Cretans Being Cretans, Not Christians

Paul presents a stark contrast between those who are fit to lead a church and those who are not. His instructions to Titus make it clear that Titus should be looking for men that have been sufficiently shaped by the Holy Spirit and the Word of God that they will be able to nurture the flock and defend the faith. The need was immediate for there were some moving among the churches who were still acting like Cretans, not Christians, and offering teaching that was gainful, not biblical. The result was that “whole families” were being troubled. Paul directs Titus to sharply rebuke these men that “they may be sound in the faith.” The circumstances on Crete demanded this strong response from the apostle. If the unbiblical cultural commitments in which these new converts had been nurtured continued to hold sway in their lives, they, and the church, would not prosper. Biblical authority and truth needed to be established (see Titus 1).

The challenge that the early church faced on Crete is the same challenge that the church has faced in every generation and location. How can people have their minds renewed and their lives ordered so that they think and act like human beings are created to think and act? As Paul’s counsel suggests, they must learn “sound doctrine” based upon the “trustworthy word” and allow it to become the definitive voice in their lives. 

Now, I doubt if many of the people reading this reject in principle the need for sound doctrine based upon the trustworthy word to be authoritative in the church. In practice, however, it can be a hard won battle. This is particularly so when the teachings of Scripture run contrary to the prevailing culture.  Believers are then forced to choose and if they are not yet sufficiently trusting of Scripture’s authority, the prevailing culture wins out. That appears to be what happened to those on Crete who were teaching “for shameful gain.” They were just doing what Cretans were known for, what everyone else thought was perfectly acceptable.

There’s a standing warning in this letter. It tells us to reexamine our thinking when what we allow as perfectly acceptable runs contrary to Scripture, no matter how much it is being embraced in the prevailing culture. Each generation will have its own challenges in this regard, but submitting to the truth of God is the wisest, the only, choice.

Grace for Then - Grace for Now

Some time back, a controversy arose in the evangelical church over what is called “lordship salvation.” In its simplest terms, the question is whether one can have Christ as Savior but not as Lord. That is, can one possess salvation for eternal life while exhibiting no discipleship in this life? The “lordship salvation” people say that if one has been redeemed by the grace of God, one should also expect that one will be renewed by the grace of God. Those who oppose, say that to measure whether or not people are saved by judging their progress in holiness is a form of legalism — if grace is free apart from works then we should not be judging that grace by works. Lordship people counter by saying that, indeed, grace is free, not a result of works, but the grace imparted for salvation is also imparted for sanctification, they cannot be separated.

I’m with the “lordship salvation” camp. What I find comforting in this doctrine is that the holiness expected of disciples throughout the New Testament does not rest in my will or determination to realize. It is grace that is “training [believers] to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age” (Titus 2:12). As John MacArthur observes, “It is unthinkable that God would sacrifice His Son to purchase heaven for sinners but leave them to fend for themselves against the power of sin in this life.” Grace is available, is at work, to make us into the kind of people Jesus came to save, “a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works” (Titus 2:14).

Does that mean that there is nothing for us to do regarding sanctification? Do we just persist in feeding on sin until grace comes along, grabs us by the scruff of the neck to drag us away from the trough? I don’t think that’s what Paul (nor the “lordship” camp) has in mind. Consider the description of the activity of grace in the letter: training. This is the Greek term used to describe the instruction of children. The purpose of training is to direct children to what is good and healthy for them. The hoped for result is that they will learn for themselves, evidenced by their following the wisdom they have embraced, what is profitable and what is not. It’s no different for us. Grace is at work awakening us to what is true, good, and beautiful so that we would “live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age.” Grace saves; grace trains. Grace for then; grace for now. Soli deo gloria.

Advent: The Politics of Christmas 4

The English word advent comes from a Latin word meaning arrival. It’s an appropriate term, therefore, with which to label the time of year in which we await the arrival of Jesus, the Savior. Usually, the focus of this season is on his entering this world as a baby born of a virgin. Historically, however, the church has also included his returning to “judge the living and the dead,” as the creed states. This second and final arrival will realize the fullness of the salvation he came to effect.

Our focus over the past few weeks has been the political nature of Advent and Christmas. We’ve considered how prophecy foresees his righteous rule; how the language surrounding his birth alludes to his assuming the throne of David; and the way in which his birth anticipates his being crucified for being the “king of the Jews.” But when we contemplate his second coming we find it to be the most political of all, for as the opening of Revelation declares, he “is coming with the clouds.” Such a coming signals the political nature of his arrival for it references another piece of apocalyptic literature. In Daniel 7 we are given a glimpse into the heavenly courtroom where ruthless kings are being judged and condemned by the Ancient of Days. Subsequent to that judgment, Daniel reports, “I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed” (7:13-14). The vision is potent! The deposed kings are likened to ferocious beasts, yet the one coming with the clouds assumes a breadth of rule that these wannabes wish they could possess.

