Thursday, December 24, 2009

What can we learn from Judges?

I'm currently ploughing through the Old Testament 2 module of the Moore course, and I've been reading the book of Judges. It's a very gruesome book and sometimes it's hard to know what we're meant to make of all the goings-on: concubines being cut up into twelve pieces and sent to all the tribes of Israel and heroes like Samson who don't seem to care much what God thinks and do whatever they like.

In many ways the book of Judges says more by negative example than positive. I don't think we're meant to read it and follow Gideon's example of laying fleeces before God: time and again he lacked faith and faffed around instead of getting on with what God had clearly told him to do. And yet this is true of many biblical 'heroes' like Abraham and Jacob- the Bible doesn't shrink from telling us all their mistakes and howlers such as Abraham's failure to tell people that Sarah was his wife repeatedly. But God chose to work through flawed people- and God still does that today. Hooray for that! Otherwise none of us would have any hope.

Judges really emphasises that God chooses the nobodies of this world and gives them grace to do what He has called them to do. Many of the book's judges were called to be brave and courageous (just as Joshua was in a previous generation) in a hostile political environment where Israel was attacked on every side and struggling to establish itself. God did marvellous things, by His mercy. It definitely was not a reward for good behaviour, because Israel broke every rule in the book.

It can make for depressing reading when you see how Israel were stuck in a cycle of turning away from God and doing their own thing. No matter how many times God intervened to rescue them, they still worshipped Baal (the pagan god) and showed little faithfulness to the One who had saved them. Samson epitomises this: he was a Nazarite, set apart to live for God, and throughout his life he struggled with his calling. He spent most of his life making rash decisions, chasing after various Philistine women, and reacting in angry violence whenever he was offended. In the same way, Israel as a whole chased after foreign gods and then blamed God for all the rubbish stuff that happened as a result. God had told them that unfaithfulness would bring destruction and eventually exile. Time and again they refused to listen.

As Christians there is perhaps a strong message here to keep ourselves separate from the corrupting influences of the world around us. As Israel's history proves, tolerating ungodly ideas and practises soon leads to participating in them. We need to take a bold stance and place a filter over our TVs and be careful what influences us.

Ultimately we should rejoice in the fact that God has saved us. In sending Jesus, He sent the perfect One who could deliver us for ever from death, sin and the devil. All these human leaders in Judges point towards the much greater Saviour who would come many years later. If there's one thing that Judges teaches us, it's that we can't save ourselves.

Saturday, November 14, 2009

Old and New Covenant: What's the Difference?

It's always a danger that we, as Christians, use complicated terms from the Bible without really understanding what they mean, as well as being totally unintelligible for the world outside. The trap of Christian jargon is sometimes really difficult to escape from. Salvation, atonement, penal substitution... All these words mean wonderful things and yet can also be very confusing.

As I study for my Moore College Christian Worship module, I have been looking at the Old and New Covenants of the Bible. And 'covenant' is one such jargon-word. It basically means 'promise', but it does have more weight than that. In Bible times, an oral culture where the spoken word was much more meaningful and binding than in today's world, a covenant was serious business. It involved conditions. It was not easily broken.

The Old Testament relates to us how God called the people of Israel into covenant with Him (having made a covenant with Abraham, and they were his descendants). On Mount Sinai He gave them the Law, and the essence of the covenant was this:

'Love the LORD your God and keep his requirements, his decrees, his laws and his commands always.' Deuteronomy 11:1

The conditions were that if Israel followed God's commands and stayed faithful to Him, He would give them a land flowing with milk and honey, and rest from all their enemies. But if they failed, then He would send famine and drought, routers, and eventually send them into exile. And sadly, this is what actually happened. After the exile, a remnant returned, but it was clear that Israel had problems with keeping the covenant because the post-exilic prophets (such as Malachi) spoke of their continued corruption and failure to obey God.

It is into this situation -a crushed people under the Roman empire, a disobedient people who had failed to keep God's law- that Jesus came. And with Him, He brought what is known as the New Covenant: a new way of relating to God.

Jesus changed:
The PLACE of worship
The MEANS of worship


Let's unpack that.

In the Old Testament, there were two important central places of worship. First, there was the Tabernacle (built under Moses in the time of being in the wilderness). This was a sort of tent, a central meeting place, where the Ark of the Covenant (a box containing the 10 Commandments and the Law) was kept. It was where God's presence dwelled- this is why Exodus ends climactically with the cloud of God's presence filling the place (Ex 40).

Once Israel had claimed the Promised Land and achieved rest from their enemies, the Temple was built (under the direction of Solomon, David's son). This was a much more permanent building, lavishly constructed, and provided the central place of worship where sacrifices were offered.

Jesus changed all of this by REPLACING the temple (place of worship), along with the sacrifices (means of worship). By offering Himself, dying an innocent death on the cross, Jesus paid the price for our sins, once for all. His blood justifies the guilty (Rom 5:8-9). There is no need now for any more sacrifices to be made. Jesus' sacrifice was enough to pay for all sins: past, present and future.

'He is able to save completely those who come to God through Him.' (Heb 7:25)

So Jesus IS the sacrifice, but Jesus is also the TEMPLE itself. The Temple represented God's rule, and God's will to bless Israel and other nations through them. In Jesus 'one greater than the temple' arrived (Mt 12:6). He embodied God's presence and authority, because He was the Son of God. In Him we find salvation and through Him all nations can be blessed (this is how God fulfilled His promise to Abraham from Genesis 12). We don't need a temple now to access God, because we have Jesus. This is why the Temple curtain was torn from top to bottom when Christ died on the cross (Mt 27:51).

True Christianity is all about presenting ourselves to God IN JESUS CHRIST. It's about coming to God, knowing you have NOTHING TO OFFER Him except a sinful soul, and asking for His forgiveness which is available to you THROUGH JESUS' SACRIFICE.

But once we have done that, we CAN offer God our lives. Romans 12:1 teaches that we are to become 'living sacrifices'- not trying to win our own salvation or our place in heaven by doing good things, but demonstrating in our LIFESTYLE that our relationship with God has been restored, and we are RIGHTEOUS in His sight (absolutely pure). Every sphere of our lives as Christians gives us the opportunity to glorify and serve God, in grateful response to the work of Jesus.

Therefore we "worship" not only in times of singing songs and reading the Bible and praying, but in obedience, loving others, showing hospitality, being faithful in marriage, witnessing to others (see Hebrews and Romans 12-15). Our worship is much more than what we do in church on a Sunday, or in our daily "quiet time" or personal devotions to God. It is our whole life.

That is not necessarily ABSENT from the Old covenant. God made it clear that He wanted His people to love Him all of the time, not just on a Sabbath day. He made it clear through the prophets that sacrifices were worthless unless they were accompanied by true repentance (1 Sam 15:22). But Jesus brought a whole new experience of worship for us, because He revealed to us in His very person the TRUTH about God, and He sent us His SPIRIT to aid us in crying out to God in our hearts (Rom 8:15). This is what Jesus meant when He said:

"Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth." John 4:23-24

In Jesus we see a full revelation of who God is, because Jesus is 'the exact representation of his being' (Heb 1:3). In Jesus we not only receive a new PLACE of worship (ie. in Himself, not in a physical building), and a new MEANS of worship (through His sacrifice), but we also receive a full picture of the GOD we worship. We can worship Jesus because He is God; He is part of the Trinity, the three-person God who is Father, Son and Spirit. And as Christians, our aim is to bring others to worship Christ and make Him their own Lord and Saviour.

Saturday, October 10, 2009

Bread and wine

Two simple ingredients.
One very controversial meal.

Why is it that communion, or the Lord's Supper, or the Eucharist, has caused so much division between Christians over the past centuries?

Does it matter what we believe about the bread and the wine?

I've been thinking this through recently and I've come to the conclusion that it DOES matter. In fact, it is a crucial gospel issue.

