Posts tagged ‘Spirituality’
ABC Extra – In Sickness And In Health
Death is inescapable. It doesn’t matter how rich or how poor, how healthy or how sick, how old or how young a person is. Eventually and inevitably, death comes for each one of us. After Steve Jobs passed away, many bloggers and journalists spoke of how Jobs sought to receive “the best care money could buy.” And indeed, he did receive terrific care from world-renowned doctors. But although they may have been able to prolong his life, they were not able to save it. He passed away last year. Death came for Steve Jobs. Shortly after the world-renowned and lovably cantankerous atheist apologist Christopher Hitchens was diagnosed with cancer, he described his ailment in his characteristically colorful tone: “Against me is the blind, emotionless alien, cheered on by some who have long wished me ill. But on the side of my continued life is a group of brilliant and selfless physicians plus an astonishing number of prayer groups.”[1]
Like Steve Jobs, Christopher Hitchens turned to the most “brilliant and selfless physicians” money could buy, and though they may have been able to prolong his life, they were not able to save it. He passed away last year. Death came for Christopher Hitchens.
Death is inescapable. And yet, I find it interesting that, particularly in the case of Christopher Hitchens, it wasn’t just medical professionals who were working to prolong his life, it was Christians who were praying to redeem his life.
In worship and ABC this past weekend, we looked at the story of a demon-possessed boy in Mark 9. Initially, the disciples try to heal this boy, but they cannot (cf. Mark 9:17-18). Jesus, however, is able to drive out the torturing spirit (cf. Mark 9:25-27). Beleaguered by their embarrassing failure, the disciples ask Jesus privately, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?” Jesus’ answer is clarifying and convicting: “This kind can come out only by prayer” (Mark 9:28-29). This boy could not be healed by a pill, a surgery, a physician, or an exorcism rite. Rather, persistent and consistent prayer was the key to this boy’s recovery.
For all of man’s collective medical wisdom, there are still some diseases which can be healed only by prayer. This is why James asks, “Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord” (James 5:14). Prayer is more powerful and potent than any human remedy. For prayer has God’s will and mercy as its answer.
Tragically, even in the face of certain death, Christopher Hitchens wrote, “Please do not trouble deaf heaven with your bootless cries.” Christopher Hitchens’ commitment to his atheism was unflappable. He refused to believe that his kind of sickness could “come out only by prayer.” Then again, after asking people not to pray for him, he added this little caveat: “Unless, of course, it makes you feel better.”[2]
Christopher Hitchens never came to understand and see that prayer is not just for the therapy of weak minds, it is for the strengthening of brave souls. Prayer, perhaps, really could have made him feel better – not only in his cancerous plight, but in his eternity as well. For not only can God hear our prayers and sometimes grant us a temporal recovery, He will hear our prayers and always grant us a glorious eternity through Christ. And that is a gift and blessing we dare not miss.
Want to learn more? Go to
www.ConcordiaLutheranChurch.com
and check out audio and video from Pastor Tucker’s
message or Pastor Zach’s ABC!
Common Question: What’s the deal with the Lutheran doctrine of baptism?
"Baptism of Neophytes" by Masaccio (15th century)
“Why can’t women be ordained in the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod?” “How does evolution square with the biblical record of creation?” “We confess in the Apostles’ Creed that Christ ‘descended into hell.’ Where does it teach that in the Bible?” I receive questions such as these – as well as many others – about why Lutherans believe and teach what they believe in teach. So periodically, over the course of the next several weeks and months, I will be taking some time to answer some of the most common questions I regularly receive about Lutheran doctrine.
Today, we begin with a question that is perhaps the most ubiquitous of all: “What’s the deal with the Lutheran doctrine of baptism?” Before we dive into this doctrine, it is important to clarify two things. First, I believe the Lutheran doctrine of baptism is the Christian doctrine of baptism. That is, I believe that the Lutheran doctrine of baptism is what Scripture itself teaches. Second, I am fully aware that many sincere and godly Christians differ over the doctrine of baptism. As I discuss this doctrine, then, I do so in a spirit of humility, respecting and loving those with whom I disagree. I do not, however, discuss this doctrine with a spirit of relativism, believing that different teachings on baptism are equally true or that what we believe and teach about baptism makes no difference. Quite the contrary. If the doctrine of baptism matters to the authors of Scripture, it should matter to us. Therefore, we should consider carefully what they teach.
What is baptism?
Baptism is a divine ordinance, instituted by Christ Himself, whereby He makes disciples through water combined with God’s name. Jesus says, “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19). The participle “baptizing” can be translated as a participle of means. Baptism, therefore, is a means by which disciples are made.
