Reflections on 2 Corinthians 5:17

I recently had a friend ask what I thought it meant that Christians are “in Christ.” As I thought about how to answer that, my mind went quickly to 2 Corinthians 5:17. Since I’ve been studying through 2 Corinthians, here are the thoughts I shared with me friend:

I see two big truths to being “in Christ”, the first is the “positional” or “objective”  truth. By this I mean that when we place our faith in Jesus as our Savior and Lord, we are now positionally viewed by God as being in Christ: our total identity, who we are, is found not in our sin nor our works, but solely in Christ. Thus, when God views, judges, and loves us, it is based on Christ’s finished work on the cross and not our sin or anything else we do.

As a result of this “positioning” in Christ we share in the benefits of His work on the cross and resurrection. We have peace with God, we are co-crucified, co-buried, co-resurrected, co-ascended, and co-seated with Christ (Eph. 2:4-7; Gal. 2:21). Our life is hidden with Christ (Col. 3:3), and when we die, we die in Christ and so are with Him, and will be raised in His power (1 Thess. 4:13-18). There are certainly many other positional truths to being in Christ, like being adopted as God’s children, but these are the big ones for me. These positional truths don’t only effect our standing with God and our eternal destination, but also revolutionize the way we live here and now.

The second big truth I see as being “in Christ” is the “practical” or “subjective” truth. By subjective I don’t mean “uncertain” or “only true to you”, I mean truth as it applies to your personal experience. So, those who are in Christ are enabled, by the power of the Holy Spirit to live and love like Jesus. In Christ, we have renewed minds (Rm. 12:2), so we can see people as Jesus does (Mt. 9:36), and we can make ethical and moral decisions in a way that honor God. In Christ, we are free to resist temptation, and so can choose not to sin (1 Cor. 10:13). Not that we always live in these ways, but when we are in Christ, we have the ability to choose to live for God’s glory in all we do, and to find our total fulfillment in Him alone.

So to be in Christ revolutionizes our eternity and our now. We find our significance, motivation, reason and model for life, power for living, and salvation all from being “in Christ”.  In short, being “in Christ” calls us to live radical lives for the glory of God and His Kingdom.

From the Shelf: Death By Love

In my From the Shelf series I will give a quick review of the books I’ve been reading. The first installment looks at Death By Love by Mark Driscoll and Gerry Breshears. Enjoy!

When you’re a seminary student, you accumulate a lot of books.  This particular book comes from my “Books of Christmas Past” collection.  I finally had some time to read, and am glad I did.

This is the fourth book I have read by Pastor Mark Driscoll, who is the founder and teaching pastor at Mars Hill Church in Seattle.  In this work, Driscoll explores the meaning behind 12 aspects of Christ’s work on the cross, and then explains how each aspect affects our daily lives.

The format of the book is interesting, as each chapter is written in the form of a letter to someone Pastor Mark has interacted with in his ministry.  This makes for very conversational reading, and allows Driscoll to distill complex theological concepts in a way that anyone can understand and relate to.

First and foremost, this book is theologically orthodox.  Driscoll displays his skill as a Bible teacher to take the historical, orthodox beliefs of the church and communicate them in a way that connects with today’s culture.  Anyone who teaches would do well to learn from Mark Driscoll on this point.

Along with its theological depth, this book is also incredibly pastoral.  By this I mean you really see the heart of a man who cares deeply for the people to whom he ministers, and desires to see nothing more than they find their total life and fulfillment in Christ.  Driscoll reminds readers that the cross must be central in the lives of Christians, and that everything should come back to the cross.  This is a needed reminder and challenge in the church today: to help people find satisfaction in the cross and Christ alone.

This work is also brutally practical. Driscoll deals with real people, who are real sinners, as we all are.  That makes this book difficult to read at times, because sin is uncomfortable.  But I think that is the point.  This book will make you hate the sin you read about, and hopefully make you face and hate your own sin.  Also, Driscoll is direct, and pulls no punches.  He demonstrates well how to tell the truth in love, even when that might just hurt someone’s feelings.

Overall, I would commend Death By Love to you.   For followers of Jesus, it is a great reminder and demonstration of the centrality of the cross in all of life.  If you aren’t a follower of Jesus, I think this a great introduction into why Christians worship a man who was killed on a cross.  This book demonstrates why I think Mark Driscoll has the potential of being this generation’s C.S. Lewis, in terms of his ability to communicate timeless truth in timely and accessible ways.  Happy reading!

Perhaps My Least Favorite Billboard

Driving in NC you see some pretty amusing billboards.  Some of my favorites are the ones for JR, some discount store that claims they have the best and cheapest selection of every item in the world.  Then there are the signs for the pride of SC, South of the Boarder, which begin on I-95 just south of VA and culminate just across the NC/SC line.  If you’ve never done it, take an afternoon and drive that wonderful route of tackiness.

