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Pentecost

Saturday, May 18th, 2013

“When the day of Pentecost came they were all together in one place…All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 2:4) The effect upon Peter was startling. This disciple, who had denied His Lord with oaths and curses, stood up with the eleven and preached the first great evangelistic sermon of the Christian faith. About three thousand inquirers were added to the church that day. The only explanation was that the Holy Spirit, promised by Jesus (“you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you” Acts 1:8) had transformed Peter and used his personality and gifts to reach the multitudes with such convicting power that they were cut to the heart and repented and were baptized and asked to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit for themselves.

This incident, and every other one recorded, shows that the Filling of the Holy Spirit is for service. In each instance, the infilling was followed by strong action. The Filling of the Holy Spirit was not, is not, will not be given merely for private spiritual experience, but always for service.

Not only was the Apostle Peter filled on the day of Pentecost: they were all filled. John and James and Andrew and Phillip and Thomas and Bartholomew and Matthew and James and Simon and Judas and Matthias, all apostles; also James and Joses and Judas and Simon, the brothers of Jesus; and Mary the mother of Jesus, and Mary the mother of James and Joses, and Mary of Magdala, and Mary of Bethany, and Martha, and Joanna, and Susanna, and Salome, and other women who had been with the Lord in His ministry; a score of these who were filled were named for us, but a hundred others remain unnamed. The filling of the unnamed disciples is an encouragement to every humble Christian who might be tempted to think that the power from on high is for only ones whom God intends to exalt to leadership.

The Apostle Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit again, some days later. The filling of the Holy Spirit has a direct relationship with immediate service. There appear to be times of relaxation and rest in between times of being filled with power. The fullness of the Holy Spirit is under the sovereignty of the Spirit rather than the impulse of the believer.

The book of the Acts of the Apostles chronicles the acts of the Holy Spirit in the lives of people like Stephen, Philip, Saul of Tarsus, and others as they are filled with the Spirit. The filling of the Holy Spirit is given for preaching, for witnessing, for defense, for evangelism, for missionary work, for discernment, and for martyrdom.

What is the experience of the Filling of the Holy Spirit like? The Holy Spirit has been described in terms of fire, wind, water, and other natural elements, so it is possible to have an experience of the Spirit as consuming as a forest fire, as bending as a hurricane, or as gentle as a well of water bubbling up from the depths like a river.

What is the evidence of the Filling of the Holy Spirit? There is the extraordinary power of the proclamation of the Gospel resulting in the conversion of many people. But there is also the evidence of the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. When a Christian is filled with the Holy Spirit, his heart is full of love, full of joy, full of peace, full of patience, full of kindness, full of goodness, full of faithfulness, full of gentleness, and full of self-control. When these qualities are absent then you know that the person is not filled with the Holy Spirit.

There is also the evidence of the gifts of the Holy Spirit: wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, miracles, prophecy, discernment, tongues and interpretation. These are supernatural gifts, not just natural talents. No one person possesses all of them. The Holy Spirit apportions the gifts to each individually as He determines the need.

What actually is the Filling of the Holy Spirit? The Apostle Paul tells us: “Do not get drunk with wine…instead be filled with the Spirit.” (Ephesians 5:18) When a person gets drunk they lose control of themselves: a quiet man can become rowdy, a mean man can become generous, a decent man can become indecent, a cautious man can become reckless: and people excuse him by saying that he is not himself, he is intoxicated. The filling of the Holy Spirit is God-intoxication; not fanaticism, but the possession of the person’s faculties by the Holy Spirit of God, so that he is led to behave as God would want him. The fruit of the Spirit is the very opposite of extravagance or fanaticism.

How does one seek to be filled with the Spirit? Jesus told his disciples: “If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, but how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him.” (Luke 11:13) “Ask, and it will be given you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.” (Luke 11:9) An asking, seeking, knocking Christian will soon find out for himself what stands in the way of his being filled with the Holy Spirit. Sometimes we are led to seek forgiveness, and to surrender our lives anew to God.

