St. John doesn't get much love at Christmas. Here's a little something from him on the subject:
That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched — this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. (1)
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God. (2)
(1) 1 John 1:1-2
(2) John 1: 1, 14, 10-12
Thursday, December 24, 2015
Tuesday, December 1, 2015
What Does 'Believe in Jesus' Mean?
Evangelical Christians throw the phrases "believe in Jesus" and the more-or-less synonymous "ask Jesus into your heart" around freely, so much so that they've entered into American pop religion. The problem is we rarely take the time to explain what they really mean which can result in people having a very confused, un-biblical understanding.
So what does it really mean to "believe in Jesus?"
What it isn't
First, let's look at some things that are commonly mistaken for the real thing. Believing in Jesus isn't just believing that he's real or that he really was a historical person. It's not even believing that Jesus really did rise from the dead.
It's not believing Jesus cares about you. It's not praying to him. It's not believing he will heal you or help you with your problems with work, money, or family.
What it is
The New Testament word we translate as "believe" carries a lot of meaning with it. It includes trust, reliance, and dependence on the object of the belief.
An example would be believing a chair can hold you up. Standing there looking at it, saying it could hold you up isn't biblical belief. Sitting on the edge of the chair so that some of your weight is still on your feet isn't biblical belief. Sitting solidly in the chair with you feet in the air, so that you would fall if it broke, is believing the chair will hold you up.
How does this relate to Jesus? To believe in Jesus, you have to
1) agree that you need Jesus to forgive your sins
2) believe that his death was sufficient for the forgiveness of your sins
3) give up any notion of ever being good enough to please God/go to heaven/earn forgiveness on your own.
Additionally, Jesus always talked about belief paired with repentance. You aren't called to "believe" but "repent and believe." So along with the above, you also must decide to change the way you live — from doing it however you feel is best to living the way Jesus says.
So to "believe in Jesus" you have to trust solely in Jesus' work on the cross for the forgiveness of your sins and devote your life to following Jesus. It's a life with no other safety net; if Jesus fails you, you're doomed. But that's OK. Jesus won't fail.
So what does it really mean to "believe in Jesus?"
What it isn't
First, let's look at some things that are commonly mistaken for the real thing. Believing in Jesus isn't just believing that he's real or that he really was a historical person. It's not even believing that Jesus really did rise from the dead.
It's not believing Jesus cares about you. It's not praying to him. It's not believing he will heal you or help you with your problems with work, money, or family.
What it is
The New Testament word we translate as "believe" carries a lot of meaning with it. It includes trust, reliance, and dependence on the object of the belief.
An example would be believing a chair can hold you up. Standing there looking at it, saying it could hold you up isn't biblical belief. Sitting on the edge of the chair so that some of your weight is still on your feet isn't biblical belief. Sitting solidly in the chair with you feet in the air, so that you would fall if it broke, is believing the chair will hold you up.
How does this relate to Jesus? To believe in Jesus, you have to
1) agree that you need Jesus to forgive your sins
2) believe that his death was sufficient for the forgiveness of your sins
3) give up any notion of ever being good enough to please God/go to heaven/earn forgiveness on your own.
Additionally, Jesus always talked about belief paired with repentance. You aren't called to "believe" but "repent and believe." So along with the above, you also must decide to change the way you live — from doing it however you feel is best to living the way Jesus says.
So to "believe in Jesus" you have to trust solely in Jesus' work on the cross for the forgiveness of your sins and devote your life to following Jesus. It's a life with no other safety net; if Jesus fails you, you're doomed. But that's OK. Jesus won't fail.
Thursday, October 29, 2015
Christian Caricatures 2
I can understand when people can't believe in some element or another of the Christian gospel. I hate it, however, when they reject the gospel because they've picked up a bad copy, and there are a lot of caricatures of the gospel out there.
One version I've seen looks something like this:
Why does Jesus have to pester you "worship me, worship me?" It's great how you saved us and all, thanks, but go away now.
After you get past the "oh my gosh I can't believe you actually said that" response, how would you reply to that?
The problem seems to be that this person sees Christian evangelism as Jesus saying "Worship me" as thanks for his past act of saving us. So the person making this error has picked up on the "Jesus died to save us from our sins" part of the message but is missing that you have to make a conscious decision to respond to that act.
