Category: the Gospel

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Palm Sunday

Replay from a few years back:

This past Sunday was the day Christians commemorate the triumphal entry of Jesus into the city of Jerusalem. Jesus was hailed as the King by the people along the road into the city. While the people did recognize Jesus as the promised King, they did not understand just what his kingdom was all about. They were looking for someone to overthrow the Romans and restore Israel back to its former glory. Even the disciples did not totally understand. By the end of the week, many who were hailing Jesus as King turned against him and saw him as just another in a line of failed would-be messiahs.

Many today also misunderstand Jesus and his kingdom. Some see the kingdom as something in the future. Today we depend on Jesus to save us, and take us to heaven when we die. The kingdom will happen when Jesus comes again. The idea that Jesus is the King, right now, does not enter into our minds.

This incorrect thinking has produced a church that is weak and ineffective. It has produced people who only see the Jesus as a ticket to heaven, as “fire insurance.” It ignores or explains away much of the four Gospels. It has caused many to leave the church. I believe that fear is one reason many would rather see the kingdom as something off in the future. Fear that, if we take Jesus’ teachings seriously, we will have to give up control. Fear that Jesus may ask us to give up the American Dream. Fear that our comfortable life will be no more.

So, while the first century church proclaimed the subversive message that Jesus was the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, bringing down the wrath of the Roman Empire, the church today proclaims a message that is quite compatible with the powers that be. Either that, or a message that you can accept Jesus as “personal” Savior, live a moral life, and go to heaven and escape this world when you die.

The first century church turned the world upside down. The church today, well…

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Grace and Self-Righteousness

One of the things God is teaching me is that any righteousness I might have comes from him alone. If I think that I am better than anyone else, then I am greatly mistaken.

Frank Viola has a post titled A Farewell to Self Righteousness, that is a reminder that no one’s sins are really worse than mine and that we are all in desperate need of God’s grace.

Here are a couple of quotes from the post, but you really need to read the whole thing for yourself:

Now let’s put a modern Christian in that room with Jesus, Mary Magdalene, and the Pharisees. A self-righteous Christian, mind you.

“Um [cough] … Lord Jesus, did she ask You to forgive her? I didn’t hear her say she was sorry for living as a prostitute. How do we know if she has really repented, Lord? Do You mind if I interrogate her for a bit, please?”

Such is the spirit of a Pharisee. And we have not so learned Jesus Christ.

If Mary of Magdala could love her Lord and enjoy His presence boldly, flagrantly, extravagantly, shamelessly, and without inhibition, then so can you. And so can I.

Therefore, the next time you feel condemnation over your past, please remember this one thing: The first person to lay eyes upon the resurrected Lord was a former prostitute.

It’s easy for us to look at what other people do and judge them, especially if we feel they have wronged us. Many times we are kept from extravagantly loving Jesus because we look at others rather than allowing the Spirit to show us where we have sinned, and just how much grace the Father has given us.

God help us to extend to others the same grace that God has shown us.

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Accountability and Focus

Some of you may have been part of an accountability group at some time in your life. I’ve been in men’s groups that began with the intent to be that. Interestingly, those groups broke up before the amount of trust necessary was built up. As my understanding of grace and the Gospel has changed over the years, my view of such groups has also changed.

I do believe it is vital for God’s people to spend time with one another to exhort and build up each other, and that we are called to make disciples. I think the focus of many accountability groups is on the wrong thing. Of course, that may be due to the fact that the focus of many churches is wrong. Accountability groups are usually formed in an attempt to help a group of folks stop doing any number of sinful behaviors. The idea is that if a member knows he will be asked if he did _____________________ during the time between meetings. That may cause enough fear to keep them from committing that sin. It also may drive them to lie and become more adept at hiding it. Focusing on sin can create an atmosphere of self-righteousness on the part of those who can control themselves, and failure and shame on the part of those who continue to stumble.

I believe that our focus in the church and in any group of Christ-followers should be on Jesus and what he has done for us. When Jesus cried, “It is finished!” I believe that he meant more than just the work of sacrificing himself for our sins. I believe that Jesus was saying that it all is finished, that there is nothing else for us to do. Once we are adopted as God’s children, we are in Christ. We are the Father’s beloved sons and daughters, and we have the Holy Spirit living in us. There is nothing we must or can do to earn God’s favor, it is already ours.

As we focus on God’s love for us and the fact that we are God’s children, our mindset becomes one of desiring to live like the sons and daughters of God that we are. Rather than focus on our sins and trying harder to do better, we remember that because Jesus has done it all, we can do what God wants us to do. When we do sin, it is because we have forgotten who we are. Look at the letters of Paul in the New Testament. He is constantly telling his readers to live like the people they really are, not like the ones they used to be.