I ask for the Spirit to fill me every morning. I know how empty I can be. I know how full of myself I can become. I know how difficult it is to produce the fruit of the Spirit. “I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do – this I keep on doing.” (Romans 7:19) It is only the Spirit of God who lives in us, who can enable us to do that which is good.  I am powerless of myself to help myself. I cannot do it on my own. The more I try in my own strength, the more I fail. That is why the filling of the Spirit is so crucial.

God cannot fill us with his Spirit if we are full of ourselves. We need to be aware of our own need enough, aware of our own deficiencies enough, and want to become a better person enough, that we will ask to be filled with the Holy Spirit.

“Lord I am a child that has no knowledge, so teach me;

And blind and see not the way, so lead me:

And weak, most weak to choose rightly, so supply your power:

And love myself too well, so show me, give me love, true love, fill me with your Spirit.”

Eric Milner-White

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The Ascension

Saturday, May 11th, 2013

The Ascension of Jesus is celebrated on the 40th day after Easter Sunday (Acts 1:4). Because it is always a Thursday it tends to be overlooked and neglected. Yet the Ascension of Jesus is the culmination of his earthly life. It confirms his identity, and speaks to us of our destiny. Without the Ascension what would Jesus have done? Would he have hung around the disciples, appearing to them from time to time to instruct and guide them? Would he have gradually faded away, like a ghost? Would his presence among them have delayed the coming of the Holy Spirit? Would his frequent post-resurrection appearances have altered our understanding of our resurrection? Would they have fostered a belief in some sort of spiritual presence, an after-life on this earth rather than in heaven? What does the Ascension of Jesus have to say to us about our own future life?

The belief of the early church was that Jesus, at the end of forty days of teaching about the kingdom of God, was taken up to heaven before the very eyes of the disciples. A cloud hid him from their sight. “They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white, stood beside them. ‘Men of Galilee,’ they said, ‘why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.’” (Acts 1:10,11)

The resurrected human body of Jesus was taken up into heaven. This is significant. No longer would his body walk on this earth until his coming again. The bones of Jesus do not lie in a tomb, or anywhere else. He is resurrected from the dead and ascended into heaven. By doing this he completes his earthly mission. By completing the cycle of birth, death, resurrection and ascension, he pioneers our entry into heaven. What he did forty days after his resurrection, we are destined to do if we are in Christ. We follow him into the heavenly realms, where he is “in charge of running the universe, everything from galaxies to governments, no name and power exempt from his rule. And not just for the time being, but forever. He is in charge of it all, has the final word on everything.” (Ephesians 1:21-22 The Message)

The first Christians were so thrilled by this message that they wrote hymns about it. St. Paul includes one such early hymn, in his letter to Timothy.

“Beyond all question, the mystery of godliness is great:

He appeared in a body,

was vindicated by the Spirit,

was seen by angels,

was preached among the nations,

was believed on in the world,

was taken up in glory.” (1 Timothy 3:16)

The Gospel message is described as “the mystery of godliness”, i.e. a divine mystery that, instead of being hidden, has been revealed to us so that we do not have to be ignorant of God’s purpose. It is a revelation of ‘godliness’ i.e. of living in a reverent personal relationship with God, a recognition of our place in creation, a desire to live to our highest potential, in harmony with his plan for our lives. It is to live in reverence for God rather than in rebellion against God and his loving purpose for us. Such a life is aligned with our heavenly Father’s design for us. It is in contrast to the life that is opposed or indifferent or in rebellion to God’s purpose for us. Such a life, that does not want to acknowledge or reverence God, is called ungodly. It is hollow and self-destructive.

The Gospel message depends on these truths:

  1. The eternal Son of God, existing as pure spirit before Time, was made visible in his earthly life, when he became a human being.
  2. Christ’s profound claims were vindicated by his  miracles, climaxing in his resurrection; these were sure evidences that he
    was the sinless Son of God.
  3. During his earthly ministry angels watched over him, his  birth and resurrection were witnessed by the heavenly host.
  4. After his death and resurrection, his message was  proclaimed to all races.
  5. All kinds of people responded by putting their faith  in him.
  6. Finally, he was exalted to the glorious presence of  God in heaven. This was the climax of his earthly ministry.

