Manifest - An Introduction to the Pastoral Epistles and the Book of Titus

Long ago a young man was charged to continue to push forward the mission of Jesus on an island in the Mediterranean Sea.  The communities that Jesus established were to bring his message and manifest his Kingdom throughout the earth.  This would happen as the Words of God were proclaimed faithfully and good works were done in his name.

In this introduction I want to orient us to the book of Titus and to some of the flow and setting surrounding this letter.  In doing so, we will first look broadly at a category of writings in the New Testament now commonly referred to as the Pastoral Epistles.  We will have a brief discussion of the authorship of these works and then move towards a focus on the settings and purposes of these New Testament letters.  Next we will shift our focus to the person of Titus and the setting of his labors on the ancient Mediterranean island of Crete. We will then examine the work to which Titus was called and conclude with a challenge related to all of Jesus’ people, including the community of Jacob’s Well. 

What follows is by no means an exhaustive discussion but I do hope and pray for a few things. First, I want us to grow in our trust and confidence in the teaching of the Bible.  Second, I want us to learn to see ourselves through the lens and calling of a man like Titus working on the island of Crete.  Finally, I pray that our study of Titus leads us to more fully embrace the call of God on our lives today. 

Now, before we move to a discussion of the Pastoral Epistles I want to give a brief encouragement on how to read this paper.  If issues of biblical scholarship are of interest to you, plow straight ahead.  If you want to practically orient yourself with the main ideas associated with the book of Titus; jump forward in the paper to the header “The Book of Titus.” Now, let’s introduce ourselves to the Pastoral Epistles.

The Pastoral Epistles

The New Testament can be thought of as a small library of writings made up of various types of literature.  It begins with the gospel narratives of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.  It continues with the second part of Luke’s writing, the book of Acts.  This book lays out the early missionary efforts of Jesus’ followers as they took the gospel of Jesus throughout the known world of their time.  Much of the rest of the New Testament is comprised of instructional letters to various churches and Christians written by apostles and early church leaders.  The most looming author of these letters is the Apostle Paul. 

Born Saul of Tarsus, this man was a prominent Jewish leader at the time of Jesus’ resurrection.  He was raised a devout Jew, as a citizen of Rome in a city rife with Greek culture and learning.  His life was a confluence of cultural worlds and viewpoints.  At the outset of the book of Acts we find this man a fervent persecutor of Jesus’ followers seeking to put down what he felt was a heretic aberration on the Jewish faith.  Then something happened; Jesus dropped some knowledge on Saul.  Jesus radically changes Saul’s life direction by knocking him off his horse, telling him that he would now serve Jesus and on a mission to bring good news to the whole world.  The Old Testament promises of God’s salvation for the Gentiles would be fulfilled through Jesus’ ministry through Saul (see Isaiah 42:1-9; Acts 13:47). This man would be known from that day forward as Paul the apostle, Jesus’ messenger to the Gentile world. From the early days of the Christian movement, Paul worked as a missionary taking the good news of Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection to people throughout the world.  He would teach and preach the meaning of Jesus’ kingdom and work on the cross for sinners in various places, crossing geography and culture to do so. 

Most of Paul’s letters were written to instruct new churches or groups of new churches certain areas of the ancient world.  The letters usually dealt with theological and practical matters which emerged as people became followers of the new way in a city. The letters of 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus are slightly different nature in than most of Paul’s letters in that they come to us as personal correspondence from Paul to his younger ministry delegates.[1] Paul’s missionary work would move forward through community as their mission work was conducted in teams.  In other words, Paul always had a posse as he worked in the mission of Jesus.  Two of the most mentioned colleagues of Paul were the young bucks Timothy and Titus to whom the letters of 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus are addressed.

Up until the 18^th century these letters were simply numbered among the Pauline corpus of literature and it was not until the works D.N. Berdot and P. Anton of Halle that they became known as “the Pastoral Epistles.”[2] The question of the authorship of the pastorals has become an interesting field of scholarship in the last few centuries so we will spend a bit of time with this topic as we continue.

Authorship

The letters now classified as the Pastoral Epistles were well known in the very earliest days of the Christian movement and were never questioned as to their inclusion in the canon of the New Testament. They find themselves listed fully in the Muratorian fragment as among the epistles of Paul.[3] Sections of these writings were mentioned as early as Polycarp (c.117)[4] and were in use by many of the early church fathers in the 2^nd century including Irenaeus of Lyon (c.180) and Clement of Alexandria (150-215).[5] Though less certain and disputed, it is quite possible that 1 Clement and the writings of Ignatius of Antioch make reference to the pastorals in the late first century AD.[6] A few things are certain. First, the pastoral epistles were always thought to be the works of Paul written to his younger ministry apprentices.  Second, this conviction was the long standing and unbroken tradition in the churches for over 1700 years. 

Questions Arising in the Modern Era

In the 1800s several schools of biblical criticism arose through scholars on the European continent. Working under enlightenment assumptions, many began to question the teachings of the Bible and the teachings of Christianity. One of the past times of this flavor of scholarship has been to doubt the authorship of almost every New Testament book. Beginning with the works of German theologians F.C. Baur and Friedrich Schleiermacher, modernistic scholars did just this with the Pastoral Epistles. Paul’s letters to Timothy and Titus were now imagined to be works of fiction authored by some unknown pen in the 2^nd century.  True story; men of Germany, living close to 1800 years after the fact, sought to figure it all out for us and set the record straight regarding the Pastoral Epistles. Since that time, a growing consensus of doubt has been arrayed against the long held tradition that the author of these works was “Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ” (Titus 1:1).  Though there is an impressive list of scholars who question this skeptical position,[7] it remains the critical view in our time.  

The Doubting of Paul

John Stott, in a popular level commentary, summarizes the critical position along historical, linguistic, theological and ethical lines.[8]  First, the details of the pastorals are difficult to reconcile with the details we have of Paul’s travels and imprisonments in the book of Acts.  Second, the vocabulary and style of these letters is rather divergent from other letters accepted as authentically Pauline.  Third, the theology of these letters seems to be much more developed than the issues Paul is concerned with in earlier letters.  Particularly of interest is the more developed view of the church and church leadership. Finally, the letters seem to encourage ethical conformity and keeping a good image in the broader culture. Some have even gone as far to say that the pastorals present a bourgeois Christianity, seeking only a good face and comfort in the world rather than Christ centered mission.[9] 

There are many theories of authorship circling in New Testament studies today. First, there are those who still hold that the letters are outright forgeries and fictions. Others hold that fragments and traditions of Paul’s teachings made it into these compositions.  These Pauline ideas were then compiled by an editor who used the common practice of attaching someone’s name, in this case Paul, to give the documents credibility in the churches. [10] This practice, known as pseudonymity, was employed by someone other than Paul in order to make the letters have more standing as they appeared in his name. Much more can be said here, but for our purposes we find these views to be highly problematic.  What follows is a brief sketch of why we maintain that the apostle Paul is the originator of the Pastoral Epistles.

Reasons for Pauline Authorship

There are several reasons why those with a high view of the Scriptures maintain that the author of the Pastoral Epistles is the apostle Paul.  The following is only representational of the arguments involved.

The Text of the Pastorals

The actual text of the pastorals is quite personal and makes several open claims which must be counted a spurious if we reject Pauline authorship.  First of all, here are the opening greetings of each letter.

• 1 Timothy - ¹Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our hope, ²To Timothy, my true child in the faith: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
• 2 Timothy - ¹Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God according to the promise of the life that is in Christ Jesus, ²To Timothy, my beloved child: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
• Titus - 1:1 ¹Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the sake of the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth, which accords with godliness, ² in hope of eternal life, which God, who never lies, promised before the ages began ³and at the proper time manifested in his word through the preaching with which I have been entrusted by the command of God our Savior; ⁴ To Titus, my true child in a common faith: Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior.

Furthermore, extensive personal details and commands relating to context are involved in these letters.  First, Titus is addressed with instructions about what his mission is to be ministering on the island of Crete.  Second, Paul says on two occasions in 1 Timothy that he intends to visit him soon (1 Timothy 3:14, 4:13).  Additionally, Paul speaks to Timothy about a myriad of personal issues including his calling into ministry, his age, his stomach problems and his family lineage.  2 Timothy is a deeply touching last letter from a mentor to a young leader that is full of references to persons by name.[11] To insinuate, as some have done[12], that these personal notes are all elaborate forgeries to carry on a deception a fiction does unnecessary violence to the heart of these letters.  Those who understand the inspiration of the Scriptures as the Word of God find no reason to embrace such vain speculation.

Early Church Univocal and Acceptance Never in Question

Those closest to the persons and events of these letters were of one voice in their recognition of them being the work of the apostle Paul. Passing down the teaching of Jesus and the apostles was of utmost importance to the early Christians.  We see this in all the New Testament documents and we see this in the writings of church leaders.  There was never any doubt to the church that the Pastorals were Pauline and that they were inspired Scripture revealing to us the Word of God. Furthermore, it was not until the 19^th century that German scholars, working under dubious assumptions and modernist epistemologies, that people began to question the authorship of the pastorals.

Problems with the Pseudonymous View

Much can be said about the practice known as pseudonymity in the ancient world. While it may have been practiced in the ancient world, the more relevant question relates to its acceptance by the early Christian churches. Far from accepting this practice, the early church vociferously rejected it.  Consider the following as laid out by Ben Witherington III.[13]

First, when ancient writings were pseudonymous, they were almost always written in the name of an ancient figure far disconnected from the writing.  In the case of the Pastorals we have documents that were written in the first century, just after the time of the death of Paul. Second, the letters are not generic teachings but are specific instructions of a personal nature to men living in certain contexts, namely Timothy in Ephesus and Titus in Crete. Witherington, quoting New Testament scholar I. Howard Marshall makes this point clearly.

As I. Howard Marshall has rightly stressed, it is one thing to write a book called 1 Enoch and use the name “Enoch,” but quite another to write a personal letter full of personalia and historical references and claim that it was written by someone in the recent past.[14] 

Furthermore, we see that Paul himself rejected such pseudonymous practices (See 2 Thessalonians 2:2) and leaders in the early church rejected letters outright as well. The muratorian fragment, mentioned above, reflects this sentiment as it reads:

There is said to be another letter in Paul’s name to the Laodiceans, and another to the Alexandrines, [both] forgedin accordance with Marcion’s heresy, and many others which cannot be received in to the catholic church, since it is not fitting that poison should be mixed with honey.[15]

So though Pseudonymity may have been practiced by some authors in the ancient world it was never accepted to be anything but a farce and forgery by the early church.[16] The Pastoral Epistles were never thought to be anything but the work of Paul and the reasons for abandoning this view or far from conclusive. 

No Compelling Reason to Reject Pauline Authorship

Above we saw that the reasons to reject Paul as the author followed historical, theological/ethical and linguistic lines.  None of these are insoluble when we come to these writings.

First, it is quite possible to harmonize the historical details in these works with that of what we know from Paul’s other writings in the book of Acts.[17] Most would argue that the time frame of the pastorals requires Paul to be released from house arrest in Acts 28, travel perhaps briefly to Spain[18], then back through Crete and Macedonia where 1 Timothy and Titus pastorals were likely written in around AD 64-65. Finally, he would have been arrested and brought back to Rome as a prisoner under the persecution of Nero where he wrote his last letter 2 Timothy around AD 65-66. Tradition holds he was executed just after this, around AD 66-67, under the reign of Nero who died in AD 68.

Second, differences in theological focus make complete sense where the context demands it.  Timothy and Titus were charged with establishing churches as the era of the apostles was closing.  The mission of Jesus was continuing to move forward and the mission would need both true teaching and leadership after the apostles died.  What we see during this time frame is just that.  Letters were written to churches instructing them in the faith. The teachings and gospel narratives about Jesus were written down by the evangelists Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.  The Pastoral Epistles provided clear instructions for selecting and empowering elder/overseers to pastor God’s churches and deacons to serve the needs of new communities.  Elders and deacons were already mentioned by Paul in his letter to the Philippian church in as early as AD 62 so it is no surprise to see these offices given further form in Paul’s letters to young church leaders just a few years later.  It makes sense that the task of ordering the early churches would have included some basic details about leadership, life as a community of faith and our relationship to the world. This is precisely what we find in the pastorals.  

Third, differences in style and language can be understood in several ways.  The influence of occasion and genre greatly affects both style and vocabulary.[19]  What person today would use the same vocabulary and style to structure a logical theology treatise (like the book of Romans) and a letter to a dear from while writing from death row? Furthermore, there is a great deal of language that is common to the pastorals which is found in Paul’s other letters so the case is slanted in one direction by those arguing against the authorship of the apostle. When looking at the language and style of the pastorals one can see that the historical setting and subject matter demands different vocabulary to treat subjects relevant in the pastorals themselves.[20]  Finally, in terms of the problem of style concerning the Greek of the pastorals, William D. Mounce makes a good observation:

If the Greek speaking church showed no sign of concern about how the PE [Pastoral Epistles] were written, one wonders why today the issue of style and vocabulary looms so large on the scholarly horizon.[21]

A final note about vocabulary is warranted. It is well know from Paul’s letters that he sometimes used a scribe, or an amanuensis, to write his letters and ideas down for him as he requested or dictated to them.[22] It is possible that the Pastoral Epistles were composed in this fashion. An interesting argument has be made by several scholars that Paul’s traveling companion Luke, who was called the beloved doctor, was the amanuensis employed with the pastorals.[23]

While some scholars today question the authenticity of Paul as the author of 1 & 2 Timothy and Titus, we find good explanations for their objections.  The historical, theological/ethical and linguistic issues are not insurmountable and we remain convinced, with the long line of teachers and scholars in church history, that the author of Titus was indeed “Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ.”  With that in mind, let us briefly comment on some specific details regarding the book of Titus.

The Book of Titus

Setting and Dates

Following the chronology above, we believe Titus was written after Paul’s release from house arrest in Rome most likely from Macedonia. Paul and Titus had apparently been on the island of Crete sharing the gospel with people.  The fruit of this evangelistic effort apparently needed to be cared for and set in order so Paul left Titus in Crete. We estimate the writing of 1 Timothy and Titus to be around 64-65 after his first imprisonment in AD 61-63.

Titus, the Man

From the records of the New Testament we find Titus to be one of Paul’s most trusted companions.  Titus was a full Gentile and was an important link between the church’s Jewish origins and its future as one body with Gentiles together with Jewish followers of Jesus. In Acts 15 we find record of an early church council in Jerusalem where decisions were made regarding how much of the law of Moses the new Gentile Christians would be asked to keep.  Paul and Barnabas met with the apostles at this council and Titus went along with them.  Paul makes this a central point in his writing to the Galatian churches. He took Titus along and he was not required to be circumcised by Paul and the apostles. Titus, a young adult Gentile man, simply said – “Amen.” All the other adult male Gentile Christians also had a collective sigh of relief.  Just sayin.

Titus must have had good peacemaking and conflict resolution skills as Paul dispatched him on two occasions to difficult church settings. First, he was sent to Corinth, where all matter of Christian crazy was going on in the first century (See 2 Corinthians 7, 8). Paul had all sorts of drama with the Corinthian church as his letters to them indicate.  Titus was trusted by Paul to organize a collection for the poor and famine wracked Christians in Jerusalem from a church that had many tensions with the apostle. In Paul’s writing to this church, we find out that Titus was successful uniting people and collecting resources for those who were in need. 

A few adjectives come to mind when reading about Titus’ role in the Bible.

• Courageous – He was saved from a pagan, Gentile background and stepped out in faith to full follow Jesus on his mission in the world.
• Loyal – He was with Paul and served at Paul’s request for many years.
• Humble – Every person charged with the difficult task of reconciling and calling people together on mission must be a humble person.  Arrogance is like an explosive spark in tense situations.
• Submissive - Furthermore we see his humble submission to Paul by carrying out the apostle’s requests and serving as his delegate.
• Bold – Every person charged with the difficult task of reconciling and calling people together on mission must be a bold person. Passivity will let difficult people rule the day and create further conflict.
• Trustworthy – He was trusted by Paul with immense responsibilities in Crete. 
• Responsible – Unlike many young men today, Titus was responsible enough to select leaders, refute false teaching, set households in gospel order and call mission forward in Crete. 
• Compassionate – Titus had a heart for people that is exhibited by his love for the Corinthians, their trust in his character and the comfort he brought to Paul and his posse.

Crete – The Place of His Labors

The island of Crete is located in the Mediterranean Sea southeast of Greece.  It is some 156 miles long from west to east and varies from approximately 8 to 35 miles in breadth. The island forms the southernmost boundary for the Aegean Sea.^[24] The golden age of Crete was during the Minoan civilization which reached its heights in 2000-1500 BC.  By the time of the New Testament Crete was of little influence in the classical world.[25]  Crete is mentioned as part of the maritime shipwreck Paul endured on his way to Rome in Acts 27. Some have placed the writing of Titus to be around this time, but the evidence is unwarranted. More likely Paul and Titus engaged in mission on Crete after Paul’s first imprisonment where Titus was called to remain to work on church, household and mission on the island.

From the letter to Titus, we find that the Cretans were not a huggable, lovable bunch. In quoting a poet named Epimenides, Paul concurs that the Cretans are “are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.” So obviously Titus had his work cut out for him there. As an interesting aside, Paul’s quoting “of a Cretan” to say that Cretans are “always liars” has been used in an interesting logical puzzle know as the liars paradox. For if Epimenides told the “truth” then he is not always a liar. If he told the truth, he is also a liar.  I think we know what Paul meant so we can leave that fun[26] for the philosophers and logicians for now.

From the letter we can see that false teaching was a problem on the island of Crete among those who had become Christians.  The garden variety of Greco-Roman paganism would have been present on the island, but there were also those of Jewish background that were confusing the Christians.  Apparently teachers were coming in trying to get paid for teaching their strains of esoteric monotheism. They are described as rebellious, empty talkers who were dividing households with their teaching.  Not only this, they were constantly on the TV begging for money to do so.  I’m sure they were a barrel of fun for Titus on Crete.

Titus’ Purpose and Calling

The purpose to which Titus is called on Crete is made clear by Paul in Titus 1:5 - This is why I left you in Crete, so that you might put what remained into order, and appoint elders in every town as I directed you. This instruction is congruent with Paul’s practice and pattern of ministry which we observe during his other missionary travels in the book of Acts.  In Acts 14:21-23 we read the following:

²¹ When they had preached the gospel to that city and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch, ²² strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God. ²³ And when they had appointed elders for them in every church, with prayer and fasting they committed them to the Lord in whom they had believed.

It seems like Paul and Titus’ work on Crete was similar.  They had preached the gospel and many had become followers of the risen Jesus.  They had taught and strengthened the new disciples and appointed elders in the churches who would serve and lead under the Lord’s guidance. Today, many love to say that they are “spiritual” but do not like “organized religion.” Paul and Titus had a different perspective.  They knew that godly servant leadership for new communities of faith was the plan and purpose of God.  They knew that confusion and chaos can reign in people’s lives without men of character to serve and guide the people in good teaching and living out the faith together.

Paul knew that Jesus was going to use the church to make him known in the world.  Jesus had commanded his followers to go and make disciples of all peoples and teach them everything he had commanded (See Matthew 28:18-20).  The church, the community of Jesus people, is the instrument that God uses to manifest the gospel in the world.  The book of Titus presents to us how we need to live as God’s people in the world in order for Jesus’ gospel to be manifest in and through us.  

There are three spheres of life where the mission of God’s people overlaps.  First, there is the church, the community of those who trust in Christ alone to be reconciled to God. As God rescues and saves people from sin, death and hell he adds them to his community called the church.  Second, there is the household or family.  We all live as members of some sort of household and this household can manifest or distort the gospel to others. Third, there is the broader culture and world in which we live and serve others.  At Jacob’s Well we represent this with a simple diagram.

 The book of Titus parallels these missional callings by giving us teaching on how we live together as the church and as families to manifest the gospel in our world.

• Manifest through the Church – Leaders and Doctrine (Titus 1) – Godly leaders, who serve under the Lordship of Christ and guidance of the Holy Spirit are to teach and refute false doctrine.
• Manifest in the House – Families Repping the Word of God (Titus 2) – Families are to live together in such a way that represents and not disfigures the beauty of the Word of God.
• Manifest Mission in the World – Gospel and Good Works (Titus 3) – We should live lives of gospel proclamation and gospel good works among others outside of the faith. 

The Calling of Churches – Manifest the Gospel in Good News and Good Works

As we come to the book of Titus together I want Jacob’s Well to deeply wrestle with a few things which sound forth in this brief letter of just 46 verses and just over nine hundred words.

Proclamation of Good News

Some of the clearest articulations of the gospel are in this letter, clearly describing for us what God has done for us in Jesus Christ.  I want us to see that there is always a gospel word manifest in the world through the faithful preaching of God’s people.  Preaching is not simply standing up before people with the Bible in hand, though it certainly includes this.  Preaching is declaring the gospel to people through explaining the gospel message in a way people can hear and understand. It may be done on trains, in offices, on airplanes, in coffee shops, in pubs, in homes and anywhere God has his people. The gospel is a message of God’s saving work in Jesus Christ that must always be shared with others.  It must accompany a call to repent of sin and turn to Christ for forgiveness and a new life as his follower.  I want Jacob’s Well to understand the gospel word better as we study the book of Titus.

A People United in Good Works

In addition to the words of the Gospel, Titus will teach us that we must also be a people who are eager to live lives of good works and service to others.  A church that preaches a message it does not live is an offense to God and people we pray to reach with the gospel message. True faith in the risen Jesus will result in good works being the fruit of our lives.  We are not saved, more loved by God, or forgiven in any way on account of the good works we do.  We are saved by believing the gospel and trusting fully in Christ to save us.  However, our relationship with God and our new life are demonstrated by what we do.  It must be noted that a church that only does good works and looses the gospel message will be impotent to see lives truly changed, because it is the gospel that is the power of God to take guilty sinners and transform them by grace.

A Marriage Made in Heaven

As a pastor I have enjoyed the privilege of doing a great number of wedding ceremonies.  One of the things I often share in concluding the ceremony is a quote from Jesus about marriage: What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate. (Mark 10:9) In reading the Bible I have come to the conclusion that God wants his people to be a gospel preaching community and a good works living community.  However, many times God’s people separate that which God has joined together. Let me illustrate with two stories…two stories which are incomplete views of the “Christian Life.”

Two Incomplete Stories

Brian grew up in a church which would be categorized in the protestant tradition. He was taught to trust his Bible, believed in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus for sinners like him. He believed in a God who would forgive all who accepted Jesus’ sacrifice on their behalf thereby making them free and forgiven by God. Brian graduated high school, then college, and then off to seminary in hopes of becoming a pastor. During this time he realized that Jesus talked a lot about caring for the poor.

Additionally, he started to change his belief that people needing have faith in Christ in order to be forgiven by God. There are many ways to god he imagined. Everyone is just good on their own…when they fail, God would just overlook it. If they wanted to worship things that were not God then God would understand. He thought the Bible was dated in light of modern knowledge and decided he would just follow parts of it which seemed right to him. As such he abandoned the cross as God’s judgment of sin and the means to forgive sinners and emptied the gospel of all New Testament meaning. He boiled down Jesus’ message to a simple statement: Do good for society, care about the poor, plead the causes of the oppressed.

What Brian has done is a tragedy, he has essentially denied the Christian faith into oblivion until what remains is but a social program which tells people to “be good.” No one is saved from sin, death and hell; the gospel has been emptied of its power and the cross has been marginalized. He is living a very incomplete story.

The second story is equally incomplete and tragic in its own way.

Susan grew up in an upper middle class family attending an Bible believing church in the suburbs. She embraced Jesus at a young age, but didn’t really understand it all until she began to struggle with an eating disorder in college. During this time she began to party and did some things she deeply regretted.

At this point a campus minister’s wife introduced her to Jesus; someone she thought she met as a six year old. She realized that God wasn’t just asking her to be good, because in ourselves we were not good.

She knew she needed forgiveness and grace from God and that this could not be earned by just being a good girl on Thursday nights. At this point in her life, she bowed a knee to the living Jesus and was saved by Him. She was very thankful, got involved in Bible study, and graduated with a degree in nursing. She married a doctor who grew up in church and loved Jesus and would turn out to be a good Daddy. They support campus ministry, attend church, live in an upper class gated community, have their children in the finest schools, they vote the right way and are generally nice people. Yet, she currently knows nobody who is not a Christian; she never associates with people of a different social class, and feels no need to do either. While her story may not be as tragic as Brian’s (or is it?) she is living an incomplete story with Jesus.

God desires for us to keep the gospel and good works together; it is a marriage that he has made in heaven. For Jacob’s Well to move forward as a gospel centered community we must keep this marriage intact. The gospel saves us, good works demonstrate the gospel and Jesus manifests his live and message through his community.  It is my prayer that we might see this in the book of Titus. It is my prayer that we would be a people on mission, guiding by godly leadership, with households living in grace so that those around us would become followers of Jesus in our day.

Yours for the Glory of God and the Good of the City by extending hope through the gospel of Jesus Christ,

Reid S. Monaghan

NOTES

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[1] Ben Witherington, A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary on Titus, 1-2 Timothy and 1-3 John, Letters and Homilies for Hellenized Christians (Nottingham, England, Downers Grove, Ill.: Apollos ; IVP Academic, 2006), 379.

[2] Donald Guthrie, The Pastoral Epistles : An Introduction and Commentary, 2nd ed., The Tyndale New Testament Commentaries (Leicester, England; Grand Rapids, Mich.: Inter-Varisity Press; Eerdmans, 1990), 17.

[3] The Muratorian Fragment or Canon is a description of the books accepted as authoritative Scripture around the close of the 2^nd century AD.  The relevant section to the pastorals reads “Moreover [Paul writes] one [letter] to Philemon, one to Titus and two to Timothy in love and affection; but they have been hallowed for the honour of the catholic [means universal] church in the regulation of ecclesiastical discipline. For a discussion of the Muratorian Canon see the excellent F. F. Bruce, The Canon of Scripture (Downers Grove, Ill.: Inter-Varsity Press, 1988), 158-169.

[4] Andreas J. Köstenberger, L. Scott Kellum, and Charles L. Quarles, The Cradle, the Cross, and the Crown : An Introduction to the New Testament (Nashville, Tenn.: B & H Academic, 2009), 638.

[5] Philip H. Towner, The Letters to Timothy and Titus (Cambridge, U.K. ; Grand Rapids, Mich.: William B. Eerdmans Pub. Co., 2006), 4.

[6] D. A. Carson, Douglas J. Moo, and Leon Morris, An Introduction to the New Testament (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan, 1992).

[7] Alfred Plummer, B. Weiss, Adolf Von Schlatter, Wilhelm Michaelis, Joachim Jermias, Ceslas Spicq, Gordon D. Fee, Donald Guthrie, Luke Timothy Johnson, J.N.D. Kelly, George W. Knight, William D. Mounce, Thomas C. Oden and Philip H. Towner and Ben Witherington III are among those who hold that Paul or one of his contemporaries serving as a scribe authored the Pastorals.  List in Witherington, 51. I have concatenated Witherington’s name to his own list.

[8] John R. W. Stott, Guard the Truth : The Message of 1 Timothy and Titus : Includes Study Guide for Groups or Individuals, The Bible Speaks Today (Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 1996), 23.

[9] Ibid., 23-28.

[10] For more on the modern objections to Pauline authorship see Towner, 15-26. And for even more detailed discussion see the introduction in William D. Mounce, Pastoral Epistles (Nashville: T. Nelson, 2000), lxxxiii-cxxix.

[11] Stott, 22.

[12] See Lewis R. Donelson, Pseudepigraphy and Ethical Argument in the Pastoral Epistles (Tübingen: J.C.B. Mohr, 1986).

[13] Witherington, 62-64.

[14] Ibid., 63. For those who are needing some context for the quote, 1 Enoch is a writing that is named after an Old Testament character in Genesis five and is a compilation of works dated between 300-100 BC. It is not considered inspired, canonical Scripture by the Jews or by the majority of Christians (The Ethiopian Orthodox Church is the only exception)

[15] Bruce, 160.

[16] Köstenberger, Kellum, and Quarles, 640. An interesting story recounted by Tertullian (160-225) records a presbyter (elder) of a church in Asia being removed from office for trying to pass of a forged letter in Paul’s name.

[17] Witherington, 65-68.

