Attempts at Honesty

Reflections on the interplay of the Bible and Culture

Home Archives for Mark McIntyre

Speculation in the Evangelical community

Posted on Written by 4 Comments

Speculation“As I urged you when I was going to Macedonia, remain at Ephesus so that you may charge certain persons not to teach any different doctrine, nor to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies, which promote speculations rather than the stewardship from God that is by faith.” (1 Timothy 1:3–4, ESV)

There are two categories of those who Paul condemns in these verses. The first is those to teach a different doctrine. The second are those who promote speculations (ESV) or controversies (NIV).

A different doctrine

In the first category I would put organizations like the LDS Church and the Watchtower Society. What sets them apart from Scripture is their teaching on the person of Jesus Christ and the means of salvation. They clearly teach a different doctrine than the catholic (universal) church has for the last two thousand years. When the teachings of these organizations are compared to Scripture, it becomes clear that their doctrine is different than what Scripture presents.

Promoting speculation

Those who promote speculation are often less obvious. We must be willing to look inside the Evangelical community with honesty to identify when we have begun to promote speculation.

For example, the Book of Revelation is full of symbols. It would have been so much easier if Jesus just gave us a timeline and provided specific dates and descriptions of events yet to happen. He did not. Therefore, we must look at the symbols to see what lessons are in them for us.

The danger in this is that depending on presuppositions we can come to different understandings of what the symbols mean. The fact that they are symbols that can be interpreted differently should lead us to caution in declaring that our understanding is the only right interpretation. Yet, there are many churches who make such a declaration.

Let us stand firm on the teaching in Scripture that is clear. About the meaning of the birth, ministry, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ we can be confident in our understanding. On those issues that are not clear or are open for interpretation, we mush allow for difference of opinion and be wary of those who promote only one possible understanding.

I am reminded of the phrase attributed to Rupertus Meldenius:

In essentials unity
In non-essentials liberty
And in all things charity

On rationalization of sin

Posted on Written by 9 Comments

Gold BarsThis morning I read the story of Achan whose sin caused the defeat of Israel when they went up against Ai. This story can be found in Joshua 7:16-26.

As a 21st Century American, I bristle when I read this story. I want to tell God that it was such a little sin. It seems natural that Achan should desire the goods that he confiscated. He had a momentary lapse of judgment and for that he and his entire family got stoned?

The danger of grace is that we can take Grace for granted and lose perspective on how serious God is about sin. I once heard a definition of sin as man playing God in his own life. By this definition, anything that I do that is contrary to what God expects is a sin.

I observe in myself and I believe I observe in others that humans have an almost infinite capacity to rationalize sin and make it sound legitimate. In this we follow our first parents in their response to the very first sin. Adam blamed Eve (and God) and Eve blamed the serpent.

When confronted with sin, like Adam, I want to find a way to say that it is not my fault. But it is my fault, the fact is that I choose to disobey.

The fix for this problem is not a legalistic system of do’s and don’ts. Legalism exacerbates the problem by focusing attention on the symptoms rather than the disease. The disease is a heart that is unwilling to yield to God. Legalism does nothing to soften the damaged heart and bring it in submission to God.

Legalism produces two undesirable effects. For those who are successful at keeping the rules, pride sets in which makes the heart even more unresponsive to God. For those who recognize their inability to keep the rules, an inappropriate sense of unworthiness can set in. This sense of unworthiness can then trigger rejection of the very God who gives them worth.

The sin of Achan was not that he desired the loot. The sin was that he did not desire God more than the loot. As C. S. Lewis points out, the problem was not that Achan’s desires were too strong, they were weak and focused on the wrong thing.

We presume upon Grace when we rationalize sin. The fact that we don’t end up under a heap of stones is not because we don’t deserve that heap. I share in the sin of Achan and that is why this story makes me feel uncomfortable.

John Stott on Jesus’ Hour

Posted on Written by Leave a Comment

“Despite the great importance of his teaching, his example and his works of compassion and power, none of these was central to his mission. What dominated his mind was not the living but the giving of his life. This final self-sacrifice was his ‘hour,’ for which he had come into the world. And the four evangelists, who bear witness to him in the Gospels, show that they understand this by the disproportionate amount of space which they give to the story of his last few days on earth, his death and resurrection. It occupies between a third and a quarter of the three Synoptic Gospels, while John’s Gospel has justly been described as having two parts, ‘the Book of the Signs’, and ‘the Book of the Passion’, since John spends an almost equal amount of time on each.”

John Stott in The Cross of Christ

 

How to keep Chreasters coming back

Posted on Written by 3 Comments

Like many of my high school term papers, this post is about two weeks late. My timing isn’t great, but recent discussion about Chreasters has kept this topic is on my mind.

Chreaster Dads
Used by permission – www.insertimg.com – Click to enlarge

We joke about Chreasters, those who show up for church on Christmas and Easter. A recent Christian Post article about how to keep them coming back gave some ideas as to how to deal with a surge of people who decide to visit church on Easter. While Christmas and Easter are two seasons where the church is more likely to encounter visitors, we should be prepared to welcome visitors on any Sunday throughout the year.

The article makes the point that we should not rely on gimmicks to get visitors interested in coming back to the church. We should be prepared to minister to those who are curious or those who are brought to church by a family member. If we are relying on gimmicks and entertainment, eventually we will run out of stuff to keep them interested. So caged lions and special music are not the answer.

One question that should be considered is why are they Chreasters in the first place. Ask yourself “who are these people and how would Jesus minister to them?”

As I see it, the reason that people do not attend church is because they do not perceive a need for it. They have not yet considered the big questions in life, or they have considered them and do not see a need for God to be a factor in determining their response to those questions. Church is not a priority because there is no perceived benefit.

When I read the gospels, I see that Jesus often raised questions to get his hearers to consider ideas that were previously ignored. In John 4:16, Jesus suggested to a woman that she call her husband to the well. This led to a discussion of the woman’s marital history and her need for the Messiah. One chapter earlier, Jesus told a Pharisee that he must be born again. Jesus cut right to the heart. In both cases Jesus challenged both the object and the means of worship.

We don’t need church, we need Jesus. Church is a place where we should see Jesus in others and be encouraged in our own relationship with Him. Attending church is a need for me, but it is a secondary need, my primary need is for Jesus. We must challenge visitors toward an eternal perspective. We must, like Jesus, bring people face-to-face with their ultimate needs. We have to offer more than coping skills.

As the article points out, there are things we can do to make guests feel welcome and comfortable. Ed Stetzer reminds us in the article that it is a little like getting ready for house guests. When we have house guests, we tell them where the towels are, which bathroom to use and all of the other information required to make them comfortable.

We should do the same at church. When guests see members walking around with coffee cups, it would be a good thing to show visitors where to get coffee. Having a clearly identified place for them to ask questions is also helpful. The goal in all of this is to remove barriers that prevent people from hearing the good news of Jesus Christ.

On Christmas and Easter, the church should be doing what it should be doing every Sunday which is point people to Jesus as their primary need. Visitors don’t need the music to be perfect. Not every sermon is going to be a pinnacle of oratory. Visitors will encounter flawed people because that is what we are. But they should encounter flawed people who have learned how to love and who radiate the joy that can be found in Christ.

If people see Jesus in us, if they hear Jesus proclaimed in the sermon, if they hear Jesus worshiped in the music, God can use that visit to stir up their hearts to recognize their hunger that only Jesus can fill.

People don’t need church, they need Jesus. Church is the delivery vehicle, not the cargo.

Categories

Archives

Blogger Grid
Follow me on Blogarama