Month: October 2009

God and the Biblical Zombieland

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To paraphrase the serpent, “Did the Bible truly say that you are dead?”

I recently addressed a challenge issued by a Calvinist brother who wanted to establish his core arguments around the notion of humanity being unable to respond to God due to their deceased condition. Zombies, I thought, we’re all zombies walking around (though not feasting) until the moment we are brought back to life by the grace of God. Are we truly bodies without souls hungrily seeking to satisfy the emptiness but finding no relief? Is this the portrait of humanity that the Bible portrays?

The proof text was, as you probably already guessed, Ephesians 2:1:

As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins,

We might as well put up the parallel verse in Colossians (2:13) as well:

When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ.

Well, as long as we’re at it, we should include a verse from Romans (5:12) that provides a similar thought:

Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned–

Death in these verses is often, either by casual reading or theological filter, interpreted to mean that the soul has died as the body has died. By extension then, the unsaved are bodies walking around with dead souls. Souls that are unable to hear, recognize, or respond to God’s call to repentance and belief. Dead, dark souls. What we need to ask is whether or not spiritual death is the same as physical death in the language of the Bible.

Our answer, found in the pages of the Bible, is that there are three forms of death mentioned. In the scope of all of scripture, death includes a spiritual, physical, and eternal death. The Bible informs us that the common thread among all of them is separation:

  • Physical death is separation of the soul from the body.
  • Eternal death is permanent separation from God. (Rev 19:20, 20:10)
  • Spiritual death is holy separation from God (Isa 59:1-2)

Separation does not mean spiritual annihilation, contrary to a popular theological position. If it did then that destroyed, actually non-existent, soul would not be able to hear and respond to God. Yet,

  • The “dead” can still perceive the truth of God (Rom 1:20)
  • Adam and Eve were “dead” but still heard and responded to the voice of God (Gen 3:10)
  • The “dead” are able to believe (Col 2:12-13 n.b. We should always read verses in context)

Without the demonstration of annihilation and the destruction of the soul, the spiritual death must be seen as portrayed in the scriptures: a soul that is separated spiritually from God but that retains the ability to hear and respond. As demonstrated from the scriptures above, we must agree that the unregenerate soul is able to hear and respond positively to God. The image of God embedded in humankind was not erased by the Fall (Gen 9:6, James 3:9), rather, it has been marred and defaced, separating us from the Father. If it were otherwise (ie: the soul was destroyed/annihilated) then God would not be able to call on His people to believe (John 3:16-18, Acts 16:31;20:21).

Psalm 56 I May Walk In the Light of Life

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In God, whose word I praise, in the Lord, whose word I praise – in God I trust; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me? (vv 10-11)

Each passing day seems to chip away at our trust as we succumb to the temptation to rely upon ourselves rather than God. We trust him for the eternal protection of our soul but our personal safety seems to be regarded as our domain, not His. Think about David’s words at the end of verse 11; ‘What can man do to me?’ If you were to take just a few moments you could probably come up with quite a list of offenses that could be visited upon you.

Now, take that list and ask the same question of each offense. What difference will it make in eternity? Is my current safety and security going to affect my eternal life? Eternal life depends completely on the grace of God and your acceptance of His mercy. When our trust begins to shift back toward God we worry less about what man can do to us and we become bolder as Saints. There is much to learn from King David in this grouping of prayers. Meditate on them and be strengthened.

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Day Seven in the School of Prayer

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“If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” (Luke 11:13)

The Lord asks us to consider how small our prayers are. Are we limited in our thinking concerning what God will provide for us? Our prayers may be filled with the mundane and a focus on our day to day needs when our Father wants us to have so much more. To be filled with the Spirit satisfies so many of our needs and yet we fail to seek Him out. Not only will the presence of the Spirit change us as people, but He will also mature and expand our prayer life. It is through the guidance of the indwelling Spirit that we truly learn to pray the prayers of Heaven instead of dwelling in the smallness of the earth.

The Singletrack Diaries

Fall in the Rockies

Oak-ColorBicycle-Rider-ShadowIt was a fine Indian summer day for a ride, the kind of day that Colorado is known for. The leaves that hadn’t been killed by last week’s snow were still showing some color, even green in a few cases, and their brilliance was accentuated by the deep azure of the cloudless sky. The trails were dry and beckoning and the tunes were cranked. Usually, the music gives way to my thoughts and the thrill of the ride but this day, I thought I would track the soundtrack as the miles passed under my tires. I noted that my first climb was accompanied by Logue and the Banshee’s “Johnny Jump Up”, a rousing Irish number that demanded a sing-along.

Well, what climbs up must come down and I did…hard! My brief miscalculation and crash had the sounds of Sunny Sweeney singing “East Texas Pines” ringing in my ears on the way to the ground. A little dusting off, a draw to clean the dirt out of my Camelbak hose, and a quick bunny hop over some downed limbs and it was back to snaking-through-the-woods time followed by yet another climb. The perfect hammering song in “Lights Out”, the UFO classic done by Pat Travers Climb-Out-of-Basincranked up as I cranked the pedals and rode up and out of the river basin.Bunny-Hop ‘Lights out, lights out in London…’

A little Marley is just the thing to catch your breath and the mellow sounds of “Satisfy My Soul” fit perfectly with the sunshine and gentle ups and downs that preceded the third climb. While another mellow tune might have fit blasting across the meadow a little better, I can never turn down Anti Flag singing “The Bright Lights of America”. It probably cut my time by half! Discuss amongst yourselves: how random is the random play mechanism in your MP3 player?