This, if it is “beyond all question”, is “great”. The Christian Gospel is Christ-centered. It is the proclamation of the life, death, resurrection and ascension of the glorified Lord of all. What does this have to do with us?

Jesus ascended so that we too, might ascend with him. We are united with him, by grace through faith. We are part of his Body. If we are in him we can look forward to being taken up into glory. He pioneered the way for us. He took his human body into heaven so that we too, might be taken into the presence of God. This destination is called “glory”.

 

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Self-forgiveness

Saturday, May 4th, 2013

Recently I came across the term “self-forgiveness.”  In counseling circles it has to do with loving ourselves, forgiving ourselves for not being perfect, and not judging ourselves. The premise is that we cannot forgive others and love others unless we truly forgive and love ourselves. It is the result of accepting our mistakes and failures. To be able to say “I behaved thoughtlessly, unkindly, foolishly etc. and I forgive myself for not being perfect” could be the biggest – and most healing – act of all. For when you can forgive the imperfection in yourself, it’s a lot easier to forgive them in others.

I must admit that I am troubled by this counsel. It reminds me of the 1973, “I’m OK, You’re OK” book by Thomas Harris of  Transactional Analysis fame. Self-forgiveness is an attempt at self-salvation. It teaches that our own guilt, sense of shame, conscience, can be eradicated by our self-acceptance and self-affirmation. If that were true then we have no accountability. We can be our own judge and jury as to our own acquittal.

What do we do with Jesus’ teaching that we are to strive to be perfect (Matthew 5:48)?  What do we do with the forgiveness of sins that Jesus brought to us? What do we do with the concept of redemption – that Jesus died on the Cross, at great cost, to purchase our freedom from condemnation? If we can forgive ourselves what need do we have of a Savior?

The Christian Gospel is that in Christ we find forgiveness for our sins. “In Christ we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding.” (Ephesians 1:7,8) “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 8:1) When we have received that forgiveness in Christ, through repentance and faith, we do not need to forgive ourselves – we have been forgiven. It is a matter of receiving that which God has done for us by his grace in the redemption of Jesus on the Cross. To say that we need to forgive ourselves is tantamount to denying the work of Christ on the Cross and becoming our own Savior. It is to trivialize the cost of redemption.

We do not need to forgive ourselves in order to love others. We ask for forgiveness for our own sins, as we forgive the sins of others in the words of the Lord’s Prayer. We recognize that as we have been forgiven, we extend that forgiveness to others.

The counsel to forgive yourself as the deepest act of forgiveness is an attempt to do an end-run around God. It is the desire to heal oneself without seeking the healing of the Cross. If we wish to be forgiven we must seek it where it is truly to be found, not in ourselves, but in the Good News of Jesus. “Son, your sins are forgiven.” (Mark 2:5) “Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven – for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little….Your sins are forgiven.” (Luke 7:47,48)

What do you think? What is your experience of forgiveness?

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Prayer for the Injured and Bereaved in Boston, Massachusetts amd West, Texas

Saturday, April 20th, 2013

Heavenly Father, we grieve with those who have lost loved ones, and have been severely disabled by the tragic events of this past week. All of a sudden, politics and foreign conflict, the stock market and taxes are displaced by dangers closer to home. Our first thought is of people we know who might be affected. We call them to make sure they and their loved ones are safe. We pray for those who are not, who have died, who have been injured, who have been bereaved, whose lives have been changed forever by what has happened. Lord, I remember driving by West, Texas many times on my way to Dallas-Fort Worth. I remember shopping on Boylston Street, worshipping in Trinity Church, Copley Square, and staying at the Copley Square Hotel in Boston. The locations of these tragedies come alive for me in my imagination. I could have been there too. In solidarity with the victims, we pray for their healing, for their restoration, for their future hope and comfort. May they know the healing power of your love and presence.

