God does not create a better world because there isn't one - that is, that (contrary to appearances) if one part of the world were improved, the ramifications would result in it being worse elsewhere, and worse overall. It is a "bump in the carpet" theory: push evil down here, and it pops up over there. Leibniz put it by saying this is the "Best of All Possible Worlds".
- James Franklin, Leibniz's Solution to the Problem of Evil
Friday 30 January 2009
Wednesday 28 January 2009
future glory
"I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God." - Romans 8:18-21 (NIV)
There is a day that all creation's waiting for
A day of freedom and liberation for the earth
And on that day, the Lord will come to meet His bride
And when we see Him, in an instant we'll be changed
The trumpet sounds and the dead will then be raised
By His power, never to perish again
Once only flesh, now clothed with immortality
Death has now been swallowed up in victory
We will meet Him in the air and then we will be like Him
For we will see Him as He is, oh yeah!
Then all hurt and pain will cease and we'll be with Him forever
And in His glory we will live, oh yeah!
Oh yeah!
So lift your eyes to the things as yet unseen
That will remain now for all eternity
Though trouble's hard, it's only momentary
And it's achieving our future glory
"May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it." - 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24 (NIV)
"But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen and protect you from the evil one. We have confidence in the Lord that you are doing and will continue to do the things we command. May the Lord direct your hearts into God's love and Christ's perseverance." - 2 Thessalonians 3:3-5 (NIV)
"To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy - to the only God our Saviour be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen." - Jude 24-25 (NIV)
we have been sown, but not yet been reaped; been conceived, but not yet been born; been betrothed, but not yet been married. (likewise, we have been justified by faith, but not yet been justified by works.) one day we will be!
sowing and reaping
as what we sow does not come to life unless it dies, so do we not come to our new lives unless we die to our old lives.
"But someone may ask, "How are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come?" How foolish! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. When you sow, you do not plant the body that will be, but just a seed, perhaps of wheat or of something else. But God gives it a body as he has determined, and to each kind of seed he gives its own body.
"All flesh is not the same: Men have one kind of flesh, animals have another, birds another and fish another. There are also heavenly bodies and there are earthly bodies; but the splendour of the heavenly bodies is one kind, and the splendour of the earthly bodies is another. The sun has one kind of splendour, the moon another and the stars another; and star differs from star in splendour.
"So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; it is sown in dishonour, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body.
"If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. So it is written: "The first man Adam became a living being"; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit. The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual. The first man was of the dust of the earth, the second man from heaven. As was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth; and as is the man from heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. And just as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man, so shall we bear the likeness of the man from heaven." - 1 Corinthians 15:35-49 (NIV)
"Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work." - 2 Corinthians 9:6-8 (NIV)
"Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers." - Galatians 6:7-10 (NIV)
conception and birth
as the new heaven and the new earth emerge from the womb of the first heaven and the first earth, so does our new birth emerge from the womb of our first birth.
"Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, 'You must be born again.'" - John 3:5-7 (NIV)
sin gives birth to death
"When tempted, no one should say, "God is tempting me." For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death." - James 1:13-15 (NIV)
the Spirit gives birth to life
"Don't be deceived, my dear brothers. Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created." - James 1:16-18 (NIV)
betrothal and marriage
Christ has already done all that is necessary - all we have to do is say yes!
"Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the church - for we are members of his body.
""For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh." This is a profound mystery - but I am talking about Christ and the church." - Ephesians 5:25-32 (NIV)
"Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting: "Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready. Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear." (Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of the saints.)" - Revelation 19:6-8 (NIV)
"Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."" - Revelation 21:1-4 (NIV)
*****
if the bridegroom (ie. Christ) did not open the door for the five foolish virgins in Matthew 25:1-13, how much more should we not be yoked together with unbelievers!
"Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? What does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: "I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people."
""Therefore come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you." "I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty."" - 2 Corinthians 6:14-18 (NIV)
to be sure, being with another christian is a necessary condition for a relationship to be according to the will of God. however, the more i think about it, being with another christian is not a sufficient condition for a relationship to be according to the will of God. there is more to being in a relationship than merely being with another christian.
can a christian husband and a christian wife become one flesh if they disagree on biblical complementarianism? can a christian husband and a christian wife become one flesh if they disagree on whether to have children? can a christian husband and a christian wife become one flesh if they disagree on how to raise children?
