as an allegory, with each and every element having a deeper meaning, there are typically clues in the narrative (see for example the Parable of the Sower in Mark 4:1-20). While the mistake in the previous paragraph underanalyzes the narrative, this mistake overanalyzes it to find meanings that are not there.
The title “Parable of the Prodigal Son” obscures the reality that the father in the parable has two sons, one who has lived a profligate life but then repented, and one who has lived such a moral life that he does not realize his need for repentance. The parables of Jesus use earthly stories to tell us about the kingdom of God; this parable tells us how God relates to the unrighteous and gently challenges the self-righteous to self-examination, an interpretation the previous two parables confirm (Lk 15:1-10).
Perhaps Tim Keller has a better title for this parable: The Prodigal God. Attention to literary context helps us understand what Jesus meant when He spoke, and what Luke meant when he wrote it down.
One helpful way to understand context is to understand in what kind of book the passage of Scripture sits – the genre. We need to know the literary context of a passage. We do this automatically in our everyday lives. Take the words, “Toilet paper.” If those words occur on a grocery list, we respond to them differently than if they occur in a short story or newspaper advertisement. We read a grocery list differently than we do a personal letter, and both of those differently than a novel, and all of those differently than an essay in a journal. The kind of material determines how we read it.
The same thing is true in the Bible. When reading a letter, we will want to see how each passage is developing the writer’s argument, and application will often be more direct. When reading a narrative, we need to keep in mind elements such as plot, character development, and conflict when understanding the themes the writer is developing; application may be imitation of behaviors in the story, but may not be since narrative is fundamentally descriptive. And Hebrew poetry is organized around imagery, meter, and parallelism. It does not flow as a letter or a story, so it needs to be handled on its own terms. And there are other genres as well: legal material, apocalyptic, and so on.
Examples are always helpful, so we will look at Luke 15:11-32, commonly called the Parable of the Prodigal Son, to get a feel for the importance of literary context. Parables are short stories, which means they contain the elements found in narratives such as plot, character, theme, and conflict. In addition, parables describe everyday realities in order to make a moral or spiritual point. On the lips of Jesus, parables describe the kingdom of God.
I have heard Lk 15:11-13 used to illustrate the need for wisdom in parenting and in sharing wealth with children. No doubt many a father needs such wisdom, but using those verses to make that point takes them out of their literary context. A parable is a narrative, and we will not understand the role these sentences play in making Jesus’ intended point until the narrative is concluded and plot, character, and thematic development have been analyzed.
Later in the passage in Lk 15:22-24 the father calls for his restored younger son to be given a robe, a ring, and shoes, and for a fattened calf to be slaughtered for a feast. I remember a Bible study in college in which the leader went to great lengths to connect each of those gifts to an Old Testament passage to show what the gift represented (see for example Hag 2:23 or Isa 61:10). Although the effort was well-intentioned, it was also misguided. If a narrative is going to function as an allegory, with each and every element having a deeper meaning, there are typically clues in the narrative (see for example the Parable of the Sower in Mark 4:1-20). While the mistake in the previous paragraph underanalyzes the narrative, this mistake overanalyzes it to find meanings that are not there.
The title “Parable of the Prodigal Son” obscures the reality that the father in the parable has two sons, one who has lived a profligate life but then repented, and one who has lived such a moral life that he does not realize his need for repentance. The parables of Jesus use earthly stories to tell us about the kingdom of God; this parable tells us how God relates to the unrighteous and gently challenges the self-righteous to self-examination, an interpretation the previous two parables confirm (Lk 15:1-10).
Perhaps Tim Keller has a better title for this parable: The Prodigal God. Attention to literary context helps us understand what Jesus meant when He spoke, and what Luke meant when he wrote it down.
Friday, July 24, 2009
Context and reading the Bible
What is the Bible about? Are there central storylines or themes that tie each book of the Bible together? That tie the whole of Scripture together? And does recognizing such storylines and themes aid us in properly interpreting a given passage of Scripture that we come across during devotional reading, Bible studies, or sermons?
I think that the intuitive answer to each of those questions is “yes.” Most of us have had the experience of having something we have said taken out of context. Just a couple of days ago I was speaking with a friend, and one of us described a headache as “feeling like someone kicked you in the head.” A third person approached us just at that moment and heard nothing but “kick you in the head.” He correctly inferred that he must have missed the context. But had he taken it out of context, he could have come to some awful conclusions about the speaker’s character and intentions.
Taking things out of context can lead to interpretations and conclusions that fall wide and short of the mark. That much appears obvious from everyday experience. So why would we make the same mistake when interpreting a text in the Bible? A paragraph surrounds every sentence. An epistle or gospel or some other genre of literature surrounds every passage. The Bible, the grand story of God working in history to redeem humanity and restore His creation in Jesus Christ, surrounds every book in the canon.
We cannot properly understand any portion of Scripture without placing it in its immediate textual context and its context within its book. Otherwise we will miss what the human author intended. And ultimately we need to understand texts in their context in the whole of Scripture. Otherwise we will miss what the Divine Author intends.
That is a fine sounding idea. In principle I agree. But what should I do when confronted with a particular text? There are several tools we can use to help us, tools we will think about in subsequent posts. But in my estimation (though admittedly limited and fallible), most of our goings astray in interpreting Scripture would be corrected merely by being aware that there is a bigger context into which each passage fits. That may sound oversimplified, but it seems to me to be true. The matter of context seems to be where many a Bible study, sermon, or book goes astray. So just being aware of context is helpful.
I think that the intuitive answer to each of those questions is “yes.” Most of us have had the experience of having something we have said taken out of context. Just a couple of days ago I was speaking with a friend, and one of us described a headache as “feeling like someone kicked you in the head.” A third person approached us just at that moment and heard nothing but “kick you in the head.” He correctly inferred that he must have missed the context. But had he taken it out of context, he could have come to some awful conclusions about the speaker’s character and intentions.
Taking things out of context can lead to interpretations and conclusions that fall wide and short of the mark. That much appears obvious from everyday experience. So why would we make the same mistake when interpreting a text in the Bible? A paragraph surrounds every sentence. An epistle or gospel or some other genre of literature surrounds every passage. The Bible, the grand story of God working in history to redeem humanity and restore His creation in Jesus Christ, surrounds every book in the canon.
We cannot properly understand any portion of Scripture without placing it in its immediate textual context and its context within its book. Otherwise we will miss what the human author intended. And ultimately we need to understand texts in their context in the whole of Scripture. Otherwise we will miss what the Divine Author intends.
That is a fine sounding idea. In principle I agree. But what should I do when confronted with a particular text? There are several tools we can use to help us, tools we will think about in subsequent posts. But in my estimation (though admittedly limited and fallible), most of our goings astray in interpreting Scripture would be corrected merely by being aware that there is a bigger context into which each passage fits. That may sound oversimplified, but it seems to me to be true. The matter of context seems to be where many a Bible study, sermon, or book goes astray. So just being aware of context is helpful.
