Romans Chapter 6
You have got to realize that as many of us who have been baptized into Jesus Christ have identified with him in his death and also in his burial and resurrection. Our baptism is like a burial of our old "sin and death" life that Jesus embodied on the cross. And just as Jesus was raised from the dead by the power of God, so also in baptism, we are raised up for the purpose of living by means of a new power source.
For God's intent in our dying and being buried with Christ is not to leave us lying powerless in the grave, but also to raise us with Jesus to live a transcendent life in him. Our old "sin and death" life was put out of commission through a mysterious co-crucifixion with Jesus. As a result, a life lived under the compulsion of our lower passions has passed away with a vengeance and such selfishness is no longer our master. We are dead and therefore liberated from the mandatory control of sin.
Comments:
In our ongoing struggle in dealing appropriately with our "flesh" (a rather complex word and subject), it is vital that we begin at the right place or from the right position. Something radical happened to our fallen human nature some 2,000 years ago...long before we were born. Jesus Christ appeared on the scene of human history...and died and rose again...so that we would be able to personally and freely receive the gift of a new nature that is in harmony with the Trinity. Our battle with temptations and sins must first be engaged by "believing" and "knowing" that Jesus has totally overcome sin and death on our behalf through what he has already accomplished.
There is a clearly defined pathway that leads us out of a life that is limited by self-concern and our attempts to transform ourselves into better persons. It begins by pausing long and hard enough to soak into our deep heart the good and great news of who Jesus is and what he has done for us. By this, a quiet strength seeps into our souls that then empowers us to successfully engage the battle to discover our truest self and, thereby, progressively grow into loving God and others well.
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Sunday, December 14, 2008
The Romance of Romans-Part 25
Romans Chapter 5/Chapter 6
In addition, it may seem strange, but God purposefully instituted the Mosaic legal system to flush the sinful nature out of hiding which resulted in more sinning. Yet this all the more magnified the sin-conquering grace of God. (I'll expand on this theme later.) Before Christ, sin ruled and death was dominant, but now through Jesus our Lord, grace rules- enthroned by the dominating righteousness that leads to eternal life.
Chapter 6 (sometimes humanly determined chapter breaks are not very helpful!)
Now I know what you're tempted to think. "If this is true, then we might as well sin more so that God's grace can continue to be magnified." Right? Wrong! You see, we live in a whole new era and new dynamics are now at work. For us, to deliberately live in sin is out of the question because we are actually dead to the whole dominion of sin.
Comments:
Paul touches on an important natural response in people's hearts and minds to the amazing-ness of God's grace. (This grace that boldly stares our sin in the face, is not shocked or dissuaded in the least and totally moves in to trump all our guilt and shame.) I think it's awesome that Paul gives voice in his letter to such natural thinking and the fact that he brings it to light only causes the authenticity of the gospel to rise all the more for me.
When the absolute "free" nature of God's gift of forgiveness and new life to us in Jesus hits our hearts, shortly thereafter, we begin to wonder about the future sins and failures we are certain to experience. And...if God will not hold them, along with our past compromises, against us...what will actually motivate us, or "others" to whom we preach, (after all, we don't like to make the inner conversation about such dark thoughts too personal!) to not give in to temptations to sinful self-gratification? Don't we also need some extra terrifying threats to hover over our heads to keep us in line on a moment by moment basis? (The serious warnings of the New Testament are reserved for people who are in danger of rejecting faith in Jesus.)
Instead, Paul comes at countering such dark thoughts from a different and refreshing angle. He doesn't argue for restricting our freedom to keep us in check, but instead, he argues for us to embrace and enjoy an even greater awareness of our freedom. So free are we, in fact, that we are now "dead" to the tyranny of sin. The apostle doesn't urge us to fearfully obsess about, "How can I not sin?" and/or "What if I lose my salvation?"...as we easily might lose the key to our car. Rather, we are to calmly reason, "Why would I really want to continue to give myself to sin?" and then make our daily choices from remembering the answer that turns out to be a "no-brainer". Sin, of course, is not satisfying to the human soul (though, assuredly, it continually poses as if it were!) and this is why we turned away from it to Jesus in the first place.
More to come....
In addition, it may seem strange, but God purposefully instituted the Mosaic legal system to flush the sinful nature out of hiding which resulted in more sinning. Yet this all the more magnified the sin-conquering grace of God. (I'll expand on this theme later.) Before Christ, sin ruled and death was dominant, but now through Jesus our Lord, grace rules- enthroned by the dominating righteousness that leads to eternal life.
Chapter 6 (sometimes humanly determined chapter breaks are not very helpful!)
Now I know what you're tempted to think. "If this is true, then we might as well sin more so that God's grace can continue to be magnified." Right? Wrong! You see, we live in a whole new era and new dynamics are now at work. For us, to deliberately live in sin is out of the question because we are actually dead to the whole dominion of sin.
Comments:
Paul touches on an important natural response in people's hearts and minds to the amazing-ness of God's grace. (This grace that boldly stares our sin in the face, is not shocked or dissuaded in the least and totally moves in to trump all our guilt and shame.) I think it's awesome that Paul gives voice in his letter to such natural thinking and the fact that he brings it to light only causes the authenticity of the gospel to rise all the more for me.
When the absolute "free" nature of God's gift of forgiveness and new life to us in Jesus hits our hearts, shortly thereafter, we begin to wonder about the future sins and failures we are certain to experience. And...if God will not hold them, along with our past compromises, against us...what will actually motivate us, or "others" to whom we preach, (after all, we don't like to make the inner conversation about such dark thoughts too personal!) to not give in to temptations to sinful self-gratification? Don't we also need some extra terrifying threats to hover over our heads to keep us in line on a moment by moment basis? (The serious warnings of the New Testament are reserved for people who are in danger of rejecting faith in Jesus.)
Instead, Paul comes at countering such dark thoughts from a different and refreshing angle. He doesn't argue for restricting our freedom to keep us in check, but instead, he argues for us to embrace and enjoy an even greater awareness of our freedom. So free are we, in fact, that we are now "dead" to the tyranny of sin. The apostle doesn't urge us to fearfully obsess about, "How can I not sin?" and/or "What if I lose my salvation?"...as we easily might lose the key to our car. Rather, we are to calmly reason, "Why would I really want to continue to give myself to sin?" and then make our daily choices from remembering the answer that turns out to be a "no-brainer". Sin, of course, is not satisfying to the human soul (though, assuredly, it continually poses as if it were!) and this is why we turned away from it to Jesus in the first place.
More to come....
Saturday, December 6, 2008
Radius Retreat House at Stillwater Heritage La Cygne Kansas
Merry Christmas from the Sullivant Family
Christmas 2008
Our Family News for Friends and Extended Family in this Season When the Whole World Still Pauses to Remember the Great Miracle of Christ’s Birth Among Us.
So much has rapidly changed over the last few years for us…many developments, new directions and passages of life. I (Michael) am writing this in “shorthand” so I can catch you up with everyone a bit without boring you to death!
Luke and Rebekah: Both 29; Living in Nashville since this time last year; pursuing their professional music careers; connecting with great people every week; loving God and people well; Luke: part-time band director for a wonderful racially integrated church: www.strongtowerbiblechurch.com; sought after session guitar and bass player; has played on over 60 albums now; you may hopefully be hearing one of the tunes he composed and produced for the theme song for Regis and Kelley Live very soon. Beka: teaching piano students; composing music; original worship CD in the works; full of life, love for family and friends. (follow the links at www.lukesullivant.com to find some of their stuff.)
Lisa (27) and James Hoskins (29): Living here in KC; married 2 years; enjoying God, marriage, life, corgi dog (Lucius) and many great friends; look them up at www.facebook.com. Lisa: highly-valued financial aid director at KC university medical wing; a truly mature woman now; wise beyond her years. James: finishing up undergrad in philosophy (full scholarship); preparing for grad school with hope of becoming college professor; working for a law firm; hosting a very intriguing website: www.worldofforms.net.
Sam (24) and Caitlin (21): Living here in KC; married 1.5 years; very happy; serving the Lord; loads of fun. Sam: free-lance videographer; landed a long-term contract with a renowned Christ-based arts group w/ a great studio; preaches periodically. Caitlin: professional dancer/ instructor at same arts group; finishing up university (3.8 and full scholarship); look them up at www.facebook.com. You can also see a website dedicated to the film, Troost, (a social commentary through images and original music on some of the historic racial segregation in KC) that Sam received a grant to produce at: http://virb.com/troostfilm.
Mike (20): Sophomore at Manhattan (KS) Christian College/ Kansas State; going for two degrees—ministry and business; pulling the grades; 2-time member of National Champions soccer team (scored the breakthrough goal in the final in Orlando FL this year!); in a good and serious relationship with fellow-student, Jeri Jensen, from Phoenix AZ; growing in manhood and spiritual life; look them up on www.facebook.com.
Steve (17): Junior at Blue Valley North High School; well-rounded in academics, track sprinter, spiritual leadership, social life and especially excelling in vocal music and piano; recorded first original composition/song: “Safe”; catch him on www.facebook.com.
Terri (age withheld, but you can do the math :-): Significantly recovered from her 2004 illness and brain surgery to correct a vein that wandered and interfered with a cranial nerve; recently back into the marketplace as a medical equipment sales rep; very connected to a cadre of lady friends; studying under a top national trainer to become a “life-coach”; sought after public speaker; adjusting to the specter of becoming an empty-nester in the near future; catch up w/ her at www.facebook.com.
Michael (slightly younger than Terri!): Recently “retired” from pastoral ministry after 21 years at Metro Christian Fellowship…w/ a fine watch to prove it. (Still involved with the church leadership/body in an advisory capacity); trying to make a go of working in the profit world for the first time in my adult life (www.rhythmtraffic.com); Rhythm Engineering has innovated a breakthrough robotic-based technology to optimize traffic signals that could truly change the world; with Terri, continuing to expand the work of our humble ministry, Radius— (http://groups.google.com/group/friends-of-radius); Radius is involved with ministry consultation, leader development, seminars, retreats, preaching, teaching, mentoring, writing projects (many blogs at www.michael-radius.blogspot.com), cross-cultural mission.
Radius Retreat House: we recently acquired stewardship of a beautiful country retreat house that can sleep 12-15 adults; located 60 miles south of KC; 20 acres and 4 acre lake (see attached picture and slide show); we are looking for some support (tax-exempt through Radius) for this project/associated expenses—financial donations, some nice-type furnishings, equipment/tools—and …especially… for our friends to come out and enjoy a retreat experience with their family members and/or friends. Contact us if you’d like to know more, schedule a time away or help out somehow; Terri and I will be personally hosting some weekend Radius Retreats over the course of this next year, so stayed tuned; this is a very exciting development in our lives that we are testing before the Lord as a possible long-term involvement and future focus point for Radius’ mission. (contact us at: msullivant@kc.rr.com or tsullivant@kc.rr.com.
May this coming year bring you the joy and peace and love of God our Father, Jesus the Son and the Holy Spirit and let us hear back from you too!
With all our love and prayers,
The Sullivant’s
Thursday, December 4, 2008
The Romance of Romans-Part 24
Romans Chapter 5 cont'd
In addition, it may seem strange, but God purposefully instituted the Mosaic legal system to flush the sinful nature out of hiding which resulted in more sinning. Yet this all the more magnified the sin-conquering grace of God. (I'll expand on this theme later.) Before Christ, sin ruled and death was dominant, but now through Jesus our Lord, grace rules- enthroned by the dominating righteousness that leads to eternal life.
Comments:
Paul does elaborate on this mysterious and outstanding purpose of the Mosaic law in God's economy in chapter 7. And...there are other purposes for the law (than to highlight and expose the sinful nature of human beings) that Jesus and the apostles point out. But I'll wait to comment more on this until we get to chapter 7.
What stands out to me from this final paragraph of chapter 5 that so beautifully sets up the theme of chapter 6 is how Paul sees God's grace, that has been offered freely to us all in Christ, is more powerful than our sin and/or our sins...as powerful and intimidating as they can be. We (and the Holy Spirit within us) are in an ongoing battle with "the flesh"...but it is not a battle between two equals. Because of Jesus, and having put our faith in him, we have been translated into a whole new realm of life...even here and now in this still fallen and evil age.
This is maybe the greatest mystery of the kingdom of God...the new genesis...inaugurated by Jesus. It has come to birth in the midst of our sick and broken world...like a seed of Life that has germinated deep in the soil where there is no light. And we...have been assimilated and sucked up into that higher life...like inanimate minerals that are transmogrified and literally become a part of a plant and its life via the plant's intelligent initiative.
It seems to me that Paul's fundamental point in equipping us to rise above the power of sin, in a practical and daily way, begins with our need to deeply grasp the reality of how we are now living in a different environment altogether than we did before being born of the Spirit and...to be fully conscious of this radical change 24/7. We are now breathing air from highest heaven (grace) by means of the real connectivity of heaven and earth provided by the Holy Spirit sent down to us from heaven, who is truly above, beneath, around and...yes...within us. To attempt to take the other practical steps of "overcoming" without internalizing this primary point, is a recipe for defeat (and maybe a good explanation for why believers live, and have lived, in such defeat both today and throughout history). But not you...and not me...not today. Instead, may we "be alive" to God and breathe in the presence of his kingdom all about us...and carry his joy.
In addition, it may seem strange, but God purposefully instituted the Mosaic legal system to flush the sinful nature out of hiding which resulted in more sinning. Yet this all the more magnified the sin-conquering grace of God. (I'll expand on this theme later.) Before Christ, sin ruled and death was dominant, but now through Jesus our Lord, grace rules- enthroned by the dominating righteousness that leads to eternal life.
Comments:
Paul does elaborate on this mysterious and outstanding purpose of the Mosaic law in God's economy in chapter 7. And...there are other purposes for the law (than to highlight and expose the sinful nature of human beings) that Jesus and the apostles point out. But I'll wait to comment more on this until we get to chapter 7.
What stands out to me from this final paragraph of chapter 5 that so beautifully sets up the theme of chapter 6 is how Paul sees God's grace, that has been offered freely to us all in Christ, is more powerful than our sin and/or our sins...as powerful and intimidating as they can be. We (and the Holy Spirit within us) are in an ongoing battle with "the flesh"...but it is not a battle between two equals. Because of Jesus, and having put our faith in him, we have been translated into a whole new realm of life...even here and now in this still fallen and evil age.
This is maybe the greatest mystery of the kingdom of God...the new genesis...inaugurated by Jesus. It has come to birth in the midst of our sick and broken world...like a seed of Life that has germinated deep in the soil where there is no light. And we...have been assimilated and sucked up into that higher life...like inanimate minerals that are transmogrified and literally become a part of a plant and its life via the plant's intelligent initiative.
It seems to me that Paul's fundamental point in equipping us to rise above the power of sin, in a practical and daily way, begins with our need to deeply grasp the reality of how we are now living in a different environment altogether than we did before being born of the Spirit and...to be fully conscious of this radical change 24/7. We are now breathing air from highest heaven (grace) by means of the real connectivity of heaven and earth provided by the Holy Spirit sent down to us from heaven, who is truly above, beneath, around and...yes...within us. To attempt to take the other practical steps of "overcoming" without internalizing this primary point, is a recipe for defeat (and maybe a good explanation for why believers live, and have lived, in such defeat both today and throughout history). But not you...and not me...not today. Instead, may we "be alive" to God and breathe in the presence of his kingdom all about us...and carry his joy.
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
The Romance of Romans-Part 23
Romans Chapter 5 cont'd
But if you think Adam's sin had impact, consider the impact of Christ's free gift! If the first man's action resulted in sin and death spreading to so many people, the action of this Man not only negated sin and death, but also imparted righteousness and eternal life to people. Consider this contrast further: Adam's one sin resulted in many sins and a corresponding judgment from God. This is natural. But the free gift bought by Christ captured of all that sin and condemnation and transformed it into righteousness. This is supernatural! Yes, one man's sin was powerful enough to cause death to have dominion, but the gift of Jesus Christ was even more powerful. Through him, people can receive what they don't deserve- God's unmerited favor and an overcoming, transcendent life.
To sum it up in other words, just as one act of disobedience resulted in sin and judgment coming upon all mankind; even so one act of obedience resulted in righteousness and a higher life being made freely available to this whole sinful and condemned human race. If the first thing seems "unfair", the second certainly is!
Comments:
Truly, Adam's choice was sweeping and powerful in its effects on all his descendants. Yet, Paul's point is that Christ's work was "much more" powerful in nature. Whenever I read this passage, I always think of an analogy. Imagine how one rotten apple, given just a bit of time, can easily spoil a whole barrel of unspoiled apples. But can you imagine placing a perfect apple into a barrel of rotten apples and then, after a bit of time, you find that all of those apples have been restored and transformed back into a perfect state? In the first case, you would lament at the power of natural corruption, but you would not be surprised. In the second case, you would absolutely stunned at an unprecedented miracle that you would want the whole world to know about! So it should be regarding the life and ministry of Jesus the Christ and his effect upon fallen humanity.
If someone unjustly pushed you into a dangerous rushing river. And...you couldn't swim and you knew you really were going to die. Would you argue with the person (his methods or motives) who suddenly showed up and who's job it was to rescue people in peril on the river and bring such perpetrators to justice? Or would you try to simply cooperate with his instructions as he came your way, be grateful and leave the matter of the perp in his hands?