"Can two walk together, except they be agreed?" - Amos 3:3 (KJV)
There is a day that all creation's waiting for
A day of freedom and liberation for the earth
And on that day, the Lord will come to meet His bride
And when we see Him, in an instant we'll be changed
The trumpet sounds and the dead will then be raised
By His power, never to perish again
Once only flesh, now clothed with immortality
Death has now been swallowed up in victory
We will meet Him in the air and then we will be like Him
For we will see Him as He is, oh yeah!
Then all hurt and pain will cease and we'll be with Him forever
And in His glory we will live, oh yeah!
Oh yeah!
So lift your eyes to the things as yet unseen
That will remain now for all eternity
Though trouble's hard, it's only momentary
And it's achieving our future glory
"May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it." - 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24 (NIV)
"But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen and protect you from the evil one. We have confidence in the Lord that you are doing and will continue to do the things we command. May the Lord direct your hearts into God's love and Christ's perseverance." - 2 Thessalonians 3:3-5 (NIV)
"To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy - to the only God our Saviour be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen." - Jude 24-25 (NIV)
we have been sown, but not yet been reaped; been conceived, but not yet been born; been betrothed, but not yet been married. (likewise, we have been justified by faith, but not yet been justified by works.) one day we will be!
sowing and reaping
as what we sow does not come to life unless it dies, so do we not come to our new lives unless we die to our old lives.
"But someone may ask, "How are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come?" How foolish! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. When you sow, you do not plant the body that will be, but just a seed, perhaps of wheat or of something else. But God gives it a body as he has determined, and to each kind of seed he gives its own body.
"All flesh is not the same: Men have one kind of flesh, animals have another, birds another and fish another. There are also heavenly bodies and there are earthly bodies; but the splendour of the heavenly bodies is one kind, and the splendour of the earthly bodies is another. The sun has one kind of splendour, the moon another and the stars another; and star differs from star in splendour.
"So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; it is sown in dishonour, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body.
"If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. So it is written: "The first man Adam became a living being"; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit. The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual. The first man was of the dust of the earth, the second man from heaven. As was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth; and as is the man from heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. And just as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man, so shall we bear the likeness of the man from heaven." - 1 Corinthians 15:35-49 (NIV)
"Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work." - 2 Corinthians 9:6-8 (NIV)
"Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers." - Galatians 6:7-10 (NIV)
conception and birth
as the new heaven and the new earth emerge from the womb of the first heaven and the first earth, so does our new birth emerge from the womb of our first birth.
"Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, 'You must be born again.'" - John 3:5-7 (NIV)
sin gives birth to death
"When tempted, no one should say, "God is tempting me." For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death." - James 1:13-15 (NIV)
the Spirit gives birth to life
"Don't be deceived, my dear brothers. Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created." - James 1:16-18 (NIV)
betrothal and marriage
Christ has already done all that is necessary - all we have to do is say yes!
"Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the church - for we are members of his body.
""For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh." This is a profound mystery - but I am talking about Christ and the church." - Ephesians 5:25-32 (NIV)
"Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting: "Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready. Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear." (Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of the saints.)" - Revelation 19:6-8 (NIV)
"Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."" - Revelation 21:1-4 (NIV)
*****
if the bridegroom (ie. Christ) did not open the door for the five foolish virgins in Matthew 25:1-13, how much more should we not be yoked together with unbelievers!
"Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? What does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: "I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people."
""Therefore come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you." "I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty."" - 2 Corinthians 6:14-18 (NIV)
to be sure, being with another christian is a necessary condition for a relationship to be according to the will of God. however, the more i think about it, being with another christian is not a sufficient condition for a relationship to be according to the will of God. there is more to being in a relationship than merely being with another christian.
can a christian husband and a christian wife become one flesh if they disagree on biblical complementarianism? can a christian husband and a christian wife become one flesh if they disagree on whether to have children? can a christian husband and a christian wife become one flesh if they disagree on how to raise children?