Lord Jesus, you once spoke about those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them. You said that they were not more guilty or deserving of such a sudden death than all the others living in Jerusalem (Luke 13:4).  You seemed to say that such events expose our mortality. The sudden and unexpected deaths and injuries of those involved in such tragedies touch us deeply because we identify with the victims and their loved ones.  In  the shock of their loss we see our own lives cut short prematurely. We contemplate our own future and are challenged to think about the significance of our own lives, of whether we are prepared to die and whether we are ready to face you. May these horrific tragedies cause us to turn to you, to take seriously your purpose for us, so that we may abandon trivialities and focus on seeking your righteous and holy will, and trust in your provision for our salvation.

“Lord Jesus Christ, who wept at the grave of Lazarus: we commend to your tender care and compassion those whose loss is greatest at this time, because their lives were closest and their love was strongest. In the midst of their deep sorrow give them the comfort of your powerful, resurrection presence, and the courage and faith which they need to face life again in the days to come. And may your peace be with them, Lord, both now and always. Amen.”

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The Gospel Coalition

Saturday, April 13th, 2013

Last week I attended the Gospel Coalition Conference in Orlando. The GC was co-founded by Don Carson, research professor of New Testament at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Illinois, and Tim Keller, Pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City. Plenary speakers included John Piper, Colin Smith, Crawford Loritts, Kevin DeYoung, Stephen Um, Gary Millar. In addition there were 58 workshops and focus groups covering all aspects of Christian. Worship music was led by Keith and Kristen Getty and their band. The theology represented was generously Reformed. There were 4,500 registrants, most of them younger than I. There were many young couples with babies! They came from forty-three countries. Sessions were being simulcast and translated into six different languages. I attended workshops led by Tullian Tchividijian on How Suffering Sets you Free, John Yates on Growing into the Leader You Wish You Were, and Tim Keller on A Biblical Theology of Revival.

Eight plenary sessions were devoted to the biblical exposition of the Gospel of Luke. They were inspiring and filled with content and application. I was impressed by the substance of the messages as well as their personal authenticity. They were models of preaching as biblical truth through personality.

In their introduction to the conference Tim Keller and Don Carson wrote that they prayed and hoped that the series on Luke will encourage pastors to preach from the Gospels as well as the Epistles.

The bookstore was a wonder to behold. I have never seen so many publications by speakers and theologians. I exercised great restraint but came away with some treasures to read and digest over the next few months. You can learn further about The Gospel Coalition from their website: www.thegospelcoalition.org.

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An Easter Message

Saturday, March 30th, 2013

Hanging on the wall of my office is a rare manuscript of one of the earliest portions of the Bible in the Maori language. It is Ezekiel 37:1-14 and dated 1840. It was presented to me as a farewell gift from a Bible study I led for fourteen years on Friday mornings at Frost Bank in San Antonio, Texas. The description on the back reads, “This is the first appearance of this portion of the Bible in Maori: ‘Son of Man, can these bones live?’ It has been suggested to us by a New Zealand correspondent that this passage was chosen for its relevance to the Maoris’ one-time ritual cannibalism.”

Some of the Maoris used to eat their slain enemies after battles to gain their courage, humiliate them, and to prevent them returning. The message of Ezekiel 37 is that what appears to be dead can be brought back to life. You cannot dispose of dead fellow human beings as though they are mere animals. All men and women are both matter and spirit. Just as Israel appeared to be dead and exiled from their land, Ezekiel prophesied that they would one day be restored, and raised up, so don’t depend on your enemies remaining dead.

“They say, ‘Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.’ Therefore prophesy and say to them: ‘This is what the
Sovereign Lord says: O my people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the land of Israel. Then you, my people, will know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves and bring you up from them I will put my Spirit in you and you will live….” (Ezekiel 37:11-14).

While belief in God may be challenged by skeptics, this message reminds us that life is eternal, love is immortal and death is only an horizon, and an horizon is nothing save the limit of our sight. The Sovereign Lord of the universe, who gives life to all, from whom, and through whom and to him are all things, can open graves and put his Spirit in us and raise us to a new life. This is the message of Easter and of the whole Bible. Jesus came to give us the proof of this truth. If this is true, then what relevance does it have for us today?

