Lenten Devotional 13: God's Great Sinners; Human Nature and Grace

Monday, March 05, 2012

Scripture reading: 2 Samuel 11:1-27

Our story today, takes place during the Deuteronomistic History (DtH) that constructs the second half of the Primary History (Genesis-Kings). The books of Samuel are technically one book that was split into two over time. I’m not here to debate Martin Noth’s view of single authorship for the DtH (Joshua-Kings) but as with the JEDP theory for the Pentateuch (Genesis-Deuteronomy) the DtH has exilic implications.

King David (the second king of Israel) reigned for forty years (1 Chr. 29:27) 1010-970 BCE/BC. But the written account of his reign was composed in the 6^th century (Noth). I tell you these technical details because David was a great king and a great sinner. Similarly, Ancient Israel was a great kingdom and a nation of sinners. Sure, it’d be easier to say human, but it’s important to know how the Lord uses sinners.

The chosen king sent his soldiers off to battle, but stayed home, which was not customary (v. 1). In his folly, David steals another man’s wife, and produces an ancient episode of Jerry Springer (vv. 2-5). Being the godly king he is, David attempts to conceal his deceptive affairs and let the woman’s husband deal with the aftermath (vv. 6-13). But, our biblical Springer show gets worse. When the first plan to deceive Uriah fails, all the king’s men set him up to die by order of the king (vv. 14-24). And everyone lived happily ever after… (vv. 25-27) or did they?

After our story, the child of David and Bathsheba’s affair dies, the Lord is not pleased with the sinful king, promising trouble for Israel, David realizes his sin against the Lord, and the Lord spares David and Israel (12:1-24). In juxtaposition, the people of Israel and Judah were sinful, they recognized their sin, and the Lord put an end to exile.

We are human and humans are sinners, but the Lord is gracious to sinners; whether we are kings, Israelites in exile, or the people of today who perpetually make mistakes. God chose humans to fulfill the covenant. Humans and sinners we may be, but God reconciles us in the work of grace. This is the Gospel of the Lord: redemption for sinners, those called human. I am a great sinner, we all are great sinners (it’s our nature) and Christ died for us all.

Lord, God, with David, you made a sinner the king of your people, and by your mercy the king and the people we reconciled. With Jesus, you became our king (the king of your people) and in your mercy you atoned for our sin, by taking it all upon your cross. On this day, we remember that we are humans and sinners, and that you were the one who died for us. Praise to you O Christ. In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

On Christian Religion, Jesus, and Scripture: Why Religion Matters

“‘Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfill” (Mt. 5:17, NRSV).

One cannot preach grace with a machinegun for a microphone.

This past week, twelve million Christians debated over a video that says Jesus>Religion. Jefferson, the Spoken Word creator of the video has a lot to say about Jesus and religion. Is this man preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ or condemning people who call themselves Christians? Yes. In addition to what I’ve said elsewhere, does the Bible back up the claims of the popular video? Yes and no.

Definitions are important. First, who is Jesus? Jesus is the Son of God, fully man and fully God, he lived, he died (by crucifixion on the cross), and he resurrected from the dead. The work of the cross was done for the redemption of all people because all suffer from a chronic affliction called sin.

Second, what is religion? It is, “a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe, especially when considered as the creation of a superhuman agency or agencies, usually involving devotional and ritual observances, and often containing a moral code governing the conduct of human affairs” (Dictionary.com).

What does Jesus>Religion claim and is it scriptural? Claim one, “Jesus came to abolish religion.” I could not find this in scripture, but here’s what I did find: “If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments” (Mt.19:16-21; Mt. 5:17). Claim two, “Just because you call some people blind, doesn’t automatically give you vision.” True, but that judgment was Jesus’ call (Jn. 9:39-41) and I’d suggest it stay his call. Claim three, “If religion is so great, why does it [insert negative here]?” Religion isn’t the problem; sin is the problem (Ps. 25:6-12).

