Good Friday

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Not the Way It’s Supposed to Be by Plantinga describes the cunning and parasitic nature of sin in such a way that I now recognize sin as layered, multifaceted and menacing. The best litmus test for sin now is to determine if a specific thought or action disturbs shalom (peace)— and to what degree? Sin is a disturbance of shalom. This grew me out of a tendency to label thoughts and actions as “sin or not sin” and rather to understand God’s design and desire—and how sin has disrupted that and continues to disrupt that in society, relationships and beyond. If we can grasp the nature of sin, its many forms and its tendency to corrupt even our very best intentions, dreams and accomplishments then we understand what Jesus Christ defeated on that cross in the most profound way. We begin to scratch the surface of how God feels about sin.

“Wounded For Our Transgressions…”

On Good Friday I was also reading through Oliver Crisp’s writings on Christology and wondering what relevance the academic discussion could have on individual experiences and application. Struggling through the dense material was part of the process of seeing ‘what sticks’. In the midst of the reading and the typing I dropped everything and picked up a new square canvas and just started painting an image of Christ on the cross from a close-up perspective purely from imagination and saturation in the readings and my own thoughts. I usually paint as an outlet for creative energy and spending time on the idea of the Word taking on flesh — and once again the thoughts of the nature of sin just spilled out of me onto that canvas. It isn’t that the world is lacking for “Christ paintings” but for me it was all about the process and the prompt to paint in the middle of grappling with theological truth.

The painting itself is not very large and uses only two colors—Ultramarine Blue + Burnt Sienna mixtures. I wanted to capture both anguish and peace—both life and death. This painting now hangs on the wall to the right of my work desk. Below it, on a peace of paper is the following verse:

 

“But may it never be that I would boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me and I to the world.” Galatians 6:14

 

The atoning work of Christ on the cross made possible our reparation and our reconciliation. While a lot of stress is made on reconciliation in evangelical preaching and teaching, there seems to be a lack in the discussion of reparation. How can we become the people of God–before we get to heaven? This resonates with me in a profound way as I long to see that in my church and community. This new relationship with God allows us to be reconciled with God and with one another—this is the transformation we desperately seek.

 

And can it be that I should gain
An int’rest in the Savior’s blood?
Died He for me, who caused His pain?
For me, who Him to death pursued?
Amazing love! how can it be
That Thou, my God, should die for me?

Long my imprisoned spirit lay
Fast bound in sin and nature’s night;
Thine eye diffused a quick’ning ray,
I woke, the dungeon flamed with light;
My chains fell off, my heart was free;
I rose, went forth and followed Thee.

-Charles Wesley 1738

Words of Life

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Words of Life, by Timothy Ward is about how God spoke out of the words of the Bible and how He continues to communicate through them to the world. The words of Scripture are the vehicle for God’s speech. God is speaking in and acting in Scripture.  While Ward has much to say on the role of language and the fact that God has both equipped us with the ability of language and chooses to use language as a means of communicating to us, (everyone should ponder that at least once in their lives) the section on application is very relevant on how we approach Scripture today, individually and as a church.  I also found his section on the doctrine of the clarity of scripture to address very key items that are also directly applicable to the church today.

One aspect of the doctrine of clarity, as it pertains to preaching, means that the preacher has the right attitude if and when challenged and corrected by others. This is due to the fact that preachers are also affected by sin and can be blinded at times (p. 122). I suspect that if preachers were open to—not unnecessary vicious criticism—but dialogue for the purpose of edification, laity in the church who are equally as serious about doctrine, scripture, and faith would be open to one another in disagreements as we all seek the authority of the Scriptures and the leading of the Spirit. This same section addresses the inerrancy of Scripture and I found this point to be useful in explaining this key doctrine to others. The Bible “does not assert any errors of fact…what it asserts is true.” (pg. 130) In other words, petty micro discussions on translation errors and so forth do not take away from the big picture of this doctrine—Scripture will not lead us into error, everything it says is true. This is something that needs to be proclaimed and rediscovered by 21st century Christians.