[18] Paul states his desire to go to Spain in Romans 15 and a westward trip is referenced, but in no way historically certain, in the late first century letter of 1 Clement. Towner, 11.

[19] Ibid., 23.

[20] See excellent discussion of the literary issues involved with the pastorals in Mounce, xcix - cxviii.

[21] Ibid., cxvi.

[22] For example we see the book of Romans openly name the scribe in the following verse - I Tertius, who wrote this letter, greet you in the Lord – Romans 16:22.

[23] See Mounce, cxxvii - cxxix. and Witherington, 57-62.

^[24] The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia  (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1988; 2002), s.v. “Crete.”

[25] Ibid., s.v.

[26] See a fun little puzzle here for those interested - http://www.rci.rutgers.edu/~cfs/305_html/Deduction/Liar%27sParadox.html

Bibliography

Bruce, F. F. The Canon of Scripture. Downers Grove, Ill.: Inter-Varsity Press, 1988.

Bush, F.W., The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. Grand Rapids:Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1988; 2002.

Carson, D. A., Douglas J. Moo, and Leon Morris. An Introduction to the New Testament. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan, 1992.

Donelson, Lewis R. Pseudepigraphy and Ethical Argument in the Pastoral Epistles. Tübingen: J.C.B. Mohr, 1986.

Guthrie, Donald. The Pastoral Epistles : An Introduction and Commentary. 2nd ed. The Tyndale New Testament Commentaries. Leicester, England; Grand Rapids, Mich.: Inter-Varisity Press; Eerdmans, 1990.

Köstenberger, Andreas J., L. Scott Kellum, and Charles L. Quarles. The Cradle, the Cross, and the Crown : An Introduction to the New Testament. Nashville, Tenn.: B & H Academic, 2009.

Mounce, William D. Pastoral Epistles. Nashville: T. Nelson, 2000.

Stott, John R. W. Guard the Truth : The Message of 1 Timothy and Titus : Includes Study Guide for Groups or Individuals The Bible Speaks Today. Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 1996.

Towner, Philip H. The Letters to Timothy and Titus. Cambridge, U.K. ; Grand Rapids, Mich.: William B. Eerdmans Pub. Co., 2006.

Witherington, Ben. A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary on Titus, 1-2 Timothy and 1-3 John Letters and Homilies for Hellenized Christians. Nottingham, England, Downers Grove, Ill.: Apollos ; IVP Academic, 2006.

Booze and the Bible - Walking in the Wisdom of God

What is the wisdom of God relating to the use/abuse/abstention from sauced beverages?  About this issue our Presbyterian and Roman Catholic friends are shrugging their shoulders; no big deal. Just practice moderation.  On the other hand, some of our Baptist and Pentecostal friends might be red in the face that we even discuss the consumption of alcohol in any terms other than prohibition. The consumption of alcohol is a large part of our culture and has quite a history. European Christians for millennia have consumed alcohol as did the first settlers to the new world. One of the first things off of the Mayflower was a keg.¹ Yet during some of the excess of the late 19th and early 20th century many American Christians led a temperance movement which brought about the rapid passing and ratification of the 18th amendment. This amendment brought a national “prohibition” of the production, sale and consumption of beverage alcohol. The 21st amendment, which passed with some momentum as well, repealed prohibition in the United States in 1933.² So this issue has been divisive among Christians for some time. I do not intend to settle it completely, but only to present some positions believers hold and practice today in relation to alcoholic beverages.

Before we begin, let me give a bit of context to why we are even talking about this.  Let me say clearly and vigorously that it is not to be followers of Jesus who are known by whether or not they drink beer.  Such a view is immature and can be a bit silly.   I have two reasons for bringing us to a discussion of alcohol.  First, I have concern for us that we have a responsible discussion of the Scriptural teaching on the matter and the strong warnings we have about the devastating nature of drunkenness and alcoholism.  Second, I care deeply about the culture of our community in that we do not have legalistic attitudes about something God might declare a liberty and even a kind gift from his hand. In this essay I want to lay out four positions practiced in various form by those around us.  In doing so I want to make the argument that two of them are out of bounds for followers of Jesus and the other two need to create a culture together of joy, thanksgiving and wisdom in relationship to our life as a community.  Now on to some perspectives.

Libertinism

This position makes no prohibition about drinking and you are free to drink as much as you like. Get a designated driver and hammer down to Liquortown. This position is untenable in light of the clear teaching of Scripture. The Bible is univocal in its condemnation of being drunk with alcohol (Deuteronomy. 21:20; 1 Corinthians 6:10; Ephesians 5:18; Galatians 5:21) and is clear about the results of drunkenness. Mark Driscoll lists several of these in his book The Radical Reformission. Incest, violence, adultery, mockery/brawling, poverty, hallucinations, antics, murder, gluttony, vomiting, staggering, madness, nakedness, sloth and depression, just to name a few.³  There are many behaviors in our world today, which have no other goal than to get drunk, wasted, messed up, etc.  Such a view is unwise and often ends up in places the partyer never portended to go.

Prohibitionism

This position states that alcohol is prohibited for Christians and this is without exception. A follower of Jesus shall never place the devil’s drink in his mouth as some might put it. Usually the references to drunkenness listed above are cited as positive support for the position.  To be clear, there are periodic prohibitions given in Scripture for certain people in certain occasions. In the Old Testament, Leviticus 10 teaches that the priest was not to drink during his ministry in the tabernacle. Proverbs 31 tells us that a king should not drink while adjudicating law and there are specific religious vows which call for abstinence (see the Nazirite vow in Numbers 6; Judges 13;Luke 1). Finally, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego choose abstinence for a time of service in the book of Daniel. However, this position does not deal with the following biblical realities. First, Jesus Himself drank wine and was even wrongly accused of being a glutton and drunkard. He acknowledged that He came to earth eating and drinking (Matthew 11:19). Second, Paul exhorts Timothy to use a little wine to help his stomach instead of simply drinking water for health/medicinal reasons (1 Timothy 5:23). Third, the Last Supper has the disciples drinking wine (Luke 22:14-23). Fourth, the Bible actually teaches that wine is a good gift from God (Psalm 104:15; 15). Fifth, the lack of wine or fruitful vineyards is a motif of God’s judgment in Scripture (Isaiah 16; 24; Jeremiah 48; Lamentations 2; Habakkuk 3:17-20) while wine is a sign of blessing (Genesis 27; Deuteronomy 7). So when looking at Scripture, the prohibitionist position is a difficult one to defend on biblical grounds. It seems this position speaks beyond Scripture and exalts a human tradition or value above the Word of God.

Abstentionism

This position is a bit more balanced in that it sees no blanket prohibition against consumption.  This view urges the believer to choose complete abstinence based on the possibility of the harmful effects of alcohol or being a witness to the gospel in culture. All the biblical commands about drunkenness and the risks of addiction are rightly brought in support of this position. Additionally, arguments against aiding an industry which exalts a non-biblical lifestyle and offending people in certain church cultures (sometimes described as causing people to stumble) are offered as support.⁴ This view sees drinking as something too risky, too dangerous to participate with and the prudent Christian will just say no. The one weakness I see is that it cannot accept a glass of wine as a good gift from God and purveyors of this view may slide towards legalistic prohibitionism in practice though not holding to this as biblical conviction. However, I do feel this is a valid biblical stance which steers clear of sin and I commend it to those who have a history of alcoholism and exhibit addictive life patterns. One final warning is needed. This view gives no leeway to pass judgment on those who choose a path of moderation and gives no excuse to remain immature always “stumbling” over the biblical practice of others.

Moderationism

The final position would be that of moderation. Though God prohibits drunkenness and drinking in certain circumstances, He by no means prohibits the moderate enjoyment of alcohol. The verses above in favor of alcohol and those warning against excess should both be embraced. This position requires maturity and accountability in community, yet in my view, balances both sides of teaching found in Scripture.⁵ One final warning here as well. Moderation is not more righteous than those who choose not to drink.  I have seen a self-righteousness from some believers as it they were more pleasing to God because they drink.  Such silliness is a sign not of maturity, but immaturity, and we need to move on from this attitude.

Life in Our Community

A few words in conclusion. First, Romans 13 is clear that we are to obey the laws of the state.  If you are not 21, you do not drink. Period. Second, as we live life together as Jacob’s Well there will be both abstentionists and moderationists among us.  If you find yourself leaning towards mandating your abstinence for others in judgment of their partaking, please cease. You have no biblical warrant and will jack up our church making it a not so fun place to live. Furthermore, if your moderation is leading you towards drinking too much, you need to repent of sin and live differently. You may even need to have others help you move forward and put down the sauce. How can we discern these things?  We must live openly with one another in community.  A healthy community will help one another to avoid the extremes of both legalism and license.  We must be honest with a brother or sister if we know he or she is drinking too much.  We cannot sit idly by while someone begins to drink in a way that dishonors Christ and destroys their life. On the other side of the equation, if someone asks you if you are putting down too much beer/wine, you should thank God for this question, not be defensive that someone would ask.

In short, we must live in biblical love, with biblical wisdom regarding this gift of God.  To not to do so, or to create an oppressive, legalistic culture is simply a FAIL.  The Scriptures carve out a better path.

On that Journey with you,

Reid

Notes

Some of the material here has been reworked from Reid S. Monaghan—Gray Matters: Media, Movies and Miller Time available online at http://www.powerofchange.org/storage/docs/gray_web_jw.pdf

1. Stephen Mansfield, The search for God and Guinness—A Biography of the Beer that Changed the World, (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2009) 5-6.

2. Our friend Wikipedia has an overview outline of this season in our history and the Christian influence of the temperance movement—http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prohibition_in_the_United_States

3. Mark Driscoll, The Radical Reformation—Reaching Out without Selling Out (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2004) 147, 148.

4. See lecture by Albert Mohler and Russell Moore, Alcohol and Ministry, http://www.sbts.edu/MP3/Mohler/Alcohol&Ministry.mp3 for an example of this.

5. For a more thorough treatment see Kenneth Gentry Jr., God Gave Wine (Lincoln, CA: Oakdown: 2001).

A brief introduction to wisdom literature and the book of Proverbs

INTRODUCTION¹

Wisdom, as related to human beings, may simply be defined as the virtue that enables one to make good choices in the complicated circumstances of life in order to walk a good path. For the follower of Jesus, wisdom is the art of godly living.

Every culture knows that there is a way to live that is rightly called foolishness. There really is a way to waste your life and fizzle your days away filled with folly. We are always seeking wisdom from others yet many times we go all over the place looking to figure out how life works.

Bookstores are jammed full with self-help books offering wisdom to the seeker. Movies and literature are filled with wise characters (Yoda and Gandalf the gray being some of my favorites). There is never a shortage of gurus being paraded out on the Oprah Winfrey show. Usually they are western dudes dabbling in eastern philosophy who write books and get paid.

Ironically, we are people who are surrounded by impressive knowledge but seem to be profoundly lacking in wisdom. Our culture seems to have a deficit of wisdom as we tend to float like empty ballasts upon a sea of nothingness. I offer MTV’s Jersey Shore as humble proof. Seriously, how many times can a chic fall in love and give everything she has to some idiot during the course of a summer?

We may know how to split the atom, make machines talk, decode the genome and scan the electrical activities of our brains but we remain unsure about how to make life work. In our search for meaning and happiness we simply lack the wisdom we truly need.

ON GAINING WISDOM

Wisdom is something that grows in us progressively as we walk with God in his world. It is no coincidence that the ancients saw the elderly as a source of wisdom; they have lived more life with God and have learned from him through teaching and experience. Proverbs 20:29 teaches us that the glory of young men is their strength, but the splendor of old men is their gray hair. It is not always the case that old age = wisdom, but there is a general principle here that we can learn and deepen in wisdom over time. The tragic story of King Rehoboam ignoring the wisdom of the elderly for the counsel of some punk young men is a classic example of this principle. You can read this in 1 Kings 12 in the Old Testament.

There is a bit of a paradox with wisdom.  It is the thing we need most when we are young, but being young we do not have it. This confronts people, particularly younger folk, with some difficult choices.  Will I learn from the wisdom God has given to others? Or will I remain an idiot? In our pride we can choose the latter, but if we are willing to humble ourselves, there are several ways that we can grow in wisdom.

Study and listening to God’s Word

God has revealed himself through his Word so we can study, read, listen, meditate upon and obey. Over time we gain the ability to discern good from evil (Hebrews 5:11-14) by the constant practice of the teaching of God. Learning and following over time results in becoming wise.  Will we come to the Word for wisdom?

Heeding the words of the Wise

Proverbs 11:14 reads, where there is no guidance, a people falls, but in an abundance of counselors there is safety. Further Proverbs 24:6 teaches us that in an abundance of counselors there is victory. Of course, the counselors must actually be wise, but the point is that we can learn from others if we listen. In fact, the book of Proverbs begins with these words: Let the wise hear and increase in learning, and the one who understands obtain guidance, to understand a proverb and a saying, the words of the wise and their riddles. Our parents, pastors and our community of faith have wise counsel for us…but we don’t always listen.  My favorite is to combine the first two – to hear the words of the wise, in the Scriptures. This essay will roll into that discussion in a minute.

Learning the Hard Way

The final way we learn is the hard way. This is where we do foolish stuff and we reap the reality. We all have been here have we not? God is kind and will discipline us to help us walk in wisdom.

In this paper we aim to do the following.  First, we hope to provide a very short introduction to the wisdom literature of the Bible in general and the book of Proverbs in particular. In doing so we’ll encourage one another to become wise by heading and hearing the wisdom of the wise in Scripture. Second, we hope to introduce our short series, Lust, Language and Liquortown to our community and why we are putting our toes into the book of Proverbs at this time and season of Jacob’s Well.

THE WISDOM LITERATURE OF THE BIBLE

There are many genres of literature (or kinds of writing) in the Holy Scriptures. There are histories, narratives, poems, law codes, songs, letters, writings about the end of history, parables, covenants and prophesies about events declaring God’s judgments and actions throughout history. There is also a unique body of writings properly called wisdom literature. The canonical books of Job, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, Proverbs, some of the Psalms, the writings of James and portions of the teachings of Jesus are rightly seen as writings offering wisdom for God’s people.

Outside of the book of Proverbs, many of these treasures can be greatly unknown to many in the church, yet they offer great counsel to the human race living in a world cursed due to sin and death. Job teaches us about life as suffering in relationship with God. Ecclesiastes offers a philosophical reflection on meaning, happiness and the transient nature of life. Song of Songs teaches us about life as covenantal love.  These themes are profoundly important and speak loudly with alacrity millennia after these works were inspired and written down.²

The biblical wisdom literature is a body of unique writings in that they instruct God’s covenant people (those who have entered relationship with him through his gracious promises and work in Jesus the Messiah) in how they are to walk with him on the earth.  Living in wisdom is living in godliness and reflecting the nature of the kingdom of God in the course of everyday life. Many peoples, both ancient³ and modern, posses a body of wisdom literature. What makes the biblical writings distinct are their relationship to YHWH, the creator God. In the wisdom literature of the Bible we have writing that is not just enormously practical for all people on the earth, but also a description for how to live in the fear of the LORD.⁴

Old Testament scholar Bruce Waltke rightly observes that the wisdom in Scripture exhorts us away from autonomy from God (Proverbs 3:7 being wise in your own eyes) and to live in trusting relationship with God following his paths (Proverbs 3:5-6). Though we find wise teaching of great value outside of Scripture, the wisdom of the Bible is unique in that its aims are far beyond just happily getting by on the earth. It is given to us to teach us to live within a trusting relationship with God as his people. 

A NOTE ON NON BIBLICAL WISDOM

In coming to the words of the wise and the writing of the sages, we must remember that there are various flavors of wisdom floating around.  There is a worldly wisdom that exists in the people, philosophies and religions which flow around us.  Many of these have much to say to us, but much of it stands in contradiction to the wisdom of God.  On two separate occasions the book of Proverbs reminds us “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.”⁵ Additionally, the New Testament writing of James is very clear for us here:

¹³Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom. ¹⁴But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. ¹⁵This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. ¹⁶For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice. ¹⁷But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. ¹⁸And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace. James 3:13-18 (ESV)

As wisdom is offered to us as we sojourn on the earth, we must be concerned to discern it through the teaching of the Scriptures.  In the Bible we have a sure word that can keep us from crashing like a runaway train being led astray by all manner of human opinions. Human wisdom is helpful at times as it has been forged in the furnaces of experience, but it must sit under the throne of a higher word that speaks from a higher place.  Duane A. Garrett makes a good observation that we would do well to remember as we seek to learn and grow in wisdom.

Finally, biblical wisdom stresses the limitations of human knowledge. The gulf between human perception and divine reality is never really closed. The sage is commanded to go about his task with humility and reverence for God. The learned must never forget their limitations (Proverbs 30:2–4) and that they are prone to error and conceit. Above all, they must subordinate their quest to the Word of God. For “every word of God is flawless” (Proverbs 30:5)⁶

THE BOOK OF PROVERBS

One of the most read and cherished portions of the Bible’s wisdom literature are the Hebrew Proverbs.  It is a collection of sayings from various people in the ancient world mostly compiled by the ancient Israelite King Solomon who reigned from 971–931 B.C.  We read in 1 Kings 4:29-34 that Solomon was a person whom God gave wisdom and understanding and that he indeed collected a quite a few proverbial sayings during his life. This passage states that his wisdom library included some 3000 proverbs and over a thousand songs. Now he couldn’t fit 1000 songs in his pocket, but he did manage to collect a plethora of wisdom in his life. Most biblical scholars segment the book into several sections based on the author of the sayings or when they were compiled.  The following is commonly used:

The Value of Seeking Wisdom (Ch 1-9)

This section focuses on persuading people of the important nature of wisdom in the life of God’s people.  We also note the specific emphasis on parents teaching wisdom to the yutes⁷ by way of proverbs.  Young people are also exhorted not to be hard headed and listen to their parents. Old School. There is some debate as to whether Solomon wrote these longer exhortatory poems with most conservative scholars agreeing with the attribution in Proverbs 1:1.⁸

The Proverbs of Solomon (Ch 10-22:16)

After the early work of the book persuading us of the value of wisdom, the meat of the book is comprised of the various proverbs of Solomon. These are shorter sayings than the sections in chapters 1-9 and cover all manner of topics. Proverbs 22:17–24:22 contains thirty sayings that are not attributed to Solomon but rather simply coming from “the wise”

The Collected Sayings of Solomon (Ch 25–29:27)

Proverbs 25 begins with the following phrase: These also are proverbs of Solomon which the men of Hezekiah king of Judah copied. Hezekiah was a king who ruled much later than Solomon in approximately 715–686 B.C. and led a renewal of Judah’s spiritual practices and faith after a wayward time. During this time of spiritual renewal additional proverbs attributed to Solomon were written down.

The Sayings of Agur, Lemuel and one Hot Momma (Ch 30 and 31)

The final two chapters contain the words of rather obscure people.  Chapter 30 is attributed to Agur son of Jakeh who is mentioned nowhere else in the Bible. Whether his name is a metaphor, a pen name, or a real person is not clear or certain.⁹

Finally, another quite unknown sage named Lemuel, possibly an Ancient Near Eastern King is given props for chapter 31.  Interestingly the words are said to have been taught to him by his Mother further reinforcing the importance of parents teaching wisdom to their kids. Some would couple the poem about the virtuous wife with the words of Lemuel, but one thing is for certain, the paradigm of feminine virtue extolled in the final words of Proverbs is a beautiful ideal.  Here we find a wife, mother and business woman who is generous, wise and praised by her husband and her kids. In my opinion this woman should shift today’s goofy definition of who is “hot”.

SOME HELP READING PROVERBS

In some ways Proverbs is a very easy book to read.  In fact, believers have found it easy to read one per day due to the breaking of the book into 31 chapters. On the other hand the Proverbs require a little help to understand and appropriate, well, wisely. What follow are two sections designed to help you read proverbs.  The first deals with the types of literary characters we find in the book and how understanding these help us grasp its message clearly. Second, we will wrestle with how to take the clarity of some of the Proverbs while living in a broken and fallen world. Proverbs seems to promise health, prosperity and the righteous finishing on top.  Yet in other parts of Scripture we realize that we suffer, die and sometimes give up all wealth for the sake of following God. I’ll try to give a few points of help with this tension. 

Some Peeps in the Proverbs

When reading Proverbs we run across several characters who personify certain human trends and actions.  They do not refer to a specific person but serve as types which stand for many people.  We will look at the fool, the simple, the wise, the wicked (including scoffers, and those wise in their own eyes) and the righteous. Many times these characters are contrasted with one another, for instance the wise and the fool, in order for us to see clearly the path we ought to take. The introductory article in the ESV Study Bible by Garrett and Harris describes this well:

Also, these characters usually serve as idealized portraits: that is, they denote people exemplary for their virtue and wisdom or especially despicable for their evil. The literary name for this is “caricature”: portraits of people with features exaggerated for easy identification. The positive figures serve as ideals for the faithful, to guide their conduct and character formation. The negative figures are exaggerated portraits of those who do not embrace the covenant, so the faithful can recognize these traits in themselves and flee them.¹⁰

What follows is but a brief look at how Proverbs uses these caricatures in order to help us see more clearly the path of walking with God.

Fools and Folly

The fool is someone who shows himself to be not only lacking wisdom and discretion but also morally deficient.  We would call him an idiot or a moron but not simply in referring to intellectual capacity.  The fool in Proverbs is an idiot in the sense of the way he chooses to live his life. Americans like to watch the fool on various reality TV shows usually to feel self-righteous and better about their own lives. The fool talks too much, does not listen, lies regularly, thinks sin is funny, hates knowledge and wisdom, and pretty much will have a ruinous end. Pull up the Bible online (www.gnpcb.org/esv/) and search for the word “fool” and you will find not a few Proverbs to read. Simply put, you don’t want to be an idiot so pay attention to the fool’s way of life as you read the Proverbs.

The Simple

The person who is called “simple” is one who is in a situation needing some learning about the ways of godly living. She is not as far gone as the fool and her life could change or stay simple (Proverbs 1:22, 32). The simple person is called to take heed and listen and choose a path of wisdom rather than the moronic idiocy of the fool. The simple person is easily deceived (Proverbs 14:15) and needs to stop and think about her decisions. 

The Wise and Wisdom

The wise are those whom are taking the path which God sets out for us and are to be emulated. The lives of the wise are typified by hearing and learning from the ways of God (Proverbs 1:5; 8:33; 10:8; 12:15).  The mouth of the wise is used for teaching, healing and preserving rather than tearing down (Proverbs 12:18; 14:3; 15:2,7).  The wise avoids sexual misdeeds and adultery (Proverbs 5 and 6; 23:26-28) and stays away from drunkenness which is common deep downtown in Liquortown (Proverbs 20:1; 23:29-35).

Wisdom itself is personified in the book of Proverbs and is said to speak to us and cries out for us to listen. Many have rightly linked the personification of wisdom with the person of Jesus, the son of God. The New Testament teaches us that Christ is the wisdom of God and that in him are all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. The way of wisdom is found in following a way that is set out by God.  The way of wisdom is following in the way of Jesus as his disciple

The Wicked

Joining the fool in Proverbs as a negative character is the way of the wicked. While we observe the fool’s jacked up choices in everyday life, we see that the way of the wicked is utter rejection of the covenant making God. The wicked is seen as setting his way in opposition to God and seeking to take others with him.  He is sometimes called a “sinner” (Proverbs 1) but not in the sense that everyone sins and falls short of the glory of God.  He is a sinner whose joy and goal in life is sinning it up and commending this as a good way to live.  The wicked are said to be under God’s curse (Proverbs 3:33), living in darkness (Proverbs 4:19), living in a way that is an abomination to God (Proverbs 15:9) and will come to sudden, disastrous ruin.  The message in Proverbs: you want to go to Hell? Walk in the way of the wicked and only the wrath of God remains.

The Righteous

There is a character in Proverbs known as righteous which shows the rich blessing of walking in covenant relationship with God.  The righteous is also called upright, diligent and prudent to describe this way of life to us.¹¹  The righteous is similar to the wise person whereas here the relationship with God is central rather than every day decisions and living. It should be obvious to any reader of the Scripture that our relationship with God (righteousness) and holy, wise living in the world are always conjoined.  As followers of Jesus we understand that we are made righteous by God and we live righteously in our lives by his empowering Spirit.  Proverbs does not present a self-righteous person living in his own strength, but rather one dependent upon God who makes straight his paths. The path of the righteous is light, his way is understanding and knowledge, his mouth and lips bring blessing to others and he is ultimately delivered by God.

A Few Miscellaneous Peeps

Finally, there are also a few special folks listed in Proverbs: The sluggard, scoffers and those who are wise in their own eyes.  The scoffer loves to mock and deride God’s people and those who are wise in their own eyes are utterly deceived.  The former suffers from a deep arrogance and pride (Proverbs 21:24) while the latter’s condition is almost seen as without hope (Proverbs 26:12). The sluggard is the lazy guy who loves to sleep, never finishes anything he starts, and pretty much fails to utilize opportunities before him.¹² Derek Kidner, in commenting on the sluggard, made the following observation: “[the sluggard] does not commit himself to a refusal, but deceives himself by the smallness of his surrenders.” ¹³ So, by inches and minutes, his opportunity slips away.

PROMISES AND TRUTHS OF PROVERBS

As the Proverbs are so practical and easy to read we must be careful not to misunderstand their message.  There are several principle which can help us to ascertain and properly understand the proverbs.  Let me give a few examples of the problems which can arise.

• Proverbs 22:6 teaches parents to train up a child in the way he should go and even when he is old he will not depart from it.  Does this mean that if you are perfect parents your kids will turn out to love and walk with God? Of course not, yet some parents claim this as a promise or guarantee. Now parents I am not taking this verse away from us; I just want us to come to it with humility.  We’ll talk more about proverb vs. promise in a moment.
• Proverbs also teaches much about the nature of health and wealth and many a preacher on television will grab a proverb or two and promise all his hearers they are to be rich and never get sick! There are also verses like this one: Do not toil to acquire wealth; be discerning enough to desist (Proverbs 23:14).

So how do we understand the Proverbs as we read so as to not be led astray by our excitement nor minimize the wonderful teaching of these verses?  I pray the following might be of some help. I will use the example of wealth to illustrate each of these principles in order to help us read the proverbs with wisdom.

A Few Principles for Reading Proverbs

1. Proverbs are dealing with observed probabilities, not absolute promises and guarantees. Dillard and Longman make a great observation for us here, “they are not divine promises [for every occasion] for the here and now, but true observations that time will bear out.”¹⁴

2. Proverbs are to be read in the whole, not simply in their parts. There are many times other proverbs which balance the teaching of the first one you read. They do not nullify one another, but they give a bigger picture. Additionally, other parts of the wisdom literature and other parts of the Bible may shape how we understand a Proverb.

3. Proverbs are true in certain circumstances and life contexts yet perhaps not in others. Wisdom is always exercised in real life, not simply in abstraction.  So Proverbs is not playing a pithy game when it tells us “Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest you be like him yourself.” and then in the very next verse “Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own eyes.” (Proverbs 26:4,5) The point here is that fools are complicated to deal with and wisdom would require balance.

4. Proverbs are to be read with a long horizon of eternity – Even though some of the wise sayings dictate what usually happens with a certain course of action and behavior, they do not always obtain in the here and now. However, in light of eternity, they will prove true. In a fallen world where sin, death and injustice still have a hand in life we long for a day when the life, health, peace and prosperity talked of in Proverbs will be final and absolute. These have us long for the day when the righteous will inherit the earth in the Kingdom of Heaven.

5. Proverbs are about life Coram Deo – The proverbs should not be read in a vacuum where God is not considered. I know this may seem like a ridiculous thing to say but we are a people who can love formulas and sayings more than we love God. God is sovereign and his will sometimes is mysterious.  Job’s wife and friends were quoting proverbial type wisdom to him when the truth of what God was doing was quite different. We trust a Sovereign God who has made sure promises to us.  We trust and stand on his actual promises in Jesus and hear and heed the wisdom in Proverbs.  There is a difference between a promise of God and a wise Proverb inspired by God.  One is sure and we rest in it, the other must be skillfully heard and daily applied.

OK, let us apply these principles to an example that many a prosperity preacher might use to talk of all the money Christians should have. Proverbs 13:22 says, “A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children, but the sinner’s wealth is laid up for the righteous.” Each of the numbered thoughts below will correspond to the same numbered principle from the previous section.

