Number 2 - "Belief Is Not Enough (Or It's Not What You Think It Is)"
"For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believes in him will not perish but have eternal life"- Jesus (John 3:16)
In the actual passage, Jesus is having a conversation with a Pharisee by the name of Nicodemus. In the conversation Jesus is not asking Nicodemus to believe that Jesus is standing there, or that he is real. Obviously Nicodemus believed Jesus was real and alive because they were having an active conversation together. So, to "believe" in Jesus is more than having mental knowledge of him, or an acceptance of a series of facts about Jesus as being true.
What does Jesus intend to teach here? I think it all hangs on how you understand his use of the word "Believe". If you think Jesus meant "to think that Jesus was an historical person", or even "to accept that Jesus was the Messiah", you’d be missing the real point.
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BELIEVE?
I believe that what Jesus was trying to communicate in John 3:16 is the importance of living out what you say you believe, not simply saying what you believe and then living any way you please.
One way to express this is to ask yourself what it is you do each and every day of your life. I would suggest that Biblical belief can be expressed in the statement "Show me what you do, how you behave, and that is what you really believe".
WHAT DO YOU REALLY BELIEVE?
So, what do you really believe about Jesus? It's revealed in the way you live your life. It's revealed in the way you treat people. It's revealed in the way you think of yourself. It's revealed in the way you behave when you think no one is looking.
If you have really confessed and believed that Jesus is Lord, then your life will reflect that reality as you submit to the rule and reign of God in your life. It will be revealed as you search the scriptures for wisdom and in the way you apply it to your everyday life. If you have confessed it and yet continue to rule your own life as you see fit, then in reality it is you in control and not Jesus, therefore, Jesus is not Lord.
There is a wonderful passage in a book called "Follow Me" by Jan David Hettinga (which I whole-heartedly recommend) where the author relates a counseling session between himself and a dear friend who is undergoing turmoil in his life. The author listens to his friend complain about his life and then challenges him to prove whether or not Jesus is really in charge of his life. At first this friend is angry at him for suggesting such a thing, but then the author calmly points out every event in his life where he has blatantly followed his own lusts and desires and kept Jesus out of control.
At the end of the conversation the author asks his friend, "What would your life look like if you really gave Jesus control over everything today?" His friend is quiet for a moment and then starts to say, "I guess I'd stop drinking so much and I'd have to cancel my poker night with the guys every week. I know I'd have to be a lot nicer to my wife and spend more time with my children, etc."
The author then asks his friend if he's willing to start allowing Jesus to be the Lord of his life or not.
IS DOCTRINE IRRELEVANT?
I'm not suggesting that doctrine and belief are unnecessary. In fact, I feel that doctrine is quite important. But by itself it's not enough. In other words, if a group of people only believe that murder is wrong, but they don’t practice this belief, you’ll always have the occasional dead body to deal with. Practice matters.
The things we believe, really believe, will affect the way we live our lives. If we honestly believe that Jesus is God, then we will put His words into practice. If we say we do, but we live in a way that is contrary to His clear teaching, then perhaps we really don't believe in Jesus after all?
Maybe what we need is to have a reinterpretation of what it means to believe? Better yet, perhaps we should simply take Jesus at his word and begin to do what he says?
"If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching...he who does not love me will not obey my teaching." – JESUS (John 14:23-24)
I would love for the day to come when people can tell whether or not someone is a follower of Jesus by the way they practice the Jesus way of life.
In the early church, the Christian faith was defined more by practice, not by doctrine. Doctrine is necessary to outline the scope of the belief system, but without anyone actually practicing those beliefs, it's all quite useless and empty.
Islam, Judaism and the early Christians were all defined by what they did (practiced) more than their specific doctrines (beliefs). Jews kept the Sabbath. Muslims prayed several times a day, Christians gave to the poor. Faith was seen as a way of life, not something contained in a list of beliefs.
In our current culture, being a Christian is still understood as being more about having the right belief and less about having the character of Christ and practicing what you believe.
Again, I'm not against doctrine and this article is not in any way attempting to suggest that doctrine and theology are useless. Far from it. In fact, what I'm saying is that your doctrine and theology are a lie if you don't act out the principles contained in your doctrine and theology.
GRACE AND WORKS
I am also not suggesting that our actions affect our salvation, which is 100% the work of Christ and his act of sacrifice upon the cross. It is not our actions that save us, but our actions are evidence that we have been saved. Dallas Willard, one of my spiritual heroes, has a great quote about this. He says, "What you really believe about Jesus is revealed by what you do when you realize that you cannot do anything (to earn your salvation*)".
(*From the Allelon Series on Kingdom Living)
My summation of this goes, "Swimming won't make you a fish; but if you are a fish you will swim." So, if you do good works in order to be saved you're wasting your time. However, if you have truly become a new creation through a relationship with Jesus, you will become the sort of person who does good works by nature.
THE PROBLEM
My concern is for those people out there who are placing a false hope in a statement of faith in Jesus who have never actually surrendered their actual everyday life to Christ. I'm also concerned that our world is full of people who walk around proclaiming themselves to be Christians yet live any way they want; in complete opposition to the commands of Jesus
"Now this is eternal life: that they may know you the only true God and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent." – JESUS (John 17:3)
The kind of knowledge Jesus is speaking of here corresponds with the idea of intense intimacy. In fact, it's closer to the word for sexual interaction. This is the kind of knowledge that conceives new life. This is the kind of intimate knowledge of God and of Jesus we are meant to have. It's not about knowing stuff, it's about knowing Him as a friend.
Knowing stuff about Jesus is not the same as knowing Jesus. For example, I could know all about Shaquille O'Neil but still not know him as a person. My knowledge of him would not mean that Shaq and I are friends. In the same way, it's possible for you and I to become experts on Bible Trivia about Jesus and still not really "know" Jesus personally.
A few months ago a friend of mine stood in my house and shared with me a story about someone who they were hoping would become a Christian. "If I can just get them to say they believe in Jesus, they're saved," the person said.
We had an interesting discussion out of that statement, but what really kept gnawing on me was the mindset that my friend had, and that I observe that many others have, when it comes to the question of Salvation. Specifically, I think it has to do with what we believe it really means to be a Christian.
Obviously, my friend would say that to be a Christian is to say that you believe in Jesus. Maybe you don't even have to really do anything else except say it out loud, like a magic word, and then God has no choice but to let you into heaven. I have to question this line of reasoning.
I know that many Christians believe that all you have to do to get into Heaven is to repeat a prayer, believe that Jesus was real and make plans for the afterlife. But is that really what the Scriptures teach about what it means to inherit Eternal Life? Is that really what it means to be a Christian?