One more climb and then turn for home. The last climb was a workout to the one-two punch (should I even admit this?) of Bon Jovi and Simple Plan. Jon contributed “You Give Love a Bad Name” and the Cannucks roared back with “You Don’t Mean Anything”.

Around-the-BendThe last couple of miles back home are pretty mellow and always a good time just to listen to the tunes and turn the pedals. Bob was back as I made the turn for home and I imagine a few saw me sing Mealong with “I Shot the Sheriff”. As I hit the lake, Me First and the Gimme Gimmes pumped up the pace with their version of “Hava Nagila”. Why don’t people keep their dogs on a leash? Finally, back on the streets toward the house the fantastic closing song of Casting Crown’s Lifesong album came on for a perfect ending to a great fall ride. Come along next time?

Psalm 55 As for Me, I Trust in You

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Confuse the wicked, O Lord, confound their speech, for I see violence and strife in the city.

Day and night they prowl about on its walls; malice and abuse are within it.

Destructive forces are at work in the city; threats and lies never leave its streets. (vv 9-11)

David again pleads to the Lord for deliverance from an enemy that seeks to destroy him. So persistent is this foe that even the king would entertain desires to flee from the situation rather than facing it head on. This strikes the reader on the oblique; here is King David, a man deeply vested in the will of God and secure in His protection and yet he toys with the idea of running away.

I said, “Oh, that I had the wings of a dove! I would fly away and be at rest –I would flee far away and stay in the desert; I would hurry to my place of shelter, far from the tempest and the storm.” (vv 6-8)

What attacker could generate such a willingness to retreat in the mighty king? It is the intimacy of his attacker that sets this foe apart. David envisions a city in chaos, a place in which no peace can be found. A similar sentiment was voice by the prophets Jeremiah (Jer 9:2-9) and Micah (Mic 7:1-6) of being surrounded by sin (cf. Micah – the people are able to sin with both hands) without relief. Worse yet, the enemy in view is one who is close to David, a friend once perhaps. This closeness makes the attack personal and therefore the cuts are deeper.

If an enemy were insulting me, I could endure it; if a foe were raising himself against me, I could hide from him.

But it is you, a man like myself, my companion, my close friend, with whom I once  enjoyed sweet fellowship as we walked with the throng at the house of God. (vv 12-14)

We know these struggles well. Our environment is threatening at every turn. Our friends turn against us when we least expect it. We ponder why; why has God placed us in these situations? Perhaps it is to strengthen our trust. We are allowed to momentarily fantasize about running away from the problems, to avoid them altogether but, only for a moment. Those who trust in Him, trust in Him all the time and in all things, good and bad. Ultimately, our travails play a role in our Father’s ultimate glory. For this, we are grateful participants.

Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall. (v 22)

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The Multi-Faceted View of Atonement

We have looked at three of the major views that Christians have adopted to understand atonement, Christus Victor, Healing, and Penal Substitution. At one time or another during the history of the Church, each of these theories has held the majority position among theologians. The Penal Substitution view is the dominant view now, among the American churches at least.image It’s important to recognize the historical shifts in acceptance of the various theories and to question why one would lose favor to another in the minds of Christian thinkers and teachers. Does the Bible change over time? Has the Holy Ghost made contradictory revelations at different moments in time that initiated the shift? What about all of the other atonement views that are subsumed within the larger categories?

Is it possible that the atonement brought about by the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ is much too expansive to be understood under the banner of a single, narrow category?

Atonement is Too Large for a Single Theory

Theologians who stand apart from the dominant views of atonement will answer this question by saying yes, there is no model or metaphor that is sufficient to explain the significance of of His sacrifice. The crucifixion and its result are tightly woven into God’s eternal purpose and as spirit-opened eyes continue to pore over the scriptures in the hours remaining until the end of this time, we may never run out of the countless ways of understanding its meaning for our salvation. It should not be alarming to find a number of images that lend themselves to understanding this momentous act. As centuries of eyes search out the truths of God’s word, each with a slightly different perspective on the greatest human need, it is inevitable that a number of categories would arise.

Single Views and the Bible

The New Testament authors generated a number of images in the Gospels and Epistles in order to help readers comprehend the monumental shift in God-Human relationship brought about by crucifixion of Jesus. If the primary rule of hermeneutics is applied—context,context, context—the modern reader places the writing in first century and recognizes the societal influences that are inherent in the texts. Five areas of public life dominate: the court of law (justification), the world of commerce (redemption), personal relationships (reconciliation), worship (sacrifice), and the battleground (triumph over evil).