Before Jesus Christ came, God had given His people the Law. The Law outlined God's requirements, and what the people were to do when they failed to keep those requirements. Through a priesthood and sacrificial system, the people could express their repentance and be accepted in God's sight.

'on this day atonement will be made for you, to cleanse you. Then, before the Lord, you will be clean from all your sins.' (Leviticus 16:30)

The Day of Atonement was an annual occasion which involved several rites and rituals:
-A bull and a ram were offered as a sin offering and a burnt offering respectively for the High Priest's sins
- The High Priest would wear a sacred tunic
- A goat would be sacrificed for the sins of the Israelites
- A different goat would have the sins of the Israelites confessed over it and then sent away into the wilderness (as a scapegoat)

If you read Leviticus 16 you will see there is minute detail given for where blood must be sprinkled over the atonement seat and the altar, and the washing rituals after the sacrifices take place.

When Jesus Christ came, everything changed. The Old Testament shows an awareness that the sacrificial system was not a permanent feature in God's plan. God was really interested in the attitude of the heart that made the sacrifice, which is why the prophets often criticise the people for sinning and then simply making a sacrifice without really repenting:

'"The multitude of your sacrifices— what are they to me?" says the LORD. "I have more than enough of burnt offerings, of rams and the fat of fattened animals; I have no pleasure in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats.' Isaiah 1:11

Isaiah 53 wonderfully prophesies of a day when the Lord's Servant will come and die for the sins of His people:

'But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was upon him,
and by his wounds we are healed.

We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
each of us has turned to his own way;
and the LORD has laid on him
the iniquity of us all' (Isaiah 53:5-6)

Jesus was the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world (John 1:29). In dying on the cross, a completely innocent death, He was the ultimate sacrifice. He took upon Himself the punishment for our sins. And so the gospel message is this:

You either pay for your sins yourself

or

You let Jesus pay for them for you on the cross.

Just before His death, Jesus shared a "Last Supper" with His disciples. In it, He used the bread and wine to visually demonstrate to them what was going to happen to Him and why:

'And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, "This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me." In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.' (Luke 22:19-20)

After His death, Jesus appeared, resurrected, before two of His followers on the road to Emmaus. They did not recognise Him until He 'took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them' (Luke 24:30). Their eyes were opened and they realised the significance of what Jesus had done. It seems that the early church re-enacted Christ's Last Supper as Acts 2:42 says 'They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.'

The sharing of communion together, then, serves to remind us exactly what Jesus did for us on the cross. Its primary function is so that we remember the gospel: that 'Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God (1 Peter 3:18).

The New Testament letter to the Hebrews makes it clear that Jesus was not instigating another ritual or perpetuating the Jewish temple-priesthood-sacrificial system. That system had ended decisively with His death. The writer vividly contrasts the old system with the new way through Jesus:

'Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God. Since that time he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool, because by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy. The Holy Spirit also testifies to us about this. First he says:

"This is the covenant I will make with them
after that time, says the Lord.
I will put my laws in their hearts,
and I will write them on their minds." Then he adds:
"Their sins and lawless acts
I will remember no more."

And where these have been forgiven, there is no longer any sacrifice for sin. Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water'. (Hebrews 10:11-22)

Jesus' death was enough to pay for all sins past, present and future. No other sacrifice needs to be made. And that sacrifice never needs to be repeated. It is done forever, and Christ is now exalted in heaven, worshipped by all the angels.

This means we can have utter confidence in approaching God, because we don't approach Him through our own merits, but through Christ's perfection. We can have assurance that we are accepted before Him through our assurance that Christ's sacrifice was accepted: this is shown because God raised Him from the dead (Acts 2:24).

So any theology of the Lord's Supper which suggests that it is a sacrifice we make to God, or that it is Christ's sacrifice repeated, goes fundamentally against the gospel. It's not about what we can bring to God; it is about trusting in what He has done for us.

A system of priesthood is also unhelpful, for in the Hebrews passage the role of High Priest is taken by Jesus. In the New Testament, the term 'priesthood' is applied to all believers (1 Peter 2:9)- unlike the Old Testament there is no separate strand of priests from the rest of the people.

Finally, I am not convinced that the celebration of communion in a ritualised setting is helpful either. It seems that Jesus designed the Last Supper to remind people of His death for them whenever they ate or drank- bread and wine were the staple of every meal. In the New Testament, the breaking of bread would have taken place in people's homes, around their table. Their fellowship was such that they ate together and remembered the Lord's death together.

The Lord's Supper is designed so that we are reminded to feed on Christ and receive Him. This is why Jesus said:
"I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you." (John 6:53)

It is no use believing in an abstract way that Jesus died for you. You need to actually receive Him and trust in Him, and that's why communion is aimed at believers. It is a vivid reminder that we need to keep on receiving Christ, keep on reading His Word and allow it to change us. We struggle with sin and we need to continually bring our sins to the cross, and leave them there.

There is a solemn warning for us in 1 Corinthians 11:27:
'Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord.'

We can't go through the motions of receiving communion if, in our hearts, we are harbouring sin against God, or even worse, we have never really given our lives over to Him. Therefore communion was instigated by Jesus to remind us of our need to commit ourselves to Him, and to renew that commitment every time we eat physical food ie. all the time!



Sunday, October 4, 2009

Unashamed- the London Women's Convention

Yesterday I went to the London Women's Convention at ExCel in the Docklands. The theme of the day was 'Unashamed'- how we, as Christians, can overcome our fear of sharing the gospel with others.

Di Warren spoke very engagingly on why we can sometimes feel ashamed of the gospel. Showing the famous X-Factor clip of Susan Boyle, she drew the lesson that looks can be deceiving! The gospel looks powerless to the world. It looks irrelevant- God seems a million miles away. It looks weird- Jesus is not the modern idea of a hero. It's offensive- the gospel tells us we are wrong. It doesn't make people feel good about themselves. And the gospel is intolerant- it says boldly that only Jesus can make us right with God.

However, Di then encouraged us wonderfully that the gospel is dynamite! (This is the Greek word for 'power' used in Romans 1:16 when Paul describes the gospel as the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes). The gospel, simply put, is that Jesus died for you so that God would not be ashamed of you. It's not irrelevant- it shows us God's purpose throughout history- to redeem men and women- and it opens our eyes to the perspective of eternity. It's not weird- Jesus is a shameful hero because He takes OUR shame upon Himself. It's not offensive, it gives a message of hope. It's not intolerant, because there is no discrimination: the gospel is relevant for everyone.

As Christians, we are like the manager of Susan Boyle: we need to create opportunities for the gospel to sing! We mustn't lose our nerve, thinking that our friend is a 'lost cause' or that the message needs to be made more palatable. The problem is not with the message, but with people's hearts.

Di reminded us that the gospel will be rejected. WE will be rejected. This makes evangelism the hardest task in the world. And yet the gospel will be ACCEPTED, too. Not who we choose, not in our timing, but God is at work all around us.

The third session at the conference showed inspiring testimonies from women who had taken the initiative to start up a discussion group with their friends, and seen them come to Christ. Then finally, Rico Tice addressed us with Colossians 4 and told us to devote ourselves to prayer, serve others, and cross the 'pain line'- in other words, get out there and do it! He challenged us to carry around a short passage (eg. Psalm 103) and ask people 'Would you like to look at the Bible with me?'

The conference was very well run with long breaks to chat and look at the bookstore. I was particularly chuffed with buying 'A Taste for Life'- an evangelistic recipe book with gorgeous pictures and very well presented- for a dear friend of mine. They were selling like hotcakes!

If there's one thing that I felt the day missed, it was an emphasis upon community. I don't think the New Testament gives us any warrant for church being a once/twice-a-week meeting, and then we all disperse and live out our lives individually or as families doing our evangelism separately. The picture of the early church is one of community (Acts 4:32). We don't have to live in a commune, but there is a sense of the church being local. Christians who live in the same area, coming together regularly- not just for a formal Sunday service, but in and out of each other's lives. In 1 Thessalonians 2:8 Paul writes:

'We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us.'