Saturday, July 11, 2009
God's glory and our joy
Last night, on the final evening of Vacation Bible School at Adirondack Bible Chapel, I spoke to 20 or so teenagers for about a half-hour on Matthew 13:44.
I hoped they would understand that in Jesus Christ there is more joy to be found than in anything else or anyone else we might desire. We started by thinking about what is most valuable to us, whether a possession, a relationship, or an aspiration. Whatever it is, what is so valuable to you that if you lost it, you would be devastated? And I went on to suggest that there was something to be found -- or someone -- still more to be treasured.
This very brief parable of Jesus has at its center a treasure for which a man sells everything he has. I asked why the man did that. The text tells us: the Greek can be translated "in his joy" (NIV, ESV) or "out of joy for it" (similar to NASB). The point is the joy. He wanted the treasure because of the joy it brought him.
So often when talking to teenagers -- and to adults and children for that matter -- we speak of spiritual matters as if rules and living righteously were at the heart of Christianity. I do not mean to suggest that rules and righteous living are unimportant; but if we think they are the heart of our faith then we find ourselves in agreement with the Pharisees and Judaizers. Or we try to scare kids into the kingdom of heaven through threats of hell. I do not mean to suggest that the threat of hell is unimportant; but the Scriptures present us with more than the option of torment versus non-torment. Or we beat teens over the head with truth. I do not mean to suggest that absolute truth is unimportant (ask someone who has disagreed with me on a point of theology or philosophy about that); but there is a Person behind truth who is Himself Truth.
Ultimately we all do what we desire to do. I think this is a reality Jesus recognizes throughout His teachings and especially in this parable. We all ultimately pursue what we think will make us happy. And that is not necessarily wrong -- in fact I would argue that it is part of how we are made. The issue is not whether to pursue joy and happiness or not; rather the issue is what will actually give us lasting, strong, unshakable, and eternal joy. What I wanted desperately, what I was praying that these teenagers would grasp as the Spirit of God quickened their hearts, is that pursuing joy is okay. But the only place to find the deep joy that our hearts yearn for is by knowing God. God Himself is the treasure for which we joyfully sell everything we have.
But there is a problem. We cannot come up with the payment due to purchase the joy God offers. The price He requires is wholehearted, every-moment devotion to Him. And I cannot pay that price -- none of us can. Not only so, but I am already in debt beyond my ability to repay because of my sin, because I continually look in other places to satisfy the craving in my soul for happiness and satisfaction, thereby alienating the God who created me and earning His wrath. Everyone finds themselves in the same state. None of us can buy the field.
So someone else will have to buy it for us. The Father sent the Son to become a man named Jesus. He lived the perfect, wholehearted life for God that I have not lived. By dying as my substitute, as the substitute for all who turn from their idolatry and turn toward Him in faith, He satisfied God's wrath. He rose from the dead. He paid my debt and credited me with His perfect life. Now the treasure is mine. God's Spirit is now at work in me making me more like Christ and enabling me to know increasingly the joy and love that exists between the Father and the Son.
We were made for joy. Those who trust in Christ have been redeemed and re-created for joy (see for starters Ps 27:4; 37:4; 42:1-5; 63:1-3; 73:25-26; 84:10; Hab 3:16-18; Jn 10:10; 15:11; Gal 5:22; Phil 2:1-3; 4:4-6; I Pet 1:3-9). When we rejoice in God, we declare Him to be that which is most valuable, most lovely, most praiseworthy, most glorious, most satisfying in all the universe. Ultimately God's glory in us and our joy in Him through Jesus Christ are one and the same. Christians have known this through the ages. Augustine said, "Our hearts are restless until they find their rest in You" (Confessions I.1). The 17th century pastor Jeremy Taylor once said, "God threatens terrible things if we will not be happy." The Westminster Shorter Catechism states, "The chief end of man is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever" (WSC 1). John Piper has said it so many times: "God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him."
This is the type of faith that endures when houses, friends, family, jobs, and even churches are lost. This is the type of faith that does not need to turn to sin for happiness, but rejoices in obedience to God regardless of circumstances. Joy is not optional. God demands it of us for our own good. This is the faith toward which He has been drawing me again over the past two months up here in the mountains. It is the faith I desire for those teenagers. And it is the faith for which I hope you, dear reader, yearn as well.
I hoped they would understand that in Jesus Christ there is more joy to be found than in anything else or anyone else we might desire. We started by thinking about what is most valuable to us, whether a possession, a relationship, or an aspiration. Whatever it is, what is so valuable to you that if you lost it, you would be devastated? And I went on to suggest that there was something to be found -- or someone -- still more to be treasured.
This very brief parable of Jesus has at its center a treasure for which a man sells everything he has. I asked why the man did that. The text tells us: the Greek can be translated "in his joy" (NIV, ESV) or "out of joy for it" (similar to NASB). The point is the joy. He wanted the treasure because of the joy it brought him.
So often when talking to teenagers -- and to adults and children for that matter -- we speak of spiritual matters as if rules and living righteously were at the heart of Christianity. I do not mean to suggest that rules and righteous living are unimportant; but if we think they are the heart of our faith then we find ourselves in agreement with the Pharisees and Judaizers. Or we try to scare kids into the kingdom of heaven through threats of hell. I do not mean to suggest that the threat of hell is unimportant; but the Scriptures present us with more than the option of torment versus non-torment. Or we beat teens over the head with truth. I do not mean to suggest that absolute truth is unimportant (ask someone who has disagreed with me on a point of theology or philosophy about that); but there is a Person behind truth who is Himself Truth.
Ultimately we all do what we desire to do. I think this is a reality Jesus recognizes throughout His teachings and especially in this parable. We all ultimately pursue what we think will make us happy. And that is not necessarily wrong -- in fact I would argue that it is part of how we are made. The issue is not whether to pursue joy and happiness or not; rather the issue is what will actually give us lasting, strong, unshakable, and eternal joy. What I wanted desperately, what I was praying that these teenagers would grasp as the Spirit of God quickened their hearts, is that pursuing joy is okay. But the only place to find the deep joy that our hearts yearn for is by knowing God. God Himself is the treasure for which we joyfully sell everything we have.
But there is a problem. We cannot come up with the payment due to purchase the joy God offers. The price He requires is wholehearted, every-moment devotion to Him. And I cannot pay that price -- none of us can. Not only so, but I am already in debt beyond my ability to repay because of my sin, because I continually look in other places to satisfy the craving in my soul for happiness and satisfaction, thereby alienating the God who created me and earning His wrath. Everyone finds themselves in the same state. None of us can buy the field.