According to Scripture, the earliest disciples of Jesus were of the opinion that following Him was all about practice, putting your faith where your life is, not saying one thing and then doing another.
Trusting in Jesus, believing in Him, is about obedience to His commands, submission to His will, and an ongoing relationship with Him. Biblical belief is not about cerebral acknowledgement of a set of doctrines, it's about putting into practice with your life what you have come to believe in your heart and mind.
So, the Christian life is about belief, and it's also about how we practice what we believe. This is where the real Christian life begins.
"Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do." – James 2:18
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Showing posts with label faith in action. Show all posts
Showing posts with label faith in action. Show all posts
Saturday, July 23, 2011
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
STATEMENTS OF FAITH
Here are two quotes from two different people concerning their personal faith in Christ to consider.
Person A: "I was humbled to learn that God sent His Son to die for a sinner like me. I was comforted to know that through the Son, I could find God's amazing grace, a grace that crosses every border, every barrier and is open to everyone. Through the love of Christ's life, I could understand the life changing powers of faith."
Person B: "Jesus Christ dying for my sins spoke to the humility we all have to have as human beings - that we're sinful and we're flawed and we make mistakes, and that we achieve salvation through the grace of God."
After reading these two quotes which of them do you think is pretending? Do either of these quotes strike you as doubtful? What if I told you that both of these quotes were from the same person? Would these statements feel consistent to you?
What if I told you that both of these quotes were from death row inmates? Each of them was guilty of murder, and one of them of rape. Can you guess which one of them was guilty of rape?
Now, what if I said that both of these quotes were from two different Presidents? (They are). Can you guess which of them is the Republican and which one is the Democrat? Unless you're already familiar with the quotation, I'm betting you couldn't do more than guess which one was conservative and which one was a liberal. (And it would only be a wild guess at that).
The fact is that, without knowing who said something, we cannot judge any further than the words themselves. We can only read the words apart from our bias and take the words at face value.
Are these men speaking truthfully? We don't really know. We can only take their word for it, honestly. In fact, we really can't even judge their statement of faith based on their behavior because all of us who follow Christ are sinners.
I think this is partly why Jesus commands us not to judge one another in this way. It's simply not our place to determine whether or not someone is saved. Not only that, we're also not very good at it. For example, let's say that you had two neighbors. One of them is always getting in trouble with the law. He was recently arrested and is sitting on death row. You'd probably judge that this guy is bound for hell. Now let's say the other neighbor is always at church. He leads Bible Studies, he’s on staff at the church, and he has practically memorized the Bible. You’d probably judge that this guy is bound for heaven. However, the first neighbor corresponds to the thief on the cross. He lived a life of crime and was punished for his evil actions, but at just the last moment he put his faith in Christ and Jesus welcomed him into paradise that same day. The second neighbor corresponds to the rich young ruler. He was righteous according to the people of his day, and he was wealthy (a sign of God’s favor) and he kept the law. Yet when Jesus offers him a place on his executive leadership staff, the man walks away and stops short of surrendering his life to Christ. In each case, if you and I were the ones judging these two men we would have been dead wrong.
Only God is equipped to judge the eternal destiny of men and women, not us. We are commanded not to judge others and put them into a box labeled righteous or evil because we do not know the heart of man. We can barely know our own heart, much less the heart of someone else.
"Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." He also told them this parable: "Can the blind lead the blind? Will they not both fall into a pit? The student is not above the teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like their teacher. (Luke 6:37-40)
I can already hear the partisan response to my article brewing as I write this. "But how can this President call himself a Christian if he believes in a woman's right to choose abortion?" Or perhaps, "This President is a liar, a murderer, and war monger who has no compassion for minorities or the poor. How can he call himself a follower of Christ?" But if we allow ourselves to judge one person's salvation based on how much they agree with our politics, we're still placing ourselves in the seat of the One True Judge of all mankind, and this is not our place.
At bare minimum, we should be able to give our brothers and sisters the benefit of the doubt and believe the best of them before we outright dismiss their statement of faith. Especially if our only basis for doing so is that they disagree with us on politics.
"Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, 'Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,' when you yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye." (Luke 6:41-42)
When we judge others we forget that we are also sinners saved by Grace who fail often, miss the mark daily and are in constant need of mercy and forgiveness from both God Almighty, and our friends and family.
Everyone you meet in life is decidedly "in process". We are not yet the people we hope to be, and we are no longer the people we once were. This fact should help us to find grace for each other as we go through this life together.
Our main calling is to become experts at loving one another, and loving those who need it most. If someone disagrees with you on a major issue, and if that person identifies themselves as your brother or sister in Christ, then your duty is to pray for them and to love them, not to doubt their eternal salvation or their faith in our Lord Jesus.
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*Note: Quote A was from George W. Bush and Quote B was Barack Obama.
Person A: "I was humbled to learn that God sent His Son to die for a sinner like me. I was comforted to know that through the Son, I could find God's amazing grace, a grace that crosses every border, every barrier and is open to everyone. Through the love of Christ's life, I could understand the life changing powers of faith."
Person B: "Jesus Christ dying for my sins spoke to the humility we all have to have as human beings - that we're sinful and we're flawed and we make mistakes, and that we achieve salvation through the grace of God."
After reading these two quotes which of them do you think is pretending? Do either of these quotes strike you as doubtful? What if I told you that both of these quotes were from the same person? Would these statements feel consistent to you?
What if I told you that both of these quotes were from death row inmates? Each of them was guilty of murder, and one of them of rape. Can you guess which one of them was guilty of rape?
Now, what if I said that both of these quotes were from two different Presidents? (They are). Can you guess which of them is the Republican and which one is the Democrat? Unless you're already familiar with the quotation, I'm betting you couldn't do more than guess which one was conservative and which one was a liberal. (And it would only be a wild guess at that).
The fact is that, without knowing who said something, we cannot judge any further than the words themselves. We can only read the words apart from our bias and take the words at face value.
Are these men speaking truthfully? We don't really know. We can only take their word for it, honestly. In fact, we really can't even judge their statement of faith based on their behavior because all of us who follow Christ are sinners.
I think this is partly why Jesus commands us not to judge one another in this way. It's simply not our place to determine whether or not someone is saved. Not only that, we're also not very good at it. For example, let's say that you had two neighbors. One of them is always getting in trouble with the law. He was recently arrested and is sitting on death row. You'd probably judge that this guy is bound for hell. Now let's say the other neighbor is always at church. He leads Bible Studies, he’s on staff at the church, and he has practically memorized the Bible. You’d probably judge that this guy is bound for heaven. However, the first neighbor corresponds to the thief on the cross. He lived a life of crime and was punished for his evil actions, but at just the last moment he put his faith in Christ and Jesus welcomed him into paradise that same day. The second neighbor corresponds to the rich young ruler. He was righteous according to the people of his day, and he was wealthy (a sign of God’s favor) and he kept the law. Yet when Jesus offers him a place on his executive leadership staff, the man walks away and stops short of surrendering his life to Christ. In each case, if you and I were the ones judging these two men we would have been dead wrong.
