Reflections on Romans 1:20-21

²⁰For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. ²¹For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened.                                                            Romans 1:20-21

I’ve been spending a lot of time in Romans 1 lately. In these particular verses, Paul is answering the objection, “But what about people who don’t know about God?” Paul’s answer? They do! He says that God makes Himself known, to a certain extent, through His creation. The phrase “what has been made” is a special one. It is the Greek word “poema,” from which we get the word “poem.” It is God’s creation, His workmanship, that tells the story of who He is. People can see from His creation that God is eternally powerful (how He relates to the world) and is divine in nature (how He is in Himself). Because they can see this from creation, and they do not honor or thank Him, people have no objection.

So what went wrong? Verse 21 says that even though they knew God, they chose not to honor Him, and their foolish heart was darkened. This is huge! Knowledge of God is more than a head issue; it is a heart issue. People do not know God because they have darkened hearts. They have darkened hearts because they rejected God. Therefore, they will not know God until their hearts are enlightened.

So what do we do? First, we thank God that He enlightened our hearts. We could not have done this on our own. Second, we constantly ask God to enlighten our hearts and our minds as we study His Word. We need the Spirit’s help to know God. Finally, if we desire for people to know Jesus, we acknowledge that they have a heart problem. We pray for God to enlighten their hearts as we preach the gospel.

For His glory and our joy,

NR

Reflections on Romans 8:28

I haven’t been able to get this verse out of my mind for the last 2 weeks.  It is sandwiched between the two theological towers of suffering and sovereignty, and acts as an emotional connecting bridge of sorts.  It’s a verse that peels back three layers of an authentic Christ follower.

Layer 1: those who love God

Oh that this not be assumed. Far too many use God like they buy an updated Mercedes. It is far more about other’s impression of them than any form of intimate submission to a HOLY, and TERRIFYING God.  Love of God that mirrors His love of us while impossible, is commanded and expected.  Only to be summed up with a “what is impossible with man is possible with God” (Mark 10).

Layer 2:  being that person that knows all things are working together for good

One glance around makes us question that we can be included as “one of these people”.  The world is crumbling around us.  It is hope inducing seeing Paul’s affirmation of this in the rest of chapter 8.  In three different places he talks about the groaning going on in anticipation of what’s to come rather than what is.  He acknowledges life stinks.  So how do we see good in any of this?  (echo…anyone have an answer?) . The only answer I can muster is because of the grand extent that we trust him, we have hope.  Hope that comes as the last stanza of suffering, endurance, and character (Romans 5:3-4). And this Hope brings the fruit of life: goodness.

Layer 3: those called according to His purposes

Here is where the scary questions come into play.  If there is a makeshift, “casual” believer who does not deeply love, and can find no hope in goodness, are they included in the purposes?  Are they really called?  The scariest thing I can imagine in light of an omniscient (all knowing) God is simply existing.  Think of it…that we would be so sin calloused that God would all but disclude us from what he is doing.  Not only would we not be experiencing him, savoring him, worshiping him…we would barely be apart of acknowledging him. 

Let us be men and woman that live with a Holy dread over our being “called according to His purpose.”  And not just be dreaders, but joiners of the kingdom movement that is already at play.                                               

                                                                                                            ~amen?

~Deep thoughts by a shallow guy~

mn

How can the Old Testament people be saved if there was no Jesus then?

This is a great question, one that is important to understand as we understand who Jesus is and what He did. Prior to answering this question though, I think there is some important truths to remember:
1) God is outside of time. Therefore what he does in an instant could actually play itself out over thousands of years.
2) It says (referring to Jesus) in Hebrews 13:8 “I am the same yesterday, today, and forever”.
When we exist inside of time, it’s hard to understand a God who is outside of it. Therefore, we accept it by faith. Believing this takes us a step closer to seeing how Jesus’ death can be the central act of all history. When sin entered the world through Adam, a plan of equivalent payment had to be made. This payment would be so great, and such an act of Love, that it would fulfill redemption of all people for all times. Therefore when Jesus died as the substitutionary atonement…it was not just for the sins that came after him, it was for the sins of everybody, who has ever lived.
2 Corinthians 5:14-15 addresses this well:
For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died; and He died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf.
Our first thing to note then is that all were included in the payment accomplished by Jesus’ death.
Another point of interest however is answering the question: was Jesus present? Many scholars, as they seek to understand the role of the trinity throughout time and text, point to names often used for either Father, Son, or Holy Spirit. For example, when a metaphor of dove is used, we assume that this is referring directly to the Holy Spirit. In a simple word study, we see the title of “Lord” in the New Testament as the primary title to depict Jesus’ role and authority. Interestingly enough, Lord is used often throughout the Old Testament in specific settings or stories. So where we know Jesus was not there in flesh, the spirit of the Lord is active. Most scholars refer to this “spirit of the Lord” as God the son, or the spirit of Jesus, as present. (example: Genesis 10-12)

