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“Countering Simplistic Historical Optimism”

Is there a lot of uncertainty today? What should we expect as history moves forward? Should we be optimistic because things are moving forward and our technology is getting so good that it will eventually solve our problems? Thomas Oden summarizes the Bible’s teaching in this area, and draws out implications for our technological society.

Countering Simplistic Historical Optimism

However debatable may be the references [in the New testament] to the final abomination, Antichrist, and lawlessness, they sharply resist the illusion of an ever-increasing, progressive, immanently developing justice growing naturally from within history itself.

Such naïveté about history contradicts too much historical experience. The New Testament rather is braced for a period of tribulation at the end when the faithful will be under unprecedented attack (Mark 13:3-23; 2 Thess, 2:1-3; Rev, 12:13-18).

Fallen human nature does not change within the deadly clutches of the history of sin, even though history itself is replete with change. Even the most impressive technological “advances” (nuclear energy, microchips, medicine, scientific experimentation, globalization) can be distorted by the self-assertive will, no matter how well intended.

Far from decreasing evil, technology may tend to increase and complicate the power of evil. The past century has shown that it is folly to imagine that greater scientific knowledge will eliminate sin.

Instead of moving toward a benign utopia, the history of sin is moving toward a cataclysmic struggle out of which will come, by grace, cosmic transformation-a new heaven and a new earth. only after this ordeal can it be announced that “the kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Chirst” (Rev 11:15)

[Oden, Classic Christianity, pg. 803]

And that is why we preach the kingdom of God. Because no matter how much progress and technology we generate, without King Jesus, things will not ever really be fixed.

Are we masters of our own identities?

I just listened to a podcast with an interview by Carl Trueman called “Making Sense of Transgenderism and the Sexual Revolution.” Trueman can be a little academic at times, but I really encourage those of you in any kind of college, or workplaces where these things are discussed, to listen to it. You can read the interview or find it on your favorite podcast platform here, or get it directly here.

I also recommend the article, 10 Things You Should Know about the Sexual Revolution. Here are the 10 points:

1. It has been a long time in the making.
2. It has complicated roots.
3. It has long seen monogamy as a vice, not a virtue.
4. It is not about expanding the bounds of acceptable sexual morality.
5. It is not (only) about sexual behavior.
6. It is of profound cultural significance.
7. It is a serious challenge to religious freedom.
8. It connects to other forms of identity politics.
9. It is not just about lust.
10. We are all implicated in it.

It’s worth clicking over to read the details that Trueman points out. Here’s how he wraps the article up:

[T]here might be a temptation at this point to look at the chaos and carnage of the sexual revolution and respond, I thank you Lord that I am not like other men. That would be wrong for the simple reason that we are all implicated in this revolution. That is not to say that we are all using pornography or living lies of sexual license. But we are all part of the culture of psychologized personhood of which the sexual revolution is a symptomatic part. We all tend to conceive of happiness in psychological terms today. We all bristle under any kind of external authority. We all like to think we are masters of our own identities. That is essentially what the sexual revolution is about. We may not choose the sexual idiom to express it. We may even use a religious idiom to do so by, say, choosing the church that makes us feel happy or which lets us be ourselves. But in so doing we too are merely symptoms of the culture of expressive individualism of which the sexual revolution is just one iteration.

Understanding the real battle.

The next week after he taught 1 Timothy 2:1 to his church, John Chrysostom picked up in verse 2 of the same chapter (he taught verse by verse), and read:

“That we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior; who willeth that all men should be saved, and come unto the knowledge of the truth.”

And then he said this:

If in order to put an end to public wars, and tumults, and battles, [Timothy] is exhorted to offer prayers for kings and governors, much more ought private individuals to do it. For there are three very grievous kinds of war.

The one is public, when our soldiers are attacked by foreign armies.

The second is, when even in time of peace, we are at war with one another.

The third is, when the individual is at war with himself, which is the worst of all.

For foreign war will not be able to hurt us greatly. What…though it slaughters and cuts us off? It injures not the soul. Neither will the second have power to harm us against our will; for though others be at war with us, we may be peaceable ourselves. For so says the Prophet, “For my love they are my adversaries, but I give myself unto prayer” (Ps 90:4); and again, “I was at peace with them that hate peace”; and, “I am for peace; but when I speak, they are for war.” (Ps 120:6-7)

But from the third, we cannot escape without danger. For when the body is at variance with the soul, and raises up evil desires, and arms against it sensual pleasures, or the bad passions of anger, and envy; we cannot attain the promised blessings, till this war is brought to an end; whoever does not still this tumult, must fall pierced by wounds that will bring that death that is in hell.

