Apophatica

I’ve got great news for everyone! I’m sure there are some of us who have our concerns about our eternal fate so I want to put our minds at ease.

Thousands of years ago, an old fisherman saw the suffering that humans were enduring as they wondered what would happen to them when their lives on earth were over. So he vowed to do what he could to ensure that they would experience eternity in paradise. Because of his compassion, he became enlightened and could cross into eternal paradise. Because he was so compassionate, however, he vowed that he would wait until the last sentient being was saved before he would cross over into paradise. His name is now known as Amida and if we, even in our dying breath, say the words “Namu Amida Butsu”, we will be saved and be able to enter in to paradise. Isn’t that great news!? Now you do not have to worry about what lies ahead for us after our lives here are over!

If anyone hearing that story actually felt relieved, well, good for you. Most of us, on the other hand, most likely felt like “Huh? What in the world are you talking about?” This is the way that most people feel when we share the gospel of Jesus Christ. God sent his son to die for our sins and so Jesus emptied himself of divine power and allowed himself to be nailed to a cross. He was dead for three days and then was resurrected by God and now sits at the right hand of God. We commemorate this event by eating the flesh and drinking the blood of Jesus. Some day all of the dead people will be resurrected and Jesus will come back and we will be with him in Heaven after a time of tribulation and a millenium of peace. Do we ever stop and think how crazy this sounds? Don’t get me wrong – we believe it to be true and we stake our very existence on it, but really – do we think this sounds any more rational to others than the story of Amida sounds to us? It is important that we realize that we no longer live in a Christian culture. We live now in what has been called Post-Christendom. Most people do not go to church and do not relate to the story of Jesus that we call the gospel. The story of Amida is one from another culture to us just like the story of Jesus comes from a culture foreign to people living in Post-Christendom/ post-modernism today.

This disconnect is nothing new. When Paul was writing to the people of the church at Corinth he said in 1 Cor. 2:14: “But people who aren’t spiritual can’t receive these truths from God’s Spirit. It all sounds foolish to them and they can’t understand it, for only those who are spiritual can understand what the Spirit means.” We need to adopt a new way of speaking for those who do not understand the message. Is it wrong that they do not understand? Of course not! How could they? So how do we show people that the gospel is true? That’s just it – we SHOW them. Paul says in the same chapter in verses 1 – 5. He first says that because the people of Corinth did not at first have the Spirit, “I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom.” Instead, he said “My speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.” In DEMONSTRATION of the Spirit. We cannot do much with magical words that people do not understand, rather we must demonstrate the gospel in how we live our lives as a testament to that truth.

We see where a lack of wisdom affects those outside the church. One area in which not necessarily a lack of wisdom, but a lack of using that wisdom leads to trouble is within the church. In 1054 we had the Great Schism that led to one of the biggest splits ever in the history of Christianity. This was the split over theology (or the Filioque to be specific – let me know if you want to hear more about this one). Most of us, we assume, would have sided with the west on this debate which means we side with the Roman Catholic Church. But wait! Most of us are Protestant after another huge split in the church – The Reformation. We don’t agree with the Catholic church. And on and on it goes with splits within denominations over same sex unions, ordination of homosexual pastors, ordination of women, issues of charisma, etc. etc. ad nauseum. This is like a story that Emo Philips told that I get a laugh out of:

(In a conversation with a suicidal man threatening to jump off a bridge)
“I said, ‘Are you a Christian or a Jew?’ He said, ‘A Christian.’
I said, ‘Me too. Protestant or Catholic?’ He said, ‘Protestant.’
I said, ‘Me too. What franchise?’ He says, ‘Baptist.’
I said, ‘Me too. Northern Baptist or Southern Baptist?’ He says, ‘Northern Baptist.’
I said, ‘Me too. Northern Conservative Baptist or Northern Liberal Baptist?’ He says, ‘Northern Conservative Baptist.’
I said, ‘Me too. Northern Conservative Fundamentalist Baptist or Northern Conservative Reformed Baptist?’ He says, ‘Northern Conservative Fundamentalist Baptist.’
I said, ‘Me too. Northern Conservative Fundamentalist Baptist, Great Lakes Region, or Northern Conservative Fundamentalist Baptist, Eastern Region?’ He says, ‘Northern Conservative Fundamentalist Baptist, Great Lakes Region.’
I said, ‘Me too. Northern Conservative Fundamentalist Baptist, Great Lakes Region, Council of 1879 or Northern Conservative Fundamentalist Baptist, Great Lakes Region, Council of 1912?’ He says, Northern Conservative Fundamentalist Baptist, Great Lakes Region, Council of 1912.’
I said, ‘Die, heretic!’ and I pushed him over.”