If we as Christians live as a community, transformed by the Holy Spirit, then our 'evangelism' simply becomes introducing outsiders into that community. It is less about setting up a formal course (which is quite middle-class), and more about integrating the different spheres of our life: work, church, family etc. Evangelism wasn't really meant to be a solo pursuit- Jesus sent out His disciples in pairs in Luke 10, and that was for a special mission. Most of the time Jesus and His followers lived in community, eating together with outsiders (often the outcasts of their society like the tax collectors and prostitutes), and those outsiders were drawn in because they saw Jesus, they heard the gospel, and they saw it lived out in all its power and attraction.

There is nothing more attractive to people today than the idea of a community where they can be accepted whoever they are. Why do you think people are drawn to the local pub? Or the golf club? Or the boules network? Yes, they may enjoy drinking, golfing, etc, but it offers them community. It is unfortunate that church today makes many outsiders think of judgmental people, cold people, unwelcoming people, rather than a warm community infused with the love of Jesus.

So what can we do? Well, there's one simple suggestion that isn't a very popular one:
Move to live in the surrounding area of your church!
So many people 'commute' to church, which is incredibly destructive to the outreach of that church into the local community. If the Christians are not naturally a part of that local community, why should the people pay any attention to leaflets or posters or even those who come door-to-door? Having recently moved into the estate of our local church, my husband and I can testify of the incredible difference it has made to live in the community which, as a church, we are trying to reach. People know us. People trust us. We are able to show that we care for people on a daily basis, and we are able to live out our Christian lives in front of them.

It involves sacrifice. It involves being ready to have an open door and for people to see you when you're not on top form. But it involves the amazing privilege of sharing the gospel with people- through words and actions as well.

I'm not promoting a social gospel- that we should just love people and not bother with speaking the gospel to them- because Romans 10 makes it clear that people aren't saved by simply seeing actions. They need to hear the gospel and understand it! But as James argues, if we do not accompany our gospel-sharing with gospel-living, then our witness is often weakened if not totally ineffective. You could be a very sincere Christian in all aspects of your life, but if Mrs X never sees you in any other context than when you are witnessing to her door-to-door, she has no reason to believe in what you tell her.

I want to recommend Joshua Harris' 'Stop Dating the Church'. In it, he points out that we are so often willing to move house for a new job, or for a new school for our children. Why are we not willing to move for our church, which is so much more important in terms of eternity???

Monday, September 28, 2009

Ananias and Sapphira

The story of Ananias and Sapphira stands out in the New Testament as a terrifying example of God's judgment. The story is found in Acts 5, in the context of the community of early Christians coming together and not regarding their possessions as their own. Barnabas (who becomes notable later on in the book for his generosity and encouragement of other Christians, living up to the meaning of his name) sells a field and brings the whole amount of money before the apostles to use to help the poor and needy amongst them. Ananias and Sapphira sell some property and keep some of the money back, but in laying it before the apostles they essentially pretend they are giving the whole amount.

'Then Peter said, "Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land? Didn't it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn't the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied to men but to God."

When Ananias heard this, he fell down and died. And great fear seized all who heard what had happened. Then the young men came forward, wrapped up his body, and carried him out and buried him.'


Peter, with supernatural knowledge, condemns Ananias- not for keeping money but for lying and trying to deceive the apostles. As God's representatives, such an offence against the apostles was basically against God Himself. That's why Peter says they have 'lied to the Holy Spirit'.

This is a terrible thing, and Ananias falls down dead in what seems to be shock and punishment from God. Then the story continues, as his wife (unaware that her husband has died and been buried) enters the scene.

'About three hours later his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. Peter asked her, "Tell me, is this the price you and Ananias got for the land?"
"Yes," she said, "that is the price."

Peter said to her, "How could you agree to test the Spirit of the Lord? Look! The feet of the men who buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out also."

At that moment she fell down at his feet and died. Then the young men came in and, finding her dead, carried her out and buried her beside her husband. Great fear seized the whole church and all who heard about these events.


Sapphira is given the chance to repent, but she does not. She lies about the amount of money that they gave the apostles, and Peter says they have agreed to 'test the Spirit of the Lord'. Perhaps they wanted to see how much they could get away with. Their attitude was sinful and brought God's judgment upon them in an obvious way that terrified everyone around them.

What does this episode teach us?

Firstly, the sinfulness of sin. Disobedience to God, trying to go our own way, is offensive to Him and ultimately leads to our destruction.

Secondly, you can't hide from God. He sees all the thoughts of our hearts and we cannot escape His judgment upon our sin through hiding as Adam and Eve tried to do. Only through clinging to Jesus' sacrifice for us on the cross can we be forgiven.

Thirdly, the church is always under attack. In Acts, the early church was opposed by external powers (the Sanhedrin, for example) and this story shows us that opposition came from inside the church, too. Satan is at work to try to destroy the work of God's kingdom, but he is a defeated enemy! This story shows God's powerful control and protection of His church, which is testified to by the course of history. The church has prevailed despite multiple attacks from within and outside.

Monday, August 31, 2009

Marks of a True Believer

Sermon notes from a series by Rev Tom Jeffries, based on John's gospel

- True faith involves dynamic interaction- receiving Christ into every aspect of life. It is not enough to just believe in Christ, we must receive Him too and make Him our personal Saviour.
- A true believer will keep on following Jesus, even when they don't understand everything (look at Andrew and Peter when Jesus first called them).
- A true believer follows Jesus whatever the cost.
- A true believer feeds on Christ. They read His Word, pray to Him, and depend on Him for everything.
- A true believer accepts the hard sayings of Jesus.
-A true believer worships Christ. This is expressed in praise and thanksgiving, and deeds and acts of service (not to buy God's favour, but in response to His grace shown towards us).
- A true believer obeys Christ.

The secret of success in the Christian life is to focus on Christ.

Commitment at the highest level is seen in Christ Himself. He loved us till the end, till we were redeemed. Our commitment to Him pales into insignificance when we look at what He did for us on the cross.

Challenges:
What areas of your life are not surrendered to God?
Are there things you treasure more than following Christ?
What is your commitment to Christ like?

Sunday, July 26, 2009

Worship #4

Why do you think the writers of the New Testament generally avoid using the terminology of worship to describe what Christians do when they gather together?

At the heart of the matter, the New Testament writers want to show that worship is all of life, not just in one place or at one time. It is no longer something connected with set feasts or set places or set priests. It is for all the people of God at all times and places (Carson).

Mark Strom writes: 'The temple, priesthood, sacrifices and kingship could no longer serve as Israel's focal point. At best, they had been symbols of great truths about the Lord and His ways; at worst, they had distracted the people's attention from the One who stood behind the symbols. But now, in Jesus, the perfection, reality and person behind the symbols had appeared'.

Jesus replaced the set place (the temple) and the set priests with Himself- He became the sacrifice and the sacrifice-offerer. He became the way which humans can approach God. And after His ascension He sent the Holy Spirit to dwell in all those who call on His Name. In this way all Christians become a temple (1 Cor 3:16).

Therefore, for the NT writers to refer to Christian gatherings as worship would perhaps mislead people, particularly those of a Jewish background, to believe that the way we approach God is through ritual and only in a certain place at a certain time. In another sense, that approach to worship fails to recognise that true worship manifests itself in all of our living, 24/7. As Carson points out, we worship in both adoration and action.

'Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise- the fruit of lips that confess His Name. And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.' Heb 13:15-16

Therefore, the NT writers use the word
'ekklesia' for church, which 'inherited the meaning of Israel's great assemblies without any of the "religious" connotations of worship, priests or rituals. The churches were simply God's people meeting together in homes to encourage each other in the gospel... Thus the word was tailor-made for conveying the simplicity and people-centredness which the New Testament wanted to emphasise.' (Strom)

'Ekklesia' could be translated as 'a regular assembly of citizens' (Banks) and in this way, Paul looked forward to
a great assembly at the Lord's return (1 Thess 4:15-17) and wrote that all Christians are citizens of heaven (Phil 3:19-20).