It's humbling to admit that there are massive forces at work in our world that have deeply affected and do affect our lives...forces way beyond our own personal will..as critical as it is. The "force" of Adam's ancient choice...the "force" of our Creator bringing each of us into this world via our parents mating...the "force" of the Heavenly Father's grace toward us in Christ...the "force" of the Holy Spirit drawing us to Jesus Christ...are four of these most powerful realities.
God delights in being our Savior (it's just Who He is and what He does!) and all He asks for is our "little" cooperation and a lifetime of thanks...loving Him back and all the rest develop from these reasonable responses.
But if you think Adam's sin had impact, consider the impact of Christ's free gift! If the first man's action resulted in sin and death spreading to so many people, the action of this Man not only negated sin and death, but also imparted righteousness and eternal life to people. Consider this contrast further: Adam's one sin resulted in many sins and a corresponding judgment from God. This is natural. But the free gift bought by Christ captured of all that sin and condemnation and transformed it into righteousness. This is supernatural! Yes, one man's sin was powerful enough to cause death to have dominion, but the gift of Jesus Christ was even more powerful. Through him, people can receive what they don't deserve- God's unmerited favor and an overcoming, transcendent life.
To sum it up in other words, just as one act of disobedience resulted in sin and judgment coming upon all mankind; even so one act of obedience resulted in righteousness and a higher life being made freely available to this whole sinful and condemned human race. If the first thing seems "unfair", the second certainly is!
Comments:
Truly, Adam's choice was sweeping and powerful in its effects on all his descendants. Yet, Paul's point is that Christ's work was "much more" powerful in nature. Whenever I read this passage, I always think of an analogy. Imagine how one rotten apple, given just a bit of time, can easily spoil a whole barrel of unspoiled apples. But can you imagine placing a perfect apple into a barrel of rotten apples and then, after a bit of time, you find that all of those apples have been restored and transformed back into a perfect state? In the first case, you would lament at the power of natural corruption, but you would not be surprised. In the second case, you would absolutely stunned at an unprecedented miracle that you would want the whole world to know about! So it should be regarding the life and ministry of Jesus the Christ and his effect upon fallen humanity.
If someone unjustly pushed you into a dangerous rushing river. And...you couldn't swim and you knew you really were going to die. Would you argue with the person (his methods or motives) who suddenly showed up and who's job it was to rescue people in peril on the river and bring such perpetrators to justice? Or would you try to simply cooperate with his instructions as he came your way, be grateful and leave the matter of the perp in his hands?
It's humbling to admit that there are massive forces at work in our world that have deeply affected and do affect our lives...forces way beyond our own personal will..as critical as it is. The "force" of Adam's ancient choice...the "force" of our Creator bringing each of us into this world via our parents mating...the "force" of the Heavenly Father's grace toward us in Christ...the "force" of the Holy Spirit drawing us to Jesus Christ...are four of these most powerful realities.
God delights in being our Savior (it's just Who He is and what He does!) and all He asks for is our "little" cooperation and a lifetime of thanks...loving Him back and all the rest develop from these reasonable responses.
Sunday, November 30, 2008
The Romance of Romans-Part 22
Romans Chpater 5 cont'd
Sin entered into the world through Adam's fall and death was the consequence. Moreover, death spread to all mankind for they all became sinners themselves- through both natural birth and by personal choice. (Sin was in the world before God gave the law to Moses, but sin remains nebulous if there is no clearly revealed standard.)
But even though sin itself was not clearly defined from the time between Adam and Moses, its consequence, death, still had dominion over mankind- even over people who did not commit the same transgression that Adam did. He was given a role in influencing humanity that can only be compared with Jesus Christ himself.
Comments:
As Paul continues his version of the meta-narrative of "God's Story", he compares and contrasts Jesus with Adam. This is fitting given Paul's awareness that, through the events surrounding his first coming, Jesus has inaugurated the New Creation...the New Genesis...that the earth has been longing to witness. Adam and Jesus...the "first Adam" and the "last Adam" (Jesus "terminated" Adam's fallen race in his death on the cross)...the "first man" and the "second man" (Jesus "raised" humanity in his resurrection and ascension.) cf. 1 Cor 15. Adam and Jesus are the heads of the only real two "races" in the earth...despite all our international variety and color! It's also not insignificant that Jesus, as the eternal Word, was instrumental in the First Genesis...giving strong reassurance for whatever might potentially go wrong with innocent, but untested, humanity.
It is also important to note that sin is pictured in Scripture as an "alien" invasion of God's good original creation that has tragically affected both the earth and the heavens...the visible and the invisible realms. This understanding undermines the common gnostic notion that the "material" realm is evil and the "spiritual" realm is holy. (A personal confession: I really hate gnosticism and its effects on unsuspecting believers who are continually beat up by its modern forms in the church world.) The downside of the Fall is obvious as we simply rehearse human history, read our daily world news and take an honest look at our own personal historic struggles, temptations and failures. And then, of course, there is death...a harsh reality we tend to face squarely only during funerals. As much as people may argue about whether sin is a real issue in human life...there is always death to bring us back to the reality that something terrible has happened to all creation. The only word I can think of for the popular denial of sin in our culture is...well..."ridiculous".
The up side of this tragedy is that there really is something more original than sin in this world! It is the goodness of God's original design that has been horribly marred, but still powerfully on display and a conduit of great provision and joy for human life, despite our first parents' garden rebellion. Furthermore...God hasn't given up on his original design. The New Creation, rather than completely destroying the original, assimilates and incorporates the remnants of it's goodness and renews it's sacred purposes. The ultimate form of God's intentions for the universe is not to enshrine an eternal ethereal realm of disembodied spirits and endless church services but, I deeply believe, one of physical substance, unimaginable Trinity-worship, purpose, noble work, meaningful peer relations, ongoing development, exploration and discovery...a new heavens and a new earth...without any broken-ness to interrupt God's...or our...total satisfaction.
Sin entered into the world through Adam's fall and death was the consequence. Moreover, death spread to all mankind for they all became sinners themselves- through both natural birth and by personal choice. (Sin was in the world before God gave the law to Moses, but sin remains nebulous if there is no clearly revealed standard.)
But even though sin itself was not clearly defined from the time between Adam and Moses, its consequence, death, still had dominion over mankind- even over people who did not commit the same transgression that Adam did. He was given a role in influencing humanity that can only be compared with Jesus Christ himself.
Comments:
As Paul continues his version of the meta-narrative of "God's Story", he compares and contrasts Jesus with Adam. This is fitting given Paul's awareness that, through the events surrounding his first coming, Jesus has inaugurated the New Creation...the New Genesis...that the earth has been longing to witness. Adam and Jesus...the "first Adam" and the "last Adam" (Jesus "terminated" Adam's fallen race in his death on the cross)...the "first man" and the "second man" (Jesus "raised" humanity in his resurrection and ascension.) cf. 1 Cor 15. Adam and Jesus are the heads of the only real two "races" in the earth...despite all our international variety and color! It's also not insignificant that Jesus, as the eternal Word, was instrumental in the First Genesis...giving strong reassurance for whatever might potentially go wrong with innocent, but untested, humanity.
It is also important to note that sin is pictured in Scripture as an "alien" invasion of God's good original creation that has tragically affected both the earth and the heavens...the visible and the invisible realms. This understanding undermines the common gnostic notion that the "material" realm is evil and the "spiritual" realm is holy. (A personal confession: I really hate gnosticism and its effects on unsuspecting believers who are continually beat up by its modern forms in the church world.) The downside of the Fall is obvious as we simply rehearse human history, read our daily world news and take an honest look at our own personal historic struggles, temptations and failures. And then, of course, there is death...a harsh reality we tend to face squarely only during funerals. As much as people may argue about whether sin is a real issue in human life...there is always death to bring us back to the reality that something terrible has happened to all creation. The only word I can think of for the popular denial of sin in our culture is...well..."ridiculous".
The up side of this tragedy is that there really is something more original than sin in this world! It is the goodness of God's original design that has been horribly marred, but still powerfully on display and a conduit of great provision and joy for human life, despite our first parents' garden rebellion. Furthermore...God hasn't given up on his original design. The New Creation, rather than completely destroying the original, assimilates and incorporates the remnants of it's goodness and renews it's sacred purposes. The ultimate form of God's intentions for the universe is not to enshrine an eternal ethereal realm of disembodied spirits and endless church services but, I deeply believe, one of physical substance, unimaginable Trinity-worship, purpose, noble work, meaningful peer relations, ongoing development, exploration and discovery...a new heavens and a new earth...without any broken-ness to interrupt God's...or our...total satisfaction.
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
The Romance of Romans-Part 21
Romans Chapter 5 cont'd
And so, not only do we have joy because of our glorious future and because our present sufferings have meaning, but we also simply enjoy God. Our Lord Jesus Christ has made this personal fellowship with God possible through his sacrificial death for the forgiveness of our sins.
Comments:
Paul concludes this first section of Romans 5 about the sources of joy for living in this age by coming to the bottom line of joy. Our greatest blessing is having a "real-time" interactive friendship with the most amazing Being in the universe...the Maker of Heaven and Earth. We celebrate our absolute pardon for all our failures and sins and the free gift of righteousness that is also ours because of Jesus. We marvel at the expectation of a future that is beyond our wildest imaginations in terms of it's beauty and satisfaction. But...beyond these joys...here and now, the Holy Spirit has equipped us with the capacities of both soul and body (software and hardware!) to walk with God as His friends and to experience the transcendent and undergirding joy of knowing His genuine companionship...even though our feet still get dirty while treading this fallen world.
May we draw near to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit by faith today and open the windows of our beings to God-joy.
And so, not only do we have joy because of our glorious future and because our present sufferings have meaning, but we also simply enjoy God. Our Lord Jesus Christ has made this personal fellowship with God possible through his sacrificial death for the forgiveness of our sins.
Comments:
Paul concludes this first section of Romans 5 about the sources of joy for living in this age by coming to the bottom line of joy. Our greatest blessing is having a "real-time" interactive friendship with the most amazing Being in the universe...the Maker of Heaven and Earth. We celebrate our absolute pardon for all our failures and sins and the free gift of righteousness that is also ours because of Jesus. We marvel at the expectation of a future that is beyond our wildest imaginations in terms of it's beauty and satisfaction. But...beyond these joys...here and now, the Holy Spirit has equipped us with the capacities of both soul and body (software and hardware!) to walk with God as His friends and to experience the transcendent and undergirding joy of knowing His genuine companionship...even though our feet still get dirty while treading this fallen world.
May we draw near to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit by faith today and open the windows of our beings to God-joy.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
The Romance of Romans-Part 20
Romans Chapter 5 cont'd
Now if in the past, Jesus shed his blood so that we could have peace with God in the present, surely we won't suffer God's wrath in the future. And if he died for us when we were God's enemies, now that he is alive again and we are his friends who share this resurrection life, surely he will bring us to perfection. The most difficult and unimaginable thing has already taken place!
Comments:
Here is the way that the NIV translates verse 10: For if, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!
We typically think of being "saved" by the death of Jesus (which is obviously a big part of the deal), but here Paul distinguishes being "reconciled" to the Father and being "saved". The former is by means of the death of the Son and the latter is through the life (i.e. the resurrection) of the Son. And...we also have this "much more" language that Paul repeats several times in this chapter. What could be classified as "much more" than being reconciled to God through the death of Christ on the cross for us?!
It is that our salvation doesn't end with the new birth, but rather is inaugurated by the new birth. Now there is a whole journey in Christ that begins in this world and will carry on into the ages to come--a journey of LIFE in Christ. His death is very vital and important for us to always keep in view and proclaim repeatedly, but not enough is typically said and celebrated regarding the Life...his death is a doorway; his Life is a destination that is associated with this very meaningful journey. Salvation is Life and Life is to dominate our consciousness and inform our relationships and our pathway for all worship and service.
May the Holy Spirit make us aware today of the "much more" that God is doing in our lives this day to further conform us to the image of Jesus and to involve us in his plans and purposes for the people and work he puts in front of us.
Now if in the past, Jesus shed his blood so that we could have peace with God in the present, surely we won't suffer God's wrath in the future. And if he died for us when we were God's enemies, now that he is alive again and we are his friends who share this resurrection life, surely he will bring us to perfection. The most difficult and unimaginable thing has already taken place!
Comments:
Here is the way that the NIV translates verse 10: For if, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!
We typically think of being "saved" by the death of Jesus (which is obviously a big part of the deal), but here Paul distinguishes being "reconciled" to the Father and being "saved". The former is by means of the death of the Son and the latter is through the life (i.e. the resurrection) of the Son. And...we also have this "much more" language that Paul repeats several times in this chapter. What could be classified as "much more" than being reconciled to God through the death of Christ on the cross for us?!
It is that our salvation doesn't end with the new birth, but rather is inaugurated by the new birth. Now there is a whole journey in Christ that begins in this world and will carry on into the ages to come--a journey of LIFE in Christ. His death is very vital and important for us to always keep in view and proclaim repeatedly, but not enough is typically said and celebrated regarding the Life...his death is a doorway; his Life is a destination that is associated with this very meaningful journey. Salvation is Life and Life is to dominate our consciousness and inform our relationships and our pathway for all worship and service.
May the Holy Spirit make us aware today of the "much more" that God is doing in our lives this day to further conform us to the image of Jesus and to involve us in his plans and purposes for the people and work he puts in front of us.
Sunday, November 16, 2008
The Romance of Romans-Part 19
Romans Chapter 5 cont'd
Consider this strong love of God. The human race was spiritually dead- lost in sin and alienated from God. Now someone might sacrifice his life for a good friend, but for an evil enemy? Unheard of! Yet God's love is of a higher nature than mere human love. As much as he hates sin, because of his love, God found a way to separate sinners from their sin. In this love, he pursued us and at just the right time he became one of us. Then, in our place, he received in himself his own just punishment for mankind's sins- the death penalty.
Comments:
God's "Big God-Story" is deeply woven into these few verses of Roman 5:6-8. The eternal love conspiracy of the Divine Trinity has been put into force to thoroughly resolve the problem of evil in this world through the Person and Work of Jesus the Christ. God wants us and he wants to be wanted by us...but our sinful nature has kept our hearts in bondage and we have been caught in a frustrating loop that is driven by the "hyphenated sins" of our sitting on the thrones of our hearts: self-centeredness, self-justification, self-reliance, self-promotion, self-absorption...ad infinitum.
But here, Jesus has come onto the scene of human history to personally take on and dispel the heat of the sins, and the guilt and shame, of all humanity in his great substitutionary sacrifice on the cross. Those who simply believe (agree) in their hearts that he would do this for them, are personally transformed and translated, by the power of the Holy Spirit, into God's "new genesis" now mysteriously present and growing in this world. This new creation has been destined to gain momentum and progressively eclipse the power of this fallen old age, thus bringing a comprehensive renewal and the ultimate fulfillment of God's original design for creation when Christ returns. Isn't it astounding that a problem so difficult, heavy, agonizing, pervasive, costly and complicated ends up being resolved so simply and freely through the obedience of One Man and the exercise of childlike faith in him?
May God grant us childlike hearts of trust that vulnerably receive such great love.
Consider this strong love of God. The human race was spiritually dead- lost in sin and alienated from God. Now someone might sacrifice his life for a good friend, but for an evil enemy? Unheard of! Yet God's love is of a higher nature than mere human love. As much as he hates sin, because of his love, God found a way to separate sinners from their sin. In this love, he pursued us and at just the right time he became one of us. Then, in our place, he received in himself his own just punishment for mankind's sins- the death penalty.
Comments:
God's "Big God-Story" is deeply woven into these few verses of Roman 5:6-8. The eternal love conspiracy of the Divine Trinity has been put into force to thoroughly resolve the problem of evil in this world through the Person and Work of Jesus the Christ. God wants us and he wants to be wanted by us...but our sinful nature has kept our hearts in bondage and we have been caught in a frustrating loop that is driven by the "hyphenated sins" of our sitting on the thrones of our hearts: self-centeredness, self-justification, self-reliance, self-promotion, self-absorption...ad infinitum.
But here, Jesus has come onto the scene of human history to personally take on and dispel the heat of the sins, and the guilt and shame, of all humanity in his great substitutionary sacrifice on the cross. Those who simply believe (agree) in their hearts that he would do this for them, are personally transformed and translated, by the power of the Holy Spirit, into God's "new genesis" now mysteriously present and growing in this world. This new creation has been destined to gain momentum and progressively eclipse the power of this fallen old age, thus bringing a comprehensive renewal and the ultimate fulfillment of God's original design for creation when Christ returns. Isn't it astounding that a problem so difficult, heavy, agonizing, pervasive, costly and complicated ends up being resolved so simply and freely through the obedience of One Man and the exercise of childlike faith in him?
May God grant us childlike hearts of trust that vulnerably receive such great love.
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
The Romance of Romans-Part 18
Romans Chapter 5 cont'd
Yet, not only do we have joy because of our bright future but, paradoxically, we also discover joy in the middle of the pressures and difficulties of this life. This is because we are confident that there is divine purpose in these things. Consider the positive character qualities that can grow out of our trials. Patience can only be formed in us by the temporary denial of what we would prefer and true spiritual maturity cannot exist without one of its main elements- patience. Being personally transformed through this maturation process imparts the assurance that we really are going to one day be fully like Christ. Furthermore, we know that our hope of perfection is not a fantasy, because of the reality of our encountering God's love for us, in us and through us. All this is made possible by the vital personal relationship we already freely enjoy with the Holy Spirit who fills our hearts with God's love. So it is a glorious cycle: genuine personal growth here and now inspires confidence in our future perfection, which, in turn, inspires further spiritual growth in the present.