The claims of Jesus>Religion continue. Claim four, “But, in the Old Testament, God actually calls religious people whores.” This is a bit of a stretch, but the Israelites were called whores because God knew they were inclined to sin and turn from the covenant they had made with the Lord (Deut.31:15-21, ESV). Claim five, “Religion might preach grace, but another thing they practice.”It is true; Christians are guilty of not practicing what they preach. However, grace is from God (Jn. 1:16-18). And, scripture says a lot more on religion and grace (Mt. 5:3-7:27; Acts15:5-11).

Three out of five is pretty good, right? Claim six, “Now I ain’t judging; I’m just saying, quit putting on a fake look because there’s a problem if people only know you’re a Christian by your Facebook.” Unless one is going to take time to disciple “Facebook Christians” this remark is ill-advised (Gal. 6:2-5).

Turning to the opposition of Jesus>Religion; Jesus=Religion. What does the opposition claim? Claim one, “Where do you get off speakin’ up for the man risen from the dead, without botherin’ to quote a single word that he said?” While the point may be valid, it deters from a message of grace and contradicts Jesus’ teaching: “Whoever is not against us is for us” (Mk. 9:38-40).

Since I’m a Lutheran, I share more views with the Jesus=Religion author, but I will compare one point of controversy from each video. “Because, if grace is water, the Church should be an ocean” (Jesus>Religion). “The grace is the water, this baptism now saves you, and the Church is the place where this giving out raises you” (Jesus=Religion). Does scripture support salvation through baptism? Yes and it’s been a heated debate for  easily five-hundred years. We are baptized into Christ’s death and resurrection (Rom. 6:1-7). Thus, baptism brings us into Christ’s resurrection (1Pet. 3:18-22). This is orthodoxy, not heresy, and there are other views if you don’t agree with it.

Finally, Jesus is greater than religion, but religion points believers to the grace of the cross. Both of these rhyming You Tube preachers have solid points and a common problem. As servants of the Lord, Christians are called to humility: “The fear of the Lord is instruction in wisdom, and humility goes before honor” (Pro. 15:33, NRSV). Where the first falsely slanders religion, the other mocks his brother’s folly, and both preach grace with a machinegun.

“Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do” (Lk. 23:34, KJV).

Religion and the Internet vs. Systemic Affliction

I abandoned the regular flow of dialect to engage the works of others: Lewis, Dostoyevsky, and DeVries. As a result, I’ve enjoyed the invitation to minister to people in the absence of writing. With my eyes fixed on the cross, this blog seems less essential to my being. But, some thoughts have been stirring that I thought I’d share with you all.

Religion is not the problem, as some might suggest, it is infected by what afflicts the greater systemic issue. Religion is meant to serve as a GPS to the cross (where we find God) and the negative symptoms occur when we abandon our navigational tools. Religion is a stabilizer to our experiential and emotional perceptions; it is a set of beliefs, constructed of theologies and philosophies, which do not waiver when we don’t feel good about God. Sadly, religion tends to get the blame for things it has little or nothing to do with and its definition gets lost.  

The greater affliction I mentioned earlier, infect more than just religion. The internet is a relevant example, a system within systems, which is meant to serve the user. Our systemic affliction takes algorithms meant to customize sites (like Google, Facebook, Netflix, and more) and reveals an ugly symptom of the greater affliction (the symptom being individualism). If “it’s all about me” it’s no wonder we point fingers at systems, like religion and the internet.

Dear friends, life is the system and it is afflicted by a chronic condition, the sin nature. Sin isn’t popular and it may be over emphasized in some denominations, but it is a real affliction. Thankfully, religion tells us that the God of the cross died for us. Christ’s death is the antidote for our chronic affliction and the systemic affliction is given over to the hope of resurrection. This is the work of God, through the gift of grace. And that, my friends, is the definition of religion.  

"Just a Song," Girls, (Father, Son, Holy Ghost; music only)

Got Signs?

Would life be better with signs from God?