1. If one absolutizes the latter part of this verse into a promise or a guarantee we must be required to think that whenever a wicked person dies some Christian is going to get all his money.  Some actually teach this sort of schmack. In the short term, this is not true.

2. The book of Proverbs teaches much about wealth not simply this one verse; it might help us to know the bigger picture. Wealth is good when it is gained justly and when walking faithfully in the ways of God. Good stewardship will lead to the sort of blessing in the first half of this verse.  Proverbs 11:7 teaches us that “when the wicked dies, his hope will perish, and the expectation of wealth perishes too.”  There is nothing for the wicked after the grave, and his wealth goes to someone else.

3. This entire proverb can be completely true now in certain circumstances. I know of one personally.

4. Ultimately all who belong to Jesus will quite literally “inherit the earth” and the wealth and riches of God will not remain with the wicked.  The long term horizon validates the Proverb completely.

5. The promise of God is that we have a secure, unfading, eternal inheritance in Him (1 Peter 1:3-9) that includes every spiritual blessing in Christ (Ephesians 1). When the wicked continue to prosper in this age we know the final judgment of God will stand firm and clear.

I hope this simple example is helpful in thinking through the reading and living of the wisdom literature.  For those desiring a bit more discussion of this matter I refer you to Mark Dever’s excellent treatment in his sermon on Proverbs in The Message of the Old Testamant: Promises Made. ¹⁵

OUR SHORT JOURNEY TOGETHER

In the early days of Jacob’s Well we have a few reasons to jump into the Proverbs for a few weeks together.  First, we are a young church made of up young singles, young marrieds and families. I want us to learn to listen and head wisdom from the wise.  One of the strengths of youth is zeal, optimism, hope and passion to make a difference in the world. One of the silly things about youth is that the young tend to be foolish and think they know it all when they do not. Second, there are particular issues we walk with in our culture which we need to hear and heed the wisdom of God.  Sexuality, the use of language, and alcohol are important in every age; certainly in our time and culture.

Followers of Jesus can also fall all over the map when relating to these issues of life. Some act as though the only places the omnipresent God never visits are where people have sex. We all dishonor God greatly with what comes out of our mouths and some are very concerned if someone uses a word considered to be on some hidden forbidden list in heaven.¹⁶ Furthermore, God is not ignorant of the fact that he created all things that bring about the process of fermentation.  Yet our culture is perverted and abuses these good gifts from God so we need to have honest discussions about what Scripture teaches on these issues.

As a new church we need to have three things on these important issues: clarity, unity and charity (gracious love).

• Clarity: need to know what is and is not sinful regarding these matters. The Word of God is our guide here not our preferences or manmade traditions.
• Unity: we need to agree that some of us will have various degrees of conscience regarding these matters.  We will agree with the biblical clarity and unify there.  We will not let preference or religious culture dictate to us our lives or separate us into fighting about stupid things.
• Charity: we need to give grace to one another as we grow regarding these issues.  None of us is “made perfect” overnight and we do think that God loves sinners and is willing to change us over time.  We will help one another forward in obedience to God in these issues, rebuke and correct sin, and with patience allow one another time to grow.

Our series will proceed with three messages after an introduction on Wisdom. If you have read this up until this point you have gotten more than most! Go give yourself a gold star you overachiever!

• A Message about Lust: During this series we will look with great concern about the teaching in Proverbs about sexual indiscretion and freaky living.
• A Message about Language: We will look at the purpose God gave us mouths and language (hint – it is not to drop bombs at your neighbor).  We will see how we need him to help us control the tongue and make ours a blessing to God and other people.
• A Message about Liquortown: Finally, we will touch on various teachings in the Bible and contemporary Christian practices about the use and abuse of alcohol.

CONCLUSION

There is a divine shout out going on in the world today where wisdom is crying out for us to hear.  God in his kindness has given us literature like Proverbs to shake our deaf ears. Proverbs 1:20-23 reads so clearly:

²⁰ Wisdom cries aloud in the street, in the markets she raises her voice; ²¹at the head of the noisy streets she cries out; at the entrance of the city gates she speaks: ²²“How long, O a simple ones, will you love being simple? How long will scoffers delight in their scoffing and fools hate knowledge? ²³ If you turn at my reproof, behold, I will pour out my spirit to you; I will make my words known to you.

How much more longing we have for wisdom as God’s people who see and savor Jesus Christ as “the wisdom and power of God.” (1 Corinthians 1:18-25) What a tremendous privilege we have to follow Jesus within who are all the hidden treasures of wisdom and knowledge (Colossians 2:3).

In proverbs wisdom is personified as shouting aloud in the streets to us? Will we listen? Wisdom was incarnate in Jesus Christ and crucified by the wisdom of the world. Will we do the same day after day?  Derek Kidner, the late Old Testament scholar, commented simply on the urgency to gain wisdom: What it takes is not brains or opportunity, but a decision. Do you want it? Come and get it?¹⁷  Jesus was even simpler in his call to us all in relationship to wise living.  Come, follow me! Even concerning Lust, Language and Liquortown.

May each of us choose his paths, as he gives grace, in the year ahead!

Reid S. Monaghan

Lead Pastor

END NOTES

1. This introduction is adapted from an essay I wrote during our study of Ephesians in the summer of 2009.  The original essay, Wise Guys, can be read athttp://www.powerofchange.org/blog/2009/8/16/wise-guys.html

2. A good little reflection on these themes is found in Peter Kreeft, Three Philosophies of Life : Ecclesiastes— Life as Vanity, Job— Life as Suffering, Song of Songs— Life as Love (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1989). Kreeft is a philosopher and not a theologian but still offers some helpful insights surrounding these wisdom oriented books of the Old Testament.

3. See Bruce K. Waltke and Charles Yu, An Old Testament Theology : An Exegetical, Canonical and Thematic Approach, 1st ed. (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan, 2007), 898-901.

4. Proverbs 1:7 is clear that “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.” The term LORD here is God’s unique covenant name YHWH, or I AM as expressed in Exodus 3.

5. Proverbs 14:12 and 16:25

6. Duane A. Garrett, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs (Nashville, Tenn.: Broadman Press, 1993), 58.

7. Yutes, plural for young adults. “The two yutes in question.” - My Cousin Vinny”The Urban Dictionary.”

8. Waltke and Yu, 905. See also the brief authorship discussion in Raymond B. Dillard and Tremper Longman, An Introduction to the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan, 1994), 236-237.

9. For more discussion on the identity of Agur see Proverbs, Book Of, in The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia Revised ed.: Wm. B. Eerdmans., 1988; 2002), s.v.

10. Introduction to Proverbs, Crossway Bibles., The Holy Bible : English Standard Version : The Esv Study Bible (Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway Bibles, 2008).

11. Ibid.

12. Mark Dever, The Message of the Old Testament: Promises Made (Wheaton: Crossway Books, 2006), 512-514.

13. Quoted by Mark Dever, Ibid., 513.

14. Dillard and Longman, 244.

15. Dever, 509-511.

16. There is no such list.  Yet the Bible is razor sharp in clear about sins of the tongue.  For more on this show up for the sermon or you can hope over to our essay “Watch Your Mouth” at http://www.powerofchange.org/blog/2009/8/1/watch-your-mouth.html

17. Quoted in Waltke and Yu, 908. Emphasis mine.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Bromiley, G. W. , The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. Wm. B. Eerdmans., 1988; 2002.

Crossway Bibles. The Holy Bible : English Standard Version : The Esv Study Bible. Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway Bibles, 2008.

Dever, Mark. The Message of the Old Testament: Promises Made. Wheaton: Crossway Books, 2006.

Dillard, Raymond B., and Tremper Longman. An Introduction to the Old Testament. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan, 1994.

Garrett, Duane A. Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs. Nashville, Tenn.: Broadman Press, 1993.

Kreeft, Peter. Three Philosophies of Life : Ecclesiastes— Life as Vanity, Job— Life as Suffering, Song of Songs— Life as Love. San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1989.

“The Urban Dictionary.”

Waltke, Bruce K., and Charles Yu. An Old Testament Theology : An Exegetical, Canonical and Thematic Approach. 1st ed. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan, 2007.

Reconstructing the Word of God...What is Textual Criticism?

Today at the POCBlog, we have a guest essay by my friend and Jacob’s Wellian Scott C. Jones…this was written in conjuncture with his teaching of John 8:1-11 at Jacob’s Well on 10/25/2009.

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Grab a Bible and consider what you’re holding: a bound volume - pretty cover and all - of a bunch of documents written long ago over the course of hundreds of years. It may come as a shock to realize that none of the handwritten originals of these documents exist today. Nothing that Paul - or any of the other Biblical writers - wrote exists in the form that came from their pens. In fact, most of those handwritten drafts probably vanished from the face of earth within 10-20 years of their composition. Yet we still believe that what you’re holding in your hand is the inspired, inerrant Word of God. We very much have what was written. How can that be? How can we say that we know exactly what the original authors wrote, if we don’t have their original manuscripts in hand?

Inerrancy Clarified

Well, first let’s briefly clarify what Christians mean when they call the Bible “inerrant.” The doctrine of inerrancy doesn’t hold that your NIV or ESV translation is the exact words that God inspired the original authors to write. For one thing, Moses and Paul didn’t speak English. The Old Testament was almost entirely written in Hebrew, and the New Testament in a common Greek dialect. As such, your English translation is at least one step removed from the exact original wording. However, there is also the above mentioned reality which is that we don’t have any of the exact original Hebrew or Greek manuscripts. Therefore, it is important to clarify that inerrancy holds that “Scripture in the original manuscripts does not affirm anything that is contrary to fact.”¹ That may seem to question our reliance on Scripture as the Word of God, but before we despair, it’s important to consider that he have literally thousands of copies of the Biblical documents. And though almost all of these copies have small variations at certain points, our reliance on “second-hand” copies of the originals is no cause for alarm.² 

Textual Criticism to the Rescue?

If this all seems disconcerting, consider the meticulous science of textual criticism. Textual criticism is “the science that compares all known copies of a given document in an effort to trace the history of variations in the copying process so as to discover the original form of the text.”³ Did you get that? If not, picture this: you send a handwritten letter to a friend. Your friend receives the letter and wants other people to read what you’ve written. However, she wants to keep the original for herself. So, she decides to hand copy the original letter and sends copies out to 10 different friends. They’re so inspired by your words that they too decide to hand-write copies and send them to their 10 best friends. And so on and so on. Eventually there would be hundreds of copies of your original letter. As you might imagine, by the one-hundredth copy, there might be a slight difference in wording here and there. Some of the copyists might have corrected your grammar in certain places or changed the wording a bit to improve a phrase that wasn’t entirely clear to them. They also could have simply messed up in the copying process and left things out or switched words by mistake. Now imagine that your friend lost your original letter and wanted to reconstruct it as exactly as possible. What would she do?

Well, she would first try to get her hands on the original copies she herself had made. If she couldn’t find those first copies, she’d probably start compiling a bunch of other people’s hand-written copies. She’d then sit down and do a thorough examination of those copies. If she found differences in the copies she’d ask herself a series of questions to determine what the original actually said. Those questions might include: Does this sound more or less like the way my friend normally writes? Which is more likely to be an improvement on the original, rather than the original itself? Which copy came earlier in the copying process and is therefore less likely to have been varied along the way? Is the variation an understandable mistake in spelling (i.e.–God becoming good); if so, is one clearly correct given the context? Is there a difference in one later copy that doesn’t appear anywhere else in the earlier copies? Did someone clearly forget a line or phrase that seems to show up in a majority of the copies? Here is an example. You give it a try on the following:

1. Today I went to worship at Jacob’s Well. It was awesome.
2. Today I went to worship Jesus at Jacob’s Well. It was awe inspiring.
3. Today I went to worship Jesus at Jacob’s Well. It was awesome.
4. Today I worshipped Jesus at Jacob’s Wel. It was awesome.

You just did some good textual work and most likely came to a decision as to which was the original.⁴

Examining the Evidence

By asking this series of questions, your friend would be doing textual criticism. Luckily there are many faithful Christians (and non-Christians) who have given their lives to this very task with respect to the reconstruction of the original manuscripts of Scripture.  Still more exciting is the reality that they have an enormous amount of material with which to work. Compared to other ancient documents, the New Testament has an almost unfathomable number of early copies. For instance, the well-known historians Thucydides and Herodotus wrote around 500-400BC. There are, at most, 75 copies of their original work and many of those are one or two pages of multi-volume histories. The oldest manuscripts we have of their work date from the first century AD (400 years after they lived). In comparison, there are approximately 5,700 copies of the NT written in its original language (Greek), accompanied by 10,000 Latin copies and literally a million smaller quotations in the sermons and writings of the early church fathers.  The earliest of these copies date from the early second century A.D., just decades after the originals had been penned.⁵ If necessary, read those numbers again. It is truly amazing how thoroughly preserved the New Testament documents are, due to this abundance of handwritten, early copies.

Strong Confidence

Given this plethora of evidence there is an understandable amount of variance between the copies. In fact, in the NT alone there are approximately 400,000 variants among the manuscripts. However, it is absolutely critical to understand the nature of these variations.  Most are simple spelling or copying errors which are immediately spotted. Furthermore, they are almost universally without consequence to any basic Christian doctrine. As theologian Wayne Grudem explains:

“Even for many of the verss where there are textual variants … the correct decision is often quite clear, and there are really very few places where the textual variant is both difficult to evaluate and significant in determining the meaning. In the small percentage of cases where there is significant uncertainty about what the original text said, the general sense of the sentence is usually quite clear from the context.”⁶

Or as Daniel Wallace suggests:

“In the final analysis, no cardinal doctrine, no essential truth, is affected by any viable variant in the surviving NT manuscripts. For example, the deity of Christ, his resurrection, his virginal conception, justification by faith, and the Trinity are not put in jeopardy because of any textual variation. Confidence can therefore be placed in the providence of God in preserving the Scriptures.”⁷

The lack of the original hand written manuscripts should not cause us to throw away our reliance on Scripture as the only authoritative guide for life and doctrine. Quite the contrary—we have the New Testament as it was written. In the same way, the existence of differences between copies should not draw us away from the tough work of textual criticism. Rather, we should praise God that in his sovereign wisdom he has given us a wealth of manuscripts with which to determine what those original documents said.

John 7:53-8:11

This text is a great example of the contribution textual criticism makes to our confidence in the veracity and reliability of the Biblical documents. Most English Bibles will include the heading {THE EARLIEST MANUSCRIPTS DO NOT INCLUDE JOHN 7:53-8:11} before this passage. Well, before you freak out and claim that Jacob’s Well doesn’t preach Scripture, a brief word on this heading. Basically, none of our earliest full copies of the Gospel of John include this particular episode. However, the scene itself is widely talked about in very early Christian literature. While scholars disagree as to where the scene is best placed chronologically, they almost universally agree that given the many references to the story outside of Scripture, this definitely happened – and was widely known to have happened – some time in the course of Jesus’ ministry. The reason it’s been put here is that Jesus is hanging around the temple at this point in John’s Gospel (the other Gospels have much briefer accounts of this particular period in Jesus’ ministry) and it’s a pretty good bet that this would have happened around that time. Textual critics have felt it necessary to include this story somewhere in the Gospels as it is the only story of its kind (a story we know happened because of strong, widespread evidence, but one that wasn’t written down by the four Gospel writers). And so, most Bible editors agree that this is the best place to place it. However, they don’t want to mislead us and suggest that this was definitely written by the hand of John (in fact, much of the language is very un-Johnlike or non-Johannine, for you scholars). And so, they include this somewhat shocking heading just to provide honest, full disclosure. Textual critics take their work very seriously, as they are reconstructing the inspired word of God. The lengths they’ve gone to make sure we understand the source of this particular account underscores their diligence and respect for the Scriptures. As Wallace said above, God in his providence has preserved the Scriptures for his people; and the textual critics are one of the tools God has chosen to use in that process.

Joining you in treasuring God’s Word,

Scott C. Jones

Notes

1. Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1994), 90.
2. Daniel Wallace, “The Reliability of the New Testament Manuscripts,” ESV Study Bible (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2008), 2587.
3. J.B. Green, Scot McKnight, and I.H. Marshall, “Textual Criticism” Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels (Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity, 1992), 827.
4. Yes, it was #3.  Thanks to Reid Monaghan for adding this illustration.
5. Wallace, “Reliability,” 2588.
6. Grudem, “Systematic,” 96.
7. Wallace, “Reliability,” 2589.

Mr. Un-Clean and the Gospel

Coming to certain portions of the Scriptures can be an adventure when it is your first time reading them.  For instance, the first time I read through the book of Leviticus I found a bizarre world of food regulations and lots of talk about who was clean or unclean.  As an American, I was familiar with the proverbial phrase Cleanliness is next to godliness¹ and I knew about Mr. Clean from an unforgettable bald guy advertising campaign. However, I knew very little about the aspect of being “clean” or “unclean” that is all over the book of Leviticus in the Old Testament. I thought it would be an interesting discussion for us to undertake in light of our study of lepers in Luke 17.11-19.

In our study of the 10 lepers we see the afflicted crowd is standing at a distance from the other people.  Many times lepers, those affected with various forms of skin diseases  or infections would be quarantined from the rest of the community.  The reasons are obvious in that the disease (s) would be kept from spreading through the rest of the population.  There is something about this separation that is a parable or type of our spiritual condition before God. 

In this essay I want us to learn a few things.  First, we will look at the symbolism God teaches us by separating his people from the other nations in the Old Testament by dietary laws and cleanliness codes. Second, we will look at the way in which God told the Israelites to live and worship after their exodus from Egyptian slavery. The role of the tabernacle (tent of meeting) and the structure of the Israelites camp will be discussed here as well.  Finally, we will look at the issue of our spiritual condition before God and how it is illustrated by the brokenness and fragmentation of our physical bodies—even with various nasty skin infections.  With that said, lets jump in and get our hands dirty…or, uh, unclean.

The Purpose of the Levitical Codes

The book of Leviticus is not as well known today and it is at times a chore for modern readers to grasp its meaning without a broad knowledge of the larger biblical narrative.  Yet, did you know that America’s Liberty Bell takes its name from Leviticus 25:10? In fact, inscribed on the bell itself are the words “Proclaim Liberty Lev 25:10.”²  Seriously, read the verse, it is pretty sweet. The second greatest commandment (Matthew 22:39), quite the favorite of Jesus himself, is found in the pages of Leviticus. “Love your neighbor as yourself” is from in Leviticus 19:18. Yet also in the book we read stuff like this in Leviticus 13.

¹The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, ²“When a person has on the skin of his body a swelling or an eruption or a spot, and it turns into a case of leprous disease on the skin of his body, then he shall be brought to Aaron the priest or to one of his sons the priests, ³and the priest shall examine the diseased area on the skin of his body. And if the hair in the diseased area has turned white and the disease appears to be deeper than the skin of his body, it is a case of leprous disease. When the priest has examined him, he shall pronounce him unclean.

There are also verses about sexual immorality as well as very specific dietary regulations.  The book also has detailed descriptions of various sorts of sacrifices God’s people were to offer with a mind towards atonement³ for sins. We do need to ask the question, what is up with all the clean and unclean talk?  Scholar and Pastor Mark Dever gives a very succinct summary of the book of Leviticus and in it we find a bit of a clue for what is up with all the quirky, strangeness in this inspired book from God:

First, we see that God’s people are distinct; so they should live holy lives.  Second, we see that God’s people are sinful; so they should offer sacrifices. 

For our study, we have the first purpose of the book in view.  God gave his people certain cleanliness codes to display to the people his holiness and how they are to be a people set apart (made holy) for him. 

The cleanliness codes of the Old Testament have obvious and helpful public health purposes.  They are for the common good of the community to limit the spread of disease and infection through unwise behavior.  Yet to stop the discussion there would entirely miss the point God is making in this book and in the instruction of the ancient community.  Leviticus 10:10 gives clarity to this issue: You are to distinguish between the holy and the common, and between the unclean and the clean. 

Some of you might remember the movie, Meet the Parents, where the lowly male nurse Gay Focker was meeting the somewhat psycho Dad of his fiancé.  In the movie the father tells Gay about his “circle of trust” that he would either be in that circle or outside of it.  Mark Dever uses a similar analogy of circles to describe the notion of clean or unclean things.  In this case, a large circle would represent all that is clean and the normal state of things.  Outside of this circle God placed certain foods, certain behaviors and certain temporary states like curable diseases.  Outside the circle would be all that is “unclean.”Furthermore, unclean things were not always and necessarily the result of sinful activities but activities that made one ceremonially and temporarily unclean for worship. Dever calls all things clean and unclean things that are “common” to being human. One more category is brought to bear on life in Leviticus.  There were things that could be set apart (or sanctified) as holy. To take a holy thing and connect it to anything unclean was forbidden and the gravest of offenses.⁴   The diagram below illustrates these ideas.

In giving these categories to Israel God is teaching them that all of life matters to God and that he is not to be worshipped by perverse sexual practices, religious prostitution, sacrificing children or the abuse of human beings. It is interesting that Leviticus speaks about how all these make one unclean for worshipping God.  They are not to worship as the idolatrous nations which surround them.⁵  In summary, God is teaching his people in Leviticus that he is holy so he is setting them apart as holy.  The law shows them that they are to worship the one true God differently that the way others will pursue idolatrous spiritualities.  God has declared things clean and unclean, holy and profane.  His people should see all of life this way and seek to live and worship in the way that he shows us. 

One more aside is necessary before moving on.  Do all these laws apply to us now? The simple answer is no.  Many of the Old Testament teachings had a purpose to point forward to the coming Messiah and are literally fulfilled in Jesus Christ.  Jesus himself now “sets apart, sanctifies, and makes holy God’s people” (See 1 Corinthians 6:11; Hebrews 10; Hebrews 13:12). Another example relates to the Old Testament sacrifices. Jesus is the very lamb of God; he was God’s own sacrifice for sin so animal sacrifice is no longer necessary. The Old Covenant sacrifice was a shadow that pointed to the reality of the coming one who would give his life for the sins of the world (See Isaiah 53, Hebrews 8-10). It is not that these laws were bad in their time, their purpose in pointing us towards Jesus has been fulfilled. Further, we are free to eat all foods with thanksgiving as we come to God in Jesus (Mark 7:14-23).  Jesus made it clear that the point of the Levitical law was to show us that clean/unclean are actually pointing to issues of the heart; in fact, this was the point of Leviticus all along.

The Camp and the Unclean

After God delivered his people from slavery in the Exodus (see Story in the biblical book of the same name) he led them in the dessert to teach them how to worship and about his character and nature.  Part of this education was in the very way they lived, traveled and set up for worship.  God gave very clear instructions of how to design a tabernacle/tent for worship.  This tent was a series of courts/chambers that were progressively more set apart from the people.  The further you went in, the holier the place was in which the person traveled.  The outer courts contained the holy place, then further inside was the most holy place where the very presence of God was said to dwell.  Outside of this tabernacle was the camp, the place where the people lived in smaller tent dwellings.  The whole structure looked as follows, of course much less SIM⁶ like.

The Israelite would be very aware of proximity to God as being holy.  To be outside of the camp would be a separation from the community of God and far away from the presence and worship of God.  To be outside the camp was to be an “outcast” - a place where the unworthy and the unclean would be found. 

Now, lets go back to the story of the 10 lepers.  In the Old Testament and the New the leper, whatever form of skin disease one had, would be separated from the people and thereby be seen as stricken by God.  Let me be clear.  The Scriptures do not teach that the leper was afflicted and cursed by God but it was a common idea in the mind of the Jew and the non Jew.  In light of the social and religious stigma, in light of having to dwell outside of the camp until deemed “clean” again by the priests, ten lepers cried out to Jesus in Luke 17. 

Jesus, Going Outside of the Camp

What does Jesus do when he hears the cry for mercy coming from outside the camp?  The incarnate son of God, who has left the holy of holies at the right hand of the Father goes outside of the camp to show mercy to the outcast.  He tells them to go show themselves to the priest, the very action they would do if they were already healed.  He calls them to trust him and act by faith on his words.  As they were going, Luke’s gospel tells us, they were healed of their affliction.  At this point the most scandalous thing occurs in our story.  Almost all of the lepers who were healed did not come back to thank the one who had healed them. Only one of nine returns in order to express praise and gratitude. He is the outcast of outcasts for he was not simply a leper, he was a Samaritan. He was doubly “unclean.” 

Spiritual Lepers—He Suffers and Calls us Outside of the Camp

The tabernacle was not a bad set up, but it was a teaching aid for God for all time.  It was to show us the amazing grace and radical nature of the love of God in the gospel.  God is holy, he is separated from us and we dare not enter the holy place in our sins and spiritual leprosy.  Yet what does God do for humanity?  First, he goes outside of the camp and dies as a cursed man (Deuteronomy 21:22,23) for the sake of those under the curse of sin and death.  Galatians 3:10-14 says it clearly:

¹⁰For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.” ¹¹Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for “The righteous shall live by faith.” ¹²But the law is not of faith, rather “The one who does them shall live by them.” ¹³Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”— ¹⁴so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith.

Furthermore, Jesus went outside of the camp to show mercy on the leper, the one separated from God due to sin and rebellion.  He shows mercy upon human beings who trust him by faith and as he told the Samaritan leper, he saves them. Hebrews 13 wraps all of these ideas together for us in a sweeping panorama of the grace of God shown to unclean sinners in Jesus Christ. 

⁷Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith. ⁸Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. ⁹Do not be led away by diverse and strange teachings, for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by foods, which have not benefited those devoted to them. ¹⁰We have an altar from which those who serve the tent have no right to eat. ¹¹For the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the holy places by the high priest as a sacrifice for sin are burned outside the camp. ¹²So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood. ¹³Therefore let us go to him outside the camp and bear the reproach he endured. ¹⁴For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come. ¹⁵Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name. ¹⁶Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.

Hebrews 13:7-16 (ESV)

In this passage we see cleanliness by eating foods superseded.  We see that a final sacrifice has superseded the sacrifice of animals to cover and cleanse sins.  We see that Jesus sets us apart and then calls us outside of the camp to live on his mission to save sinful people through the gospel.  All of this is in light of the eternal camp, the eternal coming city of God in the Kingdom known to many simply as “heaven.”  In this age now we have been forgiven of sin through Jesus and now offer this same grace to others in the proclaiming of good news to those who need the love and mercy of God.   Finally, we see the purpose of our lives in Jesus.  We are to offer up a sacrifice of praise to God through our lips, through our service to others, through joyful generosity.  Why? For such sacrifices are pleasing to God who through Jesus was pleased to seat us with him in the most holy place.  None of this is of our doing, it is all the manifest, glorious, revealed plan of God in Jesus.  As such we must echo with the apostle Paul, that early leader of the church: For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen. 

Worship God you lepers! And say thanks, you have been healed and saved to the uttermost.

Notes

1. The phrase, much like God helps those who help themselves, is found nowhere in the Bible. It is not even in the book of 2^nd Opinions.  Apparently it dates back to 17th century England and the words of Francis Bacon.  We do know that the exact wording appeared in one of John Wesley’s sermons in 1791. See William and Mary Morris, Morris Dictionary of Word and Phrase Origins (HarperCollins, NY, 1977, 1988).

2. Mark Dever, The Message of the Old Testament (Wheaton, Crossway Books, 2006) 110.

3. The word atonement means to satisfy or repair an injury to a relationship or an offense given. It means the reconciliation of two estranged parties through sacrifice.

4. See the excellent discussion in Dever, 115-116.

5. Ibid 116.

6. SIM refers to a whole genre of computer simulation games made popular in the last few decades, particularly the series of games by designer Will Wright.

Rich and Poor in the Kingdom of God

Our world measures importance,  success and social status by various measures.  Abundance of wealth or lack thereof being a prominent one indicator of who is doing well in the world and who is not.  Jesus did not see it this way and we see this through his interactions with two very wealthy men. The gospel according to Luke touches on wealth and poverty quite a bit.  In fact, Luke’s gospel has a strong focus on Jesus’ identification with and love for the poor  Furthermore,  it has much to say to those who are wealthy and how we might worship God not coin.

Luke records several interactions of Jesus during what is called his “travel narrative.” So yes, if you were wondering, Jesus did indeed have skills with teaching on the road trip and Luke’s gospel has quite the travelogue.   Jesus’ journey was heading to a different sort of destination.  He was traveling towards a cross awaiting him in Jerusalem and in the accounts of his journey towards that destination he interacts with two rich men.  One simply known as the rich young ruler and another a little guy named Zacchaeus.