So someone else will have to buy it for us. The Father sent the Son to become a man named Jesus. He lived the perfect, wholehearted life for God that I have not lived. By dying as my substitute, as the substitute for all who turn from their idolatry and turn toward Him in faith, He satisfied God's wrath. He rose from the dead. He paid my debt and credited me with His perfect life. Now the treasure is mine. God's Spirit is now at work in me making me more like Christ and enabling me to know increasingly the joy and love that exists between the Father and the Son.
We were made for joy. Those who trust in Christ have been redeemed and re-created for joy (see for starters Ps 27:4; 37:4; 42:1-5; 63:1-3; 73:25-26; 84:10; Hab 3:16-18; Jn 10:10; 15:11; Gal 5:22; Phil 2:1-3; 4:4-6; I Pet 1:3-9). When we rejoice in God, we declare Him to be that which is most valuable, most lovely, most praiseworthy, most glorious, most satisfying in all the universe. Ultimately God's glory in us and our joy in Him through Jesus Christ are one and the same. Christians have known this through the ages. Augustine said, "Our hearts are restless until they find their rest in You" (Confessions I.1). The 17th century pastor Jeremy Taylor once said, "God threatens terrible things if we will not be happy." The Westminster Shorter Catechism states, "The chief end of man is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever" (WSC 1). John Piper has said it so many times: "God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him."
This is the type of faith that endures when houses, friends, family, jobs, and even churches are lost. This is the type of faith that does not need to turn to sin for happiness, but rejoices in obedience to God regardless of circumstances. Joy is not optional. God demands it of us for our own good. This is the faith toward which He has been drawing me again over the past two months up here in the mountains. It is the faith I desire for those teenagers. And it is the faith for which I hope you, dear reader, yearn as well.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
The gospel and counseling
In the three weeks we have been in the Adirondacks, we have had the wonderful opportunity to slow down and rest. Marveling at the beauty of these mountains while hiking has itself been a means of God's grace for us. Michelle has already read four books, and if I could ever finish The Death of Death I would also have read four. The people of Adirondack Bible Chapel have been overwhelmingly generous and welcoming, and the staff have been generous with their time in meeting with us for encouragement and counseling.
During our time here I have been reflecting on the relationship between the gospel and counseling. I have long been convinced of the sufficiency of Scripture in the context of Christian community to bring healing and maturity (Deut 8:3; Ps 119: 97-104; Eph 4:7-16; 2 Tim 3:14-17; 2 Pet 1:3-4). But this is a conviction that ministries such as CCEF have been exploring and developing far longer than I. So I have no new or profound insights to offer.
But this central conviction has deepened: whatever the struggle for which the child of God seeks counsel, if the gospel is not central to the solution offered, then it is not a real solution. If the cross is not allowed to critique us and show that we are much worse sinners than we ever thought; if the Savior's death is not presented as the Father's final word about our guilt, forgiveness, and adoption; if the power of the resurrection does not form the foundation of our hope for a transformed life; if the risen Christ is not the reason for our confidence and His Spirit not the source of our power; if the Word of God is not our final measuring line; if God's glory reflected in Christlike character is not our goal -- if those things are not present, then counseling cannot properly be called Christian, no matter what the counselor and the one counseled may profess as their creed, no matter what methodology is applied, no matter how many Bible verses get batted about.
The gospel is my only hope. It does not merely make solutions possible -- it is the solution. It is not a first step on the path to wholeness -- it is the means of wholeness. I must constantly relearn such lessons, consistently preach this gospel to myself, and frequently be reoriented away from other "solutions" to God's solution. I need the cross and the empty tomb -- or rather I need the One who died on the cross and walked away from the tomb who purchased God's grace for me.
During our time here I have been reflecting on the relationship between the gospel and counseling. I have long been convinced of the sufficiency of Scripture in the context of Christian community to bring healing and maturity (Deut 8:3; Ps 119: 97-104; Eph 4:7-16; 2 Tim 3:14-17; 2 Pet 1:3-4). But this is a conviction that ministries such as CCEF have been exploring and developing far longer than I. So I have no new or profound insights to offer.
But this central conviction has deepened: whatever the struggle for which the child of God seeks counsel, if the gospel is not central to the solution offered, then it is not a real solution. If the cross is not allowed to critique us and show that we are much worse sinners than we ever thought; if the Savior's death is not presented as the Father's final word about our guilt, forgiveness, and adoption; if the power of the resurrection does not form the foundation of our hope for a transformed life; if the risen Christ is not the reason for our confidence and His Spirit not the source of our power; if the Word of God is not our final measuring line; if God's glory reflected in Christlike character is not our goal -- if those things are not present, then counseling cannot properly be called Christian, no matter what the counselor and the one counseled may profess as their creed, no matter what methodology is applied, no matter how many Bible verses get batted about.
The gospel is my only hope. It does not merely make solutions possible -- it is the solution. It is not a first step on the path to wholeness -- it is the means of wholeness. I must constantly relearn such lessons, consistently preach this gospel to myself, and frequently be reoriented away from other "solutions" to God's solution. I need the cross and the empty tomb -- or rather I need the One who died on the cross and walked away from the tomb who purchased God's grace for me.
Thursday, May 21, 2009
On the road again...
...but this time not on a roadtrip. A Free church in the Adirondacks has opened their hearts and their homes to us for the summer. So we are moving to the mountains of upstate New York to stay with our new friends at Adirondack Bible Chapel.
This summer will give us opportunities to rest, heal, and receive mentoring as we seek God and look forward to His provision for us. There will be opportunities for lots of reading, lots of hiking, and lots of ministry. Our prayer is that by the end of the summer, the Lord will provide sufficient wisdom to know what the next steps are for us in ministry. Please join me and my family in thanking God for His wonderful provision for us through Jesus Christ!
This summer will give us opportunities to rest, heal, and receive mentoring as we seek God and look forward to His provision for us. There will be opportunities for lots of reading, lots of hiking, and lots of ministry. Our prayer is that by the end of the summer, the Lord will provide sufficient wisdom to know what the next steps are for us in ministry. Please join me and my family in thanking God for His wonderful provision for us through Jesus Christ!
Saturday, May 9, 2009
Waiting tables
After a car trip from New York to Chicago and back that lasted a little over two weeks, and a similar two-week long car trip in December from New York to Florida, my wife and I agree on something: the quality of service at restaurants has definitely declined. Now without a doubt there are plenty of restaurant waitstaff who work hard and try to do right by their customers. We encountered a few of them during those two trips. But on the whole we encountered poor service: indifferent service, extra long delays, significant mistakes made with meals with no offer to make things right.
Those experiences prompted me to reflect on my own attitude about service. It is not a big jump -- the most common word in the New Testament for "service," the word from which we get the term deacon, is used in Acts 6:2 of waiting tables. My initial response to the poor service we received was frustration and irritation. But further reflection led me to wonder: Am I so different? When I am called upon to serve, what is my own attitude?