Arguably, one doesn’t witness signs from God, today, in the way that people did in the scriptures. Prophets aren’t telling nations to repent, God’s not smiting the wicked, and people still pray. Did God leave the world to its own devices? Have people stopped being sinners? Are prayers going unanswered? Would life be better with signs from God? The scriptures have prophets, there is lots of smiting in the Cannon, the word of the Lord came to God’s chosen in the Bible. Nations feared the Lord in biblical narratives.

Perhaps, one can argue that God was more active in people’s lives, during biblical times. Did having more signs from God make biblical figures holy people? Evidence is to the contrary. People spoke to God, people were chosen by God, and they were still sinners. King David was the leader of God’s people and he had some illicit behaviors (2 Sm.11; 2 Sm. 12). David, the king, was still a sinful man.

Life without signs from God hasn’t made the world more or less corrupt. With or without signs, Original Sin has always tainted humanity. The Early Church had signs and they kept asking for more (Jn. 6). Why do people continue to pray for signs and miracles; when that’s never been what brought humans closer to God? The more miracles and signs Jesus did, the closer he got to being crucified (Jn. 6:35-7:1). Pray for healing, pray for forgiveness, pray for help, pray for wisdom, pray with thanksgiving, pray in mourning, pray for faith, pray for hope, pray in lament, pray with joy, and pray for endurance. Prayers can still be answered (and are answered) without Jesus having to walk on water.

This world was broken and sinful when miraculous signs occurred with the same frequency of television episodes. Signs don’t make life better in the long run; they make life better, until one needs another sign. The Lord hears our prayers and faith is God’s gift to the world. Generations come and go, signs last like seasons, but people remain sinners. God has not left the world to fend for itself; rather, God has graciously answered the prayers of a world full of sinners – whether spoken or unspoken – with the hope of the resurrection. Life and the world have never been better because of signs from God. Instead of signs, it is God’s love and grace for all that has redeemed and will continue to redeem the effects of Original Sin. The only sign one needs from God was given to all through the event of the cross.   

How will they Know We are Christians (if We don't Know)?

Beware of Christians, an independent film surrounding the orthopraxy of Christian living, discusses what it means to live out the teachings of the Bible and how believers struggle to be set apart, truly practicing their faith, and allowing Christianity to make a difference in human lives.

Beware of Christians, inspired this post, but the approach herein is from a different perspective. However, I am asking a question the film implies. How will they know we are Christians? Whoever they are, they probably don’t know we are Christians or they know because we call them sinners.

  

We, all professing Christians, do not see Christ and scripture within the same lens. We are a mixed breed and the best (or worst) of sinners. We are liberals, legalists, complacent, conservative, spiritual, fundamentalist, moderate, and/or religious. We are not the same, but we share the same God and the same label.

Apart from a mixture of differing theological views, Christians are redeemed from their sinner state through the work of the cross event (Jesus’ death and resurrection). Whether they focus on sin or grace, Christians, like the rest of the world, are people and the Son of God died for people (Christians, sinners, non-believers, everyone) as God’s gift to the world.

Are we, as Christians, aware that we are the ones responsible for our own disrespect? Christians who are anti-sins have driven people to disregard what we say about God. Christians who are pro-grace have spent so much time “being all things to all people” that we are forgetting to see if it’s made a difference to the rest of the world.

Will we start loving each other in a way that lets the world know who the God of the cross is and why Christ’s redemption is relevant to all humanity?

The world knows who Christians are and that is why they don’t know Christ.

How will they know we are Christians, is the wrong question. Instead, I ask, knowing that I am equally responsible, how will we (the world) know Christ? We will know because the cross event has redeemed the world through God's love.

 

Behind the Ego

There have been seasons in my life where being alive was an accomplishment, perhaps, a miracle. There have been seasons where I did everything in my power to break through limitations and “the glass-ceiling.” There have been seasons where I did anything to shine and stand out. There have been seasons of arrogance where I wanted to be the best at whatever I did and I wanted the world to know it. And, there have been seasons where I have been humbled.

