In John 1:29 John the Baptist announces Jesus when he sees Jesus coming toward him. He shouts forth "behold the Lamb of God" speaking to the perfect sacrificial nature of Jesus. Sacrifice to the Jews meant an offering to God to appease Him for their own sin against Him. Sacrifice then to the peeps of John's time meant man's action toward God on their own behalf so they could then be acceptable to God.
John announces something astounding, that the person of Jesus IS the sacrifice to God on man's behalf. Interestingly, man is not the one making the sacrifice on their own behalf. God provides the PERFECT sacrifice when man cannot. It's God's act on behalf of man to reconcile man to Himself. BTW, that why Christianity is not a religion, which is man's attempt to establish his own relationship with God.
The point John is ultimately making about Jesus is that He "takes away the sin of the world." You ever thought what that means? Does it refer to Jesus's purpose is to correct all immoral behavior? Make peeps good enough for God by fixing what they do wrong? Does Jesus simply erase God's memory so He forgets what we've done or puts a blindfold on God so to speak so God doesn't see our misbehavior?
What are the key words here? First, world means inhabitants of the world or mankind. Next "take away" simply means that Jesus removes, not can remove but does remove. What does John mean by sin? This is where many peeps get confused. There are numerous different Greek words translated into the word sin. Most involve actions or behavior of humans, such as making a mistake, transgressing the law, or failing to meet moral code, and so forth. However, quite often in Scripture and in this case the word for sin, hamartia, literally means missing the mark. Its general application was to the true end of life and typically meant "to miss the true purpose of life as to not share in the prize." Thus, sin in this statement means that a person misses the point of the Gospel and doesn't see the Gospel as good news, not missteps in their life.
It would seem to me more beneficial for peeps, who wish to appease God so that they are acceptable to Him, to accept the sacrifice God made on their behalf than to produce acceptable actions on their own. The sin we should all attend to is not behavioral mistakes, moral failures, or transgressions of our actions but failing to receive the action God has already taken on our behalf, called the Lamb of God.
"Behold" means to see with absolute surprise. It is so amazing that our biggest and only failure is in receiving what God has done on our behalf in faith. Our eternal well-being is at risk but peeps of this world too often just can't believe this and so trust their own ability to be good enough for God and to produce from the world around them their own well being. This approach gets no piece of God's pie (provisions and privileges of the Heavenlies), and that's our sin.
probably worth pondering as much as our stock portfolio, or even where we going to go to dinner tonight :-)
random musings from the heart of a CRAZY old man (dedicated to those who inspire me)
Sunday, March 3, 2013
Sunday, February 17, 2013
the sign of a promise
Today at church a baby was baptized. This was a precious, innocent little baby girl beautifully dressed in her white lace baptismal gown. The preacher opened his comments with "I have some bad news for baby X. She has been born into a broken world. The world is brutal and will seek to harm her in many ways. In fact baby X will actually contribute to this brokenness with her own self centeredness."
I admit this is not the typical feel good infant baptism, but he was correct. The world is fallen, dominated by the Prince of this world, who works against God's purposes. We are all born with a sin inheritance, in bondage to self worship and gratification. I am sure the mom and dad of this infant already know how baby X desires to get her own needs met above the convenience and well being of her parents.
So what is purpose of the baptism? Obviously the child is not old enough to make a decision for Christ. She knows basically nothing compared to what she'll learn across her life time.
Baptism is a sign of what God promises baby X. Her parents want for God's sign of promise to be placed on her as she begins her life. No one but God knows her path, her decisions, her love for Him or not. However, we all who witnessed the baptism know that she has been committed to His promise with the sign of baptism. She will never have to live another day absent the knowledge of His promises.
God promises to protect her soul, to guard her heart. He does not promise the world will not create difficult circumstances for her, but that no circumstance can separate her from Him. He promises that she has all the privileges and provisions of the Heavenlies, His Kingdom, awaiting her and sealed for eternity. He promises that He will even love her forever no matter what kind of mess she makes.
Oh, BTW, her baptism reminds many of us that we too have been sealed with the sign of His promises. We may not be too good about keeping our promises, but He is perfect at it.
