Christianity

Jesus vs Religion – Knowing God

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StainedGlassJesus2Yesterday we pondered the replacement of love with false reverence.  Now for another test to know when “the religious” is at work in the church (launching from some thoughts of John Eldredge in Beautiful Outlaw):

2. Knowing about God substitutes for knowing God.

“Therefore, teaching is exalted.  Church feels like a seminar—could be intellectual, could be motivational.  Good content is what matters.  Doctrine is fiercely defended.  Members can explain to you theories of the atonement, or seven steps to success, but can’t name one intimate encounter they’ve had with Jesus.” (172)

This is a very real danger for us preachers.  Especially those of us who have had the privilege of attending formal theological training in some form.  One of two things tends to happen in Bible school, and both are problematic.  Either we have a great time of personal growth as we delight in the studies and learning environment—which results in us viewing church as an opportunity to recreate that academic environment.  Or we have our faith numbed as we grow sophisticated in our understanding of what true Christianity supposedly is—which also results in us viewing church as an opportunity to recreate that academic environment.

Church is not seminary-lite with courses running one lecture a week over several weeks.  Church is a different animal.  There should be an educational component, but it should be so much more than that.  (Part of the problem may be that Bible college and seminary should be so much more than that too, but over time the ideals of the founders of Bible Institutes and Colleges tend to dull toward secular respectability, intellectual sophistication and spiritual deadness . . . perhaps a subject for another day.)

Let’s be very careful that our own study and personal walk with Christ is genuinely intimate rather than allowing it to reduce to academic study alone.  Then let’s make sure our preaching pursues life transformation and personal introduction, rather than settling for information transfer and cultural reinforcement.

3. Power displays are confused for intimacy with Jesus.

Some churches celebrate the miraculous and delight that God is at work in their midst.  But chasing the next miracle is not the same thing as chasing Jesus.  In Eldredge’s words, “I can give someone a thousand dollars and it doesn’t make them my friend.  They can keep coming back to me for more, and it doesn’t make them my friend.” (173)

Even if we have great stories to tell of God’s coming through in our lives and experience, let us not short change our listeners by failing to invite them into the reality of relationship with God Himself.  A Christianity that offers only the benefits of Christ without the person of Christ might be no Christianity at all.

Jesus vs Religion – Loving God

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StainedGlassJesus2In his book, Beautiful Outlaw, John Eldredge lists ten tests to know when “the religious” is operating.  This week I am walking through them for us to ponder as preachers, and in respect to our preaching.  Please see the first post for a caveat regarding concerns with his books.

1. False reverence replaces loving Jesus.

 “In fact, loving Jesus is considered optional.  I know, it seems to hard to believe.  But it’s really quite common.  You don’t meet a lot of people, frankly, who are given over to loving Jesus.  But they live a clean life, attend church faithfully, and are considered to be ‘good Christians.’” (172)

Is it possible to be a Christian, but to have the “being in love with God” part be an optional extra – extra credit, if you like?  I am afraid this is all too common.  Jesus could not have been more clear about the greatest commandment.  I think John’s gospel also hints a little about the issue of loving God.  But we have come to the place where people define being a Christian based primarily on praying a prayer, making a commitment, and assenting to a basic creed.

I am glad he put this one first.  It is truly fundamental.  If you don’t love Jesus, something is profoundly broken.  Paul said so in 1Corinthians 16:22 if anyone does not love Christ, he is accursed.  Let’s stop accepting alternative measures of true faith to avoid the central one.

Loving Jesus is not an option for you as a preacher, and it is not an option for those who go by the label Christian.  If you don’t love Jesus, don’t preach.  If you do love Jesus, then when you preach don’t just prompt a pretense of love by adding certain terminology to the creedal commitments of the church.  We don’t need churches full of people who adopt an alteration of their “vocabularius receptus.”  We need to help our churches be full of people who are transformed from external religious practice to real love for a Christ they discover to be so captivating and a God whose love is so transformative.

Jesus vs Religion – Introduction

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StainedGlassJesus2Over the years I have generally enjoyed John Eldredge’s books.  Never completely, but always a lot.  Never completely because there tends to be some things in each one that I wish he would state differently.   Theologically I am not on the same page, and I know that he is strongly critiqued by some.  Since this blog isn’t intended to be a place of critique, I won’t go into any detail here, but will offer some interaction with this caveat in place.