This reflection was God's grace to me, for I fear that much of the time my attitude is poor, especially when such service is inconvenient or unpleasant. But surely this does not reflect the attitude of our Lord, who gladly served and sacrificed (Phil 2:1-11; Heb 12:1-3). And I have concluded that my poor attitude can only come from loving myself and thinking more highly of myself than I ought -- I value my own comfort and pleasure more than I value others, and particularly more than I value and delight in Christ.
A waiter's motivation for good service is a tip. It is external. And while Christ offers us rewards for faithful service (Lk 19:17), those rewards have their greatest value if we already value the one who gives them. "Well done, good and faithful servant" is most meaningful if we highly esteem the One who speaks the words. And that means that something has to change on the inside, that what I love, value, and esteem has to shift away from me to Someone Else. A tip will not do the trick. My heart must change.
But thanks be to God! He has given us the resources we need through His power by His great and precious promises (2 Pet 1:3-4). He has given me a new heart that wants to serve. He has given me food for my soul in His Word. He has sent His Spirit to dwell in my heart and progressively conform me to Christ's image.
Part of my plan for the summer is to dwell on the excellencies of Christ, and to spend some time in introspection asking God to help me see the idols of my heart, that I might turn from them and exult more fully in Christ. And in doing so, my hope is to become a better servant, someone who gladly waits tables.
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Go (mid)west, young man
With my pastorate at Bethel EFC drawing to a close, my family and I are headed to the Midwest for a couple of weeks. We will see family and friends, and will also attend the Gospel Coalition conference outside of Chicago.
There is something symbolic about this roadtrip. As we literally drive west, we are also driving spiritually into the unknown. Where will I minister next? How long will the Lord have us wait? Will it be an associate or senior role, and if it is an associate then how long before I regularly step into a pulpit again? If there is a long delay before my next pastorate, how will I support my family? Lots of unanswered questions.
But the God whose power and might raised Jesus Christ from the dead is the same God who governs all the days of our lives. In the past few weeks, that has not been merely a pious platitude for us. Today on Easter it is the truth that will sustain us through a painful goodbye with our church of three years. And in the weeks to come it will be the bedrock reality that we will likely cling to for life and sanity.
He is risen! And His Father works all things for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purposes (Rom 8:28), even if my idea of "good" does not always resemble His.
There is something symbolic about this roadtrip. As we literally drive west, we are also driving spiritually into the unknown. Where will I minister next? How long will the Lord have us wait? Will it be an associate or senior role, and if it is an associate then how long before I regularly step into a pulpit again? If there is a long delay before my next pastorate, how will I support my family? Lots of unanswered questions.
But the God whose power and might raised Jesus Christ from the dead is the same God who governs all the days of our lives. In the past few weeks, that has not been merely a pious platitude for us. Today on Easter it is the truth that will sustain us through a painful goodbye with our church of three years. And in the weeks to come it will be the bedrock reality that we will likely cling to for life and sanity.
He is risen! And His Father works all things for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purposes (Rom 8:28), even if my idea of "good" does not always resemble His.
Where O Death Is Now Thy Sting?
Heavy-laden weary soul, bearing up a heart of stone;
His Spirit comes to dwell in you, and Christ the weight of sin assume.
All my guilt is cast on Christ,
and His righteousness is mine.
What guilt should weigh upon my head?
For Christ has cleared it all!
The sum of all my sacrifice, though joyful fails to justify.
I cannot pay for grace that’s free, nor add to work that is complete.
Jesus paid it all for me:
This my ransom and my plea
What debt I labor to repay?
For Christ has paid it all!
Through the law comes sin and death, but faith is counted righteousness.
So I will trust in Christ alone, my debt to pay, my sin atone.
And I’ll stand in confidence,
covered by His righteousness.
What shall become of boasting tongues?
For Christ has done it all!
Where O death is now thy sting? Swallowed up in victory!
The Lord of Glory reigns on high, sovereign over earth and sky.
Yes He triumphed o’er the grave,
and He comes again one Day.
What lesser name shall draw our praise?
For Christ has conquered all!
His Spirit comes to dwell in you, and Christ the weight of sin assume.
All my guilt is cast on Christ,
and His righteousness is mine.
What guilt should weigh upon my head?
For Christ has cleared it all!
The sum of all my sacrifice, though joyful fails to justify.
I cannot pay for grace that’s free, nor add to work that is complete.
Jesus paid it all for me:
This my ransom and my plea
What debt I labor to repay?
For Christ has paid it all!
Through the law comes sin and death, but faith is counted righteousness.
So I will trust in Christ alone, my debt to pay, my sin atone.
And I’ll stand in confidence,
covered by His righteousness.
What shall become of boasting tongues?
For Christ has done it all!
Where O death is now thy sting? Swallowed up in victory!
The Lord of Glory reigns on high, sovereign over earth and sky.
Yes He triumphed o’er the grave,
and He comes again one Day.
What lesser name shall draw our praise?
For Christ has conquered all!
Christ Has Conquered All, Kristie Brasleton
Thursday, April 2, 2009
The image of God redeemed
Although I have not posted on the image of God in some time, more recent developments with embryonic stem cell research, and continuing concern regarding the Freedom of Choice Act, prompt me to take up the thread again.
In the first post in this thread, I attempted to defend biblically the proposition that all homo sapiens, from conception to the grave, bear the image of God. In the second post, I briefly described what it means for human beings today to bear the image of God, differentiating between structural and functional understandings of the image and pointing to the explanatory power of this portrait of human beings.
In this post, I would like to examine one way that the Bible describes salvation. Although the mirror that is human being has been shattered, God does not intend for it to remain that way. All human beings possess the image of God structurally; none of us fully possess it functionally. Through the cross of Christ, God intends to restore His image in human beings.
Notice that I did not say that no human being possesses the image of God functionally. On the other side of humankind's rebellion against God, there is one who perfectly and fully reflects the glory and being of God: Jesus Christ. This truth lies implicit in the biblical teaching that Christ is fully human but wholly without sin (Jn 8:46; Heb 4:15; 9:14; I Pet 1:19). His nature is as our nature, but without sin; Jesus bears the image as we bear the image, but without the mirror being broken. But Christ as the image of God is not only implicit, but Scripture also teaches it explicitly (II Cor 4:4; Col 1:15). Christ fully possesses the structural and functional dimensions of the image of God.
Why is this reality so important? To cite the popular paraphrase from Athanasius' On the Incarnation 54.3, "The Word was made like us so that we could become like Him." Athanasius himself made clear, as John Piper has helpfully pointed out, that we do not assume God's nature in the same way that the Son assumed human nature. Rather, it is a reference to the image of God that all human beings bear. In becoming one of us, and providing justification for us, Christ removes the obstacles of guilt and wrath (Rom 8:3; Phil 2:7). Having forgiven all believers our sins and credited us with Christ's own righteousness, God now looks upon His people with favor and works on their behalf. Through the work of the Spirit He transforms each of His children so that they are not only credited with righteousness, but also live in righteousness, progressively becoming increasingly able to obey God and display His character. In other words, the mirror is being repaired (II Cor 3:18; Eph 4:24; Col 3:10; II Pet 1:4). And at the end of history, when Christ returns and makes all things new, the mirror will be fully restored and we will perfectly image God even as the man Jesus Christ images Him (Rom 8:29; I Cor 15:49).