Luke 18:18-27—The Rich Young Ruler

In Luke 18 we see a young ruler¹ approaching Jesus with some flattering words asking what he must do to receive eternal life.  Jesus simply tells him to follow the commandments of God and the man replies that he is on point with all of that.  Jesus then tells him…”oh yeah, one more thing—give away all your money to the poor to have treasure in heaven and come follow me.”  Now it is clear that Jesus is not telling all of his followers to never have any possessions.  There are too many counter examples in the Bible for this to be the case.  What he is doing though is asking the rich man to stop worshiping his money, value the Kingdom of heaven above the systems of the earth and be a true follower and worshipper of God.  Well, the guy was not so happy after that. In fact, Scripture teaches us that he went away περίλυπος, a word that means “extremely sorrowful.”  Luke casually reveals to us the source of his sadness; the man was extremely rich.  Jesus had gone after his god and the man chose to worship and love even over his devotion to God. Jesus then tells us that it is very hard for a wealthy person to enter the Kingdom.  In fact, his followers seem to think that nobody is going to be able to change in such ways to follow Jesus.  The response of the master was simply this “What is impossible with men is possible with God.”  Then just a few passages later he shows us just how true it is that God can save even the most money grubbin and corrupt rich dudes.

Luke 19:1-10—The Rich Tax Man

When one arrives to Zacchaeus in Luke’s narrative, the rich young ruler immediately comes to mind when you read Luke 19, verse 2. And there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich. Ok, another rich guy, we know how this will go. Or do we? For some reason this tax collector wants to see Jesus, he is curious and goes out to see what the buzz was about concerning this man. What happens next was probably a bit unexpected.  The late London preacher Charles Spurgeon said it this way:

Zaccheus’ motive was purely one of curiosity—he wished to see Jesus, who he was. He was curious to know what kind of a man was this who had set all Judea on a stir? Who was this that made [KING] Herod tremble, was reputed to have raised the dead, and was known to have healed all manner of diseases? Zaccheus, the rich publican, is a lover of sights, and he must see Jesus. But there is the difficulty—he is too short; he cannot look over the heads of the crowd. Yonder is a sycamore tree, and he will for once imitate the boys and climb. Mark how carefully he conceals himself among the thick branches, for he would not have his rich neighbours discover him in such a position. But Christ’s eye detected the little man, and standing beneath that tree, unasked, unsought, unexpected, Jesus said, “Zaccheus, make haste and come down, for to-day I must abide in thy house²

So whereas the rich young ruler “went away” in deep sorrow, Zacchaeus has Jesus come over to hang with him at his house.  The results are staggeringly different. The ruler remained bound to his money and his little god; Zacchaeus was set free to bless others with his wealth and be changed by the living God.

These two stories tell us much about how we should view wealth in light of the teaching of Jesus and Scripture.  We’ll use the second half of this essay to explore this in a very simple fashion.

The Inversion of the Kingdom

One thing we see all over the Bible is that the values and distinctions that we make in the world are radically inverted, turned upside down, by the rule and reign of God.  Jesus teaches us that in the Kingdom, the last will be first and the first will be last (Matthew 20:16). He teaches us that those who are meek and humble will inherit the earth (Matthew 5-7).  The poor who know God are in no way “worse off” than the one who loves sin, self and riches yet remains under the condemnation of a holy and just God. In Jesus’ Kingdom being a servant is actually a “higher” position than that of an oppressive King (Matthew 23:11,12).  In fact, our God quite literally came to earth as our servant King.  Being a Christian means to see the world as he does and realize that it is we who are upside down.

A Biblical View of Money

The view of Scripture clearly states that God is owner of all things (Psalm 24:1; Psalm 50:10,11) and we are stewards and co-rulers with him (Genesis 1-2). He grants to us what we have and we are to use our resources—be it time, talent or treasure for his Kingdom and purposes. It is also true that in this world some have little, some have much. In fact the one of Jesus’ stories teaches us that this will be the case (see parable of the talents in Matthew 25). However, we cannot make judgments upon people purely on the size of one’s bank account or the roll in his pocket.  Jesus taught us that our treasure is a heart matter; a matter of worship.  Where you place your treasure and where you find value indicates our heart’s disposition towards God. Frightening if you think about this for a moment.

Let me also be clear. Poverty and not having one’s basic needs met is not presented as a blessing in and of itself in Scripture. Yet someone who is poor can be deeply blessed and dependent upon God despite circumstances. The poor, the meek and the oppressed who trust in Jesus will receive a great reward in the Kingdom (Luke 6:2—23) but starving is not a good thing. Second, material prosperity is not always a bad thing either, yet if riches become our God it is the worst of traps that lead us in all manner of sin. 1 Timothy 6 teaches us this clearly:

⁹ But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. ¹⁰ For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.

Rich and Poor — Withhold simplistic Judgments

Most of us are taught to see the world in terms of haves and have nots.  We are taught to see rich and poor as on two competing teams that must be at enmity with one another.  If you swing from the left the poor are the good guys and the rich sit next to the devil along with people who run corporations. If you swing from the right the rich can be seen as the only people of merit, hard working and responsible. The poor—well, not so much. Scripture does not pit these teams against one another and God will not be the pawn of either left or right wing political spin. You see, Jesus cares much more about the heart of the matter than simply the amount of gold, or lack thereof, stuffed under your mattress.

Rather than a simple class war of the worlds, the Scripture teaches us that there are ways that both poor and rich can honor or dishonor God.  Furthermore, there are rich and poor that can both be blessed of God (See Matthew 6, Luke 6, Proverbs 11, 1 Timothy 6). The following represent four different realities. 

1. You can be poor in wealth and rich in the Kingdom—honest, working, doing things right but just not pulling in much money.
2. You can be poor in wealth and poor in the Kingdom—lazy, dishonest, scheming and broke on top of it.
3. You can be rich in wealth and poor in the Kingdom—wealthy, hoarding, not generous, oppressive, dishonest and ripping people off.
4. You can be rich in wealth and rich in the Kingdom—wealthy and extremely generous.

How we see money is of utmost importance. Some will see their money as theirs and will help others only if and when they feel like.  Others will realize that God owns everything and seek to use their money for Kingdom purposes and to help others. Jesus taught us to seek first his Kingdom and his righteousness and he will take care of our needs (See Matthew 6).  This should free us to live in generosity.

Joy and Generosity in Mission

One of our core identities at Jacob’s Well is finding joy in generosity and mission.  We want to be a people that lives life with open hands giving our time, talents and treasure to the mission of God with people. In fact, the solution to the worship of money in Scripture is what Paul, an early Christian leader, called the grace of giving (2 Corinthians 8:1-7). In being generous we declare that money is not our God, life is more than the abundance of our possessions (Luke 12:15) and we are free to give. Jesus was very clear with us—it is better to give than to receive (Acts 20:35). Most of the time we simply don’t believe him as Christians today give away very little of their incomes to their local churches and charitable causes.³

Christians are certainly called to provide for the needs of their families (1 Timothy 6: and 1 Timothy 5:8) but we are not called to simply hoard up stuff for ourselves. In fact, Scripture clearly exhorts those who are wealthy “to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life.” (1 Timothy 6:18, 19)

There is no “rule” I can give you about your lifestyle and your generosity, but we must not miss the joy of responding to God in worship with generosity.  He has lavishly given life and grace to us and our gratitude is expressed as we give back to his work. You must decide how you will steward what God has placed into your hands whether it is a lot or a little. You must decide what sort of material provision is appropriate for you and your family. Yet the stories of the rich ruler and Zacchaeus should be fully in view as you decide how to live and invest God’s resources. 

Will we be ones who make little or no sacrifice for others and continue to worship things and treasures on earth? Or will we worship our God together in generosity?

Notes

1. We cannot be sure of what this man was ruler of. Matthew’s description of him as being “young” seems to rule out his rule in the Jewish synagogue. See Henry Morris, Luke—Tyndale New Testament Commentary, 283-284.
2. C. H. Spurgeon, The Sword and Trowel: 1872 (Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 2009), 24. Note, Spurgeon uses British spellings for several words.  He has that right I suppose, he was an Englishman
3. For instance, 20 percent of US Christians give ZERO money to anything, the mean average Christian gives 2.9 percent of their incomes. When the median giver is considered it iis a paltry 0.62 percent. See Smith, Emerson and Snell Passing the Plate—Why American Christians Don’t’ Give Away More Money (Oxford,2008) 29-56.

Let Jesus Speak - Vignettes in the Gospel

The following is an essay written for the people of Jacob’s Well associated with our fall launch into the series Let Jesus Speak…

Introduction

Many today love to talk smack about Jesus, speak for Jesus or comment about Jesus without stopping to listen to what he actually said to real people, in real time, in the the real world.  Jesus said many things to many people in all walks of life.  He spoke with hookers, conmen, religious people, busy people, adulterers, murderers, the powerful, his friends and people who were outcasts. His message is radical and will challenge our paradigms today.  

This fall we are going to take a look together at how this enigmatic figure of history interacted with real human beings.  There are many things which can be observed when looking at the life of Jesus of Nazareth.  One could focus purely on his identity, who was this man who broke history wide open long ago in the ancient Middle East?  One could focus on his works, what kind of things did he do and what are their significance? The person and works of Jesus are actually the central focus of our faith as Christians and could never be minimized. Yet I want us to peer into something quite interesting in the life of Jesus as we travel together this fall as Jacob’s Well. I want us to look at how Jesus treated people, interacted with people and instructed people who were from various stations and walks of life.

However, it must be made clear that what a person does is indeed an outflow of who that person is.  With that in mind, I want us to do a few things in this essay.  First, I do want to touch on the question of Jesus’ identity so we can see just exactly who it was that was interacting with a varied cast of characters in history. Second, I want to make a case that the canonical gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John are the place we should be looking to observe Jesus.  This is not taken for granted in our day of Da Vinci Codes and wild speculation about Jesus. Furthermore we must ascertain which historical sources should be approached to find the ipsissima vox, the very voice of Jesus Christ. As a brief aside, we’ll discuss why we are using the gospel according to Luke as our primary text for the series. In looking at the gospels I hope we will see that Jesus is more radical than many assume. In fact, Scripture teaches that to look upon Jesus is to see the very being of God. Finally, I want to close with the focus of our series, namely that it is in the words and actions of Jesus that we see how God himself treats human beings. With that said, let’s look at perhaps one of the most important questions of history.  Just who was Jesus of Nazareth?

Who is Jesus?

Jesus is such a simple name but one that stirs the soul of humanity in a profound way.  He is venerated as God by adherents to one of the world’s largest faiths and is unavoidable when you draw up a short list of names of people who have quite literally changed history. Many people have an opinion about the identity of Jesus. Robert Bowman and J. Ed Kmoszewski begin their book, Putting Jesus in His Place with a profound observation:

Interpretations of Jesus are fraught with bias. He’s a powerful figure whom people want on their sides—and they’re willing to re-create him in their image to enlist his support. Animal-rights activists imagine a vegetarian Jesus. New Agers make him an example of finding the god within. And radical feminists strip him of divinity so that Christianity doesn’t appear sexist. “Frankly, it’s hard to escape the feeling that our culture has taken Jesus’ question ‘Who do you say that I am?’ and changed it to ‘Who do you want me to be?’”[1]

Various groups of people endeavor to assign an identity to Jesus, any identity, other than the one most uncomfortable and yet most glorious: God.  Let us look briefly at what various religions and philosophies have to say about this man.

The Humanist Jesus – Just Human

Those who believe phrases like “The Cosmos is all that is, or ever was or ever will be”[2] will only be able to see Jesus as a “a man, only a man and will always just be a man.” Many who have an anti-supernatural bias simply try to understand Jesus as a mere human.  Even if the evidence should point that he might be more, those with a commitment to philosophical naturalism will not consider anything more.  To some he may be seen as a wise and moral teacher, others may dismiss him as a religious nut, but the Jesus of the humanist is a dead man and they are tightly closed minded to any other options.

To the Islamist – He is ‘Isa, but Shirk not

To the follower of Islam, Jesus or Isa[3] is highly respected and honored. Jesus is a prophet second only to Muhammad in terms of prominence.  The Qur’an, written close to 700 years after Jesus, is the source Muslims use to arrive at their opinion of Jesus. The Islamic view of Jesus is quite exalted with Jesus being born of a virgin, said to be the Messiah, a performer of miracles.  Jesus was a Muslim who actually foretold the coming of the final prophet Muhammad.[4]  However, the idea that Jesus was God become a human is a severe blasphemy in the view of Islam. In fact, according to Islam, anyone who worships Jesus is guilty of shirk.  This sin is the worshipping of someone alongside the Muslim God Allah.[5] Furthermore, despite historical sources verifying the event, Muslims deny the very fact that Jesus was crucified and died on Roman cross.[6]  Jesus in Islam is a prophet, who did not die and who should never be worshipped as the Son of God. 

The Eastern Jesus – A Master, Yogi, Guru

At the core of many eastern philosophies such as Buddhism and Hinduism is the teaching that all reality is of one essence and individual entities are illusory. The technical term for this idea is monism.  Some flavors of Buddhism do not believe in any divine reality to this oneness of being but other forms certainly do.[7]  Furthermore, various Hindu philosophies see all of life as one and all as part of a divine reality.  The technical term for the all is one and all is god view is pantheism.  This divine reality is revealed to us by many enlightened masters or yogis throughout history. Jesus is one of many revelations of the divine in the eastern mind but he is not the one transcendent creator God. Interestingly enough, many in contemporary Western culture, are merging ideas from the east and at times using the terminology of Christianity to do so.  The results usually end up on the Oprah Winfrey show.

New Age Jesus – A Spark of Christ Consciousness

A strange amalgam of ideas is being mixed together in a day where we no longer seek truth but float through a myriad of ideas and experiences.  There are some today who are into creating spiritualities from various concepts and our bookstores are full of such volumes. Centered on merging self help, eastern spirituality and an obsessive inward focus, America is concocting new religious ideas every day. In its pure forms, the eastern mind was about self-denial and becoming one with reality through meditation.  Today those in the west have taken eastern ideas and married them with self-actualization. If you can learn certain laws of self-actualization, you can acquire the secret of unleashing the god within you. Books about this sort of thing sell well in America.[8] When you throw this thinking together with Christian language and ideas of evolutionary theory something interesting emerges. You arrive to the idea that we are cosmically evolving towards a higher state of “Christ consciousness” by spiritually moving to higher planes of reality. In this view, Jesus is more of an idea of becoming one with the universe and revealing your inner god rather than a unique person and savior through whom we reconnect in relationship with God.  Jesus Christ is reduced to a divine “you” that is deep down inside which just needs to be actualized and set free.[9]  It is very American when you think about it, but this tells us nothing about Jesus.[10]

The Skeptic – What Jesus?

A healthy skepticism about truth claims is a good thing when evaluating ideas that others tell us are “true” about the world. However, there is a flavor of skepticism that refuses to accept or believe anything.  For instance, there are skeptics who try to say that the historical person of Jesus of Nazareth never even existed. This sort of historical doubt is in no way helpful to anyone, but there are those who make sport out of denying even the most readily available historical realities. Beware of those who revel in being “deniers” of clear historical facts. Just saying.

The Gnostic and Da Vinci Code Jesus

Over the last several decades there has been an increasing interest in other writings from the first few hundred years of Christianity.  Sensational stories about the recovering of “lost gospels” have made their way from the scholar’s tomes into the mainstream press.[11]  These “lost gospels” are said to represent a different story from the one we find in the New Testament of the Bible.  We’ll comment on why these records are not reliable guides to the person of Jesus in a section below, but people like to take ideas from these books and make cool, fantastic stories from them.  Seriously, Dan Brown has sold lots of books and movie tickets with the Da Vinci Code Jesus. This Jesus is a weird mixture of Gnostic ideas, conspiracy theories and a creative imagination. The only problem is this Jesus has little bearing on reality.  Even one of the most skeptical, non Christian New Testament scholars has shown Dan’s Brown fiction to be a terrible twisting of history.[12]

Scientology Jesus

Just kidding.  Though they do have a view of Jesus it is just too weird and involves galactic war lord aliens and psychological implants. Anyone else bummed out that Tom Cruise’s movie career has been struggling ever science he went scientology weird on TV a few times? Let’s move on friends, nothing to see here.

Jesus, According to Jesus?

Perhaps the best source to learn about Jesus would be from the man himself, yet here we find a problem.  Jesus himself never wrote a book and he did not leave a YouTube video for the world. We must ask an important question: Just what did Jesus leave us from his time on the earth?  The answer is both simple and astounding. Jesus left behind disciples; women and men who followed him, who proclaimed and wrote down his teachings.  His followers walked away from his empty tomb and began to take his message, quite literally, to the whole world.  Christ is raised from death and is the savior of all people. Turn from sin, receive forgiveness, trust in him and follow him as God and king. Their testimony about Jesus is uniquely found in the words of his apostles (messengers), in the writings of the New Testament.

In these texts, we find a Jesus that is much less a creation in our own image.  It is not a humanistic, Islamic, Eastern, new age or Gnostic Jesus.  In the gospels of the New Testament we find the glorious creator God being born in a rustic animal stall.  We find the one who spoke galaxies into existence, the one who designed the intricacies of physics and biology, became a human being and walked among us.  Jesus in his own words is much less tame than we at times make him to be. The late Scottish preacher and theologian James Stewart wrote powerfully to describe this untamable figure.

He was the meekest and lowliest of all the sons of men, yet he spoke of coming on the clouds of heaven with the glory of God. He was so austere that evil spirits and demons cried out in terror at his coming yet He was so genial and winsome and approachable that the children loved to play with Him and the little ones nestled in His arms. No one was half so kind or compassionate to sinners yet no one ever spoke such red-hot scorching words about sin… His whole life was love. Yet on one occasion he demanded of the Pharisees how they ever expected to escape the damnation of hell…He saved others but at the last, Himself He did not save. There is nothing in history like the union of contrasts which confront us in the Gospels. The mystery of Jesus is the mystery of divine personality.[13]

Why We Look to the Gospels?

Finding the Voice of Jesus in the Canonical Gospels

The New Testament contains the earliest and most reliable witness to the life, teaching, death and resurrection of Jesus. What one believes about the existence of God and the supernatural may affect how one reads or believes these texts, but they are the primary place where all go to learn about Jesus. Period. At Jacob’s Well we trust the gospels, as both a theologically and historically accurate accounting of the life of Jesus, but I wanted to take some time to unpack why we place our trust in them. To do so we will do two things.  First, we’ll look at the recent buzz about “lost gospels” and “gospels” outside of the Bible. In doing so, we will see that these documents are archaeologically and historically interesting, but they are in no way reliable guides to the life and words of Jesus.  Second, we’ll unpack the reasons why we do look with trust and anticipation to the canonical gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.  

What about other Gospels?

There have been some amazing archaeological finds in the last six decades dealing with the early centuries of the Christian movement. Many may be familiar with the Dead Sea Scrolls[14] found at Qumran which contain the scrolls of an apocalyptic sect of Judaism known as the Essenes. This find in 1947 was of particular interest to Old Testament Scholars. What the scrolls provided was a look at copies of many books of the Old Testament which date back to the time just before Christ. Due to the fact that the earliest existing Hebrew manuscripts dated only to the 10th century AD, the scrolls of Qumran gave us an opportunity to examine the transmission of the books over a gap of some 1000 years. What we found is that the text had been copied quite faithfully even over this long period of time. The Old Testament has been handed down with astounding accuracy.

Perhaps a less known discovery took place in 1945 in the Egyptian dessert at Nag Hammadi. It had been known for millennia that in the 2nd-4th centuries the Christian church countered a false teaching known as Gnosticism. Local farmers pulled an earthen jar from the ground at Nag Hammadi which contained some fifty Gnostic gospels and writings. Gnostic held a radical dualism between matter and spirit with spirit being good and matter evil. Through secret gnosis (Greek for knowledge) people could escape the bondage of the physical world and achieve salvation. The Christian version of Gnosticism held that Jesus was not really a human being, but merely appeared as such. As the human Jesus suffered and died, the divine Christ hovered above laughing at the confusion of people taken in by the appearance. This hyper-divine Christ would reveal secret knowledge to his elect via religious experience rather than conveyed truth in the apostolic writings.[15] Early church leaders such as Iraneus wrote against certain 2nd century teachings.  Iraneus actually speaks of these Gnostic writings by name. For example, you can read his reference to the content of the gospel of Judas in this segment of his work Against Heresies.[16] Additionally, the early church historian Eusebius also named many of these writings. The point to be made is that these writings: Gnostic gospels, epistles and apocalypses were well known to the church and rejected by the Christians as false teachings. The great interest of the archaeological find at Nag Hammadi is that some codices (early books) of these mentioned works were actually dug up. Believe it or not the discovery was made by a guy named Mohammed Ali (no, not the one who floats like a butterfly and stings like a bee).  This of course shed light on the early debates within Christianity and the sources of the doctrines which the church rejected.  It was a great archaeological find of actual copies of documents that we already knew existed.

Why then all the buzz about the “Lost Gospels” of Thomas, Judas, Mary etc.?[17] First, many people including most Christians, are uninformed of church history and have no idea about the world in which the church was birthed, grew and confronted these false teachings. Second, there is a new school of scholars and practitioners who paint the early Christian world as a battle between equally valid, possible expressions of Christian faith.[18] Therefore the poor Gnostics, losing the popularity contest years ago, need a new hearing today. Third, the media sensationalizes these things with misleading titles like “Lost books of the Bible” being recovered, etc.  These books were never in the Bible and they were never lost, but titles like this apparently sell magazines.

What we need to know is this. The first several centuries of the church were filled with theological spaghetti and a myriad of writings. This in fact led the church to recognize and canonize the apostolic witness found in the 1st century gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. That which was false, which did not match the tradition handed down from the apostles, was rejected and not included in what eventually became the collection of the 27 books of the New Testament. The gospel of Thomas, The Apocalypse of Peter, and the gospel of Judas were never part of the Christian Bible, nor will they be. They were lost to history, but not lost from the Word of God. They were lost to us in manuscript form, many of which we have now recovered. This is a great thing for our understanding of the Gnostics, who they were and what they taught. But it is not ground shaking in that it gives us a “new Christianity.” It simply gives us an up close look at beliefs that were deemed not Christianity at all. And that was decided a long time ago; by the Christians. 

Now don’t get me wrong, people are welcome to believe the Gnostic teachings if they so choose (they are pretty wacky and convoluted); but let us not come up with some nonsense that the Gnostic way is just another way of being a Christian. This is simply not the case. Therefore, if we will not find Jesus and his words in the Gnostic gospels, what reasons do we have to place confidence in Matthew, Mark, Luke and John?  To this issue we now turn our attention.

Why Look to the Canonical Gospels?[19]

Skeptics throughout the ages have asked whether the gospels are to be trusted because they were written by supposedly biased people, the followers of Jesus himself.  They surely must have had a skewed point of view as to who this Jesus is.  After all, you cannot trust someone’s biggest fans to give an objective account of someone’s life…Can you?  This skepticism has been found unwarranted for a couple reasons.  First, we know that eyewitness accounts are always the most reliable when looking at events that we ourselves did not observe.  If the gospels demonstrate themselves to be the testimony of eyewitnesses they are then the most trustworthy views of Jesus we possess.  Second, the claim that someone is unable to correctly convey a story because they are “biased” is highly unwarranted.  We will look at each of these issues.

Eyewitness Testimony in the New Testament

When asking the question “What happened with this Jesus guy?” the first persons we should ask are those who walked with him, talked with him and lived their lives with him.  Or as 2 Peter 1:16 rightly records, those who were eyewitnesses of his majesty.  This requires us to look at the claims of the gospels to be just that – a written record of eyewitness testimony.  This was a view taken for granted for years until the advent of critical scholarship in the 19th century where the origin and source of all the gospel writings was brought into question.  Revisionist historians and liberal New Testament scholars began to claim the gospels were 3rd or 4th century compilations of Christian communities which did not reflect anything close to eyewitness testimony. 

However, there has been much movement in New Testament studies over the last several decades which has ruled out the revisionist ideas of liberal theology.  The late 3rd and 4th century dates have been utterly repudiated and we have been able to date all the gospels conclusively to the first century.  This has been due to amazing archaeological discoveries such as a fragment of John’s gospel dating to around 125 AD.  Additionally, recent scholarship has shown that there are very good reasons to understand the gospels as testimony.  In 2006 Scottish New Testament scholar Richard Bauckham published Jesus and the Eyewitnesses – the Gospels as Eyewitness Testimony which makes a strong case for our understanding the gospels as containing the testimony of those who knew the life and teaching of Jesus directly.  More and more scholars are coming to the position which the church has always held.  The gospels are the most reliable portrait of the life and teaching of Jesus because they contain the accounts of the people who were there.[20]  But were these people just Jesus fan boys, too biased to be trusted?  Good question.

Bias is not Always Bad

The question of bias is important, after all, the gospel writers did not leave us with a simple narrative that records nothing more than rote historical facts.  No, they were convinced of the truth of Jesus’ teaching and their account of history contains the teaching of theology about Jesus as well as historical data.  Yes, there are towns, rulers, times and places mentioned, but also teaching as to the identity of Jesus and his mission from God.  But does this one sided account, that of Jesus’ followers, disqualify their testimony as being valid?  In fact I will argue that if you want to know anything about something or someone, you are better off asking people who are passionately committed to the story he shares.  A few examples can help us see that Bias is not always bad.

One example comes from the world of technology and through a simple question.   If you desire to know about the ins and outs of Macintosh computers, would you ask someone has never touched a Mac to be your teacher?  Of course not…who would you ask?  You probably would ask one of those MacIdolaters who are loyal subjects of the cult of Steve Jobs.  You know that crazy Apple guy who has to put down Windows every time the subject arises.  You know the guy who is flossing[21] his iPhone for all to see.  You may be that guy.  My point is this.  The people from whom you will get the best information about Macs are probably the ones who are the most biased; the ones who are passionate about their elite computers.  In like manner, NASCAR fans should be consulted on the intricacies of Stock car racing, indie rockers should be the ones you talk to about what is happening in that music scene and his original followers are the ones we should consult about Jesus Christ. 

One final example of a more serious kind should be mentioned.  To exclude a person who was involved with an event, who passionately cares that the story be told, as being a reliable witness would be quite odd indeed.  This sort of reasoning would rule out the accounts of Jewish historians of the Holocaust.  They are most interested as they were the ones most closely involved with this horrific course of events.  We would not think of discounting someone’s testimony because they are “biased” against the Nazi’s because their family went through the Holocaust.  No, rather we trust them as they were the closest people to the events and care most passionately about conveying and passing on this history.[22] 

Until someone is shown to be an unreliable witness we ought to take their word for something until they are shown to be not trustworthy.  The philosopher Immanuel Kant rightly showed some time ago that an assumption that all people are lying all the time is self-refuting.  We should assume truth telling unless we have good reason to think that someone is not telling the truth.[23]  If we find that someone is in their right mind and capable to tell the truth, is willing to do so, his words are recorded and preserved with integrity and his testimony is validated by other witnesses, we should trust the words of that person.[24]  It seems that this is precisely the sort of reality that we find in the writers of the gospels.

It was their intention to tell the truth

Most of them were religious Jews who thought that intentional falsification (lying) was a direct violation of one of the Ten Commandments.  Lying was not a virtue in their community.  This does not mean there were not religious Jews who were liars at the time, but it was not a virtue extolled in the community.

The New Testament writers were concerned with “delivering” the teaching of Jesus and the gospel to the next generation in their writing.  The Apostle Paul specifically says that he delivered or passed on to the Corinthian church the gospel.  This gospel was considered by the early Christians as a matter “of first importance.” See 1 Corinthians 15:1-3.  There is good evidence that they believed they were passing on what they saw as a holy tradition through their writings.[25]

They were able to tell the truth

They were a culture steeped in a tradition of oral teaching and memorization.  In fact, scholars have shown that ancient peoples could memorize massive amounts of information, with an important focus on maintaining the very words of their teachers.[26]

If they experienced any external pressure it was against the preaching of their message. They gained nothing in the way of position, power and possessions for faithfully telling the Jesus story.  To the contrary most of them were killed for it. 

