As a child, I knew that a phobia was an irrational fear. I knew of some common psychological disorders like Claustrophobia (confined spaces), and Arachnophobia (fear of spiders), as well as the irrational fear of heights, flying, and germs. With the release of the latest Time Magazine: “Is America Islamophobic?”, those who oppose the Ground Zero Mosque, Franklin Graham, myself and the majority of American citizens have been identified as fear mongers and closed minded bigots. The press has introduced us to a whole new category of phobias lately that vilify those with differing opinions.
This is nothing new to me. As a pastor I have been called a homophobe, because I believe that homosexual acts are a sin. I don’t have an irrational fear of people who are homosexual, and their behavior does not hinder my day to day activities at all, but the label is given, whether I am seeing a psychiatrist or not.
Is fear not a good thing to have? In fact, rational fear is a very good thing, because it can save your life! Don’t we want our kids to fear being run over by a car when crossing a busy street? Fear of the Nile Crocodile is a good thing to have if the Nile River is your primary source of water. Fear of the growing radicalization of Islam is not irrational at all. For those families who are mourning their loved ones in New York, or thousands of other places around the world, where terrorists have achieved their objective, fear is not only rational- it is the very objective of the violence! If you were a 14 year old Pakistani girl, who’s best friend lost her eyes, nose and ears from an acid attack because she said "no" to a marriage proposal, would your fear of saying no to a proposal be irrational? If you lived in Poland in 1938 and your neighbors were disappearing would your fear of Nazi’s be irrational?
New terms have been created that are intended to silence people with legitimate concerns, and in an ironic twist, used to label those who voice opposition as fear mongers. Are all our new security measures that we are hassled with at airports, ferries, and sports events due to irrational fears too? The fact that our national security administration has shrunk back from naming Radical Islam as the primary danger does not negate the rational response. Am I an abortionphobe because I oppose abortion or a broccoliphobe because I don’t like that vegetable?
Airport security has the approval of the press to calculate risk and thereby protect the public from terrorists. But they would become "islamophobic profilers" if they were to focus on certain characteristics that identify those terrorists, such as an Terrorist harboring country of origin or one who faithfully attends the Dar Al Hijrah Islamic Center in Falls Church, Virginia, because that would be totally irrational. Instead of the identifying the mosque as the learning center for two pilots of 9/11 and the Fort Hood Shooter, they print quotes like these: “We at Dar Al-Hijrah Islamic Center reiterate our condemnation of this brutal murder. We continue to send our condolences and prayers for the recovery of all the families and victims of this godless act.” and “Dar Al-Hijrah Islamic Center is one of the largest and diverse Islamic Centers in the nation. We are committed to serve the community as a place of worship, education and social services.”
The greatest irony of all is that when Radical Islam succeeds in their goal of instilling terror into their enemies, their allies, the American press, identifies the real threat to the American ideal: Islamophobes. I think I am developing PhobiaNovusPhobia. (Fear of New phobias)
Monday, August 23, 2010
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Getting More out of the Bible
I was recently asked “how can I get more out of scripture when I read it.” Like a meteorologist gets more out of looking at the sky than the average person because of their training, we too, with some simple disciplines can get more out of scripture than first meets the eye. So I am going to do a few blogs on the subject.. First installment- Look for word repetition and patterns in scripture. Word repetition can occur in Books of the Bible, as well as a single teaching within a book. Word repetition in scripture is sort of like underlining something or using bold print when we take notes- it provides and emphasis to something that is important. Take for example John 15:1-8 (NIV)
The Vine and the Branches
15 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. 3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4 Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. 7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. 8 This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
a The Greek for prunes also means cleans.
I have made a word construction from three different words that are repeated in the teaching. In this text you can easily identify Branch, Vine and Fruit and repeated words. Identify how these words are used in conjunction with the rest and the passage comes alive. If therefore you understand the importance of these three words, you will understand the text more fully and it’s implications in your own life. You can apply this principle to almost every passage you study.