It is important to recognize that baptism is something God does for us and not something we do for God. This is why Paul says of baptism, “We were therefore buried with Christ through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life” (Romans 6:4). Notice the passive voice of the verbs: “buried,” “raised.” These are divine passives, indicating that God is the One burying our old, sinful natures and raising us to new life in Christ. We are passive in the matter. This runs contrary to the teaching of some who describe baptism merely as an act of obedience while denying its divine power. Consider this quote from a large denomination’s confessional statement: “Baptism is an act of obedience symbolizing the believer’s faith in a crucified, buried, and risen Saviour, the believer’s death to sin, the burial of the old life, and the resurrection to walk in newness of life in Christ Jesus.”[1] Two things are especially notable about this statement. First, while obedience is emphasized, the blessings of baptism are not mentioned. Second, this statement references Romans 6:4, but relegates Paul’s language concerning burial and resurrection to that of symbolism, emphasizing the believer’s faith rather than God’s action. Paul, however, nowhere indicates that he is speaking symbolically in this verse. Rather, his language indicates that he has a lively confidence in an actual new life, offered by God through baptism.
Does baptism save?
Yes, baptism does save. Peter writes, “Baptism now saves you also – not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a good conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at God’s right hand – with angels, authorities and powers in submission to Him” (1 Peter 3:21-22). Peter could not be clearer: Baptism saves you. However, it is important to note not only that baptism saves you, but how baptism saves you. It saves you “by the resurrection of Jesus Christ.” Without the resurrected Christ, baptism is emptied of its power and promise.
There are some who object to the teaching that baptism saves, saying, “Faith in Christ alone saves you!” They often quote Scripture passages such as Romans 10:9: “If you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” They then argue: “Paul says that faith in Christ saves you and nowhere mentions baptism in Romans 10:9. Therefore, faith in Christ, and not baptism, saves you.” This type of argument deeply disturbs me because it engages in what I call “Bible Verse Battleship.” In this sad game, people line up their favorite Bible verses to support their favorite pet positions and then, when shown Scriptural testimony which calls into question their position, rather than seeking to reconcile the verses and take into account the whole counsel of God’s Word, they simply declare, “Because my pet Bible verse is true, you must be incorrect! My Bible verse sunk your Bible verse!” We should never use Bible verses to “sink” other Bible verses. Rather, we should assume that all Scripture as speaks with one, harmonious, voice concerning the one, true Christian faith. Thus, when Peter says, “Baptism now saves you” (1 Peter 3:21), we ought to take his words as complimentary, and not contradictory, to what Paul says in Romans 10:9.
So then, how do we understand Romans 10:9 and 1 Peter 3:21 harmoniously? Like this. Baptism does not save simply because it’s baptism, but because it has the promise of Jesus’ presence attached to it (cf. Matthew 28:19-20). This is why baptism is regularly referred to as a “means of grace.” God works through simple things such as water in baptism, bread and wine in the Lord’s Supper, and words on a page in Holy Scripture to speak to, meet with, and provide gifts for His people. Martin Luther explains wonderfully: “Without God’s word the water [of baptism] is plain water and no baptism. But with the word of God it is a baptism, that is, a life-giving water, rich in grace, and a washing of the new birth in the Holy Spirit.”[2] Thus, to say that baptism saves you is simply to say that Jesus saves you because Jesus is doing His work in and through baptism!
Why do Lutherans baptize infants?
Lutherans do not baptize infants. Rather, we baptize people in accordance with Christ’s commands to baptize “all nations” (Matthew 28:19). The Bible teaches that all are born into sin and deserve God’s condemnation (cf. Psalm 51:5). Therefore, babies need the salvation Jesus gives in baptism just as much as adults do. The Bible nowhere prohibits baptizing babies. In fact, we are told specifically that the promise of baptism is indeed for children: “The promise [of baptism] is for you and your children and for all who are far off – for all whom the Lord our God will call” (Acts 2:39).
There are some who maintain that a profession of faith must precede baptism. And because a baby cannot profess his faith in Christ, he should not be baptized until he is old enough to make such a profession. In response to this objection, I would point out two things. First, I would question the assumption that a profession of faith is a necessary prerequisite of baptism. It often happens that that a person in Scripture confesses his faith before he is baptized, but common occurrence doesn’t always necessarily indicate a divine mandate. Just because the Bible offers a description of certain things and events (e.g., a person offering a profession of faith before baptism) does not necessarily mean that the Bible is mandating a universal prescription. Second, I would question the assumption that children cannot confess their faith. The Psalmist reminds us, “From the lips of children and infants You have ordained praise” (Psalm 8:2, cf. Matthew 21:16). Children can and do praise God, even if it is with broken grammar and babble. Finally, from a historical perspective, from the early days of the Christian Church, it was common practice to have parents or sponsors confess the Christian faith on behalf of their children. The Roman theologian Hippolytus writes this concerning baptism in AD 215: “Baptize first the children, and if they can speak for themselves let them do so. Otherwise, let their parents or other relatives speak for them.”[3] I have written more about infant baptism here: http://bit.ly/qHp97b.