Good thing to ponder .......
I admit this is not the typical feel good infant baptism, but he was correct. The world is fallen, dominated by the Prince of this world, who works against God's purposes. We are all born with a sin inheritance, in bondage to self worship and gratification. I am sure the mom and dad of this infant already know how baby X desires to get her own needs met above the convenience and well being of her parents.
So what is purpose of the baptism? Obviously the child is not old enough to make a decision for Christ. She knows basically nothing compared to what she'll learn across her life time.
Baptism is a sign of what God promises baby X. Her parents want for God's sign of promise to be placed on her as she begins her life. No one but God knows her path, her decisions, her love for Him or not. However, we all who witnessed the baptism know that she has been committed to His promise with the sign of baptism. She will never have to live another day absent the knowledge of His promises.
God promises to protect her soul, to guard her heart. He does not promise the world will not create difficult circumstances for her, but that no circumstance can separate her from Him. He promises that she has all the privileges and provisions of the Heavenlies, His Kingdom, awaiting her and sealed for eternity. He promises that He will even love her forever no matter what kind of mess she makes.
Oh, BTW, her baptism reminds many of us that we too have been sealed with the sign of His promises. We may not be too good about keeping our promises, but He is perfect at it.
Good thing to ponder .......
Friday, January 18, 2013
the invisible and eternal
Paul tells the Corinthians "while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal." Paul is reminding Christians that God works in the invisible and eternal realms of life. This is generally applied to our lives when we are having a tough go of it. That is primarily the context of this passage.
My question is why we don't apply this in other aspects of our Christian walk, particularly the aspect of "Holy living" as perpetuated by the notion of "the process of sanctification" (the topic of my previous post). The notion of cleaning up our selves to become more like Christ just seems to contradict Scripture in many ways. I have not been able to understand why theologians never mention the idea that sanctification means "set apart" but rather always focus on the process of becoming more Christ like. My question is in what way are we not Christ like from God's perspective and therefore need to become more so?
The reason it appears to us we are not Christ like is because our feelings and behavior, the visible parts of our life, seem far from being like Christ. This is true, but not the point. I believe that Christian theologians have to add to what God has done to and for us because our human condition forces us to accommodate the visible and temporal, but God doesn't. the Westminster Confession, one of the great reformed statements in history defines sanctification well in the beginning as an act of God's grace (although I still don't know why it does not say "God set us apart by His Grace for His purposes", that would be enough). But it has to add something about being renewed in Christ likeness as if there's more to be done that what God has done to sanctify us.
I could go on and on in my frustration about this but I will simply say,
if we as humans would anchor ourself in God's perspective, one that is invisible and eternal, we would not be tempted to define sanctification as a process because it would be natural (in our spirit) to see us as God does, a completed work in Christ. we don't need to be more righteous in His eyes, we already have the righteousness of Christ. It doesn't feel or look that way to us and others around us, but that's because the eyes are carnal, temporal and visible. we can only see sanctification as a completed work thru the eyes of faith, believing what God says about us, we are seated at His right hand in Christ Jesus right now, we are not working our way there!!
If anything is a "process" for us, its believing the sanctification we have, not trying to get more of it.
just something to ponder ......
My question is why we don't apply this in other aspects of our Christian walk, particularly the aspect of "Holy living" as perpetuated by the notion of "the process of sanctification" (the topic of my previous post). The notion of cleaning up our selves to become more like Christ just seems to contradict Scripture in many ways. I have not been able to understand why theologians never mention the idea that sanctification means "set apart" but rather always focus on the process of becoming more Christ like. My question is in what way are we not Christ like from God's perspective and therefore need to become more so?
The reason it appears to us we are not Christ like is because our feelings and behavior, the visible parts of our life, seem far from being like Christ. This is true, but not the point. I believe that Christian theologians have to add to what God has done to and for us because our human condition forces us to accommodate the visible and temporal, but God doesn't. the Westminster Confession, one of the great reformed statements in history defines sanctification well in the beginning as an act of God's grace (although I still don't know why it does not say "God set us apart by His Grace for His purposes", that would be enough). But it has to add something about being renewed in Christ likeness as if there's more to be done that what God has done to sanctify us.
