not much to offer

American Christianity

2006-10-30T01:42:00.000-05:00

The more I read the letters of the New Testament the more I realize why American Christianity continues to work away from true Christianity. I used the term "American Christianity" in the sense in which it is recognized by the majority of the American public. Sadly enough "American Christianity" has even made it's way into the realm of evangelical Christianity (I'm speaking again of the public and media's understanding of "evangelical Christianity"). I became aware of this when watching a documentary done by ABC's Barbara Walters on "Heaven." I was discouraged to see Ted Haggard, the president of the National Association of Evangelicals, having more trouble giving straight forward answers than that of a Muslim extremist. American Christianity's problem is best summed up by Paul Washer who was quoting a friend on the foreign misison field saying, "You Americans, your theology is miles wide and only an inch deep." How true is this? Just take a second and ask yourself what you believe and why you believe it. In the little that I have observed from American Christianity it has appeared to me that the majority of those who would call themselves Christians are theological ignorant, while those who know enough to claim to be an evanglical Christian are theological sluggards. So back to my first sentence. Why about the letters of the New Testament writers helps me understand the downfall of Christianity in America? The answer is something that appears with odd regularity the first few chapters of each letter. This is a theological foundation that is laid for the spiritual disciplines and practical issues that are addressed later in the letters. If the New Testament writers thought it so important to start their letters with theological foundations, then why is there no theological foundation in much of our preaching, our evangelizing, and our everday living? Something to think about. Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures, concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations, including you who are called to belong to Jesus Christ, (Rom 1:1-6) To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours: (1Co 1:2) Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To the saints who are in Ephesus, and are faithful in Christ Jesus: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory. For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all. And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience-- among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ--by grace you have been saved-- and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called "the uncircumcision" by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands-- remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments and ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit. (Eph 1:1-2:22) For God is my witness, how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus. And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God. (Phi 1:8-11) To the saints and faithful brothers in Christ at Colossae: Grace to you and peace from God our Father. We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel, which has come to you, as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and growing--as it also does among you, since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth, just as you learned it from Epaphras our beloved fellow servant. He is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf and has made known to us your love in the Spirit. And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities--all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister. (Col 1:2-23) Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who are elect exiles of the dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood: May grace and peace be multiplied to you. (1Pe 1:1-2) - See the Trinity? Just a few examples, but you get the point.

Reason

2006-08-10T21:37:00.000-04:00

In my reading of a book for my preaching class, Authority by Martyn LLoyd-Jones, I came across this amazing quote by the French mathematician and scientist Blaise Pascal:

The supreme achievement of reason is to bring us to see that there is a limit to reason. There, it seems to me, is the starting point. Use your reason, use your intellect; do so honestly, and you will come to the conclusion that there is a limit to reason. And then wait. It is at that point that God in His infinite grace and kindness meets us in revelation.

Take this into consideration. . .

2006-07-20T18:56:00.000-04:00

After I had posted my last post I forgot to mention something I had read in my Manners and Customs book:

. . . Alexander Janneus (104-78 B.C.), had studied under Greek tutors in Rome. He was sympathetic to Greek ideas and secretly favored the intellectual Sadducees. Josephus reports that Janneus became drunk at the Feast of Tabernacles one year and poured an offering of water at his own feet, instead of on the altar. (Perhaps this was Janneus' way of showing his contempt for the Pharisees, who poured water on the altar to symbolize the need for rain.) A riot broke out, Janneus' soldiers' restored order, but only after 6,000 people had been killed. (Josephus, Antiquities, Bk. XIII, Chap. V, Sect. 13). (Taken from J.I. Packer and M.C. Tenney, eds. in Illustrated Manners and Customs of the Bible [1980], 507).

