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The more I read the Bible and the more I read (and learn from) Reformed Theologians, the more I realise I don’t fit in into the category of a Reformed Christian…
Reformed Christian
God, you are so Infinitely Holy that you cannot tolerate sin. All are sinners and are utterly unacceptable, Totally Depraved, and displeasing to you, Objects of Wrath. The right and holy and just thing to do is to Punish Sinners and your infinite nature requires you punish infinitely, damning all people to Hell. This alone is so glorious that we can only praise you for your Severe Justice, but you top that by going even further and Unconditionally Electing people from this group of hell-fodder for salvation. These you Unilaterally Regenerate and Justify completely apart from who they are or what they’ve done, giving them by Grace a Saving Faith which they could not produce. Because your Grace is not quite free, someone had to pay, so you sent Jesus to be the Substitution of Atonementwhich placates your Wrath. This Grace is not for everytone it’s called Limited Atonement and those elected for Life cannot resist your plan – it’s Irresistible Grace. You are now able to do what was not possible before and Ignore Sin, Counting Sinners as Righteous although they are not sinless. You detest any form of self-righteousness and want people to rely on your justification instead of trying to be good. When the time comes for all to be judged, you will count them as perfect (Imputation) because you will see only Christ’s obedience and look over their own disobedience. Those not elected by you for salvation will endure Eternal Conscious Torment in Hell whilst the elect will necessarily and deterministically Perservere as Saints to enjoy Paradise for ever. What counts is Doctrines Believed, the key to Good Religion is Justification by Faith, all authority grounded in Scripture.
Transformed Disciple
God you are so Infinitely Loving that you cannot allow sin to continue it’s damaging hold on your Human Creatures whom you made in your Image to Reflect your Glory into Creation. You sent your only Son as a fateful messenger who Fully Reveals God, the embodiment of who you are. You allowed him to be crucified as a Transformative Symbol of how you Condemn Sin and will destroy all evil and as an echo through history of how Man Rejected God. More than that, his blood was the Pledge a Promise to Forgive Our Sins. You want us to make Disciples of All Men so that all can know the Forgiveness Accessible to Any and All who would turn (Repent) and ask for it. You are not a respecter of status but deal with each Valuable Person according to how they live and treat others, not looking to their past failings but eagerly anticipating their future under your Reign. You graciously Pour out Your Spirit so that we can begin to be Conformed to the Image of Jesus and be freed from the power of sin. You then Proclaim our Right Standing in your sight, proof of our Adoption as Sons and Daughters, and of your Covenantal Faithfulnessto Israel. You promised to bless the world through Abraham’s Seed and your Church is not only the recipient of blessing but the Instrument of Blessing, as Christ’s body, by which your Justice, Peace and Love are multiplied and fulfilled in the World Today. You begin a Good Work in us as we Participate in your Plan which you will complete so that, at the final judgement, you will be able to truly say of us “well done, good and true servant, you worked well, fought the good fight and will inherit the Kingdom”. As Loving Creatoryour plan is not to destory the physical world but to Bury, Resurrect and Renew it so that your promises to Bless all Nations and Restore Creation will come to fulfillment and your appointed Lord, the Messiah, will bring your Rule On Earth as it is in Heaven. What counts is Faithful Allegiance, the key to Good Religion is Active Love for You and Your Creatures, all authority belongs to Jesus.
I’ve been listening to Romans 6 and 7 repeatedly over the past couple of weeks and it really is an interesting way of absorbing a message being able to hear, pause and replay the same content over an over again without the effort of actually paging and reading. These 2 chapters are about Sin, the Law and how believers relate to these things and are incorporated into Jesus death and resurrection. Paul draws many interesting antitheses out of these themes which, I think, shed light on what actually happened on the cross and how we tend to mix up themes which for Paul, are separate and symbolic.
I’ve been looking at what Jesus’ death means for Paul and what sense it makes today. My conclusion was that we have perhaps overemphasised one aspect of Jesus’ death, perhaps even, mutated Paul’s meaning, in thinking that Jesus death was the penalty and payment for our sins. We often hear that Jesus died the death we sinners should have died but Paul speaks a different language and we often and unfortunately read his writings through reformed spectacles designed to correct 15th century mistakes thereby systematically missing Paul’s message.
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Ruskin, a poet and social critic, once said:
There is no wealth but life.
- John Ruskin
This set me thinking about what Jesus said:
I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
- Jesus of Nazareth
Now, if Ruskin and Jesus are right, it means that Jesus has come so that we can have a wealth of life, a fulfilled life. Paul gives us some insight into this in his letter to the Colossians where he talks of wealth (treasure) in relation Jesus of whom he says:
Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
- Paul of Tarsus
It seems that we have Jesus coming from God in order to give a wealth of life which is eternal (John 3:15) and that hidden in the mystery of this outrageous gift is all the wisdom of the world! This wisdom is summed up by Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount:
Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
- Jesus of Nazareth
We are challenged to set our hearts not on worldy goods but on heavenly riches. That is not to say that we are so heavenly minded that we’re no earthly good but that the real heavenly treasures are being offered here and now in order that we might have a fulfilled life and that we would be wise to be seeking these everlasting treasures as opposed to gold and share options which rust and disappear.
The best things in life are free.