Their Words Preserved Accurately

It is beyond the scope of this paper but there is good textual evidence that we have the New Testament documents today in a form that is extremely close to the original manuscripts.  This is non controversial.  Most scholars agree that the current Greek texts of the New Testament are very accurate.  To put it simply, we have pretty much what was written. 

Additionally, there was very little time between the actual events of Jesus and the writing of the New Testament.  The less time that passes the less likely legendary development occurs.  The gospels were all finished by around 90AD with Mark and Matthew likely within just a few decades of the resurrection of Jesus.  In the period in which the gospels were written down many eyewitnesses of the events would have still been alive.  As Richard Bauckham states, “The Gospels were written within living memory of the events they recount.  Mark’s gospel was written well within the lifetime of many of the eyewitnesses, while the other three canonical Gospels were written in the period when living eyewitnesses were becoming scarce, exactly at the point in time when their testimony would perish with them were it not put in writing”[27]

They are Corroborated/Validated by Others

If an author shows that he tells the truth on matters that are verifiable externally, he is thought to be a reliable witness.  The New Testament writers note at least thirty historically confirmed people in their works. The gospels in general and the passion narrative in particular find corroboration in several ancient sources outside of the New Testament.[28]  In addition, we find quotations at length from the gospels in the sermons and writings of the early church fathers.

When the gospels are examined, they show a strong historicity which is only doubted when a bias against the supernatural is brought to bear.  Many skeptics have written off the testimony of the gospels because they were written down by men who believed in God, who record the occurrence of the miraculous and the resurrection of an incarnate Savior God.  Yet such bias against the supernatural is just the work of a closed mind.  Someone who says – I cannot believe the words of the New Testament because I don’t believe in God or miracles – is already closed off to any amount of evidence.  They are saying “I don’t believe because I don’t believe.”  Such views are intellectually stifling and hardened to what God might say if they simply read the gospels with an open heart and mind to see the unparalleled life of Jesus on display.

In closing, the gospel literature is unique indeed.  It is part biography, part history, part theology yet passionately what Bauckham simply calls testimony.

Understanding the Gospels as testimony, we can recognize this theological meaning of the history not as an arbitrary imposition on the objective facts, but as the way the witnesses perceived the history, in an inextricable coinherence of observable event and perceptible meaning.  Testimony is the category that enables us to read the Gospels in a properly historical way and a properly theological way.  It is where history and theology meet.[29]

In this series we will be looking at testimony which records the interactions of Jesus with people from various stations and walks of life.  Our primary source for these narratives will be the gospel according to Luke.  We will observe a few stories from Matthew and John as well but primarily we will walk with Luke to hear the voice of Jesus.  With that said, we’ll take a little time together to learn a bit about the gospel written by the one who historically became known as the beloved physician.[30] 

The Gospel of Luke

As with any work of literature there are some pertinent questions we ask when approaching a text and there are additional questions when coming to a work of Scripture. Some questions we want to discuss briefly about the gospel of Luke.

• Who wrote it?

• When was it written?

• What is the subject and theological focus?

As we approach Luke several of these questions will be directly related to the book of Acts as we have very good reasons to see Luke/Acts as a large work by one author in two parts.  Luke and Acts, have similar prologues that connect them overtly and they also share a similarity in style and language. In the discussion below we may refer to this as “Luke/Acts.”  

Authorship

The oldest traditions and writings we have all ascribe authorship of this gospel to a gentile follower of Jesus and companion of the apostle Paul.  He was an educated person who was referred to in Scripture as being a physician.  We have no good reason to doubt this as the internal evidence (what is said in the New Testament) and external evidence (what is said about this book by others) all point to Luke being the one who compiled the story of Jesus from eyewitness accounts from those in the early church. In fact, Luke’s gospel is introduced in the following manner.

1Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things that have been accomplished among us, 2just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word have delivered them to us, 3it seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, 4that you may have certainty concerning the things you have been taught.[31]

The reasons for holding to Luke’s authorship are as follows. First, the earliest existing manuscript of Luke ascribes authorship to Luke and there is no other author in the early tradition mentioned but Luke.[32] With Luke being directly addressed to someone, in this case someone referred to as Theophilus, M. Dilebus makes the point that it is highly unlikely that the book was ever anonymous.[33]  It is clear that Luke’s name has been connected to this work from very early in tradition. The external evidence is equally convincing as Lukan authorship for this gospel is found in the Muratorian Canon, the anti-Marcionite Prologue to Luke, Ireneus, Clement of Alexandria, Origen, Tertullian, Eusebius, and Jerome.[34]  All of these early literary works speak of Luke as the author for the gospel bearing his name. Finally, the book of Acts provides some interesting internal evidence to corroborate Luke as the author of this two-volume work.  There are four passages in Acts (16:10-17, 20:5-16, 21:1-18, 27:1-28:16) that record “we” did this or that suggesting the author’s own presence in these situations.[35]  The final passage in Acts has the author with Paul in Rome so he must be one of people mentioned as to being with Paul in Rome. This leaves Demas, Crescans, Jesus called Justus, Luke, Epaphras, and Epaphroditus. There has never been any reason given to assume authorship to any of these, so Luke’s authorship is again reinforced.[36] One final note, many have discussed the nature of the medical language used in this gospel as evidence that “the beloved physician” (Colossians 4:14 ESV) was indeed the author.  New Testament Scholars DA Carson, Goug Moo, and Leon Morris agree that this argument from medical language has suffered recently in some circles, but the linguistic nature of the book does show that the author was an educated person.  Luke, the doctor, would certainly fit this description.[37]  Both internal and external evidence shows that the traditional attestation of authorship to Luke is accurate and trustworthy.

Dating the Gospel of Luke

There are certain events in New Testament chronology that are largely uncontested by historians and NT Scholars (whether skeptical or confessionally oriented).  The following list gives the events and approximate dates:

Table1: Basic First Century Chronology

Event                              Date (AD)

End of the Frist Century          100

Fall of Jerusalem                     70

Martydom of Peter and Paul    64-68

Epistles of Paul                      45-68

Some Oral Tradition                 32-70

Crucifixion of Jesus                  32

It is these dates that serve as external references or historical markers for our discussion of the four canonical gospels.   These are major events in church history and some, like the fall of Jerusalem in 70 AD, are so well documented as to be without dissent.  These dates are important as we investigate the relationship to early church history recorded in Acts and these well established first century dates.   Acts is important in dating the gospels due to the fact that it is the second volume of the two-part Luke/Acts work.  If one can zero in on a good date for Acts, then the composition of Luke must be at least written at a similar time if not earlier. 

Though some make an argument for placing Luke in the AD 80-90 range the most central argument for this is that Luke’s gospel (Luke 19:41-44; 21:20-24) seems to predict future events surrounding the fall of Jerusalem in AD 70 there are good reasons to prefer an earlier date in the 60s.[38] The book of Acts concludes with Paul under house arrest in Rome a situation which lasts two years according to Acts 28:30-31.  This two year time period comes after the rise of Festus to power in Judea recorded in Acts 24:27 in AD 59. This places the time of Paul’s imprisonment at precisely 60-62, which implies Acts was completed in the early 60s around this same time period.  If so, then we must place Luke no later than that, with the Luke/Acts work completed before A.D. 62.  It may also be noted that there is no mention of the widespread persecution in the mid sixties at the hands of the Roman emperor Nero, as well as no mention of Paul’s death by martyrdom of which Luke certainly would have mentioned had it already taken place.[39] Furthermore, there is no direct mention of the fall of Jerusalem in AD 70 in the book of Acts which features a Jerusalem setting on two occasions (Acts 6-7 and 21-23).[40] Thus, a date in the early 60s explains this absence of these events in Acts; they simply had not taken place at the time of its writing.

Subject and Theological Focus

Along with Matthew and Mark, Luke’s work is one of the canonical gospels known collectively as the synoptics.  The word synoptic is derived from two Greek terms that when combined mean to see together.  When examined together, these gospels present a multifaceted view of the life and teaching of Jesus.  So put simply, Luke’s subject in writing is Jesus, his life, his works, his death and resurrection.  Though we do not have time to investigate all the themes explored in Luke’s gospel here, a few are worth mentioning.  First, the gospel has a strong focus on good works and justice for the poor.  This is typified by Luke’s accounting of Jesus beginning his ministry with the reading from Isaiah in Luke chapter 4:

18“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed,19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”[41]

Jesus is seen often in Luke as a compassionate servant who cares about broken people and people in need.  Women, children, the poor and the socially outcast were groups of people in the first century who would have been seen as marginal.  Jesus is seen associating and serving all of them in Luke’s gospel.[42] Second, there is a focus in Luke on the prayer life of Jesus and his dependence upon the Father as well as the importance of prayer in our lives. Finally, Luke has been called the gospel of the Holy Spirit due to his focus on the work of the third person of the Trinity.  The Spirit led Jesus in his ministry on earth and the Spirit now leads us in continuing the work of Jesus in our time. 

Shall we Let Jesus Speak?

In closing I do pray that when we look to Jesus we see him as he actually is.  He is much more than man, guru or prophet.  He is much more than the divine you that has yet to be discovered.  He is the incarnate God, the living and breathing Savior who walked the earth, died a sacrificial death for sin, rose from death and today is leading his people. As we know who he is we can encounter him through the gospels.  As we see him interact with various people in our series together we truly see the great answer to one of the great questions facing human beings.  How does God treat people? How will God treat me?

As we walk forward together I pray that in a world where voices about Jesus are in abundance we would stop and hear his voice to us today.  It is my hope that the risen Christ will shape us, move us forward in mission and connect us deeply to God through the gospel.  God put his feet on planet earth in a small, obscure area of the Middle East some two thousand years ago.  He left behind an empty tomb, a living people and good news for the world.  God is a forgiving God, a just and holy God and a God who conquers sin, death and suffering through his own sacrificial love for us.  He is there and he is not silent – he is bursting through barriers and speaking to hearts and lives today. As we look to the stories of people’s encounters with Jesus this is our passion. We want to clear out all the noise and our own preconceived notions of him and simply Let Jesus Speak.

To that end let us listen well,

Reid S. Monaghan

Lead Pastor, Jacob’s Well

NOTES

[1] Robert M. Bowman and J. Ed Komoszewski, Putting Jesus in His Place : The Case for the Deity of Christ (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Kregel Publications, 2007), 17.

[2] This, of course, is the famous dictum of the late humanist astronomer Carl Sagan who popularized this line on his public television show Cosmos. The book with the same name begins with these same words. See Carl Sagan, Cosmos, 1st ed. (New York: Random House, 1980), 1.

[3] Muslims refer to Jesus as Isa (from the Arabic for Jesus).

[4] See Mark Durie, “‘Isa, the Muslim Jesus.” http://www.answering-islam.org/Intro/islamic_jesus.html [accessed September, 18 2009].

[5] Norman L. Geisler and Abdul Saleeb, Answering Islam : The Crescent in Light of the Cross, 2nd ed. (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2002), 20.

[6] See Tacitus, Annals 15.44

[7] Theravada Buddhism holds not concept of the divine while Mahayana does. For a comparison of the two see the  chart in Huston Smith, The World’s Religions : Our Great Wisdom Traditions ([San Francisco]: HarperSanFrancisco, 1991), 126.

[8]One thinks of the bestselling book The Secret where the idea that if you learn a secret spiritual law of the universe you can have “the ability to transform any weakness or suffering into strength, power, perfect peace, health, and abundance.”  Rhonda Byrne, The Secret, 1st Atria Books/Beyond Words hardcover ed. (New York, Hillsboro, Or.: Atria Books; Beyond Words Pub., 2006).

[9] See Douglas R. Groothuis, Unmasking the New Age (Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 1986), 27-29; 144-146.

[10] For a very thorough treatment of the relationship of the biblical worldview to the myriad of new age ideas see John P. Newport, The New Age Movement and the Biblical Worldview : Conflict and Dialogue (Grand Rapids, Mich.: W.B. Eerdmans, 1998).

[11] See for example Maggie Sieger DAVID VAN BIEMA, Chris Taylor, “The Lost Gospels,” Time Magazine  (2003). http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1006499,00.html.

[12] See Bart D. Ehrman, Truth and Fiction in the Da Vinci Code : A Historian Reveals What We Really Know About Jesus, Mary Magdalene, and Constantine (Oxford ; New York: Oxford University Press, 2004). Ehrman is a skeptic about biblical Christianity but does a good job showing the sensationalism in Dan Brown’s work.  For a critique from Christian historians see Darrell L. Bock, Breaking the Da Vinci Code : Answers to the Questions Everyone’s Asking (Nashville: Nelson Books, 2004); Ben Witherington, The Gospel Code : Novel Claims About Jesus, Mary Magdalene, and Da Vinci (Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 2004).

[13]James Stewart, The Strong Name.

[14] See Paul D. Wegner, The Journey from Texts to Translations : The Origin and Development of the Bible (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Books, 1999), 186-188.  For basic information even the wiki can get you up to speed here - “The Dead Sea Scrolls,” Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dead_Sea_Scrolls.

[15] See Darrell L. Bock, The Missing Gospels : Unearthing the Truth Behind Alternative Christianities (Nashville: Nelson Books, 2006). Bock lays out the underlying texts and ideas surrounding these early Gnostic documents.

[16] Philip Schaff, “The Apostolic Fathers with Justin Martyr and Irenaeus,”  (Public Domain, Electronic Version Logos Research Systems, Inc.). http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/anf01.ix.ii.xxxii.html.

[17] Greg Koukl has a brief and helpful commentary on how there can simply be “no lost books of the Bible” Greg Koukl, “No Lost Books of the Bible,”  (1994). http://www.str.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=5473 [accessed Septermber 25, 2009].

[18] Bart D. Ehrman, Lost Christianities : The Battles for Scripture and the Faiths We Never Knew (New York ; Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003).

[19] The following is a discussion adapted from my previous work Reid S. Monaghan, An Introduction to the New Testament, 2007.  Available online at www.JacobsWellNJ.org/resources/theology-booklets.

[20] A really good recent book on the trustworthy nature of the canonical Gospels is Mark D. Roberts, Can We Trust the Gospels? : Investigating the Reliability of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John (Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway Books, 2007), 39-51.

[21] See the Urban Dictionary for a definition of the word floss - Schaff.

[22] For a more sophisticated look at the uniqueness of Holocaust testimonies see the treatment in Richard Bauckham, Jesus and the Eyewitnesses : The Gospels as Eyewitness Testimony (Grand Rapids, Mich.: William B. Eerdmans Pub. Co., 2006), 493-502.

[23] James Porter Moreland, Scaling the Secular City : A Defense of Christianity (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Book House, 1987), 137-138.

[24] Ibid., 138.

[25] Ibid., 144.

[26] See particularly chapters 10 and 11 of Bauckham, 240-263.

[27] Ibid., 7.

[28] See the chapter “The Corroborating Evidence” interviewing history professor Edwin Yamauchi in Lee Strobel, The Case for Christ : A Journalist’s Personal Investigation of the Evidence for Jesus (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1998), 73.

[29] Bauckham, 5,6.

[30] Luke the beloved physician greets you, as does Demas. Colossians 4:41. The Holy Bible : English Standard Version : Containing the Old and New Testaments,  (Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway Bibles, 2001).

[31] Ibid. Luke 1:1-4 (ESV)

[32] Douglas J. Moo and Leon Morris D.A. Carson, An Introduction to the New Testament (Grand Rapids: MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1992), 113.

[33] Ibid., 115.

[34] Leon Morris, Luke : An Introduction and Commentary, Rev. ed. (Leicester, England Grand Rapids, Mich.: Inter-Varsity Press ; Eerdmans ;, 1988), 19-20.

[35]Craig Blomberg and William Lane Craig, “The Historicity of the New Testament,” in Reasonable Faith - Christan Truth and Apologetics (Wheaton: IL: Crossway Books, 1994), 205.

[36] D.A. Carson, 114.See the following of Paul’s epistles for references to these individuals Philemon 23,24; 2 Tim 4:10,11; Col 4:11-14; and Philippians 4:18.

[37] Ibid., 114

[38] Darrell L. Bock, Luke, 2 vols. (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Books, 1994), Volume 1 - 17, 18.

[39] Morris, 29.

[40] Bock, Luke, 18.

[41] The Holy Bible : English Standard Version : Containing the Old and New Testaments, Luke 4:18,19.

[42] Morris, 50-51.

Bibliography

Bauckham, Richard. Jesus and the Eyewitnesses : The Gospels as Eyewitness Testimony. Grand Rapids, Mich.: William B. Eerdmans Pub. Co., 2006.

Bock, Darrell L. Luke. 2 vols. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Books, 1994.

________. Breaking the Da Vinci Code : Answers to the Questions Everyone’s Asking. Nashville: Nelson Books, 2004.

________. The Missing Gospels : Unearthing the Truth Behind Alternative Christianities. Nashville: Nelson Books, 2006.

Bowman, Robert M., and J. Ed Komoszewski. Putting Jesus in His Place : The Case for the Deity of Christ. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Kregel Publications, 2007.

Byrne, Rhonda. The Secret. 1st Atria Books/Beyond Words hardcover ed. New York, Hillsboro, Or.: Atria Books; Beyond Words Pub., 2006.

Craig, Craig Blomberg and William Lane. “The Historicity of the New Testament.” In Reasonable Faith - Christan Truth and Apologetics. Wheaton: IL: Crossway Books, 1994.

D.A. Carson, Douglas J. Moo and Leon Morris. An Introduction to the New Testament. Grand Rapids: MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1992.

DAVID VAN BIEMA, Maggie Sieger, Chris Taylor. “The Lost Gospels.” Time Magazine  (2003). http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1006499,00.html.

“The Dead Sea Scrolls.” Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dead_Sea_Scrolls.

Durie, Mark. “‘Isa, the Muslim Jesus.” http://www.answering-islam.org/Intro/islamic_jesus.html [accessed September, 18 2009].

Ehrman, Bart D. Lost Christianities : The Battles for Scripture and the Faiths We Never Knew. New York ; Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003.

________. Truth and Fiction in the Da Vinci Code : A Historian Reveals What We Really Know About Jesus, Mary Magdalene, and Constantine. Oxford ; New York: Oxford University Press, 2004.

Groothuis, Douglas R. Unmasking the New Age. Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 1986.

The Holy Bible : English Standard Version : Containing the Old and New Testaments. Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway Bibles, 2001.

Koukl, Greg. “No Lost Books of the Bible.”  (1994). http://www.str.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=5473 [accessed Septermber 25, 2009].

Moreland, James Porter. Scaling the Secular City : A Defense of Christianity. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Book House, 1987.

Morris, Leon. Luke : An Introduction and Commentary. Rev. ed. Leicester, England Grand Rapids, Mich.: Inter-Varsity Press ; Eerdmans ;, 1988.

Newport, John P. The New Age Movement and the Biblical Worldview : Conflict and Dialogue. Grand Rapids, Mich.: W.B. Eerdmans, 1998.

Roberts, Mark D. Can We Trust the Gospels? : Investigating the Reliability of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway Books, 2007.

Sagan, Carl. Cosmos. 1st ed. New York: Random House, 1980.

Saleeb, Norman L. Geisler and Abdul. Answering Islam : The Crescent in Light of the Cross. 2nd ed. Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2002.

Schaff, Philip. The Apostolic Fathers with Justin Martyr and Irenaeus: Public Domain, Electronic Version Logos Research Systems, Inc. http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/anf01.ix.ii.xxxii.html.

Smith, Huston. The World’s Religions : Our Great Wisdom Traditions. [San Francisco]: HarperSanFrancisco, 1991.

Stewart, James. The Strong Name.

Strobel, Lee. The Case for Christ : A Journalist’s Personal Investigation of the Evidence for Jesus. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1998.

Wegner, Paul D. The Journey from Texts to Translations : The Origin and Development of the Bible. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Books, 1999.

Witherington, Ben. The Gospel Code : Novel Claims About Jesus, Mary Magdalene, and Da Vinci. Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 2004.

Seeing the Mystery of the Gospel...A Look Back Through Ephesians

Today’s Junk drawer is mainly scripture and summary.  It is a walk together back through some of the high peaks that we viewed during “Life on Doctrine.” I pray it may be of help to you this week in slowing down, meditating on truth and living your life “on it.”  Grace to you all.

Ephesians 1

That all of life is relational, we are not the result of blind matter + time + chance,  NOR are we all God and just have not realized it yet (pretty big thing to forget, no?).  The universe, animals, humans and all that exists are related to God who is renewing and redeeming all the time.  He is bringing people into his family from every corner of the earth, every tribe, tongue and people.

Ephesians 1:3-10 – 3Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, 4even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love 5he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, 6to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. 7In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, 8which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight 9making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ 10as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.

Ephesians 2

God’s purpose includes rescuing rebellious punks, human beings that are running from him and under his just wrath and condemnation for sin. God forgives us, places us into a new family called the church, bringing together a new people out of the many peoples of the world.  The church is therefore a family, sent on mission, living to reflect the goodness, kindness and mercy of God in Jesus Christ.

Ephesians 2:1-10 (ESV) 1And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. 4But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Ephesians 2:13-22 (ESV) 13But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 14For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility 15by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, 16and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. 17And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. 18For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. 19So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, 21in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. 22In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.

Ephesians 3

God is sending his people into this world to reflect his wisdom in the world…doing through them wonderful works. We as his people pray for one another that we might first and foremost love God and then allow him to change us and use our lives for his purposes in our times.

Ephesians 3:7-20 (ESV)  - 7Of this gospel I was made a minister according to the gift of God’s grace, which was given me by the working of his power. 8To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, 9and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things, 10so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. 11This was according to the eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord, 12in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him. 13So I ask you not to lose heart over what I am suffering for you, which is your glory. 14For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, 16that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. 20Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us,

Ephesians 4

As a family living in unity of truth and mission we want to walk in a manner worthy of our calling.  We desire to be equipped to serve, not to be people coming to a religious WALMART we call a church in order to consume.  We desire to live in a new way together in — not in malice, drinking haterade, back biting and punking each other all the time.

Ephesians 4:1-6 (ESV) 1I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, 2with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— 5one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

Ephesians 4:9-12 (ESV) 9(In saying, “He ascended,” what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower regions, the earth? 10He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.) 11And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, 12to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ,

Ephesians 4:17-24 (ESV) 17Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. 18They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. 19They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. 20But that is not the way you learned Christ!— 21assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, 22to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, 23and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, 24and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.

Ephesians 5

We are a community which follows God together seeking wisdom about how we live. We seek his paths in the way we approach sex, our speech and money, in the way we live out marriage and the household and radically equality before God together as a Spirit-filled community.

Ephesians 5:1-10 (ESV) 1Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. 2And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. 3But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. 4Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving. 5For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. 6Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. 7Therefore do not become partners with them; 8for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light 9(for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), 10and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord.

Ephesians 5:15-21 (ESV) 15Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, 16making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. 17Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. 18And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, 19addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, 20giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 21submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.

Ephesians 6

We realize that we are in this together as his people and that not everyone is cheering for us. Our lives are lived in the shadow of a spiritual war that Jesus has won completely. He now leads us in the final phases of God’s full triumph over the forces of darkness and evil.

Ephesians 6:10-18 (ESV) 10Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 11Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 13Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. 14Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. 16In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; 17and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, 18praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints…

It is our hope and prayer together that we would seek to live our lives on doctrine and to find joy in repentance when we fall short of walking in a manner worthy of our calling.  No perfect people, just people on the way with Jesus.  Hoping that we might find life, satisfaction and transformation in Him.

Walking  Together…

Mawidge...mawidge is what bwings us togewer today...

Most people who have seen the movie The Princess Bride simply cannot forget the scene where the impressive clergyman begins the rushed wedding between Buttercup and Prince Humperdink. If you have never experienced such delights you can grab the scene here. Marriage itself however, is not just a goofy matter in life. It is perhaps the source of humanities deepest delights and most profound relational struggles. It truly is a realm of both joy and pain, sunshine and rain.¹

In this essay we will have some overly ambitious goals. First, we will endeavor to define marriage biblically. Second, we will look at the teaching about the roles and responses of men and women in marriage as seen in Ephesians 5. Finally, we discuss our struggle as men and women to follow God in his designs for marriage before making a hopeful conclusion. We have but a small space here for our discourse, so we must get right to work.

What is Marriage?

Marriage finds its beginnings with the first man and woman in the book of beginnings in the sacred Scriptures. After the creation of the human beings, male and female in his image and likeness, God gives a second detailed accounting of how he joins the first two people together. God brings the animals to Adam (which is simply Hebrew for “man”) and he is giving them all names. As much as dogs are a man’s best friend there was not a helper suitable for him. The man realized that none of these creatures were like him and certainly did not complete him. The Scriptures then teach that out of the man God fashions or forms a woman as a helper suitable to him. This creature is presented to Adam naked and he did not ask her to put on flannel pajamas. The man and woman were indeed made for one another in every way so at this point in the story we read the following description of marriage:

 ²⁴Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. Genesis 2:24 (ESV)

Marriage is described as a man leaving, then cleaving to his wife and then weaving their bodies together in intimacy. The symbolism is clear. A man must grow up and step away from Mommy and Daddy. He forms a new family with his wife and the union is consummated by the self-giving of one another’s bodies in the act of marriage. The formation of a new family through the union man and woman is also foundational in the bringing of new human beings in the world. It is also the best context to teach and raise them.

Interestingly Genesis 2:24 is repeated by Jesus in the gospels and stresses the permanence of this relationship on the earth (Matthew 19:4-6). Finally, it is cited once again by Paul the apostle in Ephesians 5:31.

Marriage is a Covenant

In our world there are many opinions about what marriage is and how it should function in society. The most prominent views in western culture is that marriage is either about a couple’s romance, their social contract for societies good or an institution that is all together outdated. Scripture however presents marriage as a covenant, something much deeper than mere love or social utility. Let’s look quickly at these differing views.

Marriage as Coupling

Many today have a fun, warm fuzzy view of marriage. It is about amore, true love taking place on a balcony covered with roses. Anyone who has been married more than a few months knows something else must enter the equation for marriage to have more meaning and staying power than mere “love.” What happens many times to couples marrying for emotions or youthful lust is that divorce quickly follows when we “fall out of love.” There are even new inventive marriage vows that reflect this sort of thing where couples promise on their wedding day to be married “as long as love lasts” or “as long as our marriage serves the greater good” Let’s just say that romantic love is a gift from God; it is a good thing. Yet it is not the only thing and it certainly is not the tie that binds us together. It is a wonderful product of a good relationship but not the sum total of marriage.

Marriage as Contract

Another view today is that marriage is simply a legal agreement between two people that affords certain mutual benefits upon couples. Health care rights, rights of survivor-ship, financial dealings, the ownership of goods and the custody and raising of children are defined by this thing called marriage. These things have been associated with marriage but they are certainly not what marriage is. Couples who have long lost that loving feeling may remain arranged in marriage for contractual reasons. It is better for the kids or it is better for the bottom line.

In a culture which tends to disparage marriage, people can look at this social arrangement as nothing more than a piece of paper. Movies such as “He’s Just Not That Into You” proclaim this view boldly. The romantic coupler says “our love is more than a piece of paper” and the “contractual negotiator” seeks to have sharing agreements without going through with marriage. Selfish men particularly like these sorts of arrangements because they get all they want from women without having any sort of real commitment. Women for some reason, maybe because they like men more than cats, play along with this “we have more than a piece of paper” shtick.

Marriage as Covenant

Though marriage certainly involves love, even romantic love, it is more than this. Though marriage certainly involves certain social and legal arrangements, it is more than this. Marriage at its essence is a covenant, a promise of two people to one another before God. New Testament scholar Andreas Köstenberger defines the covenantal view of marriage as follows:

Marriage is a sacred bond between a man and a woman instituted by and publically entered into before God (whether or not this is acknowledge by the married couple), normally consummated by sexual intercourse. ²

Scripture presents a challenging yet beautiful view of marriage. Men and women are each equal in value and standing before God. No one sex is superior or inferior but equally made in the image of God. Further, men and women are not the same in how God made us. We are designed as compliments to one another, have different roles in marriage designed with potential harmony in mind and not a battle of the sexes. Marriage also is designed to shape and mold our lives, bring us to confess and repent of sin and become more like Jesus together.