We do need to exhort and encourage each other. We cannot live without it. Rather than trying to find out if a brother or sister has sinned in the past week, we need to remind each other that it is finished. Jesus has done it all and God has given us everything we need to live a godly life. As we give each other the Gospel, we remind each other to live out of our heritage because we are God’s children and we have his nature in us. We are a new creation.

Don’t focus on sin. Focus on Jesus.

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Sinners

A well known evangelist from a few years ago, who founded a college named after him, once stated that Jesus wouldn’t even talk to a sinner unless they became “born again.” He made this statement while talking about Jesus telling Nicodemus that he needed to be born again. In context, he was defending his school’s policy of only enrolling Christians. That is fine, because the college was ostensibly founded to train Christian students. I do have a problem with the idea that Jesus required people to be “born again,” or “be saved” before he would even talk to them.

All through the Gospels, we find Jesus not only accepting sinners, but hanging out with them. The religious leaders of the day called him a glutton and a drunk. I seriously doubt they called Jesus those things because he was a tea-totaler who ate very little. His disciples were asked why he ate with sinners. Jesus answer was that he came to save the lost, and to heal the sick. The religious leaders were not lost or sick, at least in their own minds. But they missed it completely.
When the woman caught in adultery was brought before Jesus, he didn’t ask her if she believed on him. He simply told her that he didn’t condemn her and that she needed to stop doing what she was doing. The woman who anointed Jesus’ feet was a known sinner, yet Jesus accepted her adoration without any condition. I would venture to say that the song, “Jesus, What a Friend of Sinners” is sung in the chapel of the above mentioned college. That’s exactly what Jesus is, a friend of sinners.
I for one, am grateful that Jesus doesn’t put prerequisites on our coming to him. he doesn’t tell us to go get our act together before he will deal with us. He calls us to come to him as we are, and then he takes care of the changes that he wants in our lives. We do people a disservice when we tell them that there are certain things they must do in order to come to Christ. He truly is a friend of sinners, and we must not forget that.
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Free!

I read a couple of posts this morning that started the wheels turning in my head (that’s what the squeaking noise was). The first post was by Dan Edelen here, and the second was by Jeff Dunn and is found here.

As one who grew up and served in conservative Christian circles, I have constantly bumped against walls that were put up to keep us from engaging in certain behaviors, or to make us do other things. I’ve always been anti-legalism, and over the years cultivated an image as a bit of a rebel. Unfortunately, the image was many times driven by a desire to do what I wanted rather than what God wanted. I was more anti-legalism than pro grace.
I am learning that a reliance on God’s grace and love is what should define my life. The posts mentioned above are part of that learning. I am learning that Romans 7:5-6, Galatians 2:19-21, and Colossians 2:20-23 are good passages to live by. I am learning that my Father loves me no matter what I do or don’t do. I am learning that Jesus took away all my sins: past, present, and future. Not only that, but the power of sin has been broken by Christ.
Sin is no longer the defining force in my life. I still sin, but I also have a Savior that has freed me. When I do sin, it’s not because sin is controlling me. It’s life. It’s part of being a man who is still learning how to follow Jesus and live in God’s grace. Fortunately, my Father doesn’t condemn me, he is not disappointed with me. He sees me as his beloved son. He teaches me and leads me, and continues to fill me with his love.
I’m learning that I am not in control of my life, God is. No matter hard I try, I can’t please God more. I can’t do things that are going to influence God to bless me. It’s not up to me.
I’m learning that I am a dead man. I have died to sin and its power. I have died to this world. I am dying to the opinions of other people, because the only opinion that counts is that of the One who calls me child. That last one will take some time.
I want to be as Jesus, who only did what the Father told him to do. Jeff Dunn says that folks accuse him of being “all grace.” I’ll gladly accept that label. Dan Edelen writes, “Anymore, the only rules I impose on myself on this walk of faith are, am I loving the Lord, and am I loving other people.” That sounds good to me. Jesus himself said that the two greatest commandments are to love God and love others, and that everything else hangs on that.
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Giving Up and Gaining

In A Renegade’s Guide to God, David Foster tells a story of a wealthy man who built a large art collection with his son. The son goes off to war and is killed. Later a soldier shows up at the man’s door with a portrait that he had painted of the man’s son, saying that the son had saved his life. The portrait is given an honored place in the man’s art collection.