"Can two walk together, except they be agreed?" - Amos 3:3 (KJV)
Tuesday 27 January 2009
the best possible world
as i was running moderate "middle knowledge" calvinism by dave worsley, he pointed out that if there is an infinite number of possible worlds, then there is at least one possible world in which everyone is saved. to this end, the question is - if there is at least one possible world in which everyone is saved (and if a world in which everyone is saved glorifies God more than a world in which not everyone is saved), then why doesn't God create a world in which everyone is saved?
i don't know. i don't know why God doesn't create a world in which everyone is saved. i don't know why God doesn't create a world in which there is no sin, strife and suffering. i don't know why God doesn't put the world to rights in Genesis 3. instead, He waits until Revelation 21 to make everything new.
but i know that this particular world (ie. the world we live in) is the best possible world - from God's perspective. if it were not so, then God would not have created it.
*****
God is in control of all things. He can take an action that was wrong and intended to do harm, and achieve his own good purpose through it. The story of Joseph is a good example. His brothers did an evil thing in selling Joseph into slavery, 'but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done: the saving of many lives' (Gen 50:19-20). The cross of Jesus is the supreme example of this (see 1 Cor 2:7-8; Acts 2:23; 4:27-28).
God overrules everything - including the hearts and minds of people - to achieve his purposes. We reject God's power (and his guidance) when we act as if this were not true.
There is a strange heresy that has grown out of this rejection of God's power. It is known as God's 'second best'. Some Christians are taught that if God wants them to follow a particular course of action (marry Druscilla or serve on the mission field of Bolivia) and they choose not to do it, then they are committed for the rest of their lives to God's 'second best'. God had something better for them, but they missed out on it and so are required to settle for Plan B, so to speak. Many Christians today live in resentment, disappointment and guilt, believing that they have irrevocably missed out on God's perfect plan for them.
- Phillip Jensen and Tony Payne, Guidance and the Voice of God
history and the will of God are not about "what ifs", but about "what is". as much as i wish with all my heart that i could change the past (or aspects of the past), i know that the best possible world - from God's perspective - consists of all that's happened and not happened, all that God has occasioned (not caused) us to freely bring about.
He sees the masterplan
He holds our future in His hands
So don't live as those who have no hope
All our hope is found in Him
We see the present clearly
But He sees the first and the last
And like a tapestry
He's weaving you and me
To someday be just like Him
God is too wise to be mistaken
God is too good to be unkind
So when you don't understand
When you don't see His plan
When you can't trace His hand
Trust His heart
In the past, many Christians have thought of God's will for them as like a giant finely-detailed map that plotted the course of the rest of their lives. The whole idea of 'guidance' was to find out which way to turn next so that we stayed on course, and followed the path that had already been mapped out for us.
Perhaps the best way to summarise our alternative to this view is to say that God's guidance is more like a compass than a map. We are not given the fine detail of every decision on every day for the rest of our lives. God doesn't want us to spend our time trying to discover the secrets of his will. He does indeed guide us through life 'behind the scenes', and every detail is known to him and under his sovereign control. He knows where he wants to take us, and he will get us there. But he does not provide us with a detailed map - he gives us a compass instead.
At every point along the journey, no matter where we are or what we are doing, we can consult the compass to see which direction to head. That direction is always towards righteousness and holiness and becoming like Christ. As Paul puts it: 'Whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him' (Col 3:17). At every step along the way, this is the direction God wants us to take, for that is the destination he is guiding us to - to be conformed finally to the image of Christ, to be submitted to him for all eternity, to inherit the unspoiling glory that belongs to the adopted children of God.
The compass is his own word to us: the Bible. It may not tell us the detail of every rock to step over, or whether to climb the mountain or tunnel through it, but it will constantly and unerringly point us to what God wants us to do every day of our lives. It will tell us what matters matter, and in what ways God wants us to lovingly obey him. It will also tell us, by implication, that some decisions (or aspects of decisions) are not matters of right and wrong, and that in these circumstances we can use the wisdom God has given us to make up our minds.
- Phillip Jensen and Tony Payne, Guidance and the Voice of God
Guide me, O Thou great Jehovah
Pilgrim through this barren land
I am weak, but Thou art mighty
Hold me with Thy powerful hand
Bread of Heaven, Bread of Heaven
Feed me now and ever more
Feed me now and ever more
link: more on the best possible world (4 feb 09)
i don't know. i don't know why God doesn't create a world in which everyone is saved. i don't know why God doesn't create a world in which there is no sin, strife and suffering. i don't know why God doesn't put the world to rights in Genesis 3. instead, He waits until Revelation 21 to make everything new.
but i know that this particular world (ie. the world we live in) is the best possible world - from God's perspective. if it were not so, then God would not have created it.