It was at the same celebration , the Feast of Tabernacles, that Jesus stands up and delivers an equally blasphemous blow. Janneus, living a little over one hundred years earlier, physically took the water and poured it over his own feet. In doing this, he was cleansing himself with the water that was used to cleanse the altar and show thanksgiving for God's gift of rain. Jesus stands up and and speaks words that are just as offensive as the act of Janneus. Jesus says that he is the provider of water and that those who come to Him shall have rivers of living water flow from their soul. There were 6,000 people who were killed in a riot resulting from Janneus's actions. I believe the only reason why there was not another riot started after the pronouncement from Jesus was because of His authority and miracles. (John 7:45-46) Jesus already had a following by many of the common people. This is why after Jesus speaks his comments lead to a discussion over whether or not he is the Messiah. (John 7:40-42) It should however be noted that this bold proclamation did not rest easy with all; there were some who wished to arrest him. (John 7:43-44)

Living Water

2006-07-16T14:31:00.000-04:00

On the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and called aloud, 'If any one is thirsty, let him come to me, and let him drink who believes in me. As the scripture has said, "Rivers of living water shall flow from his inmost being".' He said this with regard to the Spirit whom those who believed in him were going to receive; for the Spirit who those who believed in him were going to receive; for the Spirit was not yet (present) because Jesus had not yet been glorified. (John 7:37-39, as translated by F.F. Bruce)

The "great day of the feast" was the last day of the "Festival of the Booths" or the "Festival of Tabernacles". This festival was a celebration of the harvest and for the provision of the Lord (Lev. 23:33-43). F.F. Bruce commentates more on the festival:

The festival lasted eight days, and on the eighth day was 'a holy convocation . . . a solemn assembly' (Lev. 23:36; cf. Num. 29:35 ff.; Neh. 8:18). When the people thanked God at the celebration of Tabernacles for all the fruits of the past year - vine and olive as well as barley and wheat - they did not forget his gift of rain, apart from which none of those crops would have grown. An association of this festival with adequate rainfall is implied in Zech. 14:16f., and although the ceremony of water-pouring, well attested in connexion with Tabernacles for the two centuries preceding AD 70, is not mention in the OT, it was probably of very considerable antiquity. This ceremony, which was intended to acknowledge God's goodness in sending rain and to ensure a plentiful supply for the following season, was enacted at dawn on the first seven days of the festival. A procession led by a priest went down to the pool of Siloam, where a golden pitcher was filled with water, and returned to the temple as the morning sacrifice was being offered. The water was then poured into a funnel at the west side of the altar, and the temple choir began to sing the Great Hallel (Pss. 113-118.) (The Gospel & Epistles of John, p. 181)

What an amazing stage is set for the words Jesus speaks in John 7:37-38. The stage is people carrying jars of water to wash the bloody altars of the tabernacle while remembering the provision for the harvest provided by God. Not to mention the singing of the Great Hallel by the choir. There is one verse that jumps out from the great Hallel in light of the presence of Jesus. This verse is near the end of the Hallel in Ps. 118:22: "The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone." Sound familiar? This verse is quoted in Acts and 1 Peter as referring to Christ! (Acts 4:11; 1 Peter 2:7) It is on this platform that Christ proclaims that all who are thirsty should come to Him and believe in Him. This is a bold and beautiful announcement by Christ that the messiah has arrived. It is on Jesus' first time back into Judaea, since his healing of the lame man by the pool of Bethesda, that he makes this proclamation. The lame man was waiting for the healing power of the pool, while it was the giver of living water (John 4:10) who ultimately healed him. (John 5) The message of Christ was bold and most notably offensive to the Jews celebrating the feast. While they are going to worshiping God for his provision of rain, Christ says to come to Him for the provision of living water. Without the work of the spirit this is indeed a stumbling block to the Jews. Praise God for his sustaining grace. I pray that everytime we thirst for physical water we remember the living water that has been given to us by our faith in Christ.

2006-07-04T20:39:00.000-04:00

This summer I have been going through different books of the Bible. One of the books I am reading through is the Gospel of John. I'm going through John with a commentary by F.F. Bruce. This commentary has been a great help by giving helpful culural insight into the context in which the gospel writer is writing. I hope to start posting on the texts that I am reading and discuss how the texts can be applied by the believer and church today. On the personal front, we took the Lord's supper at church Sunday. This time is always such a blessing and comfort and Sunday was no exception. It was particularly refeshing considering I had just studied John 6 this past week. Hopefully I can post more on that later.

Order for Chaos

2006-05-14T03:02:00.000-04:00

It is comforting to see order in creation and in the creations of man. This tells me that the Creator has a trustworthiness and stability that can be trusted when the human mind and emotions run wild.