Banks writes that 'each of the various local churches are tangible expressions of the heavenly church, manifestations in time and space of that which is essentially eternal and infinite in character.'

'Ekklesia' comprehensively encapsulates several key concepts about the Christian church:
1. It is a universal fraterntiy (voluntary association)
2. It is a place like a household unit where personal identity and intimacy can be found
3. It provides both community and immortality (Strom
)

This is why the images for the church used in the New Testament (Body, Household, Building) moved away from traditional terminology (which had strong cultic connotations) and emphasised the church as God's people meeting together as a family, united in Christ.




Saturday, July 25, 2009

Worship #3

How would you respond to people who said they had stopped going to church because they did not 'get anything much out of it anymore'?

The New Testament makes it very clear that the Christian life is all about a new, corporate identity as the people of God. People are not just saved on an individual basis, but to belong to God's heavenly assembly of the saints (see Revelation 5). The local church is a manifestation of this heavenly assembly. However imperfect local churches can be, if ultimately they are led by people who love Jesus, then they are part of this great global network.

The church is not a building, it is the people of God- therefore every believer IS the church and is part of it. And it thus follows that it is right for every believer to become involved with a local church- it is the natural conclusion to reach. When you get married, you live with your spouse. When you become a Christian, you become part of the church, so you make every effort to find a local church to belong to.

The New Testament speaks of the gathering of the people of God in many contexts (Acts 14:27, 1 Cor 5:4), and the church in assembly not only approaches God, but provides encouragement to its members (Carson). Eph 5:19 tells us to speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs
. Col 3:16 says 'Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.' It seems that an essential part of living as a Christian is to live as part of the wider Christian community. Faith is not a solo pursuit, but involves mutual encouragement and teaching and growing.

Whilst Christian worship happens throughout the week in a Christian's life (we are told in Romans 1:1 to offer our bodies as 'living sacrifices' to God and in Col 3:17 to do everything 'in the name of the Lord Jesus')
, corporate worship is still important. It is in corporate worship that we pray together (1 Cor 14:16), Scripture is read and expounded in preaching (1 Tim 4:13). We sing together to praise God and encourage one another (Eph 5:19). We give money towards work of the gospel (2 Cor 9:11-15). We confess faith publically (1 Tim 6:12). The sacraments of baptism and the Lord's Supper are explicitly provided for. (Clowney)

Carson writes: 'Corporate meetings of the church, however much God is worshiped in them, have the collateral responsibility of educating, informing, and transforming the minds of those who attend, of training the people of God in righteousness, or expanding their horizons not only so that they better know God (and therefore better worship Him) but so that they better grasp the dimensions of the church that He has redeemed by the death of His Son (and therefore better worship Him)'.

Ashton helpfully summarises: 'The church service provides a special foretaste of the experience of heaven. In Heb 12:18-29, the way Christians experience the presence of God is contrasted with what the Israelites experienced at Mount Sinai. Significantly, it is a corporate experience. So when we come together, we can know God and relate to God and worship God in ways that we cannot do when we are alone.'

And finally Kent Hughes writes that 'Corporate worship is intended by God to inform and elevate a life of worship' and it 'regularly functions to intensify our consecration to service'.

It is very difficult to follow the teaching of the New Testament to continue as a Christian, to keep walking in God's ways, reaching out to non-believers around us and stand firm until the end if we are not part of a local church.

And how can the church fulfil its mission to make disciples of all nations (Mt 28) if Christians are not part of it?

Belonging to a church is so much more than just going for what you can get out of it. God has given each Christian particular gifts with which they can serve the church and get the gospel out to the local community.

So, to summarise:

You need the church, and the church needs you.

Friday, July 24, 2009

Worship #2

Why is Jesus Christ so central to Christian worship?

Only through Jesus can we 'offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God' 1 Pet 2:5. There is no other way we can approach God except through Jesus:
'I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.' John 14:6

This is because our sins separate us from God. They are a huge barrier and prevent us from pleasing God by our own efforts. Jesus came to earth, lived a sinless life, and then died as a sacrifice for us (Heb 9:26), to remove us from the wrath of God and reconcile us to Him (2 Cor 5:18-19). Therefore, if we come to Jesus and trust in Him, we can be redeemed out of bondage to sin and Satan (Heb 2:15), and be enabled to worship God and know Him personally.

Before Jesus came, God called a people to Himself (Israel), and gave them a means of worshipping Him. This is the old covenant, which includes the Law given to Moses (as recorded in Exodus, Leviticus, and Deuteronomy) and the sacrificial system whereby the priests would offer up a bull or a ram as an atonement for the sins of the people.

This system is transformed by Jesus- He completely fulfilled the old covenant by
1. Keeping the Law perfectly (which no one else could ever do)
2. Being the one perfect sacrifice to atone for all sins past, present and future ('Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!' John 1:29)
3. Being the ultimate great high priest who intercedes on behalf of His people and doesn't need to offer any sacrifices for Himself ('But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God... by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.' Hebrews 10:13-14)

The reason that Jesus was able to do this was because He was God incarnate. Colossians 2:9 says that the fullness of the Deity lives in Christ in bodily form. Philippians 2:9 says that 'At the Name of Jesus every knee should bow'. After seeing the resurrected Christ, His disciples worshipped Him (see John 20), and so contemporary Christians follow the example of the first generation of believers and worship Jesus without hesitation (Carson).

Thursday, July 23, 2009

Worship #1

The following series of posts are my notes as part of studying the Christian Worship module of the Moore correspondence course.

Why is worship so important in biblical thought?


Fundamentally, as Grudem points out, God is worthy of worship and we are not. He created us to glorify Him and it is right that God should seek His own honour, for He is worthy of it.

'My glory I will not give to another' Isa 48.11

'You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honour and power, for You created all things, and by Your will they existed and were created' Rev 4:11

In both Testaments worship is repeatedly enjoined on the covenant people of God (Carson).

'Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker; for He is our God and we are the people of His pasture, the flock under His care' Ps 95:6-7

We become like whatever or whomever we worship (Leithart), therefore to become more godly and to be the people God wants us to be, we need to focus not on ourselves but on God.

What are the most important lessons that the Old Testament teaches us about the worship that is acceptable to God?

1. The Old Testament makes it clear that worship is only acceptable when it is from the heart. 'Stop bringing meaningless offerings!' God tells His people in Isa 1:13. They may have followed the rituals correctly but they were not seeking justice and living God's way. Carson points out that 'it has always been necessary to love God wholly'.

2. Worship is only acceptable as a response to God's grace, not as an attempt to earn it. The only reason the Israelites could approach God with the sacrifices for sin was because He had first of all redeemed them from slavery in Egypt and in that great act of salvation set them apart to be His people. It was by grace that God gave them the sacrifical system, as a temporal measure for them to maintain covenant relationship with Him before Christ came to die for sins once for all.

3. Worship focuses on who God is- the lengthy rituals of Atonement were there to remind the people and the priests of God's perfect holiness and unapproachable nature. Part of their worship was to retell God's great acts to their children (Deut 6, 8).

4. Worship was Word-centred as well as sacrificial- the Law was placed by the ark of the covenant (Deut 32), and Ps 119 emphasises the sufficiency of God's word as covering everything from A-Z (it is an acrostic poem covering all the letters in the Hebrew alphabet).

5. Worship is both a response to a covenant relationship and the means of ensuring its continuance (Davies)- God does not want us to pray a prayer asking for His forgiveness and then to go off and live our own life for the next 40-50 years. God wants us to walk with Him in obedience and therefore Christian worship is about continually submitting to God, continuing in faith. This is established in the Old Testament by the repeated words of God in the Law for His people to walk in love and obedience to Him all the days of their life.
'Love the LORD your God and keep his requirements, his decrees, his laws and his commands always.' Deut 11:1

Sunday, July 12, 2009

Ephesians: God's big purpose for Christians

This week I've been reading Ephesians, and it's been amazing to see God's cosmic plan for the universe unfold: 'to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ' (1.10).

