There’s a reality show in which, at each stage of the competition, the contestants are lined up before the judges and one person is eliminated. This weekly guillotining is preceded by the phrase, “In the fashion world, one day you’re IN, and the next, you’re OUT!” It is probably just me, but it seems that the host delivers this line with particular sadistic relish. It’s hard to deny the power of those words. We all yearn to be a part of some IN crowd, and oh how painful to be OUT!

Coaches and teachers have used such exclusive selectivity to great effect, making high performance standards a condition for acceptance and approval. Some are so adept that a mere frown or cold shoulder can send the student to the gym or library for hours of diligent work in the hopes that the frown will turn to a smile, and she’ll be IN. Country clubs, bridge clubs, fraternities, sororities are all famous for it. (Joe is IN; he’s one of us, but Jane is OUT!) Adulthood is not the exclusive venue for such behavior, either. On the playground an adorable six-year-old announces, “Alex and Cameron can play on the monkey bars, but you and J.J. can’t.”

This “club mentality” is one that we Christians are powerful to reverse. Rather than relish in exclusion, we can, and often do, emphasize inclusion. “Do you know Jesus? We’ll then, you’re IN.”A Reformed perspective gives us the theological underpinning for such a reversal. Concepts like Calvin’s unconditional election and verses like John 10:28 (No one will snatch Christ’s sheep from His hand.) are essential to our understanding of a secure salvation and are sources of great comfort to us. We and our brothers and sisters are eternally a part of God’s family. Theologically we know this as justification, and theologically we can distinguish it from sanctification, but when it comes to practical daily life there seems to be a disconnect.

While God’s love for us is undeserved, unearned and unconditional, it is wrong to believe that our behaviors and attitudes are inconsequential. When I sin, I’m pretty sure that something is required of me despite my “club membership” in the family of God. Christ’s admonition to the churches in Revelation 2 & 3 underscores such consequences. “I know your works, your labor, your patience . . . . Nevertheless I have this against you.” In my distorted understanding, I can interpret, “I have this against you” as “You’re rejected; you’re OUT!” Conversely, it’s easy to interpret, “I’ll never leave you nor forsake you” as “Relax. Kick back. You’re IN.” I find myself wavering emotionally in my relationship with the Lord between feeling either OUT or IN.

It occurs to me that I am confusing feeling at peace with God with feeling at ease with Him. While we can and should have the former, I don’t know that the latter is ever entirely possible. I think again of Peter. In a mere six verses in Matthew 16, he hears Christ’s “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah” but then His “Get behind me, Satan!” Despite Peter’s status as one of Christ’s closest followers (surely he was IN), misunderstanding the nature of God’s kingdom earned Peter a resounding reprimand.

There seems to exist in the church at the moment a sort of laissez faire attitude that assumes perhaps too much comfort with the Savior. We waltz into and out of everything from church commitments to marriage commitments with the supreme confidence of one who is IN. Like Peter, we have no problem telling the Lord how it really ought to go down. A brother is called by God to fill an important appointment in his church but resigns when the going gets tough. He claims God’s release even though the key position remains vacant and important work is left undone. A sister rationalizes the impending divorce of a believing couple because, “It’s been years, and you know, the marriage was never really very good” and thereby denies the power of God to bring reconciliation and the subsequent glory such reconciliation would bring Him.

These behaviors are suggestive of Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s cheap grace which says, “Of course you have sinned, but now everything is forgiven, so you can stay as you are and enjoy the consolations of forgiveness.” This is to confuse grace with discipleship. Grace is imperative; it gets us into “the club.” But while membership has its privileges, it also has its requirements. To be Christ’s disciple means to be jealous for God’s kingdom just as Christ was jealous for it. Hebrews 12:3-8 is a good place to get a picture of what it means to be IN. To be His son is to be disciplined by Him. When we get the frown or the cold shoulder – the rebuke – it is not a rejection but the very evidence that we are in fact IN, that we belong to Him and that he has important kingdom work to do in and through us.