Pretty ridiculous, eh? But how far is this from where we are at? Paul said in vs. 11 “For who knows a person’s thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. ” So let’s not assume that we understand what another party is thinking as we base our argument. Is there any hint of how we can start agreeing on things and being of like mind? Paul thought so. He said in vs. 12 “Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. ” What if, for example, when we get to Heaven that God chides us for assuming that Rob Bell was heretic by saying that God has too much love for there to be a hell? What if God says, “Did you really think that I, in my infinite love, could do something so cruel to my children?” Who knows what the truth is here, but we need to seek wisdom through the Spirit since it has been given to us freely rather than assuming we already have all the answers.

Let’s pray that since we have the mind of Christ (as Paul says in vs. 16) that we can use it and get a glimpse of what is truly right. Let us also remember that when we use God-speak on a skeptic they will just hear something like the teacher on Charlie Brown. But if we SHOW them by how we live and DEMONSTRATE the gospel, then they will hear, see, and experience something truly beautiful.

In our culture of super heroes and wise folk, we hate to be seen as weak or foolish. It frustrates us when we are not the strongest of the group or the wisest. 2000 years later, it is not any different than when Paul wrote to the people of Corinth and gave them an earful on just this topic. The people of Corinth were hellenistic people who relished knowledge and wisdom, but who ironically (at least the members of the church) originally were not the brightest bulbs on the porch. In 1 Cor. 1:26, Paul says that not many of them were “wise according to worldy standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth.” When they received the wisdom from the Holy Spirit, they began to think that they were better than everyone else. (As we will see in 1 Cor. 2) They finally had something to brag about and brag they did.

Paul mentions that “God chose what is foolish in this world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God” (1 Cor. 1:27-29). So does this mean that we should not strive for strength or wisdom? Of course not! It does mean, however, that we have to strive for the right kind of wisdom.

Let’s think about this for a second . . . God became a human in the form of Christ and although he was able to perform miracles and had access to his Godly powers, he chose to leave them. He was punched, beaten, stabbed, whipped, and nailed to a cross with a broken and battered body. He was weak by choice because he knew he had to suffer in our place and with out dying, he could not be raised. BUT, God raised him from the dead with power and he now sits at the right hand of God the Father. Paul even calls this logic foolishness for those who do not understand it. Of course it’s foolish! It goes against everything we are conditioned to know in this world.

Imagine, though, that we seek our wisdom and strength from God and in turn get the only real lasting wisdom and strength that exists. In our lives we are sometimes literally beaten down and battered and other times we just feel like it. Sometimes we are not the smartest person on the block, and other times we are just having a dull moment. We can even embrace these moments! I am not saying that we should try to suffer or make ourselves weak in all situations, but when we are there anyway, let’s be glad that we have a God who chose to do this with us who has prepared a place for us where weakness, suffering, and foolishness will exist no more.

If this is you today who is feeling that the world has beaten you down and taken away any piece of wisdom that you may have once had, just remember that these things cannot last anyway. Let’s not be like some of the people at Corinth who thought the idea of a suffering savior was so foolish that they even swept the crucifixion under the rug! Instead, let’s remember that if God himself chose to suffer (and did so out of true strength and wisdom), and because we certainly are not above God, then let us not focus on our own strength and wisdom and ask God for some of his.

Just to be up front, I would say the answer to this is (drumroll please . . . ) BOTH. There is no doubt that being saved from our sins by Christ is something that happens on an individual basis when we accept to believe that Jesus is the Son of God, died for our sins, was raised on the third day, and sits at the right hand of God the Father. BUT, do we not forget that there are three parts to salvation? How do we discuss salvation with non-believers? Are we doing a good job? I would submit that salvation must occur at both the individual and communal level.

Salvation consists of justification, sanctification, and glorification. We have probably heard these terms somewhere before, but in rarely in church these days. I used to believe that it was a good thing that these terms are not mentioned because it makes Christianity seem too “weird” or “unrelatable” to unbelievers that we are trying to reach. I feel now, however, that the church should explain salvation, but do so in a way that we can all understand.