Baptism is a joyous gift from God. For through it, God meets us with His gifts. Luther sums up the joy and promise of baptism nicely when he writes: “We see what a very splendid thing baptism is. It snatches us from the jaws of the devil, makes us God’s own, restrains and removes sin, and then daily strengthens the new man within us.”[4] Thus is the blessing and gift of baptism!
[1] “The Baptist Faith and Message,” VII.
[2] Luther’s Small Catechism, “Baptism,” 3.
[3] Hippolytus, Apostolic Tradition, 21.15.
[4] What Luther Says, Ewald M. Plass, ed. (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1959) 61.
ABC Extra – Tackling Temptation
"The Temptation of Christ" by Ary Scheffer (1854)
Whether or not you or a loved one has struggled with alcoholism, the Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous have become nearly ubiquitously helpful to millions who struggle with an addiction, habit, or hurt. What I find so interesting about the Twelve Steps is that Step One is essentially an explication of the Christian doctrine of human depravity: “We admitted we were powerless over alcohol – that our lives had become unmanageable.” Of course, one could insert a whole array of different sins in place of the word “alcohol.” “We admitted we were powerless over lust – that our lives had become unmanageable.” “We admitted we were powerless over greed – that our lives had become unmanageable.” “We admitted we were powerless over self-righteousness – that our lives had become unmanageable.”
This past weekend in worship and ABC, we talked about the trials of temptation. Satan is a “tempter,” the Bible reminds us (Matthew 4:3), and wants nothing more than to drag us into sin. And, just as with any other banal allurement or enticement, under our own power, we are helpless to resist Satan’s taunting temptations. As AA would remind us, “We admitted we were powerless over temptation – that our lives had become unmanageable.”
Sadly, human depravity in the face of sinful temptation is born out again and again in the Scriptures. When Cain is tempted to murder his brother Abel, God warns Cain, “If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it” (Genesis 4:7). But Cain does not master his sin. He falls to temptation and kills his brother, Abel. When Israel is led out of their slavery in Egypt and God ushers them into a place of prosperity, God warns the people: “When your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, then your heart will become proud and you will forget the LORD your God” (Deuteronomy 8:13-14). God’s warning against forgetting Him proves to be eerily prophetic: “The Israelites did evil in the eyes of the LORD; they forgot the LORD their God” (Judges 3:7). The allurements and enticements of this world are too overwhelming and overburdening for any human to face and defeat.
Augustine described powerlessness of humans against temptation and transgression using the Latin phrase, non posse non pecarre, meaning, we are “not able not to sin.” Blessedly, however, Jesus has the remedy for the dourness of our depravity. For He stands up under temptation on our behalf. In our text for this past weekend from Matthew 4:1-11, we read how Jesus takes His stand against the devil’s temptations not once, not twice, but three times. Jesus then takes this victory over temptation and gives it to us by means of His death on the cross. The preacher of Hebrews explains: “We do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are – yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need” (Hebrews 4:15-16). Because Jesus stood up under temptation, we have the mercy and grace that we need to help us in our time of temptation. For without God’s mercy and grace, we are powerless to resist the allurements and enticements of this world.
So when you are tempted, look not to your own strength, will, or fortitude, but to the cross. For on the cross Christ encounters a final temptation from a crowd of jeerers: “Come down from the cross, if you are the Son of God” (Matthew 27:40)! Interestingly, this phrase – “If you are the Son of God – is the same phrase Satan uses to tempt Jesus in the desert in Matthew 4 (cf. Matthew 4:3, 6). But as with Satan, Christ resists this temptation too. He does not come down from the cross. Instead, He dies to achieve victory over sin. And so on that cross, our victory over temptation is secured. Praise be to God!
Want to learn more? Go to
www.ConcordiaLutheranChurch.com
and check out audio and video from Pastor Tucker’s
message or Pastor Zach’s ABC!
ABC Extra – Daunting Decisions
This past weekend in worship and ABC, we kicked off a new series called “Unresolved” where we are addressing some of the biggest issues and struggles which are often left unresolved in people’s hearts and lives. This weekend, we asked the question, “What happens when you are unresolved as to which direction you should take or which decision you should make for your life? How do you receive direction from God?”
I have learned that, in general, God gives us direction in one of the three ways. First, there are some things on which God directs us, “Go!” These are things we ought to do and directions we ought to take. For instance, God instructs the prophet Jonah, “Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me” (Jonah 1:2). Jonah, however, disregards God’s commission and hops a ship to Tarshish, a city in the opposite direction of Nineveh. Understandably, God is not pleased with Jonah’s rebellion and sends a storm in judgment on Jonah and his sailing companions. In order to save themselves, the sailors throw Jonah overboard so that God will calm the crazy seas. When Jonah is cast overboard, God appoints a fish to swallow Jonah and spit him up, poetically enough, right on the banks of Nineveh! From Jonah, then, we learn that there is grave danger in not heeding God’s direction to “Go!” In theological parlance, we call a failure to “Go” a “sin of omission.” That is, when we know what we should do and where we should go, but we fail to do and go, we commit a sin of omission. We omit God’s direction and instruction from our lives.