East of Raleigh, somewhere on I-40 you’ll see this billboard, and it bugs me every time I see it.   It’s hard to miss, I mean the ominous hand pointing at me in the shape of a gun, as if  getting ready to zap my tires and cause a catastrophic blow-out at 70 mph’s makes me want to repent of everything I’ve ever done.  But before I go into what I dislike about this sign, let me make a few things clear.

Do I believe that all people are sinners by nature and by choice and need to repent of that, turn to Jesus in faith and accept His work on the cross for their salvation?  Yes.  Do I believe that anyone who doesn’t repent  and trust in Jesus in this life will suffer eternity in the torments of hell?  Yes.  Do I think there are times we need to be direct with people in confronting them with their sinfulness, the need to repent now and embrace God’s grace?  Yes.  Do I believe one day Jesus will triumphantly return in victory for the church and judgment and wrath for the rest of the world?  Yes.  Do I think God can use even this sign to draw people to Jesus?  Yes.  But, my problem with this sign is it doesn’t tell the whole story, and so ends up misrepresenting Jesus, and ultimately, may make people cold to Christ.

The big issue for me is that this sign presents Jesus as a wrathful, vindictive guy off in the colds somewhere, waiting for you and me to mess up, so he can get his ultimate joy in frying us with lightning from his finger.  In other words, this billboard assumes that people can be scared into repenting from something.  The problem is, this sign doesn’t tell viewers what to repent of and who to turn to after repenting.

In contrast to this, Scripture tells us that it isn’t being freaked out that God will zap us that leads to salvation, but that God’s kindness is meant to lead us to repentance (Rom. 2:4-5).  Now, these verses speak of God’s wrath, but it notes that it is stored up because people don’t respond to God’s kindness (displayed on the cross of Christ) in repentance.  A little later, Paul says that it is the love of Christ that compels him to plead with people to be reconciled to God (2 Cor. 5:14-15).

So, it comes down to this: fellow disciples of Jesus, are we proclaiming the Gospel of Christ’s love?  Are we calling people to turn from sin (repent) and turn to live for their created purpose: to worship and obey God?  Are we living, speaking, and serving in ways that say to people “Christ loves you” or instead “watch out before you get what you deserve, sinner”?

If you are reading this and aren’t a follower of  Jesus, please hear my heart.  The Bible is clear that everyone, me included, are sinners and so deserve only God’s judgment and wrath (Rom. 3:23).  But, because God loves us, He sent Jesus to die for our sins, so we can turn from them and live for Jesus, not having to fear punishment and wrath (Jn. 3:16; 1 Jn. 4:9-10).  I pray that you will read these passages, and that Jesus will reveal Himself and His love to you, and you can turn to Him in faith and repentance and escape the wrath to come (1 Thess. 1:10).

This sign, though I dislike it, is a reminder to tell the whole message of the Gospel.  God is in His great love and grace is calling out for us to escape wrath and condemnation by trusting in Jesus for our salvation (Jn. 3:17).  Is the wrath of God coming?  Yes.  But thanks be to God that we don’t have to fear it, if we place our faith in completed work of Jesus on the cross!

Comfortable? Reflections on 2 Corinthians 1:3-11

In “Reflections” posts, I will share my thoughts on passages of Scripture I am studying. Right now, I am studying through the book of 2 Corinthians.  Enjoy!

2 Corinthians 1:3-4 is a rich text.  It is often turned to when times of hardship and tragedy strike, and I have often turned to it myself in difficult days.   After all, it declares the truth that the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ is not some distant spirit, off in the clouds somewhere unaffected by our hurting.  Instead, it declares that He is a loving, compassionate, and merciful God who desires to comfort us when we are afflicted.  This is a great truth, which we must cling to.  But, I wonder, how much do we truly want the comfort referred to in this text?

I think that we often miss the point of this passage, because we stop reading at verse 4, and don’t get the rest of the story.  The apostle Paul, who was the greatest missionary, church-planter, and theologian the world has ever seen, seems to have a certain king of affliction,  and so a certain kind of divine comfort in mind here.

First, lets distinguish between two kinds of affliction/suffering.  One type is suffering brought about by living in a world that is fallen and broken by sin.  These are things like sickness, death, and tragedy, which are common to all people.  The second type of suffering is unique to Christians, and that is the suffering brought on as a result of following Christ in a sinful and fallen world.  Jesus said that the world would hate His followers and bring them trouble, but to take heart because He had overcome the world (John 15:18-25; 16:33).  In our passage, it seems that Paul is primarily concerned with followers of Jesus receiving comfort in this second type of suffering: the kind that comes as result of facing persecutions.