God is saving people from every tribe, tongue and nation so that there will be a new community of people in heaven, who worship Him (Revelation 5:9). We aren't saved merely on an individual basis, but to be part of the corporate body of the Church. Paul calls the universal Church the Body of Christ, and in Ephesians 4 talks in detail about what it means to be a Christian.

Being a Christian means being part of the Church
God saved us for a reason: so that in eternity, we could be part of His holy city. Becoming a Christian means that we gain citizenship to heaven (Eph 2:19). The local church on earth is a reflection of the huge universal church in heaven that awaits us when we die, or when Jesus returns. Therefore every Christian should make every effort to be a committed member of a local church. Otherwise it's like you have rejected your heavenly destiny.

Being part of a local church helps you to be who God wants you to be
Paul gives many instructions about how we should live to please God -'Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.' (Eph 4:2-3) It's clear that the local church is crucial in us being able to practise these virtues. Sure, we can aim to be humble and patient in our workplace with non-believers, and we can even cultivate this in our friendships with Christians, but it is only in the context of the local church that we can genuinely be tested in 'bearing with one another in love' and keeping the 'unity of the Spirit'. Churches are full of all kinds of people and can be very trying! But it's God's will that we belong to a church and work through the difficulties which this involves, rather than try and live the Christian life alone.

Churches all over the world are united in sound doctrine
There is 'one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all' (Eph 4:5). There may be many "churches" out there, but the true churches are those which stand upon Christ and what God has revealed to us through Scripture. It's no use getting involved with a church that tolerates false teaching. It's not a true church.

God has made us to serve the church, and be served by it
God gives some to be 'evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers' (Eph 4:11) -perhaps you are one of them! In the church, those God has given to preach do so for the benefit of those who hear (and that means by default there must be people for them to preach to). Ministers are there to serve their congregations, and to be served by them too. What is the goal?
'to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature' (Eph 4:12-13).

God doesn't just want people to pray a prayer accepting His salvation. God wants His people to grow in faith, to become mature. This can only happen when we meet together as a community and disciple one another; when we share our lives together, pray for each other, read God's word together and encourage each other. This is hard- it involves time, commitment, and even saying things which are difficult. We have to speak the truth 'in love' (Eph 4:15), which means telling a fellow Christian when they are going astray. But ultimately, when we help others in the church to grow and flourish, we are helping ourselves. Our identity in Christ is corporate- we are one Body. If one part suffers, all of us suffer (1 Cor 12:26). Our goal is heaven, where there will be no more pain and no more suffering (Rev 21:4). It is worth all the trials we may face now!

Thursday, July 9, 2009

Some thoughts on marriage from Elisabeth Elliot

From Elisabeth Elliot's 'Let Me Be A Woman'.

If you are married, marriage is the gift God has given you in which you are allowed to serve Him. Be thankful!

Let not our longing slay the appetite of our living. Accept and thank God for what is given, not allowing the not-given to spoil it.

When you make a choice, you accept the limitations of that choice... saying Yes to happiness often means saying No to yourself.

Marriage is a responsibly undertaken life-union which is lasting, complete and exclusive.

Know that your true happiness lies in the will of God.

You forsake all others.

Appreciate what you have.

Marriage is dynamic. The possibility of growing apart need not be allowed.

The vows are staggeringly serious. But you did not take them trusting in your own strength to perform. The grace that enabled you to take those vows will be there to draw on when performance seems impossible.

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Can we be sure of our own salvation?

I am writing this post in response to Phil's comment
'We must never presume we are to be saved'
on my post 'Encouragement'.

I think the Bible DOES give us assurance of our salvation, if we believe in Christ and persevere until the end.

Firstly, our salvation does not depend upon our own works. Our salvation, our means of being acceptable in God's sight, comes through Christ's perfection. It means that when we choose to trust in Jesus, God sees Jesus' holiness in place of our sinfulness. God forgives us and cleanses us through Christ's blood, the unique ransom for our sins. Because Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever (Heb 13:8), there is never any doubt about whether His sacrifice is enough for us. The writer of Hebrews is at pains to emphasise this to his Jewish audience, who were used to making regular animal sacrifices as part of the covenant system:

'Unlike the other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people. He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself.' Heb 7:27

'He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, having obtained eternal redemption.' Heb 9:12

'But now he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself.' Heb 9:26

Jesus' death and resurrection were planned by God from the beginning as His means of redeeming His people. So if we ever sin and shy away from God, thinking that we have sinned too much to be forgiven, this is actually a form of pride. We need to accept that Jesus' blood is enough to pay for our sins past, present and future. This brings fantastic freedom from guilt, and this is why the gospel is 'good news'.

So becoming a Christian is all about arriving at the point where you recognise that you can't save yourself, accepting Jesus' sacrifice for you, and deciding to put your faith and trust in Him and walk His way for the rest of your days.

It is important to remember that true faith is always lived out:

'In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.'
James 2:17

Our assurance of our own salvation comes from these two things:
1. Are we trusting in Jesus' blood to cleanse us from our sin?
2. Are we living each day for Jesus, continuing in our faith?

If you can answer yes to both questions, then even if you are struggling with sin or various doubts, you are still a Christian. It is if you are living totally against God, with no repentance, that you need to be worried about your salvation.

Paul writes to the Colossians:

'Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. But now he has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation— if you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope held out in the gospel.' Colossians 1:21-23

Note the emphasis here. God does all the saving- He reconciles you by Christ's death to make you perfect in His sight- but we must continue in faith throughout our lives. Our faith is not just a prayer of confession when we are 12 years old; it is the daily living out of the Christian life.

Saturday, June 6, 2009

Encouragement to keep going

I don't know about you, but I often find it hard to keep sharing the gospel. Many of my friends and family reject Jesus, and it's hard to keep praying for them and keep hoping that God will save them. Well I had a huge encouragement this week that I wanted to share, to help you to keep going too.

I help to run a Christian Union in the school where I teach, and since the exam year groups have left school there have been a core of about 4 students attending. We've been doing an 'exploring the basics of Christianity' course as most of these students come from non-Christian families. A few weeks ago, I asked them how you get to heaven. One boy said that you had to be a good person. Since then we have looked at various Bible passages which show that only through Jesus you can be saved. Yesterday, at the meeting, this boy said outright that you can't be good enough, only through Jesus can you be righteous in God's sight. Hallelujah!

This was really encouraging because it shows that there will always be people who are just waiting to hear the full gospel. When they hear it, they respond in faith through God working in their hearts. I think I spend too much time telling God who to save, and not enough responding to the people in my life that He IS working in, and rejoicing in that.

'Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.' James 1:12

Monday, May 25, 2009

Why is church important? #2

'Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the church— for we are members of his body. "For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh." This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church.' Ephesians 5:25-32

Jesus and the church
  • He loves us
  • He gave himself up for us, by dying on the cross
  • He cleanses us so that in God's sight we are holy
  • He cares for us
  • We become united with Him
It really is amazing when you think about this passage, not in the usual wedding-service way, but in the universal application is has for all Christians. We are all married to Jesus! And although we are saved as individual souls, precious in God's sight, when we are saved we become part of the corporate Body of Christ, the church.

So the church as a concept is made up of all Christians... but then there's also church in a local context, a specific body of members and a real and tangible community. This is where we see the concept lived out and made reality for us to understand and participate in.

Joshua Harris writes:
'[Jesus] calls and expects us to be part of [the church]... because we are part of it!
If Jesus loves the church, you and I should, too. We can't use the excuse that the church has messed up too many times or that we're disillusioned. Jesus is the only person who has the right to disown and give up on the church. But He never has. And He never will.' Stop Dating the Church, p40

Being a Christian who doesn't go to church is like being a brick lying on the ground (an analogy from Spurgeon which Harris quotes). It's useless and even trips people up! It's not what we're made for. We are made to be the people of God, living under His rule: that's what heaven is all about. Heaven is not going to be full of isolated individuals. No way! It's going to be people from every tribe, tongue and nation worshipping God together (Revelation 7:9).