- Unknown
Christianity is true and relevant but is it exciting? The question is especially important today where people run after flashing lights and stimulants in search of adventure albeit in self-destructive and safe form. Shane Claiborne considers how Christians differ from non-Christians and says:
If you ask most people what Christians believe, they can tell you “Christians believe that Jesus is God’s Son and that Jesus rose from the dead.” … But if you as the average person how Christians live, they are struck silent. We have not shown the world another way of doing life. Christians pretty much live like everybody else; they just sprinkle a little Jesus in along the way. (The Irresistible Revolution Ch 5)
Indeed, most people might be able to list more things Christians don’t do than the things they do. Today we can be perfectly acceptable and even esteemed Christians by being safe and playing the part. We attend Church, donate to charities, perhaps work in our community and do all the things expected of us and none of the things Jesus told us to do. Indeed we sometimes feel reassured that we need do nothing because God is working and we cannot and should not work unless called. In some circles any form of doing is itself taboo by a bizarre twisting of the Gospel.
Take for example the sermon on the mount: In Matthew 5 Jesus speaks highly of the poor in spirit (v3), the mourning (v4), the meek (v5), the oppressed and persecuted (v10-11), the righteous (v8,16), all the things I am not. Then he warns (if not condemns) those who are angry with their brother (22) or those who have wronged another and not settled it (v25) or those with a roaming eye (v27) and it is here I find myself. He then tells us to love our enemies (v44) and finally, to be perfect (v48).
Just what are we supposed to do with this list? We know we cannot fulfil it. Shall we do the bits we can and ignore the rest? Did Jesus say all this just to show how we can never attain righteousness? I used to think so.
But what if we really are expected to attain to righteousness all these things by the power of God working in us? What if being a Christian is about being empowered and motivated by the Spirit to be righteous and that this is real imputation? What if we need to hear Paul’s words:
work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose Phillipians 2:12-13
Let’s take a look at some other hard passages which could do, but never do:
Then Jesus said to his host, “When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or relatives, or your rich neighbours; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.” (Luke 14:12-14)
We could get out of this hard task by proposing that Jesus was just talking to his host at the time and not the greater Christian world. However what if we really tried doing this? Why don’t we really invite people we would not normally invite and see what happens?
I happen to be actually inviting my moderately rich neighbours for lunch tomorrow but according to Jesus I should be inviting the poor, crippled, lame and blind. I could excuse this by saying: Lord, nobody I know is poor, crippled, lame or blind. But there is that old folks home around the corner. Lord, their food is probably better than what I can cook. But maybe they need company. Lord, I’m not that much of an conversationalist and besides they’ll probably think I’m crazy.
At what point do we just start trusting Jesus and stop trusting our experience and social norms? I wonder if the great saints weren’t just ordinary people who actually did trust Jesus and it led them to adventure and extraordinary lives. How is Jesus going to save the world if His body, the church, is doing so little?
Each time I talk to someone about Jesus it is exciting although it was hard at first. Each time it’s an adventure and the highlight of my day. Is this not the real, imperishable fruit? Bringing folks a step closer to God?
What if we started taking Jesus seriously and living out the Gospel? If the Gospel is good news to the poor, lonely and oppressed then it has to involve meeting their needs. A hungry beggar needs food and company above all else and any message in words, no matter how joyous, is not going to be received as Good News. We need to act:
For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power. (1 Cor 4:20)
Jesus sent his apostles out in Matthew 10 with the task of preaching and meeting peoples needs. The guidelines were:
- Go, preach the kingdom is near (v6)
- Help them, meet their needs in power (v7)
- Trust in providence (v9-12,19,20)
- Be careful (v16-23)
- Fear not (v26-31)
- Expect suffering and opposition (v14,21-23,34-37)
- Be bold (v27,32)
Jesus didn’t say anything about preaching atonement forgiveness of sins if people become Christians. His basic concern was that people realise and see that the reign of God is near by hearing the Gospel and experiencing healing. His advice to the messengers was to be bold, trusting, careful and strong.
Why, oh why does my faith not match this model? How exciting it would be to be an apostle and really travel about without money, trusting in God and preaching His glad tidings! Should I start small or go all out, forsaking family and friends. The risk is huge and there will be suffering and opposition but the comfy alternative is to stay put and pay Jesus lip-service.
Shane Claiborne decided one day to follow Luke 14:13 and it changed his life taking him to Calcutta and the homeless of Philadelphia. He wrote about it in The Irresistible Revolution and described how actually putting Jesus word’s into practice is what living the Christian Life is about (more). If Christians live just like other people then what reason to other people have to question their lifestyle?
Jesus never forced himself on people but fascinated them. When Jesus was asked: are you the Messiah (Luke 7:18-22) his basic answer was: what do you see happening? If someone asked you: are you a Christian you should say: what do you see happening in my life?
I often read or hear polemic relating to “The Problem of Evil” in which the world is described as so horrible that God must be some sort of cruel psychopath if he is behind it all. While there is no shortage of horror stories in this world I am becoming increasingly aware that by far most people, most of the time, live quite good and happy lives.
As westerners we assume that we’ve got it good and the 3rd world is suffering and, while this is partly true, it is also true that any traveller to these countries will tell you that the smiling faces are all in Africa, SE Asia, India etc. We pity these people because they live on rice and have no Nike shoes or PlayStation but we’re the ones with the high suicide and depression rates, not to mention decay of moral values and general physical and mental health. We may have the technology to “cope” but we’ve probably made more problems than we’ve solved.
My point is that most people, most of the time are not suffering horribly but that bad news is highlighted and promoted aby the media we feed on. Of the 3 million good things which happened in Smallsville today, it’s the rape or supermarket robbery which makes the newspaper and maybe even national news.
If I were to tell my own life story I’d probably devote a disproportionate amount of time to my mishaps and sufferings. I won’t even recall the quite walks and talks I’ve enjoyed or the golden hours I’ve spent with friends and family. If I stop to really take stock of my life – increasingly difficult in a world of iPods and Internet – I find I can really be grateful for my life and express joy at the time I’ve had.
In a spirit of gratitude I can thank my creator for giving me life and get a sense for the value he instills in me and the fruit he expects of me!