*****
God is in control of all things. He can take an action that was wrong and intended to do harm, and achieve his own good purpose through it. The story of Joseph is a good example. His brothers did an evil thing in selling Joseph into slavery, 'but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done: the saving of many lives' (Gen 50:19-20). The cross of Jesus is the supreme example of this (see 1 Cor 2:7-8; Acts 2:23; 4:27-28).
God overrules everything - including the hearts and minds of people - to achieve his purposes. We reject God's power (and his guidance) when we act as if this were not true.
There is a strange heresy that has grown out of this rejection of God's power. It is known as God's 'second best'. Some Christians are taught that if God wants them to follow a particular course of action (marry Druscilla or serve on the mission field of Bolivia) and they choose not to do it, then they are committed for the rest of their lives to God's 'second best'. God had something better for them, but they missed out on it and so are required to settle for Plan B, so to speak. Many Christians today live in resentment, disappointment and guilt, believing that they have irrevocably missed out on God's perfect plan for them.
- Phillip Jensen and Tony Payne, Guidance and the Voice of God
history and the will of God are not about "what ifs", but about "what is". as much as i wish with all my heart that i could change the past (or aspects of the past), i know that the best possible world - from God's perspective - consists of all that's happened and not happened, all that God has occasioned (not caused) us to freely bring about.
He sees the masterplan
He holds our future in His hands
So don't live as those who have no hope
All our hope is found in Him
We see the present clearly
But He sees the first and the last
And like a tapestry
He's weaving you and me
To someday be just like Him
God is too wise to be mistaken
God is too good to be unkind
So when you don't understand
When you don't see His plan
When you can't trace His hand
Trust His heart
In the past, many Christians have thought of God's will for them as like a giant finely-detailed map that plotted the course of the rest of their lives. The whole idea of 'guidance' was to find out which way to turn next so that we stayed on course, and followed the path that had already been mapped out for us.
Perhaps the best way to summarise our alternative to this view is to say that God's guidance is more like a compass than a map. We are not given the fine detail of every decision on every day for the rest of our lives. God doesn't want us to spend our time trying to discover the secrets of his will. He does indeed guide us through life 'behind the scenes', and every detail is known to him and under his sovereign control. He knows where he wants to take us, and he will get us there. But he does not provide us with a detailed map - he gives us a compass instead.
At every point along the journey, no matter where we are or what we are doing, we can consult the compass to see which direction to head. That direction is always towards righteousness and holiness and becoming like Christ. As Paul puts it: 'Whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him' (Col 3:17). At every step along the way, this is the direction God wants us to take, for that is the destination he is guiding us to - to be conformed finally to the image of Christ, to be submitted to him for all eternity, to inherit the unspoiling glory that belongs to the adopted children of God.
The compass is his own word to us: the Bible. It may not tell us the detail of every rock to step over, or whether to climb the mountain or tunnel through it, but it will constantly and unerringly point us to what God wants us to do every day of our lives. It will tell us what matters matter, and in what ways God wants us to lovingly obey him. It will also tell us, by implication, that some decisions (or aspects of decisions) are not matters of right and wrong, and that in these circumstances we can use the wisdom God has given us to make up our minds.
- Phillip Jensen and Tony Payne, Guidance and the Voice of God
Guide me, O Thou great Jehovah
Pilgrim through this barren land
I am weak, but Thou art mighty
Hold me with Thy powerful hand
Bread of Heaven, Bread of Heaven
Feed me now and ever more
Feed me now and ever more
link: more on the best possible world (4 feb 09)
Wednesday 21 January 2009
go to the ant, you sluggard
Go to the ant, you sluggard;
consider its ways and be wise!
It has no commander,
no overseer or ruler,
yet it stores its provisions in summer
and gathers its food at harvest.
How long will you lie there, you sluggard?
When will you get up from your sleep?
A little sleep, a little slumber,
a little folding of the hands to rest -
and poverty will come on you like a bandit
and scarcity like an armed man.
- Proverbs 6:6-11 (NIV)
consider its ways and be wise!
It has no commander,
no overseer or ruler,
yet it stores its provisions in summer
and gathers its food at harvest.
How long will you lie there, you sluggard?
When will you get up from your sleep?