Individual interpretation of the Scriptures is always problematic, particularly when that individual is in a teaching position or has an audience of any kind. There is a distinction between sola scriptura and solo scriptura. I appreciate Ward’s candid comment about the necessity for interpretation of scripture that does not exalt the individual’s interpretation (‘Tradition o’). There is the danger of the “Spirit-filled teacher” who may have a great following and gives little importance to predominant teachings throughout church history (p. 148). This is very relevant to our times. There are many cyber churches that any individual can start with very little to no money and very little to no biblical education. Not too long ago an ambitious preacher/teacher would need significant media exposure, a physical location of gathering and financial backing consistently in order to gain any “human” influence. Today, through a variety of social media outlets, followers will literary search for you and follow you. This could be a good thing for sound teaching, yet the floodgates have opened and wisdom to know and navigate is crucial or else we can be swayed by whatever our itching ears want to hear. Sola Scriptura must ring true in light of current reality—scripture supreme, all other traditions (if I may add technology and trends) must serve scripture (p.151). A final thought on this is that it underscores our need for preachers who are trained in hermeneutics and approach God’s Word with humility while having a heart and capacity of shepherding the flock they have been entrusted with.  Ward provides basic and important questions every student of the Bible ought to ask in personal study or in preparing a message (p. 175).

The section on application as it pertains to the corporate (church) setting was of particular interest to me.  Knowing about the work of the Holy Spirit through God’s Word being preached is encouraging. This takes the stress off of thinking everything begins and ends with the sermon (or worship or Sunday morning service in general). The truth is that the Spirit is already working ahead of everything we are preparing and planning! In spite of all this there is great importance on the life of the preacher himself. When the preacher’s life is significantly at odds with the message he is preaching, the message will not have the desired effect and outcome on the listeners (p.167). This is so important to grasp. Whether the preacher is in a lifestyle of sin, got to church grumpy and disappointment at everyone, or simply did not allow the message to speak to him first before delivering it to the congregation. I appreciate that Ward states further that preachers are to preach and teach on how to best interpret the Bible. He admits that individuals can consult books or resources and learn about interpretation themselves, but they are best taught by their own pastor (p. 172). This section “takes off” and “puts on” the role of the pastor. It “takes off” in that the pastor is not tasked with delivering sensational new truths from God’s Word. Yet that does not make him unnecessary or obsolete; he is to allow the Spirit to work in him through the Word as he teaches the congregation the same truth in order to have that same effect on their lives.

Ward could probably borrow a bit from Sanders’ sense of urgency of needing to go deeper! That’s an appropriate theme to the truths of this book and the truths of Scripture—we must go deeper! Scripture (and language) as a means of God speaking to us actively by definition should crowd us around studying of God’s Word. This, in turn, would give our local churches the right vision and right mission in moving forward. There is too much Christian fluff and not enough substance, yet the harvest continues to be plentiful. Serious Christians and pastors need to humbly and prayerfully seek how correctly hearing God informs their personal and ministerial decisions. While those in error move forward more subtly and quickly than ever before, we must teach and defend the Word for those who are coming into the Kingdom.

The Deep Things of God

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In The Deep Things of God: How the Trinity Changes Everything, Fred Sanders explains the need to fully realize Trinitarian reality both in our Christian lives and in ministry, particularly on our understanding of the gospel and its presentation. This is a call to leave the shallowness that has dominated much of the evangelical church and really to realize what God has made possible for us in joining our lives to His Life. The application of this is nothing short of waking up to a fullness of reality. The doctrine of the Trinity is not something to confess in church liturgy but rather to be immersed in daily.  Two things that I find directly applicable on a personal level is this realization gives more depth and meaning to our gospel presentations and brings us to a richer reality in prayer.