Only God is equipped to judge the eternal destiny of men and women, not us. We are commanded not to judge others and put them into a box labeled righteous or evil because we do not know the heart of man. We can barely know our own heart, much less the heart of someone else.
"Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." He also told them this parable: "Can the blind lead the blind? Will they not both fall into a pit? The student is not above the teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like their teacher. (Luke 6:37-40)
I can already hear the partisan response to my article brewing as I write this. "But how can this President call himself a Christian if he believes in a woman's right to choose abortion?" Or perhaps, "This President is a liar, a murderer, and war monger who has no compassion for minorities or the poor. How can he call himself a follower of Christ?" But if we allow ourselves to judge one person's salvation based on how much they agree with our politics, we're still placing ourselves in the seat of the One True Judge of all mankind, and this is not our place.
At bare minimum, we should be able to give our brothers and sisters the benefit of the doubt and believe the best of them before we outright dismiss their statement of faith. Especially if our only basis for doing so is that they disagree with us on politics.
"Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, 'Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,' when you yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye." (Luke 6:41-42)
When we judge others we forget that we are also sinners saved by Grace who fail often, miss the mark daily and are in constant need of mercy and forgiveness from both God Almighty, and our friends and family.
Everyone you meet in life is decidedly "in process". We are not yet the people we hope to be, and we are no longer the people we once were. This fact should help us to find grace for each other as we go through this life together.
Our main calling is to become experts at loving one another, and loving those who need it most. If someone disagrees with you on a major issue, and if that person identifies themselves as your brother or sister in Christ, then your duty is to pray for them and to love them, not to doubt their eternal salvation or their faith in our Lord Jesus.
-kg
*Note: Quote A was from George W. Bush and Quote B was Barack Obama.
Saturday, November 27, 2010
How's Your Sermon Coming?
What does it really mean to live by faith? According to the passage of scripture in Hebrews chapter 11 (often referred to as the "Hall of Faith") it involves acting on what you believe in your heart to be true.
More than simple "belief", Biblical faith is more about action than ideas.
"By faith Abel offered..." (v.4)
"By faith Noah..built an ark.." (v.7)
"By faith Abraham..obeyed and went.." (v.8)
"By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau.." (v.20)
"By faith Jacob...blessed each of Joseph's sons.."(v.21)
"By faith Joseph...spoke about the exodus...and gave instructions about his bones.."(v.22)
"By faith Moses..refused to be known as the son of Pharoah's daughter...chose to be mistreated along with the people of God.." (v.24)
The pattern seems to be that these people had faith and then they did something about it. Faith is doing something to demonstrate what you believe. It is not simply belief itself.
"You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did." (James 2:20-22)
What we do about what we believe is more important than what we believe. To believe something and to do nothing about it is equal to unbelief.
"You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone." (James 2:24)
Our lives are a living testimony of what we actually believe. If what we say we believe and our actions don't line up, we call that hypocrisy. Some call it Christianity. This shouldn't be the case.
I recently read through the epistles of Titus, Philemon, and 1 and 2 Thessalonians and 1 and 2 Timothy. One thing that struck me out of all of these letters from Paul was the importance of our character as followers of Jesus. Doing good and living lives of love and service to others wasn't an evangelism strategy, it was a way of life. Because they had been radically transformed by the living, resurrected Christ, they were changed into people who extravagantly loved and served and gave and shared all that they had with those around them.
Every one of us who names the name of Christ is living out a daily sermon to the world around us. We are pouring forth a message of the love of Christ to those who have yet to discover such love - or we're denying that such love is real by our attitudes and lack of concern for others.
"You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our service, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts" (2 Cor 3:3)
Each of us a living, breathing sermon testifying daily to the amazing love of Jesus our Lord.
-kg
More than simple "belief", Biblical faith is more about action than ideas.
"By faith Abel offered..." (v.4)
"By faith Noah..built an ark.." (v.7)
"By faith Abraham..obeyed and went.." (v.8)
"By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau.." (v.20)
"By faith Jacob...blessed each of Joseph's sons.."(v.21)
"By faith Joseph...spoke about the exodus...and gave instructions about his bones.."(v.22)
"By faith Moses..refused to be known as the son of Pharoah's daughter...chose to be mistreated along with the people of God.." (v.24)
The pattern seems to be that these people had faith and then they did something about it. Faith is doing something to demonstrate what you believe. It is not simply belief itself.
"You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did." (James 2:20-22)
What we do about what we believe is more important than what we believe. To believe something and to do nothing about it is equal to unbelief.
"You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone." (James 2:24)
Our lives are a living testimony of what we actually believe. If what we say we believe and our actions don't line up, we call that hypocrisy. Some call it Christianity. This shouldn't be the case.
I recently read through the epistles of Titus, Philemon, and 1 and 2 Thessalonians and 1 and 2 Timothy. One thing that struck me out of all of these letters from Paul was the importance of our character as followers of Jesus. Doing good and living lives of love and service to others wasn't an evangelism strategy, it was a way of life. Because they had been radically transformed by the living, resurrected Christ, they were changed into people who extravagantly loved and served and gave and shared all that they had with those around them.
Every one of us who names the name of Christ is living out a daily sermon to the world around us. We are pouring forth a message of the love of Christ to those who have yet to discover such love - or we're denying that such love is real by our attitudes and lack of concern for others.
"You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our service, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts" (2 Cor 3:3)
Each of us a living, breathing sermon testifying daily to the amazing love of Jesus our Lord.
-kg
Thursday, September 02, 2010
OUR IDEA OF FAITH VERSUS GOD'S IDEA OF FAITH
Our idea of Faith:
To believe that what the Bible says is true and to agree with doctrines that our church upholds as truth.
God’s idea of Faith:
"What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
But someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds." Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder." – (James 2:14-19)
To believe that what the Bible says is true and to agree with doctrines that our church upholds as truth.
God’s idea of Faith:
"What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
But someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds." Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder." – (James 2:14-19)
Sunday, July 18, 2010
WHO EXACTLY IS MY NEIGHBOR?