The Vine and the Branches
15 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. 3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4 Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. 7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. 8 This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
a The Greek for prunes also means cleans.
I have made a word construction from three different words that are repeated in the teaching. In this text you can easily identify Branch, Vine and Fruit and repeated words. Identify how these words are used in conjunction with the rest and the passage comes alive. If therefore you understand the importance of these three words, you will understand the text more fully and it’s implications in your own life. You can apply this principle to almost every passage you study.
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Crying Over Spilled Oil
The daily news stories of the catastrophic oil spill in the Gulf is cause for great frustration, anger and sadness in me. Accidents happen every day. Plenty of well intentioned people cause harm to others when bad circumstances come together. My frustration in this debacle is that no one is pulling out all the stops to stop this river of oil, conveniently called "a leak" from polluting what God has put us in charge of! Instead of making every effort to clean it up, the politicians seem more interested in how they can spin it for their advantage.
The president has used it as a platform to stop oil drilling in the Gulf, and for the global warming (pardon me, the climate change)agenda. Conservatives seem content to use the poor management of the situation as a whipping stick on the current administration. Oil companies have spent a lot of advertising dollars to reassure us how much they care about the environment. BP, despite it's incompetence, continues to tell us that they are doing everything they can.
Meanwhile, millions of people's livelihoods and likely billions of God's creatures are being wrecked every day. We came up with the technology to put men on the moon 40 years ago, but we can't seem to coordinate our efforts well enough to plug this hole?! I am not a rocket scientist, but has anyone thought of dropping a huge cement block over the thing? It is a sin against God and his wondrous creation, and people are treating it as a political opportunity. I weep along with the creation and those poor folks who live in the Gulf region.
I am appealing to a greater power- Dear Lord, please provide us with someone with the authority, means, and intelligence who can take charge and stop this flow of oil. And Lord, please help them get past the politicians to get it done soon. Amen.
The president has used it as a platform to stop oil drilling in the Gulf, and for the global warming (pardon me, the climate change)agenda. Conservatives seem content to use the poor management of the situation as a whipping stick on the current administration. Oil companies have spent a lot of advertising dollars to reassure us how much they care about the environment. BP, despite it's incompetence, continues to tell us that they are doing everything they can.
Meanwhile, millions of people's livelihoods and likely billions of God's creatures are being wrecked every day. We came up with the technology to put men on the moon 40 years ago, but we can't seem to coordinate our efforts well enough to plug this hole?! I am not a rocket scientist, but has anyone thought of dropping a huge cement block over the thing? It is a sin against God and his wondrous creation, and people are treating it as a political opportunity. I weep along with the creation and those poor folks who live in the Gulf region.
I am appealing to a greater power- Dear Lord, please provide us with someone with the authority, means, and intelligence who can take charge and stop this flow of oil. And Lord, please help them get past the politicians to get it done soon. Amen.
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Hebrew made simple
Comprehending the Bible can be a challenge, but with a little attention you can identify some trends in the Bible that will help you get more out of God's word.For example: The place BETH-EL: A town on the border of the territory of Ephraim (Josh. 16:1–4), at an important road junction 11 miles north of Jerusalem. Abraham built an altar there, Jacob had a dream there (Gen. 28:10–22), and named it Bethel:
House (Beth) of God (El)- which is the meaning of the Hebrew name. We also find Beth in Bethlehem (house of bread), Bethesda (House of grace) and Bethshan (house of quiet). Maybe when all my children leave the home some day it will become Bethshan!
You might recognize the similar el prefix or suffix in other Hebrew words like Immanuel(God with us), Elijah (Jehovah is God), and Israel (He struggles with God)- The name given to Jacob when he struggled with God.
Now that you know that el means God, and Beth means house, you will recognize them in hundreds of texts.
House (Beth) of God (El)- which is the meaning of the Hebrew name. We also find Beth in Bethlehem (house of bread), Bethesda (House of grace) and Bethshan (house of quiet). Maybe when all my children leave the home some day it will become Bethshan!