The Christian life is hard. We find many struggles: against the world of people who have rejected God, against the devil who loves to trip us up, and against our own sinful nature which battles for supremacy within our hearts against God's Spirit. We need other Christians to keep us on the right track, to challenge us when we have compromised, to encourage us when we're down and ready to give up. To 'go solo' in the Christian life is to go against everything Jesus taught us about being humble and serving one another. It also buys into the lie that the less we give of ourselves and our time and money, the happier we will be. That's just not true! There is far more blessing in giving all of ourselves to the church, because it is an eternal investment.

Saturday, May 23, 2009

Why is church important? #1

I'm reading Joshua Harris' book 'Stop Dating the Church' at the moment and it is incredibly helpful at explaining why it is so important for Christians to be committed members of a local church. These blog posts are really a collection of what Harris argues and my own thinking about it.

How is church like marriage?

This is one of the big questions Harris seeks to answer. In the Bible, Paul famously compares the relationship of a married couple to the relationship of Christ and the church (Ephesians 5). So what is the link between the church and marriage? Well, most Christians would agree that marriage is all about loving, faithful commitment. That's exactly the way Jesus treats the church... and therefore the way that we should treat it, too.

Harris says:
'The plain fact is, when we resist passion and commitment in our relationship with the church, everyone gets cheated out of God's best.
  • You cheat yourself.
  • You cheat a church community.
  • You cheat your world.' p18

And again:
'The church is the vehicle that Jesus chose to take the message of the gospel to every generation and people.' p20

If we want to follow Jesus' command to go and make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28), we will struggle unless we are part of a church community. It's what the church is for: bringing together saved sinners to reach out to lost people. We're so much more effective together than individually. Just think about it: imagine you have one non-Christian friend called James. Now if you are the only Christian James knows, that means a lot of pressure on you to keep witnessing to him! And if you move away, he then knows no Christians in his area. But if you introduce James to some of your Christian friends from church, he can build relationships with them too, you can all witness and pray for him together, and if you move away, he still has links with a church and the people of God.

Church isn't an easy place. It is a place where sinners -saved and unsaved- gather together, and that's always going to be tough. But it is an ideal place for Christians to grow in godliness, as they hear the Bible faithfully taught... and as they are thrown into situations where they need to put into practice Jesus' teachings about loving your enemies, forgiving those who hurt you, and being humble and serving to one another. You see, every Christian could make three Christian friends and simply meet up with those friends regularly and get their spiritual 'fix' to keep them going... But in doing so, they would miss out hugely on the 'family factor' of church- being put into a room with loads of different people of all ages and backgrounds, where you don't have anything in common except Jesus, and you have to get along!

So to summarise:
  • Church is like marriage- it demands commitment
  • Church is a locus point for evangelism- in both training up and reaching out
  • Church is tough- and so it refines us

Monday, May 18, 2009

Worship

I read Barbara Hughes' chapter on 'The Discipline of Worship' in her 'Disciplines of a Godly Woman' this week for a ladies' discipleship group, and the following post is the result of our group discussion on the issues it raised.

True worship is not judged by outward appearances, but by the state of the person's heart towards God. You could sing with 100% energy, and yet not be worshipping God. You could attend church every Sunday, but if your heart is not striving to love God and obey Him, your worship is meaningless. In 1 Samuel 15, Saul makes the mistake of thinking he can worship God in the way that he wants to. He is commanded to kill all the Amalekites, including their livestock, but he keeps Agag the king alive, and keeps the best of the livestock to sacrifice to God. His motives seem fairly good, but fundamentally he was disobeying God's command, and so Samuel rebuked him.

Therefore, to worship God 'in spirit and in truth' (John 4) means that you engage both your heart and your mind. We need to worship the God of the Bible, not shape our own god from what we think God should be like. It's no use singing songs to a god that we've decided could never send anyone to hell. We wouldn't be worshipping in truth then. But similarly, there's no use being doctinally correct without engaging our hearts in real love for God and all He has done for us.

In everything we do -our work, our social time, our leisure- we can worship Christ by doing everything for Him and to please Him (Col 3:17). But does this mean that we don't need to go to church? What makes our Sunday services different from this everyday worship? Well, on Sundays we participate in corporate worship. Our corporate worship is not just singing songs together, but hearing the Bible read and preached. It is vital for us to be members of a local church for our own spiritual health and for the sake of the world. God designed us to live the Christian life as part of the Body of Christ- it's not a solo pursuit. It's much harder to stand for Jesus when you're alone in a hostile world. Knowing other Christians and meeting with them regularly helps to strengthen you and encourage you that you need to stand firm till the end. Also, hearing God's word preached can challenge you with things in your life that God wants you to change, and help you get to know God better.

The church is God's designated place for Christians to meet together, disciple each other, and send each other out into the world to preach the good news of the gospel. In one sense the church is not a physical building, but God's people all over the world. But in another sense, each local church is an important unit of God's people, and we should make every effort to commit ourselves to it. The church needs you and you need the church!

Free will

I just read Wayne Grudem's section on the concept of 'free will' in 'Systematic Theology' and wanted to post it as I found it so helpful:

'Scripture nowhere says that we are "free" in the sense of being outside of God's control... But we are nonetheless free in the greatest sense that any creature of God could be free- we make willing choices, choices that have real effects. We are aware of no restraints on our will from God when we make decisions. We must insist that we have the power of willing choice; otherwise we will fall into the error of fatalism or determinism and thus conclude that choices do not matter, or that we cannot really make willing choices. On the other hand, the kind of freedom that is demanded by those who deny God's providential control of all things, a freedom to be outside of God's sustaining and controlling activity, would be impossible is Jesus Christ is indeed 'continually carrying along things by his word of power' (Heb 1:3)... An absolute "freedom", totally free of God's control, is simply not possible in a world providentially sustained and directed by God himself.' p331

Sunday, May 10, 2009

Creation


There is no doubt in my mind that someone can be a sincere Christian and not be a creationist. Many people view Genesis 1-2 as a poetic account explaining the purpose of humanity, and see no conflict between this and the Big Bang theory. Perhaps God created a Big Bang. Either that, or Christians feel unsure what to think, how to reconcile the Bible account of creation with scientific theory.

I want to suggest that the creation controversy has many far-reaching implications in a Christian's worldview and life, and encourage Christians to prioritise what the Bible teaches above what men theorize.

Firstly, the whole apprach of marrying evolution and the Bible shows our human tendency to patronise our ancestors and believe that future = progress = better. We like to smile and say knowingly, "Yes but the people who wrote the Bible were unscientific. They didn't know all that we know now." I think it's a mistake to dismiss the intellect of people from Bible times. Cain built a city with no precedent! (Gen 4:17) If humans are inventive and intelligent now, they certainly were from the beginning- after all, we were made in the image of God and He is the ultimate Inventor and intelligent One.

Secondly I think it's dangerous to bring human ideas to the Bible, and try to squash the Bible to fit them- or worse, ignore what the Bible says, in favour of a human idea. The Bible was certainly written by men at a specific time in history where they didn't have space travel and electric power etc, but it was ultimately God-breathed (2 Tim 3:16). It is God's book about Himself and the world He created. It is His gracious revelation to us. It defines wisdom.

We, as flawed and sinful human beings, are not smarter than God. We weren't there when the universe was created. God was. Our puny human ideas don't touch a smidgen of the immense capacity of God's mind. He has NO LIMITATIONS!

Many people cling to evolution because they have rejected God and want to find a way of explaining the universe without Him in the picture. Many non-Christians scoff at a creationist: 'How can you believer that the universe was created in six days?' Their worldview does not include a God who is all-powerful, all-knowing and 100% good.