Finally, I find it very unique that the disciples in the gospels knew what they were looking for in a messiah. Meaning: The gospel is explained thoroughly in the Old Testament! People awaited a Messiah who would take away their sins, being the ultimate payment against death. They lived in the same mode of redemption we do.

In summary, these are 3 good places to start. Christ’s death, by view and plan of God, paid for the sins of all because that is the way he purposed it. Secondly, if Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever, than we see his fingerprints not just in the gospels, but also throughout the Old Testament. And last, we trust that to be able to expect the Messiah, they had to know something of what he was going to be like. The Old Testament is as much a purposed account for the gospel as the New Testament is.

~Deep thoughts by a Shallow guy~
mn

Science and Faith: Part 1 - A Conversation

One of the most frequently asked questions is the question of how scientific discoveries affect our faith. Since we’re sticking to the “deep end” issues of the faith in the talks, we’re going to tackle this issue in the blog. I quickly figured out that one blog would not suffice for such a big issue. So it looks like we will get 3 blogs on the issue of faith and science. First, we’ll look at the big picture issue of how science and faith interact. Then we’ll move on to the questions of miracles and evolution.

For many centuries, there was not a clear divide between science and faith. Scholars were expected to study theology/science/math/philosophy all as one discipline. Then, during what we call the “enlightenment” people starting seeing science/math/philosophy as distinct from theology. Later science, math and philosophy would also separate into somewhat distinct disciplines. Since then, it has been a difficult question as to how science (or any other academic discipline) and faith should interact.

Ian Barbour has suggested 4 different ways they can interact (see Tim Keller’s Reason for God, chapter 6). On one end of the spectrum is all out war. In this view, faith and science are always in conflict. It’s always creationism versus evolution, faith versus reason, or scientific evidence versus religious belief. The assumption is that science and faith are enemies. On the other end is the idea that they have nothing to do with each other. People of this point of view think that religious beliefs and scientific information do not belong in the same conversation. Barbour proposes that a healthier response lies somewhere in between. Two other options include the idea that faith and science could either be integrated or at least that there should be a conversation between the two. I propose that one of these middle ground options is better. If God is the creator of the universe, then he is the creator of everything that scientists study. Surely faith and science are not enemies, and they cannot be wholly separate.

There is one more reason for there to be healthy interaction between faith and science. When Christians attack or ignore science, they often attack or ignore people who place their faith in science over Jesus. Though it is clearly untrue that all scientists are atheists, it is a community with many nonbelievers. Christians sacrifice a tremendous opportunity to have a healthy conversation about our faith with a people group who need such a conversation. Let’s quit attacking people who do not believe as we do, and let’s quit ignoring them. Rather, with a love of Christ and a faith in a Savior who is truth, let’s engage in a loving, grace filled dialogue.

More to come on science and faith…

For His glory and our joy,
nr

Hidden Thoughts

Canon and Apocrypha are two loaded terms that have significant meaning to our understanding of God’s Word. Canon literally means “a measuring rod.” God breathed scripture would be the “measuring rod” of which it is very important for us to listen and see what God is saying. When we read Colossians 1:17, it says, “God is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.” By understanding this truth, the Canon of the scriptures meant that God was set before it all in order that He would give us clear truths. So, the Canon is a process in which God again used man to set His words and be placed in an order and bound book that we today know as the Holy Bible. There are several other writings that were left out of the Bible that had no need to be documented because it was evident that it was a writing that was not breathed of God as the other 66 books. These other writings are referred to as the Apocrypha. The word Apocrypha means “hidden” or “concealed” and we see them as “writings of unknown origin." Nowhere in these “other books” do we see the writers refer to the writing as inspired by God. These writings were not inspired by God, but simply the ideas and thoughts of man.
We must be able to answer questions of our own faith and when we face thoughts and discussions on how the scripture came to be, it is critical that we know answers. We trust that the work of the Holy Spirit will guide us as we journey through this mind series. Send us your thoughts and let us know what questions you may have.