My response would be to point out the part that is missing:
It's like someone saying that, because antibiotics were discovered, we no longer have to worry about that infection you've got. No! You still have to take the drug.
Yes, Jesus essentially "created" salvation. You still have to take him up on it.
This may have its root in how we talk about "believing" in Jesus. "Believe that Jesus died for your sins." OK, I do, great, see ya. There's so much more to it than we so often let on. More about that next time.
One version I've seen looks something like this:
Why does Jesus have to pester you "worship me, worship me?" It's great how you saved us and all, thanks, but go away now.
After you get past the "oh my gosh I can't believe you actually said that" response, how would you reply to that?
The problem seems to be that this person sees Christian evangelism as Jesus saying "Worship me" as thanks for his past act of saving us. So the person making this error has picked up on the "Jesus died to save us from our sins" part of the message but is missing that you have to make a conscious decision to respond to that act.
My response would be to point out the part that is missing:
It's like someone saying that, because antibiotics were discovered, we no longer have to worry about that infection you've got. No! You still have to take the drug.
Yes, Jesus essentially "created" salvation. You still have to take him up on it.
This may have its root in how we talk about "believing" in Jesus. "Believe that Jesus died for your sins." OK, I do, great, see ya. There's so much more to it than we so often let on. More about that next time.
Wednesday, September 30, 2015
Christian Caricatures 1
I can understand when people can't believe in some element or another of the Christian gospel. I hate it, however, when they reject the gospel because they've picked up a bad copy, and there are a lot of caricatures of the gospel out there.
One I've seen a going around recently looks something like this:
No, I don't think this kind of thing drives away Christians. But we have a large pseudo-Christian fringe society that knows some of the lingo and has a grasp of a few of the concepts, and they rely on that as their religious experience. Things like this only encourage them to not take Christianity more seriously, to not go deeper, closer and become actual Christians.
So I don't think we should let these caricatures stand. We should correct them when we can. But the people spouting (or reading) these things are probably not the deep, thoughtful conversation type — at least not about this topic, not right now. So we need sound-bite sized responses to give them a little something to chew on, a rock in their shoe.
So if you had to put the gospel into a sound-bite, how would you do it?
John 3:16 is a great summary but I wouldn't want to use it for two reasons: First, "believe" is a word that has been abused and misconstrued; in current English usage, it bears very little resemblance to what the word in that verse really means. Second, it's too familiar. When people see it, they don't really see it. It's like when you see a stop sign, you don't actually read the word "stop" every time.
So here's what I've come up with.
Are there any other caricatures of Christian teaching that you've come across?
One I've seen a going around recently looks something like this:
"I love you so much, and if you don't love me back I will torture you for eternity."Appalling, isn't it? Just enough contact with actual Christian teaching to sound (very, very superficially) like the gospel — for about three-tenths of a second. But some people actually see this and "Yeah, yeah, Christianity really is stupid!"
No, I don't think this kind of thing drives away Christians. But we have a large pseudo-Christian fringe society that knows some of the lingo and has a grasp of a few of the concepts, and they rely on that as their religious experience. Things like this only encourage them to not take Christianity more seriously, to not go deeper, closer and become actual Christians.
So I don't think we should let these caricatures stand. We should correct them when we can. But the people spouting (or reading) these things are probably not the deep, thoughtful conversation type — at least not about this topic, not right now. So we need sound-bite sized responses to give them a little something to chew on, a rock in their shoe.
So if you had to put the gospel into a sound-bite, how would you do it?
John 3:16 is a great summary but I wouldn't want to use it for two reasons: First, "believe" is a word that has been abused and misconstrued; in current English usage, it bears very little resemblance to what the word in that verse really means. Second, it's too familiar. When people see it, they don't really see it. It's like when you see a stop sign, you don't actually read the word "stop" every time.
So here's what I've come up with.
You've rebelled against me and so must be punished, but I love you so much I'm willing to take the punishment for you.What do you think? There's so much missing. I'd love to have a paragraph, but a compound sentence is probably the most we can get away with. I'd love a better summary if you've got one, though.
Are there any other caricatures of Christian teaching that you've come across?
Thursday, August 27, 2015
When is Divorce a Sin?
A recent Christianity Today story looked at people's opinions on when divorce constitutes a sin:
Many are surprised to hear that some think divorce in the case of abuse is a sin. I'm surprised that some think divorce in the case of adultery is a sin. Alright, so when is it a sin?