A little sleep, a little slumber,
a little folding of the hands to rest -
and poverty will come on you like a bandit
and scarcity like an armed man.
- Proverbs 6:6-11 (NIV)
Saturday 17 January 2009
James and justification
"You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. And the scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness," and he was called God's friend. You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone." - James 2:20-24 (NIV)
James does not say that works (ie. deeds, not works of the law) evince that we have been justified in the past. James says that works ensure that we will be justified in the future.
the gospel is the good news that Jesus is Lord! we are justified by faith the moment we 'confess with [our] mouth[s], "Jesus is Lord," and believe in [our] heart[s] that God raised him from the dead' (Romans 10:9, NIV).
from the moment we are justified by faith, 'we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand' (Romans 5:1-2, NIV).
from the moment we are justified by faith, 'therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set [us] free from the law of sin and death' (Romans 8:1-2, NIV).
from the moment we are justified by faith, 'neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord' (Romans 8:38-39, NIV).
"And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession - to the praise of his glory." - Ephesians 1:13-14 (NIV)
"And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption." - Ephesians 4:30 (NIV)
from the moment Abraham believed God, it was credited to him as righteousness, and he was called God's friend. as children of Abraham, from the moment we are justified by faith, we are sealed by the promised Holy Spirit for the day of redemption.
"Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation - but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it. For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, "Abba, Father." The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs - heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory." - Romans 8:12-17 (NIV)
having been sealed by the promised Holy Spirit for the day of redemption, we begin to build for the kingdom on the crucified and risen Messiah, the Church's one foundation, Jesus Christ her Lord.
to this end, justification is by faith in the present and by works in the future. as N.T. Wright puts it, 'justification [by faith] in the present is based on God's past accomplishment in Christ, and anticipates the future verdict [of justification by works]'.
James does not say that works (ie. deeds, not works of the law) evince that we have been justified in the past. James says that works ensure that we will be justified in the future.
the gospel is the good news that Jesus is Lord! we are justified by faith the moment we 'confess with [our] mouth[s], "Jesus is Lord," and believe in [our] heart[s] that God raised him from the dead' (Romans 10:9, NIV).
from the moment we are justified by faith, 'we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand' (Romans 5:1-2, NIV).
from the moment we are justified by faith, 'therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set [us] free from the law of sin and death' (Romans 8:1-2, NIV).
from the moment we are justified by faith, 'neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord' (Romans 8:38-39, NIV).
"And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession - to the praise of his glory." - Ephesians 1:13-14 (NIV)
"And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption." - Ephesians 4:30 (NIV)
from the moment Abraham believed God, it was credited to him as righteousness, and he was called God's friend. as children of Abraham, from the moment we are justified by faith, we are sealed by the promised Holy Spirit for the day of redemption.
"Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation - but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it. For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, "Abba, Father." The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs - heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory." - Romans 8:12-17 (NIV)
having been sealed by the promised Holy Spirit for the day of redemption, we begin to build for the kingdom on the crucified and risen Messiah, the Church's one foundation, Jesus Christ her Lord.
to this end, justification is by faith in the present and by works in the future. as N.T. Wright puts it, 'justification [by faith] in the present is based on God's past accomplishment in Christ, and anticipates the future verdict [of justification by works]'.
Friday 16 January 2009
happiness and holiness
Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers.
But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.
He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.
Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away.
Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.
For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.
- Psalm 1 (NIV)
in last sunday morning's sermon at york baptist church, revd gary patchen spoke on the importance of living by the law of the LORD in our lives.
"Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart." - Psalm 37:4 (NIV)
"As Jesus was saying these things, a woman in the crowd called out, "Blessed is the mother who gave you birth and nursed you." He replied, "Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it."" - Luke 11:27-28 (NIV)
the pursuit of happiness (ie. blessedness) is the pursuit of holiness, and the pursuit of holiness is the pursuit of happiness (ie. blessedness).
"Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come." - Revelation 4:8 (NIV)
Holy, holy
Holy is the Lord God Almighty
Holy, holy
Holy is the Lord God Almighty
Who was, and is
And is to come
Who was, and is
And is to come
Lift up His name with the sound of singing
Lift up His name in all the earth
Lift up your voice and give Him glory
For He is worthy to be praised
"Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory." - Isaiah 6:3 (NIV)
But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.