Comments:
Joy is a "bottom line" issue of the kingdom of God in our lives. In this first part of Romans 5, Paul is revealing the psychologically sound "life-view" that underpins and informs our experience of joy in Christ. As believers, our future bliss is obvious (and worthy of regular pondering!), but this expectation is a "living hope" (as Peter calls it) that has the intrinsic power to translate downpayments of this future joy into our present experience...despite any of our challenging circumstances in this still imperfect environment. There are two primary elements that converge to impart to us such joy.
First, trials, which are inevitable, are actually useful to our deepest longing and our ultimate goal...to become like Christ. And...we (and others) have witnessed the genuine (and also inevitable) growth in Christlikeness that we have experienced by patiently enduring adversity without giving up on loving God and others. (Resistance, though painful...builds muscles!) Second, in the midst of our trials and sufferings, God is with us "in the now" through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Mysteriously, He makes a way for hope and joy to sufficiently seep into our hearts and minds, so that we are blessed, stabilized, comforted and surrounded (often consciously) with the Divine in the face of the messes and tragedies of this life. The pains are real, but so is the comfort and the joy. This dynamic in our lives, truly, is a powerful and compelling witness to the reality of the resurrection of Christ in the eyes of a watching world.
May we find grace to face the trials of the day with the joy of Jesus Christ pumping in our souls.
Yet, not only do we have joy because of our bright future but, paradoxically, we also discover joy in the middle of the pressures and difficulties of this life. This is because we are confident that there is divine purpose in these things. Consider the positive character qualities that can grow out of our trials. Patience can only be formed in us by the temporary denial of what we would prefer and true spiritual maturity cannot exist without one of its main elements- patience. Being personally transformed through this maturation process imparts the assurance that we really are going to one day be fully like Christ. Furthermore, we know that our hope of perfection is not a fantasy, because of the reality of our encountering God's love for us, in us and through us. All this is made possible by the vital personal relationship we already freely enjoy with the Holy Spirit who fills our hearts with God's love. So it is a glorious cycle: genuine personal growth here and now inspires confidence in our future perfection, which, in turn, inspires further spiritual growth in the present.
Comments:
Joy is a "bottom line" issue of the kingdom of God in our lives. In this first part of Romans 5, Paul is revealing the psychologically sound "life-view" that underpins and informs our experience of joy in Christ. As believers, our future bliss is obvious (and worthy of regular pondering!), but this expectation is a "living hope" (as Peter calls it) that has the intrinsic power to translate downpayments of this future joy into our present experience...despite any of our challenging circumstances in this still imperfect environment. There are two primary elements that converge to impart to us such joy.
First, trials, which are inevitable, are actually useful to our deepest longing and our ultimate goal...to become like Christ. And...we (and others) have witnessed the genuine (and also inevitable) growth in Christlikeness that we have experienced by patiently enduring adversity without giving up on loving God and others. (Resistance, though painful...builds muscles!) Second, in the midst of our trials and sufferings, God is with us "in the now" through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Mysteriously, He makes a way for hope and joy to sufficiently seep into our hearts and minds, so that we are blessed, stabilized, comforted and surrounded (often consciously) with the Divine in the face of the messes and tragedies of this life. The pains are real, but so is the comfort and the joy. This dynamic in our lives, truly, is a powerful and compelling witness to the reality of the resurrection of Christ in the eyes of a watching world.
May we find grace to face the trials of the day with the joy of Jesus Christ pumping in our souls.
Thursday, November 6, 2008
The Romance of Romans-Part 17
Chapter 5
By believing in and putting our personal trust in Jesus, in who he is and in what he has done for us, we have been justified- forgiven and declared righteous by God. And because of this, we are no longer at war, but at peace with him. Not only do we have direct access to God, but we are also confident that we now live in a state of being characterized by the availability of God's free and freeing grace- unmerited favor and desire and power to live for him. Even beyond all this, we have a joyfully motivating, present and earnest expectation concerning our glorious destiny- being personally perfected and living in a perfect place in the presence of God.
Comments:
Salvation is a big word, that is, it covers a lot of territory. Because we are in Christ, our past, present and future have all been absolutely revolutionized. In this little paragraph at the beginning of Romans 5 the whole landscape of our life is in view. All of the failures and sins of our past...along with the tormenting guilt and shame associated with them...have been washed away in the vast sea of God's deliberate forgetfulness. In the present, we have new desires...healthy and holy passions... encoded and embedded into our deepest heart...along with the power to live them out. (Not perfectly, mind you, but substantially and truly.) We now enjoy a new "state of being" that is centered in the realism of Christ living within us...whatever the circumstances about us might be. His peace is ours and a genuine interactive friendship with the Father, Son and Spirit in real time is our gracious inheritance and the key to living well in this fallen world. Regarding our future...we have to use our renewed imaginations to even begin to conceive of the beauty, joy and complete and amazing satisfaction...spiritually, mentally, emotionally, physically, vocationally and relationally...we will eternally know and delight in. (I've written more on this theme in a past blog called "Heaven Is" on 11/22/06. www.michael-radius.blogspot.com)
May the peace of Christ be yours in every way this day.
By believing in and putting our personal trust in Jesus, in who he is and in what he has done for us, we have been justified- forgiven and declared righteous by God. And because of this, we are no longer at war, but at peace with him. Not only do we have direct access to God, but we are also confident that we now live in a state of being characterized by the availability of God's free and freeing grace- unmerited favor and desire and power to live for him. Even beyond all this, we have a joyfully motivating, present and earnest expectation concerning our glorious destiny- being personally perfected and living in a perfect place in the presence of God.
Comments:
Salvation is a big word, that is, it covers a lot of territory. Because we are in Christ, our past, present and future have all been absolutely revolutionized. In this little paragraph at the beginning of Romans 5 the whole landscape of our life is in view. All of the failures and sins of our past...along with the tormenting guilt and shame associated with them...have been washed away in the vast sea of God's deliberate forgetfulness. In the present, we have new desires...healthy and holy passions... encoded and embedded into our deepest heart...along with the power to live them out. (Not perfectly, mind you, but substantially and truly.) We now enjoy a new "state of being" that is centered in the realism of Christ living within us...whatever the circumstances about us might be. His peace is ours and a genuine interactive friendship with the Father, Son and Spirit in real time is our gracious inheritance and the key to living well in this fallen world. Regarding our future...we have to use our renewed imaginations to even begin to conceive of the beauty, joy and complete and amazing satisfaction...spiritually, mentally, emotionally, physically, vocationally and relationally...we will eternally know and delight in. (I've written more on this theme in a past blog called "Heaven Is" on 11/22/06. www.michael-radius.blogspot.com)
May the peace of Christ be yours in every way this day.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
The Romance of Romans-Part 16
Romans Chapter 4 cont'd
He (Abraham) believed God who raises the dead and has the prophetic power to call the things yet future, as good as done. Against all odds, he continued to hope and believe that God would give him a son and make him a father of many nations. Even after he turned one-hundred and both he Sarah were beyond the age of conceiving children, he grew strong in faith without surrendering to unbelief and kept praising God, fully convinced that God would do what he said he would. Again, it was his faith that was counted to him as righteousness.
Now this was not just true for Abraham; that his righteousness was by faith. It applies to us, who will also receive God's righteousness if we believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. He was sacrificed for our trespasses and raised again so that we might be made right with God.
Comments:
Jesus said that there is great power available when two people agree in prayer before God. But there is even greater power available when we agree with God Himself (and...most importantly about who Jesus is and what he has done for us in his death and resurrection). And this...I believe...is the essence of what exercising faith is about. There is a passive side to it because, when it comes to miracles, only God's power can accomplish such things and we humbly wait for Him to act and move...even upon us. But there is also an active side to faith as well.
Dallas Willard has said that faith is present when “my whole being is set to act as if something was so.” This is how Abraham lived before God...not perfectly, even in his case...but substantially over the course of his life. Abraham not only received God's gift of righteousness at the beginning of his friendship with God, but he also walked in God's righteousness by embracing an ongoing posture of agreeing with God and acting accordingly with the strength that God provided him. It's not a bad goal to consider adopting...to seek to agree with God with my whole being...as best as I can discern His heart and mind...yet without becoming arrogant about any way in which I come to understand His truth.
Father, may I act today as if Jesus died to wipe away my guilt and shame and rose from the dead to give me the free gift of Your very own righteousness. May I be conscious that Christ lives in me as I live out the life and circumstances You have arranged for each moment of the day and evening that lies before me.
He (Abraham) believed God who raises the dead and has the prophetic power to call the things yet future, as good as done. Against all odds, he continued to hope and believe that God would give him a son and make him a father of many nations. Even after he turned one-hundred and both he Sarah were beyond the age of conceiving children, he grew strong in faith without surrendering to unbelief and kept praising God, fully convinced that God would do what he said he would. Again, it was his faith that was counted to him as righteousness.
Now this was not just true for Abraham; that his righteousness was by faith. It applies to us, who will also receive God's righteousness if we believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. He was sacrificed for our trespasses and raised again so that we might be made right with God.
Comments:
Jesus said that there is great power available when two people agree in prayer before God. But there is even greater power available when we agree with God Himself (and...most importantly about who Jesus is and what he has done for us in his death and resurrection). And this...I believe...is the essence of what exercising faith is about. There is a passive side to it because, when it comes to miracles, only God's power can accomplish such things and we humbly wait for Him to act and move...even upon us. But there is also an active side to faith as well.
Dallas Willard has said that faith is present when “my whole being is set to act as if something was so.” This is how Abraham lived before God...not perfectly, even in his case...but substantially over the course of his life. Abraham not only received God's gift of righteousness at the beginning of his friendship with God, but he also walked in God's righteousness by embracing an ongoing posture of agreeing with God and acting accordingly with the strength that God provided him. It's not a bad goal to consider adopting...to seek to agree with God with my whole being...as best as I can discern His heart and mind...yet without becoming arrogant about any way in which I come to understand His truth.
Father, may I act today as if Jesus died to wipe away my guilt and shame and rose from the dead to give me the free gift of Your very own righteousness. May I be conscious that Christ lives in me as I live out the life and circumstances You have arranged for each moment of the day and evening that lies before me.
Monday, November 3, 2008
The Romance of Romans-Part 15
Romans Chapter 4 cont'd
But trying to live up to the Mosaic code actually produces greater offense and guilt in people, for where there is no clear standard, there is no clear violation. Therefore salvation must be by grace through faith so that the promise might be divinely secured for all, Jews or Gentiles, who express the same kind of trust in God which our father of faith, Abraham, did. As it says in scripture, "I have made you a father of many nations.
Comments:
In this little section of chapter 4, Paul continues to press the point that God's salvation methodology has never been based on people trying their best to improve themselves morally. He posits a notion that he will elaborate on in Romans 7...that the main purpose of God giving the Law to the children of Israel through Moses was never to make them (or us, or anyone) intrinsically righteous, but to diagnose and highlight the sin and broken-ness that ruled in their fallen human natures, so that...they would ultimately completely trust in God and His promised Messiah rather than in the, always limited and imperfect, degree of their obedience to the Law. Added to this "radical reframing" of understanding God's historical purposes and His dealings with and future plans for Israel, Paul also again reinforces that it was always God's intention to include the gentile nations in His covenant-based salvation through His original promise to father Abraham.
Both of these fundamental notions were a deep challenge to the prevailing interpretations of Jewish history and theology in the first century. These ideas, based in the Jewish scriptures, were ironically very difficult and painful for first century Jews to accept. They struck a terrible blow to both the prideful nationalism and self-righteousness that tend to gradually creep into any culture that has a genuine history of experience with the Living God. (There are the very same religious traps that exist in our day within "Christendom" and "Christian nations".) The gospel of Jesus always strikes a death blow to human pride in all its various forms, but...not to humiliate us as human beings...but, rather, to open the door to an amazing grace that comes from God as a free gift to the humble.
But trying to live up to the Mosaic code actually produces greater offense and guilt in people, for where there is no clear standard, there is no clear violation. Therefore salvation must be by grace through faith so that the promise might be divinely secured for all, Jews or Gentiles, who express the same kind of trust in God which our father of faith, Abraham, did. As it says in scripture, "I have made you a father of many nations.
Comments:
In this little section of chapter 4, Paul continues to press the point that God's salvation methodology has never been based on people trying their best to improve themselves morally. He posits a notion that he will elaborate on in Romans 7...that the main purpose of God giving the Law to the children of Israel through Moses was never to make them (or us, or anyone) intrinsically righteous, but to diagnose and highlight the sin and broken-ness that ruled in their fallen human natures, so that...they would ultimately completely trust in God and His promised Messiah rather than in the, always limited and imperfect, degree of their obedience to the Law. Added to this "radical reframing" of understanding God's historical purposes and His dealings with and future plans for Israel, Paul also again reinforces that it was always God's intention to include the gentile nations in His covenant-based salvation through His original promise to father Abraham.
Both of these fundamental notions were a deep challenge to the prevailing interpretations of Jewish history and theology in the first century. These ideas, based in the Jewish scriptures, were ironically very difficult and painful for first century Jews to accept. They struck a terrible blow to both the prideful nationalism and self-righteousness that tend to gradually creep into any culture that has a genuine history of experience with the Living God. (There are the very same religious traps that exist in our day within "Christendom" and "Christian nations".) The gospel of Jesus always strikes a death blow to human pride in all its various forms, but...not to humiliate us as human beings...but, rather, to open the door to an amazing grace that comes from God as a free gift to the humble.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
The Romance of Romans-Part 14
Romans Chapter 4 cont'd
David also affirmed that God's righteousness isn't given according to "earning it” when he declared, "How blessed are those whose transgressions are forgiven and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the person whose sins the Lord does not count against him. "
Now think about it. Is this "blessedness" only given to circumcised Jews, or is it also available to uncircumcised Gentiles? Remember, we agreed that Abraham's faith was the basis of his righteousness. Was he circumcised or uncircumcised when this was said about him? He himself was an uncircumcised Gentile when God said this to him! Only after this was he circumcised, which was only an outward sign of the righteousness that God had already bestowed on him because of his belief. This made Abraham the father of all who believe God, even uncircumcised Gentiles. So then, God's righteousness is available to them as well. And he is obviously the father of the Jews, if indeed they walk in the same kind of faith Abraham displayed while he was still an uncircumcised Gentile. For God's awesome promise that Abraham would be the father of many nations was not given to him and his descendants on the basis of religious performance, but because of the right relationship with God he enjoyed on the basis of believing God. If this promise is based on "earning it", then faith is nullified and God "owes" salvation to people.
But trying to live up to the Mosaic code actually produces greater offense and guilt in people, for where there is no clear standard, there is no clear violation.
Comments:
Up to this point, Paul has been laboring in Romans to reveal how the gospel of Jesus is a great leveler for people of all races and religious backgrounds. Our human nature tends toward trying to earn God's love and acceptance based on our moral performance--this inclination comes so easy to us. There is a certain basic "fairness" about this view of religion in our minds and hearts because we instinctively know that God is holy and He would certainly want us to behave better if we are to approach Him and have a relationship with Him. It also of gets drilled into us, at least in our culture, through our family, education, athletic and business systems. Bad performance brings punitive measures from the authorities over us and good behavior is typically smiled upon and rewarded.
Probably the closest thing on the human level to the kind of love that God has for us is the love of a healthy parent (or maybe especially, a grandparent!). Beneath the pressure a good parent may put upon a child to perform better, is an undeserved love from the very beginning of the child's life that comes from simply "being family". Ultimately, parents' love for a child can tolerate a lot of misbehavior and poor performance on the part of their daughter/son without breaking the bond of affection. Some parents certainly communicate and display this unearned love better than others and some, in their fear that their child might take a wrong advantage of this love, hardly express it at all.
But in Romans, we are talking about the relationship of a perfectly moral and all-powerful Being to human beings who are imperfect and lacking much in power. Although better behavior is commendable and ultimately an important issue (Romans 6-8 address this matter thoroughly), it is not the fundamental basis of our establishing a life-giving relationship with God. And that is actually the main point so far...we (whether Jew or gentile) can't establish a friendship with God by our own efforts. No one is good enough or holy enough within himself/herself to pull this off. All of us need God to reach down to us to initiate a relationship, it one is to be had at all. This is what the gospel of Jesus Christ is all about...this is what the Heavenly Father has done for us in Christ. And...this quality of Divine love is in line with what He modeled to us in the life-stories of Abraham and David (and others) recorded in the Hebrew Scriptures. Salvation by grace through faith is at the roots of the faith of all who have ever truly been God's friends. And now because of Jesus (who he is and what he has done) the opportunity for people of all nations to "know God" has exploded across our planet by simple agreement with the simply profound news.
David also affirmed that God's righteousness isn't given according to "earning it” when he declared, "How blessed are those whose transgressions are forgiven and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the person whose sins the Lord does not count against him. "
Now think about it. Is this "blessedness" only given to circumcised Jews, or is it also available to uncircumcised Gentiles? Remember, we agreed that Abraham's faith was the basis of his righteousness. Was he circumcised or uncircumcised when this was said about him? He himself was an uncircumcised Gentile when God said this to him! Only after this was he circumcised, which was only an outward sign of the righteousness that God had already bestowed on him because of his belief. This made Abraham the father of all who believe God, even uncircumcised Gentiles. So then, God's righteousness is available to them as well. And he is obviously the father of the Jews, if indeed they walk in the same kind of faith Abraham displayed while he was still an uncircumcised Gentile. For God's awesome promise that Abraham would be the father of many nations was not given to him and his descendants on the basis of religious performance, but because of the right relationship with God he enjoyed on the basis of believing God. If this promise is based on "earning it", then faith is nullified and God "owes" salvation to people.