This teaching of Scripture on the restoration of the image of God should encourage greatly Christ's followers. Everyone who trusts in Christ is a new creation (I Pet 1:3-5; II Cor 5:17) with new desires to please and glorify God (Rom 7:22; 8:5-11). Yet as Scripture and experience attest, we consistently fail to obey Him perfectly (Rom 7:13-20; I Jn 1:8-10). But the image is being restored and will be fully restored. For someone who wants to honor God, that promise gives much hope. It should also help us see that God's purposes cannot be thwarted. God created everything good, including human beings (Gen 1:31). Human and demonic rebellion may have marred what God has created, but it has not undone His purposes for His world. He will remake human nature not only into something that may not sin, but ultimately that cannot sin.
And it reemphasizes the importance of the image of God for our view of human nature. One approach to undermining the dignity of all human life is to find a basis for human personhood not related to the image of God. But that is not an approach that any Bible-believing Christian can take. The image is so important to God that He describes salvation as its restoration, not just in one or two passages, but throughout the New Testament. Christians need to keep God's image front-and-center in our understanding of human beings. It is that important to God.
In the first post in this thread, I attempted to defend biblically the proposition that all homo sapiens, from conception to the grave, bear the image of God. In the second post, I briefly described what it means for human beings today to bear the image of God, differentiating between structural and functional understandings of the image and pointing to the explanatory power of this portrait of human beings.
In this post, I would like to examine one way that the Bible describes salvation. Although the mirror that is human being has been shattered, God does not intend for it to remain that way. All human beings possess the image of God structurally; none of us fully possess it functionally. Through the cross of Christ, God intends to restore His image in human beings.
Notice that I did not say that no human being possesses the image of God functionally. On the other side of humankind's rebellion against God, there is one who perfectly and fully reflects the glory and being of God: Jesus Christ. This truth lies implicit in the biblical teaching that Christ is fully human but wholly without sin (Jn 8:46; Heb 4:15; 9:14; I Pet 1:19). His nature is as our nature, but without sin; Jesus bears the image as we bear the image, but without the mirror being broken. But Christ as the image of God is not only implicit, but Scripture also teaches it explicitly (II Cor 4:4; Col 1:15). Christ fully possesses the structural and functional dimensions of the image of God.
Why is this reality so important? To cite the popular paraphrase from Athanasius' On the Incarnation 54.3, "The Word was made like us so that we could become like Him." Athanasius himself made clear, as John Piper has helpfully pointed out, that we do not assume God's nature in the same way that the Son assumed human nature. Rather, it is a reference to the image of God that all human beings bear. In becoming one of us, and providing justification for us, Christ removes the obstacles of guilt and wrath (Rom 8:3; Phil 2:7). Having forgiven all believers our sins and credited us with Christ's own righteousness, God now looks upon His people with favor and works on their behalf. Through the work of the Spirit He transforms each of His children so that they are not only credited with righteousness, but also live in righteousness, progressively becoming increasingly able to obey God and display His character. In other words, the mirror is being repaired (II Cor 3:18; Eph 4:24; Col 3:10; II Pet 1:4). And at the end of history, when Christ returns and makes all things new, the mirror will be fully restored and we will perfectly image God even as the man Jesus Christ images Him (Rom 8:29; I Cor 15:49).
This teaching of Scripture on the restoration of the image of God should encourage greatly Christ's followers. Everyone who trusts in Christ is a new creation (I Pet 1:3-5; II Cor 5:17) with new desires to please and glorify God (Rom 7:22; 8:5-11). Yet as Scripture and experience attest, we consistently fail to obey Him perfectly (Rom 7:13-20; I Jn 1:8-10). But the image is being restored and will be fully restored. For someone who wants to honor God, that promise gives much hope. It should also help us see that God's purposes cannot be thwarted. God created everything good, including human beings (Gen 1:31). Human and demonic rebellion may have marred what God has created, but it has not undone His purposes for His world. He will remake human nature not only into something that may not sin, but ultimately that cannot sin.
And it reemphasizes the importance of the image of God for our view of human nature. One approach to undermining the dignity of all human life is to find a basis for human personhood not related to the image of God. But that is not an approach that any Bible-believing Christian can take. The image is so important to God that He describes salvation as its restoration, not just in one or two passages, but throughout the New Testament. Christians need to keep God's image front-and-center in our understanding of human beings. It is that important to God.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Five Questions for Evaluating Spiritual Growth
In his book Nine Marks of a Healthy Church, Mark Dever shares five questions he asks when he visits with members of his church to help evaluate their spiritual growth (p. 212). We discussed these questions during an adult Sunday School class this morning, and it was a fruitful discussion. So I am posting them here as well.
- In what particular way have you grown in your understanding of the Christian life since we last met?
- In what particular way have you grown in your practice of the Christian life since we last met?
- In what particular way do you feel that you need instruction?
- In what particular way are you disappointed in your own pursuit of holiness?
- How specifically can I pray for you?
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Catching up
We were sitting in a booth at a local diner, drinking coffee and catching up.
"I noticed you haven't posted anything at your blog in a while," he said. "You know, you might find it easier to build your readership if you actually wrote something."
I grimaced. "I know." I stared out the window for a moment and sighed. "The whole idea was to post once or twice a week with my reflections on theology, ministry, really whatever I was spending my time thinking about. But with all that has happened in the last few weeks..." I shrugged. "I haven't really known what to write."
"Why? What's going on?"
"You haven't heard?" His forehead furrowed as he slowly shook his head. "Oh boy." I sighed again. "There's no easy way to say it. I've submitted my resignation at Bethel."
His shoulders slumped. "I knew it wasn't going well. But I had hoped it wouldn't come to this."
"Yeah." The waitress came by and refilled our coffee. I took my time stirring in milk and sweetener. "The church wasn't healthy when I got here. It's very tempting, and it would be very easy, to blame things on everyone else. But the last few weeks have given me a lot of opportunities to do some self-examination, some self-questioning. And I've realized that you can be right, but still be wrong."
"What do you mean? You think it was your fault?"
"Sort of. Not exactly." I leaned forward over my coffee cup. "I have no regrets about the decisions or changes we made. Our values and convictions come right out of Scripture. The congregation is hooked on expository preaching now. We've seen people grow in their faith, and several people have started following Christ in the last couple of years. But I can look back and see relationships I should have handled differently, or people I should have made more of an effort with, or how I could have taken a different tone or attitude. I didn't always help myself."
He looked thoughtful. "It sounds like God has been doing some work on you too." He grinned. "Maybe you could have blogged about that."