He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.
Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away.
Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.
For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.
- Psalm 1 (NIV)
in last sunday morning's sermon at york baptist church, revd gary patchen spoke on the importance of living by the law of the LORD in our lives.
"Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart." - Psalm 37:4 (NIV)
"As Jesus was saying these things, a woman in the crowd called out, "Blessed is the mother who gave you birth and nursed you." He replied, "Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it."" - Luke 11:27-28 (NIV)
the pursuit of happiness (ie. blessedness) is the pursuit of holiness, and the pursuit of holiness is the pursuit of happiness (ie. blessedness).
"Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come." - Revelation 4:8 (NIV)
Holy, holy
Holy is the Lord God Almighty
Holy, holy
Holy is the Lord God Almighty
Who was, and is
And is to come
Who was, and is
And is to come
Lift up His name with the sound of singing
Lift up His name in all the earth
Lift up your voice and give Him glory
For He is worthy to be praised
"Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory." - Isaiah 6:3 (NIV)
Thursday 15 January 2009
verse of the year
in last sunday morning's sermon at york baptist church, revd gary patchen introduced our verse of the year, Ephesians 4:16 (NIV). (incidentally, york cu is doing Ephesians in small groups this term.) he highlighted the phenomenon of drive-in churches in the US, where people drive into an area, listen to the speaker and band, then drive out of the area without actually leaving the car. that is not going to church. that is going to the movies.
let us not think that we are not prone to that in other ways. it is possible to walk into a church, listen to the speaker and band, then walk out of the church without actually having fellowship with other believers and edifying the church. we are not spectators or even supporters, but servants of the church!
if my main purpose of going to church is to listen to the speaker, then i might as well stay at home and listen to the speaker (or even better speakers) online. if my main purpose of going to church is to listen to the band, then i might as well stay at home and listen to the band (or even better bands) online. no, my main purpose of going to church is to have fellowship with other believers and edify the church.
"They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer." - Acts 2:42 (NIV)
"Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms." - 1 Peter 4:10 (NIV)
excursus: the gift of tongues
"Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good." - 1 Corinthians 12:7 (NIV)
the gift of tongues (ie. languages) is to be administered in public, not in private. praying to God in a private "language" may or may not make sense, but in any case it is not the gift of tongues.
"If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal." - 1 Corinthians 13:1 (NIV)
i suggest that Paul is using hyperbole in 1 Corinthians 13:1. the point is not that since we can 'speak in the tongues of angels', therefore we should have love. the point is that since we cannot 'speak in the tongues of angels', therefore how much more should we have love!
"He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies the church. I would like every one of you to speak in tongues, but I would rather have you prophesy. He who prophesies is greater than one who speaks in tongues, unless he interprets, so that the church may be edified." - 1 Corinthians 14:4-5 (NIV)
i suggest that Paul is being sarcastic in 1 Corinthians 14:4-5. the point is not that since 'he who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies the church' - therefore we should speak in a tongue when we want to edify ourselves, but prophesy when we want to edify the church. the point is that since 'he who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies the church' - and the gift of tongues is not for us to edify ourselves - therefore the gift of tongues is not properly administered unless it is interpreted, 'so that the church may be edified'.
[likewise, i suggest that Paul is being sarcastic in 1 Corinthians 7:32-35:
"I would like you to be free from concern. An unmarried man is concerned about the Lord's affairs - how he can please the Lord. But a married man is concerned about the affairs of this world - how he can please his wife - and his interests are divided. An unmarried woman or virgin is concerned about the Lord's affairs: Her aim is to be devoted to the Lord in both body and spirit. But a married woman is concerned about the affairs of this world - how she can please her husband. I am saying this for your own good, not to restrict you, but that you may live in a right way in undivided devotion to the Lord." - 1 Corinthians 7:32-35 (NIV)
the point is not that we should be single so that we can 'live in a right way in undivided devotion to the Lord'. the point is that whether or not we are single, we should 'live in a right way in undivided devotion to the Lord'.]
'groans that words cannot express' are not tongues
"In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express." - Romans 8:26 (NIV)
whether or not the gift of tongues is valid today is open to question, but in any case Romans 8:26 cannot be used as a prooftext. in the first place, Romans 8:26 is not about the gift of tongues, but about the labour pains as the first creation gives way to the new creation. in the second place, Romans 8:26 is clear that words cannot express the groans of the Spirit. if we attempt to express the groans of the Spirit with words, then we are opposing God's revealed will.