Apocalyptic literature is just what Christians need to read in our current climate, a climate confidently described as “post-Christian.” Christianity’s influence has undeniably waned and followers of Jesus are the object of scorn. Such marginalization can have a corrosive effect on the church’s faith. We either lose heart, or we yield to the seeming greater power. In his mercy, God has seen fit to raise up a kind of literature that gives us a glimpse of "the bigger picture." And this genre teaches us that we should not fear the powerful for the God who rescued us from hell will cause us to triumph over all the forces that war against the Lord and his Anointed. In the end our faith will be vindicated and rewarded. 

So take heart. Grace and peace from the triune God is ours!

Advent: The Politics of Christmas 3

When Joseph decided that he should not proceed with his marriage to Mary, an angel appeared to let him know what was actually going on with his betrothed. She had not been unfaithful. Rather, she had been chosen to bear the promised redeemer. The angel instructed him that the child should be named Jesus, “for he will save his people from their sins.” Joseph yielded.

To save from sin Jesus had to make atonement, not for himself but for the sinners he came to rescue. This necessitated his dying. But how he died was important. The chosen means was crucifixion, a horrifyingly gruesome form of execution. This method accomplished several things. First, it was the result of a judicial sentence. He was tried and found guilty. This established him as a law breaker. Second, he received a curse under the Mosaic law, which declares anyone who dies upon a tree as a result of a judgment was cursed (Deuteronomy 21:22-23). And third, it was a death reserved for the despised and forgotten of society. 

In every aspect of this humiliating death he was undeserving. It was all for our gain. We are the ones who stand guilty before God’s judgment seat. We are the ones deserving of the law’s curse. We are the ones who having exalted ourselves before the face of God deserve to be cast away, remembered no more. Instead of us, however, it was Jesus, who, despite his divine status, “stripped himself of all privilege by consenting to be a slave by nature and being born as mortal man. And, having become man, he humbled himself by living a life of utter obedience, even to the extent of dying, and the death he died was the death of a common criminal” (Philippians 2:6-8, J.B. Phillips translation).

This ignominious death is what awaited the child born in Bethlehem. He was marked from the very beginning, indeed, before the foundation of the world, to die a rebel’s death. In doing so, however, he turns fallen reality upside-down. The strong are shown to be impotent, the proud are brought low, the forgotten are remembered. True humanity is reinserted into creation and peace with God and peace with man is possible! 

“My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.”

Advent: The Politics of Christmas 2

Jesus was a revolutionary. Not the gun toting or fist raising type, but a revolutionary nonetheless. His arrival on the scene signaled to all would-be rulers that arrogant, self-serving, self-glorifying, power-grabbing, God-denying exercise of government will be overturned. This is evident in the language of the Magnificat, Mary’s famous hymn of grateful praise.

The use of the past tense in her hymn indicates the confidence she has that, though the child is still growing within her, the end for which he has come is as good as done:

“He has shown strength with his arm;

he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts;

he has brought down the mighty from their thrones

and exalted those of humble estate;

he has filled the hungry with good things,

and the rich he has sent away empty.” (Luke 1:51-53)

The theme of “reversal” in the hymn (mighty brought down, those of humble estate, exalted; rich sent away empty, the hungry filled), as well as in the rest of the Gospel of Luke, is a hard lesson for human beings to learn. I think this is particularly so for we Americans. Virtually all aspects of our society (including the people in it) are valued by how “successful” they prove to be. And the metrics used always favor the wealthiest, strongest, fastest, and prettiest. This creeps into the thinking of the church as well. I recall when the young baseball phenom, Darryl Strawberry, made a profession of faith. Before you knew it, he was on the speakers’ platform of evangelical rallies as proof that you can be an incredibly talented athlete and a Christian at the same time. This did not serve Darryl, and it did not serve the cause of Christ. What he needed was careful discipleship, not being made the poster child for “successful” Christianity. 

This linking of the success of the Kingdom to the successful is filled with peril. The danger is that we forget who it is we are following. Jesus warned (off?) one potential adherent, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head” (Luke 9:58). To another he challenged, “Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me” (Luke 18:22). Neither scenario fits the American model of success. But for those to whom he was speaking, their true success depended upon their joining the “last shall be first and the first shall be last” revolution (Luke 13:30).