You might recognize the similar el prefix or suffix in other Hebrew words like Immanuel(God with us), Elijah (Jehovah is God), and Israel (He struggles with God)- The name given to Jacob when he struggled with God.
Now that you know that el means God, and Beth means house, you will recognize them in hundreds of texts.
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Faith Resurrected
Jesus’ disciples suffered martyrdom for their convictions, but other religious people also demonstrate changed lives because of their religious beliefs. Many have willingly given their lives for their faith: Muslims; followers of various religious teachers and political ideologies have inspired life changes and even martyrdom. But transformed lives, whether the disciples or others, does not prove that what they believe is true- It only proves that those who are willing to suffer and die for their religious commitments truly believe them to be true. Is there a difference then between the two?
In general, people committed to a religious or political message really believe it to be true. But belief in something does not make it true. Like other examples of religious or political faith, the disciples believed and followed their leader’s teachings. But unlike all others, the disciples had more than just their beliefs—they had seen the resurrected Jesus. This is a crucial distinction; their faith was true precisely because of the resurrection. Their doubts are well documented in the scriptures, until they witnessed the resurrected Jesus.
Think about it. Which is more likely—that an ideology we believe in is true, or that I and a number of others saw my wife Amy several times during the last month? If eternity rested on our conviction, would we rather base our assurance on the truth of a particular religious or political view, or would we rather have that faith confirmed with repeated cases of seeing someone? Hundreds of people witnessed that Amy was here, in the last month, as hundreds witnessed Jesus after the resurrection.
Unlike the world’s faiths, which rest on certain beliefs being true, the disciples both heard the unique teachings of Jesus, his many miracles and him after being dead and buried! Jesus was the only founder of a major world religion who had miracles reported of Him in reliable sources within a few decades. But most of all, He confirmed His message by rising from the dead. The disciples, both individuals and groups, saw Him repeatedly. Even two skeptics—James the brother of Jesus and Saul of Tarsus (Paul)—witnessed the resurrected Jesus.
No wonder the disciples were willing to die for their faith!
In general, people committed to a religious or political message really believe it to be true. But belief in something does not make it true. Like other examples of religious or political faith, the disciples believed and followed their leader’s teachings. But unlike all others, the disciples had more than just their beliefs—they had seen the resurrected Jesus. This is a crucial distinction; their faith was true precisely because of the resurrection. Their doubts are well documented in the scriptures, until they witnessed the resurrected Jesus.
Think about it. Which is more likely—that an ideology we believe in is true, or that I and a number of others saw my wife Amy several times during the last month? If eternity rested on our conviction, would we rather base our assurance on the truth of a particular religious or political view, or would we rather have that faith confirmed with repeated cases of seeing someone? Hundreds of people witnessed that Amy was here, in the last month, as hundreds witnessed Jesus after the resurrection.
Unlike the world’s faiths, which rest on certain beliefs being true, the disciples both heard the unique teachings of Jesus, his many miracles and him after being dead and buried! Jesus was the only founder of a major world religion who had miracles reported of Him in reliable sources within a few decades. But most of all, He confirmed His message by rising from the dead. The disciples, both individuals and groups, saw Him repeatedly. Even two skeptics—James the brother of Jesus and Saul of Tarsus (Paul)—witnessed the resurrected Jesus.
No wonder the disciples were willing to die for their faith!
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Abortion- A Wide Long View
Whether it be a part of health care legislation, a matter of law (Roe vs. Wade in America) or a conversation about an “unwanted” pregnancy, it is especially important that Christians are aware of our tradition, and what the Bible teaches about abortion. Abortion has been practiced throughout the world from ancient times, but the fear of death and lack of access to physicians who performed “safe” abortions placed natural limitations on the procedure. In classical paganism, abortion and euthanasia was common and widely approved. The performing of abortions and doing harm was specifically prohibited for physicians who had taken the Hippocratic Oath (4th Century BC and thereafter). This oath to the gods was a step towards saving human life and not performing abortions, but those who lived by this law were the exception. One of the great triumphs of the growth of Christianity in the western world was to greatly diminish the practice of abortion and infanticide in those parts of the world.