Two points support this: the language of the text and the context of the passage.  First, in the language Paul uses, the word “affliction” (thlipsis in Greek) is often used of difficutly brought on by external circumstances, especially persectuion.  The word “suffering” (pathema) is often used for Christ’s sufferings, as it is here in v.5.  Second, in the context (vv.8-11) Paul talks about an event in Asia which nearly cost he and his missionary team their lives.  So, it really seems that Paul’s main concern is that the believers in Corinth are comforted by knowing that God is in control, despite the persections they are facing.  And then, since they can trust God, they can continue to live radically for the Gospel of Christ (this theme of boldness for the Gospel is prominent in the first 5 chapters of 2 Corinthians).  After all, even if they should die, God will raise them up.

So, this thought struck me: do we truly want this kind of comfort?  I think as Americans, including me, we are addicted to comfort.  But, in the end it is not the type of comfort Paul is talking about.  To most us comfort is equal to living a life of luxury, convenience, and security.  In essence, we are often more concerned about being comfortable than being comforted.

You see,  the Bible is calling us to live radically for the Gospel.  Jesus is calling us to take chances for Him, to live in a way that looks so different from the world that it makes people curious and uncomfortable.  Some may be uncomfortable enough to chastise you for your faith in Christ.  But, Jesus prepares us for that.  So, the real question for us, for me, is this: do we love Jesus enough to give up being comfortable, to risk affliction and suffering, so we can receive His comfort?  Do we love our neighbors and friends enough to serve them, pray for them, and tell them about Jesus’ great love, even if it feels awakward or costs time?  Do we value God’s comfort over being comfortable?  I pray that I do, and I pray you will also.  May we live for God’s glory, so we can recieve His all surpassing comfort.

What Is Truth?

About two thousand years ago, a Roman governor named Pontius Pilate asked Jesus that question  just before handing Jesus over to be murdered.  Before that day and ever since, the question “what is truth?” has been asked continually.  Today, many people have given up on the idea that anything like absolute truth can be found.  Instead, they claim that there are simply “truths.”  What is true for you is true for you, but not necessarily for me.

In contrast to this notion, the Bible claims to be absolute truth.  This means that it is true at all times, for all people, in all circumstances.  Now, we all certainly have our own experiences, our story, if you will.  But, that is different from our own truth.  The Bible gives the Grand Story, and its truth explains how all the disparatete pieces of our story fit together, and how our stories fit into Bible’s Grand Story.

Obviously, I believe that the Bible is truth.  That is the essence of the verse this blog is named after, that in the end, when taken as a whole, the Bible teaches us the truth about the way things really are.  The Bible tells us the truth on “big ticket” items, things like God, humanity, death, and the point of this whole thing called life.   Let’s just get a sample of some of this truth.

The Bible tells us the truth about God.  The Bible tells us that God in fact exists.  That He exists as one God in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  Christians have come to call this the Trinity.  The Bible tells us that God is holy, just, kind, loving, slow to anger, zealous, gracious, merciful, a righteous judge, all-knowing, all-powerful, and all-present among other things.  The Bible also tells us that God is the creator and ruler of all that there is.  So, nothing is here by accident, including you, me, even mosquitoes.  Everything was created to give glory to God the creator.

The Bible also tells the truth about us.  It tells that we are created by God, in His image to worship and obey Him.  But, we didn’t do that.  Our first parents, Adam and Eve chose sin over God and so death entered the world as a consequence of that action.  Ever since all people have been sinners, enemies of God in rebellion against Him.  This is bad news, because it puts us under the judgment of a holy and just God.  The Bible tells the truth that all we deserve as humans is death and hell.

But, the Bible also tells us the greatest truth ever.  It tells us that despite our sin, God loves us, and sent His son Jesus to die the death we deserved, and then God raised Jesus to life.  The truth is that now, if we have faith in Jesus, we can live the way we were created to live: in worship and obedience to God.  That is the great truth of the Bible: the love and justice of God meeting for our sake on the cross of Jesus Christ.

I don’t know where you find yourself in relation to these truths.  But, I hope you’ll stick around as we explore the great truth of the Bible.  I hope that you’ll find in Jesus that He is the way the truth, and the life (John 14:6).  What is truth?  You are created in the image of God, you are loved by God, God wants you to live for your created purpose through Jesus.

Begginings

Well, I’ve decided to take the plunge and start a blog.  Aside from being a creative outlet for me, I hope that it is a source of encouragement for you, the readers.  Mostly what you’ll find here will be thoughts of a devotional nature on passages of Scripture I am studying, and thoughts on things I am reading.  From time to time, I may post something of a more technical nature, dealing with specific issues in Greek or Hebrew (the original languages of the Bible).

If you’re already a Christian, I hope that in reading this blog, you’ll be encouraged to study the Bible more, grow in Christ, and be comformed more to His image.  If you aren’t a follower of Christ, I hope this blog will be a good way for you to be introduced to Jesus, and learn about Him, even consider what it would mean for you to have a relationship with Him.

In a time when the internet is a source of temptation and sin for so many (especially young men), I want this blog to be a place where this great technology can be used redemptively, for the glory of God.  So, with this, we begin.  Thanks again for reading!

“May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.” (Psalm 19:14)