In the Gospels, Jesus addresses the Great Command twice. The first time he refers to this, it’s to illustrate how all of the law can be summarized by loving God and loving your neighbor. (Matt 22:34-40) The second time, he expands on the same thought in response to the question, “Who is my neighbor?” (Luke 10:25-37)
In each case, the person who initiated the conversation was a lawyer. In Matthew, the question is asked in order to test Jesus and, possibly, make him look foolish to the crowds who were following him. In the second case, the lawyer asks a different question, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” but the question is also intended to test Jesus. His response to the lawyer in this second case is to ask the lawyer, “What is written in the Law?” and it is the lawyer who says, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and love your neighbor as yourself.”
To the lawyer Jesus says, "You have answered correctly. Do this and you will live." (v. 28)
But the lawyer isn’t satisfied with this answer. Instead, he wants to “justify himself” (v.29) and so he asks, “And who is my neighbor?”
To set this man straight, Jesus tells a parable that most of us know as the Good Samaritan. However, most of what is really going on in this exchange is lost to us today.
What we miss, first, is that Jesus flips the story around so that the person who is in need of mercy and love is the Jew. In effect, he’s saying, “You are walking along a dangerous road and a group of thieves jump out and beat the stuffing out of you. They rob you and leave you laying on the road to die.”
Now the person who is in need of mercy isn't “your neighbor”, it's you.
The lawyer asked “Who is my neighbor?” because he wanted to know where the line was drawn when it came to showing love to others. Obviously we’re not supposed to just love anyone and everyone, right? God just wants us to love the people who are like us, and who agree with us, right?
Wrong.
This is why Jesus chooses the hero of the story to be a Samaritan. They were very much disliked in this day and time by the Jews. For you and I, Jesus might alter the parable to read something like this:
“But an illegal immigrant from Mexico, as he traveled, came where the man was…”
Or maybe:
"...and when the Muslim man saw him, he took pity on him."
Or perhaps:
“The homosexual, liberal, democrat went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine.”
Or even:
“Then the Republican senator put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him.”
It doesn’t matter really. You probably know already what person – or persons – Jesus would insert into your version of the parable if he were telling it to you. Maybe it’s a member of a political party, or an ethnic group, or someone who doesn’t share your family values. Who knows? God does. And He expects you to see that person as your neighbor, and therefore, someone worthy of love and compassion.
At the end of the parable, Jesus asks, “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?” (v. 36) The lawyer cannot even bring himself to say the word ‘Samaritan’, he only says, “The one who had mercy on him.”
Here, the point is, that when we are the ones laying in the ditch, we really stop caring who comes to help us – we just want someone to show us a little human kindness. That’s why Jesus flips the story around. He wants us to understand that color, and politics, and differences of opinion mean nothing when it comes right down to it. Love is our calling, and we have no excuses in God’s eyes when it comes to who deserves to be loved.
One of my all-time favorite verses in the New Testament is 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 which says:
“Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.”
That sounds pretty harsh, doesn’t it? And it might be if Paul didn’t add the very next sentence. Just about the time everyone is making a fist and getting ready to slam it down to say, “That’s right!” he adds:
“And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.”
See that? The church in Corinth was composed of former adulterers, sexual deviants, male prostitutes, idolaters, homosexual offenders, thieves, drunks, grifters, liars and sinners. Yet, somehow all of them managed to receive the love of Jesus without feeling condemned or ashamed. Instead, they were all loved and washed and set apart for the work of the Gospel and justified by the same, loving Jesus.
Apparently they had forgotten this fact. Paul had to remind them who they were when they were called. Maybe we need to stop and remember who we were when we first came to Jesus, too?
“Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. Therefore, as it is written: "Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.” (1 Cor 1:26-31)
In each case, the person who initiated the conversation was a lawyer. In Matthew, the question is asked in order to test Jesus and, possibly, make him look foolish to the crowds who were following him. In the second case, the lawyer asks a different question, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” but the question is also intended to test Jesus. His response to the lawyer in this second case is to ask the lawyer, “What is written in the Law?” and it is the lawyer who says, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and love your neighbor as yourself.”
To the lawyer Jesus says, "You have answered correctly. Do this and you will live." (v. 28)
But the lawyer isn’t satisfied with this answer. Instead, he wants to “justify himself” (v.29) and so he asks, “And who is my neighbor?”
To set this man straight, Jesus tells a parable that most of us know as the Good Samaritan. However, most of what is really going on in this exchange is lost to us today.
What we miss, first, is that Jesus flips the story around so that the person who is in need of mercy and love is the Jew. In effect, he’s saying, “You are walking along a dangerous road and a group of thieves jump out and beat the stuffing out of you. They rob you and leave you laying on the road to die.”
Now the person who is in need of mercy isn't “your neighbor”, it's you.
The lawyer asked “Who is my neighbor?” because he wanted to know where the line was drawn when it came to showing love to others. Obviously we’re not supposed to just love anyone and everyone, right? God just wants us to love the people who are like us, and who agree with us, right?
Wrong.
This is why Jesus chooses the hero of the story to be a Samaritan. They were very much disliked in this day and time by the Jews. For you and I, Jesus might alter the parable to read something like this:
“But an illegal immigrant from Mexico, as he traveled, came where the man was…”
Or maybe:
"...and when the Muslim man saw him, he took pity on him."
Or perhaps:
“The homosexual, liberal, democrat went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine.”
Or even:
“Then the Republican senator put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him.”
It doesn’t matter really. You probably know already what person – or persons – Jesus would insert into your version of the parable if he were telling it to you. Maybe it’s a member of a political party, or an ethnic group, or someone who doesn’t share your family values. Who knows? God does. And He expects you to see that person as your neighbor, and therefore, someone worthy of love and compassion.
At the end of the parable, Jesus asks, “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?” (v. 36) The lawyer cannot even bring himself to say the word ‘Samaritan’, he only says, “The one who had mercy on him.”
Here, the point is, that when we are the ones laying in the ditch, we really stop caring who comes to help us – we just want someone to show us a little human kindness. That’s why Jesus flips the story around. He wants us to understand that color, and politics, and differences of opinion mean nothing when it comes right down to it. Love is our calling, and we have no excuses in God’s eyes when it comes to who deserves to be loved.
One of my all-time favorite verses in the New Testament is 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 which says:
“Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.”
That sounds pretty harsh, doesn’t it? And it might be if Paul didn’t add the very next sentence. Just about the time everyone is making a fist and getting ready to slam it down to say, “That’s right!” he adds:
“And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.”
See that? The church in Corinth was composed of former adulterers, sexual deviants, male prostitutes, idolaters, homosexual offenders, thieves, drunks, grifters, liars and sinners. Yet, somehow all of them managed to receive the love of Jesus without feeling condemned or ashamed. Instead, they were all loved and washed and set apart for the work of the Gospel and justified by the same, loving Jesus.