But trying to live up to the Mosaic code actually produces greater offense and guilt in people, for where there is no clear standard, there is no clear violation.
Comments:
Up to this point, Paul has been laboring in Romans to reveal how the gospel of Jesus is a great leveler for people of all races and religious backgrounds. Our human nature tends toward trying to earn God's love and acceptance based on our moral performance--this inclination comes so easy to us. There is a certain basic "fairness" about this view of religion in our minds and hearts because we instinctively know that God is holy and He would certainly want us to behave better if we are to approach Him and have a relationship with Him. It also of gets drilled into us, at least in our culture, through our family, education, athletic and business systems. Bad performance brings punitive measures from the authorities over us and good behavior is typically smiled upon and rewarded.
Probably the closest thing on the human level to the kind of love that God has for us is the love of a healthy parent (or maybe especially, a grandparent!). Beneath the pressure a good parent may put upon a child to perform better, is an undeserved love from the very beginning of the child's life that comes from simply "being family". Ultimately, parents' love for a child can tolerate a lot of misbehavior and poor performance on the part of their daughter/son without breaking the bond of affection. Some parents certainly communicate and display this unearned love better than others and some, in their fear that their child might take a wrong advantage of this love, hardly express it at all.
But in Romans, we are talking about the relationship of a perfectly moral and all-powerful Being to human beings who are imperfect and lacking much in power. Although better behavior is commendable and ultimately an important issue (Romans 6-8 address this matter thoroughly), it is not the fundamental basis of our establishing a life-giving relationship with God. And that is actually the main point so far...we (whether Jew or gentile) can't establish a friendship with God by our own efforts. No one is good enough or holy enough within himself/herself to pull this off. All of us need God to reach down to us to initiate a relationship, it one is to be had at all. This is what the gospel of Jesus Christ is all about...this is what the Heavenly Father has done for us in Christ. And...this quality of Divine love is in line with what He modeled to us in the life-stories of Abraham and David (and others) recorded in the Hebrew Scriptures. Salvation by grace through faith is at the roots of the faith of all who have ever truly been God's friends. And now because of Jesus (who he is and what he has done) the opportunity for people of all nations to "know God" has exploded across our planet by simple agreement with the simply profound news.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
The Romance of Romans-Part 13
Romans Chapter 4
How was Abraham, our father according to human ancestry, made right with God? If he were justified by his religious performance then he would have had something to boast about- even though God would have seen right through it. For the scripture makes it clear: "Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness." If someone works, then his reward is not a free gift, but something he's owed for his labor. But to the one who realizes he can't earn salvation, but simply stops trying to and just trusts in the One who saves the sinful, his belief is counted to him as righteousness.
Comments:
Father Abraham...esteemed by all...was not Jewish. The Jews, as a people group, did not exist in his day. We easily overlook this simple point. He was from a culture that had devolved into polytheism and idol worship along with the other cultures of his world and time. But the Living God..."I Am that I Am"...the Omnipotent Creator of all things...intervened miraculously in his life, spoke to him and transformed him into His friend. Abraham's life and journey was shaped by God's calling him away from his land and it's culture and religion and the earth has never been the same...even though Abraham, in his earthly life, saw very few of the outcomes of the promises God made to him. He certainly sees them now. There is a great and profound continuity between this visible realm and the one we don't see with our physical eyes!
As the apostle Paul continues to unfold the essential elements of the Big God-Story of gospel of Jesus Christ in the book of Romans...he reminds us of the history of God's interventions with humanity. Before he discusses the place and purpose of the Law of Moses in God's economy, he goes back before the time of Moses to reinforce the fact that God's salvation methodology is rooted in a non-Jew "believing (i.e. trusting and responding with the deep heart) God" rather than in ritual, law-keeping and/or being born into the "right" ethnic or social group. Can God save a non-Jew? We had all better hope so...including Jewish people...for they would not exist as a people unless He could and did.
So...for God to suddenly open the way for gentiles to be "grafted in" to His covenant family, through the Messiah Jesus, is not an out of character thing for Him to do--no, not at all. In fact, it is a logical (and prophetically oft-foretold by the Jewish prophets) extension of His eternal purposes in His dealings with humanity as a whole well-grounded in His covenant with Father Abraham. This radical development in the unfolding Story of God's salvation in the earth was something that actually was, and should have been, expected by all who took the ancient prophecy of Scripture to heart.
How was Abraham, our father according to human ancestry, made right with God? If he were justified by his religious performance then he would have had something to boast about- even though God would have seen right through it. For the scripture makes it clear: "Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness." If someone works, then his reward is not a free gift, but something he's owed for his labor. But to the one who realizes he can't earn salvation, but simply stops trying to and just trusts in the One who saves the sinful, his belief is counted to him as righteousness.
Comments:
Father Abraham...esteemed by all...was not Jewish. The Jews, as a people group, did not exist in his day. We easily overlook this simple point. He was from a culture that had devolved into polytheism and idol worship along with the other cultures of his world and time. But the Living God..."I Am that I Am"...the Omnipotent Creator of all things...intervened miraculously in his life, spoke to him and transformed him into His friend. Abraham's life and journey was shaped by God's calling him away from his land and it's culture and religion and the earth has never been the same...even though Abraham, in his earthly life, saw very few of the outcomes of the promises God made to him. He certainly sees them now. There is a great and profound continuity between this visible realm and the one we don't see with our physical eyes!
As the apostle Paul continues to unfold the essential elements of the Big God-Story of gospel of Jesus Christ in the book of Romans...he reminds us of the history of God's interventions with humanity. Before he discusses the place and purpose of the Law of Moses in God's economy, he goes back before the time of Moses to reinforce the fact that God's salvation methodology is rooted in a non-Jew "believing (i.e. trusting and responding with the deep heart) God" rather than in ritual, law-keeping and/or being born into the "right" ethnic or social group. Can God save a non-Jew? We had all better hope so...including Jewish people...for they would not exist as a people unless He could and did.
So...for God to suddenly open the way for gentiles to be "grafted in" to His covenant family, through the Messiah Jesus, is not an out of character thing for Him to do--no, not at all. In fact, it is a logical (and prophetically oft-foretold by the Jewish prophets) extension of His eternal purposes in His dealings with humanity as a whole well-grounded in His covenant with Father Abraham. This radical development in the unfolding Story of God's salvation in the earth was something that actually was, and should have been, expected by all who took the ancient prophecy of Scripture to heart.
Monday, October 13, 2008
The Romance of Romans-Part 12
Romans Chapter 3 cont'd.
However, a new day has dawned and the righteousness of God is revealed that transcends the Mosaic legal system. The scriptures themselves, written by Moses and the prophets, point us to this very truth. Now this divine righteousness is available to all people who really believe in the Messiah, Jesus, and put their trust in who he is and what he has done for them. For there is no real difference between people- all have sinned and fall far short of God's standard of perfection. Justification (God reconciling us to himself) is a free gift of God's grace purchased by Jesus Christ; whom God has clearly presented as the only righteous one and therefore, the only worthy blood sacrifice for the sins of all people of all times, which God has patiently endured. Sacrificing his own Son was the only possible way that God could impart his righteousness to people and still be true to both his justice and his mercy.
God's ingenious salvation strategy undermines all the arrogant self-righteousness of religious people because it is not based on the principle of trying, but trusting. We therefore conclude that people are made right with God, not on the basis of religious works, but on the basis of putting their confidence in Jesus the Messiah. God isn't only the God of the Jews, but also of the Gentiles. And if he is the same and only true God for all, then he must save all by the same means- believing.
So do we nullify the value of the Mosaic law because of this? No way! In fact, its very focus is confirmed.
Comments:
Imagine that the whole human race had been living perpetually in the nighttime. There would be nights that were darker than others and when the full moon would shine on a clear night, people would think how bright it was outside. The moon would be esteemed as the brightest source of natural light in the world. Then imagine that a time came in the course of history when something unprecedented occurred. One "day", while people were minding their own business, on the edge of the horizon a powerful and brilliant glow appeared. Everyone's attention would be drawn to the eastern sky. And...over several minutes it intensified until suddenly the people of the earth witnessed, for the first time in their long history, a piercing ray of the sun. They would probably assume that the end of the world was at hand. Then a brilliant and massive disk of light that emitted a penetrating warmth rose into the heavens. As it rose, it became even too bright to gaze upon and its radiant heat intensified. The "days" of the past, were now paling in comparison to this "DAY" that had suddenly dawned upon the earth. The moon, still visible in the sky, was fading from sight. Over time, as the people learned more about this amazing sun and its rhythms, they realized that the moon was just a dead stone and it's only light was a reflection of the great and powerful light of the sun.
This is the word picture that comes to my mind as I think about the Big God Story of the Scriptures and ponder the history of God's dealings with humanity in the Old Testament in light of what He did in Christ by inaugurating the New Covenant in his blood. All that God did in human history pointed forward to the appearance on earth's stage of Jesus of Nazareth--the Christ. The Old Covenant was written on dead stones that did not change the stony human heart within the soul of God's fallen image bearers. It's light only reflected the Light of the One to come. But the New Covenant was based in a Person who is a the source of true light that is too brilliant to gaze into. He provides a warmth that goes deep into all of human life and existence. He made a way for God's own nature and righteousness to be "birthed" into the soul of a person that changes the very chemistry of her/his nature. He lovingly chose to do this on the basis of his own goodness, justice and grace rather than the insufficient religious performance of any broken human being. Those who would receive this grand miracle would not be qualified by their race, religious background, level of education or social status. All that the heavenly Father would require them to do is trust the One He sent and agree in the depth of their hearts that he is the only begotten Son of God who has been given to be the Savior of the world.
And...far from being anti-Jewish...for people of every race and nation to be invited to "receive" Jesus as the promised Messiah...the Father's free gift to all humanity...is the fulfillment of what the Hebrew prophets heard from God, anticipated and foretold. God's promise to Abraham that he would be the father of many nations and a blessing to every family on the earth finds its consummation in all that Jesus was and is about.
However, a new day has dawned and the righteousness of God is revealed that transcends the Mosaic legal system. The scriptures themselves, written by Moses and the prophets, point us to this very truth. Now this divine righteousness is available to all people who really believe in the Messiah, Jesus, and put their trust in who he is and what he has done for them. For there is no real difference between people- all have sinned and fall far short of God's standard of perfection. Justification (God reconciling us to himself) is a free gift of God's grace purchased by Jesus Christ; whom God has clearly presented as the only righteous one and therefore, the only worthy blood sacrifice for the sins of all people of all times, which God has patiently endured. Sacrificing his own Son was the only possible way that God could impart his righteousness to people and still be true to both his justice and his mercy.
God's ingenious salvation strategy undermines all the arrogant self-righteousness of religious people because it is not based on the principle of trying, but trusting. We therefore conclude that people are made right with God, not on the basis of religious works, but on the basis of putting their confidence in Jesus the Messiah. God isn't only the God of the Jews, but also of the Gentiles. And if he is the same and only true God for all, then he must save all by the same means- believing.
So do we nullify the value of the Mosaic law because of this? No way! In fact, its very focus is confirmed.
Comments:
Imagine that the whole human race had been living perpetually in the nighttime. There would be nights that were darker than others and when the full moon would shine on a clear night, people would think how bright it was outside. The moon would be esteemed as the brightest source of natural light in the world. Then imagine that a time came in the course of history when something unprecedented occurred. One "day", while people were minding their own business, on the edge of the horizon a powerful and brilliant glow appeared. Everyone's attention would be drawn to the eastern sky. And...over several minutes it intensified until suddenly the people of the earth witnessed, for the first time in their long history, a piercing ray of the sun. They would probably assume that the end of the world was at hand. Then a brilliant and massive disk of light that emitted a penetrating warmth rose into the heavens. As it rose, it became even too bright to gaze upon and its radiant heat intensified. The "days" of the past, were now paling in comparison to this "DAY" that had suddenly dawned upon the earth. The moon, still visible in the sky, was fading from sight. Over time, as the people learned more about this amazing sun and its rhythms, they realized that the moon was just a dead stone and it's only light was a reflection of the great and powerful light of the sun.
This is the word picture that comes to my mind as I think about the Big God Story of the Scriptures and ponder the history of God's dealings with humanity in the Old Testament in light of what He did in Christ by inaugurating the New Covenant in his blood. All that God did in human history pointed forward to the appearance on earth's stage of Jesus of Nazareth--the Christ. The Old Covenant was written on dead stones that did not change the stony human heart within the soul of God's fallen image bearers. It's light only reflected the Light of the One to come. But the New Covenant was based in a Person who is a the source of true light that is too brilliant to gaze into. He provides a warmth that goes deep into all of human life and existence. He made a way for God's own nature and righteousness to be "birthed" into the soul of a person that changes the very chemistry of her/his nature. He lovingly chose to do this on the basis of his own goodness, justice and grace rather than the insufficient religious performance of any broken human being. Those who would receive this grand miracle would not be qualified by their race, religious background, level of education or social status. All that the heavenly Father would require them to do is trust the One He sent and agree in the depth of their hearts that he is the only begotten Son of God who has been given to be the Savior of the world.
And...far from being anti-Jewish...for people of every race and nation to be invited to "receive" Jesus as the promised Messiah...the Father's free gift to all humanity...is the fulfillment of what the Hebrew prophets heard from God, anticipated and foretold. God's promise to Abraham that he would be the father of many nations and a blessing to every family on the earth finds its consummation in all that Jesus was and is about.
Monday, October 6, 2008
The Romance of Romans-Part 11
Romans Chapter 3 cont'd
So are we Jews superior to the Gentiles? Again I say, "No way!" I have just made it clear that Jews and Gentiles are both “in the same boat"--in bondage to sin and in need of salvation. The scripture confirms this in the Psalms, "No one is righteous in himself, absolutely no one. No one possesses intrinsic spiritual understanding or intrinsic desire and power to seek after God. Everyone has gone his own way, and embraced vanity. No one is innately good; absolutely no one! Death and decay are within them; their words are manipulative and deceitful, like the poisonous venom of serpents. Their speech is full of cursing and bitterness. They are 'quick to the kill'. They leave destruction and misery in their wake and they are ignorant about healthy relationships. Nothing is sacred to them and they don't know the proper fear of God."
Now this wasn't just written about all those Gentile folks out there. It was specifically written about Jews, for it was written in the Jewish scriptures! So every person on the earth, Jew or Gentile, needs to just shut their mouths and acknowledge their guilt before God. Therefore, no one is made righteous in God's sight on the basis of trying to obey the Mosaic law, for it was primarily given to expose sin.
Comments:
These are Paul's final paragraphs that wrap up the point that he began to make in the second part of chapter 1. Righteousness is not intrinsic to human nature as we are born into this world. The fall of our first parents has affected our basic nature. Gentile "flesh" and Jewish "flesh" are still human "flesh" and it all falls greatly short of the holiness of God. We have all sinned, not only against God's standard of perfection, but, at times, against our own better judgment. Some of us display more sinful attitudes and actions than others of us and some of us display more of what is "good" in humanity than others...but still...we have all "missed the mark" in plenty of ways. And...we all know it is true when we are honest with ourselves. Our God-given conscience informs us so.
Because our sinful nature and tendencies are so common, we often try to find ways to explain them away, suppress them, whitewash them with religion, minimize them, redefine them or mask them. We imagine, "If everyone is imperfect...it mustn't be a big deal to God anyway. He ought to be used to it by now!" But then the great gospel of Jesus come along and challenges us to face the reality of our fallen-ness. And...the Holy Spirit gently and firmly puts his finger on our own personal sinfulness and allows the guilt and shame to surface so that our true condition can be squarely faced and not denied. I need forgiveness for my many failures. I need a Savior...for I cannot save myself or change my own nature.
Then the Holy Spirit goes on to convince me that a Savior is there for me...if I will only have the courage and gut-level honesty to turn and face him. Who is it? Yes, it's Jesus Christ after all. Of course it's him. I suspected that he was the real deal the first time I heard of him. The One whose name is on the lips of so many...even if it is used as a cuss word. (Even the naughty cannot keep him off of their minds!) He died for us, he is risen, he is Lord of all, his influence is all around us and even moving upon our souls. But will I melt...or carry on in my hardness...suppressing what I know must be true? Oh God...help me to melt over and over again.
So are we Jews superior to the Gentiles? Again I say, "No way!" I have just made it clear that Jews and Gentiles are both “in the same boat"--in bondage to sin and in need of salvation. The scripture confirms this in the Psalms, "No one is righteous in himself, absolutely no one. No one possesses intrinsic spiritual understanding or intrinsic desire and power to seek after God. Everyone has gone his own way, and embraced vanity. No one is innately good; absolutely no one! Death and decay are within them; their words are manipulative and deceitful, like the poisonous venom of serpents. Their speech is full of cursing and bitterness. They are 'quick to the kill'. They leave destruction and misery in their wake and they are ignorant about healthy relationships. Nothing is sacred to them and they don't know the proper fear of God."