The evangelical church believes and upholds the doctrine of the Trinity but has robbed itself in really experiencing and being transformed by all that life in communion with the Trinity offers. Sanders says this doctrine has been “reduced to an issue of authority and mental obedience.” (p. 51) In other words, we believe in the Trinity because we have to. It has become a mindless acceptance. On the other hand, evangelicals acknowledge the Trinity, without any explicit presentation that involves the work of the Father and the Spirit (i.e. Billy Graham crusades). We certainly believe it and we have a difficult time explaining the Trinity and rarely do we address the topic in the regular life of the church. Perhaps we view this as deeply theological and personally irrelevant. This has caused the shallowness within evangelical churches and ironically, as Sanders argues, our belief and foundations are very Trinitarian but lacking the full consciousness of what this reality implies about our life in God.

In presentations of the gospel, our message is centered on the work of the Son on the cross. “We emphasize the big benefit: heaven.” (p. 21). There is a mandate to convert people to escape hell but the invitation into the triune life of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit is missing. The good news of salvation is often presented as the acceptance of Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior with emphasis on His saving work on our behalf and almost always void of the other two Persons of the Trinity.  “The good news of salvation is ultimately that God opens his Trinitarian life to us.” (104, 198) This statement is definitely worth repeating for Sanders (appears twice in the book) and therefore deserves our attention. Could it be that we need to stop trying to explain how the Trinity works and focus on how the Trinity is relevant to our lives? This is not something to believe as fact but to experience as truth in our daily lives. Sanders declares that the Trinity is the gospel (pg. 170, italics mine). The good news is that God has invited us to be in the same fellowship that Father, Son, and Holy Spirit have always been enjoying. The work of the Son makes this possible.

 

In speaking of our gospel presentations, the invitation is usually to accept Jesus Christ in our hearts (lives) in a presentation that usually involves the holiness of God, the sin of man and the atoning death of Christ. There is nothing wrong with this, yet how much of a richer invitation and truer reality would we present in an invitation to join into the very life of God through the work of the Son! Sanders points out that he is not proposing an alternative gospel (p. 173), “focusing on Christ logically entails including the entire Trinity in the same focus (p.174). This is what makes the central focus so applicable. We are not shifting our focus, we are zeroing down and looking deeper into the relationship of Father, Son and Spirit in the great work of redemption.  All three Persons are active in our salvation and all Persons make up the God of our adoration and worship. They have invited us to share in this “happy life” that never ceases.

One additional point on the work of salvation is not so much that we accept Christ inside our lives (although as Sanders says, that is not necessarily a wrong way to think about it), the greater realization is that “we are in Christ” (pg. 176). This is an incredible realization as we revisit where our minds go during our time of prayer. Often if our focus is on the fact that “Christ is in us” we are left with an image of “smallness” that we are talking to ourselves or to a Person that has made His home in us. How much more of a glorious realization that we are in immersed in the divine Presence of Father Son and Holy Spirit. They are always in communication with each other and we are invited into the “personal presence of Father Son and Spirit” (pg. 234). Opening up our minds, hearts and focus would bring us so much closer to the bigness of God. The awe-inspiring reality that the eternal God has made possible His Triune Presence every time we enter into a time of prayer. The image we have in our minds will change drastically under this reality and help us realize C.S. Lewis’ observation that “Christian Life… is a matter of being taken up into the life of the Trinity” (pg. 239). This is what has been made possible to all of us, not just for a few select “spiritually strong” folks.

Clearly, as evangelicals, we have a ways to go in taking full opportunity to know and experience the deep things of God. A very real application could be to essentially declare the awesomeness that we have been invited into the happy life of the Trinity and that the Son has made this possible. This could certainly proceed “For God so loved the world…” The big picture is even bigger than we have presented it, our prayer life is entering into a more awesome Presence than we ever imagined. The doctrine that we must accept and confess as evangelical Christians can and should be the new reality that we have been immersed into and can passionately declare to others that they too have been invited into this happy, glorious life of the Triune God.