Christianity gave the pro-life movement another dimension as the church of Jesus Christ swept through the Roman world, setting standards in medicine, culture, and public policy. Christianity had this effect because what the Bible teaches about human life. If you look for “abortion” in a concordance you won’t find it, as that term was not used by the people of that day, but scripture is not silent on the subject. The biblical foundations for prohibition on induced abortion are found in the doctrines of creation and incarnation. The starting point for a biblical understanding of human nature is the truth that human beings are created in God’s image (imago Dei). It is clear from Genesis 1:26–27 that human beings are distinguished from all other creatures (kinds), by our bearing the likeness of our Maker. The image applies to Jew and Gentile, religious and irreligious, young and old. The issue here is not complex. If someone is human, that person bears the divine image and his or her life is sacred. It’s genetic. With the recognition that human life is sacred, the scriptures guide our actions. This foundation underlies the commandment “Do not murder” (Ex 20:13) and provides a straightforward response to abortion, because it applies to all human beings, from the beginning of life to its end. “Whoever sheds man’s blood, his blood shall be shed by man, for God made man in His image.”) This teaching is also of central importance in the use of human embryos for research and cloning. There is only one logical position one can take from the scriptures: those who are human are made in the divine image and should not be murdered. The main argument against this truth comes in the debate of when a human life begins.
That is where the doctrine of the incarnation comes in. When we celebrate Christmas, we remember that the incarnation of the Son of God, the second Person of the Trinity, took human form and did so from the beginning of human biological existence. He did not just come as a man. The incarnation began with conception. Mary was told by the angel that she would conceive by a miracle, the human life of the Son of God. Shortly afterward she visited Elizabeth, where John the Baptist’s first testimony to his kinsman and Lord is given. As a six month fetus, he leaped in his mother’s womb at the presence of the days-old embryonic Jesus (Lk 1:39–45). With the theological foundations of imago Dei, and the incarnation, the many references to unborn life in the prophets, Job, and especially Psalms (particularly Psalm 139) take on powerful significance.
For this reason, cultures that have remained Christian have a reverence for God, and laws by church and state that prevent the large scale practice of abortion. Many of these laws prohibiting abortion have since been abolished, even in Christianized nations. The influence of the church held fast in the western world until naturalist philosophy, and Darwinian evolution theory displaced the predominant Christian view of man. The devaluing of human life with naturalism and atheism has set the stage for the practice of abortion to re-emerge on a grand scale. In the last 40 years the United States, Canada, Britain, France, Switzerland, Denmark, Hungary, Romania, Italy, and Australia have legalized abortion. Add this to the nations where it is already legal like Russia and China, the world’s abortion leaders, and you have a worldwide abortion rate that is greater than any point in history.
The combination of modern medicine’s advanced abortion procedures, the decline of Christian influence, and the legalization and accessibility of abortion in more countries is yielding an estimated 42 million aborted babies per year worldwide. Nations who maintain a predominantly Christian influence are the world leaders in low abortion statistics and they all have laws against it. Like the physicians who originally took the Hippocratic Oath, Christians find themselves going against the cultural current of the world. If we are to change this grievous trend in our own country and the world it will be through the spread of Christianity and the reestablishment of the biblical teaching of the sanctity of human life. When nations recognize the authority of our creator and God’s word, rather than men’s, the culture and public policy will change.