I could go on and on in my frustration about this but I will simply say,
if we as humans would anchor ourself in God's perspective, one that is invisible and eternal, we would not be tempted to define sanctification as a process because it would be natural (in our spirit) to see us as God does, a completed work in Christ. we don't need to be more righteous in His eyes, we already have the righteousness of Christ. It doesn't feel or look that way to us and others around us, but that's because the eyes are carnal, temporal and visible. we can only see sanctification as a completed work thru the eyes of faith, believing what God says about us, we are seated at His right hand in Christ Jesus right now, we are not working our way there!!
If anything is a "process" for us, its believing the sanctification we have, not trying to get more of it.
just something to ponder ......
Monday, January 7, 2013
A Preacher's misstep
I was visiting a Baptist church this Sunday, it really doesn't matter which one nor matter much that its Baptist, I heard a sermon that perpetuated what I find to be one of the greatest lies or missteps we get from the pulpit - The Process of Sanctification. I hear this all the time from Christians and they get it from preaching that just can't void itself of legalism. What? How can you say that Professor? OK, here's my case using Sunday as an example.
The preacher used some material from Wayne Grudem's book "Systematic Theology". He defines sanctification as a lifelong process of growth in the likeness of Christ. While spiritual growth may be somewhat true of the Christian life, it is not what sanctification means. So how can someone just come along and define a word differently than its meaning? This is what our culture does, shapes words to fit what we want them to mean to perpetuate our own thinking, rather than to let the true meaning of words shape our thinking.
The Greek word in Scripture for sanctification is indeed derived from the same word for Holiness, but it means "set apart to Holiness", not the process of becoming Holy. The original Websters dictionary published in 1828 defines sanctification from the original language as "the act of God's grace by which the affections of men are purified, alienated from sin and the world (meaning the world's system, I call it social exchange) and exalted to a supreme love to God." Webster's then uses Scripture to illustrate, "God hath from the beginning chosen you unto salvation, through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth." (2 Th 2 and 1 Peter 1). The key words here are "the act of God's grace". That is, it is God who sanctifies us in His action of choosing us.
Some may say, "well Prof, aren't you just parsing words? In the end aren't these the same thing?" I say, "NO, NO, NO" to that. The problem is that the human condition is already bent toward legalism, the human's behavioral attempt at satisfying God through obligation to Him for what He has done for us. Grudem's definition and meaning of sanctification and the emphasis on "our process" just feeds peeps' already predisposed desire to contribute to their own Holiness. This desire we have to do something for God to make us "more Holy" is stinkin' thinking and robs us of our joy and burns us out. Working in our own strength to become Holy denies us reality of the finished work of the Cross.
Let me illustrate. This preacher from Sunday included in his sermon notes a diagram from Grudem's book to help us understand sanctification as a collaborative work on our part. This diagram contrasts sanctification with justification, showing them to be somewhat opposites. He states that justification is a legal standing, accomplished once for all time, entirely God's work, perfect in this life and the same for all Christians. This is good, but that means sanctification is (according to Grudem) an internal condition, continues to occur throughout life, requires our cooperation, is not perfect (complete) in this life, and is greater in some Christians than others. WHAT?
Here's where this becomes dangerous for us. The preacher says, "have you developed a personal sanctification plan?" WHAT? You mean sanctification hasn't already occurred for me? You mean its something I have to make happen? Holy cow!! What a burden!!
In His final prayer Jesus cries out to God with His deepest desires, "sanctify them by your truth" (John 17). Jesus knew that only God sanctifies. In fact God sanctified Jesus (John 10: 36). The writer of Hebrews says, "by that we have been sanctified." What did he mean by "that", our personal plan? No, he was referencing Jesus as the perfect sacrifice for us. See sanctification is not in contrast to justification, it is the other side of the coin. It is the state of Holiness we obtain by God's act of grace in our lives accomplished at the Cross. Its not something that has to be attained by us. We all have it equally and we have it completely. So why do peeps' all over the place talk about "the process of sanctification." Mainly because we don't feel Holy, we don't see ourselves as God sees us. Satan continually reminds us of how we haven't arrived yet.