"Maybe I still will." I smiled. "But it's not an online diary. I needed some time to think and pray. And really I'm still processing things. Add to it that my family doesn't yet know where we're headed... There's been a lot going on lately. But it was time to go. My wife and I had already decided that. We wanted to take things in one direction, and many in the church wanted to go in another. So this is best."
"You'll keep me posted on what happens next, right?"
"As soon as there's something to tell." We both took a drink of coffee. "Did you fill out your brackets this year?" He laughed, and the conversation turned to other things.
"I noticed you haven't posted anything at your blog in a while," he said. "You know, you might find it easier to build your readership if you actually wrote something."
I grimaced. "I know." I stared out the window for a moment and sighed. "The whole idea was to post once or twice a week with my reflections on theology, ministry, really whatever I was spending my time thinking about. But with all that has happened in the last few weeks..." I shrugged. "I haven't really known what to write."
"Why? What's going on?"
"You haven't heard?" His forehead furrowed as he slowly shook his head. "Oh boy." I sighed again. "There's no easy way to say it. I've submitted my resignation at Bethel."
His shoulders slumped. "I knew it wasn't going well. But I had hoped it wouldn't come to this."
"Yeah." The waitress came by and refilled our coffee. I took my time stirring in milk and sweetener. "The church wasn't healthy when I got here. It's very tempting, and it would be very easy, to blame things on everyone else. But the last few weeks have given me a lot of opportunities to do some self-examination, some self-questioning. And I've realized that you can be right, but still be wrong."
"What do you mean? You think it was your fault?"
"Sort of. Not exactly." I leaned forward over my coffee cup. "I have no regrets about the decisions or changes we made. Our values and convictions come right out of Scripture. The congregation is hooked on expository preaching now. We've seen people grow in their faith, and several people have started following Christ in the last couple of years. But I can look back and see relationships I should have handled differently, or people I should have made more of an effort with, or how I could have taken a different tone or attitude. I didn't always help myself."
He looked thoughtful. "It sounds like God has been doing some work on you too." He grinned. "Maybe you could have blogged about that."
"Maybe I still will." I smiled. "But it's not an online diary. I needed some time to think and pray. And really I'm still processing things. Add to it that my family doesn't yet know where we're headed... There's been a lot going on lately. But it was time to go. My wife and I had already decided that. We wanted to take things in one direction, and many in the church wanted to go in another. So this is best."
"You'll keep me posted on what happens next, right?"
"As soon as there's something to tell." We both took a drink of coffee. "Did you fill out your brackets this year?" He laughed, and the conversation turned to other things.
Friday, January 23, 2009
Created in the image of God
Picking up on a line of thought from an earlier post, I intend to explore a little more of what it means to be created in God's image.
Those who believe the truthfulness of Scripture must affirm that every human being reflects or "images" who God is, more than any other kind of created being. We bear His image structurally -- it is "hardwired" into what it means to be human -- and can be seen in our faculties to reason, choose, emote, form relationships, make covenants, work, and create. And before humankind rebelled against God's rule and fell under His curse, we bore His image functionally -- we reflected God not only in what we could do but also in how we did it. Human beings were created good; when God created humans He called His creation very good (Gen 1:31).
When Adam and Eve rebelled against God and came under the curse (Gen 3:16-19), the image of God remained, but it was damaged in us. The image is retained in its structural sense -- human beings still have the faculties we had before. But the functional image has been lost. We are not capable of doing the good we ought; we do not live and use our abilities in the God-worshiping, neighbor-loving way that we were created for (Ps 143:2; Isa 64:6; Rom 3:9-20). We could describe it this way: Human beings are like mirrors, created to reflect who God is. But through our sin we have struck the mirror in its center so that it is cracked and broken. It still reflects. But what it reflects is now distorted, the image ruined.
The fact that the image of God remains provides a strong basis for human rights and inherent human dignity. This account of human being also explains better than any other how we can see such great good and great evil at the same time in humanity. We are bearers of the image of the Creator, more like Him than anything else in the universe, and are therefore capable of brilliant accomplishments in the arts and sciences. We carry the image of the Holy One, of whom the seraphim cry out, "Holy, Holy, Holy" (Isa 6:3), who calls Himself Love (I Jn 4:8), and are therefore capable of extraordinary acts of kindness and self-sacrifice. But we are broken and shattered as well, and therefore capable of taking science and destroying life with it, of taking the arts and profaning truth and beauty with it, of acting in extraordinarily cruel and selfish ways.
If we are to bear His image properly once again, we will need to be remade. And broken artifacts do not repair themselves. If human beings are to become all of which we are capable, then we will need to learn to look outside of ourselves toward the One who made us.
Those who believe the truthfulness of Scripture must affirm that every human being reflects or "images" who God is, more than any other kind of created being. We bear His image structurally -- it is "hardwired" into what it means to be human -- and can be seen in our faculties to reason, choose, emote, form relationships, make covenants, work, and create. And before humankind rebelled against God's rule and fell under His curse, we bore His image functionally -- we reflected God not only in what we could do but also in how we did it. Human beings were created good; when God created humans He called His creation very good (Gen 1:31).
When Adam and Eve rebelled against God and came under the curse (Gen 3:16-19), the image of God remained, but it was damaged in us. The image is retained in its structural sense -- human beings still have the faculties we had before. But the functional image has been lost. We are not capable of doing the good we ought; we do not live and use our abilities in the God-worshiping, neighbor-loving way that we were created for (Ps 143:2; Isa 64:6; Rom 3:9-20). We could describe it this way: Human beings are like mirrors, created to reflect who God is. But through our sin we have struck the mirror in its center so that it is cracked and broken. It still reflects. But what it reflects is now distorted, the image ruined.
The fact that the image of God remains provides a strong basis for human rights and inherent human dignity. This account of human being also explains better than any other how we can see such great good and great evil at the same time in humanity. We are bearers of the image of the Creator, more like Him than anything else in the universe, and are therefore capable of brilliant accomplishments in the arts and sciences. We carry the image of the Holy One, of whom the seraphim cry out, "Holy, Holy, Holy" (Isa 6:3), who calls Himself Love (I Jn 4:8), and are therefore capable of extraordinary acts of kindness and self-sacrifice. But we are broken and shattered as well, and therefore capable of taking science and destroying life with it, of taking the arts and profaning truth and beauty with it, of acting in extraordinarily cruel and selfish ways.
If we are to bear His image properly once again, we will need to be remade. And broken artifacts do not repair themselves. If human beings are to become all of which we are capable, then we will need to learn to look outside of ourselves toward the One who made us.
The image of God and the unborn
Many churches across the U. S. observe Sanctity of Life Sunday each year. Typically a Sunday is selected near the date when Roe v. Wade was handed down. Our congregation observed Sanctity of Life Sunday on January 18th; other churches will observe it this Sunday, the 25th. We mourn the death of nearly 50 million children since 1973 because of abortion. We pray for our society to repent. We call our congregations to give their time and their resources to aid mothers facing crisis pregnancies and their unborn children.
