Locked Out

Dear Brothers,

Well, I have been locked out. I have not resisted to the point of death, but I have resisted. Today I quit. I have to switch to another site. Not sure where, not sure when. Blogspot blogs are blocked in the RedLands as are many of the other key blog sites like Wordpress and others. I miss the conversations and I hope to get back on the bicycle soon.

Grace and peace to everyone in Christ.

jdubya

Deep Thought o' the Day

"God is not as easily offended as we are."
-jdt

Think on these things.

Tension **

I am left with a dialectic. Not a Marxist socio-political dialectic - as if I even know what that is - nor the so-called dialectic of those who would balance two opposing philosophies. I am left with a more Bonhoefferian dialectic - a tension between two seemingly opposite theologies that leaves just one course of action.

Jesus said, "If your right eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out...if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off. It is better for you to enter the kingdom maimed and blind than to be cast out in the darkness as a whole man."

When we read this, we are left with a problem of compliance. "Jesus hardly expects us to sacrifice an eye or the right hand. Surely, He cannot be serious." We are left in a quandary by this strange command.

Luckily for us, Paul bails us out when he says, "self-abasement is of no value against ungodliness" - meaning the left eye can certainly do what the right once did and the left hand can surely sin in the same manner as the now-disenfranchised right hand. And so with Paul, Jesus' mountain-top decree can largely be ignored.

But one doctrine emerges from this Christo-Pauline tension...a doctrine of obedience. Because a serious Christian cannot ignore the teaching of Christ. He cannot say that by "hand" or by "eye" he meant something totally different. So he must obey, that is, he must not lust.*

This summary is nothing short of a murder of Bonhoeffer's theology. So, having gone so far as murder, I have no shame in continuing to abuse it further. :) There seems to be a certain, similar dialectic in view of our justification. It works like this:

Baptism is of no value to the non-believer, of no value to the man of lawlessness nor the man of religion who lives without faith. It is of value only to the faithful and only to the obedient.

But dialectically speaking, we know the act itself cannot justify the participant and yet the participant finds justification in the act. Likewise, those who seek to be justified by means of the act find themselves unjustified. And conversely, those who seek justification apart from act (that is, obedience) find themselves lacking. If mere baptism were able to justify the world then the whole world could be saved. Alas, faith is prerequisite.

There are other tensions:

Our acts of obedience are not our confidence before God but we would agree that a disobedient man cannot stand before the Lord.

Sometimes I think that in our various theologies we find our hands tied. It shouldn't be this way - is this not the true meaning of "for freedom He has set us free?" Are we required by Paul to call the unbaptized believers "Christians" (for justification's sake) or are we bound by Peter to call only the baptized disciples "Christians" - so that those who have not been immersed are seen to be in grave danger?

Can we say that justification, sanctification and salvation are all inseparably linked and then separate them categorically from each other and from faith and obedience?

We must be careful and wise to speak the whole counsel of Scripture (or even the "whole council" - we are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses) in regards to faith, obedience, justification, sanctification, Spirit and salvation. And I know that is our intent. And though I know baptism cannot justify, nor faith, nor obedience, I also know that I am justified through faith. If I can be justified through something that is my own and yet a gift, I can certainly be justified through participation in something that is not my own but rather a work rooted in eternity - a work prepared beforehand for me to walk in.

The baptism dialectic (I don't know what else to call it) exists for two purposes: to demonstrate the Grace of God and to push men to obedience in baptism. If our theology does not encourage, even demand baptism then it has resolved or removed the godly tension - to the detriment of obedience. If our theology demands baptism, as the Judaizers demanded circumcision (Galatians 5), then the dialectic has been removed and the grace of God forgotten.

I invite anyone to help me express this more clearly.

*From Cost of Discipleship, Dietrich Bonhoeffer

**This is partly in response to what jmt wrote yesterday and partly in response to sk and partly in response to the ramblings and preamblings of c.lewis and because, somehow, I agree with everyone.