Death does not have the final say. ‘Our hope is gone; we are cut off’, is not the final word concerning our destiny. What physical and biological science cannot admit, the resurrection of Jesus demonstrates. The impossible becomes possible. “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade – kept in heaven for you.” (1 Peter 1:3,4)

We need this hope when we are facing our final illness or the dying of a loved one. The Lord does not want us to believe that death is the end it pretends to be. “He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” (Revelation 21:4)

The Lord will open our graves and bring us to a new life of the Spirit. Billy Graham has written, “Some day you will read that Billy Graham is dead. Don’t you believe a word of it! I shall be more alive than I am  now. I will just have changed my address. I will have gone into the presence of God.” Over the magnificent mausoleum of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert at Frogmore House in the grounds of Windsor Castle are inscribed the words, “Here at last I will rest with thee, and with thee in Christ, I shall also rise again.” Our final resting place is not here in a grave or a columbarium, but in the new heavens and the new earth of the Lord’s new creation. “I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I the Lord have spoken, and I have done it, declares the Lord.” (Ezekiel 37:14)

That is one very good reason why we follow Jesus, the Risen One, and proclaim him Lord of the dead and the living.

 

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A Maundy Thursday Meditation

Saturday, March 16th, 2013

“Jesus knew that the time has come for him to leave this world and go to the Father.” (John 13:1)

What a way to describe your last night? When we die we leave this world and go to the Father. It is a journey from here to the presence of the Father. It is to leave the troubles and trials of this world and to enter into the loving embrace of our heavenly Father. As a father, I would welcome my children with open arms and rejoice in their coming to me. Jesus said, “Enter into the joy or happiness of your Master.” There is nothing to fear, for we are going to someone we know and love and trust, the one who has taken care of us in our infancy and childhood, and is always there when we need him. When my children were little and I returned home each day from work, they would see me and rush out into the front driveway to jump into my arms. We are still God’s children when we are old and tired. We still long to go to the Father.

On this last night before he goes to the Father Jesus leaves us his legacy.

First of all, he leaves us a legacy of humble service. He loved his own who were in the world and showed them the full extent of his love. He began to wash his disciples’ feet. He showed them an example of how they should behave to one another. How do we wash each others’ feet today? By noticing their needs and doing something about them. By taking an interest in those around us and being willing to humbly serve them. By listening to their troubles. By being a friend in need. I am aware that each  congregation, and every church member can follow Christ’s example by seeking to serve our neighbors.

Secondly, he leaves us a legacy of true worship by breaking bread in his memory, by giving thanks for our redemption, by instituting a continual remembrance that binds us together as a church community and with him. “Do this in remembrance of me.” We are one body and one spirit. He is our host, our source of salvation and sustenance, the bread of life and the wine of
rejoicing. We eat and drink around his Table. He keeps us together, centered on his death and resurrection until he comes and takes us to the Father. We enjoy a foretaste of the heavenly banquet, the wedding supper of the Lamb that was slain and with his blood purchased us for God from ever tribe and language and people and nation, who has made us a kingdom of priests to serve God. We join the angels and archangels and the whole company of heaven who sing glory around the throne of God.

Thirdly, he leaves us a legacy of the promised Holy Spirit, who will be his continuing presence and empowerment in our lives.  The Holy Spirit will teach us  all things necessary for salvation and will remind us of everything Jesus has said to us through the written word of the apostles. The New Testament is the legacy of the Holy Spirit to us – the divinely inspired words of Jesus. It is the last will and testament of Jesus written to equip us for every good work.

Fourthly, he leaves us a legacy of prayer. He prays for his people, for those he will leave behind, and for those who will come after them, that they may be one, that they may be sanctified, that they may grow in grace and numbers. He prays for himself, that he will do God’s will. The legacy of prayer ensures that our communication with Jesus continues. Our communion with him is not broken by his departure from us. He is still listening to us and interceding for us.

Fifthly, leaves us a legacy of how to die. He surrenders himself to the events of his departure from this world without losing his dignity and destiny. He is taken by the powers of this world but is not intimidated by them. He submits to embarrassment and suffering. He dies in pain and discomfort. Leaving this world is not always easy or smooth. But he knows where he is going – to the Father.

He leaves us this legacy. Let us learn from it. To humbly serve one another. To worship together around his Table and the throne
of God.  To receive the gift of the Holy Spirit and his written Word. To practice prayer for ourselves and for others, for those who come after us. To learn how to die well.