We have daily need therefore of care and great anxiety, that this war may not be stirred up within us, or that, if stirred up, it may not last, but be quelled and laid asleep.

For what advantage is it, that the world enjoys profound peace, if you are at war with yourself?

This then is the peace we should keep. If we have it, nothing from without will be able to harm us.

Sound words, from 1600 years ago, for Wednesday, November 11, 2020.

“He who blesses his enemy, blesses himself.”

Yesterday I posted a section from a sermon by John Chrysostom. I thought it was worth sharing one more section from that sermon today. Here is how he ended his teaching to the church. After strongly encouraging them to pray for their government, he said:

It is not any costly process that we recommend to you: it does not require the spoiling of goods, nor a long and toilsome journey.

It is only to will. It is a word, it is a purpose of the mind. Let us only set a guard on our tongues, a door and a bar upon our lips, that we may utter nothing offensive to God.

It is for our own advantage, not for theirs for whom we pray, to act thus. For let us ever consider, that he who blesses his enemy, blesses himself, he who curses his enemy, curses himself, and he who prays for his enemy, prays not for him, but for himself. If we thus act, we shall be able to [actually] practice this excellent virtue, and so to obtain the promised blessings, through the grace and lovingkindness of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Amen.

Love them by praying for them.

As Pastor Joe has recently been pointing out, sometime in the mid to late first century AD, when an autocratic pagan emperor ruled the Mediterranean world, the Apostle Paul wrote this instruction to Timothy, who was leading a young christian church Asia Minor:

Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. (1 Timothy 2)

Four hundred years later, John Chrysostom was teaching through these letters for his church, and when he came to this passage, this is what he said:

“I exhort therefore that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men.” From this, two advantages result.

First, hatred towards those who are without is done away; for no one can feel hatred towards those for whom he prays: and they again are made better by the prayers that are offered for them, and by losing their ferocious disposition towards us. For nothing is so apt to draw men under teaching, as to love, and be loved. Think what it was for those who persecuted, scourged, banished, and slaughtered the Christians, to hear that those whom they treated so barbarously offered fervent prayers to God for them.

Observe how he wishes a Christian to be superior to all ill-treatment. As a father who was struck on the face by a little child which he was carrying, would not lose anything of his affection for it; so we ought not to abate in our good will towards those who are without, even when we are stricken by them…

But some one perhaps will say, he meant not for all men, but for all the faithful. How then does he speak of kings? For kings were not then worshipers of God, for there was a long succession of ungodly princes. And that he might not seem to flatter them, he says first, “for all men,” then “for kings”; for if he had only mentioned kings, that might have been suspected. And then since the soul of some Christians might be slow at hearing this, and reject the exhortation…he shows them the advantage of it, thus at least to reconcile them to the advice, “that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life”; as much as to say, Their safety is a security to us; as also in his Epistle to the Romans, he exhorts them to obey their rulers, “not for wrath but for conscience’ sake.” (Romans 8:5)

For God has appointed government for the public good. When therefore they make war for this end, and stand on guard for our security, is it not unreasonable that we should not offer prayers for their safety in wars and dangers? It is not therefore flattery, but agreeable to the rules of justice. For if they were not preserved, and prospered in their wars, our affairs must necessarily be involved in confusion and trouble; and if they were cut off, we must either serve ourselves, or be scattered up and down as fugitives. For they are a sort of bulwarks thrown up before us, within which those who are enclosed are in peace and safety.

He says, “supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks.” For we must give thanks to God for the good that befalls others, as that He makes the sun to shine upon the evil and the good, and sends His rain both upon the just and the unjust.

Observe how he would unite and bind us together, not only by prayer but by thanksgiving. For he who is urged to thank God for his neighbor’s good, is also bound to love him, and be kindly disposed towards him. And if we must give thanks for our neighbor’s good, much more for what happens to ourselves, and for what is unknown, and even for things against our will, and such as appear grievous to us, since God dispenses all things for our good.

Whoever is in government, may we be strong enough to head the word of God from two millennia ago, and the sound teaching from 1600 years ago, and know and do the things that make for our peace.