From one follower of Christ to another,

Jarrett

The Meaning of 'in me' in John 15

Last Saturday night, we looked at John 15, the story of the vine and the branches. We hit a snag (no pun intended) when we came across a controversial element of the passage. Theologians have long debated the meaning of “in me” that is used throughout the passage, as in “every branch in me that does not bear fruit” (John 15:2a). We said that there are traditionally two ways to understand “in me.” In this article, we want to explore these to interpretations and see if we can learn anything about them. The first interpretation is that “in me” refers to our salvation. To be “in Christ” is to be a born again child of God. In the second interpretation, “in me” refers to fellowship or relationship with Christ. The difference is something like this. Compare it to the relationship between children and their parents. We can talk about whether or not children legitimately belong to their parents. Or we can about their relationship. Children can have a bad relationship with their parents and not lose them as parents.

Now, I am no theologian. Most of what I will discuss here come from Joseph C. Dillow’s article “Abiding is Remaining: Another Look at John 15:1-6.” Let’s consider first the idea of “in me” meaning salvation. This reading makes sense to us because we so frequently hear “in Christ” refer to salvation, as in “if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation” (2 Cor 5:17a). Under this interpretation, when Jesus says “every branch in me” He is referring to saved believers. There is a bit of a problem with this. Verse 2 says that “every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away” and later in verse 6 “if anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers.” If we understand this passage as talking about salvation and heaven and hell, we have two options. Either Jesus is saying that genuine believers will lose their salvation if they do not abide or somehow the “in me” in verse 2 must be different than the other “in me’s.” We know the first option cannot be correct because of the overwhelming amount of Scripture that teaches that we cannot lose our salvation. Therefore, most theologians who take the salvation view of “in me” claim that the branches that do not bear fruit merely claim to be “in Christ” but are not so. This is difficult to justify, but there is another option for interpreting this text.

We must recognize the context of Jesus’ teaching. Judas has left to betray Jesus, and the only people with Him the 11 faithful disciples. Therefore, He is speaking to those who are all genuine believers who will serve Jesus faithfully all of their lives. But, they are scared and confused over the news that Jesus will be leaving them soon. Jesus is teaching them how to follow Him and bear fruit when they can no longer see Him face to face. It would make sense that Jesus would not need to teach these men about being saved, but rather how to maintain this wonderful relationship they have been building for 3 years. There are at least 4 reasons to understand “in me” as being good relationship.

1) The various passages in which “in Christ” refers to salvation are written by Paul. We have to look at how John uses the phrase, which is mostly to talk about relationship. This does not mean that they teach different things, but rather that they use words differently.
2) The context lends to the idea that Jesus would want to give His disciples practical, comforting words about how to stay with Him.
3) The command to abide means that Jesus thought that the disciples had to work to “remain in Him.” This does not make sense in salvation, but makes perfect sense in relationship. The whole of Scripture teaches that salvation is God’s work in us. We are not saved by our works, but by faith in God’s grace. However, we do strive and work to know the Lord more fully in our lives.
4) It removes the problem of interpreting the branches not “in Him.” We then see that Jesus is using the dried up branches to describe the relationship between Himself and non-abiding believers, not the state of their soul.

Though there are good reasons to follow both interpretations, I believe that understanding “in me” as referring to fellowship with Christ is the most accurate interpretation. It explains that Christ is urging the men He dearly loved (and also us!) to stay close to Him by abiding. He longs for relationship with us. This abiding relationship yields fruit, which glorifies the Father (John 15:8), witnesses to the world (John 15:8) and gives us joy (John 15:11).

For His glory and our joy,
nr