Moving can be such a frustration! When we moved across town recently, who knew it would take (and to quote Dave Barry, “I am not making this up”) six weeks to get our old phone number transferred to our new address. I said in last month’s post regarding testing, “Let it rain.” Well, the Lord’s been faithful! I’ll spare you the details. Suffice it to say that one supervisor at the telephone company declared she’d never seen such a tangle. After numerous delays and crossed wires, it seemed appropriate to ask the Lord what He was doing. (Not “What in the world couldYou possibly be doing here?” though I might have been tempted, but the tried and true “Lord I’m sure You must be in this; help me to see.”

Clearly the first thing required was the fruit of the spirit: gentleness . . . kindness . . . longsuffering . . . (arrrgh!) self-control. My success or failure there is visible not only in heaven, but apparently also in some cyber-vault because each of the 2640 times I called (and yes, I am making that up, but it seems only a slight exaggeration) I was told “this call may be recorded for quality assurance.” So, patience, kindness, self-control. But what else did the Lord want?

As those of you who read my last post will know, God has been working Mark 4:35 – 41 into my soul. One day as I began to make yet another call regarding our phone service, or rather the lack of it, I paused to ask God for success. I was keenly aware that while it was proving impossible to find anyone at the other end of the telephone line who was both concerned to address the problem and powerful enough to do so, I was praying to the Lord God who is both. It is the essential dynamic of this passage in Mark. Jesus is sleeping soundly in the boat as the disciples fear that the storm will annihilate them. “Don’t you care?” they ask. Jesus rises and proves both his love and his power. In my prayer I was trying to operate within the reality of Mark 4:39 as I understood it, that the Lord of the universe could answer my prayer, calm my storm with a word – all loving, all powerful Jesus. As I prayed for success, I wanted God’s kingdom of order and peace to supercede my circumstance – my phone line to be specific.

However, as I asked the Lord what He was doing, He made it clear that the action point here did not yet concern my circumstance. His will was not that He invade my kingdom, but that I immigrate to His. My prayer became, “Lord, you are my Lord. I don’t know why we’re having this difficulty. I’d like it fixed. But I sense that you desire to do a greater work in my heart. What ever it is, do it, Lord Jesus.”

As I reconsidered these verses in Mark, it occurred to me that the disciples approached Jesus in accordance with their own kingdom. “Lord, do this; do that; comfort me; help me bail water.” But Jesus answers the disciples in accordance with His kingdom – He supernaturally silences the storm. What remarkable grace that He answers from the provisions of His kingdom and not theirs.

How often does He answer us in the same way, but we don’t have the wisdom to see it. Or worse, does He ever comply with our wishes and answer from the poverty of our own kingdoms? I think of the quail in the desert. God’s will was the supernatural manna, but the Israelites wanted meat. God gave them meat, and they choked on it. I think of the Pharisees praying on the street corners. Jesus makes clear that they have their reward, the praise of men rather than the approbation of God. It is terribly sobering to think of the ways my life has been impoverished because I was determined that God answer me according to my kingdom. How blessed that He has often answered the prayer I should have prayed and not the one I did pray. I’m struck with how earth-bound I am.

Psalm 119:35-37 has special meaning here: “Make me walk in the path of Your commandments . . . Incline my heart to Your testimonies, and not to selfish gain, Turn away my eyes from looking at worthless things . . . .” (my emphasis). How the psalmist understands our need of God’s intervention to choose the eternal over the temporal, the spiritual over the carnal! Interestingly, it was at least two weeks after this prayer of mine before the Lord addressed the circumstance that prompted it and restored our full phone service. He was still inclining my heart, no doubt, turning my eyes. And I am thankful. Oh the blessed, frustrating, wonderful, difficult disruptions of the ultimate move, our immigration into God’s kingdom.

“He deserves it.”  “If she would stop hurting me, I would stop doing this to her.”  “He hasn’t earned my respect.”  “She makes me so miserable, she has earned this, I don’t care how she feels.”

