“Ishrat no more. My friend Ishrat was brutally tortured and killed by terrorists in a Dhaka restaurant yesterday… Most of the Muslim Bangladeshis were spared after they identified themselves and recited limes from the Koran. Ishrat, who was not wearing a Hijab and neither wanted to prove herself, was hacked to death with a machete. Twenty other foreign hostages were also hacked to death with sharp weapons by Islamist terrorists during a dramatic siege at an upmarket Dhaka restaurant that ended in a bloodbath… The majority of the victims were from Italy and Japan.” – Aloke Kumar, July 2, 2016
If you are a Christian who has taken the time to read the Bible and do at least a little digging into theology, then you probably love to debate. One of the most often debated topics in Bible schools across the globe is that of Calvinism vs. Arminianism, or more specifically a subset of those two theologies around the notion of Eternal Security. For some, once you have placed your trust in Jesus your eternal fate is sealed, and for others it is merely a decision that can be reversed later. There are problems on both sides of the debate.
The distinction between judicial holiness and positional holiness is an important one. Judicial holiness means we have never broken any part of God’s law and that we have the same holiness as God himself. Since “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3.23) our holiness, if we have any at all, is at the very least tarnished. We are guilty of breaking God’s law and, therefore, can never be judicially holy.
Not long ago a friend of mine posted on Facebook two contrasting cases of injustice. The first is the case of Lee Carol Brooker. At 75 years old, this veteran is serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole for growing 34 marijuana plants in his back yard. Certainly this is more than a person would need to grow for “personal use” though there was no indication that he was dealing the drug. Conversely, in an age where 25 states have either passed legalization laws, or are about to, the sentence seems harsh.
Charis Christian Center is a church and ministry located in Colorado Springs, Colorado. For years they have paid the city’s Mountain Metro Transit (MMT), the city-run bus system around town, thousands to advertise on bus benches. Their first campaigns boldly proclaimed in large letters “Celebrate Jesus” and “Experience Jesus”, and its current ad states “Jesus is Lord.” But this encouraging tribute to our Lord may be ending on July 10, 2016 as the Metro City Transit has ordered the ministry to remove Jesus from their advertising message. Reportedly the authority has received only a single complaint about the signs.
Given the analogy that Jesus uses, that he is the vine, his Father is the gardener, and we are the branches, it seems clear that the mystery of “remaining in” means to keep connected to God. This is something we have talked about frequently at Think-Biblically.com, building connections with God. In this case, however, we can discern a very specific way to build a connection, perseverance. “Remaining in” implies connection, but simply “remaining” involves persevering. Therefore, we are to persevere in our relationship with God to abide in him.
At the church I grew up in was a member who always came dressed in the most outrageous outfits. Her socks never matched, and her clothing was always a strange mish-mash. When asked about her obviously poor ability to dress herself she replied that she always asked God what to wear, and she wore whatever he picked out. Mostly the other congregants laughed off her behavior; I cannot recall a single time anyone explored further the theology that drove her to such extreme fashions. Possibly because everyone wishes that God was that active in their lives and are a little disappointed that he isn’t.
Saturday night\early Sunday morning a Muslim man who has an ISIS profile shot up a gay nightclub in Orlando Florida killing 50 and injuring at least 53 others before police stormed the building and took out the shooter. Even well after these facts were brought to light twitter and other social media outlets were full of people blaming their favorite villains: “toxic” masculinity, homophobia, religiosity, politics, the gun culture and more. The truth is this was Islam in action. This man (and possibly others) saw a soft target in a “gun free zone” and took advantage. What can Jesus-followers do?
Last week I happened upon a church in my neighborhood and looked upon their statement of faith. At first everything seemed in keeping with sound theology, until near the end when I found this statement: “Baptism saves! Contrary to popular belief, baptism is part of salvation.” Once I was over my initial shock that anyone would want to add anything to the gospel I asked a simple question, “which baptism?” The answer I received was not surprising, but it may be enlightening for some to explain why I asked the question. There are, in fact, seven different baptisms mentioned in the Bible.
Since “holy” is usually defined as separate or set apart one would be forgiven for thinking that we must withdraw from the world to become holy. During the middle ages monks would go to extreme measures to do exactly that, moving to monasteries far removed from civilization and even forgoing talking to one another in some such retreats. On one occasion a humble monk joined just such a monastery and was told he could only speak two words one every three years. At the end of the first three years he went before the Cardinal and said, “bad food.” Three years later he returned and spoke to the Cardinal, “bad bed”.
Mourning creates conditions where the presence of God can enter in fullness and comfort and bless and heal the mourner. This is only the first reversal we see in the Sermon on the Mount. Here mourners find comfort in the knowledge that God cares for them and invites them into his healing presence. These are words every victim in Orlando need to experience. More than that, however, Christians ought to be such a blessing to mourners in their expression of the love and grace of God that they have received.
There is both a startling interest and ignorance in the 21st century church regarding spiritual growth. The interest appears to be in a field called “Spiritual Formation”, an eclectic collection of spiritual disciplines that form one’s spiritual life. The ignorance stems from the lack of understanding most Christians have in the nature of “growing up in Christ.” We go to church, read our Bible, and pray before each meal and after a while we wonder why. Is it making a difference? How can we know that we are growing in spiritual maturity and in our relationship with God?