Furthermore, marriage is actually more about God and his purposes than it is about us. God in his kindness has chosen to bless human beings with marriage for their good and as a reflection of his faithful covenant love for his people. This is seen most clearly in the New Testament letter to the Ephesians. In this teaching we find both a blueprint for living our marriage covenants and God’s ultimate mysterious purpose for creating human beings to bond in this way.

Ephesians 5:22-33

Instruction for Wives

Paul’s instruction to wives is that they submit to and order their lives under the leadership of their husbands. The verb submit in Ephesians five is actually in the middle voice, indicating the wife’s voluntary choice to be on her husband’s team. She is called to this by God, not commanded to do so by her husband. Submission should never be the demand of a man but rather a response of a wife to the design and plan of God for marriage. Furthermore, Scripture does not teach that all women submit to men. This is only for her husbands so let me encourage the young women like I am already teaching my own daughters. If a man is not the type of person you want to follow, don’t marry the fool. What sort of man then should the Christian woman seek—one that is committed to Jesus and walking in his way. Which leads to the exhortation for husbands.

Instruction for Husbands

Husbands are called to love their wives. Yet not just any sort of definition of “love.” Rather, husbands are called to love their wives as Christ loves the church. This means that a husband should lead his wife not as a lord of the manor but as a sacrificial servant. Leadership in marriage should be in the way of Jesus not in the way of the world. Jesus described this sort of leadership to his followers in this way:

²⁵But Jesus called them to him and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. ²⁶It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant,²⁷and whoever would be first among you must be your slave,²⁸even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Matthew 20:25-28 (ESV)

His own example was to put a towel around his waist and wash the feet of his disciples (see John 13). Husbands should follow his lead with their wives. Just for the guys, I wrote a little bit on how I seek to love my own wife here on the blog. Take it for what it is worth.

Our Struggles

The teaching of Scripture is clear but this does not mean that our hearts willfully submit to God and his designs for our marriages. In fact, our sinful nature struggles deeply to follow this teaching. Men and women both wrestle with submission and service. Both our struggles flow from our desire to be self-focused, self-guided, individuals rather than one flesh in covenant with God. The following charts illustrate for both wives and husbands the uniqueness of being a husband or a wife and the struggles with sin we face as we seek to be faithful to God’s designs and purposes for our marriages.

Wives
Calling by God	Out of reverence for Christ follow him by respecting your husbands (Ephesians 5:21, 33)
Role we live	Helper (Genesis 2:18)
Response to our Spouse	Submission (Ephesians 5:22-24)
Temptation and Sin	Belittling your husband, disrespecting him, nagging, being overly critical and beating him down Being passive and not being helpful by using your gifts, passions and leadership in the family

Husbands
Calling by God	Out of reverence for Christ follow him by loving your wives (Ephesians 5:21, 25-30)
Role we live	Servant Leader (Ephesians 5:23, 25)
Response to our Spouse	Praise (Proverbs 31, particularly verse 28)
Temptation and Sin	Being a tyrant with your wife. Being heavy handed and an authoritarian who abuses his leadership role Being passive and absent from your leadership role. Abdicating your responsibility. Frustrating your wife with your lack of action, planning, prayer and leadership

God’s vision for marriage is designed to deeply bless us. If we trust him with our lives and follow his Word, marriage can be a resounding joy to our lives. Living life apart from his Word can make marriage a massive mess. Furthermore, God is mysteriously displaying his gracious love as is shown in Ephesians 5:31-33.

31Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.32This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. 33However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.

As we live in marriage, we may experience the love of a husband or the respect of a wife and by doing so LIFE will illustrate DOCTRINE. Faithful covenant love is seen in and through a relationship on the earth. It is a great and gracious vision for our lives.

Notes

1. Cheesy use of the lyrics of Rob Base and DJ E-Z Rock, “Joy and Pain”, It Takes Two, Profile Records, 1988.
2. Andreas J. Köstenberger and David W. Jones, God, Marriage and Family—Rebuilding the Biblical Foundations (Wheaton: Crossway Books, 2004) 85.   

Wise guys...

Wisdom, as related to human beings, may simply be defined as the life quality that enables one to make good choices in the complicated circumstances of life in order to walk a good path. For the follower of Jesus, wisdom is the art of godly living.

Every culture knows that there is a way to live that is rightly called foolishness. There really is a way to waste your life and fizzle your days away filled with folly. We are always seeking wisdom from others yet many times we go all over the place looking to figure out how life works.

Bookstores are jammed full with self-help books offering wisdom to the seeker. Movies and literature are filled with wise characters (Yoda and Gandalf the gray being some of my favorites). There is never a shortage of gurus being paraded out on the Oprah Winfrey show. Usually they are western dudes dabbling in eastern philosophy who write books and get paid.

Ironically, we are people who are surrounded by impressive knowledge but seem to be profoundly lacking in wisdom. Our culture seems to have a deficit of wisdom as we tend to float like empty ballasts upon a sea of nothingness. I offer Reality TV as proof. Seriously, how many times can a chic fall in love in the course of weeks with multiple dudes and make out with all of them in a hot tub?

We may know how to split the atom, make machines talks, decode the genome and scan the electrical activities of our brains but we remain unsure about how to make life work. In our search for meaning and happiness wisdom is offered to us yet not all wisdom is not created equal you know.

All Wisdoms Not Created Equal

Scripture speaks of several ways of being wise that will not offer us much help in life. Appearing at first to be good ways to live but in the end they are bankrupt in offering us the guidance we need. We’ll look here at two.

Wise in our own Eyes

The book of Proverbs, a great biblical book that contains true wisdom, teaches us that there is a way to be wise in our own eyes. The person wise in their own eyes is called a fool in Scripture because he measures the rightness of every path by his own opinion alone. Our own opinions must be weighed and at times followed, but if the source of our own wisdom is not given a broader point of view we can be self-deceived. The third Hebrew proverb offers us great instruction here:

1My son, do not forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commandments, 2for length of days and years of life and peace they will add to you. 3Let not steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you; bind them around your neck; write them on the tablet of your heart. 4So you will find favor and good success in the sight of God and man. 5Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. 6In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. 7Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord, and turn away from evil. 8It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones. Proverbs 3:1-8 (ESV)

Here we see wisdom coming from the teaching of a Father reflecting the wisdom of following God’s paths for life. I’m not wanting to meddle with the idea that we Americans hold dear—that we should trust our own heart above all things. I hope to completely blow it up. We are not isolated individuals, we need wisdom from God and other wise people rather than a crowd of fools encouraging us to just listen to whatever your heart tells you.

So wisdom cannot emerge from ourselves alone; the Bible warns of this extreme. Yet it is not always found among the horde and the throng and we are warned also of the wisdom of crowds.

Wisdom of the World

The book of James contains some of the most compelling discussion of wisdom in the New Testament. James 1 teaches us that when we lack wisdom we should ask God to give us some (more on this in a bit). James 3 gives us an interesting contrast between wisdom that is from above and the ways and wisdom of the world.

13Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom. 14But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. 15This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. 16For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice. 17But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. 18And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace. James 3:13-18 (ESV)

Old pastor James is so blunt is he not? He teaches us that there is a wisdom from God that leads to a certain kind of life together which reflects peace, gentleness, reasonableness, mercy, fruitful and sincere lives together. When we get to being jealous of one another, our more focused on ourselves and our Kingdom rather than the Kingdom of Jesus we are walking in different kind of wisdom. This James calls earthly, unspiritual and demonic.

Though America has been shaped by a rugged individualism it has also contained a collectivist view as well. In recent times this has been heightened and now we think there is wisdom in any crowd. We have written business books about crowd sourcing1, the internet lets us vote on everything and our politicians are always talking about this vague and amorphous thing called “the will of the American people.” Whereas being wise in our own eyes is one dangerous extreme, just following the worldly wisemen of our crowds is certainly another.

18Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you thinks that he is wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise. 19For the wisdom of this world is folly with God. For it is written, “He catches the wise in their craftiness,” 20and again, “The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile.” 1 Corinthians 3:18-20 (ESV)

The letter of 1 Corinthians makes it clear that the wisdom of the world is folly with God as it seeks to guide human life and affairs apart from him. As God is the author and creator of life, God is also the one who knows how he made humanity to function. To claim wisdom while living apart from Him is the Scriptures definition of folly and futility (Proverbs 1:7, Proverbs 9:10)

Wisdom from God

God is said in Scripture to be all wise. JI Packer describes this as meaning he chooses the best and noblest end at which to aim, along with the most appropriate and effective means to it.2 If we desire true wisdom it must be from above, grounded upon and dependent up the wisdom of God. Let’s take a little detour for a moment to illustrate this by talking about worldview.

Wisdom is indeed relative among human beings. Whether something is ultimately wise or foolish depends upon your point of view. One mans foolishness might be another’s deep wisdom. Yet there is a worldview that is quite different than a limited, temporal, finite view that we each have.

A worldview, or Weltanschauung, is a complete way of seeing life. Each of us has a set of beliefs regarding the origin, meaning, value and purpose of our lives. Wisdom would have her way with us when we live in a way consistently with such purposes. If the purpose of life is to stay drunk and naked, then one is wise to do so. If it is not the purpose for human life, then one is a fool to spend his days in like fashion.

I hope you see the reason we need wisdom that is from above. We need God to reveal to us the way in life that is truly good, right and true not simply what we want that to be. There is a reason why Jesus is called the wisdom of God (1 Corinthians 1:18-31; Colossians 2:1-10). Jesus is the path of wisdom for us revealed. His way of life, his teaching, his work and the good news of his death, burial and resurrection for us is the grid by which wisdom is known.

In light of this, followers of Jesus can avoid being wise in their own eyes by looking to Jesus for wisdom. In the same way, we can avoid being captivated by the crowd by standing firm in his truth as mockers call us fools. Wisdom is acting and following in concert with the truth that is in Jesus and his Word. If we are wise it is in him, if we are fools in this life for choosing him over all else, we revel in that privilege.

On Becoming Wise

Let me close by saying wisdom is something that grows in us progressively as we walk with God in his world. It is no coincidence that the ancients saw the elderly as a source of wisdom; they have lived more life with God and have learned from him through teaching and experience. Proverbs 20:29 teaches us that the glory of young men is their strength, but the splendor of old men is their gray hair. It is not always the case that old age = wisdom3 but there is a general principle here that we can learn and deepen in wisdom over time. The tragic story of King Rehoboam ignoring the wisdom of the elderly for the counsel of some punk young men is a classic example of this principle. You can read this in 1 Kings 12 in the Old Testament. In closing here are some simple ways we grow in wisdom if we are faithful to sit at her feet over time.

Study and listening to God’s Word

God has revealed himself through his Word that we can study, read, listen, meditate upon and obey. Over time we gain the ability to discern good from evil (Hebrews 5:11-14) by the constant practice of the teaching of God. Learning and following over time results in becoming wise.

Heeding the words of the Wise

Proverbs 11:14 reads, Where there is no guidance, a people falls, but in an abundance of counselors there is safety. Further Proverbs 24:6 teaches us that in an abundance of counselors there victory. Of course, the counselors must actually be wise, but the point is that we can learn from others if we listen. In fact the book of Proverbs begins by with these words:Let the wise hear and increase in learning, and the one who understands obtain guidance, to understand a proverb and a saying, the words of the wise and their riddles. Our parents, our pastors and our community of faith has wise counsel for us…but we don’t always listen.

Learning the Hard Way

The final way we learn is the hard way. This is where we do foolish stuff and we reap the reality. We all have been here have we not? God is kind and will discipline us to help us walk in wisdom. Yet as I tell my kids, you can learn just by listening to me—but like Bill Cosby once said, some children simply cannot get by without a good beating.4

I do not claim to be a wise guy, but I have been around the block a few times. My counsel is that we listen and follow Jesus together—our only wise God and Savior…

Notes

1. James Surowiecki, The Wisdom of Crowds (New York: Random House, 2004)
2. J. I. Packer, Concise Theology : A Guide to Historic Christian Beliefs (Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale House, 1995, c1993).
3. A notable passage is Job 32:9—of course old people can be foolish too, the point is wisdom does come with experience.
4. See Bill Cosby, “The Same Thing Happens Every Night” Available online at http://www.last.fm/music/Bill+Cosby/_/Same+Thing+Happens+Every+Night—worth a few minutes to laugh.

Monkey See, Monkey Do?

Many are familiar with the proverbial saying of “Monkey see, Monkey do.” The fundamental insight here is that we all imitate something or someone in our lives. People by nature want to imitate or be like others that they see. Guitar players would love to rock it out like Clapton or Mayer, little boys used to want to be like Mike on the court while today Kobe or Lebron will do. Many desire to mimic the style of a celebrity or the success of a person in business. Though some are more leaders and some more followers, human beings, by nature, are made to imitate or emulate others. There is nobody who has taught themselves everything they know.

The 19th century German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, rightly observed something profound in human nature. Though his application of this observation went tragically wrong, Nietzsche spoke of human beings as having a sort of herd mentality. People tend to mindlessly mimic and follow one another. He erroneously applied this to morality and ethics, declaring all morality to be an illusion created by other humans then followed mindlessly by the herd. ¹ What he did rightly observe is that human beings do indeed mimic one another and it seems very built into our nature.

However, we can be so consumed with the exploits of other people we can completely miss the one we were truly designed to imitate. In the middle of his exhortation of Christians to live a life that is congruent with their calling to God in the gospel, Paul makes it clear who we are to imitate in Ephesians chapter five. Without blushing, the apostle writes the following: “Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children.” This is a massively humbling idea and also one of the simplest articulations of the raison d’être of human beings.

In this essay we are going to discuss the imitation of God by human beings. We will first distinguish imitating God from trying to be a god. Second, we will look at our unique design as human beings to be reflections of God on the earth. This makes Paul’s call for us to imitate (or mimic) God quite appropriate due to what we are. We will then look at how we must “see God” and “know God” in order to imitate him. This requires God’s assistance to help us to understand who he is in order to follow him. Finally, we will close with a brief discussion of the relationship between adoration, imitation and worship.

Imitate God, Don’t Try to be One

The story of the world begins with the wonderful created acts of God. It then quickly moves to a tragic error made by the first human beings. People, created in the image and likeness of God, decide they would rather be as God. Tragically, this has been the course of human history. People are made wonderfully intelligent, moral, creative and willful creatures. We were made by God and for God yet we choose to exalt ourselves as little divinities rather than worship our creator.

When Scripture calls us to imitate God the word means to reflect or mimic the character of God in our own lives. It does not mean that we should aspire to follow that Satanic plea “you shall be as gods.” Scripture calls us to be conformed to the image of Jesus Christ, to become like God in our lives, but we should never see ourselves as becoming divine beings. Though Scripture does teach that we will be transformed to become “partakers of the divine nature” (2 Peter 1:4) it stops short of man climbing the metaphysical ladder up into godhood. Our Mormon friends notwithstanding, ² human beings are only called to be reflections of God as we follow him, never ascending to god-status ourselves.

Uniquely Created to be a Reflection

Though not divine, human beings are completely unique in all creation. We are different than rocks, trees, lizards and even those monkeys that share 99% of our DNA. In fact, many non Christian thinkers making the case that modern science is revealing the profound uniqueness of human beings. David Berlinski’s The Devil’s Delusion, Atheism and its Scientific Pretensions and James Le Fanu’s Why Us? How Science Rediscovered the Mystery of Ourselves come to mind. ³ In the face of recent understandings of the genome of various animals and the baffling ignorance of consciousness in light of modern neuroscientific brain studies, many are realizing anew just how exceptional nature of the human being being.

Theologically, this uniqueness of humanity is no surprise to those who never bought into the materialistic reductions of human nature. You see the Scriptures teach us very clearly that humans and humans alone are created in the imago dei, the image of God.

Uniquely Created to Image God

Throughout the history of the church, theologians have discussed the profound description given in Genesis chapter 1:

 ²⁶ Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”  ²⁷So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.  

There are many ways in which this teaching has been understood. Some have articulated that image of God means that we are made like God in our make up in that we have emotions, intellect and will just as God does. Others have looked to the ancient context of Genesis to understand the phrase image of God. In the ancient world, someone was “image of God” when they represented God on the earth as his vice rulers. The passage above does indicate that rulership over the realm of creation is part of the mandate human beings posses. Finally, others have sought to say that image of God means that we are beings in relationship, much as God the Trinity is one God in three persons. The text tells us that image of God is male and female, designed in and for relationship with God and one another. I find it best to put all these together.

We are created with certain capacities in order to rule and reign this earth with God in relationship with him and one another. This is what it means to be image of God. As such we are designed to reflect God in our nature, in our service and in our relationships. So in one sense, there is a reflection of God in his human creation, so a call for human beings to imitate God is very appropriate. It is the part of the reason we exist; it is why we were made. One question quickly emerges, in order to imitate God we must truly know what God is like. If we cannot see God directly, how do we imitate him?

How can we imitate that which is not physically seen?

To imitate someone we must know what they are like and the way they flow. God has not left us with empty skulls relating to the question of who he is and what he desires. The truth is that God reveals himself to us in various ways so that we might follow after him.

We see God’s Works—God’s works of creation display to us the power and nature of God. Additionally, he places a moral law in our consciences so that we may know right and wrong at a basic level. We may deny this knowledge and act in contraction to it, but it is not because we do not know right from wrong.  

We receive God’s Words—In addition to showing us in creation and our consciences God tells us who he is and what he desires for human life in the Scriptures. The Bible contains written accounts of the words of his prophets and messengers through whom God reveals himself to people. By the Scriptures we are fully instructed in the character and ways of God so that we may follow him during our lives. The most important testimony of Scripture is about the person of Jesus. His followers wrote down his works and words so we could clearly imitate and follow him.  

We see Jesus and imitate him—God became a human being so we could see most clearly what he is like (John 1:1-3,14; Hebrews 1:1-3). In Jesus Christ we see a full revelation of God in human form so that in the imitation of Jesus, we find the imitation of God.  

We see the body of Christ and we imitate the faith of others—Finally, we see in the New Testament Christian leaders calling others to imitate them, as they imitate Jesus (1 Corinthians 4:9, 11:1). We are to imitate their faith and trust in Jesus in the way that they followed him with their lives (Hebrews 13:17). In the church we can see Christ living in others as he works his character into them and we can imitate their faith as well.

Worship—Adoration and Imitation

It has been often said that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. The late secular thinker Ayn Rand once said it this way, “admiration is the rarest and best of pleasures.” ⁴ If we imitate someone it means we respect and admire them. Through this simple insight we can peer into the heart of Christian worship. We were made to give honor, glory, love, adoration and praise to God; we were made to desire to be more like him and imitate him. In doing so, God enjoys our worship and delights in his people. In turn, we find our greatest joy in seeking to be more like the one who is fully good, right and true.

Imitation in human life is a reality which will never go away. We cannot help but see excellence in something and want to imitate this. Unfortunately, there is also a dark side to human nature in that we imitate that which is self-exalting and sinful rather than imitating God. Imitation is a reality that cuts either in the direction of idolatry, worship that which is not God, or in true worship.

We live in a world of Monkey See, Monkey Do. When we see the lives of others we must ask whether they are resembling God or exhibiting the folly of men. We must wisely choose who we imitate because we become like the things we worship. So many times we follow one another like lemmings over the cliffs of life. Let us choose to follow Jesus who followed the beat of a different drummer. We too can imitate his love, sacrifice and service to others; laying down our lives so that many can break free to find joy in the forgiveness of God.

There will be a cacophony of voices calling to us as we travel the roads of our lives. Calls from the left and the right to take a path other than the one to which God calls.

Sometimes we need to realize that the herd is not always wise, but in following Jesus there is life and peace.

Yours in following him in our time,

Reid S. Monaghan

Notes

1. See Nietzche’s two works, Beyond Good and Evil and Genealogy of Morals for his constructing of his view of the “herd mentality” – A concise summary of these two works is available here: http://people.bu.edu/wwildman/WeirdWildWeb/courses/wphil/lectures/wphil_theme18.htm
2. Mormon doctrine does indeed teach that human beings can actually become gods. The classic statement of this was from the fifth Latter Day Saints president Lorenzo Snow “As man is, God once was, as God is, man may become” This is a doctrine articulated by LDS founder Joseph Smith in his King Follet discourse as well.
3. See David Berlinski, The Devil’s Delusion—Atheism and Its Scientific Pretensions (New York: Crown Forum 2008) 155-165 for an entertaining look at the differences between men and apes. Additionally, see James Le Fanu’s Why Us? How Science Rediscovered the Mystery of Ourselves (New York: Pantheon Books, 2009) 254-256. Fanu’s work is a intriguing look into recent discoveries surrounding the human genome and neuroscience. His thesis is that humans are much more unique than the typical “evolution explains everything” idea.
4. See John Piper, An Open Letter to Michael Prowse, online at http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/TasteAndSee/ByDate/2003/1245_An_Open_Letter_to_Michael_Prowse/ accessed March 4, 2008.

Life on Doctrine - A Study in the Book of Ephesians

 

Introduction

People at times polarize from living too much from the head or too much from the heart.  Some like to think lofty thoughts while others like to do lofty things in the world.  Yet no life is lived without beliefs and assumptions which help to guide our actions.  We all make many assumptions about the world, about God, about who we are and about how we should live in the world.  At times our beliefs are not conscious and are held in an unexamined way, other times our beliefs are thoroughly examined and thought through.  Either way, it is simply impossible to live a life devoid of any beliefs. 

We want to avoid two extremes in our lives as followers of Jesus. First, we do not want to make our faith purely an intellectual theological game where we sum up following Jesus as reading thick books about him.  Second, we do not want to live a doctrine[1]-less, belief-less, truth-less Christianity where we make up God in our imaginations and get warm fuzzies thinking about "our God."  Scripture holds a different path whereby we need teaching (doctrine) about who God is and what he has done and then calls for a response by living for him, worshipping him and following him in day to day life.  In other words, God has married life and doctrine together and we should not seek to separate the two. 

The book of Ephesians reflects the marriage of life and doctrine in that it contains deep theological truth about God's nature and work in the first three chapters. Furthermore, in the final three chapters it unblushingly calls us to LIFE that is in accord with this teaching.  As a kid I remember this commercial on TV that ran as a public service announcement.  It showed a hot frying pan and then said something like this: "This is drugs" Next an egg was shown and we were told "this is your brain." Finally, the egg dropped into the frying pan and the audio said "this is your brain on drugs...any questions."[2]  The point of the deal was to freak you out that smoking weed will fry up your brain.  Yet it contains an interesting truth. Being "on something" is an expression that means that your life is being deeply influenced by something external to you.  In the case of drugs, being on them will do bad things man, baaad things to you.  However, being on something can also be a great thing as well if what you are on will better your life.  Ephesians calls us to live deeply; to be on something, to be influenced by God's truth.  It calls us to live a life on doctrine.

As we begin our study of this ancient book of Ephesians I want us to do several things.  Primarily I want us to get a good introduction to the book as a foundation for our journey through the book.  To do so we'll first give a brief overview of the letter as a high flyover.  Second, we will take a brief look at the question of authorship of Ephesians; who wrote the book and when.  Third, we will look at the historical and geographical setting of ancient Asian Minor to understand the world in which the letter would have been read. Fourth, we will look at some of the major theological themes of the book before closing with some thoughts for our journey at Jacob's Well.  So let's get our life on some doctrine.

The Book of Ephesians

It is hard to overestimate the importance of the book of Ephesians on this history of Christ's people.  Harold Hoehner begins his massive volume on Ephesians with a long account of the thoughts and comments about the importance of Ephesians to leaders throughout history.  Chrysostom of Constantinople (modern day Turkey), Calvin of the Protestant Reformation, Poet and philosopher Samuel Coleridge[3] and New Testament scholar FF Bruce all comment on the influence of this book throughout history.[4] Raymond Brown sums up the influence of Ephesians well by saying that among the Pauline writings only Romans could match Ephesians as a 'candidate for exercising the most influence on Chirstian thought and spirituality.'[5]

The book is composed of two main parts; the first devoted to deep doctrinal truths about God and the second to paraenesis[6], the living out and apply these great truths.  The book begins with a strong exploration of our calling to God through Jesus Christ and ends with exhortation towards living a life worthy of that same calling. Klyne Snodgrass comments that "Ephesians provides some of the most direct and practical guidelines for living found in Scripture...Ephesians tells us how to be the church."[7]

The book was authored in history and inspired by God to accomplish a very important purpose. This purpose is indispensable for Christians in every time until the consummation of history.  Put very simply Ephesians tells us who we are, who God is and how we are to live together as his people in his world.   As a letter written from someone to a group of churches, we need to look at some of the issues surrounding the authorship of the book and the peoples to whom it was originally sent.  In doing so we may grasp how we are to understand and live out its teaching today.

Who Wrote It and When?

From the earliest records of Christianity, the church has understood the book of Ephesians to be authored by the apostle Paul.  The actual text of Ephesians claims Paul as its author in two places.  First, it is recorded in the customary greeting of the letter (Ephesians 1:1) and then again in chapter 3 when he describes his current circumstance as "a prisoner for Christ Jesus on behalf of the Gentiles" (Ephesians 3:1).  Furthermore, the earliest records we have from Christian pastors all accord with the testimony that Paul is the author of the book.  Ephesians, and allusions to Ephesians, were cited often in early Christian preaching showing up as early as AD 95 in the writings of Clement of Rome.  Additionally it is quoted by Ignatius (AD 35-107), Polycarp (69-135), Iranaeus (130-200), Clement of Alexandria (150-215) and it is listed as a work of Paul in the Muratorian Canon (AD 180) an early collection of New Testament writings. [8]  Finally, the authorship of Paul was universally agreed upon by most scholars up until 1792. 

Over the last two hundred years the Pauline authorship of Ephesians has come under attack from various New Testament scholars and has been strongly defended by others.  Today, there are plenty of scholars on both sides of the debate and so no case has been made.  There are several reasons given for doubting Paul as the author of Ephesians but none of them are compelling in the end.  Our opinion of on the matter concurs with that of Harold Hoehner in his excellent treatment of the authorship of Ephesians:

The Pauline authorship of Ephesians not only has the earliest attestation of any book of the NT but this attestation continued until the last two centuries. The early attestation is highly significant.  They early church was not only closer to the situation but also they were very astute in their judgment of genuine and fraudulent compositions. This overwhelming support for the Pauline authorship of Ephesians should not be easily dismissed

...

Although Ephesians differs from other Pauline literature, the differences do not sufficiently argue for the rejection of Pauline authorship of this letter. Variations can be accounted for due to differences in content and differences in the character and needs of the recipients of the letter.   Furthermore, it must be accepted that a genius such as Paul is not sterile in his own expressions; allowances must be made for development in his own thinking...Authors are not machines that duplicate vocabulary and style.[9]

The discussion of the authorship of Ephesians Hoehner's work is thorough, clear, scholarly and faithful to a high view of the Bible. We highly recommend his lengthy treatment of authorship for anyone interested in this issue at a deeper level.  It covers pages 2-61 in the fifth printing of his commentary.

The Original Audience(s)

Paul's interaction with the church in Asia Minor, the location of modern day Turkey, took place over the course of several years and is chronicled in the Acts 18, 19.  The following is a simple outline of his work in this area of the world[10]:

• AD 52 - Paul, accompanied by the married couple Priscilla and Aquila, go to Ephesus. Paul ministers among the Jewish population and then departs for the city of Antioch, his home base of operations. A man named Apollos begins to teach the Scriptures in Ephesus and Priscilla and Aquila instruct him further in the gospel. Apollos' ministry flourishes.
• AD 53 - Paul returns to Ephesus on his third missionary trip and continues a successful ministry there accompanied by signs and wonders. Many of the Ephesians give up their magic practices and sorcery when changed by the gospel. Great opposition comes against Paul led by a local tradesman named Demetrius. Apparently he made lots of little statues out of silver in honor Artemis, patron goddess of the Ephesians. He was pissed that people quit buying little gods and started an uproar in the city against the new movement. Paul departs for Macedonia.
• AD 57 - Paul meets with the leaders of the Ephesian church on his way to his arrest in Jerusalem. He encourages them to continue to shepherd the church well and guard it from those who would seek to bring it down from within through false teaching. Paul would go on to Jerusalem, be arrested and taken to the imperial city of Rome as a prisoner.