Christianity gave the pro-life movement another dimension as the church of Jesus Christ swept through the Roman world, setting standards in medicine, culture, and public policy. Christianity had this effect because what the Bible teaches about human life. If you look for “abortion” in a concordance you won’t find it, as that term was not used by the people of that day, but scripture is not silent on the subject. The biblical foundations for prohibition on induced abortion are found in the doctrines of creation and incarnation. The starting point for a biblical understanding of human nature is the truth that human beings are created in God’s image (imago Dei). It is clear from Genesis 1:26–27 that human beings are distinguished from all other creatures (kinds), by our bearing the likeness of our Maker. The image applies to Jew and Gentile, religious and irreligious, young and old. The issue here is not complex. If someone is human, that person bears the divine image and his or her life is sacred. It’s genetic. With the recognition that human life is sacred, the scriptures guide our actions. This foundation underlies the commandment “Do not murder” (Ex 20:13) and provides a straightforward response to abortion, because it applies to all human beings, from the beginning of life to its end. “Whoever sheds man’s blood, his blood shall be shed by man, for God made man in His image.”) This teaching is also of central importance in the use of human embryos for research and cloning. There is only one logical position one can take from the scriptures: those who are human are made in the divine image and should not be murdered. The main argument against this truth comes in the debate of when a human life begins.
That is where the doctrine of the incarnation comes in. When we celebrate Christmas, we remember that the incarnation of the Son of God, the second Person of the Trinity, took human form and did so from the beginning of human biological existence. He did not just come as a man. The incarnation began with conception. Mary was told by the angel that she would conceive by a miracle, the human life of the Son of God. Shortly afterward she visited Elizabeth, where John the Baptist’s first testimony to his kinsman and Lord is given. As a six month fetus, he leaped in his mother’s womb at the presence of the days-old embryonic Jesus (Lk 1:39–45). With the theological foundations of imago Dei, and the incarnation, the many references to unborn life in the prophets, Job, and especially Psalms (particularly Psalm 139) take on powerful significance.
For this reason, cultures that have remained Christian have a reverence for God, and laws by church and state that prevent the large scale practice of abortion. Many of these laws prohibiting abortion have since been abolished, even in Christianized nations. The influence of the church held fast in the western world until naturalist philosophy, and Darwinian evolution theory displaced the predominant Christian view of man. The devaluing of human life with naturalism and atheism has set the stage for the practice of abortion to re-emerge on a grand scale. In the last 40 years the United States, Canada, Britain, France, Switzerland, Denmark, Hungary, Romania, Italy, and Australia have legalized abortion. Add this to the nations where it is already legal like Russia and China, the world’s abortion leaders, and you have a worldwide abortion rate that is greater than any point in history.
The combination of modern medicine’s advanced abortion procedures, the decline of Christian influence, and the legalization and accessibility of abortion in more countries is yielding an estimated 42 million aborted babies per year worldwide. Nations who maintain a predominantly Christian influence are the world leaders in low abortion statistics and they all have laws against it. Like the physicians who originally took the Hippocratic Oath, Christians find themselves going against the cultural current of the world. If we are to change this grievous trend in our own country and the world it will be through the spread of Christianity and the reestablishment of the biblical teaching of the sanctity of human life. When nations recognize the authority of our creator and God’s word, rather than men’s, the culture and public policy will change.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Where's God in the Earthquake?
Q. How do we explain the presence of God in the midst of tragic events such as earthquakes or tsunamis?
A. This question is another form of the common question: How can you reconcile the goodness of God with the presence of evil and suffering in the world? Libraries of books have been written on the subject, as this is a very common objection to the Christian faith. If the topic interests you, I recommend reading The Problem of Pain, by C.S Lewis, as he writes about this subject comprehensively in terms the average person can understand. But, rather than defer the question to someone else entirely, I will answer the question in summary: God is with us in the midst of all our trouble.
When a storm, any kind of storm, comes to our front door, humanity is quick to blame God for it. We demand an explanation from this “loving” God, who has wronged us. In essence we blame God for it, but should we? The Bible teaches that evil is not caused by God, but is the direct result of our rebellion against God. God does not keep us from adversity, but he does promise to be with us, amidst the suffering. Instead of blaming a God we don’t know for our pain, we have peace and hope from our creator and savior, both in this life and the life to come. If you think the answer leaves you short, consider the atheist’s position: People are condemned to live a life of pain that ends with death with no comfort or solution now or in the future.