This a legacy that we can treasure, and that will continue to pay dividends over the course of our lifetime.

 

 

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He Descended to Hell or Hades or the Dead

Saturday, February 23rd, 2013

Many people have asked me why we say in the Apostles Creed: “Jesus descended into hell”? The primary passage of Scripture on which this statement in the Creed is based is Psalm 16:10, which is quoted by Peter in his sermon at Pentecost: “you will not abandon me [my soul] to the grave [Sheol or Hades], nor will you let your Holy One see decay.” Peter applies this to Jesus as a prophecy:“seeing what was ahead, he spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to the grave [Sheol or Hades], nor did his body see decay.” If the soul of Christ were not left in Sheol or Hades at the resurrection, then his soul was there before his resurrection; therefore after his death and before his resurrection, the soul of Christ descended into the place of the departed.

If this is so, what did he do there? What was the purpose of his going there? Many theologians say that it merely means that he experienced everything that we experience. He totally identified with us in our death experience. Others point to 1 Peter 3:18-4:6 “He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit, through whom also he went and preached to the spirits in prison who disobeyed long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah…. The gospel was preached even to those who are now dead, so that they might be judged.”

In the early Church it came to be believed that this is what Jesus did during his time in the place of the departed. He preached the Gospel to those who had died. Does this give the departed a second chance to believe? Or is the Gospel only preached to the saints of the pre-Christian era, so that they might see the promises fulfilled in Christ? Or does this mean that those who had never heard of Christ in their day, get an opportunity to do so? These questions became issues of controversy, and the medieval church created elaborate scenarios that speculated beyond the truth of Scripture.

The core of truth in these Medieval fantasies is that Jesus perfected the spirits of Old Testament believers, and those who had trusted in the Savior without knowing him by name (Hebrews 11:40; 12:23). He made Hades into Paradise for the penitent thief, and for all others who died trusting him during his earthly ministry, just as he does now for the faithful departed (see Philippians 1:21-23; 2 Corinthians 5:6-8). The widespread belief of the early Church was that the Lord released the souls of the Old Testament saints, and carried them with him to heaven.

James F. Kay of Princeton Seminary, quotes John Calvin’s view that the descent into hell refers to the sufferings of Christ on the cross: “The point is that the Creed sets forth what Christ suffered in the sight of men, and then appositely speaks of that invisible and incomprehensible judgment which he underwent in the sight of God in order that we might know not only that Christ’s body was given as the price of our redemption, but that he paid a greater and more excellent price in suffering in his soul the terrible torments of a condemned and forsaken man.” Kay goes on to comment: “Christ died in the place of sinners (Isa.53:4-6). As such, he suffered in body and soul the torments of damnation, of God’s severity, wrath and judgment. ‘No wonder, then, if he is said to have descended into hell, for he suffered the death that God in his wrath had inflicted on the wicked!’ This is shown in the ‘cry of dereliction’ from the cross: ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’ (Ps.22:1; Matt.27:46). Calvin comments, ‘And surely no more terrible abyss can be conceived than to feel yourself forsaken and estranged from God, and when you call upon him, not to be heard.’ In other words, hell in the Creed is defined by the cross of Jesus Christ. Hell is godforsakenness. To enter into this state is what it means to descend into hell.” (James F. Kay in Exploring & Proclaiming the Apostles’ Creed, ed. Roger E. Van Ham, pp.125,127,128)

Jesus took upon himself the judgment we merited, and endured for us, as our substitute, so that we could be forgiven. He identified with all “suffering humanity in the grips and clutches of hell. By descending into hell, God in the person of Jesus Christ places the worst that can befall human beings within the redeeming embrace of the cross.”

Jesus went into the regions of darkness so that our souls might never come into those torments that are there. By his descent he freed us from our fears. “By his death he destroyed him who holds the power of death – that is, the devil – and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.”