Now this wasn't just written about all those Gentile folks out there. It was specifically written about Jews, for it was written in the Jewish scriptures! So every person on the earth, Jew or Gentile, needs to just shut their mouths and acknowledge their guilt before God. Therefore, no one is made righteous in God's sight on the basis of trying to obey the Mosaic law, for it was primarily given to expose sin.
Comments:
These are Paul's final paragraphs that wrap up the point that he began to make in the second part of chapter 1. Righteousness is not intrinsic to human nature as we are born into this world. The fall of our first parents has affected our basic nature. Gentile "flesh" and Jewish "flesh" are still human "flesh" and it all falls greatly short of the holiness of God. We have all sinned, not only against God's standard of perfection, but, at times, against our own better judgment. Some of us display more sinful attitudes and actions than others of us and some of us display more of what is "good" in humanity than others...but still...we have all "missed the mark" in plenty of ways. And...we all know it is true when we are honest with ourselves. Our God-given conscience informs us so.
Because our sinful nature and tendencies are so common, we often try to find ways to explain them away, suppress them, whitewash them with religion, minimize them, redefine them or mask them. We imagine, "If everyone is imperfect...it mustn't be a big deal to God anyway. He ought to be used to it by now!" But then the great gospel of Jesus come along and challenges us to face the reality of our fallen-ness. And...the Holy Spirit gently and firmly puts his finger on our own personal sinfulness and allows the guilt and shame to surface so that our true condition can be squarely faced and not denied. I need forgiveness for my many failures. I need a Savior...for I cannot save myself or change my own nature.
Then the Holy Spirit goes on to convince me that a Savior is there for me...if I will only have the courage and gut-level honesty to turn and face him. Who is it? Yes, it's Jesus Christ after all. Of course it's him. I suspected that he was the real deal the first time I heard of him. The One whose name is on the lips of so many...even if it is used as a cuss word. (Even the naughty cannot keep him off of their minds!) He died for us, he is risen, he is Lord of all, his influence is all around us and even moving upon our souls. But will I melt...or carry on in my hardness...suppressing what I know must be true? Oh God...help me to melt over and over again.
Sunday, October 5, 2008
The Romance of Romans-Part 10
Romans Chapter 3 cont'd
I will continue to anticipate arguments based on mere human reasoning. "If our being wrong magnifies the fact that God is right, he shouldn't have any complaints and he's unjust for judging us for our wrongs." Wrong again! God is bound by his nature to approve all that is right and to condemn all that is wrong. You might respond, "If God's truth is seen more clearly by its contrast to my falsehood and he receives more honor because of it, how can he be just if he still condemns me for being sinful?" Some have taken this reasoning to such an extreme that they recommend (and have actually claimed that we have taught!), "Let's do more and more evil, so that greater good may result." This kind of thinking is truly damnable and not even worth a rebuttal!
Comments:
Paul is beginning to ramp up in anticipation of revealing the Divine Logic (a word connected to "Logos") of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Before he does, he gets a couple more common objections of people who are skeptical of the gospel out of the way.
The first one is about a flippant attitude that some have about God's amazing ability to capitalize on the tragic presence of evil in the world (and in human hearts!) to show forth His own holiness and justice (and later...mercy) by contrast. But instead of being stunned and humbled by this Divine attribute, some people, in essence, react to the gospel by saying, "Oh...we're actually doing God a 'favor' by being the 'flawed object' of this contrast. So...if He holds us accountable for our sins, He is unjust. If He is unjust, then He is not worthy of our worship and service. Hey Paul...we gotcha...you're preaching foolish nonsense. And...if what you're saying is really true, sin isn't such a big deal anyway. So what's all your urgency about."
The second one takes this reaction to the gospel message a step further. This argument says, "So Paul, what you're actually then saying is that we might as well sin as much as we can. If God can 'use' our sin to bring glory to Himself, then let's give Him some more material to work with. Cool. Ha...now we really gotcha!" This is obviously not what Paul is saying. Just take a step back and rehearse the horrors of sin in our world and in world history...and in our personal lives and relationships and reread chapter 1.
Still...there is an important irony here for us who follow Jesus and share the good news of his grace. If some people do not react to our message of God's grace in Christ in a similar way and accuse us saying these kinds of things, we probably aren't preaching what Paul did! God's grace is so free and freeing...so unintimidated by the presence of evil and sin...so capable of overcoming and negating the tragedy of our fallen existence...so filled with a Beauty that totally eclipses all the ugliness of evil...that a superficial and flippant reaction to hearing about the good news often causes people conclude that sin and evil really aren't much a problem after all...if what we're saying it true. Proper preaching the the gospel has always made believers vulnerable to these accusations that twist it's inscrutable Logic into such foolishness.
God's actual attitude toward sin and evil is revealed in the gospels as we see him come humbly into our world in Jesus to live right in the midst of the sinful age for love's sake. We see him seeking and loving and forgiving and healing and and resurrecting the lost, the unloved, the sinful, the sick and the deceased. We see Jesus pressing beyond the sin and evil in people to see and call forth who they were really called to be...doing all that he did to free their hearts to embrace the Dawn of new creation that was rising upon the Dusk of the old creation to trump it's darkness with a brilliant light. God loves the sinner--his "fallen image bearers".
Yet we also see the mood change in the gospels to that of a heavy sobriety...a time of temptation, agony, betrayal, scattering, mockery, and terrible injustice...as Jesus, at the end of three and a half years of compassion-filled ministry turns his face like flint to go to Jerusalem to deal with the root problem of humanity. And this he ultimately did by taking upon himself the guilt and shame of all humanity--past, present and future--so that he could then take it away and triumph over it through his sacrificial death on the cross and then finally through his blessed resurrection. God hates sin--the disease that has held captive his "fallen image bearers". So...sin is a terrible problem and nothing to be flip about. But God....
I will continue to anticipate arguments based on mere human reasoning. "If our being wrong magnifies the fact that God is right, he shouldn't have any complaints and he's unjust for judging us for our wrongs." Wrong again! God is bound by his nature to approve all that is right and to condemn all that is wrong. You might respond, "If God's truth is seen more clearly by its contrast to my falsehood and he receives more honor because of it, how can he be just if he still condemns me for being sinful?" Some have taken this reasoning to such an extreme that they recommend (and have actually claimed that we have taught!), "Let's do more and more evil, so that greater good may result." This kind of thinking is truly damnable and not even worth a rebuttal!
Comments:
Paul is beginning to ramp up in anticipation of revealing the Divine Logic (a word connected to "Logos") of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Before he does, he gets a couple more common objections of people who are skeptical of the gospel out of the way.
The first one is about a flippant attitude that some have about God's amazing ability to capitalize on the tragic presence of evil in the world (and in human hearts!) to show forth His own holiness and justice (and later...mercy) by contrast. But instead of being stunned and humbled by this Divine attribute, some people, in essence, react to the gospel by saying, "Oh...we're actually doing God a 'favor' by being the 'flawed object' of this contrast. So...if He holds us accountable for our sins, He is unjust. If He is unjust, then He is not worthy of our worship and service. Hey Paul...we gotcha...you're preaching foolish nonsense. And...if what you're saying is really true, sin isn't such a big deal anyway. So what's all your urgency about."
The second one takes this reaction to the gospel message a step further. This argument says, "So Paul, what you're actually then saying is that we might as well sin as much as we can. If God can 'use' our sin to bring glory to Himself, then let's give Him some more material to work with. Cool. Ha...now we really gotcha!" This is obviously not what Paul is saying. Just take a step back and rehearse the horrors of sin in our world and in world history...and in our personal lives and relationships and reread chapter 1.
Still...there is an important irony here for us who follow Jesus and share the good news of his grace. If some people do not react to our message of God's grace in Christ in a similar way and accuse us saying these kinds of things, we probably aren't preaching what Paul did! God's grace is so free and freeing...so unintimidated by the presence of evil and sin...so capable of overcoming and negating the tragedy of our fallen existence...so filled with a Beauty that totally eclipses all the ugliness of evil...that a superficial and flippant reaction to hearing about the good news often causes people conclude that sin and evil really aren't much a problem after all...if what we're saying it true. Proper preaching the the gospel has always made believers vulnerable to these accusations that twist it's inscrutable Logic into such foolishness.
God's actual attitude toward sin and evil is revealed in the gospels as we see him come humbly into our world in Jesus to live right in the midst of the sinful age for love's sake. We see him seeking and loving and forgiving and healing and and resurrecting the lost, the unloved, the sinful, the sick and the deceased. We see Jesus pressing beyond the sin and evil in people to see and call forth who they were really called to be...doing all that he did to free their hearts to embrace the Dawn of new creation that was rising upon the Dusk of the old creation to trump it's darkness with a brilliant light. God loves the sinner--his "fallen image bearers".
Yet we also see the mood change in the gospels to that of a heavy sobriety...a time of temptation, agony, betrayal, scattering, mockery, and terrible injustice...as Jesus, at the end of three and a half years of compassion-filled ministry turns his face like flint to go to Jerusalem to deal with the root problem of humanity. And this he ultimately did by taking upon himself the guilt and shame of all humanity--past, present and future--so that he could then take it away and triumph over it through his sacrificial death on the cross and then finally through his blessed resurrection. God hates sin--the disease that has held captive his "fallen image bearers". So...sin is a terrible problem and nothing to be flip about. But God....
Saturday, October 4, 2008
The Romance of Romans-Part 9
Romans Chapter 3
Now I know that you're tempted to think: "If what he's saying is true, then there has been no meaning to all it has cost the Jews for being God's 'chosen people'. What's the advantage of being a Jew in the first place?" Actually, there are many privileges- especially that God gave them the stewardship over his message to humanity through the prophetic scriptures. So if some Jews have been unfaithful to their divine calling, does this negate the faithfulness of God himself? No way! God is, and will always be, true even if all people were to contradict him. The scripture says of him, "You are always right in all that you say and you always prove your critics wrong."
Comments:
At this point in his letter, Paul has just written many paragraphs graphically detailing the very real and deadly trouble that the souls of people, both Jews and gentiles, are in. The beginning of chapter 3 opens with a literary tool that he will use throughout the rest of the letter. He pens a contrary question that he knows that his previous statements will evoke in the hearts and minds of his readers and then goes on to give a reasonable answer to the argument of the "ghost" doubter.
In my view, this first question is the most profound and fundamental one of them all. Yet, it is one whose profundity can easily escape us. Let me put it in other words...If a law-keeping and God-honoring Jewish person is not right with God and...in the larger context...if the Jewish people are not "saved" or "safe" by being associated with their historic/national/ethnic faith community and its beliefs, rituals and customs...then God has lied because he has broken his part of the ancient bargain he made with Abraham, Moses, David and the like...since he absolutely promised that he would "save" their children/followers throughout the generations to come. So...God is not "righteous" if what Paul says is true. I believe how Paul addresses this question is the main theme of the book of Romans as it posits a new and different paradigm of how to understand and interpret the metanarrative...the overarching story...of the Bible from Genesis forward. This new and authoritative framework for understanding the "kingdom of God" and the OT prophecies was initiated by Jesus in the Gospels. And...it was the primary reason, humanly speaking, why Jesus and Paul both were executed.
As followers of Jesus in our day, we need to let this sobering philosophical/doctrinal foundation of the first part of Romans sink in to our hearts and minds. It's truly radical and upsets the status quo of our spiritually complacent cultures--religious and otherwise.
Now I know that you're tempted to think: "If what he's saying is true, then there has been no meaning to all it has cost the Jews for being God's 'chosen people'. What's the advantage of being a Jew in the first place?" Actually, there are many privileges- especially that God gave them the stewardship over his message to humanity through the prophetic scriptures. So if some Jews have been unfaithful to their divine calling, does this negate the faithfulness of God himself? No way! God is, and will always be, true even if all people were to contradict him. The scripture says of him, "You are always right in all that you say and you always prove your critics wrong."
Comments:
At this point in his letter, Paul has just written many paragraphs graphically detailing the very real and deadly trouble that the souls of people, both Jews and gentiles, are in. The beginning of chapter 3 opens with a literary tool that he will use throughout the rest of the letter. He pens a contrary question that he knows that his previous statements will evoke in the hearts and minds of his readers and then goes on to give a reasonable answer to the argument of the "ghost" doubter.
In my view, this first question is the most profound and fundamental one of them all. Yet, it is one whose profundity can easily escape us. Let me put it in other words...If a law-keeping and God-honoring Jewish person is not right with God and...in the larger context...if the Jewish people are not "saved" or "safe" by being associated with their historic/national/ethnic faith community and its beliefs, rituals and customs...then God has lied because he has broken his part of the ancient bargain he made with Abraham, Moses, David and the like...since he absolutely promised that he would "save" their children/followers throughout the generations to come. So...God is not "righteous" if what Paul says is true. I believe how Paul addresses this question is the main theme of the book of Romans as it posits a new and different paradigm of how to understand and interpret the metanarrative...the overarching story...of the Bible from Genesis forward. This new and authoritative framework for understanding the "kingdom of God" and the OT prophecies was initiated by Jesus in the Gospels. And...it was the primary reason, humanly speaking, why Jesus and Paul both were executed.
As followers of Jesus in our day, we need to let this sobering philosophical/doctrinal foundation of the first part of Romans sink in to our hearts and minds. It's truly radical and upsets the status quo of our spiritually complacent cultures--religious and otherwise.
Friday, October 3, 2008
The Romance of Romans-Part 8
Romans 2 cont'd
Again I address you religious Jews. You claim that you have spiritual security by your knowledge of the Mosaic code, God is on your side, you know his will and you have a superior philosophy of life based on divine revelation. You are confident that you are the divinely chosen moral governors of the earth- guides to the spiritually blind, a light of truth in the midst of the world's dark deception, instructors to the foolish, teachers of the uninstructed and the ones entrusted with the scriptural blueprints of ultimate knowledge and truth.
You then who presume to instruct others, why don't you listen to your own words? You preach to others to not steal, but you are thieves yourselves. You condemn adultery in others, but you're guilty of it yourselves. You say you hate idolatry, but you put many things ahead of God himself. You claim to honor the commandments of scripture, but you dishonor their Author by violating them. Indeed, the Gentiles ridicule the precious name of the God of Israel because of you Israelites, just as the prophets of old have said.
Being Jewish has its advantages if you're not a religious hypocrite. Yet, if you are playing a religious game, do you think that God sees you as a true Jew? If a Gentile wholeheartedly embraces the truth God has revealed to him, isn't he more "Jewish" in God's sight than you, even though he hasn't embraced Jewish religious rites and customs? Indeed, such non-Jews, ethnically speaking, will end up judging you ethnic Jews who violate your own stated convictions. For true "Jewishness" is not a matter of ethnic origins, outward religious rites, or scriptural knowledge. True Jewish-ness is a matter of the heart- an inner "spiritual circumcision". It has to do with spiritual reality, not religious formality, and it causes a person to become a "God-pleaser" rather than a "man-pleaser".
Comments:
In the "fallen-ness of our weak and independent humanity, it seems that we tend to "flesh out" in two extreme ways. And...I think this is the point that Paul so earnestly makes as we piece the last part of Romans 1 with Romans 2. We tend toward living for the thrill and buzz of pushing beyond the boundaries associated with temporary pleasures and become addicted to those experiences to the point that we sabotage our relationships and revert to mere brutes...or...we see through that ugliness of this way of life and gravitate to a moral religious system/code that enables us to rise above living by such carnal passions. We associate ourselves with a culture that has a reputation of being "connected to God" and seek to overcome being unspiritual. Or...maybe we are simply born into such a culture and our group's accepted way of life is based on this kind of religiously-based "moralism".
The classic problem with the latter condition, however, is that just as the moral character of the pagan cultures devolve over time into more twisted forms, religious/moralistic cultures and their step-children tend to devolve into self-righteousness, judgmentalism, externalism, image projection, cultural and ethnic pride, hatred and the hypocrisy that is encoded in denial. A far cry from being "connected to God" in a genuine and vital way.
This was the general condition of first century Judaism and the apostle pulls no punches as he lays bare the hypocritial moralism that was present within its ranks. I think he is saying, "The flesh is flesh...whatever form it may take...and we human beings must be somehow lifted out of our "fleshliness" because we can't do it for ourselves. History and sociology have proven this fact." He has been writing "hard" to reveal that both the irreligious and the religious are in the same basic boat and in desperate need of a Savior.
This section of Romans 1 and 2 is indeed the "bad side of the good news", but it sets the stage for hearing about the most amazing Divine Surprise the world has ever known...the Gift of Jesus the Christ...to a world that is spiraling down into the mire of humanly energized religion(s) and irreligion.
Again I address you religious Jews. You claim that you have spiritual security by your knowledge of the Mosaic code, God is on your side, you know his will and you have a superior philosophy of life based on divine revelation. You are confident that you are the divinely chosen moral governors of the earth- guides to the spiritually blind, a light of truth in the midst of the world's dark deception, instructors to the foolish, teachers of the uninstructed and the ones entrusted with the scriptural blueprints of ultimate knowledge and truth.
You then who presume to instruct others, why don't you listen to your own words? You preach to others to not steal, but you are thieves yourselves. You condemn adultery in others, but you're guilty of it yourselves. You say you hate idolatry, but you put many things ahead of God himself. You claim to honor the commandments of scripture, but you dishonor their Author by violating them. Indeed, the Gentiles ridicule the precious name of the God of Israel because of you Israelites, just as the prophets of old have said.