The apostle Peter closes his section on Godly relationships with this:

8 Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind. 9  Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing. 10 For

“Whoever desires to love life
and see good days,
let him keep his tongue from evil
and his lips from speaking deceit;
11 let him turn away from evil and do good;
let him seek peace and pursue it.
12 For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,
and his ears are open to their prayer.
But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”

13 Now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good? 14 But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, 15 but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, 16  having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. 17 For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil.-1 Peter 3:8-17 (ESV)

Much consideration by many has been made on the verses immediately preceding this (1 Peter 3:1-7) in dealing with marital relationship.  In the section we will be discussing, Peter begins his discussion of suffering followers of Christ will endure as a result of their zeal for righteousness.  This can also be applied to the marriage relationship (and to all relationships, but the focus of this article will be on the spousal relationship).

Marriage is delicate.  The two members are forced to be with each other continuously.  Nerves fray, anger rises.  Forgiveness and grace are pivotal to a healthy relationship.  No person is perfect, and no person deserves grace.  But without unmerited favor, a relationship will self-destruct.  Love will cease, and separation may follow.

In the painful times, in the hardest of times, there is suffering.  Often, both parties suffer because both parties have wronged.  They have hurt one another.  The wounds become sensitive and in a desire to protect oneself, the other is often attacked.  This breeds more of the same.  They downward spiral is difficult to get off of when both are suffering.  Yet this is bad suffering.  This is suffering without the righteousness.

Peter is addressing a people that will suffer in their relationship to everyone in the world due to Christ.  Peter’s audience loves the Lord and they desire for righteousness.  Peter says that they will suffer.  This suffering of the early church was suffering unto death.  And the apostle Paul stated that he believed that their sufferings were incomparable to the glory of that righteousness of Christ which all believers will one day fully enjoy.  Peter says that it is actually good for a person to suffer for the cause of Christ.

The suffering in a troubled marriage is not the same as this, but it can be similar.  People in the United States do not suffer unto death for the cause of Christ.  But there is suffering to be had for Christ.

So how does one suffer in a troubled marriage for Christ?

Peter says to not repay evil for evil.  But he does not say to remain neutral in the situation.  He instructs us to bless when we are wronged.  We are to refrain from speaking evil of others, no matter what they have done to us.  We are not to curse one another, even if we are cursed.

When one member of a troubled marriage adopts the way of grace, forgiving and blessing instead of begrudging and harming, Christ is glorified and that member may suffer for a time.  It feels good to return evil for evil.  Not doing so can be one’s act of killing the flesh.  Doing what Christ calls us to do can bring pain and difficulty for a time.   But this act of grace, blessing instead of cursing, is true love.  This is essential to the health and vitality of a marriage.  It is living as Christ.  For Christ died in the act of blessing in the face of cursing.

So, this is pivotal in the daily small things of a marriage.  Adopting this lifestyle early in marriage strengthens the marriage enormously.  It is the very foundation to a marriage.  And it is never to late.  It will be quite difficult to do this if one’s marriage has not been defined by it.  It will be quite difficult as insults and accusations come and as the other partner is distancing.  There will be more suffering if the relationship is strained.  The one acting in grace will be tempted often to return evil for evil.  And if they do, it gratifies instantly.  But the bitter aftertaste of that never fades.  And blessing in return for evil hurts instantly, but the sweet taste is lasting.

“TURN AWAY FROM EVIL AND DO GOOD; SEEK PEACE AND PURSUE IT.” -Psalm 34:14

The gentle sound of raindrops hitting the thirsty ground woke me the other morning. This is normally a welcomed sound in our parched corner of South Carolina., but we’ve had two drenching rains in the two weeks since my husband, David, and I moved into our dream bungalow, and all this rain has been a particular problem for us. I climbed from bed and stumbled through the unfamiliar hallway of our “new” old house to the front door and peered out the window. Sure enough, water was rapidly dripping from the bead-board ceiling and bouncing off the brass light fixture of the front porch. The door mat was drenched. Water covered the entire porch floor. On closer inspection, I now noticed buckled ceiling boards and bubbling paint. How long had that roof been leaking? What kind of rot was hiding below the surface? How difficult would this repair be, and what would it cost? It would help if this were the only difficulty we’ve encountered in the move, but it is just the latest in a lengthening list of rather alarming “inconveniences.” 