And, friends, the flavor of Christians who walk closest with God is always, everywhere, that strong, peaceful joy, able to engage the world with seriousness and compassion, able to take action to solve problems, able to bear with injustice without bitterness, able to rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep, able to see past the world’s triumphalism when things go their way, or despair when things don’t, able to see through it all, all the way to the day when the clouds part, and the dawn breaks.

Should we stop saying, “Jesus is Lord”?

A friend named Kelly sent me two screen shots of (I think) Twitter posts from this week. One said:

“As a pastor, I want to encourage folks to avoid toxic theology today (and every day). “No matter what happens, Jesus is King” is a form of faith that invalidates the lived experiences of faithful people all over the country who have been harmed by this administration.”

The other said:

“Dear American pastors, We know that Jesus is still on the throne. We don’t need you to tell us that. It’s dismissive and patronizing and theologically manipulative. Jesus was on the throne during the rise of many evil men. Don’t distract from what’s happening with platitudes.”

The last thing for which any time or space should be used is responding to every form of nonsense that flits across the social media universe. But I imagine a lot of you in the Young Adults fellowship have seen these quotes, or others like them, and so I did want to at least try to help work through what is going on here. And then maybe we’ll do a podcast about this soon.

Here are some quick thoughts out of a much larger pool of things that could be said.

  1. “Jesus is King” and “Jesus is still on the throne” are both simply ways of saying the ancient, fundamental Christian confession, “Jesus is Lord.” This is the basic thing Christians say to show they are Christians. It is so basic the New Testament takes it for granted that if you truly say it, you are a Christian, and that true followers of Christ will say it. There are too many verses. Type in “Christ” and “Lord” into Blue Letter Bible and do some reading.
  2. If “Jesus is Lord” is such a fundamental thing to say, Christians should say it. Philippians 2:11 says God exalted Jesus to preeminence, so that every tongue would say it. God wants it said. Even if Twitter people don’t.
  3. If God wants it said, it can’t possibly be an unloving thing for Christians to say.  “That’s unloving” has become the go-to mantra for people who oppose Christ. Whatever Christians do, if the culture doesn’t like us, we’re told it’s unloving. We’re told that it’s insensitive and that it causes pain. And they have us here, right? Christians must care about causing pain, because Christians have a command from Christ to love our neighbor. And the culture knows that. Why? Because we told them. But even though we must care if we’re accused of being unloving, we don’t need to listen, because the people who are saying these things don’t know Jesus. Or, maybe they do kind of know him, but they haven’t spent very much time reflecting on his words, and so they get moved by the cultural pressures, and end up saying foolish things. It can happen to any of us. But a person who knows Jesus cannot treat the phrase “Jesus is King” lightly. It’s not a light thing. I find it difficult to understand how they could say that “Jesus is King” is a “toxic” thing to say. Will it be “toxic” for the world when he rules from his throne? I guess that’s between them and Jesus.
  4. “Jesus is Lord” is not unloving to say, because it’s true. Full stop. Truth can never ultimately harm someone. Full stop again. It’s true. Think about it. (If you say something true in a way that harms someone, it’s not the truth that harmed them, it’s the unloving way you said it.)
  5. We say, “Jesus is still on the throne,” to remind other people who love Jesus that, no matter how unstable things look, there is ultimate stability in the universe, because God’s plan to establish his kingdom is moving forward, no matter what. Maybe the people posting these things think that the kingship of Jesus doesn’t have anything to do with our scared, confusing world? Would I say “Jesus is King” to a non-believer? Maybe not right away. It needs context. Would I say this to a friend who loves Jesus? Of course. As a pastor, would I say this to the church? If I don’t, I am not a faithful pastor. It’s a pastor’s job to remind those he pastors of the strong, unconquerable throne of Jesus, especially when all other sources of stability are being shown to be shaky. Pastors say this to strengthen the church. Christians say this to remind each other that there is never a reason to give up hope, or give in to anger, or give in to temptation, because Jesus is still on the throne. If your guy is not in the Whitehouse–don’t panic, don’t get angry or depressed, because your Lord is on his throne, and that is a more powerful position than the presidency. If your best friend gets elected–don’t get too excited, Jesus is on the throne. If your worst enemy gets elected, don’t get too worried, Jesus is on the throne. That’s not dismissive. Come join the kingdom. Repent and be saved. You’re welcome to come find the love of God. Everyone is.
  6. Saying “Jesus is King” does not invalidate anyone’s experiences. In fact, just the opposite. Hell will finally invalidate all suffering. Hell will ruin and end every plan and hope and dream. The Lordship of Christ is held out to you to offer an escape from final meaninglessness. Jesus is Lord, so if you say it, you can escape the madness and the destruction, and then all the pain and oppression and deprivation you’ve experienced will be wiped away, healed, and even gathered up into blessing for you–as King Jesus heals the earth and invites you to live in his kingdom forever. If you’ve been harmed by a presidential administration, the only hope is the fact that Jesus is Lord, and not the President of the United States. Jesus is not a politician. He’s the greatest man who ever lived. Believe me, you want Jesus to be on the throne. It’s the only hope.
  7. “Jesus is Lord” is not a platitude. Is “Tomorrow is Christmas!” a platitude? Is “You won the lottery!” a platitude? So then, how can the news that the best man who ever lived is the true, eternal King (the greatest news in history) be a platitude? Unless you don’t expect it to ever happen…