The latest one I have read is Beautiful Outlaw.  This is a book about Jesus subtitled, Experiencing the Playful, Disruptive, Extravagant Personality of Jesus.

Eldredge’s portrait of Jesus will most certainly help the reader to enjoy Jesus, perhaps for the first time.  I am saddened by the thought that some of us claim to have known Jesus for years, but hesitate if we are asked if we like him.  We can determine whether we like a person within minutes of meeting them, but apparently we can know Jesus for years and not instinctively know whether we like him?

The majority of the book is given to personality traits of Jesus and is written positively.  But nearer the end of the book Eldredge sets his sights on religion as the great blanket that deadens our delight in our Lord.  He states:

By the way, this is the bottom line test of anything claiming to be of Jesus: Does it bring life?  If it doesn’t, drop it like a rattlesnake.  And you will find that the religious never, ever brings life.  Ever.  That is its greatest exposure. (209)

He points out that Christianity and Christian culture are by no means the same thing.  We need to hear this.  He points to the development of personal preferences that are then defined as the only right way to do church and to know Jesus.  He points out that a lot of Christian culture can get pretty weird, including a language and affected pronunciation that goes with it.  But “loving the culture of the church is not anywhere close to the same thing as loving Jesus.” (170)  We can’t forget that the Pharisees loved their religious culture, but hated Jesus.

This isn’t just a quaint quirkiness in churchianity.  Eldredge  suggests that religiousness is a ploy of the enemy.  In his words, “a wing nut talking about Jesus does far more damage than fifty atheists.” (171)  So true.  I’ve met a few.

He goes on to list the bad breath effect of those who claim some intimate connection to Jesus, but whose lives are so unappealing: “’Gifted Preachers’ who are mean to their children.  ‘Anointed Prophets’ who cannot sustain ordinary friendship.  ‘Servants of the Lord’ who need to be the center of attention.” (171)

Since people loved to be with Jesus, but are often repelled by the culture we’ve created around his name, I think it is worth prayerfully probing this subject over the next few days.

I’d like to take Eldredge’s ten tests of religiosity and walk through them for the rest of this week.  How are we doing, as preachers?  That is, as those often so visible to both believers and visitors.  And what is our preaching doing?  Are we pushing people toward Christian culture, or inviting them to know and enjoy a compelling Christ?

Ground-Zero Preaching (Easter in the Pulpit) 2

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NailsFour gospels do not automatically mean four accounts of everything.  In fact, most of the ministry of Jesus is told in less than four gospels (except for the feeding of the 5000).  But once you get into passion week, then you have four gospels giving their all to get the story across.  This is both a goldmine and a potential distraction for preachers.

After all, we can piece together so many details of that first Easter.  At the same time, we can easily lose the theological emphasis of whichever gospel we are wanting to preach.

It is good to check all the gospels for accuracy.  You don’t want to preach from John and make an error according to Matthew or Mark.  The passion narratives do harmonize, but it is not always immediately easy to see how.  So be sure to check and be fresh on the historical harmonization, but . . .

Preach the passage, not the historical harmonization.  I am preaching from John this year.  I want to make sure that the listeners hear what John intended to communicate.  The gospels are not a transcribed video script, they are carefully crafted presentations of the history artistically woven to achieve something specific in the hearer.  Our task as preachers is not just to tell the history, but to trust that the Gospel writer knew what he was doing (since the capital “A” Author was fully at work in each of the Gospels), and to preach accordingly.

It is a privilege to have the Bible in our language and to be able to preach one of the accounts.  Even if you rotate through the Gospels each Easter, it will be four years until you come back to this year’s Gospel.  Be sure folks get to hear it this time around!

 

Ground-Zero Preaching (Easter in the Pulpit)

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Hammer

Easter is not like Christmas.  The latter tends to go unmentioned for most of the year, then people come out with expectations of hearing familiar content and carols.  Easter is the real ground zero of the Christian faith.  We tend to, or should, return to it week after week.  So what do we do when Easter comes around?

Some might try to get clever at Easter . . . excessive creativity, abundant gory description, shocking video clips, etc.