Second, there are some things on which God directs us, “Whoa!” These are things we ought not to do and directions we ought not to take. For instance, the famous “Thou shalt nots” of many of the Ten Commandments are things to which God says, “No!” Should I sneak away with a lover and ruin my marriage? “Thou shalt not commit adultery” (Exodus 20:14). Should I tell a lie about someone else? “Thou shalt not bear false witness against your neighbor” (Exodus 20:16). Should I spend my time trying to coax others into giving me their things? “Thou shalt not covet” (Exodus 29:17). If we do not heed God’s commands and go where God says “Whoa,” in theological parlance, we call this a “sin of commission.” That is, we cross a boundary God has drawn and thus commit a sin. These sins too, like sins of omission, are gravely dangerous and offensive to God.
Finally, there are some things on which God directs us, “Grow!” These are some decisions that God leaves us to make. For instance, there are times that God will leave it up to us to choose a job, choose a place to live, or choose the stocks we invest our money in. God can give us clear guidance on these decisions, but He does not promise to. Therefore, sometimes He guides us in a specific direction concerning these issues and sometimes He does not. The times when He does not specifically guide us help us grow, for we learn to make wise, reasonable decisions for ourselves. The times when He does specifically guide us also help us grow, for they teach us to listen closely and carefully for God’s leading and prompting.
As I mentioned in ABC, it is with decisions like these – where God gives us no clear direction in His Word – that we do well to include three things in our decision making process. First, we must ask for God’s wisdom and guidance. Though this may sound obvious, far too many people do not do this! They do not even consider the possibility that God may indeed have an opinion on a life decision! Thus, learning simply to take your decisions – big and small – to God in prayer not only allows you to experience God’s guidance, it also strengthens your relationship with Him because you are speaking with Him about the significant and small things of your life on a daily basis. Second, we should wait expectantly and intentionally for God’s answer. So often, even when we do pray to God about a decision we must make or a challenge we must face, we do not wait for God’s answer. We simply continue charging ahead at full speed, expecting God to strike us like a lightning bolt out of the blue with His answer. But we must not only learn how to ask God for guidance, we must also learn how to listen. This means taking time in slowness and solitude, seeking God’s direction. Finally, we should counsel with other Christians. Just as God can lead and guide us, he can lead and guide others. Thus, the wisdom of other Christians is invaluable in helping us make wise decisions..
God can and does direct you. As the Psalmist prays, “Direct my footsteps according to Your word.” May his prayer be our prayer! And may God give you His guidance!
Want to learn more? Go to
www.ConcordiaLutheranChurch.com
and check out audio and video from Pastor Tucker’s
message or Pastor Zach’s ABC!
Making the Most of Marriage
At the end of each year, major news outlets publish their lists of the year’s top news stories. For 2011, Osama bin Laden’s death and Japan’s earthquake and subsequent tsunami were the top news stories according to the Associate Press. [1] Interestingly, it is not only mainstream news outlets that provide such lists. Religious news outlets, editorial writers, and bloggers are now following suit. I have seen lists of 2011’s top religious news stories in Christianity Today [2] and the The Huffington Post. [3] But it is a top ten news story in the Gospel Coalition blog that really caught my attention. It is titled “Marriages Need Help.” Collin Hansen, who penned this list, explains why this story made his top ten:
This story could have appeared in my 2010 list, and it might warrant an encore in 2012. Same-sex “marriage,” legalized by New York state in 2011, continues to grab the headlines. But here’s the bigger story: a growing number of Westerners have abandoned the institution altogether. The Pew Research Center recently revealed that a record low number of Americans – 51 percent – are married. The rate dropped 5 percent in just one year, between 2009 and 2010. [4]
If that statistic from the Pew Research Center does not make your jaw drop, it should. At an increasingly rapid rate, Americans are either (A) getting divorced, (B) never getting married in the first place, or (C) living in lifeless, loveless, romance-less marriages. It is worth noting that the statistics from Pew do not account for those in category C.
In his book, The Meaning of Marriage, [5] Pastor Tim Keller distinguishes between two kinds of relationships: consumer relationships and covenantal relationships. A consumer relationship lasts only as long as the needs of the partners in the relationship are being met satisfactorily. As soon as needs stop being met, the relationship falls apart. These kinds of relationships, then, are inherently self-centered, for they exist merely to gratify their participants. Covenantal relationships, on the other hand, are binding relationships in which the good of the relationship trumps the preferences and immediate needs of the individuals in the relationship. These relationships are based on a continual commitment rather than on a consumer-fueled contentment.