Although it is impossible to be certain, the letter to the Ephesians was most likely written by Paul during his imprisonment in Rome around AD 60.[11]  The letter is categorized for this reason as one of the "prison epistles" along with Philippians, Colossians and Philemon.  The letter is very general in its theology and application so it is likely that Paul intended it to find use in many of the churches in Ephesus and throughout Asia Minor.[12]  While Ephesians is more general in content and less specific to situations in Ephesus[13], that ancient city was the cultural center of the region and knowing this setting can help us understand the book. 

The Ancient City of Ephesus

Ephesus was the political and financial center of this part of the Roman Empire.  It was located on the western coast of Asia Minor on the Aegean Sea just south of the mouth of the Cayster River.  The city's ancient harbor and its location between two land trade routes made it a bustling place in the empire.[14]  Ephesus was in a unique city in that its culture had been formed by various groups of people over time.  The city was influenced by Greek, Persian as well as Roman culture.  One thing is certain, religious veneration of the goddess was present for many centuries in the city.  The goddess took several names over time but at the time of Paul's ministry Artemis of the Ephesians was the name in vogue.[15] Two great architectural features of the city are known from antiquity.  The great theater which held a seating capacity of some 24,000 people and the temple dedicated to Artemis which was some 420 feet in length and 240 feet wide.  The temple's grandeur had it named among the seven wonders of the ancient world and apparently a statue of Artemis was composed at least partially from a fallen meteorite.[16]The prominent temple made Ephesus a destination for pilgrimage increasing its prominence as a city in the ancient world.

Figure 1 - Excavated Site of the Theater at Ephesus

Evidence also seems to show that Ephesus was a center for those who practiced magic arts and sorcery in the ancient world.  This seems to accord well with the biblical record we read in Acts 19 and Paul's emphasis on Christ's superiority over spiritual powers and authorities in his letter to the Ephesians. 

Finally, though mostly consumed under the historical conquests of Islam, Ephesus had a venerated Christian history as well.  After Paul's ministry the church at Ephesus was guided and pastored by Timothy and even enjoyed the influence of the apostle John.  Though it is uncertain, tradition holds that John was buried in Ephesus after dying there of old age.   Much of Asia Minor's ancient churches were influential in the first century but many of them quickly fell away from Christ.  In fact, it was the church at Ephesus which received a strong rebuke for leaving the love they had at first and living a religious life that was quickly becoming empty. In this church we find a lesson from history. We must never leave our love for Jesus and that which is true about him. The doctrine we find in the first three chapters of Ephesians is indispensible for loving and living well for Christ. We need to build our lives on these truths - we need to keep our life on doctrine.  Now let us move to some of the major theological themes found in the book.

Major Theological Themes

God the Trinity and His saving Work

Ephesians has a unique focus in its first chapter on how all the persons of the Triune God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit are active in the saving work of the Gospel.  The Father predestines, then calls and adopts his people throughout space, time and history.  The Father blesses his children with every spiritual blessing in our union with Jesus Christ. The Son redeems people through his sacrifice for us and will ultimately unite all things under the purposes of God.  The Spirit is the seal of our belonging to God and a down payment on our future inheritance in the Kingdom of Heaven.  Ephesians reveals the beauty, mystery and awe in the triune creator God lavishing grace upon his children to the praise of his own glory.

Christ's Exaltation over All Things

Ephesians does not present Jesus as a mere human teacher but as the unique divine Son of the Father.  The panorama in the book of the exalted Jesus is rather spectacular. He is said to exist before the foundation of the world (1:4-5, 11), seated at the right hand of God (1:20, 4:8), to be filled with the fullness of God (1:23), provides redemption and forgiveness for his people (1:7), he is the head of the church (1:22, 5:23) he will ultimately subject everything under his feet (1:22) and unite all things under his rule (1:10)[17].

Our Identity in Union with Jesus

Ephesians teaches us that we have every blessing "in Christ" and that our union with him is the way by which we live and walk with God in the world. Every human being wrestles with the question of identity, the question of who we are and Ephesians leads us to deeply find our identity in Jesus.  He is the fountain of our hope and love and in him we will understand ourselves and our role in the world as his church.

Our Life Together as the Church, the People of God

The doctrine of the church, the people of God, finds rich expression in the New Testament, specifically in Paul's letter to the Christians in Ephesus.  We stand at the end of perhaps the most individualistic era in the history of the world with our culture reeling from the selfish inventions it has brought down upon its own head.   This is an age where families are fragmented, communities compartmentalized and empty selves isolated from God wander the earth.  In such times the doctrine of the church, people called out of darkness as the people of God, is of utmost importance.  In Ephesians we see several rich metaphors for our life together.  We are called Christ's body, a spiritual building, the temple of God, a new humanity, a family and the bride of Jesus.[18] Furthermore, Ephesians gives great insight on how we are to get along with one another and love one another as the church.  If God's people would meditate regularly on Ephesians 4 in light of their relationships the world would be a very different place.  Finally, Ephesians gives a brief, but foundational instruction on how the church should operate in its mission. It should not be the leaders of the church who do all the work of the ministry, but rather all God's people should be equipped for ministry by those who serve as leaders.  

Unity of God's People in the Gospel

God's people have been brought into unity with Christ and one another through the gospel.  The body of Christ is not a people made up of a certain race, tribe, or ethnic group, nor is it of only one nation on the earth.  No, this body is a unique group of people, indeed a new people, made up of people from the diverse groups. This unity is ours in the gospel and we must work to maintain this bound of peace that has been given by God as we grow in maturity and how we love one another.

Family and Household Relationships

As the church is a family, Ephesians gives us clear instructions on how we live together as God's people.  It gives us instruction in interpersonal relationship, how we speak to one another and how we deal with our anger.  It gives husbands and wives great teaching about how we should live together and the significance of the marital union in displaying something of the committed love of Christ for the church.  Parents and children are exhorted about their roles in a family that follows Jesus and great insight is given for those in positions of servitude and authority.

Continuing Spiritual Battle as we Sojourn

Finally, the book of Ephesians exhibits a keen awareness of the spiritual forces of darkness at work in the world today.  We are reminded that spiritual powers are real and hold many people captive, dead in their trespasses and sins.  We are also encouraged and exhorted to fight spiritual battles by putting on the full armor of God described in detail at the close of this letter.  CS Lewis once remarked that we can make one of two mistakes regarding the demonic.[19]  One, we could make too much of the devil giving him too much power and attention in life looking for demons under every rock as it were.  Two, we could live as if he does do not exist, woefully deceived by the deceptions of the evil one.  Ephesians is much more balanced in its teaching.  It does not make the devil the central actor in history nor the one who holds the keys to our lives. We belong to the Father, purchased by the Son, sealed by the Spirit.  At the same time we resist the forces of darkness in the provision of God, fighting with the spiritual weaponry he so graciously gives.

Conclusion

As we stand in the midst of the birth of Jacob's Well, I can think of no better place to build our lives together than in the book of Ephesians.  God's teaching for us in this letter will give us the doctrine we need to build our lives upon.  Our community will be enriched, informed and blessed as we follow the teaching in the latter chapters about how to relate to one another.  When we look back on our journey years from now, it is my prayer that we will find worship provoked, love for Jesus deepened, friendships bonded, marriages established and homes blessed by our study of Paul's letter to the Ephesians.  As a community on mission we need to be "on something" to go after what God has set before Jacob's Well.  As we put our hands to building lives, communities and planting churches, we could launch all of this on human will, effort and ingenuity.  There is a more excellent way; we can build life on doctrine.  We can build on the truth of the gospel that sets people free. This must be our path as we aim towards living for the glory of God and the good of our communities by extending hope through the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Every Spiritual Blessing in Him,

Reid S. Monaghan

Notes

---

[1] The word doctrine simply refers to a body of teaching or instruction. Doctrine, "Merriam Webster's Online Dictionary,"   [accessed April 16, 2009].

[2] The video is online at YouTube for those who want to feel the nostalgia of the late 1980s  - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nl5gBJGnaXs (accessed April 16, 2009)

[3] Coleridge is probably best known for his The Rime of the Ancient Mariner Samuel Taylor Coleridge and Paul H. Fry, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner : Complete, Authoritative Texts of the 1798 and 1817 Versions with Biographical and Historical Contexts, Critical History, and Essays from Contemporary Critical Perspectives (Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 1999).

[4] Harold W. Hoehner, Ephesians : An Exegetical Commentary, Fifth printing ed. (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Academic, 2002), 1,2.

[5] Quoted in Peter Thomas O'Brien, The Letter to the Ephesians (Grand Rapids, Mich. ; Cambridge Leicester: William B. Eerdmans ; Apollos, 1999), 1.

[6] Hoehner, 62.

[7] Klyne Snodgrass, Ephesians (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan, 1996), 18, 19.

[8]See Hoehner, 2,3. and Snodgrass, 23.

[9] Hoehner, 60, 61.

[10] Ibid., 89-92.

[11] Paul recounts in Ephesians 3:1 that he was a prisoner.  Though other imprisonments are possible, we concur that this was most likely during Paul's first imprisonment in Rome. See O'Brien, 57.

[12] Hoehner, 23.

[13] O'Brien, 48.

[14] Geoffrey W. Bromiley, The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1988; 2002), 2:115.

[15] See Acts 19:28

[16] Bromiley, 2:117.

[17] For a more thorough survey of the teaching of Ephesians about Jesus see Hoehner, 108-109.

[18] O'Brien, 3.

[19] C. S. Lewis and Evelyn Underhill, The Screwtape Letters (New York,: The Macmillan company, 1943).

Bibliography

Bromiley, Geoffrey W. The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1988; 2002.

Coleridge, Samuel Taylor, and Paul H. Fry. The Rime of the Ancient Mariner : Complete, Authoritative Texts of the 1798 and 1817 Versions with Biographical and Historical Contexts, Critical History, and Essays from Contemporary Critical Perspectives. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 1999.

Hoehner, Harold W. Ephesians : An Exegetical Commentary. Fifth printing ed. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Academic, 2002.

Lewis, C. S., and Evelyn Underhill. The Screwtape Letters. New York,: The Macmillan company, 1943.

Merriam Webster's Online Dictionary.  [accessed April 16, 2009].

O'Brien, Peter Thomas. The Letter to the Ephesians. Grand Rapids, Mich. ; Cambridge Leicester: William B. Eerdmans ; Apollos, 1999.

Snodgrass, Klyne. Ephesians. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan, 1996.

Who is in Charge around here?

As human beings we are in love with the idea that we are in control of things.  I think it is an especially acute problem for human beings in America. We think we can make it happen, win the day, command our destinies...it is a fun ride until reality smacks us around a bit.  The truth of the matter is that much of life is utterly out of our control.  We did not choose where we would be born, who would be our parents and a myriad of other things about our lives.  Yet we want to be in control and we know that our choices do matter greatly in how our lives turn out.

In Daniel chapter four we witness the final chapter of God's education of the Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar.  The lesson which is taught is quite clear: God rules in the affairs of people and nations on the earth.  Theologically we use the term Sovereignty to describe God being the highest rule and authority known.   There is simply no throne or power above that of the creator God. Yet this does bring questions.  If God is Sovereign and is accomplishing his purposes how do my choices affect the outcomes of life?  Are my choices subject to God's direction as well?  How free is my free will? If God is Sovereign, then why does he permit certain things to go down?

In a previous junk drawer we discussed God's sovereignty and rule over both good and evil.  You can read that online if you like. This week we want to do something just a bit different; we want to discuss the relationship of God's Sovereignty and our responsibility.  In other words, how does God's rule over all things interact with my choices to do some things.  To do this I want to begin by defining what we mean by these two terms.  I will then discuss the scope of these and how we avoid any sort of contradiction by setting one authority above another.  Next I want us to chew on the nature of our free will and several philosophical definitions.  Finally, we will close by discussing our nature as creatures and how we respond to God in humility , faith and following.

Some Definitions

Sovereignty of God- As briefly stated above, when we say God is sovereign, we mean that there is  no higher rule, reign or authority that exists.  God is in control of all things and by providential leading brings them towards his desired ends.  There is great wonder, glory and mystery in the Sovereignty of God.  It is a teaching that brings great comfort to believers as well as a deep sense of human dependence.  Yet when seen in a skewed manner, God's sovereignty can cause some to think that his rule makes our choices, our lives, our journeys as somewhat inconsequential or unimportant . 

Human Responsibility- Though God is sovereign, he has created human beings, male and female in his own image (Genesis 1:26, 27).  Furthermore, God calls us to co-rule and reign with him on the earth as stewards.  He has vested us with dominion in the created order and we are to follow him in what he has called us to be.  By our very nature, we have been created to be responsible to God for how we represent him and steward our lives and the created order.  There is high human responsibility to a Sovereign God which is taught in the Scriptures.  

In Scripture we see God's sovereignty and our responsibility clearly taught in many places.   In the narrative of Daniel we see quite plainly that God is teaching us as well as various players in the story that he rules and reigns supreme over all.  He is the one who changes the times and seasons and sets up kings and removes them (Daniel 2:21).  His is the dominion which is an everlasting dominion and his Kingdom will last through all generations (Daniel 4:34).   Additionally, the prophecy of Isaiah teaches us that  there is no God but God who rules over all things and declares the end from the beginning in the story of history (Isaiah 45).  His purposes will stand, all that he wishes to accomplish will be accomplished (Isaiah 46); he is the Sovereign Creator God. 

At the same time, our lives are lived actively by either following him or in rebellion against  him.  To bow the knee, to follow him, to love him, worship him, trust him is an act of our wills, but our wills are hardened so that we need his enabling grace.   We are truly guilty before God for our sins and we are responsible for the choices we make.  We are responsible and God is still in control of all things.  At this some might think that sovereignty and human decisions are at odds with one another or produce some sort of contradiction.  There is no contradiction as long as we are not ultimately free and God ultimately sovereign.  The scope of our freedom is either limited by God's rule or God's rule is limited in some sense by the scope of human freedom.  I think is helpful to look at the scope of sovereignty and our freedom as a way to understand this a little better.

Scope-What's on Your Plate?

If we think in terms of ownership and responsibility the tensions between sovereignty and our responsibility resolve much more easily.  It is clear from Scripture that God created and is therefore the owner of all things.  Psalm 24:1 teaches us that the earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein.  Furthermore, Scripture teaches us that all things were created by him and for him (Colossians 1:16).  If God is the owner of all things, then he is responsible for all things. 

• Everything is on God's plate-he is responsible and sovereign in all things
• Some things God places on your plate-we are responsible for our lives and that which is entrusted to us as his stewards

Think about it.  If I were absolutely free to do anything and everything, then God could not accomplish anything in my life contrary to my will.  Absolute human freedom and absolute sovereignty actually are contradictory.  Yet if God is absolutely sovereign and I am responsible for what he puts before me then we have no contradiction.  Yet the nature of human free will and responsibility has puzzled thinkers in every age and I think looking at some things philosophically is appropriate.  So I want to pose what may sound like a crazy question-do we really have free will?

Do we have Free Will?

A question such as this can usually be a bit unnerving to us as we know we set alarm clocks, choose to get up (mostly), go to work and make decisions about how we act and treat others, et al.  It seems that I will likely choose to buy a new Palm Pre smart-phone some time 2009.  It is just self-evident that human beings posses something that many times is called free will.

As we begin a discussion of free will, it should be known that among secular philosopher types the belief that we have free will is laughable.  Most people who do not believe in God or any spiritual reality such as human souls, simply believe we are biological machines predetermined by causal chains of events determined by the laws of physics.  For instance the Center for Naturalism, an organization dedicated to promoting naturalistic thought and policies, makes the following statement on their web site:

Practically speaking, naturalism holds that an individual's development and behavior are entirely the result of prior and surrounding conditions, both genetic and environmental. Naturalism, therefore, denies that persons have contra-causal free will - that something within them is capable of acting as a first cause.

As a Christian, I do not believe we are simply determined by genetics and environment and that the world itself is not a closed system of cause and effect based on the laws of physics.  We hold that both God and human beings are capable of meaningful actions in the world.  Yet this quote brings up a distinction in discussions of free will in that it uses the term contra-causal free will to distinguish its views.  This brings up an important distinction in discussions about human choice, one that even Christians differ with one another about.  First two quick definitions:

• Contra Causal or Libertarian Free will...this is a version of free will you might call: really, really free, free will.  It holds that that a person can make genuinely free decisions without any other causation but the person's will.  Christian philosopher J.P. Moreland defines it this way: "When an agent acts freely, he is a first or unmoved mover; no event causes him to act.  His desires, beliefs and so on may influence his choice, but free acts are not caused by prior states in the agent."¹
• Compatibilism-Our choices are in accord with other factors and never uncaused or unconditioned.  Past choices, our environment, our character development and virtue, God's working, our current desires all weigh into our decisions. 

While the naturalistic determinist believes our choices are compatible (or more precisely dictated to us by) with genetic and environmental determinism, there are also Christians who believe our choices are free, yet God may guide them when he chooses to do so in order to achieve his purposes.   Another way of looking at this is that God has freer, free will than we do.  I do not find this troubling as it seems evident that God is God and we are not.  

In arguing that human freedom and God's sovereignty are compatible, Christian philosopher and theologian Bruce Ware makes an excellent point:  "human freedom that is compatible with God's meticulous sovereignty², then, cannot be libertarian or contra-causal freedom, but must instead truly be a freedom of one's strongest inclination, desire, and volition. That is, our freedom consists in our choosing and doing according that what we are inclined most, or what we desire most, to do."³ Dr Ware's contention is not that we do not choose to do anything, but rather human beings choose what they are most inclined to do or what they desire most.

We do not wish to say that our choices are not free in a limited sense; we do make choices and we are responsible for them.  Yet we do want to say is that God can indeed act in the lives of human beings, changing their minds and wills.  In fact, Scripture teaches us that human beings, if left to their own desires, will not seek God and will not submit to his rule.  People become followers of Jesus precisely because he intervenes to change us and give us new desires and inclinations (See Romans 3 and Romans 8 in particular).   Whereas one day we did not desire to love God, read Scripture, worship Jesus, etc. something happens and we are changed.  We now find Jesus to be a treasure and we actually desire to love and follow him.  This is not dependent on our free will but is rather a sovereign work of God.  Jesus told his closest friends on earth: you did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to bear much fruit, fruit that will last (paraphrase of John 15:16).  We are indeed chosen by God, saved by God and changed by God to become followers of Jesus.  All of this is by grace, not because of anything we are or anything we do (Ephesians 2:1-10). 

Unlike the secular determinist, we do believe that God can act in the world and we can make choices.  Yet we also believe that God is in control and bringing about his will, a purposeful working in history.  So in some sense, God is sovereign and determines everything, yet uses the choices of our lives as means to accomplish his ends.  

How God's Sovereign rule and our choices and responsibility interact is a puzzling mystery around which followers of Jesus have wrestled for years.  We do not intend to solve the issue here.  Yet as we see in the story of Daniel and Nebuchadnezzar, God wants us to know without question that God rules and his Kingdom will be established despite our pride and rebellion.  We far too often think we are the masters of the universe and the captains of destiny; we are not, and it is good news to realize this and follow the one who graciously leads all things.

Our Response to God's Initiative

One of the  most difficult things about becoming a follower of Jesus is realizing that you are not in control.  It sometimes makes us afraid to let go of the steering wheel of life and trust someone else with ultimate things.  Yet our wise and loving Creator desires for us to come to him by faith, to put our hand of trust into his and then follow. The irony of it all is that by yielding to a sovereign God we find our greatest joy.  We may go to sleep at night knowing that God is on point and that we can rest.   We need not persist in our self-deception that we are the little god of our own lives; such small deities always disappoint.  Yet knowing the God who made us, leads us and forgives us in Christ leads us to a place of life and peace forever.

God freely came to the earth in person of Jesus to show us who he is.  God freely came to the earth in Jesus to die for rebels and bring them home into a relationship that truly satisfies.  God loves freely, he is calling to you, if you sense his Spirit beckoning you to come home, then freely respond with the desire and the grace he is giving.  

Notes

¹ J.P. Moreland and Garrett J. DeWeese, Philosophy Made Slightly Less Difficult (Downers Grove: Intervarsity Press, 2005) 124. Emphasis added.

^2. Meticulous Sovereignty means that God is in control of all things in life, not just a few things here and there.

^3. Bruce Ware, God's Greater Glory-The Exalted God of Scripture and the Christian Faith (Wheaton: Crossway, 2005) 27.  Dr. Ware's discussion of Sovereignty and Free will in this book is a must read for Christians who desire to take seriously the teachings of Scripture regarding the sovereignty of God.   See pages 24-26 in summary and  chapter 3 in detail.

To Obey, or Not to Obey...That is the Question

In Daniel 3, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were given an order to obey a law which demanded all leaders of the Babylonian empire to bow down in worship before a golden image set up by Nebuchadnezzar.  They willfully disobey the order and get themselves into a bit of trouble for doing so.  This brings up an important question for followers of Jesus in every time period.  Is it right to disobey governing authorities?  As Americans, who revel in individualism and whose country was born by throwing off the rule of a European monarch, this is hardly a question.  Yet there is a great tension in the teaching of Scripture and in human society in general. 

Practical Tensions

In order to have a culture that experiences anything less than chaos, there must be some order.  It has been demonstrated time and again that human beings are quite capable of bringing havoc upon the world.  In light of this, government has been necessary.  Yet at the same time, governments are made up of the same human beings who can tyrannically and unjustly oppress those whom they serve.  Hence we have a tension that must be resolved.  First, we need government and we need to follow certain rules or laws in order to have a peaceful and meaningful existence.   Second, it is true that a government can be wicked or ask its people to do unjust tings.  In such cases that government's rules ought to be disobeyed. Or should they?

Biblical Tensions

There is clear teaching in Scripture regarding obeying government and the nature of rebellion.  Many are surprised that the Bible actually commands followers of Jesus to obey governing authorities.  For instance, Romans 13:1-5 gives this strong exhortation:

¹Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. ²Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. ³For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, ⁴for he is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer.

It also goes on to say we should pay taxes, but that is painful to read being a resident of New Jersey.  The point is that we should follow the laws of our land because the state is appointed by God to  correct and punish wrong doing so a peaceable society can flourish.   Furthermore, to go against right authority appears to be sin in light of God's strong words about rebellion (1 Samuel 15:22, 23) That is one side of the tension.

The other side of the tension arises from some clear biblical examples of people who in fact disobey governing authorities.  The Hebrew midwives disobey Pharaoh's commands to destroy Hebrew babies in Exodus 1.  In Acts 4 the early leaders of Jesus' church disobey a command from the ruling council in Jerusalem.  They are asked by the authorities to no longer preach or teach about Jesus; their response was clear:

Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard. 

Equally clear was the response of our guys here in Daniel 3.  Their response to Nebuchadnezzar was strong and resolute:

O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. 17 If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. 18 But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.

So it seems we have to reconcile God's commands to obey government and some clear cases where God has displayed his blessing upon the disobedience.  The solution to this problem is actually quite simple, the application of that solution can be quite complex requiring wisdom.  Is it OK to disobey the government? Yes, it seems, when it wants you to sin against God. 

Higher Authority

It is clear from Scripture that we are to listen to God's word above the commands of human beings.  We are to submit to a law that transcend the borders of nations and cultures. As the apostles in Acts 4 show us, we are to live in a manner that pleases God and not blindly obey a sinful law from government.   How we are to live this injunction in a world of complex situations and circumstances must be considered.  Additionally, whether the law of the land should be the law of God is a difficult subject which various Christians approach differently.  To proceed into some of the complexity of this I will take two paths.  First, we will simply look at the relationships of God's law to the laws of the state.  This is necessary if we are to be able to compare the two and if the state is to rule justly.  Finally, we will look at two different camps regarding civil disobedience and close by giving a positive encouragement from Scripture.

Laws, Higher and Lower

Both church and state have been called by God to govern and have authority in the lives of Christians.  The church is a body of believers called out by God together as a covenant people by the gospel.  As such, the highest authority in our lives is the Word of God, the Scriptures.  Yet each church is in a realm of state authority as well so the lines of separation must be discussed.  Historically, the Roman Catholic Church and the magisterial reformers (Luther, Zwingli and Calvin) held to a unification of church/state.  The state was legitimized by God and the church endorsed this legitimacy.  Additionally, the state enforced and permitted the establishment of religious authority and unity in a realm. This view had long standing back into Greek and Roman times.  A state and its gods were one.  However, this was questioned by many reformers and evaluated in light of Scripture.  Did not Jesus teach that the rule of Caesar was different than the rule of God?  Does not a marriage between worldly power and the church have a corrupting influence on both?  Such questions in Western culture led the founders of the American experiment to articulate clearly the relationship between church and state.  It is found in the well known establishment and free exercise clauses of the first amendment of the US Constitution.  Here is how it reads: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.  The meaning of this statement is quite clear but the implementation has always been a bit fuzzy.  What it means is that there will be no official state religion or church in our country.  Additionally, the government will not prohibit law abiding citizens from freely practices their religion.  It does not make a religion free zone in any portion of society nor does it create a religion of which all citizens must participate.  It means we have freedom of religion - a gracious gift to the people of America.   I take this to be a just solution but it leaves unanswsered how the authority of the church and state are grounded.

The Authority of State - Natural Law

Many thinkers in history, particularly Aristotle, Thomas Aquinas and John Locke have taught that there is a law built into human existence which dictates to conscience basic categories of a just society.  I do not have time here, but I discussed various types of law elsewhere¹.  Natural law would be defined in the Christian tradition as follows: Natural law is the law "written on the heart" (Romans 2:13) - the conscience by which people know good and evil - right from wrong. Sin mars this faculty in man, but it remains none the less. These are things that people "can't not know" which flow from the moral nature of God and presses upon the conscience. People suppress this and hold it down in wickedness, many becoming callous as to be seared against God's witness in conscience (See Romans 1,2). This is shared by both Christian and Non Christian. Some recent works on Natural law would be found in the writings of Princeton scholar Robert George and J. Budzizewski of the University of Texas at Austin.²

The state then governs in accord to the law written on the heart expressed in basic morality found in all cultures.  The so called "second tablet" (commands 5-10) of the Ten Commandments is reflective of such basic moral foundations.  The natural law is an expression of God's authority on all peoples and we disobey this moral law to our own peril.

The Authority of Church - The Word of God

Christians however are called to a higher authority than even the state, the authority of the Word of God.  Scripture is the Supreme Court in all matters of life and teaching for Christian believers.  It is to be obeyed and heeded out of love for Jesus Christ who is revealed in this Word.  It reveals the laws of God which demonstrate to us our sinfulness and need of grace.  It reveals the gospel by which we are saved and restored to right relationship with God.  It reveals the mission of the church in the world as the in-breaking of the ultimate rule and reign of God in the Kingdom of Heaven.  It reveals that we are citizens of two realms...the Kingdoms of earth and the Kingdom of God. Scripture instructs us as to when civil disobedience is warranted while simultaneously calling us to submit to just and reasonable laws.

In this age church and state are separate spheres of authority with Scripture guiding the church.  When Jesus returns he will set up a perfect divine monarchy with himself as King of Kings.  Aristotle once wrote that the best government would be by a perfect and virtuous ruler.  Yet none of this metal is to be found among the sinful throng of humanity.  In the current state of affairs it has been said that democracy is the best of all bad forms of government.   Yet a day will come when authority will be always good, kind and just. 

In summary, the state is called to have just laws and believers are called to follow all such laws.  When the state passes unjust laws we are compelled to obey a higher standard.  The question of the application of this principle has typically found Christians in two camps.  We should disobey a government when it promulgates unjust laws or we should only disobey when it compels us by law to act in a sinful manner.  Let's close by looking at this distinction.³

Promulgation or Compulsion?

The Antipromulgation Position-this position simply states that the law is king and the state is not above the law.  If a government rules contrary to just laws than it is illegitimate or tyrannical, failing in its God given duty to promote and protect the common good.  Such governments that promote and promulgate evil should be resisted by protest and self-defensive force if necessary.  Some advocates of this view have even gone as far to recommend revolution against such tyrannical and unjust governments.