Connect Four

I'm not much "feeling it" on the Theology front, so I thought I would brag a little on my chicas. For Christmas, I bought the girls a Chinese version of Connect Four (called appropriately "Four in a Row"). It sat idle for a month a two as Barbie's new boyfriend, the Prince from Beauty and the Beast took playtime precedence.

However, in the last few weeks, Connect Four has been the game of choice. As soon as I walk in the house from work, its "Daddy! Daddy! Do you want to play Four in a Row?" Whenever a guest comes over, the kids bombard them with requests to play. As soon as the unknowing soul gives in to a game or two, the girls quickly ask, "Best out of 5, ok?"

The thing is, they win. Just the other day, I dropped 3 games in a row to Jalen. The average person will sit down on the carpet and play them like children. If you play them like they're just kids...you are going to lose. What's really funny is when the adults begin to play serious...and still lose. "One more game", they say. Finally after a few tries they get their victory. But Jalen and Azeria understand the concept of "majority" all too well. They know who's won the most at any given period and they are not afraid to let you know.

I still manage to win the "majority" of the games...let's say...4 out of 7. But when I dance around after a victory and point at them and ask, "Who's your Daddy?" they roll their eyes and say, "But Daddy, we're only kids. You are supposed to win."

Smart alecs.

Campbell's Soup

I had read somewhere that Alexander Campbell was actually a heretic. Marq posted this excerpt from some of his writings. Campbell actually went so far as to say that there are Christians in other denominations...and some other heretical statements that I tend to agree with.

Life Together

Maybe I am just emotional these days. In truth, I wish I was more so. Like everyone, I long for deep, lasting fellowship. I am not satisfied with the status quo, the endlessly mundane, the isolation and the apathy that fills what I call "fellowship." I want more. At times, I find myself bitter at my situation, finding fault, pointing fingers and self-absorbing. With heavy sighs, I consider the diaspora of my good brothers - each in his own State or in another country. We have been scattered.

However, among that scattered there is a true and incessant longing for that righteous fellowship that is found in the arms of loving brothers. I recently picked up and read "Life Together." As your faith allows, please pull this book from your shelves and re-read the "Community" section. Its simply beautiful- the "grace of God in the visible community."

Herman's New Tick

The other day, I was studying Matthew 12: 1-8

12:1 At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry, and they began to pluck heads of grain and to eat. 2 But when the Pharisees saw it, they said to him, “Look, your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath.” 3 He said to them, “Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, and those who were with him: 4 how he entered the house of God and ate the bread of the Presence, which it was not lawful for him to eat nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests? 5 Or have you not read in the Law how on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath and are guiltless? 6 I tell you, something greater than the temple is here. 7 And if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless. 8 For the Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.”

I ventured this question to those who were studying with me: "How did Jesus know that David did not sin through the eating of the Bread of the Presence?"

If you read the account of David's eating in 1 Samuel 21, there is no mention of sin or sinlessness on his part. Certainly some of his other involvements might be suspect at this point but not the eating. To further confuse the issue, Jesus admits that "it was not lawful for him to eat, nor for those with him but only for the priests."

From the context, we would gather that Jesus' antagonists were unable to offer rebuttal to Jesus' interpretation of the 1 Samuel event. Of course, as Jesus freaks, we would also conclude that Jesus was indeed correct in his interpretation.
So the question remains, "How does Jesus know that David did not sin in doing what was 'unlawful'?"

The only thing I can gather is that Jesus saw David's need as surpassing in priority the requirements of the Law or that since the historian did not explicitly condemn David, that He also saw David as innocent in this matter.

And on top of this, Jesus takes his interpretation of an otherwise obscure passage and applies it to his disciples.

What kind of "hermeneutic" is Jesus using? One where the intention of the Law subordinates the Letter of the Law?

The Gent Church

I am back East so I am far removed from all this conversation on the Emergent Church. There is no such thing in my neck o' the woods. Its just plain ol' church - "basement style," as my friend Matt calls it.

Insofar as the Emergent Church assumes its qualities and characteristics from the very definition* of the word "emergent", we would garner that the Emergent Church is something that has arisen quite unexpectedly and calls for prompt action. It has emerged or risen up out of its surroundings and is certainly newly formed and prominent. In this case, "surroundings" should probably be considered Tradition and not Culture.