Justification is the deliverance from the penalty that we would otherwise receive had not Jesus taken that for us on the cross. Regardless if one believes that “sin entered the world through one man, Adam” as Paul says in Romans, there is no doubt that we are incapable of being perfectly righteous. If you don’t believe me, try it. Try to live for one day in which you do not say, think, or do anything that is impolite, rude, malicious, or just plain bad for someone else. We are justified before God because the only perfect person to walk this earth – Jesus – became like the Old Testament sin offerings and died (hence the term “Lamb of God” or “Agnus Dei”) in our place. Justification is discussed in Galatians 2:16: Nevertheless knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we may be justified by faith in Christ, and not by the works of the Law; since by the works of the Law shall no flesh be justified.

Sanctification is the thing that we cannot seem to get right. That is, no matter how hard we strive to be perfect, we cannot do it. Sanctification is the process (and this is important to note – it is a process and not an instantaneous event) by which we try to be more Christ-like. Step-by-step we try to reform ourselves and our lives so that they are more like the way that Jesus lived. Sanctification is NOT obeying the law (or at least because we have to) since we have been saved from the law. Paul mentions this throughout his letters, especially in Romans, Corinthians, and Galatians. One very important thing to note here is that sanctification becomes possible (in as much as it is possible) BECAUSE of justification. Oftentimes we try to become better people on our own to be righteous. This simply isn’t possible. Since we are justified before God (NOT of our own doing, but because of Jesus’ death and resurrection), we embark on the journey of sanctification out of gratitude – NOT necessity to be right before God.

Sanctification is a transformation. It is one of the most frustrating aspects of salvation because we expect that the moment we accept Jesus that we should become saintly people. When we find that we still do the same foolish things that we used to, we get discouraged and want to give up. That is why it is so important to remember that sanctification is a process. This concept can be seen in Romans 6:22: But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification, and the outcome, eternal life.

Glorification is what will happen after Jesus returns and all of the dead have been resurrected. We will all have “glorified” bodies that will have no ailment or blemish. These bodies will be permanent and we will also be righteous in thought and action. It is what we are striving for in the sanctification process and what we ultimately achieve by God’s doing when the old earth has passed away and the new heaven and new earth are brought to be. Paul mentions this in Philippians 3:21: [Christ] will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself.

So, having said all this, why is it so important that salvation is seen as a communal event? Fast forward through the Reformation, the Enlightenment, and modernism, and we find ourselves today in our current post-modern, post-Christian culture. We ask a person if they are saved and if they are not, we turn our noses up and tell them that they better get saved quick or risk hellfire. Isn’t that attractive? Or do we have a better way to speak such an important truth? I believe this attitude came from post-modernism where MY view of truth is right and good for ME. I get to decide what is true and what isn’t because everything is relative. Everything starts to become about the individual and eventually our thinking about salvation is eroded into something that is JUST for me. Like I said before, I do believe there is an important personal aspect to salvation, but that is not the ONY aspect of salvation.

Jesus died for all of our sins. He went to the cross because none of us could get rid of sin ourselves or stand righteous before God. ALL of us who chose to accept this fact are justified. Next comes sanctification. If we are, out of appreciation, to strive to be more Christ-like (which is ironic, I know, because we are incapable of becoming perfect and trying to do so says the Law is better than grace, but yet Jesus was perfect and that is how we are supposed to be . . . ok, I digress) and it is impossible for us to be completely Christ-like then how can we even make any progress in sanctification. This can only happen, I would argue, by living in community with others who are striving toward the same goal. By being accountable to one another and by experiencing salvation together in community, we learn each other’s ways and slowly are transformed into people who genuinely care for others before ourselves. Finally, we are ALL glorified before God and share together in the resurrection and the great banquet in the kingdom of God as brothers and sisters in Christ.

So, if salvation is communal, are we acting like it . . .?
In post

One of the biggest reasons for not achieving the tasks or reaching the goals that we set for ourselves is a lack of confidence. We hear that little devil on our shoulder telling us that we cannot achieve what we have set out to do and that we are doomed to fail. Unfortunately, the little angel on the other shoulder isn’t loud enough in telling us that we CAN do it. We always have the “yeah buts”. Every time we think that we have reached a point where we have all the answers and are confident and ready to go, a little voice says “yeah but” and gives us some excuse as to why our idea could never work or at least not work in the way that we envision it.