(Excerpted from Ted Schroder, BURIED TREASURE, pp.177-184)

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Ash Wednesday

Wednesday, January 30th, 2013

Ash Wednesday, and the season of Lent which it begins, calls us to pause and reflect on the significance of our lives. If, we are to remember that we are but dust, and to dust we shall return, what is the meaning and purpose of this life between birth and death?

In  his novel, Revolution Road, made into the award-winning movie starring Leonardo de Caprio and Kate Winslett, Richard Yates, portrays a young couple who are trying to find themselves, and be something special, rather than just be caught up in a mindless suburban family life, or a the anonymous corporate life in New York City. They want to follow their dreams of going to live in Paris, but events transpire to prevent them. Tragedy ensues as they settle for the safe option. In all the discussion about finding their true selves, there is no mention of God or his will for their lives. There is no faith, no sense of purpose or divine destiny.

In contrast to them, Thomas Merton chose another route. He left the rat-race and entered into a monastery, and became a world-renowned writer of more than 60 books of poetry, meditation, philosophy and social criticism. Here is his take on our meaning and purpose.

“Each one of us has some kind of vocation. We are all called by God to share in His life and in His Kingdom. Each one of us is called to a special place in the Kingdom. If we find that place we will be happy. If we do not find it , we can never be completely happy. For each one of us, there is only one thing necessary: to fulfill our own destiny, according to God’s will, to be what God wants us to be.

Why do we have to spend our lives striving to be something that we would never want to be, if only we knew what we wanted? Why do we waste our time doing things which, if we only stopped to think about them, are just the opposite of what we were made for?

We cannot be ourselves unless we know ourselves. But self-knowledge is impossible when thoughtless and automatic activity keeps our souls in confusion. In order to know ourselves it is not necessary to cease all activity in order to think about ourselves. That would be useless, and would probably do most of us a great deal of harm. But we have to cut down our activity to the point where we can think calmly and reasonably about our actions. We cannot begin to know ourselves until we can see the real reasons why we do the things we do, and we cannot be ourselves until our actions correspond to our intentions, and our intentions are appropriate to our own situation. But that is enough. It is not necessary that we succeed in everything. A man who fails well is greater than one who succeeds badly.

We cannot be happy if we expect to live all the time at the highest peak of intensity. Happiness is not a matter of intensity but of balance and order and rhythm and harmony.

Music is pleasing not only because of the sound but of the silence that is in it: without the alternation of sound and silence there would be no rhythm. If we strive to be happy by filling all the silences of life with sound, productive by turning all life’s leisure into work, and real by turning all our being into doing, we will only succeed in producing hell on earth.

If we have no silence, God is not heard in our music. If we have no rest, God does not bless our work. If we twist our lives out of shape in order to fill every corner of them with action and experience, God will silently withdraw from our hearts and leave us empty.

Let us, therefore, learn to pass from one imperfect activity to another without worrying too much about what we are missing. It is true that we make many mistakes. But the biggest of them all is to be surprised at them: as if we had some hope of never making any.

Mistakes are part of our life, and not the least important part. If we are humble, and if we believe in the Providence of God, we will see our mistakes are not merely a necessary evil, something we must lament and count as lost: they enter into the very structure of our existence. It is by making mistakes that we gain experience, not only for ourselves but for others. And though our experience prevents neither ourselves nor others from making the same mistake many times, the repeated experience still has positive value.

We cannot avoid missing the point of almost everything we do. But what of it? Life is not a matter of getting something out of everything. Life itself is imperfect. The relative perfection which we must attain to in this life if we are to love as sons of God is not the twenty-four-hour-a-day production of perfect acts of virtue, but a life from which practically all the obstacles to God’s love have been removed or overcome.

One of the chief obstacles to this perfection of selfless charity is the selfish anxiety to get the most out of everything, to be a brilliant success in our own eyes and in the eyes of other men. We can only get rid of this anxiety by being content to miss something in almost everything we do. We cannot master everything, taste everything, understand everything, understand everything, drain every experience to its last dregs. But if we have the courage to let almost everything else go, we will probably be able to obtain the one thing necessary for us – whatever it may be. If we are too eager to have everything, we will almost certainly miss even the one thing we need.