Apparently they had forgotten this fact. Paul had to remind them who they were when they were called. Maybe we need to stop and remember who we were when we first came to Jesus, too?
“Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. Therefore, as it is written: "Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.” (1 Cor 1:26-31)
Saturday, July 17, 2010
ARE YOU IMMUNE?
There are 700,000 child slaves in Indonesia alone. There are over 200,000 child soldiers in Uganda. There are 35,000 homeless in Orange County, California. 80% of those are families with children.
Why don't we care enough to change the world we live in?
A recent quote from artist and activist Milton Glaser noted that it becomes harder and harder to provoke Americans to act for justice because, as he says, "Americans are immune to outrage".
I have to wonder how we in American have become passive in the face of injustice and atrocity? Our Nation was founded by individuals who took up arms to protest an unjust system of "Taxation Without Representation". They were incensed and spurred to action because of a 4% sales tax that yielded no representation for the 13 Colonies in Parliament. Yet today, their descendants and the inheritors of their spirited revolt are quietly reserved to pay over 30% of their income to the United States Government each year and most have no faith that elected officials will fairly represent the true needs of the people they serve.
I'm not advocating a new revolution against our Government, but I am puzzled as to how we've become immune to the sort of outrage that helped found our Nation in the first place.
William Wilberforce fought the British slave trade in his day. After spending his life arguing for abolition and lobbying in Parliament for the immediate end of this inhuman practice he finally found victory on March 25th, 1807. He died three days later, his life's work completed.
Why did Wilberforce believe he could stand up to the powerful slave industry giants and succeed? Why did Luther believe he could take on the Universal Church of his day and prevail? Why did Martin Luther King Jr. believe he could overcome generations of hatred and bigotry and change the hearts and minds of an entire Nation?
Why don't we believe these things? Do we believe in anything enough to risk our lives, or our families or our careers to stand up and speak out? Are we too comfortable in our own little world that we cannot be bothered to experience sincere compassion, or moral outrage, at the exploitation of other human beings? Is it because they are far away? Is it because they are not American? Is it because we don't believe our voice will make any difference?
A dear friend of mine once admitted to me, "I don't care about the poor, and honestly what bothers me most is that I don't care that I don't care about the poor."
What is the cure for apathy? How do you provoke people to become outraged at their own lack of outrage? How do you inspire people to protest against their own lack of concern? What sort of hope is there for hopelessness? Who can awaken the one who does not wish to be awakened?
I often wonder why it is in America that we have made a multi-billion dollar industry out of escaping reality. We are the entertainment capital of the world. Yet, I cannot help but imagine what could happen if we were to spend those same billions of dollars on creating a world where reality was a place you didn't need to escape from?
Why don't we respond to the injustices of the day? Is it because we have no clear direction, no specific steps to take? Is it because we have no great leaders to show the way? Is it because we don't believe that our lives can make a difference? Or is it because we are too comfortable where we sit?
Where are the Wilberforces of today? Where are the Martin Luther Kings or the Ghandis or the Mother Teresas? For that matter, where are those who call themselves disciples of Jesus?
Why can't it be you or me? Aren't we ambassadors of the greatest world-changer who ever lived?
For me, to be a Christian is to be an activist. This is what "Subversive" is all about. It's about provoking others to change the status quo of their lives in order to follow in the radical life and love of Jesus of Nazareth.
To be a Christian is to be an activist.
In what way could someone call themselves a follower of Jesus and be anything other than someone who brings change in their wake? How else is a person who names the name of Christ to act?
In my mind, to be a follower of Jesus is to be one who sees things as they are and work to bring the Kingdom of God in order to make things better.
Looking at Matthew 25, it would seem that the kind of followers Jesus is looking for are the ones who are incapable of walking past the poor without doing something to help. When they see someone hungry, they give them food. When they see someone thirsty, they give them a cold cup of water. When they see someone who is lonely, they stop and spend a few hours with them.
“For whatever you've done for one of the least of these”, says Jesus – our example and teacher – “You've done it unto me.”
Jesus was a radical. He raised up a small army of revolutionaries with the sole "raison d'etre" of changing the world and turning it upside down. In their wake, the early followers of Jesus, left changed governments, changed religious systems, and changed hearts and minds.
If the early church had simply existed, if it had only found a way to blend in with the culture around it and become safe and acceptable to the populace, you and I might not ever have heard of a person by the name of Jesus of Nazareth who, about 2000 years ago, gave his life to change the world, one person at a time.
The church today needs to become more like its founder. It needs to be driven to press forward, out of its comfort zone, to get its hands dirty, to move in such a way that our words line up with our actions. To do any less is settle.
Who wants to belong to a predictable movement? Who wants to surrender their life for something ordinary and unremarkable?
Many of us are willing, we say, to die for Christ. The question is, are we willing to live for Christ?
When it comes to outrage, I believe a Christian needs to be constantly spurred to action against injustice and poverty.
Are you immune?
-KG
"And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds"
– Hebrews 10:23
**
Originally published April, 2007
Why don't we care enough to change the world we live in?
A recent quote from artist and activist Milton Glaser noted that it becomes harder and harder to provoke Americans to act for justice because, as he says, "Americans are immune to outrage".
I have to wonder how we in American have become passive in the face of injustice and atrocity? Our Nation was founded by individuals who took up arms to protest an unjust system of "Taxation Without Representation". They were incensed and spurred to action because of a 4% sales tax that yielded no representation for the 13 Colonies in Parliament. Yet today, their descendants and the inheritors of their spirited revolt are quietly reserved to pay over 30% of their income to the United States Government each year and most have no faith that elected officials will fairly represent the true needs of the people they serve.
I'm not advocating a new revolution against our Government, but I am puzzled as to how we've become immune to the sort of outrage that helped found our Nation in the first place.
William Wilberforce fought the British slave trade in his day. After spending his life arguing for abolition and lobbying in Parliament for the immediate end of this inhuman practice he finally found victory on March 25th, 1807. He died three days later, his life's work completed.
Why did Wilberforce believe he could stand up to the powerful slave industry giants and succeed? Why did Luther believe he could take on the Universal Church of his day and prevail? Why did Martin Luther King Jr. believe he could overcome generations of hatred and bigotry and change the hearts and minds of an entire Nation?
Why don't we believe these things? Do we believe in anything enough to risk our lives, or our families or our careers to stand up and speak out? Are we too comfortable in our own little world that we cannot be bothered to experience sincere compassion, or moral outrage, at the exploitation of other human beings? Is it because they are far away? Is it because they are not American? Is it because we don't believe our voice will make any difference?
A dear friend of mine once admitted to me, "I don't care about the poor, and honestly what bothers me most is that I don't care that I don't care about the poor."