Part of the reason marriage is on such a sharp decline, Keller argues, is because we have taken what should be the covenantal relationship of marriage and have turned it into a consumer relationship. In other words, many marriages last only as long as the partners are having their needs met. As soon as a marriage hits a rough patch, or as soon as one spouse or both spouses feel as though their desires are going unaddressed, divorce all too quickly ensues. Indeed, this is why many people don’t get married in the first place. They don’t want to bother with the kind of covenantal commitment that marriage inevitably brings – at least from a legal standpoint, if nothing else. As a pastor, I have heard more times than I care to remember, “We don’t need a piece of paper [i.e., a marriage license] to tell us that we love each other. We don’t need to get married!” This kind of statement breaks my heart. For what a person who makes such a statement is really saying is, “I don’t love this person quite enough to make things as permanent as a marriage makes things! I don’t love this person quite enough to enter into a covenant with them!”
Jesus’ words about a Christian’s life apply equally as well to a spouse’s life: “Whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for Me will find it” (Matthew 16:25). Self-sacrifice is the way of the gospel…and the way of marriage. Marriage is not about getting your needs met. It is about sacrificing selflessly for the sake of your spouse. And yet, through such willing sacrifice, Jesus promises that your needs will indeed be met, even if ever so mysteriously. You will “find your life,” Jesus says. But take heed of Jesus’ warning: If you enter a relationship with a consumer mentality, looking only to your own needs, wants, and desires – if you try to “save your life” – you will only wind up sorely and sadly empty. You will only wind up losing your life. Fulfillment in marriage – and in life – begins with emptying yourself in service.
So if you are married, but times are tough, in almost every instance, except those instances in which a family member is in danger, the road to recovery begins with serving your spouse. If you are not married, but you’d like to be, selfless service is the path to your future spouse’s heart. This is the help our marriages need.
[1] David Crary, “The top ten news stories of 2011,” The Associated Press (12.30.11).
[2] “Top 10 News Stories of 2011,” Christianity Today (12.28.11).
[3] Paul Brandies Raushenbush, “Religion Stories of 2011: The Top 11,” The Huffington Post (12.8.11).
[4] Collin Hansen, “My Top 10 Theology Stories of 2011,” The Gospel Coalition (12.28.11).
[5] See chapter 3, “The Essence of Marriage” in Tim Keller with Katy Keller, The Meaning of Marriage (New York: Dutton, 2011).
Reflections For A New Year
As we begin a new year, it is useful to take a moment to reflect on our lives – where we are, where we have been, and where we are going. Reflecting is important not only for the realms of finances, family, or fitness, but also for the realm of faith. For above all, we must realize and recognize who we are in relationship to our Creator. To this end, the British theologian N.T. Wright has written a set of five questions every Christian must answer – or, better yet, simply remember the answer already given – in order to appropriately and insightfully take stock of his or her life. I relay these questions – and their answers – so that you may remember who you are in God’s sight.[1]
Who are we?
We must never forget that, as the apostle Paul writes, we are “in Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:22). This means our identity and purpose must always and only be founded and grounded not in the things, titles, or accolades of this world, but in the cross of our crucified Savior. This is certainly where the apostle’s identity is found: “May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Galatians 6:14). If we find our identities in anyone or anything else other than Christ and His cross, we are called to repent and turn back to Him.
Where are we?
N.T. Wright explains: We are “in the good creation of the good God.” Sometimes we can forget, especially when life becomes dark and difficult, that when God created the world, He created it “good” (Genesis 1:25). Yes, not all is right with creation. Yes, there is pain, suffering, and tragedy – none of which were part of God’s dream and design. But try as it might, evil cannot utterly destroy the goodness of God’s creation. Indeed, God promises to restore the complete goodness of His creation on the Last Day: “The creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God” (Romans 8:21). For all of its brokenness, we are still in a good place. Thus, we ought to celebrate and appreciate the creation in which God has given us to live.
What’s wrong?
In a word, “sin.” Indeed, this is why God’s good world appears so marred and messed up. And sin is what is wrong not only with our world at large, but with each of us individually and personally. Each of us is born into sin. Because of Adam and Eve, the effects of sin plague us all. This is called “original sin.” Each of us also commit sin. We transgress God’s laws and do not do what we are commanded to do. This is called “actual sin.” In a sense then, we are the problem. We are the ones who make God’s good world a mess through our injustice and iniquity.
What’s the solution?
In a word, “Jesus.” Jesus is God’s remedy to sin and redemption from sin. The apostle Peter explains: “Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God” (1 Peter 3:18). It is important to note that not only is Jesus God’s solution to sin, Jesus is God’s only solution to sin: “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). This means that all other attempts to deal with sin – be they moralistic or legalistic or liberalistic or relativistic – will ultimately fail. If Christ is not your Forgiver and Redeemer, your sin has not been solved. Period.
What time is it?
In the Scriptural view, time is not marked by the days on a calendar, but by the acts of our God. In other words, what matters about the new year is not that we have transitioned from 2011 to 2012, but what God has done for us in the past and will continue to do for us into the future. N.T. Wright explains cogently the time in which we live: “We live between resurrection and resurrection, that of Jesus and that of ourselves; between the victory over death at Easter and the final victory when Jesus ‘appears’ again.” This is finally what makes 2012 special. For we are another year closer to the coming of Christ and the salvation of our souls. And that sure and certain hope makes this year a year worth celebrating!