It is true that we do not always act Holy. We are messy, flawed peeps in our behavior, but that does not make us something different than what God made us when He chose us and set us apart for His purpose. That is our sanctification. The problem is not that we are not fully sanctified, its that we don't believe it. We do not appropriate what we have. This truth has much greater impact on our life than the legalistic notion of our personal plan to grow in sanctification. Paul says in his first letter to the church at Thessalonica "that each of you should know how to process his own vessel in sanctification." Yes, we need to process the sanctification we already have, that came to us in salvation, but our life is not a "process of sanctification."
Amen goes here!!!
something to ponder when you want to kick legalism in the butt!!
The preacher used some material from Wayne Grudem's book "Systematic Theology". He defines sanctification as a lifelong process of growth in the likeness of Christ. While spiritual growth may be somewhat true of the Christian life, it is not what sanctification means. So how can someone just come along and define a word differently than its meaning? This is what our culture does, shapes words to fit what we want them to mean to perpetuate our own thinking, rather than to let the true meaning of words shape our thinking.
The Greek word in Scripture for sanctification is indeed derived from the same word for Holiness, but it means "set apart to Holiness", not the process of becoming Holy. The original Websters dictionary published in 1828 defines sanctification from the original language as "the act of God's grace by which the affections of men are purified, alienated from sin and the world (meaning the world's system, I call it social exchange) and exalted to a supreme love to God." Webster's then uses Scripture to illustrate, "God hath from the beginning chosen you unto salvation, through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth." (2 Th 2 and 1 Peter 1). The key words here are "the act of God's grace". That is, it is God who sanctifies us in His action of choosing us.
Some may say, "well Prof, aren't you just parsing words? In the end aren't these the same thing?" I say, "NO, NO, NO" to that. The problem is that the human condition is already bent toward legalism, the human's behavioral attempt at satisfying God through obligation to Him for what He has done for us. Grudem's definition and meaning of sanctification and the emphasis on "our process" just feeds peeps' already predisposed desire to contribute to their own Holiness. This desire we have to do something for God to make us "more Holy" is stinkin' thinking and robs us of our joy and burns us out. Working in our own strength to become Holy denies us reality of the finished work of the Cross.
Let me illustrate. This preacher from Sunday included in his sermon notes a diagram from Grudem's book to help us understand sanctification as a collaborative work on our part. This diagram contrasts sanctification with justification, showing them to be somewhat opposites. He states that justification is a legal standing, accomplished once for all time, entirely God's work, perfect in this life and the same for all Christians. This is good, but that means sanctification is (according to Grudem) an internal condition, continues to occur throughout life, requires our cooperation, is not perfect (complete) in this life, and is greater in some Christians than others. WHAT?
Here's where this becomes dangerous for us. The preacher says, "have you developed a personal sanctification plan?" WHAT? You mean sanctification hasn't already occurred for me? You mean its something I have to make happen? Holy cow!! What a burden!!
In His final prayer Jesus cries out to God with His deepest desires, "sanctify them by your truth" (John 17). Jesus knew that only God sanctifies. In fact God sanctified Jesus (John 10: 36). The writer of Hebrews says, "by that we have been sanctified." What did he mean by "that", our personal plan? No, he was referencing Jesus as the perfect sacrifice for us. See sanctification is not in contrast to justification, it is the other side of the coin. It is the state of Holiness we obtain by God's act of grace in our lives accomplished at the Cross. Its not something that has to be attained by us. We all have it equally and we have it completely. So why do peeps' all over the place talk about "the process of sanctification." Mainly because we don't feel Holy, we don't see ourselves as God sees us. Satan continually reminds us of how we haven't arrived yet.
It is true that we do not always act Holy. We are messy, flawed peeps in our behavior, but that does not make us something different than what God made us when He chose us and set us apart for His purpose. That is our sanctification. The problem is not that we are not fully sanctified, its that we don't believe it. We do not appropriate what we have. This truth has much greater impact on our life than the legalistic notion of our personal plan to grow in sanctification. Paul says in his first letter to the church at Thessalonica "that each of you should know how to process his own vessel in sanctification." Yes, we need to process the sanctification we already have, that came to us in salvation, but our life is not a "process of sanctification."