The Anticompulsion Position -  this view holds that a Christian should submit to a government until it actively compels a person to follow an unjust law or disobey God.  In this view the follower of Jesus can submit to the just laws of the state while not participating in the evil behavior the state permits.  A modern example would be a doctor refusing to obey a government which might compel him to perform abortions against her conscience. Typically, non violent⁴ resistance is the path followed by the person resisting  an unjust state in this position.⁵ The following table from Norman L. Geisler illustrates the differing views⁶:

Antipromulgationist	Anticompulsionist
When it permits evil	When it commands evil
When it promulgates evil laws	When it compels evil actions
When it limits freedom	When it negates freedom
When it is politically oppressive	When it is religiously oppressive

In closing, it is my conviction that Christians should be good citizens of any realm in which they are living (See 1 Timothy 2:1-3). We should be seek to be helpful to all who govern justly and even do good to those who treat us badly (Matthew 5:43-47). The only trouble we should be starting is the sanctified kind.  If we get in trouble for proclaiming the love of God towards sinners, the forgiveness of God the repentant and the salvation of God which comes through Jesus Christ alone-bring it on.  If we get in trouble for disobeying an evil law, then throw us in the flames.  But if you suffer for law-breaking and doing stupid things...well, that's on you.

As to the myriad of questions surrounding the use of force in self defense, or for a people to wage a violent rebellion against an unjust state...that will have to be junk left for discussion on another day.  

For Jesus,

Reid S. Monaghan

Notes

¹ See my Christianity and Nation States...Law and a Just Society at http://www.powerofchange.org/2005/5/3/christianity-and-nation-stateslaw-and-a-just-society.html

² See J. Budzizewski Written on the Heart-The Case for Natural Law and What We Can't Not Know-A Guide  and Robert P. George The Clash of Orthodoxies-Law, Religion and Morality in Crisis.

^3. This is a synopsis of the treatment in Norman Geisler's Christian Ethics-Options and Issues (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1989) 241-246.

^4. Note: This is a separate issue from the discussion of just war vs. pacifism. 

^5. For a good treatment on why Christians should not favor the use of violence see John S. Feinberg, Paul D. Feinberg Ethics for a Brave New World (Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway Books, 1996, c1993), 402-405.

^6. Geisler, 243.

The Question of Dreams and Visions

There is an occurrence in Scripture where God's people are given the ability to interpret dreams and visions.  This was a common practice among the Chaldeans, and in Daniel's case, God gives him this ability.  Though there is much goofy, yes even wicked, stuff associated with dreams and visions it is one of the means by which God has revealed himself in Scripture.  The Christian doctrine of revelation teaches that God truly reveals himself or makes himself known to people.  We typically speak of his natural revelation whereby God displays something of himself through created things and conscience (See Romans 1-2 and Psalm 19).  Additionally we speak of God's special revelation where he clearly and explicitly  makes himself known.  This primarily comes through the incarnation, God becoming a human to reveal himself in the person and work of Jesus.   Furthermore God has spoken through prophets, apostles and Jesus and these are all preserved and given to us in Holy Scripture (See Hebrews 1:1-3).  So God reveals himself to all through nature and conscience.  He shows who he is and that we are accountable to him.  God reveals himself uniquely to some through his Word (the Bible) and Jesus Christ who is revealed therein.   So what of dreams?  Some theologians place dreams and visions in the category of special revelation as they are only give to some people.  They are not the normative way God speaks. 

Though dreams and visions are not something we expect, need or something that happens every day, God does use them for his purposes.  He gave Joseph the ability to interpret dreams in the book of Genesis and here in Daniel we find our exiled young man with the ability as well.    Additionally there have been documented cases of God giving dreams and visions to his people today to further his purposes. Particularly in countries where access to gospel preaching and the Scripture is limited or prohibited by law or cultural pressure, God has given people visions and dreams of Jesus.¹ Now, one caveat and caution is in order.  Any dream that does not accord with the revealed word of God we have in Scripture is not to be assumed to be "from God."  We should test any such dreams or visions by the revealed truth of the Bible and the counsel of mature leaders.   After all, while some dreams and visions can be from God, others could be demonically inspired or the byproduct of eating a bad burrito.   God has given us his Word as a sure and guiding testimony so that we can test prophecies (1 Thessalonians 5:16-22) and hold on to what is good.   There are many who seek after dreams, visions and experiences only to be led away by con men who revel in psychosomatic trickery.  We need to be guided by Scripture.  Be aware of this but also do not put God in a box, let his Word speak to you daily so that you can discern authentic visions from the poor peddling of TV prophets and nightmares brought on by an ill advised midnight snack.

Notes

1.  There are many testimonies from the Islamic world which recount dreams and visions-see http://www.answering-islam.org/Testimonies/ - See also the bibliography at the end of that page. Also, a DVD entitled More than Dreams distributed by Vision Video, has chronicled this as well.

Saying and Saving Grace

Saying and Saving Grace

Grace. There is no better word to use to describe the uniqueness of the message of Jesus than this one word.  Biblical grace is a concept not found in the religions of humanity and it is one that is often misunderstood or simply missed completely in contemporary culture.  Today when one hears the term it is likely provoke thoughts of a prayer said before meals or a character on a popular television drama.  Many Christians may talk of grace, but few of us actually live in light of the grace of God. 

In this essay I want to do a few things.  First, I want to contrast biblical grace with most ideas of religious observance found throughout our world.  After doing so I wish to offer a simple definition. Then I will breakdown several different ways in which the Bible talks about grace in God's relationship to human beings.  It is my fear that we could be too narrow in our understanding of the Scriptures teaching on grace.  Finally, I will conclude with some practical guidance on living in grace in relationship to what we might call habitual or besetting sins. 

Biblical Grace vs. The Chains of Religion

Before we make a positive definition of what we mean by grace, I want to first prepare us for its meaning by way of contrast with human religious traditions.  We might think of religion as humanity's attempt to please, connect with and commune with transcendent reality. Simply put religion is a human exercise - an attempt to please God or align with the universe etc.  It is an enterprise founded on the devotion, actions and morality of human beings.  Religion would teach us that God will like you if you say, do, believe all the right things.  The more perfect you are, the more favor you will find with God (or the karmic universe in some ways of thinking).  Many are the mantras of religion: keep the law, follow the eight fold path, observe the five pillars or sow towards good karma.  Perhaps then you will find a right standing with the transcendent or divine.  Biblical grace is a stark contrast to these sorts of ideas. 

There are many worthy definitions of the concept of grace, but for the sake of brevity I will offer a basic definition given by Millard Erickson in his Christian Theology:

By this [grace] we mean that God deals with his people not on the basis of their merit or worthiness, what they deserve, but simply according to their need; in other words, he deals with them on the basis of his goodness and generosity.¹

It is tempting to look into the mirror to tell oneself I'm good enough, I'm smart enough and dog gone it, people like me.  The wonderful truth of the grace of God is that he accepts sinners, not perfect people, he gives grace to the needy, not to those looking to be full of themselves.  The teaching of the Bible about grace reveals that God's acceptance of broken, imperfect people is not based upon them getting their act together.  God accepts those who come to him in the knowledge that they are undeserving and in great need. He does not turn away those who come to him with a trusting soul.  Those with a spiritual hunger and thirst may come to him and be accepted in grace.

³⁵Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. ³⁶But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe. ³⁷All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. ³⁸For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. ³⁹And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. ⁴⁰For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day."

Species of Grace

The Bible teaches us that there are several kinds of grace which God lavishes on his creation and human beings.  God is always expressing kindness to a world which is living in rebellion from Him.  One of the most fascinating truths of Scripture is that God showers grace even upon his enemies.  The following are a sampling of the kinds of grace God expresses to his world.

Widespread (or Common) Grace

First, there is an aspect of grace that is widespread and given to all human beings.  God's design of the universe and our planet provides that the sun rises² on all people equally and the just and unjust receive rain and physical provisions for life. (Matthew 5:44-45). Furthermore, God's widespread, or common, grace bears daily witness to his loving care by giving us fruitful seasons and harvests and allowing people to have satisfied, glad hearts in our food and drink (Acts 14:15-17).  Finally, God graciously reveals himself to all of us through creation and conscience (See Romans 1:18-23 and Romans 2:14-16).  He does this for all so that they might know that he is God and we are accountable to him.

Saving Grace

Yet in addition to God's widespread grace, he additionally gives saving grace to those who believe.  We are saved from sin, death and hell by the kindness and grace of God. His rich mercy towards us brings us to trust in his grace rather than our own works to make us justified and forgiven (Ephesians 2:4-9)before Him.  God's grace is lavished upon his people so that their sins are forgiven and they are made right with him.  He brings us back into a close relationship of love and trust through the work of Jesus (Romans 3).

Sanctifying (Life Changing) Grace

God's grace does not simply save us so that we get on a life waiting list for heaven. No, his graces transforms our lives to be more like Jesus.  His grace teaches us to renounce worldly passions and to now live our lives for the glory of God.  His grace purifies us and places in us a strong desire for good works where we may not have given a rip before (Titus 2:11-14). 

Persevering Grace

Finally, all followers of Jesus who have received widespread grace, been rescued by saving grace and who are being transformed by sanctifying grace are also kept by grace until the arrival of the Kingdom of Heaven.  God preserves his people by grace (John 10:27-29) and he holds a coming reward for all he is guiding towards his Kingdom.  He guards and keeps his people by his sustaining grace until our temporal death or the coming of Jesus in fullness at the end of time (1 Peter 1:3-5).

One of the beautiful teachings of the New Testament has really connected with me over the years. In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul writes the following: It is the grace of God that I am what I am, and this grace was not without effect, no I worked harder than them all, but not I, but the grace of God within me (1 Corinthians 15:10).  This passage teaches us the centrality of grace in shaping our lives and giving strength to labor in the purposes of God.

Grace in the Trenches

A strong concept of the grace of God is needed to keep us from the edges and extremes of prideful self righteousness or despair from our own sin.  Martin Luther's classic reformation theology teaches us that Christians are Simul Justus et Peccator-we are simultaneously justified yet at the same time sinful.  God's grace has accepted us, justified us through the work of Jesus.  Yet throughout life we battle with what some have called indwelling sin.  We must daily yield our lives to his grace and trust him to lead us away from temptation.  Romans 8:1-17 teaches us that the new life we have in God must be lived by his Spirit and power every day.  While at the same time we work to put to death the sin in our lives.  This tension must be embraced or we will become either proud or despairing. 

If we think we have made ourselves better, or our good works have made us somehow more pleasing to God then we will think too much of ourselves.  If we forget the unconditional acceptance of God through the work of Jesus we will despise ourselves and despair at our brokenness.   The middle way is the way of the cross whereby we daily die to our sins and ask God to help us live in newness of live (Romans 6).  We do this by practicing confession (See Psalm 51 and 1 John 1:9) and repentance.  By confessing our sins to God we walk in the light with him and experience the truth of grace.  As Jesus once said to an adulterous woman-neither do I condemn you.  Then we turn from our sin back into (not run away from) fellowship with God and his people.  As Jesus said to that same woman-go and sin no more.  

As we struggle with habitual sins of pornography, self-image, pride, self-exaltation, eating disorders, lying, gossip, slandering our neighbors, rebelling and just being punks, we must remember that we are saved by grace.  Only then will we have the courage necessary to be changed by grace.  Confession and repentance are great gifts to the believer.  They are like a scuba tank of live giving oxygen for those suffocating in the deep oceans of the soul. As you struggle with sin, remember Jesus-he is able to sympathize with you and change your life.  If you go it alone, denying the grace of God, you are literally up the creek without a paddle.

Learning to walk with you towards our gracious God,

Reid S. Monaghan

Notes:

1. Millard J. Erickson, Christian Theology, 2nd ed. (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Book House, 1998), 320.

2. Jesus and the Scriptures, as many others, use phenomenological language to describe the relationship of the earth to the sun. It is common in all times in history to speak of “the sun rising” and is in no way “unscientific or inaccurate” to speak this way. In fact, every time the weather person is on the news you will hear talk of the sunrise. Plus, watching sunsets and sunrises with a friend at the beach is much better than “lets go observe the well timed planetary rotation of our earth.” That won’t get you too many dates. God has given us certain “means of grace” or practices by which he transforms our lives.

3. To read about these practices see Reid S. Monaghan Spiritual Disciplines at the book table or online at —http://www.powerofchange.org/blog/booklets.html.

On the favor of God

Unmerited Favor

In Daniel 1 we see an interesting word used about Daniel's decision not to defile himself with the King's food.  Daniel 1:9 teaches us that God gave Daniel favor and compassion in sight the sight of the chief of the eunuchs.   In this passage we see two sides of a unique biblical truth regarding the work of God through our lives. 

The word translated favor here is the Hebrew term hesed which has the meaning of unfailing kindness and steadfast love.  It is a statement of God's covenantal commitment  to his people; it is a statement of God's faithfulness to his promises.   It is the word used in Lamentations 3:22-23 where we are told

²²The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; ²³they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.

We will be focusing more on this next week, but suffice it to say Scripture wants us to see that God was faithfully with Daniel as he took a stand in Babylonian culture.  At this point we should notice that God's favor affected the relationships he had with those who were in power. This favor was simply a gift of God, and preceded negotiations about the food issue.  

Favor for Wise Living

Daniel then makes decisions and actions in light of the grace God had given.  He had a huge part to play in how he was received by those around him and we observe that Daniel displayed exemplary wisdom in his interactions with the Babylonian officials.  He displays himself to be a shrewd negotiator and his wise action moves him towards his desire to honor God.  There is much practical insight here in this for today.  Each of us must navigate work places, schools and cultural settings which can press us towards the compromise of our own worship.   We need exactly what Daniel needed-God's favor and then wise actions in various situations and living relationships.

In the workplace today we may be called to compromise the truth, submit to morally questionable instructions and perhaps practically deny our most deeply held beliefs.  What sort of practical wisdom does the sojourner need today?  I will suggest two areas as paramount.  First, we must understand where tensions lie with our culture and the gospel.   Second, we must choose wisely where and when to take a stand.  For making everything a big deal is not wise yet nor is compromising the soul as we live before God.  So let's look at where we may find tensions in our culture with the gospel today.

Dave Mahan, director of the Rivendell Institute for Christian Thought and Learning describes certain cultural fault lines¹-areas of life that may create earthquakes between gospel and culture.  I find these helpful in anticipating where trouble may arise for the sojourner who seeks to influence others for the Kingdom of God.  The description here is necessarily brief.  

• Truth-our culture is relativistic in nature and has a low regard for truth. Living with integrity today may present us challenges around issues of truth.
• Freedom-Our culture is obsessed with a view of freedom that literally says "everything goes." Yet we realize that every thing that goes may not be the good or right way to walk in the sight of God.
• Authority-We question, malign, rebel against and abuse power and authority. We will be pressed in the way to submit to and exercise authority.
• Self/Identity-As followers of Jesus we believe that human beings are made in God's image and are worthy respect. We also believe God is the one before whom we truly know ourselves. Our culture views that human nature and the self as constructed based purely on the whims, preferences and choices of individuals. We typically base the worth of persons on their position, their amount of possessions and the power they posses while the gospel puts intrinsic value upon all persons.
• Future-Finally, our view of the future is very different than those around us. Our hope may be mocked, our belief in God's guiding of history seen as naïve and even belief in the coming Kingdom of Heaven is maligned. Afterall, when was the last time you saw a movie set in the future where God had anything to do with reality on earth?

These issues are areas where the gospel can both practically and intellectually clash making sojourning challenging in our day.  In closing, knowing where tensions exist is only part of the equation. What we need is wisdom of where to make our own stands in the complex circumstances of life.  When tempted to lie to increase our sales, when tempted to compromise our lives in an over sexualized culture, when pressured to treat others without honor, we will have difficult decisions to make. We must prayerfully maintain integrity in our dealings with others walking both an eternal and human path.  As we develop character and love for God we will do all our work as we are doing it with him.  Virtue and industry will be our path and we can grow to be trusted men and women in our day.  People of character may receive favor from God and people and our worship can remain undefiled in tough situations where others might choose a lower path.   The tough part of wisdom is that it happens in real time and is not always a clear step by step path.  As we seek a way of wisdom, Jesus' own words become our calling: so let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven. 

Lord, may this be our prayer...

Note

1. Dave Mahan, Lecture—Cultural Fault Lines, Engaging Contemporary Culture Project, Fort Collins, CO 2001.

Jerusalem Pizza...

In the first chapter of the book of Daniel we see an echo of a tradition which is still very part of our modern world.  Driving through downtown Highland Park, NJ you first pass by Jerusalem Pizza before making it to a place where you can get kosher Chinese.  Very cool - great food in Jersey. To walk with God in a foreign culture necessitated both cultural embrace and cultural distinction for Daniel and his friends.  They were living in Babylon but they were not wishing to become full Babylonians.  They had been enrolled in Babylon U to receive an education, they had been allotted the finest of foods from the King's table and they had been given Babylonian names.  In Daniel 1:8 we see that they took a stand around an issue regarding food. 

There is much scholarly speculation as to why they put their proverbial feet down regarding food.  Some say that they wanted God to receive the credit for their good health and not the dietary program of the King,¹ others claim they wanted to have their allegiance in God and were making a sort of a statement of political dissent.²  Others offer a fear of participating with food and drink offered in worship to Babylonian deities.³  Finally, and relevant to our current essay, the food would have impacted their consciences in relation to their worship of God.⁴  Let's look at the passage.

⁸But Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself with the king's food, or with the wine that he drank. Therefore he asked the chief of the eunuchs to allow him not to defile himself.

It seems like the issue they were actually concerned about was defilement. This term literally means to become religiously unclean or unholy before God⁵.  Though it is likely that the exiled teens would have been unable to avoid all foods which would have defiled them, it seems this was the place they made their stand for the sake of conscience. As many people misunderstand the purpose for the Old Testament's dietary laws, I wanted to take a small bit of time and discuss this.

In the biblical book of Leviticus we find several injunctions by God as to what the people of Israel were and were not to eat.  Now some may find this an arbitrary thing for God to do, after all what is the big deal about eating certain foods.  Surprisingly enough, food is not the issue at all. Food was merely the means that God used to communicate something to his people and those in the tribes among whom they would live.

Food is one of the most common, yet most important aspects of human life.  God created the world so that the produce of the earth would sustain our daily lives.  Using such a basic and daily necessity such as food, God wanted to demonstrate something about himself to his people.  This is clearly articulated at the end of Leviticus 11.  It reads the following:

For I am the Lord who brought you up out of the land of Egypt to be your God. You shall therefore be holy, for I am holy."

God's purposes in the dietary laws for the Jews was to make them holy.  We typically think of the word holy as being simply a sort of moral category, but in fact it means "sacred, consecrated, set apart for God." God intended his people to have a distinctness and as such he made them different down to the very food that they ate.  Now it has been observed that to each Kosher is in fact quite healthy, but this was a gracious byproduct of the reason which God gave his people a special diet.

Furthermore, the faith of ancient Israel also included the sacrifice of animals to take away and pay for the sins of the people.  This was in no way to placate or pacify a King Kong God, but a gift of grace to atone, reconcile and restore fellowship with God.  Sin separates, sacrifice brought forgiveness for sin. 

Yet the Old Testament did not complete the story of redemption of God's people.  This religious diet, did not purify their hearts, it only set them apart in an external way.  Furthermore, the sacrifice of animals was but a temporary solution for sin and had to be repeated year after year on Yom Kippur, the day of atonement.  This was a foreshadowing of the great need of all humanity.  We needed to be made righteous and be reconciled to God at the level of the heart.  We needed a lasting holiness and a sacrifice which would be given once for all.

The Old Testament pointed forward to a coming reality that would make many people holy before God.  It would not come from external actions but would be accomplished by an action by God himself.  In the New Testament Jesus, a Jewish man, taught us the following in Mark chapter 7:

¹⁴And he called the people to him again and said to them, "Hear me, all of you, and understand: ¹⁵There is nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him."¹⁷And when he had entered the house and left the people, his disciples asked him about the parable. ¹⁸And he said to them, "Then are you also without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him, ¹⁹since it enters not his heart but his stomach, and is expelled?" (Thus he declared all foods clean.) ²⁰And he said, "What comes out of a person is what defiles him. ²¹For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, ²²coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. ²³All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person."

Our passage in Daniel teaches that God was the one who gave him favor as he made a stand to remain a person set apart, made holy, by God.  We too need favor and forgiveness for our own hearts and attitudes towards God and others. God would do this for his people as he showed them grace and favor in Jesus.  Today instead of animals being sacrificed for sin, we live in light of the sacrifice that Jesus gave once for all on the cross.  Furthermore our "cleanness" before him is because of his righteousness counted to us by the free gift of God.  So rather than a human making a stand for culinary cleanliness, we now eat of the Lord's Supper to remind us of the one who made a stand in the world for us.  We do not make stands against defilement from culture alone; Jesus is with us each step of the way.  As he has made us "clean" we can now follow in his mission to proclaim the saving good news to others who will find peace with God and forgiveness in him.

Notes

1. Longman, Tremper. Daniel : The Niv Application Commentary from Biblical Text ... To Contemporary Life. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan, 1999, 52, 53.

2. Joyce G. Baldwin, Daniel (Downers Grove: Intervarsity Press, 1978) 83.

3. Stephen R. Miller, Daniel (Nashville, Tenn.: Broadman & Holman, 1994), 66.

4. For a comprehensive listing of reasons they might have objected to the food see Goldingay, John. Daniel. Dallas, TX: Word Pub., 1989, 18.

5. 7705קָדֹושׁ  qā∙ḏôš) James Swanson, Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains : Hebrew (Old Testament), electronic ed. (Oak Harbor: Logos Research Systems, 1997).

Ultimate God Fighting

There are many common myths that have floated around the human consciousness since the dawn of time.  One is that bad things should only happen to bad people and that good people should only have good things happen in their lives.  The biblical story line is not one that tells us “we” are the good people and “they” are the bad people; it is much more equitable than this.  Scripture teaches us that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 6:23).  The bottom line is that we all have our share of the bad and God is good to us by his grace.  Furthermore, he allows some things in our lives that are painful for he is concerned more about transforming our lives than simply propping us up with pillows. 

Another myth that is commonly believed in many cultures is that “Might makes right.”  In other words, if your army beat someone's army, then your god sort of beats up their god.  It is amazing that this sort of thinking even makes it into football games.  In the ancient world and even throughout history (think religious wars) people thought that if a battle went in a certain direction that it showed that a certain god was giving them favor.  This thinking can permeate all of us where we can even think of our country or a certain political party as having a most favored status with the most high.  Now, Scripture does teach us that Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people. (Proverbs 14:34) Furthermore, we also know that there are consequences for our folly and God is a judge of both people and nations.  But we cannot universalize the idea that if an army has success that God must be playing favorites.

In Daniel chapter 1 we see very evidently that this is NOT the case.  The Babylonians were clearly victors in their conquest of Judah and their people would have given credit to their god Marduk for their might and success.  Yet we learn something interesting in Daniel 1:1-2.

In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand…

The truth of the matter was that the Babylonian king and his armies were being employed by an even higher power to bring short term, temporal judgment Judah for its sin.  While the Babylonians would have declared Marduk the victor in the ultimate god fighting championship, they were clearly mistaken.  Daniel wants it to be absolutely clear; the LORD is the one in control of the circumstances of his people.  In fact, he even uses the Hebrew name adonai here6 meaning the Sovereign and powerful master,  declaring that he is the true ruler in this story.  Though there are kings involved in the rise and fall of empires, it is God who is acting through all these affairs.  So when the captives were taken from Jerusalem to the city of Babylon, they most likely entered through the massive Ishtar gate of an imposing city.  The gate and its thoroughfare would have been decorated with animals that were sacred to venerated Babylonian deities. 

Daniel wants his reader to know that God was not absent from the scene, nor was he defeated by an imaginary idol named Marduk.  God was working through these circumstances to bring about his purposes in the end.

As we face various circumstances, trials, difficulties, blessings and successes in our lives we must remember that God is with us, he is our loving leader and King.  This is truth; circumstances be what they may.

 

A Tale of Two Kings

The book of Daniel begins with a tale of two Kings.; one of Judah one of Babylon.  I thought it might be some fun background information to learn a little bit about the geopolitical situation of that time. 

The king of Judah at this time is a man named Jehoakim.  He is an interesting guy and was not well liked by anyone.  His people didn't like him, God didn't seem to like him and I am guessing even his mother found him hard to love. 

First of all, he was placed in power after the death of his father, a beloved ruler named Josiah who attempted to steer his people back towards the ways of their God.  After Josaiah's death, Jehoakim was placed on the throne by the Egpyptian king Neco.  He was a puppet of Epyptian power and he did not listen to the word of God.  He oppressed his own people and ripped them off so he could live in opulence. Jeremiah, a man who was called by God to tell the truth to this King, predicted that Nebuchadnezzar would conquer him (Jeremiah 25) and the surrounding territories. Jehoakim was such a good guy that Jeremiah said the following of him at his death

18 Therefore thus says the Lord concerning Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah: "They shall not lament for him, saying, ‘Ah, my brother!' or ‘Ah, sister!' They shall not lament for him, saying, ‘Ah, lord!' or ‘Ah, his majesty!' 19 With the burial of a donkey he shall be buried, dragged and dumped beyond the gates of Jerusalem."
Jeremiah 22:18, 19

As the old King James translation puts it, this king received the burial of an ass. You can guess what kind of guy he was. You must be a real donkey if God has his prophet promise you the burial of a donkey.1

His nemesis in the first chapter of Daniel is the infamous Nebuchadnezzer who was the son of Nabopolassar the founder of the Chaldean dynasty which ruled Babylon.  He rose to power shortly after his military defeat of the Egyptian/Assyrian alliance at the battle of Carchemish in 605 BC.  During this military campaign he also made his presence known in Judah.  At this time his father dies and he returns to Babylon to be crowned King.  Jehoakim was made a subject of Babylon and Nebuchadnezzar brought several of the nobility back to his capital city to be trained in his service.  Daniel and his posse were deported to Babylon at this time.  From the biblical accounts in Jeremiah, 2 Chronicles and Daniel  as well as the ancient Babylonian Chronicle we can reconstruct the following time line for the Babylonian-Judean relationship in the 6th century.2

• 605-Daniel and his friends are deported and Jehoakim becomes subservient to Babylon
• 601-Jehoakim switches allegiance back towards Egypt after a temporary military defeat of the Babylonians
• 597-Jehoakim killed buried without honor-his son Jehoiachin succeeds him and is conquered and exiled to Babylon along with a group of others including the prophet Ezekiel
• 587/86-Babylonian fully and finally crushes Jerusalem devastating the city and its Temple

The tensions between Jerusalem and Babylon lasted roughly 18 years and ended in the complete humiliation of God's people.   One scholar gives this horrific description:

"In 587 BCE, the Babylonians began an 18-month-long siege of Jerusalem which ended with the city's almost complete destruction in the summer of 586 BCE.  Zedekiah's sons were killed before his eyes, then he was blinded and taken to Babylon. Thousands of Judah's citizens were deported to Babylonia where they joined their countrymen, beginning the famous 'Babylonian Exile.'" 3

One final note should be made. Many scholars have seen a discrepancy between the accounts of Daniel and the accounts of the book of Jeremiah regarding the dating of Nebuchadnezzar's first year of reigning in Babylon.  Daniel clearly articulates that Neb's first year was in the "third year of the reign of Jehoaikim" (Daniel 1:1) while Jeremiah tells up it was during his "fourth year."  Several reconciliations have been offered to understand the apparent discrepancy, the most compelling first put forth by Assyriologist D.J. Wiseman.4 There were several ways of dating the assension of a King in the ancient near east.  First, in Judah they would count the first year of the King as the first year.  Simple enough and it seems Jeremiah used this reckoning.  Second, the Babylonians counted the first year as an ascension year making the first year of a King's reign the one following ascension.  Tremper Longman reproduces a helpful chart from G.F. Hasel that illustrates this well:5

Chronicle of Kings in Jeremiah and Daniel

Ascension Year Method	Ascension Year	1st year	2nd year	3rd year	Daniel 1:1
Non-Ascension Year Method	1st year	2nd year	3rd year	4th year	Jeremiah 25:1, 9; 46:2

Notes:

1. See article Jehoakim Geoffrey W. Bromiley, The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Revised (Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1988; 2002), 2:976.

2. For more background information see Joyce G. Baldwin, Daniel (Downers Grove: Intervarsity Press, 1978) 19-21 and 77-79. 

3. William H. Stiebing, Jr. Ancient Near Eastern History and Culture (Longman, 2008)281.

4. For a discussion of dating methods see  Goldingay, John. Daniel. Dallas, TX: Word Pub., 1989, 14

5.  See Longman, Tremper. Daniel : The Niv Application Commentary from Biblical Text ... To Contemporary Life. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan, 1999, 44.