Being Jewish has its advantages if you're not a religious hypocrite. Yet, if you are playing a religious game, do you think that God sees you as a true Jew? If a Gentile wholeheartedly embraces the truth God has revealed to him, isn't he more "Jewish" in God's sight than you, even though he hasn't embraced Jewish religious rites and customs? Indeed, such non-Jews, ethnically speaking, will end up judging you ethnic Jews who violate your own stated convictions. For true "Jewishness" is not a matter of ethnic origins, outward religious rites, or scriptural knowledge. True Jewish-ness is a matter of the heart- an inner "spiritual circumcision". It has to do with spiritual reality, not religious formality, and it causes a person to become a "God-pleaser" rather than a "man-pleaser".
Comments:
In the "fallen-ness of our weak and independent humanity, it seems that we tend to "flesh out" in two extreme ways. And...I think this is the point that Paul so earnestly makes as we piece the last part of Romans 1 with Romans 2. We tend toward living for the thrill and buzz of pushing beyond the boundaries associated with temporary pleasures and become addicted to those experiences to the point that we sabotage our relationships and revert to mere brutes...or...we see through that ugliness of this way of life and gravitate to a moral religious system/code that enables us to rise above living by such carnal passions. We associate ourselves with a culture that has a reputation of being "connected to God" and seek to overcome being unspiritual. Or...maybe we are simply born into such a culture and our group's accepted way of life is based on this kind of religiously-based "moralism".
The classic problem with the latter condition, however, is that just as the moral character of the pagan cultures devolve over time into more twisted forms, religious/moralistic cultures and their step-children tend to devolve into self-righteousness, judgmentalism, externalism, image projection, cultural and ethnic pride, hatred and the hypocrisy that is encoded in denial. A far cry from being "connected to God" in a genuine and vital way.
This was the general condition of first century Judaism and the apostle pulls no punches as he lays bare the hypocritial moralism that was present within its ranks. I think he is saying, "The flesh is flesh...whatever form it may take...and we human beings must be somehow lifted out of our "fleshliness" because we can't do it for ourselves. History and sociology have proven this fact." He has been writing "hard" to reveal that both the irreligious and the religious are in the same basic boat and in desperate need of a Savior.
This section of Romans 1 and 2 is indeed the "bad side of the good news", but it sets the stage for hearing about the most amazing Divine Surprise the world has ever known...the Gift of Jesus the Christ...to a world that is spiraling down into the mire of humanly energized religion(s) and irreligion.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
The Romance of Romans-Part 7
Romans 2 cont'd
People who live in sin without being exposed to God's written law given through Moses, will be condemned without reference to it. However, those who live in sin having been exposed to the Mosaic law will be condemned on the basis of it. Possessing intellectual knowledge about the scriptures will never save anyone. Salvation is only found by personally embracing and submitting to whatever spiritual knowledge God has revealed to us. When Gentiles, who have never heard of the Mosaic law, live by the light of conscience within them, it proves that God has written his moral law on the hearts of all people. They instinctively know when they do right or wrong. God has specifically revealed to me that he has appointed a day when he will judge the secrets of men's hearts through the "grid" of who Jesus Christ is and what he has done. (Imagine some of the surprises we will have.) I assure you that after that day; no one will ever again point their finger at God and accuse him of being unjust!
Comments:
This little section of Romans 2 touches on the common stumbling block in people's minds regarding the spiritual fate of people who have never been exposed to the scriptures or the gospel. Naturally, we deeply question how God can judge someone in such circumstances. Sometimes people who hear the gospel of Jesus Christ pull back from putting their trust in him to become their Lord and Savior. I faced this question head on when I first became a follower of Jesus at age 18 and I have helped others face it along the way as a teacher and pastor. Here are the simple points that I landed on in those early days of my faith that have helped me, and then many others, come to peace on this issue.
1. God is God (not me!) and God is absolutely just and good. Our hearts can be totally trust in these realities and also that when all the facts of human existence are on the table in eternity's light, no one will be able to find one fault with God's ways or evaluations. I won't and neither will you. The anticipation of one day having this fuller light gives me peace to leave eternal judgment in the hands of the only One capable of such a thing.
2. We need to be first of all concerned with, when we are personally exposed to the Person and Work of Jesus, "who do we say that he is?", not "what about all those 'poor souls' who have never heard of Jesus?" I am the first "poor soul" that I can do something about! Coming to terms in my own heart with the compelling evidences that point to Jesus being who he said he was and is also gives me peace. I mustn't allow such a giant question about the possible fate of "people who have never heard" keep me from receiving the freedom from my guilt and shame (that I need so desperately) that is freely offered to me in Christ...and it hasn't.
3. We must make room in our theology for the largeness of God's grace and the mysterious and surprising works of the Holy Spirit in drawing people to faith in Jesus Christ. God's grace doesn't begin to work upon a person when they first hear about the good news of Jesus. It has already begun to work...witnessed by the simple fact that they have been allowed to hear it. Every believer that I have ever encountered can point back to how she/he now can see how the Holy Spirit was at work in their lives before they came to Christ. There are marvelous accounts of how the gospel of Jesus has come to people and whole people groups who didn't seem to have the opportunity to hear about him.
There is a prime example of this in the tenth chapter of the book of Acts where a Roman centurion named Cornelius (a classic pre-Christian) was powerfully encountering the grace of God before he was converted to Jesus. Even his prayers and acts of compassion were being "accepted" and "remembered" by the one true and living God! An amazing story unfolds of how Cornelius and his whole extended family came to faith in Jesus. It was "so outside the box" that it even shocked the apostles of Christ and messed with their theology. Let's be very careful about dictating exactly how God might lead a person to Jesus--some of his ways may surprise and stun us too.
People who live in sin without being exposed to God's written law given through Moses, will be condemned without reference to it. However, those who live in sin having been exposed to the Mosaic law will be condemned on the basis of it. Possessing intellectual knowledge about the scriptures will never save anyone. Salvation is only found by personally embracing and submitting to whatever spiritual knowledge God has revealed to us. When Gentiles, who have never heard of the Mosaic law, live by the light of conscience within them, it proves that God has written his moral law on the hearts of all people. They instinctively know when they do right or wrong. God has specifically revealed to me that he has appointed a day when he will judge the secrets of men's hearts through the "grid" of who Jesus Christ is and what he has done. (Imagine some of the surprises we will have.) I assure you that after that day; no one will ever again point their finger at God and accuse him of being unjust!
Comments:
This little section of Romans 2 touches on the common stumbling block in people's minds regarding the spiritual fate of people who have never been exposed to the scriptures or the gospel. Naturally, we deeply question how God can judge someone in such circumstances. Sometimes people who hear the gospel of Jesus Christ pull back from putting their trust in him to become their Lord and Savior. I faced this question head on when I first became a follower of Jesus at age 18 and I have helped others face it along the way as a teacher and pastor. Here are the simple points that I landed on in those early days of my faith that have helped me, and then many others, come to peace on this issue.
1. God is God (not me!) and God is absolutely just and good. Our hearts can be totally trust in these realities and also that when all the facts of human existence are on the table in eternity's light, no one will be able to find one fault with God's ways or evaluations. I won't and neither will you. The anticipation of one day having this fuller light gives me peace to leave eternal judgment in the hands of the only One capable of such a thing.
2. We need to be first of all concerned with, when we are personally exposed to the Person and Work of Jesus, "who do we say that he is?", not "what about all those 'poor souls' who have never heard of Jesus?" I am the first "poor soul" that I can do something about! Coming to terms in my own heart with the compelling evidences that point to Jesus being who he said he was and is also gives me peace. I mustn't allow such a giant question about the possible fate of "people who have never heard" keep me from receiving the freedom from my guilt and shame (that I need so desperately) that is freely offered to me in Christ...and it hasn't.
3. We must make room in our theology for the largeness of God's grace and the mysterious and surprising works of the Holy Spirit in drawing people to faith in Jesus Christ. God's grace doesn't begin to work upon a person when they first hear about the good news of Jesus. It has already begun to work...witnessed by the simple fact that they have been allowed to hear it. Every believer that I have ever encountered can point back to how she/he now can see how the Holy Spirit was at work in their lives before they came to Christ. There are marvelous accounts of how the gospel of Jesus has come to people and whole people groups who didn't seem to have the opportunity to hear about him.
There is a prime example of this in the tenth chapter of the book of Acts where a Roman centurion named Cornelius (a classic pre-Christian) was powerfully encountering the grace of God before he was converted to Jesus. Even his prayers and acts of compassion were being "accepted" and "remembered" by the one true and living God! An amazing story unfolds of how Cornelius and his whole extended family came to faith in Jesus. It was "so outside the box" that it even shocked the apostles of Christ and messed with their theology. Let's be very careful about dictating exactly how God might lead a person to Jesus--some of his ways may surprise and stun us too.
Friday, September 19, 2008
The Romance of Romans-Part 6
Romans Chapter 2
Now before you religious folks congratulate yourselves for not being guilty of what all those other people are, you need to look more deeply at your own lives before you judge them and thereby condemn yourselves. You better be sure that you aren't actually guilty of the same root sins because we know that God will judge us all according to the naked truth. If you are proven to be a hypocrite, how will you escape his judgment? Just because he has blessed you and shown you his rich favor in many ways, don't take these things for granted- it doesn't automatically mean that you're okay. Don't you know that God may be showing you his goodness and patience in order to woo you into repentance. Don't mistake tolerance for approval!
But in fact, you have done this very thing. Because of your hardness of heart and religious pride, you are accruing a "wrath account" that will come due on the "day of wrath" when God's righteous judgment comes down. He will give to every person what is due him. To the believing, who by patiently and persistently doing right, show that they are seeking the things above—glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life. But to the unbelieving, who stubbornly refuse to submit to God's truth, but embrace unrighteousness, he will dispense his hot and holy vengeance. Yes, it's true, for Jews first and also for Gentiles. (A past history with and greater knowledge about God implies a greater opportunity to "receive" from him. It also implies a greater accountability to him for not receiving from him- this is the great equalizer!) On that day, God will pour out trouble and torment upon every person who cherishes evil in their hearts. Yet he will pour out glory, honor and peace on those who pursue righteousness. God has made this opportunity for salvation available to all ethnic groups, for there truly is no racism in his heart.
Comments:
The passage doesn't need much commentary as it speaks loudly for itself. After exposing the spiritual darkness of the gentile world in chapter 1, Paul now turns, in his case, to the religious, but self-righteous, Jewish folk--of which ilk he had been a prime example. One thing that stands out to me in this section of Romans is how God sees down into the deep heart of matters and of every person. He is looking into human hearts seeking to find genuinely humble, vulnerable and childlike trust in him, his Son and his Spirit and...nothing else will do. Not careless self-indulgence. Not careful self-righteousness. Both extremes are unacceptable--and down in our own spirits we know the ugliness and distastefulness of both debauchery and religious pride/racism in our world.
What pleases God is a person, of literally any sort, who sincerely and repeatedly turns to him, desires to receive his truth into her/his deep heart, comes to trust alone in who Jesus is and what Jesus has done and responds with heartfelt gratitude and affection. (And all this is later discovered to be inspired by the Holy Spirit himself!) This simple foundation for getting along with God never changes--no matter how spiritually mature we might become. Truly spiritually mature people don't attempt to measure or project their maturity--they're too caught up in the wonder of God's love, kindness, presence and service to others in his name to notice or care.
Now before you religious folks congratulate yourselves for not being guilty of what all those other people are, you need to look more deeply at your own lives before you judge them and thereby condemn yourselves. You better be sure that you aren't actually guilty of the same root sins because we know that God will judge us all according to the naked truth. If you are proven to be a hypocrite, how will you escape his judgment? Just because he has blessed you and shown you his rich favor in many ways, don't take these things for granted- it doesn't automatically mean that you're okay. Don't you know that God may be showing you his goodness and patience in order to woo you into repentance. Don't mistake tolerance for approval!
But in fact, you have done this very thing. Because of your hardness of heart and religious pride, you are accruing a "wrath account" that will come due on the "day of wrath" when God's righteous judgment comes down. He will give to every person what is due him. To the believing, who by patiently and persistently doing right, show that they are seeking the things above—glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life. But to the unbelieving, who stubbornly refuse to submit to God's truth, but embrace unrighteousness, he will dispense his hot and holy vengeance. Yes, it's true, for Jews first and also for Gentiles. (A past history with and greater knowledge about God implies a greater opportunity to "receive" from him. It also implies a greater accountability to him for not receiving from him- this is the great equalizer!) On that day, God will pour out trouble and torment upon every person who cherishes evil in their hearts. Yet he will pour out glory, honor and peace on those who pursue righteousness. God has made this opportunity for salvation available to all ethnic groups, for there truly is no racism in his heart.
Comments:
The passage doesn't need much commentary as it speaks loudly for itself. After exposing the spiritual darkness of the gentile world in chapter 1, Paul now turns, in his case, to the religious, but self-righteous, Jewish folk--of which ilk he had been a prime example. One thing that stands out to me in this section of Romans is how God sees down into the deep heart of matters and of every person. He is looking into human hearts seeking to find genuinely humble, vulnerable and childlike trust in him, his Son and his Spirit and...nothing else will do. Not careless self-indulgence. Not careful self-righteousness. Both extremes are unacceptable--and down in our own spirits we know the ugliness and distastefulness of both debauchery and religious pride/racism in our world.
What pleases God is a person, of literally any sort, who sincerely and repeatedly turns to him, desires to receive his truth into her/his deep heart, comes to trust alone in who Jesus is and what Jesus has done and responds with heartfelt gratitude and affection. (And all this is later discovered to be inspired by the Holy Spirit himself!) This simple foundation for getting along with God never changes--no matter how spiritually mature we might become. Truly spiritually mature people don't attempt to measure or project their maturity--they're too caught up in the wonder of God's love, kindness, presence and service to others in his name to notice or care.
Thursday, September 18, 2008
The Romance of Romans-Part 5
Romans Chapter 1 cont'd
Because of their idolatry, God let the nations go their own way to pursue the unclean desires of their own hearts and even abuse his purposes for their own bodies. They sold out the truth to buy the original lie- to deify the creation and thus defy the Creator who is to be eternally worshiped. That's really the bottom line. So God backed off and they plunged headlong into sexual perversion: women's natural attraction for men became twisted and they turned to lesbianism. Men also turned away from heterosexuality and burned with lust for other men. They embraced unnatural sex and, as a consequence, seriously damaged their own souls and bodies.
Because they rejected the knowledge of God they once had, he allowed their consciences to become callused and they indulged themselves in evil things without remorse. Their lives were characterized by all kinds of unrighteousness: illicit sex, wicked ways, covetousness, malice, extreme envy, murder, contentiousness, character assassination, gossip, betrayal, hatred of God, vengeance, pride, arrogance, evil innovations, disobedience to parents, ignorance, promise breaking, lack of healthy affections, stubbornness, and absence of mercy. Although they know God's justice requires a spiritual death sentence for these offenses, they themselves not only do them, but also idolize others who do.
Comments:
Whatever has happened to sin? For Paul, it was obviously alive and thriving at every turn in this world and he didn't pull any punches in this passage. In reality...not much has changed since Paul's day. But it's hard for people in our culture to look with such brutal honesty into the tragic condition of humanity and human relations removed from friendship with God. We prefer to re-designate such attitudes and behaviors with much nicer tags that minimize and even justify them. Paul's above list of sins is painful to read as it goes on and on like a downward spiral into an abyss of human brokenness and dysfunction...isn't it? (I really don't enjoy meditating on this passage.) We tend to get used to sin in our world (and in our own lives) and begin to think it is normal rather than an alien invasion into God's good creation that has pulled us down into sub-normality. But God has never "gotten used to" sin...though he is certainly not shocked or intimidated by it. Paul's purpose in exposing the darkness and sickness of humanity has a redemptive focus--he is not just being mean or wrongly judgmental. Actually, his heart was full of great love and compassion for all the people in every culture he ever encountered.
This ending of chapter 1 is focused on the universal spiritual plight of the whole pagan world. But Paul is setting his readers up for a miraculous offer of a most marvelous light and remedy in the Person of Jesus of Nazareth. We apparently won't be willing to take the medicine until we are convinced of our disease. Yet, before he begins to ingeniously unveil God's surprise of a free gift of salvation and a new beginning, he must turn his attention to sins of another genre--the sins of "God's own people"--the sins of religion gone bad.
Because of their idolatry, God let the nations go their own way to pursue the unclean desires of their own hearts and even abuse his purposes for their own bodies. They sold out the truth to buy the original lie- to deify the creation and thus defy the Creator who is to be eternally worshiped. That's really the bottom line. So God backed off and they plunged headlong into sexual perversion: women's natural attraction for men became twisted and they turned to lesbianism. Men also turned away from heterosexuality and burned with lust for other men. They embraced unnatural sex and, as a consequence, seriously damaged their own souls and bodies.
Because they rejected the knowledge of God they once had, he allowed their consciences to become callused and they indulged themselves in evil things without remorse. Their lives were characterized by all kinds of unrighteousness: illicit sex, wicked ways, covetousness, malice, extreme envy, murder, contentiousness, character assassination, gossip, betrayal, hatred of God, vengeance, pride, arrogance, evil innovations, disobedience to parents, ignorance, promise breaking, lack of healthy affections, stubbornness, and absence of mercy. Although they know God's justice requires a spiritual death sentence for these offenses, they themselves not only do them, but also idolize others who do.