The crux of the matter is this: if you are a Christian and believe in a God who can raise from the dead, then you believe in a God who is the author and giver of life, who is perfectly capable of creating a universe in six days. And if you believe in this God, what exactly is so ludicrous about creationism? If you believe that God IS capable of a six day creation (which Genesis 1 asserts that He is), and yet choose to believe that He chose instead to form the world over millions of years from tiny cells, why exactly are you making that decision? What motivates you? If it's social acceptance, then surely you're valuing the theories of men above the Word of God?

Wayne Grudem in Systematic Theology points out that there are a number of problems with being a theistic evolutionary:
  • Randomness vs God's clear purpose. 'after three hundred eighty-seven million four hundred ninety-two thousand eight hundred seventy-one attempts, God finally made a mouse that worked'.
  • Scripture says God's word has immediate response
  • Scripture says God made different species
  • Adam and Eve were specially created to be different from other animals
  • The New Testament affirms the historicity of Adam and Eve as real people (Rom 5, 1 Cor 15, Lk 3:38 etc)
Christians who support evolution have some seriously tricky issues and questions to grapple with, such as:

1. When did humans first exist? When did a Neanderthal become a human being with a soul?

2. Who were Adam and Eve? Two of many people who had all evolved at the same time? Mythological characters? If so, how much else of the Bible is mere mythology?

3. When did the Fall happen? There has to be a Fall, because even if you don't believe God created the world in six days, you have to believe that God created the world good-unless ou have God create something imperfect which throws open a whole other can of worms.

4. When did death enter the world? Evolutionary theory is based upon survival of the fittest, and the development of species over generations. The Bible teaches that death is a consequence of sin. No sin = no death. God HATES death. It is the antithesis of who He is- the life-giver. It makes no sense that He would create death as part of His perfect world. Any thinking which suggests death is necessary is only based on the world we see today- we cannot imagine a world without death. Yet that is what Jesus came to save us from, and the future we have to look forward to in heaven.

There are many things I don't understand about the world, the universe and the Bible. But I believe that God created everything and knows best:

'By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God's command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.' Hebrews 11:3

I don't want to bury my head in the sand and ignore science completely. But I feel happier taking God at His word and waiting for heaven where I'll understand much better! I'd rather stand before God and have Him say, 'You fool, Sophie, for taking Genesis 1 literally!' than to have Him say, 'Why did you believe what men said above what My word revealed to you?' And judging on Jesus' reaction to His contemporaries ('for they loved praise from men more than praise from God' Jn 12:43; 'You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to the traditions of men' Mk 7:8), I think the latter is more likely than the former.

Sunday, May 3, 2009

Bible bashing

I typed 'Bible basher' into Google and the Urban Dictionary gave me these definitions:

A Bible Basher is someone who constantly goes around forcing the word of the bible on everyone else, and claims that everything BUT the Bible is evil.

A religious person who is obsessively you could say, and insanely into his or her religion. They tend to 'bash on' about their religion and try to feed it to you. No disrespect to their religious beliefs, but knowing a bible basher can sometimes get sticky. They tend to be very protective over their religion, and know nearly everything about it. They will argue the point, and during times of bashing, can become quite violent.

A bible basher is one who lives their life by the bible, and tries to force the bible upon all they meet.

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=bible+basher

Wow! I'm guessing all these people have had a pretty negative experience with Christians. Faced with this definition, who wants to be a 'Bible basher'?

Well in this post I want to try to explain why the Bible is so important to me (and therefore why so much of my blog is based on the Bible), and also try to explain how I have no intention of bludgeoning people in an insensitive and emotionally detached manner, but I do want to confront people with the truth that the Bible claims has relevance for their life as much as mine.

The Bible is a unique book. It's made up of many different types of literature, written by different people at different times in history. It makes astonishing claims about who we are, why we are here, who God is, and how we can know Him. Many people look at the world around and think 'There must be a God behind all this'. But it's only in the Bible that we find out exactly who this God is. I believe this because, having read the Bible over and over since my childhood, I have never found a book like it which holds together so well, considering it was written under so many different circumstances as I mentioned above.

I love reading. I studied English at university and read many books by the same author (Dickens and Eliot being my favourites). What has always interested me is the way that a writer's ideas change over time. Even when you find ten books written by the same author, they will not always be consistent in ideology and morality or politics. And yet, despite the fact that so many different individuals contributed to the Bible, there is a striking coherence and unity throughout the various books. The main idea is that God is real, He made everything and wants to know us. Over the centuries that the Bible texts cover, there is a recurring cycle of people turning away from God to 'do their own thing' and live life the way they want to. God is never happy with that. He keeps on calling people to follow Him and go his way. But man's disobedience has separated him from God, so God sent Jesus, His Son, to come into the world and die on the cross to be punished for the sins of the world. He raised Jesus to life and calls people everywhere to follow Him and believe that their sins can be forgiven through Jesus.

All the Bible books in some way contribute to this message. They could be establishing the fundamental disobedience of humanity, as seen in Genesis. They could be calling men back to follow God, as seen in the prophets such as Isaiah. They could be predicting the coming of Jesus, such as the prophet Micah. They could be telling the story of Jesus' life, like the gospel of Matthew. All of the books in the Bible provide a piece to the puzzle. Together, they give a wholistic picture of who God is and how we can know Him.

So really, you have to read the Bible through and through before you judge it. So many people have said to me that the Bible is not trustworthy, that it's full of contradictions. But many of these people have not read it thoroughly. Perhaps their knowledge is based on taking some words out of context. The Bible is not always easy to understand, but I have found that the more I study it, the more it makes sense. It really does fit with what I see around me: people suffering with broken lives, desperate for meaning, but unable to find that meaning in human relationships, money and status. I see a world that needs Jesus. I can testify to how He has changed my life, and the lives of many others too.

Ultimately, I follow the Bible because Jesus did. Jesus is the most impressive person that ever existed, to me. He had an astounding impact on history and on the lives of those who met Him. And He identified the scriptures as the indestructible and authoritative word of God. He upheld the Bible at every turn, as an authority about God (Mt 21:42, Mt 22:29), as true promises which will always be fulfilled (Mt 26:54), as never becoming void (Jn 10:35, Mt 5:18). He saw the Bible as coming from God, revealing the truth and being utterly reliable. His life was based on scripture, and His life was amazing. Therefore I decided to follow Jesus, and so I am trying to base my life on scripture too.

The writer of Hebrews suggests that the word of God is 'living and active', 'Sharper than any double-edged sword... it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart' (Heb 4:12). I have always found this to be true. Paul writes in 2 Timothy 3:15-17 that scripture is 'God-breathed', and it certainly speaks with authority that seems to be more than human; divine. The Bible says many things which are difficult for us to accept -such as the existence of hell and the reality of God's judgement, which I have been blogging about recently- and I don't know why any human would make such terrifying stuff up! The Bible is full of genuine insight that makes sense with reality and does indeed judge the heart of anyone who reads it- again in a way that no human finds comfortable. Of course, humans physically wrote the Bible, but they were 'carried along by the Holy Spirit' (2 Peter 1:21), and it is God's words rather than the words of mere mortals.

The thing is, it's difficult to say that the Bible is only partially true and worship God. Surely you don't want to be friends with a liar? God has to be 'the true God' (Jer 10:10) or He is a false god. The Bible has to be truth, or lies. I don't think you can have it both ways.

The post-modern attitude towards texts and textual analysis is that there is no absolute truth and every reader brings something different to a text. For example, a Marxist will read Dickens and take away a Marxist message. English degrees are a lot about this! But I don't think you can approach the Bible as the same as any other text and just 'get something' from it. Either something is true, or it is false. If the Bible is true, it's worth building your life on it. If it's false, there is no point bothering.