I thought (and I am not alone), why not have a Convergent Church as well as an Emerging one? "Converging" might be that appropriate step towards unity with a distinct movement toward one particular point. A Convergent Church could be that godly Ecumenism with a Spirit-led convergence and congruency in form, function and development.

With all this Emerging and Converging, we are bound to spring forth with a Resurgent Church - rising again into Life, activity and prominence.

Of course, as the Evangelical community begins to re-emphasize Baptism we might be called the Submergent Church.

Or with all of our aspirations to clean up society and the world through Morals and Ethics, we could be called the Detergent Church.

But in this day and age, I am looking for an Insurgent Church. Not a revolt against authority and government per se, but against the Prince of the Air, against God-less culture, against wickedness, injustice and impurity; a revolt against the status quo, pew-packing and stagnation. Insurgent!

In this case, we would be neither Emergent or Convergent but rather a Divergent Church - with a distinct movement away from the Ways of the World and growing different in both form and practice.

Alas, we are not overly Insurgent nor Divergent. And... gone are the days when we were the Urgent Church - calling people to Christ and immediate action and loudly proclaiming that "Today is the day of repentance!"

So my contribution to the Gent Church conversation will be this: whether we be Urgent, Submergent, Resurgent, Detergent, Divergent, Convergent or Emergent, let us at least be Church.

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* All definitions taken from Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary.

Save Us From Our Sins

Bible Class Teacher: Why did Jesus die on the cross, class?
Kids: To save us from our sins!
Bible Class Teacher: And what does that mean, class?
Kids: We don't know!

What do we mean when we say, "save us from our sins"?

If you ask this question in your respective fellowships, you might be surprised to hear the answers. I wonder if some believers even really want to theologically "unpack" salvation from sin. Afterall, when you take the wrapper off the box, you find a few dirty things inside - like a God of Justice with bloody hands and that ugly talk of the sin nature and being born under condemnation.

On one hand when we say "save us from our sins," we are admitting that our "sins have made a separation between us and God" and our "transgressions have hidden His face." So salvation is, to some, a removal of the sin barrier that separates us from God. But the reality is, sin has not been the power separating us from a loving God. It has always been the long arm of a loving and holy God that has made the separation. Even from the Garden, after Adam and his Honey ate the Bad Fruit, they were not magically transported from the Garden. (Bite! Blip! Hey! Where are we?) Rather, God came and investigated. After which He removed them from the Garden. It has always been Jehovah who has maintained the separation between God and man. He said, "let us force them from the Garden that they may not eat from the Tree of Life." It was His angels who guarded the way to the Tree.

This is not in contradiction to what Isaiah said, because what the Prophet meant was that sin is the reason for our separation - not the separating power. Even Peter said, "God has the power to hold the unrighteous for judgment." This is an important point, because the Legalist falsely assumes that a ceasing of sin will remove the "sin barrier." Little do we know, sin is not the barrier. God is. A little obedience will not remove the sin. We must turn to God. As David says in Psalms 51, "For You do not delight in sacrifice, otherwise I would give it."

So what do we mean when we say, "save us from our sins"?

For those under the Gospel it must mean a salvation from judgment. Jesus Christ died on the cross not really "for sins" but for God's people. He died to become an atonement for believers and a propitiation of the wrath of God. "For our sins" means that God judges sinners. It means that the unrighteous man is held in judgment by a holy and just God. "Save us from our sins" means that without the grace of Christ, we would be held accountable for every perversity before God. This is why Jesus died, because those under sin cannot be with God. They cannot eat of the Eternal Life-giving Fruit. "Save us from our sins" means salvation from God Himself.

That is a fearful proposition.

So what do we mean when we say, "save us from our sins"?

Some may ask, "What exactly has sin done to warrant us being saved from it?"