Mark 4:35-41 is coming home to roost for me right now. Such an academic little story when life is tooling comfortably along, but under my current circumstances, there are lessons I need to apply. While crossing the Sea of Galilee, Jesus is asleep in the boat as his disciples face a life-threatening storm. I picture them madly bailing water and, only after they realize the fruitlessness of their actions, waking the oddly sleeping Jesus with accusations that he does not care if they live or die. With a restraint that alone speaks volumes, Jesus ignores the ironic accusation and, with remarkable ease and authority, dismisses the wind and orders the waves to be silent. Then he turns to his followers and asks, “Why are you so afraid?” Why indeed. If those waves were not capable of drowning them all, the scene would be comical—twelve men furiously dishing handfuls of water overboard in the midst of a middle-eastern version of a nor’easter as the immensely powerful creator of those waves lies completely at rest nearby.

From the calm of a peaceful shore their actions seem ludicrous. From a post-resurrection perspective, they clearly are. Christ is Lord over all creation. But here, in the rain, I find myself bailing water with a vengeance. I want to point fingers, assign blame, demand restitution. I could drown in a sea of frustration, anger and disappointment. But I hear Jesus asking me the second question of Mark 4:40, “Do you still have no faith? (my emphasis)” It isn’t so much a question of the roof. We could find a way to get it repaired, even if it means forgoing fun upgrades we’d planned to make on our home. I think the question He’s asking me is, “Do you trust me to interfere with the things you are attached to in order to bring you into deeper relationship with me, in order to refine you, in order for my light in you to burn brighter?” I want to answer, “Yes (drip, drip, drip) absolutely yes!” Let it rain.

A friend of mine wrote this recently. We have been talking about original sin, specifically the question of whether or not all humans are guilty because of Adam’s sin. Here are some interesting insights from my friend…

The doctrine of Federal Headship states that God holds people responsible for the actions of others who represent them. This is seen in the Augustinian doctrine of Original Sin in which the guilt of Adam’s sin is held against all his descendants, since he was the head of the human race. Of course if all mankind was born guilty, then so was Jesus the moment he became human. If this were true, however, Jesus could not save anyone. He would need a savior of his own.

The key verse that seems to suggest that the guilt of Adam condemns the world is Romans 5:18-19: “Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. For as by one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.” The problem with this interpretation is that it leads to universalism: The one act of Jesus on the cross justifies all men. Men are not automatically justified, and they are not automatically condemned either. The action of Adam leads to people being made sinners in the same way that the action of Jesus leads to people being made righteous: By the free choice of people to either follow Adam into sin or trust in Christ for salvation.

Several have pointed out that it would be unjust for God to punish one person for the sins of others. In fact, God himself warns the Israelites: “In those days they shall no longer say: ‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge.’ But everyone shall die for his own sin” (Jer. 31:29-30; also Eze. 18:1-4). This would indicate that our sense of justice which leads us to reject the doctrine is informed by God’s own revelation of justice.

Some examples that could be cited to support federal headship might better be described as community responsibility. God will bring judgment on a nation if there is enough sin to deserve it. For instance, he would not allow Israel to conquer the land of Canaan until the iniquity of the Amorites was complete (Gen. 15:16). If there was enough community merit (righteous men), God would have spared the city of Sodom (Gen. 18:22-33). Whenever a nation is being judged, there are inevitably innocent people who suffer for the sins of others. The righteous are not generally separated from the wicked as they will be on the final judgment (Mt. 25:31-46). When God punished Israel and sent them into exile in Babylon, there were several innocent people like Ezekiel and Daniel who suffered as well. It is important to point out, however, that these were all temporal judgments. They had no eternal consequences, as the guilt of Adam would bring on all mankind if the doctrine of Original Sin were true. This makes these other examples quite different.