So what are the foundational texts on divorce? Let's start with Jesus:
"I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, makes her the victim of adultery, and anyone who marries a divorced woman commits adultery" (Matt 5:31-33, emphasis added).
"I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery" (Matt 19:1-11, emphasis added).
In both cases, he seems to say that the sin — adultery — comes from remarriage.
The other NT passage on divorce is from Paul:
"A wife must not separate from her husband. But if she does, she must remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband. And a husband must not divorce his wife" (1Cor 7:10-16, emphasis added).
Again there is this idea that remarriage is the problem.
So when is divorce a sin? I don't think it is. Remarriage is a sin unless the divorce was caused by adultery.
What about abuse? Get out of there! You don't have to keep living with that person. But that doesn't mean you can remarry. And there's the rub.
Our society is so hedonistic it can't conceive of a life of celibacy. Even in the church, people just assume divorce means remarriage. But people do it. Some people live their whole lives without ever having sex. Some are widowed at a relatively young age and never remarry. And people can live celibate lives after separating from a bad spouse.
Do we want to do that? Of course not. But righteousness has to come before pleasure. The Lord has called us to live above the level of normal people. We bless those who curse us, give 'til it hurts, and forgive as we have been forgiven. Sometimes we have to choose celibacy to honor our God.
So does this mean divorce is always OK as long as you're willing to stay single from then on? No.
"'The man who hates and divorces his wife,' says the LORD, the God of Israel, 'does violence to the one he should protect,' says the LORD Almighty" (Mal 2:16).
God doesn't like divorce. Jesus made it clear: "What God has joined together, let no one separate" (Matt 19:6). This is not something that should be done lightly.
This isn't for people who aren't getting along. This isn't for people who have "fallen out of love." Divorce should not happen because of "irreconcilable differences." But when it does happen, it's not the end of the world. If you're willing to pay the price.
Overall, about four in 10 (39 percent) Americans say divorce is a sin when one partner has committed adultery. A similar number says divorce is a sin, even in cases of abuse (37 percent) or abandonment (38 percent).
By contrast, about a third (32 percent) of Protestant pastors say divorce is a sin in cases of adultery. That drops to about a quarter for divorces in cases of abuse (28 percent) or abandonment (27 percent).
Many are surprised to hear that some think divorce in the case of abuse is a sin. I'm surprised that some think divorce in the case of adultery is a sin. Alright, so when is it a sin?
So what are the foundational texts on divorce? Let's start with Jesus:
"I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, makes her the victim of adultery, and anyone who marries a divorced woman commits adultery" (Matt 5:31-33, emphasis added).
"I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery" (Matt 19:1-11, emphasis added).
In both cases, he seems to say that the sin — adultery — comes from remarriage.
The other NT passage on divorce is from Paul:
"A wife must not separate from her husband. But if she does, she must remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband. And a husband must not divorce his wife" (1Cor 7:10-16, emphasis added).
Again there is this idea that remarriage is the problem.
So when is divorce a sin? I don't think it is. Remarriage is a sin unless the divorce was caused by adultery.
What about abuse? Get out of there! You don't have to keep living with that person. But that doesn't mean you can remarry. And there's the rub.
Our society is so hedonistic it can't conceive of a life of celibacy. Even in the church, people just assume divorce means remarriage. But people do it. Some people live their whole lives without ever having sex. Some are widowed at a relatively young age and never remarry. And people can live celibate lives after separating from a bad spouse.
Do we want to do that? Of course not. But righteousness has to come before pleasure. The Lord has called us to live above the level of normal people. We bless those who curse us, give 'til it hurts, and forgive as we have been forgiven. Sometimes we have to choose celibacy to honor our God.
So does this mean divorce is always OK as long as you're willing to stay single from then on? No.
"'The man who hates and divorces his wife,' says the LORD, the God of Israel, 'does violence to the one he should protect,' says the LORD Almighty" (Mal 2:16).
God doesn't like divorce. Jesus made it clear: "What God has joined together, let no one separate" (Matt 19:6). This is not something that should be done lightly.
This isn't for people who aren't getting along. This isn't for people who have "fallen out of love." Divorce should not happen because of "irreconcilable differences." But when it does happen, it's not the end of the world. If you're willing to pay the price.
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