Born, three pounds, eleven ounces, two months premature, with Cerebral Palsy; I shouldn’t, for all intents and purposes, be here today. Growing up, it was enough to do things that I shouldn’t have been able to accomplish – it was the pursuit of normalcy. Rarely, did I want to be handed anything; I had something to prove and nothing was going to stand in my way. I wanted to be treated, like everyone else, and I wanted to do what was “normal.”

At some point, I abandoned the pursuit of normalcy and sought out “living the impossible.” I’ve skied down mountains without falling, I’ve hung off of mountains upside down, I’ve climbed mountains, I’ve overcome injuries that required surgery, and none of that was enough anymore – I wanted recognition – I wanted to do what other people did and I wanted to do it better than them. Regardless of the odds, I wanted live without limits, to shatter expectations, and stand atop that glass-ceiling. In some cases, I believe I accomplished that and I was satisfied.

Eventually, satisfaction wasn’t attained by defeating the odds – I had to show it off to the world around me. I used to tell stories like this to audiences of people, but I gave the credit to God. Internally, I wanted to “worship God,” but I wanted to shine in the process. I believe I authentically worshiped God and lead others in worship. Nonetheless, if I was going to do anything, I fed off of being a showman. If I was going to preach, I did it with the intent of being different than the rest, if I was going to lead worship music it was going to be different, and if I was going to be “holy” it was going to be different than everyone.

As a result, nothing was off limits in my mind – I would do anything to shine. In truth, I think it’s why my Evangelical roots quit working for me. I was too much of a control freak. The more I stood in front of a crowd preaching, the more I played music for people, and the more holiness I achieved the more it fueled my desire to stand out. One, by one, all of the things I did revealed an ego that kept growing – in many ways, my ego is a monster.

After I turned my attention to accomplishing goals in the academic arena, my ego became brash arrogance. On the inside, I knew this wasn’t how I wanted to be seen, but I felt like I was going places, and I enjoyed the ride. Once I felt comfortable in the ministry field, my non-conformist, degenerate, attitude became public knowledge. I rebelled against the world around me and it would drop me on my face. In every case, I’d get back up and rise to more rebellion.

In the midst of attitude, arrogance, “living the impossible,” shattering expectations, and standing out to the world; I have seen a lot of humility. Hindsight is twenty-twenty; today, I can see the good and the bad results of the competition I’ve carried with myself to never go unnoticed. I went from sitting at home watching Sports Entertainment (pro-wrestling), to being a theater technician, to being totally preoccupied with the ladies, to being stuck in a rut, to overcoming new obstacles, to being a rather pious young Christian, to entering college, to garnering rare attention from the ladies (a real confidence boost), to a lot of heart break, to loosing loved ones, to being extremely cynical, to believing nobody could walk a day in my shoes, to suffering through a faith collapse, to embracing a degree of atheism, to seeing faith through a different lens, to being the first in my immediate family (mom, dad, and sister) to earn a college degree, to landing my dream job, to watching it blow up in my face, to hoping to survive each passing day, and now I’m reevaluating my goals and desires.

Behind the ego, stands a man who thought he’d seen it all, who thought he could do it all, who thought he was the best, who made love his god, who felt he’d earned better recognition than was received, who broke every rule out of defiance, who paraded his intellect over others, who never really enjoyed the humility of Christ in his life, who was inspired, who wanted to inspire, who wanted to entertain, who lived without limits, and who has lived with a lot of attitude. Some people love me and some people hate me. The people that love me have kept my ego in as much check as possible – love has a way of showing us who we really are inside. The people that I hate me, I keep at bay because I fear their criticisms – anger, also, has a way of showing us who we are inside.

In reality, I still want to be admired, I still want to be loved, I still want to shine, and I still want to be the best; however, I want to do things in grace. A decade of attitude is being challenged, but this time, it’s me challenging my attitude. At this moment, simply, being alive is an accomplishment. Behind every ego, mine included, there is a human being hurting to find the best way to live their dreams – even if that dream seems simple to someone else.