Comments:
Whatever has happened to sin? For Paul, it was obviously alive and thriving at every turn in this world and he didn't pull any punches in this passage. In reality...not much has changed since Paul's day. But it's hard for people in our culture to look with such brutal honesty into the tragic condition of humanity and human relations removed from friendship with God. We prefer to re-designate such attitudes and behaviors with much nicer tags that minimize and even justify them. Paul's above list of sins is painful to read as it goes on and on like a downward spiral into an abyss of human brokenness and dysfunction...isn't it? (I really don't enjoy meditating on this passage.) We tend to get used to sin in our world (and in our own lives) and begin to think it is normal rather than an alien invasion into God's good creation that has pulled us down into sub-normality. But God has never "gotten used to" sin...though he is certainly not shocked or intimidated by it. Paul's purpose in exposing the darkness and sickness of humanity has a redemptive focus--he is not just being mean or wrongly judgmental. Actually, his heart was full of great love and compassion for all the people in every culture he ever encountered.
This ending of chapter 1 is focused on the universal spiritual plight of the whole pagan world. But Paul is setting his readers up for a miraculous offer of a most marvelous light and remedy in the Person of Jesus of Nazareth. We apparently won't be willing to take the medicine until we are convinced of our disease. Yet, before he begins to ingeniously unveil God's surprise of a free gift of salvation and a new beginning, he must turn his attention to sins of another genre--the sins of "God's own people"--the sins of religion gone bad.
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
The Romance of Romans-Part 4
Chapter 1--cont'd
This may sound strange, but the good new begins with some bad news! God's awesome anger is also revealed from heaven. He is adamantly against all the ungodliness and unrighteousness of people, who suppress the truth because they love sin more than truth. You see; God has partially revealed himself to every person through both their own conscience and creation itself. His invisible presence and moral attributes have been easily discernible from the beginning of time. The fingerprints of his divinity and eternal power have clearly branded all he has made. Therefore people are without excuse for their unbelief in him. All throughout world history, although people knew God was there, they didn't honor his Divinity, neither were they thankful to him. Rather, they invented their own man-centered religions and philosophies of life thereby snuffing out the light of spiritual knowledge in their hearts. They claimed to be getting wiser, but they were actually becoming more foolish. They "remade" the invisible God, who is glorious and incorruptible, into gods of their own imagination- idols made in the likeness of human beings, birds, beasts and even bugs.
Comments:
The script of the "meta-narrative" of human history that we have typically been taught is more like how a "sophisticated and refined" belief in one God (monotheism) grew up over many centuries out of the context of a superstitious belief in many gods (polytheism). I remember being quite shocked as a young believer in Christ as I first read the apostle Paul's overview of humanity's story. It's more like "devolution" than "evolution"...on the spiritual side of things at least.
Several things stand out to me that challenged my presuppositions...and still challenge my soul because I would really like to believe better things about us as a species. But then I simply read again stories from world history, not to mention the daily news from around the globe, and I can't deny or contradict what Paul elaborates upon concerning the spiritual condition of human race.
First, is how connected we all are to one another in our cultural and family contexts. We like to think more individualistically about our lives and we underestimate how entwined, on many levels, we are to our ancestry--for good of ill. Certainly, the scriptures tell us that God sees and evaluates us on an individual basis, but we are greatly influenced spiritually by our cultural settings.
Second, is the fact that God has granted to every person who has ever lived a "general revelation" of the reality of his existence. This general or "natural knowledge" of God is graciously given to inspire us to seek more "specific revelation" of who this is who has made us and displayed his power throughout all creation. We instinctively know that "creation" implies a "Creator" and it takes a deliberate effort on our part to push this knowledge away from our consciousness. The ancient "pre-Christian" philosophers (they did pretty well in many cases) understood and affirmed this and it wasn't until DesCartes (1596-1650...ironically, a religious man himself) that more modern philosophy emerged and pressured us to doubt everything we instinctively know before we can rebuild our base of knowledge.
Third, is how dishonor and ingratitude toward "the God who is there" is the genesis of our spiritual death that then bleeds over into our whole lives and relationships. When we become so sick of being and living "disconnected" from our Creator and Heavenly Father, a great way to find our way home is to stop in our tracks and tell him again from the depths of our hearts that we believe he is there and that he is powerful and good and simply ask him to reveal to us more of who he is, what he has done and what he is doing. And...as we will discover as Romans continues...we should ponder (and come to terms with) the Person and Work of Jesus his Son.
This may sound strange, but the good new begins with some bad news! God's awesome anger is also revealed from heaven. He is adamantly against all the ungodliness and unrighteousness of people, who suppress the truth because they love sin more than truth. You see; God has partially revealed himself to every person through both their own conscience and creation itself. His invisible presence and moral attributes have been easily discernible from the beginning of time. The fingerprints of his divinity and eternal power have clearly branded all he has made. Therefore people are without excuse for their unbelief in him. All throughout world history, although people knew God was there, they didn't honor his Divinity, neither were they thankful to him. Rather, they invented their own man-centered religions and philosophies of life thereby snuffing out the light of spiritual knowledge in their hearts. They claimed to be getting wiser, but they were actually becoming more foolish. They "remade" the invisible God, who is glorious and incorruptible, into gods of their own imagination- idols made in the likeness of human beings, birds, beasts and even bugs.
Comments:
The script of the "meta-narrative" of human history that we have typically been taught is more like how a "sophisticated and refined" belief in one God (monotheism) grew up over many centuries out of the context of a superstitious belief in many gods (polytheism). I remember being quite shocked as a young believer in Christ as I first read the apostle Paul's overview of humanity's story. It's more like "devolution" than "evolution"...on the spiritual side of things at least.
Several things stand out to me that challenged my presuppositions...and still challenge my soul because I would really like to believe better things about us as a species. But then I simply read again stories from world history, not to mention the daily news from around the globe, and I can't deny or contradict what Paul elaborates upon concerning the spiritual condition of human race.
First, is how connected we all are to one another in our cultural and family contexts. We like to think more individualistically about our lives and we underestimate how entwined, on many levels, we are to our ancestry--for good of ill. Certainly, the scriptures tell us that God sees and evaluates us on an individual basis, but we are greatly influenced spiritually by our cultural settings.
Second, is the fact that God has granted to every person who has ever lived a "general revelation" of the reality of his existence. This general or "natural knowledge" of God is graciously given to inspire us to seek more "specific revelation" of who this is who has made us and displayed his power throughout all creation. We instinctively know that "creation" implies a "Creator" and it takes a deliberate effort on our part to push this knowledge away from our consciousness. The ancient "pre-Christian" philosophers (they did pretty well in many cases) understood and affirmed this and it wasn't until DesCartes (1596-1650...ironically, a religious man himself) that more modern philosophy emerged and pressured us to doubt everything we instinctively know before we can rebuild our base of knowledge.
Third, is how dishonor and ingratitude toward "the God who is there" is the genesis of our spiritual death that then bleeds over into our whole lives and relationships. When we become so sick of being and living "disconnected" from our Creator and Heavenly Father, a great way to find our way home is to stop in our tracks and tell him again from the depths of our hearts that we believe he is there and that he is powerful and good and simply ask him to reveal to us more of who he is, what he has done and what he is doing. And...as we will discover as Romans continues...we should ponder (and come to terms with) the Person and Work of Jesus his Son.
Monday, September 15, 2008
The Romance of Romans-Part 3
Chapter 1 cont'd:
For I am not ashamed of the good news of Christ. It is the very power of God that imparts salvation to every person who believes it; to the Jews first and also to the Gentiles. (A past history with and greater knowledge about God implies a greater opportunity to receive from him.) Through this message God's own righteousness is revealed from heaven and imparted to people, from start to finish, on the basis of faith.
Comments:
Something very radical (lit: "to the roots") occurred through the coming of God's Son, Jesus, to this world. It was an event unlike any previous act of God in the whole of human history. It was the event by which God himself came "in person" to the planet. God actually did what many people have half-heartedly complained about..."If God wants us to believe in and follow him, why doesn't he just appear to us and tell us in person?"
But what if a holy, just and loving God (as the Scriptures reveal him to be) really did visit us in person to invite us back into a mutual and genuine love relationship with him and set things in motion for all the evils of this world to be resolved? How would that story go...given the voluntary nature of love and the fact that evil is not simply "out there", but "in me" as well? Come to think of it...it would seem to go very much like the gospel of Jesus. God foretells of his intentions in many ways over many years in preparation, intervenes and becomes like one of us, lives a perfect life, reveals his wisdom, love and power, lays down his life to absorb and absolve our personal guilt and shame, deals out a mortal wound to all evil, overcomes Satan and death and delays his final justice for this world's evils to offer his creation, over a long period of time, the opportunity to choose to love him back before those who have chosen and cherished evil have to face the consequences. And also...to set up a way of doing all of this so that those who choose his love are not able to take credit for their choice thus falling into pride or gloating?
Finally...why might Paul, or anyone else, even be tempted to "be ashamed" of this Story? Maybe because such a radical act on God's part would necessarily expose and shake down the fragile internal and external arrangements that we personally and whole cultures (religious and otherwise) have historically made for ourselves in an attempt to "survive", "succeed" and "feel okay" about ourselves. Sounds like it could involve the rising of some conflict on all fronts for anyone truly bearing such a message...because God himself has come on the scene and isn't necessarily buying all our human wisdom or self-righteous religions--not to mention our excessive self-indulgences. High drama and passionate spiritual romance truly await us as Romans unfolds.
For I am not ashamed of the good news of Christ. It is the very power of God that imparts salvation to every person who believes it; to the Jews first and also to the Gentiles. (A past history with and greater knowledge about God implies a greater opportunity to receive from him.) Through this message God's own righteousness is revealed from heaven and imparted to people, from start to finish, on the basis of faith.
Comments:
Something very radical (lit: "to the roots") occurred through the coming of God's Son, Jesus, to this world. It was an event unlike any previous act of God in the whole of human history. It was the event by which God himself came "in person" to the planet. God actually did what many people have half-heartedly complained about..."If God wants us to believe in and follow him, why doesn't he just appear to us and tell us in person?"
But what if a holy, just and loving God (as the Scriptures reveal him to be) really did visit us in person to invite us back into a mutual and genuine love relationship with him and set things in motion for all the evils of this world to be resolved? How would that story go...given the voluntary nature of love and the fact that evil is not simply "out there", but "in me" as well? Come to think of it...it would seem to go very much like the gospel of Jesus. God foretells of his intentions in many ways over many years in preparation, intervenes and becomes like one of us, lives a perfect life, reveals his wisdom, love and power, lays down his life to absorb and absolve our personal guilt and shame, deals out a mortal wound to all evil, overcomes Satan and death and delays his final justice for this world's evils to offer his creation, over a long period of time, the opportunity to choose to love him back before those who have chosen and cherished evil have to face the consequences. And also...to set up a way of doing all of this so that those who choose his love are not able to take credit for their choice thus falling into pride or gloating?
Finally...why might Paul, or anyone else, even be tempted to "be ashamed" of this Story? Maybe because such a radical act on God's part would necessarily expose and shake down the fragile internal and external arrangements that we personally and whole cultures (religious and otherwise) have historically made for ourselves in an attempt to "survive", "succeed" and "feel okay" about ourselves. Sounds like it could involve the rising of some conflict on all fronts for anyone truly bearing such a message...because God himself has come on the scene and isn't necessarily buying all our human wisdom or self-righteous religions--not to mention our excessive self-indulgences. High drama and passionate spiritual romance truly await us as Romans unfolds.
Sunday, September 14, 2008
The Romance of Romans-Part 2
Chapter 1 cont'd:
I want to first thank God through Jesus for all of you because your faith in Christ has become known throughout the whole world. Before God whom I serve with all my heart in spreading this good news, I'm not exaggerating when I say that I pray for you constantly. My hope and prayer are that God may finally allow me the joy of coming to visit you. I long to meet you and impart to you the spiritual gift that God has given me to firmly establish believers in Christ. Beyond this, I want us to experience the encouragement that comes through a mutual exchange of faith- we both have something to give each other.
I want you to know that I have many times planned to visit you that I might have the privilege of winning some Romans to Jesus, as I have had in other places. However, it wasn't God's time. I have a sense of obligation to win all kinds of people to Christ; both the educated and the uneducated. So, I am very excited to preach the good news in the "melting pot" of Rome, if God wills.
Comments:
What stands out to me in this section of Romans 1 is Paul's reference to the mutual exchange of God's grace that he anticipated would take place when he would have the opportunity to meet the believers in Rome. I have had the honor of meeting believers from many nations and cultures through the years. An amazing phenomenon has always accompanied these opportunities--you immediately feel the "family connection" with these people that you've never met before. It is a powerful experience that lends a lot of credibility to the reality of the gospel of Jesus. You see the love of God in their eyes; in their smiles and feel it through their hugs and prayers of thanksgiving. You immediately feel "at home" when the music plays and eyes become wet with tears as you worship together the very same Father and Son in the power of the same Spirit even though you may be in very unfamiliar cultural settings. Even when you don't understand the language in which the songs are being sung, you are able to immediately worship in spirit and truth. When you then "break bread" together (even though the "bread" can taste very different!) the love of Jesus is present in undeniable ways.
I think that this experience really helped my 5 children (now all young adults who follow Jesus from their own hearts) to be confirmed in the reality of God's love in Christ as they were sorting through the deep question of whether the gospel they were taught as kids was an invention of their parents and their local church or really true. When they met these "strangers" who had been reading the same Book and, often and amazingly, even singing the sames tunes, it helped them to realize that this Jesus is relevant to people and cultures of all kinds and it stabilized them as their faith was challenged along the way by people and institutions in our local community.
I want to first thank God through Jesus for all of you because your faith in Christ has become known throughout the whole world. Before God whom I serve with all my heart in spreading this good news, I'm not exaggerating when I say that I pray for you constantly. My hope and prayer are that God may finally allow me the joy of coming to visit you. I long to meet you and impart to you the spiritual gift that God has given me to firmly establish believers in Christ. Beyond this, I want us to experience the encouragement that comes through a mutual exchange of faith- we both have something to give each other.
I want you to know that I have many times planned to visit you that I might have the privilege of winning some Romans to Jesus, as I have had in other places. However, it wasn't God's time. I have a sense of obligation to win all kinds of people to Christ; both the educated and the uneducated. So, I am very excited to preach the good news in the "melting pot" of Rome, if God wills.
Comments:
What stands out to me in this section of Romans 1 is Paul's reference to the mutual exchange of God's grace that he anticipated would take place when he would have the opportunity to meet the believers in Rome. I have had the honor of meeting believers from many nations and cultures through the years. An amazing phenomenon has always accompanied these opportunities--you immediately feel the "family connection" with these people that you've never met before. It is a powerful experience that lends a lot of credibility to the reality of the gospel of Jesus. You see the love of God in their eyes; in their smiles and feel it through their hugs and prayers of thanksgiving. You immediately feel "at home" when the music plays and eyes become wet with tears as you worship together the very same Father and Son in the power of the same Spirit even though you may be in very unfamiliar cultural settings. Even when you don't understand the language in which the songs are being sung, you are able to immediately worship in spirit and truth. When you then "break bread" together (even though the "bread" can taste very different!) the love of Jesus is present in undeniable ways.
I think that this experience really helped my 5 children (now all young adults who follow Jesus from their own hearts) to be confirmed in the reality of God's love in Christ as they were sorting through the deep question of whether the gospel they were taught as kids was an invention of their parents and their local church or really true. When they met these "strangers" who had been reading the same Book and, often and amazingly, even singing the sames tunes, it helped them to realize that this Jesus is relevant to people and cultures of all kinds and it stabilized them as their faith was challenged along the way by people and institutions in our local community.
Saturday, September 13, 2008
The Romance of Romans-Part 1
As I continue to blog, in general, about God's Big "God Story" I want to take a bit of a turn. Some years ago, as a part of my devotional times, I attempted to put the book of Romans into more modern idioms and words that I believe express what Paul was getting at. I've called it an "interpretative paraphrase". I'm sure that many of the ways that I rephrase what our English translations say are not perfect. The exercise is akin to what preachers do when they take a passage and attempt to teach the meaning of God's word to their listeners. No preachers do this without some inaccuracies along the way--sometimes rather major inaccuracies. So...believers need to do their own study and research of Bible books and sift through what teachers teach. And...this is not just a personal matter. I believe that one of the most important spiritual disciplines of the community of God's people has always been to "wrestle together", in a spirit of love for God and one another, with the Scriptures and their meaning. I am still seeking the face of God about and searching out what the book of Romans really teaches.
It is in this context that I am offering the body of my little booklet, The Romance of Romans, and some commentary along the way. After reading my paraphrase, many of my friends encouraged me to make this into a booklet and publish it. So I did. Now, I will offer in parts on my various blogsites. www.michael-radius.blogspot.com, http://groups.google.com/group/friends-of-radius; www.myspace.com/radiuspage; http://www.facebook.com/people/Michael_Sullivant/516978475
The Romance of Romans:
The Passionate Pursuit of God that Flows from Genuine Faith
An Interpretative Paraphrase of Paul's Letter to the Romans
Chapter 1
This is a letter from Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be a divine ambassador I was apprehended for the express purpose of spreading the good news of God that was spoken of in times past by the prophets in the holy scriptures. This message centers around his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who, in his humanity, was the Son of David. He was also proven to be "the Son of God" when he was raised from the dead through the power of the Holy Spirit. Through the same Spirit I have received this ambassadorial commission to introduce many people from many nations, for the honor of Christ, into the passionate pursuit of God that flows from genuine faith. You are a part of this great company who have been chosen by Jesus himself. Yes, I write this to all the believers in Rome who are loved by God and called to be his holy ones: Grace and peace be yours from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Comments: There are many believers in our day longing to tap the power that comes through prophecy. In my view, this has resulted in both healthy and unhealthy things. One way that our eagerness for "the prophetic" can be properly informed is to embrace a clear and foundational priority that gives proper shape to any other forms of genuine prophecy. This is...the passionate understanding that communicating the gospel of Jesus itself is the most "prophetic" message that could ever be spoken out of the lips of Christ followers. This Great News revolves around the availability of a new quality and kind of righteousness to all the peoples of the earth. Through Christ, God's own righteousness is offered as a free gift to all who would open their hearts to Him to humbly and gratefully receive it. And also...that this righteousness involves the reality and promise that he has and will, in his time and manner, turn the whole of his good creation, that has been dramatically and tragically invaded by evil, "right side up" through who Jesus is and what Jesus has done.