Happiness consists in finding out precisely what the ‘one thing necessary’ may be, in our lives, and in gladly relinquishing all the rest, For each one of us, there is only one thing necessary: to fulfill our own destiny, according to God’s will, to be what God wants us to be.”

(Thomas Merton, No Man is an Island, pp.125-131)

May you this Lent, find out precisely the one thing necessary for you, so that you may be what God wants you to be, and so fulfill your own destiny.

 

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Scripture and Creation

Saturday, January 12th, 2013

Alan Donaldson, a thoughtful member of my congregation, sent me the following comments about my new book’s interpretation of the creation story in Genesis.

“Genesis 1 (at least) poses serious problems for modern-day readers of Scripture who have been taught to believe that the Bible is inerrant. I have had discussion with a good man, former Chapel Board member, now moved away, who maintained that the story of creation in Genesis 1 is literal fact: seven 24-hour days of creation, and that it all happened some 6,000 years ago based on Biblical genealogy. This man rejected any science-based statements on origin of the universe and its age, and also rejected all concepts of evolution.

The inspiring discussion of the meaning of Genesis in Why Am I? does not directly address that issue. Yet it is an issue that is highly divisive among convinced Christians.  Seeking to dispel the claims of non-believers about the existence of God and His creation is all very well but that fails to provide much aid to the Christian who struggles with the conflict his belief in inerrancy generates versus the knowledge that God has helped us gain about how it all happened.

One approach to solution of this problem for Christians is a statement I’m quite sure I heard from Ted Schroder: “The Old Testament should not be read as a history book”. It is filled with allegorical stories which should teach us lessons, not facts. Personally, I believe the inerrancy of the Old Testament is limited to such a concept, one that should be more widely proclaimed in Christian circles.

A distinction may, perhaps should, be made concerning the historical validity of the New Testament. Most all of the New Testament, of course, is first person narration. While errors of translation may have crept in – still it is, for me, an article of faith that the life of Jesus and subsequent commentary is factual.”

My mentor, John Stott, used to claim to be agnostic about how exactly the world began and how it would end. I think we should approach this subject with much humility for we cannot know all that we might like to know. We do have the Scriptures, which are authoritative for Christians in all matter of faith. The sixth article of Anglican Articles of Religion is entitled: “Of The Sufficiency of the Holy Scriptures for Salvation”. It states: “Holy Scripture containeth all things necessary to salvation: so that whatsoever is not read therein, nor may be proved thereby, is not required of any man, that it should be believed as an article of the Faith, or be thought requisite or necessary to salvation.”

Our understanding of how the universe began is not necessary to salvation, nor is it required of any man that it should be believed as an article of the Faith. As I write in my book, Christians have interpreted the creation accounts in many different ways down through the ages.

Genesis does not tell us how time began, how the cosmos began, but why we exist at all. We are here to fulfill God’s purpose and plan of salvation. Genesis 1 does not focus on the physical processes that gave rise to the created world but on the divine purpose for creation. (Why Am I? p.10)

What a Christian may believe about evolution or the age of the earth is based upon their understanding of science and/or the Bible. For myself, I do not believe that the Bible addresses those subjects scientifically. As I quote Jim Packer:

“I believe in the inerrancy of Scripture…but exegetically I cannot see that anything Scripture says, in the first chapters of Genesis or elsewhere, bears on the biological theory of evolution one way or another…Scripture was given to reveal God, not to address scientific issues in scientific terms, and…as it does not use the language of modern science, so it does not require scientific knowledge about the internal processes of God’s creation for the understanding of its essential message about God and ourselves.”

The Scriptures are writings of all kinds of literary genre. There are historical records, parables, allegories, poetry filled with metaphors and symbols. Interpretation is determined by deciding which genre we are reading. The word ‘literal’ was used in Reformation times for ‘natural’, denoting that we should interpret the writings in their natural, plain sense, i.e. as the author intended: the symbolic interpreted symbolically, the historical interpreted historically etc. This is what we need to do as we read the Bible. Our interpretation of the creation accounts in the Bible should not be highly divisive if we are humble enough to accept the authority of the Scriptures as inspired by God for our salvation. How the universe began is not an article of the Faith to be required of any man.

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