The classic example of federal headship is the case of King David. Because of David’s sin in taking a census, God sent a plague that killed 70,000 people (1 Chron. 21). But before we assume that these were innocent people paying for David’s sin, 2 Samuel 24:1 indicates that they were as guilty as their king: “Again the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he incited David against them, saying, “Go, number Israel and Judah.”” It seems that David’s pride was shared by the entire nation and God used David’s action to humble the people.

Some may point to the example of Achan whose theft led to not only his death but that of his family as well (Josh. 7:19-26). Though the text does not explicitly say it, there is every reason to believe that his family was held responsible because they were complicit in the deed. After all, they lived together in the same tent. Another example suggests that if they were innocent they would have been spared. We have in mind the rebellion of Korah, Dathan and Abiram. They and all who sided with them were put to death (Num. 16:20-35). Years later, however, we learn that some of Korah’s descendents survived this judgment, no doubt because they would not side with Korah in his sin. The sons of Korah were even blessed to write some of the Psalms (Ps. 42, 44-49, 84-85, 87-88). So in families, children are never held responsible for the sins of their parents. If children sin as their fathers’ do, they will suffer the punishment of their parents (Ex. 20:5-6). It all depends on them. So the doctrine of Federal Headship, in addition to being unjust, seems to have no real support in the Scriptures.

There has never been an intelligent reason to sin. God created people. He knows best how a person is supposed to operate. These descriptions of how people should operate are called moral absolutes. They apply to everyone. They never change. When we choose to live differently we make a stupid choice. We make a completely unintelligent and unloving decision. We decide that we are in charge and God is not.  In other words, we sin.

There is no conceivable reason why man should have rebelled against God.

God ran a great risk when He made mankind because He made them capable of relationship. For relationship to be possible they had to have personality functions (a mind, a will and emotions). They had to be able to reject relationship or there would never be real relationship. This was the risk. It was possible that they would reject God. Not likely nor intelligent but possible. Adam and Eve had a perfect world and a perfect life. They had intimate friendship with God. God was happy that He had created them. He said they were good. I don’t think God was lying. I think He really thought they were good. It was amazing. Then they ruined it. They decided that they would be the king of their hearts and simultaneously made the stupidest decision in the history of the universe.

God is perfectly reasonable in all His requirements. He only lays out design requirements like that of a car which needs oil. He won’t ask us to do even one thing that we can’t do or shouldn’t do. He made us able to obey, which means we are also able to disobey. This is reasonable.

And so, people are without excuse. Rom 1:18-21 ESV  “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.  (19)  For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them.  (20)  For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.  (21)  For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.”

We need to understand what we have done. We need to understand our part in the revolt. Adam and Eve revolted against God. And every one of us have done the same thing at some point in our lives. I remember very clearly what I think was the first time I sinned. I was probably 3 years old and I was mad at someone close to me. I knew what was right and what was wrong. I could have walked away. Instead I chose to hurt her. It is such a sickening and disgusting memory. But it is exactly what happened every time I sinned in my life. I made a wicked and stupid decision. I rebelled against God’s loving and intelligent descriptions of how things are supposed to be every single time.

1Jn 3:4 ESV  “Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness. Sin is lawlessness.  It is a refusal to live according to the truth that God has given us. It is refusing to live according to self-discipline and what we know to be right.”

I’ve heard it said that men are not sinners because they sin, but they sin because they are sinners. Think about this for a moment. What does this lead us to? It makes us say, “Well, we have to sin because we’re sinners.” And so what do we do? We sin. Of course we do. We have to, right? We are caused to sin. But is this true? Are we caused to sin or do we rebel against God and His intelligent, loving commands? Is He right to tell us not to sin? Is He right to hold us responsible for our sin? I think so!