But it will. Soon. Because Jesus is Lord.

There, friends. That’s how I’d think through all this. Don’t be too moved. People need people who love them enough to remember the words that need to be said. And to keep saying them. Peace. Have a good weekend.

 

 

What it means to be a member.

One of the interesting phrases the New Testament uses to describe what it means to be a Christian is “in Christ.” As believers, we are “in Christ.” There are so many layers to this idea. Here’s one:

In 1 Corinthians 1:30-31, Paul writes,

“Of Him you are in Christ Jesus,
who became for us wisdom from God—
and righteousness and sanctification and redemption—
that, as it is written,
“He who glories, let him glory in the LORD.”

In his commentary on these verses, Anthony Thiselton explains one of the nuances contained in the phrase:

Foremost among these distinct nuances in this verse is that of objective status and corporate solidarity. “Being-in-Christ” here is “no private Christian existence,” but is to be a sharer in the status and state of “belonging” which finds expression in the way in which the limbs of a body belong to the body.

What Thiselton is pointing out is that part of being “in Christ” is not that I would only think, “I individually am in Christ,” or “I am connected to Christ,” but that I would think, “I am part of the body of believers who are, collectively, in Christ. We are in Christ, and since I am part of that we, I am in Christ.” This is what we actually mean when we say we are members of the church.  And Paul uses this exact idea later in his letter, when he writes: “As the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ,” and, ” You are the body of Christ, and members individually.” 

To be “in Christ” is to be a “member” of Christ, or, to put it another way, it is to be one of the “members of Christ’s body.” Of course, the word “member” can be a little misleading for us today, because of how we typically use the word. For us it usually just means something like, “I officially belong to a group.” But that’s not what the bible means when it uses the word “member,” as the language of “body” shows us. Thiselton explains:

…however, the notion of being “members” of a body has nowadays become an insipid metaphor for belonging to a social club, not that of a limb which constitutes part of the very being of the body in the solidarity of co-suffering or co-well being. Paul began to understand this identity when Christ as Lord described his persecution of the church as “persecuting me” (Acts 26:14; cf. 9:4, 5).

In other words, the way a person is a “member of the church” is not like the way a person who pays dues to a golf course is a “member of the Country Club.” It is like the way your arm is a member of your body. It has real living connection, and a necessary, important role to play. If you trust Christ, if He is your lord, then you are in Christ, and that means you are a member of his body, and that means that you have a real, living, important connection with both the Christians who live near you who you go to church with, and the world-wide family of God.

We are all in Christ.

A Psalm for the Day After Election Day

Psalm 72, with glorious glimpses into the future, of the ruler we’re all waiting for:

Give the king Your judgments, O God,
And Your righteousness to the king’s Son.
He will judge Your people with righteousness,
And Your poor with justice.
The mountains will bring peace to the people,
And the little hills, by righteousness.
He will bring justice to the poor of the people;
He will save the children of the needy,
And will break in pieces the oppressor.

They shall fear You
As long as the sun and moon endure,
Throughout all generations.

He shall come down like rain upon the grass before mowing,
Like showers that water the earth.
In His days the righteous shall flourish,
And abundance of peace,
Until the moon is no more.

He shall have dominion also from sea to sea,
And from the River to the ends of the earth.
Those who dwell in the wilderness will bow before Him,
And His enemies will lick the dust.
The kings of Tarshish and of the isles will bring presents;
The kings of Sheba and Seba will offer gifts.
Yes, all kings shall fall down before Him;
All nations shall serve Him.