A. This question is another form of the common question: How can you reconcile the goodness of God with the presence of evil and suffering in the world? Libraries of books have been written on the subject, as this is a very common objection to the Christian faith. If the topic interests you, I recommend reading The Problem of Pain, by C.S Lewis, as he writes about this subject comprehensively in terms the average person can understand. But, rather than defer the question to someone else entirely, I will answer the question in summary: God is with us in the midst of all our trouble.
When a storm, any kind of storm, comes to our front door, humanity is quick to blame God for it. We demand an explanation from this “loving” God, who has wronged us. In essence we blame God for it, but should we? The Bible teaches that evil is not caused by God, but is the direct result of our rebellion against God. God does not keep us from adversity, but he does promise to be with us, amidst the suffering. Instead of blaming a God we don’t know for our pain, we have peace and hope from our creator and savior, both in this life and the life to come. If you think the answer leaves you short, consider the atheist’s position: People are condemned to live a life of pain that ends with death with no comfort or solution now or in the future.
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
I've Been Hurt by the Church
I find myself having a the same conversation with a lot of different people about being hurt by the church. Sometimes it's members of my church, sometimes its from people sharing their story of another church.
As a pastor,I have no dissolutions about the church. And anyone who is a long standing member of Christ’s church will agree with me... Church life is a messy business. Life is messy, both inside and outside the church and the church doesn’t function very well much of the time. But, is this God's fault? It is, what it is, so let's not kid ourselves about the nature of the church and our sinful nature. There is nothing new under the sun. It was the same for Israel in the OT as it is for us today in the church. We hinder the work of God at every turn. So, what do we do when we find ourselves on the receiving end of the sin ledger?
We can complain, point fingers, make accusations, leave the church or a multitude of other things. But, what should we do? I think it is helpful to recall Christ’s words from the Sermon on the Mount: Matthew 5:12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. Who were they? The ones who persecuted the prophets? They were the people of Israel, not other nations. If we expect the church to be without sin and strife, the deception is just as great as us believing that we ourselves are without sin.
Praise God that our hope is not the church, our hope is Christ, in the church. The only redeeming thing about the church is that Christ is in it. Our hobbies, escapes, possessions, entertainments…etc can be redeemed by God, but they come to us spoiled, and don’t proclaim the good news of our salvation. His love does however, miraculously emerge from time to time, through faithful, God fearing saints, who by the grace of God have been nurtured in this same church. His love miraculously breaks through despite the dysfunctional, sin laden state of Christ’s body.
Christ's love may come from one person as a word of encouragement, or from another as a revelation of God’s truth that is heard above the fray. His love came through the people of Israel, despite their great sins, and God accomplished his work on the cross. And our great assurance is that he will also accomplish all his purposes through the church. It is truly a mystery, how God continues to use the church- his sinful children, to proclaim his truth. Oh that we would be more faithful in carrying it out.
It is sometimes easy to get into a weird kind of blame game in the church. I’ve observed it and I have been guilty of it. Our great adversary, the devil, works us from both sides. He assists us in sinning against one another, by breaking God’s commands, always taking more notice of someone elses sin than our own, and then he causes us to find fault in Christ’s “Church.” Satan two, God zero, just the way he likes it. We can break the cycle by being obedient to the Lord of the church, admitting and confessing our own sin, and forgiving others who have sinned against us. (Sounds like a familiar prayer we say together in church doesnt' it?)
None of us come to the church sinless. We all contribute to its current state. We only make it worse by becoming bitter or angry at “the church”. There are a lot of people in the world that have isolated themselves from Jesus, because of the failures of the people in the church. There are others who go from church to church looking for one that loves more pure. They find one…, for a time, until the honeymoon ends and discover that yes, this church is as bad, as the last.
Believers have to remember that it’s not Christ in the church that hurts us, but the sinful people in the church that cause such great harm. We must guard our hearts, and be careful to forgive and not become bitter, because we most certainly have hurt others in Christ’s church with our sins. Not only will the Lord reward us for this, but the church we attend will become one with love a bit more pure.