[1] The questions and quotes in this blog can be found in N.T. Wright, The Resurrection of the Son of God (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2003) 275.
Christ was there. Christ is here.
A couple of weeks ago, I was having lunch with a friend and he shared with me a dark time he had gone through years ago. He was in the midst of a spiritual crisis, and he decided to move overseas and explore the world. Unfortunately, his move away from home only precipitated his fall. He fell in with the wrong crowd, he did the wrong things, and, one night, he found himself at a point of despair. Walking alone along a dark street, he cried out, “Jesus, if You’re there, I really need You to show up right now.” After making his way to a phone booth, he fumbled through the phone book inside, deposited his change, and called the first church he could find. The pastor of the church answered. The next day, the two of them had lunch. And thus began my friend’s re-awakening to the glory of God and the grace of Christ. My friend felt all alone on that dark night. But he wasn’t. Christ was there. In that phone booth.
One of the texts that has long been compelling to me is 1 Corinthians 10:
For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers, that our forefathers were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea. They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. They all ate the same spiritual food and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ. (1 Corinthians 10:1-4)
Paul is here recounting the history of Israel during the Exodus. And he uses Israel’s history to warn the Corinthians against the dangers of unrepentance:
Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did. Do not be idolaters, as some of them were; as it is written: “The people sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in pagan revelry.” We should not commit sexual immorality, as some of them did – and in one day twenty-three thousand of them died. We should not test the Lord, as some of them did – and were killed by snakes. And do not grumble, as some of them did – and were killed by the destroying angel. (1 Corinthians 10:6-10)
In the midst of the unrepentance, evil, and rebellion of the Israelites, Paul says, Christ was there. In that rock. The same rock which poured forth water in the wilderness for the Israelites to drink (Exodus 17:1-7). What a strange place for Christ to be! And yet, Christ was there.
The other day, I was reading an article by a prominent evangelical theologian, who was bemoaning the dangers of inserting Christ recklessly and relentlessly into every page and phrase of Scripture. He wrote, “Christ cannot be found under every rock.”[1] I would agree – in part. It is dangerous to present Christ in ways that the biblical text does not mean present Him. For instance, the Church Father Origen, famous for his excessive allegorizing of the Bible, reads Exodus 17:9 – “Moses said to Joshua, ‘Choose some of our men and go out to fight’” – as “Moses said to Jesus,” since the Hebrew name for Joshua, Yeshua, comes to us in English as “Jesus.” Origen comments:
Up to this point the Scripture has never anywhere mentioned the blessed name of Jesus. Here for the first time the brightness of the name shines forth. For the first time Moses makes an appeal to Jesus and says to him, “Choose men.” Moses calls on Jesus; the Law asks Christ to choose strong men from among the people. Moses cannot choose; it is Jesus alone who can choose strong men; He has said, “You did not choose Me, but I chose you.”[2]
Origen’s words here certainly strain the bounds of responsible biblical exegesis. To so immediately equate Joshua with Jesus presents a whole host of problems, not the least of which is that Joshua was flawed and fallen (e.g., Joshua 9:1-14), something which Jesus was not. Thus, we must be careful in how we interpret biblical texts. However, there is a sense in which, contrary to what this scholar says, we can indeed find Jesus under every rock, for Jesus is the center, focus, and locus of the Scriptures. Indeed, in 1 Corinthians 10:4, we don’t just find Christ under a rock, He is the rock! Indeed, this is the very doctrine of the incarnation: that Christ shows up in the strangest of ways and places – even under rocks. Christ was there. In the phone booth of my friend. Christ was there. In that rock. Christ was there. In the manger. Christ was there. On the cross. And Christ is here. In the pages of Scripture. Christ is here. In the waters of baptism. Christ is here. In the bread and wine of Communion. Christ is here. In our hearts.
Christ was there. Christ is here. This is the mystery and glory of the incarnation – and of Christmas.
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[1] Ben Witherington III, “Towards a Biblical Theology – Part Two” (11.21.11).
[2] Origen in Sidney Greidanus, Preaching Christ from the Old Testament: A Contemporary Hermeneutical Method (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans, 1999) 86.
ABC Extra – How Firm A Foundation
Some of my fondest memories as a child are of our family trips to the beach. The sun, the white sand, the clear blue water. Wait, check that. I grew up in Oregon. It was always cloudy, the sand was rocky, and the water was murky. But I loved the beach nonetheless. And even in the rocky sand, I loved to build sandcastles. I would always make sure I had my pail and spade in tow, ready to create an impenetrable fortress right there at the base of beach. Except that, inevitably, my fortress would always be penetrated – and washed away – by the water. For sand castles, no matter how well you build them, never last. They always succumb to the relentless pounding of the surf.