We establish and build our character on continuous choices.  It’s always easier to keep on doing what we’ve been doing.  The more we choose to sin the easier it is to sin. It’s hard to steal for the first time. Your skin gets hot, your heart pounds in your chest, perhaps you break out into a sweat, perhaps you are shaking from the nervous excitement.  You have to fight your conscience and try to explain away your guilt, but it gets easier every time. The next time you steal it’s easy because you’ve already worked things through in your mind. The physical symptoms of guilt one by one fade away until you are not longer affected. You feel a little less guilty. The same goes for good choices. The longer we learn to live with Jesus, the easier it gets.

I want to leave you with just a couple verses to think about. Whether you are a Christian or not, you are a person who was designed to live a certain way. When you choose to rebel against any of God’s moral absolutes you reject the most loving and intelligent Being in the universe and in doing so make the dumbest decision you have ever made.

1Jn 3:6 ESV  “No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him.”

Mat 7:15-20 ESV  “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.  (16)  You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?  (17)  So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit.  (18)  A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit.  (19)  Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.  (20)  Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.”

“What is the gospel?” I asked her.

“Jesus died for our sins,”  she responded.

“What does that mean?”

“Uhhh… I’m not sure.”

The gospel is free to propagate here in the United States.  No law prohibits its spread.  Churches are in abundance, preachers buy air time on TV and radio.  Tracts are left in public.  So one would assume that the gospel has been clearly communicated to the majority of the country.  Surely, everyone understands what the gospel is.  Surely, even if they don’t believe, they have knowledge of it.  The gospel isn’t that complicated is it?

Well, as the snippet of a conversation I had with a professed believer shows, people know about Jesus dying for our sins.  But that is about the extent of it.  It is a phrase that has become the catch-phrase of Christianity.

“Jesus died for your sins!” the preacher declares.  “Jesus died for your sins!” the street corner evangelist exults.  “Jesus died for your sins!” the very well dressed televangelist proclaims with a tear in his eye.  “But what does that mean?” asks the wondering.  “How does that help me in this situation?” cries the hurting.  “What difference does that make?” ponders the weary.

For too long, this phrase has been brandished by the eager evangelist without clarification.  This culture knows that the Christian says Jesus died for our sins.  This culture does not know what that means.  They do not know what relevance that has for today.  They do not know what that death has accomplished.  But most importantly, they do not know that Jesus was risen and what that means.

The death of Christ has been seen as the center point of Christianity.  The cross is our symbol to which we look.  A symbol of death and derision has become our banner.  But without the resurrection of Christ, the death would simply be more bad news.  The sting of death would still await all and reign triumphant over all.  If Christ had not been raised, death itself would be sovereign.  We do not worship death.  Death has lost its sting.  Death itself has died.  So why do we assume the gospel is communicated when we tell that Jesus died.  His death is not the good news.  His death is not the gospel.  His death did not save anyone!

The resurrection must be our banner.  The gospel is not that Jesus died for our sins.  That has no meaning and no value outside of the resurrection.  Since he was raised, we will be raised.  His death took the penalty for our sins, but it is His life that gives us life.  We need both.

The gospel speaks hope into every circumstance, every situation.  The gospel needs to be clearly communicated in such a way that it speaks that hope.  It is the gospel that dispels fear, timidity, anxiety, hopelessness, despair, isolation, and every other rotten thing that the curse of sin has brought upon this world.

Tell the world that Jesus died for our sins, but please, don’t stop there.  Tell the world that Jesus lives, and so will his people.

The incarnation of Christ is the turning point of human history. God himself enters the arena of humanity and earns the title “Emmanuel” – God with us. Although most evangelical Christians would agree with the statement that Jesus was both fully man and fully God, there is disagreement over exactly how the two natures were able to coexist in one person. In one camp there are those who believe that Jesus had the full range of both human and divine attributes at the same time. In other words, Jesus as a human was spatially located, limited in knowledge, and limited in power, while Jesus as God was omnipresent, omniscient, and omnipotent. Most people would agree that this is a profound mystery and a paradox, if not an outright contradiction.