As a pastor,I have no dissolutions about the church. And anyone who is a long standing member of Christ’s church will agree with me... Church life is a messy business. Life is messy, both inside and outside the church and the church doesn’t function very well much of the time. But, is this God's fault? It is, what it is, so let's not kid ourselves about the nature of the church and our sinful nature. There is nothing new under the sun. It was the same for Israel in the OT as it is for us today in the church. We hinder the work of God at every turn. So, what do we do when we find ourselves on the receiving end of the sin ledger?
We can complain, point fingers, make accusations, leave the church or a multitude of other things. But, what should we do? I think it is helpful to recall Christ’s words from the Sermon on the Mount: Matthew 5:12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. Who were they? The ones who persecuted the prophets? They were the people of Israel, not other nations. If we expect the church to be without sin and strife, the deception is just as great as us believing that we ourselves are without sin.
Praise God that our hope is not the church, our hope is Christ, in the church. The only redeeming thing about the church is that Christ is in it. Our hobbies, escapes, possessions, entertainments…etc can be redeemed by God, but they come to us spoiled, and don’t proclaim the good news of our salvation. His love does however, miraculously emerge from time to time, through faithful, God fearing saints, who by the grace of God have been nurtured in this same church. His love miraculously breaks through despite the dysfunctional, sin laden state of Christ’s body.
Christ's love may come from one person as a word of encouragement, or from another as a revelation of God’s truth that is heard above the fray. His love came through the people of Israel, despite their great sins, and God accomplished his work on the cross. And our great assurance is that he will also accomplish all his purposes through the church. It is truly a mystery, how God continues to use the church- his sinful children, to proclaim his truth. Oh that we would be more faithful in carrying it out.
It is sometimes easy to get into a weird kind of blame game in the church. I’ve observed it and I have been guilty of it. Our great adversary, the devil, works us from both sides. He assists us in sinning against one another, by breaking God’s commands, always taking more notice of someone elses sin than our own, and then he causes us to find fault in Christ’s “Church.” Satan two, God zero, just the way he likes it. We can break the cycle by being obedient to the Lord of the church, admitting and confessing our own sin, and forgiving others who have sinned against us. (Sounds like a familiar prayer we say together in church doesnt' it?)
None of us come to the church sinless. We all contribute to its current state. We only make it worse by becoming bitter or angry at “the church”. There are a lot of people in the world that have isolated themselves from Jesus, because of the failures of the people in the church. There are others who go from church to church looking for one that loves more pure. They find one…, for a time, until the honeymoon ends and discover that yes, this church is as bad, as the last.
Believers have to remember that it’s not Christ in the church that hurts us, but the sinful people in the church that cause such great harm. We must guard our hearts, and be careful to forgive and not become bitter, because we most certainly have hurt others in Christ’s church with our sins. Not only will the Lord reward us for this, but the church we attend will become one with love a bit more pure.
Thursday, January 7, 2010
A Chrisian View of the Sanctity of Life
As January is Sanctity of Life month and “abortion rights” are again in the news as part of the health care legislation, it is especially important that Christians are aware of our tradition, and what the Bible teaches. Abortion has been practiced in every culture from ancient times. One of the great achievements of the spread of the gospel in the Greco-Roman world was to greatly diminish the practice of abortion and infanticide. In classical paganism, abortion (like euthanasia) was common and widely approved. The ancient physicians who took the Hippocratic Oath, whose medical vision was powered by saving life and not taking it, were the exception, not the rule. The pro-life movement truly began when the church of Jesus Christ swept through the Roman world, setting standards in medicine, culture, and public policy. That influence held fast in the western world until the naturalist philosophy, and Darwinian evolution theory displaced the predominant Christian view of man. The devaluing of human life set the stage for the practice of abortion to re-emerge.