Amen goes here!!!
something to ponder when you want to kick legalism in the butt!!
Saturday, December 22, 2012
Reflecting on Christmas (again)
Last year I blogged about the notion that Christmas is about our receiving, not giving. Grace is about what God gave us in the redemptive love of Jesus and the truth about ourselves found in receiving this gift. In the John 1 passage I focused on the grace and truth found in the Incarnate Christ.
I still like the Christmas story found in verse 14, but this year God drew my attention to another word in the verse, "beheld". "The Word became flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld His glory .."
While emphasis is on giving in remembrance of the gift we have been given in Jesus and on receiving because unless and until we receive the gift, we don't have it, I like to reflect on the idea of beholding His glory. Taking it on and sharing in it, now that's a cool idea. Maybe even awesome!!!!!
Appropriating the gift is the Christian life. Soaking in His Glory so others may see Him. Being lavished with the provisions and privileges of the Heavenlies, that sounds nice. Our life becomes not some expectation of God because we give to others or some legalistic obligation to do great things for God but to point to Him through Thanksgiving. That's what others should see in us.
Merry Christmas!!!
I still like the Christmas story found in verse 14, but this year God drew my attention to another word in the verse, "beheld". "The Word became flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld His glory .."
While emphasis is on giving in remembrance of the gift we have been given in Jesus and on receiving because unless and until we receive the gift, we don't have it, I like to reflect on the idea of beholding His glory. Taking it on and sharing in it, now that's a cool idea. Maybe even awesome!!!!!
Appropriating the gift is the Christian life. Soaking in His Glory so others may see Him. Being lavished with the provisions and privileges of the Heavenlies, that sounds nice. Our life becomes not some expectation of God because we give to others or some legalistic obligation to do great things for God but to point to Him through Thanksgiving. That's what others should see in us.
Merry Christmas!!!
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
"Go with the wind"
One of the classic movies of all times is "Gone with the Wind". This story focuses on how the Civil War ended a Golden Era of culture for many peeps. This movie captures the idea of looking back at good times gone by, maybe even lamenting how things used to be.
If we change tense of verb "to go" to present tense, we have the notion of "go with the wind". Generally speaking this is not seen as a favorable way to view life or to live it. There might be an occasional good time, but not a lot of success. We are encouraged by others to have goals, to be grounded by a plan, to be anchored in a desired outcome, or we will be tossed to and fro by anything that comes our way. Our life would never account for anything much without goals.
We all are certainly taught this way, but what if our anchor in life is a wind, a special wind? What if we are supposed to order our life in a way that we are meant to be "tossed about" by something other than the typical anchors the world advances, such as rules, morality, ambition, and responsibility, all inherent in our human nature designed in us to gain acceptance from the world around us?
What if we are not intended to let goals control us, but to subject our decisions and actions to something beyond ourselves that defines and delivers "winning." This is what I would consider living STRATEGICALLY, but in a different way.
You may be saying now, "professor, what r u talking about?" and that would be a reasonable thought for you to have :-)
A friend of mine recently shared an interesting point. He asked, "since 'born again' is a very trendy saying in Christian circles, what did Jesus really say is the characteristic of being born again?" What would your answer be? It's easy enough to find out.
Jesus says (John 3: 8), "the wind blows where it pleases, you hear its sound but don't know from where it comes or where it goes, so it is with everyone that is born again (of the Spirit)". In other words one who is born again is one whose life is ordered by being blown around by a wind, not any wind of the world but the wind of a God Himself. Kingdom living is flexible, spontaneous, pliable and opportunistic; open to His prompting - led by the Sovereign King of the Universe. So what constrains the Kingdom life?
From this perspective Kingdom living is a strategic, not planned life. Life is free to flow with the unctions of God. It is not one anchored by anything that keeps it from being "blown around" by God. In trying to protect ourselves, drive out uncertainty in our life and make ourselves acceptable to others, we set goals anchored in fear, pride, worry, comfort, "right behavior", self-sufficiency and so on.