Why observe the Sanctity of Life each year? Why does the status of the unborn trouble so many Christians? The answers are rooted in the Bible's teaching about the image of God. The repeated teaching of Scripture is that every human being is created in the image of God (Gen 1:26-28; Gen 5:1-3; Gen 9:6; Ps 8; Jas 3:9-10). Whole books have been written on what that means (especially this excellent book by Anthony Hoekema, Created in God's Image).
Those who believe the truthfulness of Scripture must affirm that every human being reflects or "images" who God is, more than any other kind of created being. As such, any assault on this image is an assault on God Himself (Gen 9:6; Jas 3:9-10). This reality provides the soil in which inherent human dignity grows. It is the basis for human rights and the sanctity of all human life.
In another post, I will explore a little further what the image of God means. But in thinking about the Sanctity of Life, I want to go in another direction for now. Every human being "images" God. In this respect we are unique in the created order. Image-bearing is part and parcel of what it means to be a human being. Everywhere the creature called homo sapiens is present, there the image of God is present.
That includes those members of homo sapiens who are still in the womb. From the moment of conception, the type of biological being that has been brought into existence is a human being. The DNA that is present is human DNA. Given time, protection, and nutrition, the human zygote becomes a human blastocyst, which becomes a human embryo, which becomes a human fetus, which in fact is a human infant located inside the womb. What kind of being are we talking about? A human being. The stage of development or level of viability does not change the biological reality that the being is human. And where there is human being, there is the image of God. And where there is the image of God, there is life with inherent dignity, worthy of respect and justice.
The way that God relates to the unborn in Scripture confirms their humanity and dignity. In Psalm 139, David describes God's complete knowledge of him and the intimacy of their relationship. He includes these words: "For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb... Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there were none of them" (vs. 13, 16). Exodus 21:22-25, properly understood, showcases God's equal concern for unborn children and their mothers (see this helpful article regarding the ways this passage is misused to justify abortion). The Spirit of God rested on John the Baptist even in his mother's womb (Luke 1:15, 41-44).
From the moment of conception, the image of God is present. The unborn are fully human, fully image bearers, and therefore fully worthy of respect and justice. Abortion is therefore the taking of human life. Legalized abortion is therefore an assault on human dignity. If the God of the Bible is a God of mercy and justice who cares for the alien, the fatherless, and the widow -- the Bible's shorthand for those people in human society who lack power and resources to defend themselves and seek justice -- if that is what God is like, then that is what His people should be like as well (Exod 22:21-24; Deut 10:16-20; Ps 10:17-18; Ps 82:3-4; Isa 1:16-17; Matt 25:31-46; Jas 1:27).
And that means that Christians must defend the cause of the unborn. And that means that as long as the destruction of unborn human life is legal and is considered a moral, acceptable course of action, our churches need to observe Sanctity of Life Sunday.
Why observe the Sanctity of Life each year? Why does the status of the unborn trouble so many Christians? The answers are rooted in the Bible's teaching about the image of God. The repeated teaching of Scripture is that every human being is created in the image of God (Gen 1:26-28; Gen 5:1-3; Gen 9:6; Ps 8; Jas 3:9-10). Whole books have been written on what that means (especially this excellent book by Anthony Hoekema, Created in God's Image).
Those who believe the truthfulness of Scripture must affirm that every human being reflects or "images" who God is, more than any other kind of created being. As such, any assault on this image is an assault on God Himself (Gen 9:6; Jas 3:9-10). This reality provides the soil in which inherent human dignity grows. It is the basis for human rights and the sanctity of all human life.
In another post, I will explore a little further what the image of God means. But in thinking about the Sanctity of Life, I want to go in another direction for now. Every human being "images" God. In this respect we are unique in the created order. Image-bearing is part and parcel of what it means to be a human being. Everywhere the creature called homo sapiens is present, there the image of God is present.
That includes those members of homo sapiens who are still in the womb. From the moment of conception, the type of biological being that has been brought into existence is a human being. The DNA that is present is human DNA. Given time, protection, and nutrition, the human zygote becomes a human blastocyst, which becomes a human embryo, which becomes a human fetus, which in fact is a human infant located inside the womb. What kind of being are we talking about? A human being. The stage of development or level of viability does not change the biological reality that the being is human. And where there is human being, there is the image of God. And where there is the image of God, there is life with inherent dignity, worthy of respect and justice.
The way that God relates to the unborn in Scripture confirms their humanity and dignity. In Psalm 139, David describes God's complete knowledge of him and the intimacy of their relationship. He includes these words: "For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb... Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there were none of them" (vs. 13, 16). Exodus 21:22-25, properly understood, showcases God's equal concern for unborn children and their mothers (see this helpful article regarding the ways this passage is misused to justify abortion). The Spirit of God rested on John the Baptist even in his mother's womb (Luke 1:15, 41-44).
From the moment of conception, the image of God is present. The unborn are fully human, fully image bearers, and therefore fully worthy of respect and justice. Abortion is therefore the taking of human life. Legalized abortion is therefore an assault on human dignity. If the God of the Bible is a God of mercy and justice who cares for the alien, the fatherless, and the widow -- the Bible's shorthand for those people in human society who lack power and resources to defend themselves and seek justice -- if that is what God is like, then that is what His people should be like as well (Exod 22:21-24; Deut 10:16-20; Ps 10:17-18; Ps 82:3-4; Isa 1:16-17; Matt 25:31-46; Jas 1:27).
And that means that Christians must defend the cause of the unborn. And that means that as long as the destruction of unborn human life is legal and is considered a moral, acceptable course of action, our churches need to observe Sanctity of Life Sunday.
Friday, January 16, 2009
Death be not proud
Death be not proud, though some have called thee
Mighty and dreadful, for thou art not so,
For those whom thou think'st thou dost overthrow,
Die not, poor death, nor yet canst thou kill me.
From rest and sleep, which but thy pictures be,
Much pleasure, then from thee much more must flow,
And soonest our best men with thee do goe,
Rest of their bones, and souls' delivery.
Thou art slave to fate, chance, kings, and desperate men,
And dost with poison, war, and sickness dwell,
And poppy or charms can make us sleep as well,
And better then thy stroke; why swell'st thou then?
One short sleep past, we wake eternally,
And death shall be no more; death, thou shalt die.
John Donne, Holy Sonnet X
Tomorrow morning I will put the body of a dear friend in the ground. Tomorrow morning I will help a man say goodbye to his wife, children say goodbye to their mother, grandchildren say goodbye to the woman they called Grandma. It will be a holy moment. I am honored to have any part to play in this funeral at all.