If you look for abortion in a concordance you won’t find it, as that term was not used by the people of that day, but scripture is not silent on the subject. The biblical foundations for prohibition on induced abortion are found in the doctrines of creation and incarnation. The starting point for a biblical understanding of human nature is the truth that human beings are created in God’s image (imago Dei). It is clear from Genesis 1:26–27 that human beings, are distinguished from all other creatures (kinds), by our bearing the likeness of our Maker. The image applies to Jew and Gentile, religious and irreligious, young and old. The issue here is not complex. If someone is human, that person bears the divine image and his or her life is sacred. It’s genetic. With this single recognition, we find our answer. This foundation underlies the commandment “Do not murder” (Ex 20:13) and provides a straightforward response to abortion, because it applies to all human beings, from the beginning of life to its end. “Whoever sheds man’s blood, his blood shall be shed by man, for God made man in His image.”) This teaching is also of central importance in the use of human embryos for research and cloning. There is only one position one can take from the scriptures: those who are human are made in the divine image and should not be murdered.
The second foundation lies in the doctrine of the incarnation. As we have just celebrated Christmas, we remember that the incarnation of the Son of God, the second Person of the Trinity, took human form and did so from the beginning of human biological existence. He did not just come as a man, the incarnation began with conception. Mary was told by the angel that she would conceive by a miracle, the human life of the Son of God. Shortly afterward she visited Elizabeth, where John the Baptist’s first testimony to his kinsman and Lord is given. As a six month fetus, he leaped in his mother’s womb at the presence of the days-old embryonic Jesus (Lk 1:39–45).
With the theological foundations of imago Dei, and the incarnation, the many references to unborn life in the prophets, Job, and especially Psalms take on powerful significance. As an exercise, read Psalms 139 with these two doctrines in mind.
Like the physicians who originally took the Hippocratic Oath, we Christians find ourselves going against the cultural current. If we are to prevail in this debate, it will be through the spread of the Gospel. When a majority again submits to the authority of God’s word, rather than men’s, the culture and public policy will change.
If you look for abortion in a concordance you won’t find it, as that term was not used by the people of that day, but scripture is not silent on the subject. The biblical foundations for prohibition on induced abortion are found in the doctrines of creation and incarnation. The starting point for a biblical understanding of human nature is the truth that human beings are created in God’s image (imago Dei). It is clear from Genesis 1:26–27 that human beings, are distinguished from all other creatures (kinds), by our bearing the likeness of our Maker. The image applies to Jew and Gentile, religious and irreligious, young and old. The issue here is not complex. If someone is human, that person bears the divine image and his or her life is sacred. It’s genetic. With this single recognition, we find our answer. This foundation underlies the commandment “Do not murder” (Ex 20:13) and provides a straightforward response to abortion, because it applies to all human beings, from the beginning of life to its end. “Whoever sheds man’s blood, his blood shall be shed by man, for God made man in His image.”) This teaching is also of central importance in the use of human embryos for research and cloning. There is only one position one can take from the scriptures: those who are human are made in the divine image and should not be murdered.
The second foundation lies in the doctrine of the incarnation. As we have just celebrated Christmas, we remember that the incarnation of the Son of God, the second Person of the Trinity, took human form and did so from the beginning of human biological existence. He did not just come as a man, the incarnation began with conception. Mary was told by the angel that she would conceive by a miracle, the human life of the Son of God. Shortly afterward she visited Elizabeth, where John the Baptist’s first testimony to his kinsman and Lord is given. As a six month fetus, he leaped in his mother’s womb at the presence of the days-old embryonic Jesus (Lk 1:39–45).
With the theological foundations of imago Dei, and the incarnation, the many references to unborn life in the prophets, Job, and especially Psalms take on powerful significance. As an exercise, read Psalms 139 with these two doctrines in mind.
Like the physicians who originally took the Hippocratic Oath, we Christians find ourselves going against the cultural current. If we are to prevail in this debate, it will be through the spread of the Gospel. When a majority again submits to the authority of God’s word, rather than men’s, the culture and public policy will change.
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