What is the cure for apathy? How do you provoke people to become outraged at their own lack of outrage? How do you inspire people to protest against their own lack of concern? What sort of hope is there for hopelessness? Who can awaken the one who does not wish to be awakened?
I often wonder why it is in America that we have made a multi-billion dollar industry out of escaping reality. We are the entertainment capital of the world. Yet, I cannot help but imagine what could happen if we were to spend those same billions of dollars on creating a world where reality was a place you didn't need to escape from?
Why don't we respond to the injustices of the day? Is it because we have no clear direction, no specific steps to take? Is it because we have no great leaders to show the way? Is it because we don't believe that our lives can make a difference? Or is it because we are too comfortable where we sit?
Where are the Wilberforces of today? Where are the Martin Luther Kings or the Ghandis or the Mother Teresas? For that matter, where are those who call themselves disciples of Jesus?
Why can't it be you or me? Aren't we ambassadors of the greatest world-changer who ever lived?
For me, to be a Christian is to be an activist. This is what "Subversive" is all about. It's about provoking others to change the status quo of their lives in order to follow in the radical life and love of Jesus of Nazareth.
To be a Christian is to be an activist.
In what way could someone call themselves a follower of Jesus and be anything other than someone who brings change in their wake? How else is a person who names the name of Christ to act?
In my mind, to be a follower of Jesus is to be one who sees things as they are and work to bring the Kingdom of God in order to make things better.
Looking at Matthew 25, it would seem that the kind of followers Jesus is looking for are the ones who are incapable of walking past the poor without doing something to help. When they see someone hungry, they give them food. When they see someone thirsty, they give them a cold cup of water. When they see someone who is lonely, they stop and spend a few hours with them.
“For whatever you've done for one of the least of these”, says Jesus – our example and teacher – “You've done it unto me.”
Jesus was a radical. He raised up a small army of revolutionaries with the sole "raison d'etre" of changing the world and turning it upside down. In their wake, the early followers of Jesus, left changed governments, changed religious systems, and changed hearts and minds.
If the early church had simply existed, if it had only found a way to blend in with the culture around it and become safe and acceptable to the populace, you and I might not ever have heard of a person by the name of Jesus of Nazareth who, about 2000 years ago, gave his life to change the world, one person at a time.
The church today needs to become more like its founder. It needs to be driven to press forward, out of its comfort zone, to get its hands dirty, to move in such a way that our words line up with our actions. To do any less is settle.
Who wants to belong to a predictable movement? Who wants to surrender their life for something ordinary and unremarkable?
Many of us are willing, we say, to die for Christ. The question is, are we willing to live for Christ?
When it comes to outrage, I believe a Christian needs to be constantly spurred to action against injustice and poverty.
Are you immune?
-KG
"And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds"
– Hebrews 10:23
**
Originally published April, 2007
Thursday, July 15, 2010
PLEASE HELP ZACK COLLIE
About a month ago, our own Ade and Frannie Collie from our church family, received news that their grandson, Zack, had broken his neck while body surfing. Zack is only 15 years old.
It was a catastrophic injury rendering him paralyzed from the chest down. Some of his medical needs are being covered by insurance. However, many of his needs, particularly ongoing outpatient rehabilitation, are not covered by insurance.
For now he is staying at Casa Colina Inpatient Rehab but soon he will return home and enter an out-patient physical therapy program at Project Walk in Carlsbad, CA. They have years of experience specializing in spinal cord injury rehab.
The problem is, Project Walk is not coveredy by insurance. Rehabilitation at Project Walk costs $100 per hour. It is estimated that Zack's monthly cost for rehab will be $3,600. Because of this, Zack’s family has started a fundraising campaign through the Catastrophic Injury Program at NTAF. NTAF is a nonprofit organization, so all donations are tax-deductible to the full extent of the law.
Our church family has contributed what we can, and we will continue to support them as much as possible, but I wanted to ask if anyone reading this blog would please consider sending a gift to help this dear family?
To contribute financially to Zack's rehabilitation needs, please visit Zack's Blog
HERE
Click the link for "Zack's Campaign Fund (tax deductible)" under the "Financial Donations" heading in the right hand column. You'll be taken to Zack’s personal webpage at NTAF. You can follow the directions at the bottom of the page and contribute either by check or by credit card.
Thank you for your generous support and prayers for Zack. They are greatly appreciated.
-Peace,
Keith
Monday, December 14, 2009
CHRISTMAS IN REVERSE
For the last three years now my family has been making an effort to shift the way we celebrate Christmas. I guess it all started when we partnered with a sister church here in Orange County to bring a blessing to a single mom with brain cancer and her teenage son a few years ago. I remember walking back to the car afterwards and telling my wife, "That was my Christmas. From now on, don't buy me anything for Christmas. Let's just bring a blessing to as many people as we can."
So, for the last few years that's what we've done our best to do. This year our family is helping to buy Christmas gifts for children living in a local motel with their families. Our house church is working to provide free groceries, buy gifts, and share what we’ve been given with our friends living in this motel. We're also putting together several baskets of food to give to a local orphanage, and this week we're going to sing carols at a local senior care center down the street from our house.
Just last week I read an article from the great John Fischer about how we should change the question, "What did you get for Christmas?" to "What did you give for Christmas?" I completely agree. More than changing the question, we're changing the emphasis of Christmas. When we focus on giving then all that matters is what we give away, not what we receive in return.
The most amazing thing, however, is that even though my family does not buy me a Christmas gift to put under the tree anymore, I still get plenty of gifts. In fact, I receive significantly more for Christmas now than I have ever received before. It's just that what I get for Christmas now is the sort of stuff that won't fit inside any box, or be contained by mere wrapping paper.
I know of many other families who are doing exactly what we've started to do this Christmas. Maybe you do too? Or maybe you and your family would like to start a new tradition of giving away more than you receive?
If you're really lucky you'll start to realize that you can give extravagantly no matter what time of year it may be. People in need are hungry and lonely and thirsty on all the other days of the year, so why should we only give to them once or twice a year?
Someone once said that whenever we measure our generosity we tend to measure how much we give away, but when God measures our generosity, He measures how much we keep.
If Christmas is really about giving, then let's focus on giving. And if Christmas is about the miraculous, incarnational birth of God in the flesh who came to be "Emmanuel" - God with us - then let's follow His example and give ourselves away for the sake of others.
Peace to you,
Keith
So, for the last few years that's what we've done our best to do. This year our family is helping to buy Christmas gifts for children living in a local motel with their families. Our house church is working to provide free groceries, buy gifts, and share what we’ve been given with our friends living in this motel. We're also putting together several baskets of food to give to a local orphanage, and this week we're going to sing carols at a local senior care center down the street from our house.