Helen lived 84 years on this earth. As I hear the stories about her life, as I gather the facts so that I can deliver the eulogy, I can only conclude that she is a remarkable woman. I use "is" on purpose -- Helen's soul may have been torn from her body by death, but she lives still in the presence of her Savior. She is remarkable. Married 63 years to the same man. Mother to two children biologically and to 23 foster children, two of whom came permanently into her home and were embraced into her family as her own. Faithful servant and woman of prayer. A baker of legendary lemon meringue pies.
I never got to know that Helen. When I met her almost three years ago, Alzheimer's had already gripped her body and mind. But some things run deeper than a disease can reach. Her joy, her stubbornness, her generosity were all plain to see. After six months here, my wife and I realized that Helen was one of our best friends. From her we received an unconditional love that far too often is missing from our churches.
Watching her decline was horrible. For the past few months, we could only pray that God would be merciful to her. Last Saturday, they thought she had a kidney infection. On Sunday her kidneys failed. Early Tuesday morning she was finally at peace. But now her family and friends have to learn to go on living without her.
I hate death. I loathe it with a passion I cannot convey through this keyboard. It is a visceral hatred that only intensifies upon further reflection. My only consolation is that God hates it even more than I do, and that one day Christ will conquer the last enemy and throw it into a lake of fire (I Cor 15:26; Rev 20:14). One day I will see Helen again, and her body will not be wracked by age nor her mind eroded by disease. She will be fully alive, her soul aflame with the joy of seeing her risen, triumphant, glorious Lord.
John Donne was not a Puritan. But his poetry speaks to my soul, and Holy Sonnet X expresses my feelings about death as well as any non-inspired writing. It is of some comfort to think on these words: "Death, thou shalt die."
Tomorrow morning I will put the body of a dear friend in the ground. Tomorrow morning I will help a man say goodbye to his wife, children say goodbye to their mother, grandchildren say goodbye to the woman they called Grandma. It will be a holy moment. I am honored to have any part to play in this funeral at all.
Helen lived 84 years on this earth. As I hear the stories about her life, as I gather the facts so that I can deliver the eulogy, I can only conclude that she is a remarkable woman. I use "is" on purpose -- Helen's soul may have been torn from her body by death, but she lives still in the presence of her Savior. She is remarkable. Married 63 years to the same man. Mother to two children biologically and to 23 foster children, two of whom came permanently into her home and were embraced into her family as her own. Faithful servant and woman of prayer. A baker of legendary lemon meringue pies.
I never got to know that Helen. When I met her almost three years ago, Alzheimer's had already gripped her body and mind. But some things run deeper than a disease can reach. Her joy, her stubbornness, her generosity were all plain to see. After six months here, my wife and I realized that Helen was one of our best friends. From her we received an unconditional love that far too often is missing from our churches.
Watching her decline was horrible. For the past few months, we could only pray that God would be merciful to her. Last Saturday, they thought she had a kidney infection. On Sunday her kidneys failed. Early Tuesday morning she was finally at peace. But now her family and friends have to learn to go on living without her.
I hate death. I loathe it with a passion I cannot convey through this keyboard. It is a visceral hatred that only intensifies upon further reflection. My only consolation is that God hates it even more than I do, and that one day Christ will conquer the last enemy and throw it into a lake of fire (I Cor 15:26; Rev 20:14). One day I will see Helen again, and her body will not be wracked by age nor her mind eroded by disease. She will be fully alive, her soul aflame with the joy of seeing her risen, triumphant, glorious Lord.
John Donne was not a Puritan. But his poetry speaks to my soul, and Holy Sonnet X expresses my feelings about death as well as any non-inspired writing. It is of some comfort to think on these words: "Death, thou shalt die."
Thursday, January 8, 2009
An unexpected time of rest
I should probably provide some explanation as to why it has been so long since I have posted...
The week of Christmas is always extra busy, all the more so this year because my family was out-of-town December 27th to January 3rd to visit family in South Carolina and Florida. Although the pulpit at Bethel was filled for 12/28, it was not filled for 1/4. So I spent the short week before Christmas preparing for my sermon on 1/4, planning the Christmas Eve services at Bethel, and holding some unexpected meetings with volunteers that were difficult but ultimately helpful. Christmas morning came as quite a relief for the opportunity to rest (my daughter is not yet two years old, so the idea of getting up before the sun to open gifts has not yet possessed her).
Our roadtrip to the South, as happens with most such trips, was a mix of good times and frustrating times. While on the road, I thought about what to post when we got back. In particular, I wanted to find a clever way to use barbecue -- real barbecue cooked slowly over low heat with smoke for superior flavor -- to illustrate some deep theological point.
We were back on Staten Island on Saturday night. We worshiped at Bethel on Sunday. On Monday night, my daughter came down with stomach flu. On Tuesday evening I did. So far my wife has not contracted it. But even though I have continued to do some reading and study from home, any grander plans have been scuttled for now. Instead much of the week has been an unexpected time of rest, with the high point being the introduction of Jell-o into my diet to supplement Gatorade, unsalted crackers, and toast.
I would write about how the stomach flu has deepened my appreciation of food and drink as gifts from God, or how much more I anticipate the return of Christ and the new body that I will receive then. But honestly my faith has been much more focused on asking God to provide swift healing and endurance, and on seeking to keep Christ as my joy and treasure despite how I feel physically. Sometimes when you are sick, that is as profound as you can get.
The week of Christmas is always extra busy, all the more so this year because my family was out-of-town December 27th to January 3rd to visit family in South Carolina and Florida. Although the pulpit at Bethel was filled for 12/28, it was not filled for 1/4. So I spent the short week before Christmas preparing for my sermon on 1/4, planning the Christmas Eve services at Bethel, and holding some unexpected meetings with volunteers that were difficult but ultimately helpful. Christmas morning came as quite a relief for the opportunity to rest (my daughter is not yet two years old, so the idea of getting up before the sun to open gifts has not yet possessed her).
Our roadtrip to the South, as happens with most such trips, was a mix of good times and frustrating times. While on the road, I thought about what to post when we got back. In particular, I wanted to find a clever way to use barbecue -- real barbecue cooked slowly over low heat with smoke for superior flavor -- to illustrate some deep theological point.
We were back on Staten Island on Saturday night. We worshiped at Bethel on Sunday. On Monday night, my daughter came down with stomach flu. On Tuesday evening I did. So far my wife has not contracted it. But even though I have continued to do some reading and study from home, any grander plans have been scuttled for now. Instead much of the week has been an unexpected time of rest, with the high point being the introduction of Jell-o into my diet to supplement Gatorade, unsalted crackers, and toast.
I would write about how the stomach flu has deepened my appreciation of food and drink as gifts from God, or how much more I anticipate the return of Christ and the new body that I will receive then. But honestly my faith has been much more focused on asking God to provide swift healing and endurance, and on seeking to keep Christ as my joy and treasure despite how I feel physically. Sometimes when you are sick, that is as profound as you can get.
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