This past weekend in worship and ABC, we were introduced to one of history’s most infamous rulers – Herod the Great. Known for his ruthlessness and megalomania, Herod would stop at nothing to protect and extend his reign and rule as “king of the Jews,” a title bestowed on him by the Roman Senate in 40 BC. He was married to no fewer than ten women over his life, most of whom he married out of political expediency rather than out of love. He banished his first wife, Doris, because he wanted to marry his second wife, Miriamne. He eventually had her executed after they got into a fight. He also killed his mother-in-law, brother-in-law, as well as three of his sons under suspicion that they were trying to usurp his power. Herod was a tyrant indeed.
But for all of Herod’s tyranny, he was also a monarch of great skill and vision. Most notably, Herod was a master builder. He built a whole city called the Caesarea Maritima, situated on the banks of the Mediterranean Sea, which had a breathtaking manmade harbor spanning more than forty acres. He built himself a palace which included baths, a pool, a colonnaded garden, and a 600 foot long terrace. He named it, modestly, the Herodium. But most famously, Herod rebuilt the temple in Jerusalem bigger and better than ever. He plastered it in marble and gold. It ascended higher than a fifteen-story building. It was truly a monument to Herod’s skill as an artisan. Herod began his work on the temple in 19 BC. It was not completely finished until 68 years after his death. If Herod died, as the German theologian Emil Schürer asserted, in 1 BC, that means the temple was finally finished in AD 67. In AD 70, the Roman general Titus laid siege to the city of Jerusalem and destroyed its temple. Herod’s completed temple stood for only three years.
Like my sandcastles on the beach, Herod’s building projects weren’t as enduring as he thought they would be. His crowing achievement, the Jerusalem temple, was destroyed only a few years after it was completed. His architecture succumbed to the relentless march of human history.
Jesus once told a story about the fate of building projects:
Everyone who hears these words of Mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash. (Matthew 7:24-27)
Jesus warns that man’s building projects can and do fall. The only way to make them last is to build them upon a firm foundation – and that firm foundation is Christ. Herod never learned this. Indeed, we learn in Matthew 2:16 that he wanted to kill Christ, not build his life and legacy on Him.
What are you building? And more importantly, on whom are you building? The things you build to your own fame will inevitably fall. But what is built on the rock of Christ and to His glory will endure. Do you build on the rock of Christ at your job, with your family, and throughout your life? Or, like Herod, are you only building monuments to your own greatness, which are really no sturdier than sandcastles? As the apostle Paul warns, “If any man builds…his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man’s work” (1 Corinthians 3:12-13). May our work not be found wanting – not because of our skill, but because of Christ’s foundation.
Want to learn more? Go to
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and check out audio and video from Pastor Tucker’s
message or Pastor Zach’s ABC!
ABC Extra – You Need A Break!
Yes, this is a picture of me. This is when we were at the rodeo in January, seeing MercyMe in concert. Well, our friends and my wife were seeing MercyMe. I, on the other hand, was a little tired that evening. So I took a little nap in the middle of a big concert.
I am one of those people who can sleep anytime and anywhere. If I’m tired, my eyes begin to close and my head begins to nod. It doesn’t matter if it is at night or during the day, at a public place or when I’m at home. I can even doze at a rodeo. My wife, on the other hand, needs everything to be just right before she can fall asleep. The room must be pitch black. The ambience must be dead quiet. Even the slightest noise in the middle of the night can startle her awake.
This past weekend in worship and ABC, we talked about gift and glory of rest. But in a world full of appointments, tasks, meetings, and errands, rest can be hard to come by. Especially during this holiday season, when we have parties to host and presents to buy and relatives to visit, the specter of a restful Christmas can seem to be nothing but a cruel illusion.
So how do we get the rest we need when the world around us never seems to slow down? First, to rest, we must intentionally slow ourselves down. I shared this quote in ABC, but it is so insightful, I want to share it here again. It concerns the biblical day of rest, otherwise known as the Sabbath:
Most people mistakenly believe that all you have to do to stop working [and rest] is not work. The inventors of the Sabbath understood that it was a much more complicated undertaking. You cannot downshift casually and easily, the way you might slip into bed at the end of a long day. As the Cat in the Hat says, “It is fun to have fun but you have to know how.” This is why the Puritan and Jewish Sabbaths were so exactingly intentional, requiring extensive advance preparation – at the very least a scrubbed house, a full larder and a bath. The rules did not exist to torture the faithful. They were meant to communicate the insight that interrupting the ceaseless round of striving requires a surprisingly strenuous act of will.[1]
Resting “requires a surprisingly strenuous act of will.” In other words, rest isn’t easy! It must be intentional. You must schedule rest, prepare for rest, and then stubbornly take a rest, even if it spites a calendar which clamors for your every waking moment.