Just last week I read an article from the great John Fischer about how we should change the question, "What did you get for Christmas?" to "What did you give for Christmas?" I completely agree. More than changing the question, we're changing the emphasis of Christmas. When we focus on giving then all that matters is what we give away, not what we receive in return.
The most amazing thing, however, is that even though my family does not buy me a Christmas gift to put under the tree anymore, I still get plenty of gifts. In fact, I receive significantly more for Christmas now than I have ever received before. It's just that what I get for Christmas now is the sort of stuff that won't fit inside any box, or be contained by mere wrapping paper.
I know of many other families who are doing exactly what we've started to do this Christmas. Maybe you do too? Or maybe you and your family would like to start a new tradition of giving away more than you receive?
If you're really lucky you'll start to realize that you can give extravagantly no matter what time of year it may be. People in need are hungry and lonely and thirsty on all the other days of the year, so why should we only give to them once or twice a year?
Someone once said that whenever we measure our generosity we tend to measure how much we give away, but when God measures our generosity, He measures how much we keep.
If Christmas is really about giving, then let's focus on giving. And if Christmas is about the miraculous, incarnational birth of God in the flesh who came to be "Emmanuel" - God with us - then let's follow His example and give ourselves away for the sake of others.
Peace to you,
Keith
Sunday, November 29, 2009
THE END OF POVERTY? (Think Again)
On December 4th at Edwards University Town Center 6 at 4245 Campus Drive, the documentary "The End of Poverty?" will open.
I encourage you to visit this website about the film and to consider taking a group to go and see this important film.
Visit TheEndofPoverty.com
HERE
**
ABOUT THE FILM
-With so much wealth in the world, why is there still poverty?
The End of Poverty? is a daring and thought-provoking documenary by award-winning filmaker Philippe Diaz. This film reveals that poverty is no accident. It began with military conquest, slavery and colonization that resulted in the seizure of land, minerals and forced labor.
Today, global poverty has reached new levels because of unfair debt, trade and tax policies - in other words, wealthy countries exploiting the weaknesses of poor, developing countries.
-Why do 20% of the world's population use 80% of its resources and consume 30% more than the planet can regenerate?
Can we really end poverty under our current economic system?
Think again.
**
TRUE SOLUTIONS - TAKE ACTION
Ending poverty is a daunting challenge. However, since it was made by human rules and institutions, new ones can unmake it, right?
The intention of the film is to change the dialogue so that concerned citizens will blame the system that creates poverty, not the people caught up in it. That requires a shift in our thinking.
The solutions touched on in the film are based on justice and not charity, solutions that will change the system that grinds down the poor.
This section will soon present specific campaigns that work towards changing the system, but the following is our call to action:
First, forgive international debt unconditionally and stop other predatory tactics. End the use of economic power as a means by which the wealthy control the poor.
Second, change the tax system in every country of the world. If justice is to be done, most of the taxes should fall on property ownership and not on the wages of working people.
Third, the poor should demand land reform, restoring land (or its value) to the people who actually work on it, instead of a few landowners.
Fourth, end privatization of natural resources and share these in common. Land, air, water, and oil are the common inheritance of all of humanity, not the stockholders of companies that have managed to grab these resources.
Fifth, "degrowth" in the rich nations--a radical cut in consumption of resources and production of waste--is necessary for the poor nations to survive. As Gandhi said, "Live simply, so others can simply live."
Visit TheEndofPoverty.com
HERE
I encourage you to visit this website about the film and to consider taking a group to go and see this important film.
Visit TheEndofPoverty.com
HERE
**
ABOUT THE FILM
-With so much wealth in the world, why is there still poverty?
The End of Poverty? is a daring and thought-provoking documenary by award-winning filmaker Philippe Diaz. This film reveals that poverty is no accident. It began with military conquest, slavery and colonization that resulted in the seizure of land, minerals and forced labor.
Today, global poverty has reached new levels because of unfair debt, trade and tax policies - in other words, wealthy countries exploiting the weaknesses of poor, developing countries.
-Why do 20% of the world's population use 80% of its resources and consume 30% more than the planet can regenerate?
Can we really end poverty under our current economic system?
Think again.
**
TRUE SOLUTIONS - TAKE ACTION
Ending poverty is a daunting challenge. However, since it was made by human rules and institutions, new ones can unmake it, right?
The intention of the film is to change the dialogue so that concerned citizens will blame the system that creates poverty, not the people caught up in it. That requires a shift in our thinking.
The solutions touched on in the film are based on justice and not charity, solutions that will change the system that grinds down the poor.
This section will soon present specific campaigns that work towards changing the system, but the following is our call to action:
First, forgive international debt unconditionally and stop other predatory tactics. End the use of economic power as a means by which the wealthy control the poor.
Second, change the tax system in every country of the world. If justice is to be done, most of the taxes should fall on property ownership and not on the wages of working people.
Third, the poor should demand land reform, restoring land (or its value) to the people who actually work on it, instead of a few landowners.
Fourth, end privatization of natural resources and share these in common. Land, air, water, and oil are the common inheritance of all of humanity, not the stockholders of companies that have managed to grab these resources.
Fifth, "degrowth" in the rich nations--a radical cut in consumption of resources and production of waste--is necessary for the poor nations to survive. As Gandhi said, "Live simply, so others can simply live."
Visit TheEndofPoverty.com
HERE
Sunday, July 19, 2009
JESUS: The Prince of Peace (2 of 4)
One of the more creative arguments in favor of Christian violence has been the suggestion that the conversion of Cornelius the Centurion to the Christian faith is an indication that Christians accepted violence and even professional soldiers among their ranks. If there is any real instruction to be found here (in Acts 10) regarding the attitude of the early Christians towards violence it is mostly from silence. The point of the passage is that Cornelius, a Gentile, is miraculously converted to the faith in Christ as the Messiah. The inference in this passage is that Cornelius was a practicing Jew who cared for the poor and loved God. He did not, however, know about Jesus and it was only through an angelic vision that he was told how to seek out Peter in order to receive the Gospel and be saved.
The argument in support of Christians who practice violence seems to be that, since it says Cornelius was a Centurion then it must be an endorsement of his violent lifestyle. However, we do not know what happened to Cornelius after his conversion to Christ. Did he continue to serve the Roman Empire and engage in war? Maybe he did, we don't know. But even if he did the question remains: "Does the New Testament endorse such behavior in any way?" No, it doesn't. At least, not for a follower of Jesus.
We could ask, “Did Cornelius resign his commission in the Roman Army and face martyrdom?” Again, we just do not know. Although we do know that many other Roman soldiers who came to Christ did just that and were put to death for it, as in the example of Martin of Tours.