Sin is a nasty business. It has entered into the race from the starting gates. David said, "in sin my mother conceived me. In iniquity, I came forth." From the beginning of a man's life to the end, sins wraps its tentacles around us and entraps and smothers and ruins. It is impossible to root out. It certainly can't be pruned back. So when we say, "save us from our sins" are we admitting that our sin has corrupted us? Our nature is beyond the hope of a self-salvation? We are powerless?

For those under the Gospel, "save us from our sins" must mean that we need salvation from our sin. We are unrighteous. In our very natures, we do not want God nor his Righteousness. We are enemies of the Cross. Within ourselves we have no ability to be made righteous. Within our own sinful natures, there is no ability to turn to the Lord, call on His name and follow Jesus apart from the Gospel of Christ and the work of the Holy Spirit. "Save us from our sins" means both "we can't," and "we won't." It means God must rescue us in His grace. "Save us from our sins" means God is the Savior and we cannot rescue ourselves. When we say "save us from our sins", there is not the hint of legalism, because we know that no repentance, confession, faith or obedience comes without the help and grace of God. "Save us from our sins" means that we are eternally, utterly and unalterably dependent on God.

And that too is a fearful proposition.

Let's make sure our children grow up knowing that Jesus died on the cross to save us from our sins. But let's make sure that there is no mistaking what that means.

End of An Era

Yesterday evening a man came to my house to say goodbye. He brought with him a new young co-worker in the faith, some flowers for Lisa and some books for me. After 12 years of kingdom work in China, he was returning to Korea. His wife had already preceded him. He was packing up the rest of his possessions and saying goodbye to the believers.

Unfortunately, this is a time of travel in China - the Chinese New Year. Virtually everyone returns to their hometowns and to family during this season. Shanghai is a ghost town. So as Mr. Lee was saying his goodbyes, there was no one thank him, no one to see him off at the airport and no one to pray and wish God's blessing on his coming days. So he came to our house last night (we just learned he was leaving) in hopes of a good meal and some prayer.

He sat in our living room and he talked not of all his success but of his failures. His heart was broken. He spoke of his failed vision for China, his failed relationships, his loneliness through the years and the struggle that he has had with the authorities and government. He spoke of his disagreements with other workers and how his heart hurt when man after man refused his counsel - to their detriment.

After 12 years, Mr. Lee is returning to Seoul. He has no home, no car, no furniture. And while he is returning to serve in another capacity in Korea, he returns with nothing. And despite the hardships, the failures and the loneliness in China, he broke down and cried last night and he said, "I don't want to leave. I love China."

I only met with Mr. Lee a few times a year but last night will leave a lasting impression on me. Here was an older Asian man brought to tears through God's humbling hand and his own heart-felt love for China.

Here's to Mr. Lee: a good man, a good teacher and last of all...a lover of people.

More Thoughts on Nehemiah 13

Arcanum

It was in Huntemann's book that I first heard the word, "arcanum." Arcanum is "the secret place." It is that place where the uninitiated are not allowed and in some cases, are even ignorant of its existence. For the church, the arcanum is that place where the world is not welcome. It is a private place where devotion to the apostles' teaching and bread-breaking and prayer take place free from the World's scrutiny. Quiet. Peaceful. Secret. Holy. Arcanum.

In today's world the worship center has "Visitors Welcome" posted above the door and the concept of the arcanum is foreign to us. There are few "secret" places. There are few arenas or realms in church life where the visitor is not welcome. Most are public, open and certainly "an opportunity for evangelism."

As Nehemiah begins his reforms, the first priority was "ethnic cleansing." This cleansing was not just the removal of different races and nations, but separation from cultures and religions and ideologies. Nehemiah was removing external influence and distraction. He was creating an environment for confession and repentance and support and devotion and prayer and unhindered reflection on the Law. The arcanum was a place where trust was established and maintained. Where confession was promoted, expected and done. But it didn't happen while the world looked on with knitted brows and crossed arms. Nehemiah separated himself from the world. Even if only for a day or two.