The gospel is rooted deeply in the prophetic scriptures and promises of the Old Testament, although it was significantly shrouded until the events actually came to pass in human history and the Holy Spirit provided the "20-20" hindsight.
This Divinely prophetic message is what fueled Paul's (and the whole Church's) "apostleship" into the cultures of this world by the power of the Spirit for the honor of Jesus Christ.
It is in this context that I am offering the body of my little booklet, The Romance of Romans, and some commentary along the way. After reading my paraphrase, many of my friends encouraged me to make this into a booklet and publish it. So I did. Now, I will offer in parts on my various blogsites. www.michael-radius.blogspot.com, http://groups.google.com/group/friends-of-radius; www.myspace.com/radiuspage; http://www.facebook.com/people/Michael_Sullivant/516978475
The Romance of Romans:
The Passionate Pursuit of God that Flows from Genuine Faith
An Interpretative Paraphrase of Paul's Letter to the Romans
Chapter 1
This is a letter from Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be a divine ambassador I was apprehended for the express purpose of spreading the good news of God that was spoken of in times past by the prophets in the holy scriptures. This message centers around his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who, in his humanity, was the Son of David. He was also proven to be "the Son of God" when he was raised from the dead through the power of the Holy Spirit. Through the same Spirit I have received this ambassadorial commission to introduce many people from many nations, for the honor of Christ, into the passionate pursuit of God that flows from genuine faith. You are a part of this great company who have been chosen by Jesus himself. Yes, I write this to all the believers in Rome who are loved by God and called to be his holy ones: Grace and peace be yours from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Comments: There are many believers in our day longing to tap the power that comes through prophecy. In my view, this has resulted in both healthy and unhealthy things. One way that our eagerness for "the prophetic" can be properly informed is to embrace a clear and foundational priority that gives proper shape to any other forms of genuine prophecy. This is...the passionate understanding that communicating the gospel of Jesus itself is the most "prophetic" message that could ever be spoken out of the lips of Christ followers. This Great News revolves around the availability of a new quality and kind of righteousness to all the peoples of the earth. Through Christ, God's own righteousness is offered as a free gift to all who would open their hearts to Him to humbly and gratefully receive it. And also...that this righteousness involves the reality and promise that he has and will, in his time and manner, turn the whole of his good creation, that has been dramatically and tragically invaded by evil, "right side up" through who Jesus is and what Jesus has done.
The gospel is rooted deeply in the prophetic scriptures and promises of the Old Testament, although it was significantly shrouded until the events actually came to pass in human history and the Holy Spirit provided the "20-20" hindsight.
This Divinely prophetic message is what fueled Paul's (and the whole Church's) "apostleship" into the cultures of this world by the power of the Spirit for the honor of Jesus Christ.
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
The Fellowship of the Mystery-Part 13
But when this priest (i.e. Jesus) 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....
Hebrews 10:12-13
In the book of Hebrews, Psalm 110 (quoted again by the writer above) clearly is used as the theological framework about which this elegant revelation of the New Covenant in Christ is displayed. Just the simple term from the Psalm, "right hand", is quoted five times. All of chapter 7 is an exposition of the implications of the reference in Psalm 110 to the Messiah being ordained as a royal and permanent priest "after the order of Melchizedek" in contrast to the non-royal temporary priests of the Old Covenant being ordained after the order of Levi. Truly, much more could be said at this point!
However, I simply want to point out something that has seemed to escape the consciousness of many believers. The New Testament, in it's teaching about the kingdom of God and Christ, makes it very clear that:
1. Jesus is indeed, at the appointed time, going to return to this world to consummate God's Big God-Story for this age.
2. Jesus is waiting to return. "Since that time" (i.e. the time of his ascension and coronation in the highest heaven after his passion on earth was finished) Jesus is waiting to come back. The first Christians hoped that he would return in their generation. Many generations of believers have hoped the same. Believers today, now 2 millenniums later, hope for the return of Christ in this generation. ("Glory be, Mabel...it's enough to make one think that the longing for Christ's return in one's own lifetime might actually be a healthy part of a full spirituality grounded in NT realities!" ;-)
But...it should be obvious by now that Jesus has been, in fact, waiting to return. What is he, and what has he been, waiting for? For many, it seems, "for no good reason". Yet, this attitude surely does not do justice to the wisdom of God and/or the prophecies of both Old and New Testaments. The reality is, he "must remain in heaven until...." (Acts 3:21) Until what?
I posit that he has been waiting for the inevitable ramifications of his resurrection, ascension and coronation as the the Father's true King of both heaven and earth to "play out" in human lives and in human history via his ongoing earthly mission through the agency of his "body"--the Church. God is longing for many, many fully human (and unapologetically so!) junior partners...co-laborers...true friends...earthen vessels who are, nonetheless, temples of the Holy Spirit...who are individually in sync with the "head of the body" (Jesus) and, as a vibrant and healthy Spirit-empowered community of faith that is multiplying across the globe, faithfully living out (incarnating) his real presence and his good news in the eyes of the watching cultures of the earth.
Just maybe something like this is what he has been, and still is, waiting for.
Hebrews 10:12-13
In the book of Hebrews, Psalm 110 (quoted again by the writer above) clearly is used as the theological framework about which this elegant revelation of the New Covenant in Christ is displayed. Just the simple term from the Psalm, "right hand", is quoted five times. All of chapter 7 is an exposition of the implications of the reference in Psalm 110 to the Messiah being ordained as a royal and permanent priest "after the order of Melchizedek" in contrast to the non-royal temporary priests of the Old Covenant being ordained after the order of Levi. Truly, much more could be said at this point!
However, I simply want to point out something that has seemed to escape the consciousness of many believers. The New Testament, in it's teaching about the kingdom of God and Christ, makes it very clear that:
1. Jesus is indeed, at the appointed time, going to return to this world to consummate God's Big God-Story for this age.
2. Jesus is waiting to return. "Since that time" (i.e. the time of his ascension and coronation in the highest heaven after his passion on earth was finished) Jesus is waiting to come back. The first Christians hoped that he would return in their generation. Many generations of believers have hoped the same. Believers today, now 2 millenniums later, hope for the return of Christ in this generation. ("Glory be, Mabel...it's enough to make one think that the longing for Christ's return in one's own lifetime might actually be a healthy part of a full spirituality grounded in NT realities!" ;-)
But...it should be obvious by now that Jesus has been, in fact, waiting to return. What is he, and what has he been, waiting for? For many, it seems, "for no good reason". Yet, this attitude surely does not do justice to the wisdom of God and/or the prophecies of both Old and New Testaments. The reality is, he "must remain in heaven until...." (Acts 3:21) Until what?
I posit that he has been waiting for the inevitable ramifications of his resurrection, ascension and coronation as the the Father's true King of both heaven and earth to "play out" in human lives and in human history via his ongoing earthly mission through the agency of his "body"--the Church. God is longing for many, many fully human (and unapologetically so!) junior partners...co-laborers...true friends...earthen vessels who are, nonetheless, temples of the Holy Spirit...who are individually in sync with the "head of the body" (Jesus) and, as a vibrant and healthy Spirit-empowered community of faith that is multiplying across the globe, faithfully living out (incarnating) his real presence and his good news in the eyes of the watching cultures of the earth.
Just maybe something like this is what he has been, and still is, waiting for.
Sunday, July 20, 2008
The Fellowship of the Mystery-Part 12
As we continue to follow the NT references that shed light on and help create a framework for properly understanding OT prophecies, we come to Acts 3. This second sermon of Peter's takes place on the heels of the healing of a well-known man, who was over 40 years old, who had been lame from birth. Many people were amazed and astonished by this miraculous sign of the real presence of kingdom of Christ performed at the word of Peter and John in Jesus' name. Peter capitalized on this opportunity to preach the gospel to the multitude of Jewish people gathered at the temple that day. The result was that about another 2,000 people were added to the new community consisting of those who believed in Jesus as the promised Messiah. Jerusalem was thrown into spiritual/social upheaval in those days.
17"Now, brothers, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did your leaders. 18But this is how God fulfilled what he had foretold through all the prophets, saying that his Christ would suffer. 19Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord, 20and that he may send the Christ, who has been appointed for you—even Jesus. 21He must remain in heaven until the time comes for God to restore everything, as he promised long ago through his holy prophets. 22For Moses said, 'The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own people; you must listen to everything he tells you. 23Anyone who does not listen to him will be completely cut off from among his people.' 24"Indeed, all the prophets from Samuel on, as many as have spoken, have foretold these days. 25And you are heirs of the prophets and of the covenant God made with your fathers. He said to Abraham, 'Through your offspring all peoples on earth will be blessed.' 26When God raised up his servant, he sent him first to you to bless you by turning each of you from your wicked ways."
Remember that Peter had just come off 40 days of talks with the resurrected Christ in which many OT prophecies were undoubtedly rehearsed (see Acts 1:3). There are some astounding points to Peter's little sermon.
1. He begins by referring to the fact that "all the prophets" referred to a "suffering Messiah" and that, ironically, God actually used their ignorance of this to fulfill the prophecies.
2. He refers to the second "sending" of Christ, but says that, for now, "he must remain in heaven" (i.e. at the Father's right hand a la Psalm 110) until a point in the future also foretold by the OT prophets when God will "restore everything"--or "until" the Father makes Christ's "enemies (think primarily of the spirit behind the unbelief in and rejection of Jesus as the Christ, rather than individual human beings!) his footstool".
3. That Samuel and all the prophets after him referred to the very days in which they were (and we are still) now living--that is, during the time of Christ's first coming and the era of earth's history that the surrounding events (his incarnation, mission, death, burial, resurrection, ascension, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and the initiation of the new inter-racial community of those called out by God through their faith in Jesus as the Messiah.
4. That these events were now inaugurating and signaling the fulfillment and fullness of "the covenant" God made long ago with Abraham to export the good news of God and His appointed Christ to all the ethnic groups of the earth (see Gal 3:8) and...that these Jewish folks from Jerusalem were graciously being invited directly by God to repent of their sins, put their faith in Jesus as the Christ and, by this, lead the way to this wonderful international explosion of grace and truth.
Christ will return, but in the meantime, there is a Divine mission underway and we are all invited through the good news of Jesus to become players in the grand drama--God's Big God-Story.
But when this priest (i.e. Jesus) 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....
Hebrews 10:12-13
17"Now, brothers, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did your leaders. 18But this is how God fulfilled what he had foretold through all the prophets, saying that his Christ would suffer. 19Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord, 20and that he may send the Christ, who has been appointed for you—even Jesus. 21He must remain in heaven until the time comes for God to restore everything, as he promised long ago through his holy prophets. 22For Moses said, 'The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own people; you must listen to everything he tells you. 23Anyone who does not listen to him will be completely cut off from among his people.' 24"Indeed, all the prophets from Samuel on, as many as have spoken, have foretold these days. 25And you are heirs of the prophets and of the covenant God made with your fathers. He said to Abraham, 'Through your offspring all peoples on earth will be blessed.' 26When God raised up his servant, he sent him first to you to bless you by turning each of you from your wicked ways."
Remember that Peter had just come off 40 days of talks with the resurrected Christ in which many OT prophecies were undoubtedly rehearsed (see Acts 1:3). There are some astounding points to Peter's little sermon.
1. He begins by referring to the fact that "all the prophets" referred to a "suffering Messiah" and that, ironically, God actually used their ignorance of this to fulfill the prophecies.
2. He refers to the second "sending" of Christ, but says that, for now, "he must remain in heaven" (i.e. at the Father's right hand a la Psalm 110) until a point in the future also foretold by the OT prophets when God will "restore everything"--or "until" the Father makes Christ's "enemies (think primarily of the spirit behind the unbelief in and rejection of Jesus as the Christ, rather than individual human beings!) his footstool".
3. That Samuel and all the prophets after him referred to the very days in which they were (and we are still) now living--that is, during the time of Christ's first coming and the era of earth's history that the surrounding events (his incarnation, mission, death, burial, resurrection, ascension, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and the initiation of the new inter-racial community of those called out by God through their faith in Jesus as the Messiah.
4. That these events were now inaugurating and signaling the fulfillment and fullness of "the covenant" God made long ago with Abraham to export the good news of God and His appointed Christ to all the ethnic groups of the earth (see Gal 3:8) and...that these Jewish folks from Jerusalem were graciously being invited directly by God to repent of their sins, put their faith in Jesus as the Christ and, by this, lead the way to this wonderful international explosion of grace and truth.
Christ will return, but in the meantime, there is a Divine mission underway and we are all invited through the good news of Jesus to become players in the grand drama--God's Big God-Story.
But when this priest (i.e. Jesus) 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....
Hebrews 10:12-13
Sunday, June 29, 2008
The Fellowship of the Mystery--Part 11
As we have said, references to Ps. 110 are scattered all throughout the Gospels, the Acts and the Epistles and utilized as a wonderful "power point" that clearly addresses the matter of what the current situation is in God's Big God-Story. It provides for us a simplified construct for understanding the times, spiritually speaking, between the first and second coming's of Christ...and it was written hundreds of years before He came for the first time! This point is illustrated in prominent NT passages like at the end of Ephesians 1.
"That power is like the working of his mighty strength, 20which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, 21far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. 22And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, 23which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way." Eph. 1:19b-23
The Father seated His Son "at his right hand in the heavenly realms" after He was raised from the dead. This is an obvious reference to the language of Ps. 110. It has, not only biblical christology at its heart, but also cosmology, esslesiology, missiology and eschatology. These theological implications and ramifications expounded upon in the NT flow freely from the apostles' divinely inspired interpretations and applications of Ps. 110 and many other OT Messianic prophecies the are cut from the same theological cloth.
One of the largest truths present in this Ephesian passage is how the Father has already exalted Christ "far above" any other powers that be in the heavens or on the earth. And...for us in evangelicalism...it has been easy to say that this would be true "in the age to come", but we haven't understood or communicated well that this is the actual case "in this present age". (Ironically, for the early Christians, Paul had to emphasize that it is true "not only in the present age, but also in the one to come"...just the opposite emphasis that we seem to need.)
The major point is this: Christ is already "reigning" as King of both heaven and earth from His most highly exalted position at the Father's "right hand" in the invisible realm. We are not waiting for Christ to become King of all at His second coming, but He has already been crowned the King of all the kings of the earth (cf. Rev 1:5). Yet, here is the tension: we don't yet see all earthly things fully subjected to Jesus and the New Humanity (the Church) that He inaugurated through His resurrection, but we do, through faith, "see Jesus" in the place of kingly honor and authority with which the Father has rewarded Him...and we know it's just a matter of time before the ramifications of His exaltation are progressively brought fully to pass.
"In putting everything under him (i.e. redeemed humanity...from Psalm 8), God left nothing that is not subject to him. Yet at present we do not see everything subject to him. 9But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone." Hebrews 2:8b-9
"That power is like the working of his mighty strength, 20which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, 21far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. 22And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, 23which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way." Eph. 1:19b-23
The Father seated His Son "at his right hand in the heavenly realms" after He was raised from the dead. This is an obvious reference to the language of Ps. 110. It has, not only biblical christology at its heart, but also cosmology, esslesiology, missiology and eschatology. These theological implications and ramifications expounded upon in the NT flow freely from the apostles' divinely inspired interpretations and applications of Ps. 110 and many other OT Messianic prophecies the are cut from the same theological cloth.
One of the largest truths present in this Ephesian passage is how the Father has already exalted Christ "far above" any other powers that be in the heavens or on the earth. And...for us in evangelicalism...it has been easy to say that this would be true "in the age to come", but we haven't understood or communicated well that this is the actual case "in this present age". (Ironically, for the early Christians, Paul had to emphasize that it is true "not only in the present age, but also in the one to come"...just the opposite emphasis that we seem to need.)
The major point is this: Christ is already "reigning" as King of both heaven and earth from His most highly exalted position at the Father's "right hand" in the invisible realm. We are not waiting for Christ to become King of all at His second coming, but He has already been crowned the King of all the kings of the earth (cf. Rev 1:5). Yet, here is the tension: we don't yet see all earthly things fully subjected to Jesus and the New Humanity (the Church) that He inaugurated through His resurrection, but we do, through faith, "see Jesus" in the place of kingly honor and authority with which the Father has rewarded Him...and we know it's just a matter of time before the ramifications of His exaltation are progressively brought fully to pass.
"In putting everything under him (i.e. redeemed humanity...from Psalm 8), God left nothing that is not subject to him. Yet at present we do not see everything subject to him. 9But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone." Hebrews 2:8b-9
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