The wealthy man dies and his entire estate is put up for auction. The first item is the portrait of the son. The crowd is waiting for the “good stuff” i.e. the Picassos, Rembrandts, and other great works. No one bids on the portrait. Finally a man bids ten dollars. It is the one who painted it and ten dollars is all he has to give. Because no one else bids he is the highest bidder. The auctioneer then says that the auction is closed. There was a clause in the will that states that the son’s portrait was to be the only thing auctioned and that whoever bought the picture would get the entire estate. So the soldier, who gave everything he had to get the son’s picture, also got everything else.

That’s what being a Christian is all about. You give up everything you have to “get the Son”, and you get everything else that the Father has. It’s all about a relationship with Jesus. It’s not about a bunch of rules, how you dress, what kind of Bible you carry, how you vote, what kind of music you listen to, whether you smoke or drink, or any other external things. It’s about whether you realize that you can not save yourself and that Jesus Christ loves you and has died for you so you don’t have to die. It’s about having a relationship of love with the Creator. It’s about following Jesus and letting his Spirit guide you and form you into his image.

Jesus said he came to give us a life that is abundant and full. That’s the way Christians should be. Are we?

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Hummingbirds

This is a repost of something I wrote a couple years ago.

We have a hummingbird feeder outside our back porch and it’s fun to watch them hover and drink the sugar water. It’s interesting that they have to come back often to drink because of the amount of energy they expend flapping their wings at such a fast rate.

Another thing I’ve noticed about hummingbirds is that they are very territorial. An aggressive hummingbird will chase others away from the feeder and will actually sit in a nearby tree watching for an interloper. In fact, a beautiful ruby throated hummingbird that was the first to come to the feeder was driven away completely by a brown one. It seems to me that an amazing amount of energy is wasted defending something that never belonged to them. The feeder is there because of the good graces of my wife and me. So instead of sharing the bounty with the other birds, one bird wastes his energy to defend something that is a gift and not his to keep.

How often are we, the Church, like that. We take the grace that has been freely given us and jealously guard it from those who don’t agree with us in everything. We think that God’s grace, like the sugar water, was given to us alone. We put God in a little box and try to interpret everything by the limits of that box. We waste an awful lot of energy defending things that either are indefensible, or are not vital. Then, we don’t have the time or energy to spend on the real work that Jesus gave us to do – making disciples who follow the Christ.

I’m not saying that Biblical truth doesn’t matter or that we should adopt an “I’m okay, you’re okay” philosophy. I am saying that we need to take a hard look at what we believe and make sure that we believe it because it matches up with what God says rather than because “it’s the way we’ve always been taught”. Is our Christianity Biblical or cultural? Did the faith we hold begin in the 1st century or in the 19th and 20th centuries?

Are we disciples of Jesus? Or, are we hummingbirds?

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Pursuing the Virtuous Life

One of the things I learned during my days as a teacher in fundamentalist Christian education was the fact that many of America’s founding fathers had lists of virtues or rules of behavior that were good things for the students to know and emulate. Ben Franklin had a list of thirteen, while George Washington had one hundred ten rules to follow. All in all the rules and lists are not bad things for people to check out and learn from. We obviously could use more civility and manners in today’s society.

The problem comes when we try to make ourselves virtuous by following a list of rules. Ben Franklin realized that while he had become a better person in many ways, he had not reached the state of moral perfection that he hoped to attain. Many churches preach, and many people believe, that following the dictates of their church or a set of rules from a particular group will help you be “right with God.” Many other churches who don’t have a long list of “standards” still preach steps to be closer to God, or any number of things you can do to be a better Christian. This kind of thinking, while it may make life a bit better, is nothing more than man’s attempt to do what only God can do.

What is forgotten in all the lists to follow is grace. Grace is the word that Christians use when they are talking about salvation. They are correct; we are saved by grace, not by anything we do. What is so often neglected is that we also live and grow by grace. As God’s children, there is nothing we can do to make him love us less. We can not tear ourselves away from God’s grace and love. It is also true that there is nothing we can do that will make God love us any more. We cannot add to the Father’s grace and love toward us. I love my son and daughter unconditionally. They cannot do anything that is going to make me stop loving them, and they do not have to do anything to earn my love. So it is with God. He loves us, period.

As we learn to accept and rest in that love it grows in us and our love for God and for others grows. The way we grow in the Father’s love is by spending time with him, seeing each day as an opportunity to be guided and shaped by the Spirit. We learn about the Father by looking at the Son, by immersing ourselves in the Gospels and seeing Jesus as he really is. The first disciples spent three years with the Master, eating and drinking with him , traveling with him, hearing his teachings and seeing how he lived those teachings out. After that, they were given the Holy Spirit and went out and turned the world upside down. We have the account of Jesus’ life and teachings, and we have the same Holy Spirit to guide us and empower us to become like Jesus.