For He will deliver the needy when he cries,
The poor also, and him who has no helper.
He will spare the poor and needy,
And will save the souls of the needy.
He will redeem their life from oppression and violence;
And precious shall be their blood in His sight.

And He shall live;
And the gold of Sheba will be given to Him;
Prayer also will be made for Him continually,
And daily He shall be praised.

There will be an abundance of grain in the earth,
On the top of the mountains;
Its fruit shall wave like Lebanon;
And those of the city shall flourish like grass of the earth.

His name shall endure forever;
His name shall continue as long as the sun.
And men shall be blessed in Him;
All nations shall call Him blessed.

Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel,
Who only does wondrous things!
And blessed be His glorious name forever!
And let the whole earth be filled with His glory.
Amen.
And Amen.

Peace, Friends.

And, in case you missed it, yesterday we released a special election day podcast, with a meditation on Psalm 62. You can find it on iTunes and Spotify.

We Are Pre-Political.

With the way things have been for most of 2020, you could be forgiven for thinking that politics have totally taken over the world. But followers of Jesus should push back on this sentiment.

Is everything in life political?

People will be voting tomorrow. That, of course, is political.

Lord willing, Christians will be meeting on Sunday. Don’t let anyone fool you: That is not political.

The way we meet, what we do when we meet—these things are not political.

Do they have political implications? Of course. The mere existence of a people who see themselves as subjects of a King who’s coming soon to rule the world impacts the reality, even the political reality, of the places where it exists. The presence of the family of God challenges every status quo, from recent cultural fads to ancient traditions.

But today, we in America are suffering from the idea that everything in all of life is political in the narrow, American sense—that anything that happens, that everything people do, is a statement about who those people want to win the 2020 election. But this is false, because many things in life are not political.

To illustrate the point, imagine a situation in which the government, or big tech, or the news media were to declare that it is medically unsafe for me to hug my wife in my own home. If I choose to defy their orders, my decision is not political. And this is because my marriage is not a political statement. The fact is, marriage pre-dates government. It is a more fundamental relationship than my relationship to the state. Government has nothing to do with that covenant, and it has no jurisdiction over it. You know this, because anyone who understands marriage would disobey the government if it told them to break their marriage vows. And so, to act in accordance with my marriage vows is not political, no matter who claims otherwise.

This is true for every human relationship—every blood tie, and even every neighbor relationship. It is God who said, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” not human government. The bonds of friendship, brotherhood and community are pre-political. At best, politics and government rest on them and are supported by those bonds. At worst, politics and government oppose those bonds and seek to break them down and control them. Either way, those bonds are not political—not in the American sense of Democrats and Republicans and Congress and the Supreme Court and Trump and Biden. Not at all.

Do Christians forget this sometimes? Possibly. Do Christians get narrowly political? Sure, sometimes. But we should never fall into the temptation of believing the lie that to obey Christ can ever be something as small as an indorsement of a candidate for office. The bonds of Christians in church, of the family of God in a local gathering, are pre-political and government-transcending—they stand outside of politics’ reach, and are not judged by political pronouncements.

Christ is Lord. His Kingdom will still be young when America is an unread footnote in the books of heaven. To obey him is to obey the One who will not be voted in or out. The life of a believer and the shared life of believers together in community are not statements about the desire for any man or woman to occupy the Whitehouse.

They are, however, a statement about our desire for the King to come and occupy his throne.

“The winds and waves obey Him”

A hymn for Saturday Morning:

We plow the fields and scatter
The good seed on the land,
But it is fed and watered
By God’s almighty hand:
He sends the snow in winter,
The warmth to swell the grain,
The breezes, and the sunshine,
And soft, refreshing rain.

He only is the Maker
Of all things near and far;
He paints the wayside flower,
He lights the evening star;
The winds and waves obey Him,
By Him the birds are fed;
Much more to us, His children,
He gives our daily bread.

We thank Thee then, O Father,
For all things bright and good,
The seedtime and the harvest,
Our life, our health, our food;
Accept the gifts we offer
For all Thy love imparts,
And what Thou most desirest—
Our humble, thankful hearts.

All good gifts around us
Are sent from heav’n above;
Then thank the Lord, oh, thank the Lord,
For all His love

— by Matthias Claudius

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