And it follows that if the Bible is true, it is universally true. That means it's not just 'true for me'. It applies to everyone. That is why my blog is based on the Bible, and why I try to respond to people's questions, to the books I read, thinking about what the Bible says. I am sorry if it comes across as emotionally detached Bible-bashing! But in my view, what I personally say has very little value for the world. What God says does! That's why I look to Him for answers, rather than my own thinking.

Of course, I apply my thinking to the Bible. God doesn't ask us to switch our brains off when we open His word. But I think the tendency in our culture to come to the Bible with our own ideas of what is right and wrong, and judging its 'truth' on how it fits into our current worldview, is a fundamentally flawed concept. If it is the words of God, a God who is eternal and all-knowing and all-seeing, how can we possibly deem it our place to judge it against our standards? That would be like me handing my dissertation on George Eliot to a five year old who had just learned to read. My dissertation is nothing special, but I don't think the kid would have a chance of understanding it!

I don't want to bash the Bible, in both senses of the phrase. I don't want to crush people with it, but I don't want to under-value it and over-value my words and thoughts. I want people to know the truth, and I think the Bible contains better answers than my befuddled brain.

Sunday, April 26, 2009

'The Reader' reviewed

Yesterday I took some students to a public-speaking competition in London. There was a lot of waiting around... But I managed to get through Bernhard Schlink's 'The Reader' AND do my marking, which was quite satisfying!

'The Reader' has recently been made into a film with Ralph Fiennes and Kate Winslet- I wanted to read the book before seeing the film because my friends recommended it. It is a very compelling read- all about how the protagonist struggles to come to terms with the fact that his past lover was an SS guard in Nazi Germany.

The book raises so many interesting questions. For example, Michael says 'I was guilty of having loved a criminal', but what he is really saying is that somehow his generation is implicated and involved in the Holocaust. He struggles to reconcile Hanna's crimes with the person he once knew, and it raises the issue, as the reading-group questions in the back articulate: 'How can we explain why ordinary people commit atrocities without resorting to calling them monsters?'

The Bible has an answer to this: it teaches that we often try to measure up ourselves against others in order to justify ourselves and pat ourselves on the back for our superior morality. Actually that is fruitless, because our righteousness is filthy rags to God (Isa 64:6). Instead of creating an 'us' and 'them' scenario where the murderers and rapists are on one side of the fence, ourselves on the other, we should accept that every single one of us is capable of 'atrocities' if placed in the right (or wrong) time or place. We should acknowledge that often our thoughts are atrocious, even if our deeds are respectable. And it is our sinfulness that sent Jesus to the cross, so that we could be forgiven.

Our human sense of justice -our desire to see Nazi war criminals pay for their deeds- is a gift from God. He will hold everyone accountable for the wrongs they have done- against other people but also against Him. If you're trusting in Jesus, be glad and look forward to the day when there will be no more injustice and no more suffering. If you're not trusting in Jesus, don't be too quick to call down the wrath of God upon the 'sinners' of our society. Get your rags replaced with the riches of Jesus Christ!

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Are non-believers accountable to God? A response

Recently I received this extended comment on my post 'Being Good Part 2':

Someone who isn't a Christian will not 'struggle' with sin. They'll just do it, without caring what God thinks.

Does this in some ways mean that they are not to blame for this sin, and thus can incur God's forgiveness, as it is not a struggle, since they in effect have nothing to struggle against?

I am having many, many problems with "No-one comes to the Father except through Me" at the moment, and I think this is related.

This, to me, implies that knowledge and acceptance of Jesus is a prerequisite to salvation. This brings up the problem, however, of those who do not 'know' (I find know very limiting in English!- it's the French distinction that I need!) Jesus being necessarily 'damned', although for want of a better word, as I understand that this should not be passive, but active, as in someways damning is done to oneself with God. In my mind there are three groups of people that this affects: those pre-incarnation; those who, because of remoteness have no access; and those who are not exposed in the correct way to the Gospel (I think Gandhi is the best example, being turned away from a church). for the first group, I can see that this is filled by an "implicit" belief in Jesus through faith. The second and third groups, however, seem to be excluded from Salvation because of the exactness of this passage - "no-one".

I cannot reconcile this with my faith!

Hope you can convince me otherwise!


Loads of good questions raised here! And I think they are indeed closely related.


Are non-Christians to blame for their sin? Are they held responsible? Are people who don't know about Jesus damned?


The book of Romans is a good place to turn to here. Romans 1 argues that all men are accountable for their rejection of God:
'For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities- His eternal power and divine nature- have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.' (v20) Paul argues that 'Jews and Gentiles alike are all under sin' (Romans 3:9)- the Jews, because they had God's law and knew what was right and wrong and yet failed to obey; the Gentiles, because God's glory is evident through creation and they 'suppressed the truth by their wickedness' (Romans 1:18). Quoting Psalm 5, Paul writes 'There is no-one righteous, not even one' (Romans 3:10). And because God is holy and just He cannot tolerate sin. He must punish it because it would go against His nature to ignore it.


But God has made a way for us to be seen as righteous in His sight, through sending Jesus. With Jesus' sacrificial death on the cross, if we trust in Him, we can come before God and God will see Christ's perfection, not our sin. This is what Paul means when he says 'all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented Him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in His blood. He did this to demonstrate His justice, because in His forbearance He had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished- He did it to demonstrate His justice at the present time, so as to be just and the One who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.' (Romans 3:23-26)



Now there are still people out there who have never heard the good news about what Jesus has done. God will judge them and I cannot say what He will say to them. I do know that He is perfectly just, more just than our puny human souls can fathom or imagine. Jesus says that 'And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.' (Matthew 24:14) This means that God will wait until all people groups have been reached with the gospel before the Final Judgement. It also says that 'The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is
patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance' (2 Peter 3:9). The reason Jesus hasn't yet returned is because God wants more people to be saved. So we can safely trust that God is not rejoicing in the fact that people don't know the gospel. He desires more people to come to believe in Him. That is why it is so important for Christians to tell others about the good news of Jesus, and support mission work overseas too.


But on the 'pre-Incarnation' point, Jesus Himself made it clear that His death paid for sins past, present and future. He spoke of Abraham as alive, rebuking the Sadduccees' dismissal of the idea of resurrection of the dead. (Matthew 22:32) The only way Abraham could be with God was through Jesus' redemption for him on the cross. The writer of Hebrews also talks about the great people of faith in the Old Testament. They were saved because of their faith that God would justify them... which would happen on the cross in the future.



I hope that helps slightly. Keep seeking and you will find! Although perhaps sometimes we should not simply seek answers to our questions, but a peace of trusting that God knows what's best and accepting that sometimes we don't understand everything. Thank you for your comments!

Saturday, April 18, 2009

What's wrong with the Church? Organic Church reviewed


Neil Cole's 'Organic Church' asks crucial questions of the Church in today's society.

Bluntly, he writes that to most non-Christians, church is where you get married and are buried, and people are desperate to avoid both. He also points out that an incredible amount of effort and resources are expended for one hour a week. Jesus commissioned us to go into all the world and make disciples (Matthew 28), and we've turned it round, expecting the world to come to us.

Cole points out that the Church belongs to Jesus, and He is our key team player! We need to trust Him more and be prepared to go into scary places to find the 'good soil' of people waiting to hear and believe the good news. The Gospels make it clear where the most receptive people are: they are the outcasts of society, the prostitutes and low-lifes, they are in the places no one respectable wants to go to. If we want to see the church grow, we need to get out of our comfort zone and into the tough places!

Cole also argues that we need to stop allowing people within the church to be passive. New converts do not need to be 'trained' to reach others- look at how Jesus sent out Legion straight after healing him! Ultimately, instead of drawing people out of community, Jesus' plan is to inject the Gospel into existing communities... so that the members become a church themselves.

In short, we need to strip down all our requirements for church that aren't biblical- such as owning a building, running large services and organising rotas - and focus upon what really matters: close relationships that reach out to include anyone, no matter what their past or present situation is. Above all, as Christians we need to show others how Jesus has changed our lives... and show others how He can change their lives too.