This plethora of imagery could be differentiated by the loci of the individual authors, their use of language and metaphor and missiological interest. A more effective tool for seeing the wide span of atonement images is to survey the corpus of a single author to see if there is variety or consistency. With his dominant contributions, Paul and his works provides such a platform. The Apostle employs two main themes in discussing the significance of the atonement, the ‘giving up’ of Jesus for human salvation (cf. Rom 8:32, Gal 1:4) and ‘Christ died for our sins’ (cf. 1 Cor 15:3, 1 Thes 5:10). These themes emphasize the saving nature of Jesus’ death but they do so without linking it explicitly to a single methodological theory. With this point established, Paul then utilizes a variety of imagery applicable to particular concerns of his epistle audiences. Reading Paul exposes us to language about substitution, representation, sacrifice, justification, forgiveness, reconciliation, victory over the powers, and redemption.

Conclusion

Rather than being confined within a single theory, the atonement is better viewed as encompassing the fullness of God’s design for the world. The image which finds favor with a theologian will more often than not be a product of his definition of the greatest human need. If people are seen as in bondage to sin, they need liberation. If humanity is spiritually blind, the desperate need is for illumination. If lost, they need to be found. Taking a kaleidoscopic view of atonement provides the freedom necessary to locate all of these needs within a view of the crucifixion.

3 Reasons Christian Blogs Fail

Fail Christian blogs fail, not in attracting readers, but rather, to affect the world for the better. There is a vast difference between a theological blog and a blog whose author is incidentally a Christian. Nothing wrong with either position until one attempts to present themselves as the other. Here are three reasons that Christian blogs fail to connect with the uncountable readership of the interwebs.

 

1. Don’t Hold on to One Sided Arguments

There are many things that mainline Christians accept as settled fact. Google a handful of statements of faith, line them up next to one another and you will see what I mean. Outside of those things however, theology within the centuries old Christian faith ranges far and wide. Writers who fail to avail themselves of the depth and breadth of this theological history usually end up camping on one position without understanding why they are against the other positions that challenge their belief. Take Modalism for example. You read somewhere that it is wrong and your fellow theo-bloggers are not hesitant to throw the heresy flag when mentioning it but, do you know why they consider it a heresy? Simply saying something is wrong is not an argument. Before you go on the offensive or even just take a stand against a particular belief, educate yourself. Understand why the belief arose and why people believe(d) it. Study the proof texts offered in the context of the whole Bible, not just your theological framework. Be able to enter a discussion with something more than “because I said so.”

Oh, and Wikipedia is not to be considered a definitive source.

 

2. Don’t Be the Possessor of an Uninformed Theology

Discussing Christian theology and ecclesiology are immensely complex undertakings. It is an undertaking that requires study and meditation and no small amount of time seeking the guidance of the Holy Spirit before you can be effective in your presentation. When you find yourself simply regurgitating the work of others (who have put in the blood, sweat, and tears to arrive at their conclusions) you are doing little more than diminishing the possible impact your post might have. If each of your posts contains the reference “so and so” says “this or that” as the basis for your theological position, I may as well simply go directly to the original thinker’s/author’s website and read the words directly. Any authority that you hope to embed in your writing comes from the reader’s trust in your knowledge. If, when a comment challenges your theological position, you cannot demonstrate an understanding of the challenger’s position you will lose the trust of not only that reader, but others who survey the whole conversation from a distance.

Oh, and John Piper, John Wesley, and James White are not always right.

 

3. Don’t be Self Serving

If your entire reason for blogging to promote yourself, do it in a different format. We have all seen blogs that have a thin veneer of Christianity that peels away to find every post being an exposition of how wonderful/altruistic/sacrificial the blogger himself is. Readers will soon discover that the faith is simply a jacket worn to give the blogger a reason to talk about themselves. Ask yourself how this affects the kingdom. Is it glorified or expanded or masked and diminished by the monumental ego that attempts to supersede it? This is not to say that personal entries, off topic asides, and the pride of sharing some accomplishment are out of place. Each is a part of the life we lead while still a part of this world. The ratio that the reader sees between personal and thematic posts will put on full display what is most important in the eyes of the blogger.

 

There are probably many more topics that could make this list but these are my top three. Then again, I could be wrong.

Psalm 54 He Has Delivered Me

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Strangers are attacking me; ruthless men seek my life – men without regard for God. (v3)

To varying degrees, every Christian can identify with the sentiment behind that verse. We have been attacked, persecuted, teased, goaded, etc. in countless ways by people who do not know God and even by those who do. We wonder why He allows this. Have we done something to deserve it? Are we being punished in some way?

Perhaps we forget the words of the Lord in John 16:33: “In this world you will have have trouble.” It doesn’t console us much but we are better off when we memorize the entire verse which reads;

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

One thought we should always consider with regard to our current troubles is the way in which they fit into the larger plan of the kingdom. We may never see or know (in this life) this effect that our troubles have within God’s larger plan. It may be that our struggles and the way in which we face them will move another to seek the Lord or, even longer term, may set up bigger things that we will never see. Contrary to the worldly demand to know everything, we must simply trust in God and His Kingdom plan.

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