Martin of Tours was a soldier in the Roman army under Constantine. After the Emperor “converted” to Christianity in 312 A.D. and began to re-define the faith it became acceptable in the church for followers of Jesus to define their faith by a set of beliefs rather than by a practice of values and principles embodied by Christ. As Christianity and the Empire became entangled, the line between following Jesus and being loyal to the State became blurred. Much like it is today.
One Roman soldier, Martin of Tours, upon converting to faith in Christ dared to defy the status quo. Even though it would have been completely acceptable to many within the State-sponsored Christian Church of his day and age, Martin instead took a bold step to follow Christ and not bow his knee to the Emperor. So, at a ceremony in which soldiers were given a monetary reward for their service, Martin of Tours stood up and explained to his commanding officer that he could no longer remain a soldier in the army of Rome, saying:
“Up to the present I have served you as a soldier. Allow me now to become a soldier of God. Let the man who is to serve you receive your donation. I am a soldier of Christ. It is not lawful for me to fight.”
For this act of disobedience, Martin was condemned and he volunteered to be sent to the front lines of the next battle without weapons to show that he was not a coward, choosing to remain loyal to Jesus rather than to compromise his faith in submission to the State.
Did Cornelius do the same? We’re not sure. Perhaps yes, or maybe no. The point is that the scriptures do not tell us what Cornelius did after his conversion to faith in Christ. All we know is that Jesus clearly teaches us to love our enemies and to refrain from violence. What Cornelius did is less important to us than what Jesus expected, and of that we are well-informed and accountable.
At any rate, the story of Cornelius’ conversion is not meant to teach us anything about violence, it is meant to teach us how much God loves the Gentiles and how Peter was obedient to God and allowed them to receive the Gospel of the Kingdom and enter the Body of Christ.
[END PART 2]
**
-kg
NOTE: The original version of this article mistakenly stated that Martin of Tours was executed for defying the Roman military. This version has been corrected.
The argument in support of Christians who practice violence seems to be that, since it says Cornelius was a Centurion then it must be an endorsement of his violent lifestyle. However, we do not know what happened to Cornelius after his conversion to Christ. Did he continue to serve the Roman Empire and engage in war? Maybe he did, we don't know. But even if he did the question remains: "Does the New Testament endorse such behavior in any way?" No, it doesn't. At least, not for a follower of Jesus.
We could ask, “Did Cornelius resign his commission in the Roman Army and face martyrdom?” Again, we just do not know. Although we do know that many other Roman soldiers who came to Christ did just that and were put to death for it, as in the example of Martin of Tours.
Martin of Tours was a soldier in the Roman army under Constantine. After the Emperor “converted” to Christianity in 312 A.D. and began to re-define the faith it became acceptable in the church for followers of Jesus to define their faith by a set of beliefs rather than by a practice of values and principles embodied by Christ. As Christianity and the Empire became entangled, the line between following Jesus and being loyal to the State became blurred. Much like it is today.
One Roman soldier, Martin of Tours, upon converting to faith in Christ dared to defy the status quo. Even though it would have been completely acceptable to many within the State-sponsored Christian Church of his day and age, Martin instead took a bold step to follow Christ and not bow his knee to the Emperor. So, at a ceremony in which soldiers were given a monetary reward for their service, Martin of Tours stood up and explained to his commanding officer that he could no longer remain a soldier in the army of Rome, saying:
“Up to the present I have served you as a soldier. Allow me now to become a soldier of God. Let the man who is to serve you receive your donation. I am a soldier of Christ. It is not lawful for me to fight.”
For this act of disobedience, Martin was condemned and he volunteered to be sent to the front lines of the next battle without weapons to show that he was not a coward, choosing to remain loyal to Jesus rather than to compromise his faith in submission to the State.
Did Cornelius do the same? We’re not sure. Perhaps yes, or maybe no. The point is that the scriptures do not tell us what Cornelius did after his conversion to faith in Christ. All we know is that Jesus clearly teaches us to love our enemies and to refrain from violence. What Cornelius did is less important to us than what Jesus expected, and of that we are well-informed and accountable.
At any rate, the story of Cornelius’ conversion is not meant to teach us anything about violence, it is meant to teach us how much God loves the Gentiles and how Peter was obedient to God and allowed them to receive the Gospel of the Kingdom and enter the Body of Christ.
[END PART 2]
**
-kg
NOTE: The original version of this article mistakenly stated that Martin of Tours was executed for defying the Roman military. This version has been corrected.
Tuesday, July 07, 2009
John Bunyan: Radical Heretic
In 1658, Bunyan was arrested and indicted for preaching without a license. He continued to preach, in spite of this, and avoided being imprisoned until November of 1660.
In that same year, The Restoration of the Monarchy by Charles II turned up the heat on John Bunyan's unlicensed preaching of the Gospel as the country returned to Anglicanism. As a result, unlicensed (non-Anglican) houses of worship were closed and all citizens were required to attend their Anglican parish church.
Under this rule of law, it became illegal for Christians in England to "conduct divine service except in accordance with the ritual of the church, or for one not in Episcopal orders to address a congregation."
Because John Bunyan no longer had the freedom to preach that he had enjoyed under the Puritan Commonwealth, and because he refused to stop preaching the Gospel, he was arrested on November 12, 1660 while preaching privately.
He was confined for three months, but, because he refused to conform and expressed his intention to preach the Gospel in opposition to this law, his confinement was extended for a period of nearly 12 years, during which time he wrote “Pilgrim’s Progress” his most famous work.
Bunyan was incarcerated for his faith because he refused to accept the lie that only special clergymen have authority to preach the Gospel saying, "If you release me today, I will preach tomorrow."
In that same year, The Restoration of the Monarchy by Charles II turned up the heat on John Bunyan's unlicensed preaching of the Gospel as the country returned to Anglicanism. As a result, unlicensed (non-Anglican) houses of worship were closed and all citizens were required to attend their Anglican parish church.
Under this rule of law, it became illegal for Christians in England to "conduct divine service except in accordance with the ritual of the church, or for one not in Episcopal orders to address a congregation."
Because John Bunyan no longer had the freedom to preach that he had enjoyed under the Puritan Commonwealth, and because he refused to stop preaching the Gospel, he was arrested on November 12, 1660 while preaching privately.
He was confined for three months, but, because he refused to conform and expressed his intention to preach the Gospel in opposition to this law, his confinement was extended for a period of nearly 12 years, during which time he wrote “Pilgrim’s Progress” his most famous work.
Bunyan was incarcerated for his faith because he refused to accept the lie that only special clergymen have authority to preach the Gospel saying, "If you release me today, I will preach tomorrow."
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