Second, to rest, we must examine our hearts. The apostle John writes, “We set our hearts at rest in God’s presence whenever our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts, and He knows everything” (1 John 3:19-20). Rest, John reminds us, goes deeper than just how many appointments we have scheduled. It goes down to the state of our hearts. Thus, even when our schedules are packed full and our lives are running at high speed, our hearts can be at rest because our hearts are held by the Lord. The stress our world does not have to ruin the rest of our hearts. Thus, even when we feel as though our hearts are overwhelmed by this world’s demands, we can cling to this promise: “God is greater than our hearts.” God’s power and grace far outweigh, outlast, and outdo the anxiety and unrest we can harbor in our hearts. So find your rest in Him. He’s just the break you need.
Want to learn more? Go to
www.ConcordiaLutheranChurch.com
and check out audio and video from Pastor Tucker’s
message or Pastor Zach’s ABC!
[1] Judith Shulevitz, “Bring Back the Sabbath,” The New York Times (3.2.2003).
ABC Extra – “Jesus was born of a…”
When trying to understand a particularly puzzling or perplexing passage of Scripture, it is helpful to turn to other interpreters and study how they have interpreted the passage. This is especially helpful in the case of Isaiah 7:14, a famous prophecy about the birth of Jesus: “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call Him Immanuel.” This passage became a source of heated debate and disagreement when the Revised Standard Version of 1952 famously translated, “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign. Behold, a young woman shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call His name Immanuel.” Traditionally, this verse has been taken as a prophecy of the miraculous conception of Christ as one who was born of a virgin girl named Mary: “This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 1:18). It was the Holy Spirit, Matthew says, who planted the Christ child in Mary’s womb. Mary, therefore, was still a virgin when she had Jesus. But the RSV changed the traditional translation of Isaiah 7:14 from “virgin” to “young woman.” Why the change?
The crux of the debate centers on the Hebrew word for “virgin,” or, as the RSV translates, “young woman.” The word is almah. And although almah does generally refer to a young woman who is a virgin, there are limited instances where it may refer to a young woman not in a virginal state, the most famous being Proverbs 30:18-19: “There are three things that are too amazing for me, four that I do not understand: the way of an eagle in the sky, the way of a snake on a rock, the way of a ship on the high seas, and the way of a man with a maiden.” The Hebrew word for “maiden” is almah. In this instance, the word seems to be referring to a woman already married and, hence, no longer in a virginal state. This is why the translators of the RSV opted for a more general translation of almah – “young woman” – rather than a more specific one – “virgin” – in Isaiah 7:14. The difficulty with this translation, however, is that Christianity’s critics have quickly pounced on this translation to undermine the Christological implications of this prophecy. Rather than foretelling the virgin birth of Christ, these critics maintain that this prophecy points only to events in the Isaiah’s own day.
This debate, then, leads us to this important question: Which translation of almah is correct? “Virgin” or “young woman”? And make no mistake about it: At stake here is far more than trifling lexical nuances. At stake here is a prophecy which the gospel writer Matthew says is fulfilled finally and fully in Jesus Christ! Indeed, Matthew cites this prophecy in his birth narrative: “All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: ‘The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel’—which means, ‘God with us’” (Matthew 1:22-23). Did Matthew misquote, misunderstand, or, worse yet, purposefully misuse this passage from Isaiah 7:14 when he applied it to the virgin birth of Jesus?
It is here that it is helpful to turn to other interpreters and see how they have understood this particularly puzzling and perplexing passage of Scripture. One of the oldest interpretations of this passage comes to us via an ancient translation of the Bible called the Septuagint. The Septuagint is a Greek translation of the Old Testament, commissioned in the third and second centuries as more and more Jews, after Alexander the Great undertook his project of radically Hellenizing the whole world, were no longer able to speak and understand Hebrew fluently. This Septuagint was a way for the Jews to maintain their religious Scriptural heritage in a language they could read and understand. And in Isaiah 7:14, the Hebrew word almah is translated as the Greek word parthenos. And although there may some limited linguistic ambiguity in the meaning of the word almah, there is no such ambiguity in the word parthenos. It means “virgin.” Thus, ancient Jewish translators, living before the birth of Christ, interpreted this prophecy Messianically, referring to a miraculously virgin born Messiah. And Matthew, in his account of Jesus’ birth, picks up on the Seputagintal translation of this prophecy and too uses the word parthenos. Interestingly, later Jewish Greek translations of this verse from the second century AD translate almah as neanis, meaning “young woman,” no doubt in an attempt the mute the Christian interpretation of this passage. But before the birth of Christ, the Jews were expecting nothing less than a miraculously born Messiah – a virgin born Messiah.
Thus, this particularly puzzling and perplexing prophecy stands as it has traditionally been interpreted. And this particularly puzzling and perplexing prophecy is puzzling and perplexing no more. For it has been fulfilled in Jesus.
Want to learn more? Go to
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and check out audio and video from Pastor Tucker’s
message or Pastor Zach’s ABC!
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