In another camp, there are those who do believe that an outright contradiction exists in this view of the incarnation. These people believe that in order for the second person of the Trinity to become fully human as the Bible teaches he did, he had to relinquish the use of certain divine attributes that would had prohibited him from becoming fully human. In other words, a being who is fully human cannot be omnipotent, omnipresent, and omniscient, since these are attributes which cannot accurately be used to describe a finite being. Christ did not have to relinquish all of his divine attributes (his divine holiness and love, for example) because these attributes can be granted to humans. Nothing about being fully human precludes us from perfect holiness and love (at least in theory) but it does preclude us from being all-knowing or all-powerful.

A question that I have been pondering lately is this: when Jesus performed miracles, was he performing them as a human or was he tapping into his divine nature to bend and break the laws of the universe that he himself created? The answer that seems most natural is that Jesus, being fully God, made use of his divine power or knowledge to work miracles, heal the sick, control the weather, raise the dead, and read people’s thoughts. However, I do not believe this to be the case. I believe that Jesus performed miracles as a finite, limited, dependant human being, who relied totally and completely on his Father as his source of power and knowledge. Jesus’ miracles are not proof of his divinity. On the contrary Jesus’ life and miracles give us the best example of what it means to be truly human.

Scripture is clear that Jesus depended on the Father and the Holy Spirit on a regular basis. (Luke 4:1 – Jesus was led around the wilderness by the Spirit; Matt. 12:28 – Jesus claims to cast out demons by the Spirit of God; John 5:19-30 – Jesus says that he can do nothing on his own initiative, but can only do what he sees the Father doing. ) Jesus’ supernatural abilities are almost always attributed to the Holy Spirit or the Father working through him.

Scripture is also clear that we are to follow the example of Christ (Phil. 2:5, 1Cor. 11:1) who was “tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:15). But if Christ had the advantage of omniscience, omnipotence, and omnipresence while here on earth, how can we possibly follow his example? If Christ possessed those attributes, it renders the exhortation to follow his example incoherent. Jesus also told his disciples, “He who believes in me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to the Father” (John 14:12). I can imagine the disciples looking around at each other in disbelief, wondering how in the world they themselves would be able to perform greater works that Jesus. Just a few verses later, Jesus explains that He will ask the Father to send them another Helper, whose functions presumably include aiding them and all believers in accomplishing these “greater works”.

What I have been saying is that Jesus’ life was one of total and complete dependence on the Father and the Holy Spirit. This is the kind of life that all humans are called to. In fact, living a life of total surrender and dependence on God is the way that God designed humans to live. Living a life of selfishness and self-reliance is actually like living a less-than-human life. We are defined by our potential. To live a truly human life is to live in true submission to God. That is the way we were created to live. Jesus gives us the only perfect example of how to do this. His life was lived in total and utter surrender to the direction of the Father. He relied on the Spirit in everything. His life is a model of what it looks like to live up to our creaturely potential. And this is what excites me: the kind of surrendered life that Jesus lived (one of reliance on the Spirit and the Father, one of dependence on the Spirit for power, wisdom, and direction) is exactly the kind of life that we too are called to live. The sensitivity to the Spirit that Jesus demonstrated is not reserved for him alone – it is available to us! Jesus’ ability to surrender to God, to allow the Father to work miracles and healings through him – this is available to us! The intimacy and communion with the Father that Jesus enjoyed – this too is available to us!  To the extent that we follow his example of total dependence and submission to God, we will fulfill Jesus’ promise to us that we will do “even greater works” than even he himself did.

If you are older than 15 you probably remember watching Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.  Indiana was trying to find the Holy Grail before the Nazis could use it to conquer the world. Of course that wasn’t enough suspense. He also had only a few minutes before his father died. To accomplish all of this he had to go through a couple of almost impossible tests with only the help of a journal. At one point he came to the end of a cliff and had to find a way to cross a sickeningly huge gap. Remembering the words written in his father’s journal he decided he had to make a “Leap of Faith“. So he did it! He leapt out into nothing, landed on a bridge and defeated the Nazis once again.