The expectation of confession can hardly be maintained on "Bring a Friend Sunday." And the implications of tough apostolic teaching need to be worked through sometimes just with friends and brothers. Intimacy is best in private. So is confrontation. And from my point of view...so is repentance.*

Marriage

Wanna let your daughter mess around with a worldly Beau? Or your son date a slut? I have a while before this test comes to my house, but after reading Nehemiah, if my son wanted to get busy with Suzy Q Whore, I might just have to take him down and grab a handful of hair and make him swear an oath. If that doesn't work, maybe the girl will leave him since he'd have those numerous bald spots.

Promoting Purity

Its hard to keep the Sabbath, when you have salesmen right outside the gate. "Fish! Bread! Vegetables! Fruit! 25% off....Today!" Nehemiah did what was needed: he removed temptation. We learn from Joseph and Jesus and Nehemiah and others that sometimes purity takes place only when the temptation is removed. Sometimes we face the temptation and other times we pray "lead us not into temptation" - meaning "I don't want to face temptation." It is right and good to remove things, situations, people - any sources of temptation - if that is what is necessary for purity. So Nehemiah did not just call people to repentance, but he did everything in his power to make repentance possible.

Boasting

More than once, Nehemiah prayed and said, "God, remember me and this good thing I did." Part of me cringes at the very idea of saying to the Creator, "Hey! Look at what I did and remember it" but Nehemiah felt comfortable. Who knows whether we'll be rewarded for each good thing we do but...I suspect so. At any rate, it is impossible to conceive of Nehemiah believing that his good things outweighed his bad or that he saw them as part and parcel to his justification before God. But maybe he just set his heart to one thing: not boasting.

When we do something good for another person or maybe we even accomplish the amazing, our first fleshly tendency is to report it to the first person who will listen. So maybe Nehemiah thought, "If I am going to keep from boasting before men, then maybe I need to point out my good things to God."

To keep from complaining before men, I'll make my needs known to God.
To keep from boasting before men, I'll make my deeds known to God.

Just some thoughts.

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* I believe repentance is a public posture. Repentance only done while in private might not even be repentance. However, many of the events leading to repentance and the commitment and initialization of repentance need not be the world's business. In fact, it is none of their business.

By Any Means Necessary

Warning: This post contains the word "ass"... used improperly.

One of the most exciting pictures of Jesus is that table-turning day in the Temple. His best friend later described the scene by quoting Scripture, "Zeal for Your House has consumed Me." Hollywood has never done justice to Jesus. It has never captured his eyes, his smile, his despair, his passion or his zeal. No movie could ever top our imaginations and our imaginations can hardly imagine a man walking into a crowded Temple market and doing what Jesus did...by himself.

But Nehemiah was this kind of @$$-kicker. Chapter 13 is worth reading by itself.

By Any Means Necessary.

This phrase was popularized by Malcolm X in the 1960's. Pre-Mecca Malcolm, that is. * However, if you've ever read Nehemiah, you know that he was the original Nehemiah X.

Nehemiah had returned to Susa to his cup-bearer position before the king but he asked for a little more leave to check on his hometown of Jerusalem. When he returned, he found the temple service abandoned, one of his arch enemies living in the prime real estate of the temple storage unit, the people of God intermingling with the other nations, marrying and giving in marriage and profaning the Sabbath.

So here is what he did.

If you weren't a Jew, you got the cold shoulder or you got booted. Kicked out of the city. I don't think the people took this lightly, nonetheless Nehemiah forced them out.

He was extremely angry to discover that Tobiah was living in the Temple storage area. He threw all of Tobiah's furniture out of the chamber and onto the lawn. Undoubtedly, if Tobiah had returned to complain, Nehemiah would have whooped his @$$.

Nehemiah then made the people of God honor the Sabbath by stopping work and stopping the shopping. Furthermore, as the foreigners lined up outside the gate to sell things on the Sabbath, he told them in no uncertain terms, "Get away from this gate on Saturday or I am going to kick your @$$."

Nehemiah then gathered together the Jewish men who had foreign wives and children and he "contended" with them and he cursed them. When repentance wasn't forthcoming, he beat their @$$es and pulled out their hair and made them take an oath not to give their families away to foreigners or take foreigners into their families.

