Leap of Faith?

In looking for a definition of “faith” in the New Oxford American Dictionary I found the following: “strong belief in God or in the doctrines of a religion, based on spiritual apprehension rather than proof.” I suppose that’s how a lot of people understand faith. “I just believe even though I have no objective reason to believe.” But that’s not the approach the Bible takes. Consider the following language: “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life-- the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it--” 1 John 1:1, 2; “Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand . . . For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ . . . was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then . . . to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive” 1 Corinthians 15:1-6; “Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things that have been accomplished among us, just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word have delivered them to us, it seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus,” Luke 1:1-3. Does it sound like John, Paul, and Luke expect their readers to possess a belief based upon “spiritual apprehension” alone “rather than proof”?

God does not expect a “leap of faith” at any time during our discipleship. What he expects is that we “connect the dots.” He asks us to trust him for the future based upon what he has done in the past. A “leap of faith” would be required if we had not reason to believe that the accounts left for us are true or that God, who promised that he would act to secure eternal life for his people, has really done nothing but sit upon his non-existent hands. 

But we know better than that. He promised redemption and he fulfilled that promise by sending his only-begotten Son to do for us what we could not do for ourselves. Our faith confesses, therefore, that if he “did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?” Romans 8:32.

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.”

Convincing Love

Sexual abuse! Abuse of authority! Financial misdealing! Tax evasion! Divorce! Bigotry and racism! Are these problems in our society? Yes. Are they problems in the church? Yes. Sadly, yes. And when they are associated with the church they are so much worse than when those outside of the church fall into such sins. This is so not because we are proved to be as needful of a savior as the next person; it is so because we bear the name of Christ and we bring offense to that blessed name. The only scandal that should ever be attached to the church is the scandal of Christ and him crucified (1 Corinthians 1:22-24). All other offensive behaviors place stumbling blocks in the paths of people getting to the stumbling block of the cross.

Such things happen in the church when the church does not walk in the most basic of Kingdom principles: love. We can seek to eradicate poverty, fight against the evils of abortion, offer profound insights regarding the human condition, and join forces with others who seek renewal in all levels of society. But if we have not love, our pious pronouncements will sound hollow and our “good works” will be judged as just another self-serving agenda.

The need for followers of Jesus to walk in love is essential. Yet, how to walk in love is something to be learned. It needs to be shaped by the gospel working on our hearts till we understand gratitude and humility. And the classroom God has given us in which we are to be schooled in this most basic of principles is the local church. It’s in the church, walking side by side with other sinners, that we will come to appreciate that “love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things” (1 Corinthians 13:4-7). This kind of love has the power to prevent scandals and persuade skeptics. The world is watching! Let’s offer them a convincing apologetic.

The Priviledge of Persecution

Our Christian brothers and sisters in the 1st century had a very different perspective on persecution than we 21st century western Christians. For them it was a privilege (see Acts 5:41; Philippians 1:29), for us it is something to be avoided, almost at all costs. But can it be avoided? If Jesus and the apostles are any measure, it cannot. The scriptures clearly attest that persecution follows proclamation.

Why is this so? The message of the Kingdom of God runs smack up against the prevailing powers of the kingdom of this world making conflict inevitable. And because the gospel offers a stern critique of the nature of human beings and the works we produce, when a person embraces the gospel as true it necessarily aligns that one with that assessment, provoking persecution. The demand to the believer in the face of this inevitable enmity, notes Glenn Penner, the late director of Voice of the Martyrs, Canada, “is not so much a willingness to die for Christ but a readiness to die due to one’s unconditional obedience to the Crucified One.” If persecution is part and parcel with proclaiming and living the gospel, we must accept that we are “destined for this” and “not be moved by these afflictions” (1 Thessalonians 3:3).

But suffering for the sake of Christ is not an end in itself. Jesus spoke of his redemptive suffering when he taught, ““The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit” (John 12:23-24). Each disciple of Jesus is a product of the redeeming death to which he alludes. For this we are grateful. The startling news, however, is that he also envisions our own sacrificial fruit bearing when he explains, “Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life” (v. 25). Our participation in the redeeming work of Christ through suffering for the sake of his name, has a redemptive purpose, not for ourselves but for others.

The power of the followers of Jesus united in the face of persecution offers a much needed testimony to the truth of the gospel. Ed Clowney notes: "“The very threats to the existence of the church in the twenty-first century show again our need of the church. The courage to stand apart, to be unashamed of Christ’s claims, is nurtured in the community of those who are baptized into his name. The church may not apply for a union card in a pluralistic establishment by signing away its right to proclaim the only Saviour of the world. Together we must make clear that it is to Christ and not to ourselves that we witness. In that witness we are not only individual points of light in the world, but a city set on a hill. In the ethnic hostility that ravages Europe, Africa and the Middle East, the church must show the bond of Christ’s love that unites former enemies as brothers and sisters in the Lord. Only so can the church be a sign of his kingdom: the kingdom that will come when Christ comes, and that is already present through his Spirit” (The Church. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1995. 15-16).

As our Savior was persecuted because he stood against the prevailing selfishness and cruelty of a sin-racked, idolatrous world, so will his church. Persecution is something to which we have been called and for which we must give thanks. 

Mysterious, Merciful Providence

Saul was unaware of what was to take place. He was sent by his father to find lost donkeys. Yahweh, however, sent him to find Samuel (1 Samuel 9). This is the nature of providence, the term used to describe God’s continued involvement in and direction of all things. People go about doing what they do; yet it is God who stands behind them directing their steps (Cf. Proverbs 16:9).

If we trust that God is good and wise then we have reason to trust his providence.  He orders things according to his purposes so that his will, which is good and wise, comes to pass. This should be a source of comfort for this means that we are not subject to random, impersonal forces. Quite the contrary, all things, in the words of the Heidelberg Catechism, “come to us not by chance but by his fatherly hand.”

How are we to respond when we are subjected to what the Puritans called, “dark providences”? These are the times when difficulties -- tragedies, even -- disturb our peace. Are we to just grit our teeth and say, “Ah, the Lord’s will be done”? That’s an option, but it’s not our only option. Assuming that there is a wise and good purpose behind what is currently covering the sun, it’s our task to prayerfully experience what that purpose is. It may be that God would have us fight the darkness, and action, even bold action, may be called for. That being said, whatever his purpose, we are to trust that he is in control.

God is at work. God is always at work. Let’s pray for greater discernment that we might see the hand of the Lord in both the extraordinary and the mundane.