Our lives do not hang on man-made rules or anything else that comes from our own efforts. We can become better people, but the Father’s goal is for us to become like Christ. That can only come from the grace of God working in our lives through the Spirit. It happens because God loves us. Rest in that love. Don’t try to be a virtuous person. Instead, learn from Jesus and let the Spirit teach you. Trust in the fact that the Father is shaping you into the image of Jesus. As the old hymn says, “Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in his wonderful face, and the things of earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of his glory and grace.”

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Another Political Post (Sort Of)

There’s a lot of words flying around the airwaves, the internet, and in public. Some of them are good words, some of them are not good. Some of the good words are spoken by Christians and, unfortunately, some of the not good words are spoken by Christians. The cause of all these words is the debate over the health care bill recently passed by Congress. Everyone from Glen Beck to Jim Wallis has weighed in on the debate.

I’m not going to get into the debate over whether or not the bill that was passed is a good one. I do have my doubts and reservations about anything that is pushed so quickly, with so much arm twisting and back room dealing. And of course, there’s always the law of unintended consequences. I have friends and relatives on both sides of the debate, and my relationship with them is far more important than which side is right.

What I do feel strongly about is the way folks who claim to follow the King of Kings have forgotten that we are citizens of a kingdom that is not of this world, a kingdom that has an agenda that is far different than that of any kingdom of this world, including this one. Christians on the right and on the left have invested far too much emotion in ensuring that their side is in power and their agenda is pushed. There is nothing wrong with folks supporting and working for whatever party fits their political views, but when that causes them to call opponents names, to angrily shout down those on the other side, or to even bring into question their spiritual life, then there is something wrong.

We are Christians before we are Republicans or Democrats. We are God’s children before we are conservative or liberal. We are citizens of Christ’s kingdom before we are citizens of any country on this earth. We are part of the same Body. To paraphrase the Apostle Paul, would the eye scream at the foot across a barricade? Would the ear call the elbow a racial slur? Would the nose tell the knee that it’s not part of the body? This little toe has a hard time hearing parts of the Body belittle and disparage other parts because of their view of what this part of the kingdoms of this world should look like. Didn’t Jesus say that the world would know that we are his because of our love for one another?

I believe that whatever happens in the coming years because of the health care bill should ultimately make little difference in how followers of Jesus conduct their lives as citizens of heaven. We are called to spread the Gospel and make disciples who will follow King Jesus and in turn make more disciples. Christians through the centuries have done that regardless of the government in power, whether the Roman Empire, the Soviet Union, China, or an Islamic dictatorship. If they can do that, surely we can do what we are called to do whether a liberal Democrat or a conservative Republican is in charge.

Follow your political persuasions. Be passionate about your ideas. Just remember that your first allegiance is to the One who told Pilate that his kingdom is not of this world. The agenda of the kingdom of God is not the agenda of earthly governments.

Check out some of the writings by Stanley Hauerwaus and Greg Boyd. They put it far better than I can.

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The Existence of God

A friend on theooze.com posted a link to this essay. It’s an excellent piece on “proving” the existence of God. I would suggest you read the entire essay.

A few paragraphs struck me as significant:

“The existence of God is a profound matter, and never something that should be treated perfunctorily. That “I believe God exists” and that “I know Him” are among the deepest things that a Christian can say, and are a confession of the grace of God. We have been given something that is consonant with purity of heart, and should thus confess it with extreme humility.”

“We are living in a time of history in which saints are required. We have long passed the time in which rational arguments will carry the day. Nothing less than lives which manifest the existence of God will do. The world has heard centuries of arguments – has been subjected to crass persecutions and atrocities in the name of God (even if these were largely not the result of Orthodox actions). We have survived a century of extremes (Bolshevism, Nazism, etc.). That the world is hungry is beyond doubt. But the world is not hungry for a new and winning argument.
The world hungers for God (whether it knows this or not).”

“The proper Christian answer to the hunger of the world is to be found only in the manifestation of God. Thus the challenge of a modern atheist should not be met with an anxious rejoinder from our panoply of arguments – but with the urgency of prayer that we might ourselves become an answer through the reality of the presence of God in our lives.”

“As witnesses of the God who exists – we should strive in our small ways – to become persons whose lives are themselves an argument for the existence of God – a God whose existence is indeed beyond all existence.”

“It is a tall order. Nothing less than life in the image of the resurrection of Christ will do. Nothing less than that has been promised us in Christ.”

May we be people who live in the reality and power of the resurrection.