This is a very emotional and powerful moment and gives tingles to almost anyone watching. It is also the complete opposite of faith. Faith is not a leap. It is not mystical. It is not a spell or magic, and it is not a formula.

So what is faith? I think it can be summed up as an unshakable confidence in the character of God. It is something quite reasonable.

Romans 10:13 for “WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.” 14 How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher? 15 How will they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, “HOW BEAUTIFUL ARE THE FEET OF THOSE WHO BRING GOOD NEWS OF GOOD THINGS!” 16 However, they did not all heed the good news; for Isaiah says, “LORD, WHO HAS BELIEVED OUR REPORT?” 17 So faith {comes} from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.

If faith comes from hearing, then why is it that so many people hear the Gospel and don’t believe? It would be so simple to evangelize and disciple the world. We would only need the internet and some big speakers. But this isn’t so. There are a couple of different kinds of “hearing.” The first would be hearing the notes and sounds someone makes. It’s like the game “Telephone.” One person says a random phrase like, “the duck flies at midnight.” Then it passes through several people, and the last person relays the message as, “the black flies are in flight.” What happened was each person heard sounds but never understood the message. Confusion is very fun but not effective. The second kind of hearing could really be called “understanding.” It’s the kind where someone says, “I hear ya, man.” What he means is that he understood what the person was saying.

This is what I think this verse means. So faith comes by hearing and the hearing comes by the word of God. Let’s change out the words. Faith comes through understanding-hearing and understanding-hearing by the word of God. Our faith should come about when we are presented with the truth of God, and we really get it. So faith is a reasonable thing, but how should it look? Is faith when we just really believe something is going to happen? I don’t think it is. That is part of it, but it should be a result of our faith and not the core of it.

Abraham showed what his faith was in. His name was originally Abram which meant “exalted father.” The problem was that he was very old and not a father. He had to go around being constantly reminded that he had no children. Hello, my name is Exalted Father, and I’m not a father. I imagine this would be painful. Then God came along and told him he was going to have children. Fast forward several years, and he sees this happen. The promise was fulfilled with the miraculous birth of his son Isaac.

Genesis 22:1 “After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, ‘Abraham!’ And he said, ‘Here am I.’” God told Abraham to take the very thing He promised him (the product of his faith) and sacrifice him. If Abraham’s faith was only believing really hard that he would have a son, he would have crumpled at this point, but he didn’t. He meant to follow through with this. Genesis 22:11-12 “But the angel of the LORD called to him from heaven and said, ‘Abraham, Abraham!’ And he said, ‘Here am I.’ (12) He said, ‘Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.’”

Abraham’s life was not caught up in Isaac but in God. His confidence was not that he would have a son. His confidence was in God. Abraham knew God. They had an interactive relationship. James 2:23 and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”–and he was called a friend of God.

Daniel 3:12-17 “There are certain Jews whom you have appointed over the affairs of the province of Babylon: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. These men, O king, pay no attention to you; they do not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.” (13) Then Nebuchadnezzar in furious rage commanded that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego be brought. So they brought these men before the king. (14) Nebuchadnezzar answered and said to them, “Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the golden image that I have set up? (15) Now if you are ready when you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, to fall down and worship the image that I have made, well and good. But if you do not worship, you shall immediately be cast into a burning fiery furnace. And who is the god who will deliver you out of my hands?” (16) Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king, “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.”

If we let this story stop here, we would all still be very impressed. Those guys had faith just like Indiana Jones! But that is not the whole of their faith. The story continues.

Daniel 3:18-20 “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.” (19) Then Nebuchadnezzar was filled with fury, and the expression of his face was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He ordered the furnace heated seven times more than it was usually heated. (20) And he ordered some of the mighty men of his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace.

Let this be a call to faith for you, but not the mystical wimpy stuff. Don’t let faith stop at a formula or really strong hope in something impossible. Exercise the FAITH THAT WORKS, the reasonable faith. The faith based on understanding the truths of the Bible and the stories of our incredible God. Develop an unshakable confidence in the character of God!