When we are doing something for our own good, it is often difficult to get going. That is why it is helpful to remember that it is not only pastors who are called. There is a priesthood of ALL believers and each Christian is called to mission to bring about God’s kingdom in different ways. This can be done through our work and does not always mean volunteering (although sometimes it does). If we can each find our calling – what it is that God wants us to do to bring good news to the poor, heal the sick, etc. – then our endeavors and goals will take on a whole new meaning. When this happens, we see our goals as not for our own gratification, but rather as a duty to God. It’s always easier to be complacent when something is for our own good, but when it is commanded by God it’s a little harder to ignore!

Throughout the Bible, God has called people who were reluctant or who felt inadequate. Moses didn’t feel he could speak well enough to convince the Pharoah to let the Israelites out of Egypt, Isaiah felt he was unclean, Jeremiah didn’t think he had what it takes, and Jonah just plain did NOT want to go to Ninevah because he knew there would be repentance and he didn’t want that. It has almost become cliched, but God does not call the equipped, he equips the called. If we realize our calling, accept it, and then take the first step with faith in God and compassion toward our fellow humans, then our work WILL be blessed and we WILL succeed!

I pray blessings and strength over everyone today and pray that God makes your calling clear. Some of us already know what that calling is but are still frozen in place . . . 🙂 You’ve been called by God to a great work, now let’s go!!!

“And I am sure that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on that day when Christ Jesus comes back again.” Phil. 1:6

In seminary, I had to do a paper on the kingdom of God. When I saw on the syllabus that the paper would be assigned, I thought that it would perhaps be one of the most boring projects I would ever have to endure. As I got into the church planting process, however, I kept hearing all of this talk about the kingdom of God and how pertinent it was to understand it in the context of the church.

In this current age we live in, we belong to churches that are sometimes less than personal and find it difficult to know everyone. Whether this is because the church is too big or just because people do not make the effort to know each other, we end up going to church and worshiping with a group of acquaintances. Rarely do we dine in each other’s homes or support one another when we are hurting. I am not saying that all churches are this way, but there are for sure many cases of this lack of a sense of family today. So what is our response? What should we do?

This brings us back to our discussion of what the kingdom of God is and how it is brought about. The kingdom of God occurs in three forms: the past kingdom, the current kingdom, and the future kingdom. The future kingdom of God is the eschatological kingdom that Jesus speaks of in Luke 14:15 – 24 among other places. This will be the kingdom of God that exists in the end. This is the permanent kingdom, but there are ways that we can create pockets or glimpses of the kingdom here on earth.

The past kingdom was in the person of Jesus – the man who physically walked this earth as God in the form of a man. All of the miracles that were done by him as well as he himself were manifestations of the kingdom of God. In Luke 11:20, Jesus answers accusations of casting out demons in the name of Satan. He said, “If I cast out demons by the power of God, then the kingdom of God has arrived among you. He was of course speaking of himself.

So how can we have a current kingdom of God? In Luke 9:1-2 we see that “Jesus called together his disciples and gave them the power and authority to cast out all demons and to heal all diseases. Then he sent them out to tell everyone about the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.” Throughout the gospels, Jesus spoke of the kingdom of God occuring in such acts as taking care of the poor (Luke 14:7-14, Matthew 19:21, Luke 4:18-19, etc.), healing, forgiveness, humility (Luke 14:7-11, etc.), and hospitality (Luke 7:34, 14:15-24, 15:1-2, 24:28-31).

Ok, so what does this have to do with us today? If Jesus’ disciples (isn’t that us today?) were given authority to do all of the things that bring about the kingdom of God and we are called to do it in community as the body of believers, then how can we do these things if we are not truly in community? Isn’t it only right that we should not only be a true community that knows and cares for one another, but shouldn’t we also work together side-by-side and hand-in-hand to carry on the mission of God as a missional body in the attitude of love as a community? THAT, is what The Crossing needs to be about – loving, supporting, uplifting, encouraging, caring for one another and then going together to show glimpses of God’s kingdom through the love of Christ to his people. Ah, how I look forward to doing that that with you!

Thanks to my buddy Scottie B and some other folks, they reassured me that people are actually reading this blog. So, I gave it a makeover and linked it to The Crossing blog. Enjoy!