Finally, as the son of the high priest was married to another of Nehemiah's arch enemies, Nehemiah chased him out of the city.

Zeal for His House consumed him.

By any means necessary.

This is what Jesus meant when he said, "Pluck out your right eye" and "cut off your right hand." This was his message in the Temple. This was God's message in Numbers 16 and Paul's in 1 Corinthians 5 and 6.

"Be saved from this perverse generation," Peter said.

Purity and sanctification and devotion to God is serious business in our lives, our families and our churches.

I forget that sometimes.

I was reminded by Nehemiah....by any means necessary.

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*I recommend for history buffs the Spike Lee biographical film of Malcolm X, starring Denzel Washington.

A World Under Water

I read an interesting little book last month and I was reminded of a couple of things worth mentioning. This is a summary of an article entitled "A World Under Water."

In the days of Noah, the world (κοσμος) came under judgment through its wickedness. From morning to night, every thought was only to do evil. Destruction was the righteous decree from heaven.


As the story goes, Noah spent some 100 years or more crafting his now-famous Ark. The rains eventually came, the floods rose and yet the Eight and their cargo remained safe in the buoyant vessel. The wicked world outside of the boat perished.

As the water rose to cover even the highest of mountains, the waterline demonstrated a certain reality: The world below the water was destroyed, annihilated; the world above was saved – “brought safely through the water.”

And this is the Apostle’s view of “salvation.” Salvation to him is not just “rescue from sins” or “escaping hell to receive heaven” but it is a very real movement from one world to another, from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of Light. It is a salvation (movement) out of a condemned world.

Notice Peter’s language in Acts 2. “Be saved from this perverse generation!” Everything about this generation, this world, this culture, this earth will be consumed. It is all condemned. It is all under judgment. It is all under divine wrath. “Be saved!” he cried out “from this world.” His meaning is that salvation consists in the transfer into the other “world.”

In 1 Peter 3, as Peter recounts the story of Noah’s salvation, we see Noah brought safely “through the water” – lifted from the κοσμος of condemnation to float in the world of God’s renewal and grace. And now baptism corresponds to this. “Baptism now saves you,” Peter says. * In the water, the old world is washed away, destroyed and annihilated. Sins are washed away and consciences are cleaned. The believer is brought safely through the water to life in the kingdom of God. A salvation has happened – that is, a movement from the condemned κοσμος to the position of God’s mercy. Above the water.

Jesus said it. John said it. “Love not the κοσμος – the world. Everything about the world will be washed away in fire and judgment. This world with its power, technology, beauty, culture, intelligence, sensuality and art will all be consumed. The physical earth in its beauty will be consumed (and made new.**) Nothing of this world will remain or stand before God.

As a result, we must never let our affection rest on that which is doomed to melt. We must put our love and desire into that which will remain: The Triune God and His chosen people. God has effected our salvation, so we should never desire the things drifting below the waterline.

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* There is much to be said about baptism's relationship to salvation, justification and regeneration that I won't say here. I did say it here.

** I have read a bit about the "New Heavens and the New Earth" but I ain't settled on it.

A Mature Church

"Hand me a brick," the Mason said to the Apprentice. The young man reached over to the diminished pile and palmed the nearest brick. With a sigh, he handed the last piece of the puzzle to the Mason. The Mason balanced the brick beside his muddied trowel and hoisted a battered bucket of gray cement to the top of the retaining wall. With a smile, he applied the last of the cement to the last hole in which the last brick would be placed to complete the last wall of the garden. After the grooves were cleaned and the brick squared, the Mason looked down on his weary apprentice and said with the swelled-chest of satisfaction, "We did it."

"Yes, you did" replied the Apprentice. "Yes you did."

But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ's gift. Therefore it says,

“When he ascended on high he led a host of captives,
and he gave gifts to men.”

(In saying, “He ascended,” what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower regions of the earth? He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.)

And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for works of service for building up the body of Christ until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

I have been the prideful, selfish Mason.

And I have been doing it all wrong.

Maybe I'll put more up later.

Peace to all brothers in the Year of our Lord 2007.