In doing so we often miss the opportunities to love others in bizarre and unusual ways. We miss the joy of knowing God better, what He is up to in our life and those he puts in our path. We miss the assurance that we are OK because God made us OK and not because of what we accomplished. We miss the power God has given us to be transformed and to transform the lives of others. We miss being satisfied by provisions of His grace.
That's all ..... just saying :-) :-)
If we change tense of verb "to go" to present tense, we have the notion of "go with the wind". Generally speaking this is not seen as a favorable way to view life or to live it. There might be an occasional good time, but not a lot of success. We are encouraged by others to have goals, to be grounded by a plan, to be anchored in a desired outcome, or we will be tossed to and fro by anything that comes our way. Our life would never account for anything much without goals.
You may be saying now, "professor, what r u talking about?" and that would be a reasonable thought for you to have :-)
A friend of mine recently shared an interesting point. He asked, "since 'born again' is a very trendy saying in Christian circles, what did Jesus really say is the characteristic of being born again?" What would your answer be? It's easy enough to find out.
Jesus says (John 3: 8), "the wind blows where it pleases, you hear its sound but don't know from where it comes or where it goes, so it is with everyone that is born again (of the Spirit)". In other words one who is born again is one whose life is ordered by being blown around by a wind, not any wind of the world but the wind of a God Himself. Kingdom living is flexible, spontaneous, pliable and opportunistic; open to His prompting - led by the Sovereign King of the Universe. So what constrains the Kingdom life?
From this perspective Kingdom living is a strategic, not planned life. Life is free to flow with the unctions of God. It is not one anchored by anything that keeps it from being "blown around" by God. In trying to protect ourselves, drive out uncertainty in our life and make ourselves acceptable to others, we set goals anchored in fear, pride, worry, comfort, "right behavior", self-sufficiency and so on.
In doing so we often miss the opportunities to love others in bizarre and unusual ways. We miss the joy of knowing God better, what He is up to in our life and those he puts in our path. We miss the assurance that we are OK because God made us OK and not because of what we accomplished. We miss the power God has given us to be transformed and to transform the lives of others. We miss being satisfied by provisions of His grace.
That's all ..... just saying :-) :-)
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
just what U mean when U say "Awesome"
I hang round young peeps a lot and one response they often have to something (anything) is "that's awesome". Sometimes they'll even capitalize it for emphasis. Urban online dictionary says "awesome" is an overused adjective to denote something is "cool" or even "great" and it loses its meaning and becomes lame because the noun it gets associated with is just ordinary to most observers, such as "awesome pizza".
Interestingly, the word "awesome" has been around a long time. It was even used by Samson's mother hundreds of years before Christ was born. However, it was not a cultural common slang word thrown around to say something is "cool". It had a special meaning and used sparingly because of the noun it was describing.
"So the woman came and told her husband, saying, 'a man of God came to me and His countenance was like the Angel of God, very awesome to me". Judges 13:6a
Here Jesus Himself visits a woman barren and without hope of child. He claims she will conceive and bear a child. A child that will be ordained to deliver the people from bondage. I would say this was a pretty big deal, not just cool, not just great pizza.
Maybe we should reserve the word "awesome" for things happening in our life that are orchestrated by God, not us. It is indeed awesome that God moves in our lives for His pleasure. (Philippians 2: 13)
Interestingly, the word "awesome" has been around a long time. It was even used by Samson's mother hundreds of years before Christ was born. However, it was not a cultural common slang word thrown around to say something is "cool". It had a special meaning and used sparingly because of the noun it was describing.
"So the woman came and told her husband, saying, 'a man of God came to me and His countenance was like the Angel of God, very awesome to me". Judges 13:6a
Here Jesus Himself visits a woman barren and without hope of child. He claims she will conceive and bear a child. A child that will be ordained to deliver the people from bondage. I would say this was a pretty big deal, not just cool, not just great pizza.
Maybe we should reserve the word "awesome" for things happening in our life that are orchestrated by God, not us. It is indeed awesome that God moves in our lives for His pleasure. (Philippians 2: 13)
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