Remember that regular church attendees need to hear the basic Easter story.  Jesus left his disciples with a frequent reminder, an acted out parable that would help them remember Him: His body given, His blood shed.  So don’t think we have to get clever at Easter.  Those who know and love the Lord profoundly appreciate a carefully planned biblical presentation of the passion.  They will appreciate a Matthew shaped message, or one in the Mark mold, or Luke’s take, or John’s.  They probably won’t even notice a harmonized presentation from multiple gospels.  They appreciate Paul’s reflections, or those in Hebrews, or even a glimpse of the Lamb looking as though it had been slain from Revelation.  Pick a passage and preach it clearly.  No need to be clever.  Believers need to hear the ground zero Easter story.

Remember that visitors need to hear the basic Easter story too. Perhaps it is visitor season as families share holidays together.  They may be interested, or they may be being polite.  Whatever their motivation, what they need is clear and sim

ple.  They don’t need obfuscated “modern art” preaching or a creatively nuanced oblique side-reference to the gospel.  Pick a passage and preach it clearly.  Everyone needs to hear the Easter story.

I am not advocating being boring or predictable.  I am not critiquing creativity.  Let’s certainly seek to be as effective as we can be in our communication of Easter.  And let’s remember that effective can often mean simply preaching the basics: take people to ground zero and help them know the significance of what happened there.

Book Review: Pontius Pilate by Paul Maier

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PilateI am just re-reading a book I devoured a couple of years ago.  It is historical fiction, but don’t let that put you off.  This historically annotated piece of work is a brilliant read.  It presents a biographical insight into the life and career of Pontius Pilate–his background in Rome, his prefecture in Judea, his confrontations with the Jewish authorities, his history shaping encounter with Jesus of Nazareth.

I suppose this review is a little late for this year, but if you ever preach around Easter, then you must read this book.  It was originally published in the 1960’s, but the timeless content means it could have been written last week.  Paul Maier is a pre-eminent historian of the first century and this makes his reconstruction of character and event particularly insightful.

Why did Pontius Pilate feel so trapped?  He was two strikes down with the Jewish populous when Jesus was presented to him.  This man was clearly innocent, but Pilate could not afford another disaster.  He could not face another report to the Emperor about his failure to manage the pesky Jewish religious affairs.  His ring declared him a friend of Caesar, with all the rights that went with that.  But the Sanhedrin turned the Jesus trial into an ultimatum for Pilate.  Was he really a friend of Caesar, or were these Jewish leaders more concerned with peace in Judea than he was?

Even if it is too late for this Easter, Christianity is an Easter faith and so I would strongly encourage you to get a copy of Pontius Pilate.  Don’t read it to your children, but grab a drink, get comfortable and step back into the first century.  Any preacher will benefit from doing so.

Wide View Application 2

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WideViewLast time I suggested that too narrow a view of a passage can lead to burdensome and non-gospel application.  In narratives we need to make sure we are seeing God’s role and the humans as living in response to Him (both in faith and rebellious self-trust).  In epistles we need to read the imperatives in light of the doctrinal gospel sections that inevitably have preceded the commands and applications.

Last night I was at a prayer meeting where we sang “There’s a Wideness in God’s Mercy” . . . an old hymn with a few great verses:

There’s a wideness in God’s mercy like the wideness of the sea; there’s a kindness in His justice which is more than liberty.

For the love of God is broader than the measures of man’s mind; and the heart of the Eternal is most wonderfully kind.

But we make His love too narrow by false limits of our own; and we magnify His strictness with a zeal He will not own.

If our love were but more simple we should take Him at His word; and our lives would be illumined by the presence of our Lord.

So to avoid imposing a “strictness” God would not own, we must preach good news and not turn it into burdensome law.  Here are a few thoughts to keep stirring our thoughts:

1. In narratives like the gospels, observe the growth in faith among characters as the stories unfold.  The same is true in other narrative sections of the Bible.  We are not given much concerning most characters, but what we are given enables us to get a sense of their trajectory towards God in faith or away in rebellion.  Tracing that broader story can help to make sense of a particular pericope (individual story).

2. Be careful to identify the link between doctrine and application.  It is often more of a “this is what a life looks like that is gripped by that truth” rather than “so you must now do this!”  Is the application an implication?  Is it a natural outworking?  Is it an appropriate response?  These are all very different than a self-moved obligation.

3. Turning response into responsibility is to turn gospel into legalistic burden.  Many really struggle with this, but it is so important.  A captured heart that is stirred will flow out in far greater commitment, sacrifice, integrity, holiness, etc., than a person pressured to obey by the apparently self-moved determination of their own will.  If the heart is not stirred, then the motivation will still be about love, but a misplaced love that is a weaker motivator.  That is, if it isn’t love for Christ that stirs a person, then maybe they will obey commands out of love for self in respect to conformity to community expectations – a love-driven action, but not in response to the greatest love of all.

Wide View Application

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WideViewIf we are not careful we can easily misfire when it comes to applying Bible texts.  One cause of dangerous misfiring comes from too narrow a view of the text.  The result is application that functions as a legalistic burden – appealing to the flesh, but not consistent with the gospel.

In Narratives Look Up.  In Bible stories we can easily focus on the human characters and determine to copy or not copy them.  The moral of this story is . . . oops.  This is a recipe for burdensome preaching.  It is not a recipe for gospel preaching.  It is not really good news that the Bible is full of examples for us to copy or not copy in our own strength.  We need to always look up.  The characters are not just humans in action, they are humans living in response to God and His Word.  Their response is instructive, but we don’t live as their copycats, we live as people responding to God and His Word too.  In preaching narratives, be sure to use a wider view and include the divine dimension.

In Epistles Look Out.  In epistles we can easily focus on the commands and determine to obey them.  The lesson for today is . . . oops.  This is a recipe for burdensome preaching.  It is not a recipe for gospel preaching.  It is not really good news that the Bible is full of imperatives for us to harvest and apply in our own strength.  We need always to look out.  The imperatives and commands are not just stand alone instructions for holy living, they are imperatives and commands coming in the context of a whole letter that was written to be heard in one shot.  The recipients would have felt the force of the instruction in light of the gospel content.  Ephesians 4 is to applied in light of Ephesians 1-3, otherwise it becomes just another burden for our weary souls.  In preaching epistles, be sure to use a wider view and include the divine doctrinal dimension.

Three Possibilities Preaching Psalms

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OpenScroll16PsalmsAs I am reading through the Bible I am currently in the Psalms – what a great book!  Sadly, for some, Psalms seems to be preached only as filler material in the summer holidays.  There is so much potential for preaching in the book of Psalms.  Let me offer three possibilities opened up by preaching from this book:

1. You can introduce new treasure to people.  People tend to be familiar with some Psalms.  Probably 23.  Perhaps 24, 1, 110, 121, 127, 51, 8, 73, 37, 27.  But what about Psalm 36?  Or 33?  There is a whole host of Psalms that tend to get ignored in the annual audition for three filler sermons.  And don’t just stick to the filler sermon approach.  Why not preach Psalm 34 at the start of a series on 1Peter?  It certainly was in the mind of the apostle as he wrote his epistle.  Why not preach Psalm 118 in connection with Easter?  It might add a new set of thoughts to the Easter considerations since Jesus would very likely have sung that with his disciples at the last supper.

2. You can connect with a different group of people.  It may be a stereotype, but some have suggested that engineers enjoy epistles.  They like the truth statements, logical flow, direct discourse.  So if that is the case, who might appreciate the Psalms?  Artists?  Sure, and there are more of them than we tend to realise in every congregation.  How about the suffering?  Certainly.  Psalms connects with different people at different times in the complexities of each personal biography.

3. You can offer a more vulnerable sermon.  When David wrestles with spiritual realities, why not be more open that we do too?  Personal sin struggles, doubting God’s goodness, tendency to trust in ourselves, feelings of extreme fatigue, etc.  We don’t preach to preach ourselves, but we ourselves do preach.  The Psalms opens up the possibility of greater vulnerability from the preacher, and hopefully stirs vulnerability in the congregation.  The Psalm writers didn’t treat God as delicate or fragile, they blasted their prayers at Him.  Perhaps we can stir greater prayer in churches that tend to pray religiously, and Psalms would be a worthwhile workshop for that kind of goal.