'inexpressible things, things that man is not permitted to tell' are not tongues
"And I know that this man [this is Paul referring to himself] - whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, but God knows - was caught up to paradise. He heard inexpressible things, things that man is not permitted to tell." - 2 Corinthians 12:3-4 (NIV)
again, whether or not the gift of tongues is valid today is open to question, but in any case 2 Corinthians 12:3-4 cannot be used as a prooftext. in the first place, 2 Corinthians 12:3-4 is not about the gift of tongues, but about the inexpressible things which Paul heard in the third heaven. in the second place, 2 Corinthians 12:3-4 is clear that man is not permitted to tell the inexpressible things which Paul heard in the third heaven. if we attempt to tell the inexpressible things which Paul heard in the third heaven, then we are opposing God's revealed will.
Wednesday 14 January 2009
justification by work
this post has nothing to do with the ongoing discourse between John Piper and N.T. Wright on the future of justification. rather, with the start of spring term, it is about what it means to be a christian who happens to be a student.
the chase
Maybe you don't live on a farm. Maybe you've never even been to one. But you should be able to get this analogy.
Farmers work hard without knowing how things will turn out. A farmer plows his field, plants seeds, fertilises, and gets rid of weeds that can kill healthy crops - but in the end he completely depends on forces outside himself. He knows he can't cause the seed to start growing. He can't make it rain. He can't force the sun to shine at just the right times for growing and harvesting the crop. To be a successful farmer and businessman, he totally depends on God for all these things to take place.
Yet if the farmer doesn't do everything he needs to do - plow, plant, fertilise, and cultivate - he can't expect a harvest at the end of the season. He's in sort of a partnership with God. The farmer has a chance of benefitting only when he has fulfilled his own responsibilities.
Farming is a joint venture between God and the farmer. The farmer can't do what God must do, and God won't do what the farmer is responsible for.
Chasing after holiness is like that. Holiness is something we need God to do, yet on the flip side we need to do some of the work ourselves. If God isn't present, true holiness can't be present. Yet if we rely solely on God and don't put any effort into it ourselves, holiness isn't possible either.
God has marked out the path for us to run down, but he's given us the responsibility of the chase. We have to do the running ourselves.
- Jerry Bridges, The Chase
farming is a joint venture between God and the farmer. the farmer can't do what God must do, and God won't do what the farmer is responsible for. likewise, studying is a joint venture between God and the student. the student can't do what God must do (ie. enabling study), and God won't do what the student is responsible for (ie. effecting study).
again, enabling and effecting are two different things. there can be enabling without effecting, but there cannot be effecting without enabling. in other words, enabling is a necessary but not a sufficient condition for effecting.
building for the kingdom
"Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labour in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain." - Psalm 127:1 (NIV)
"Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labour in the Lord is not in vain." - 1 Corinthians 15:58 (NIV)
every deed which spreads the gospel, builds up the church, embraces and embodies holiness rather than corruption, and makes the name of Jesus honoured in the world - all of this will find its way, through the resurrecting power of God, into the new creation which God will one day make. likewise, every lecture which you attend, every seminar which you prepare for, every assignment which you hand in - all of this will find its way into your results at the end of the day.
faithfulness to vocation
"He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. By oppression and judgment he was taken away. And who can speak of his descendants? For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was stricken. He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth." - Isaiah 53:7-9 (NIV)
Jesus fulfilled the Old Covenant and established the New Covenant by being faithful to His vocation of the suffering servant. Suffer In Silence Plus Extra Confinement (three days and three nights in the abode of the dead)!
as a christian who happens to be a student, you build for the kingdom by being faithful to your vocation of putting the work to rights. as a christian who happens to be a student, you are justified by work.
the chase
Maybe you don't live on a farm. Maybe you've never even been to one. But you should be able to get this analogy.
Farmers work hard without knowing how things will turn out. A farmer plows his field, plants seeds, fertilises, and gets rid of weeds that can kill healthy crops - but in the end he completely depends on forces outside himself. He knows he can't cause the seed to start growing. He can't make it rain. He can't force the sun to shine at just the right times for growing and harvesting the crop. To be a successful farmer and businessman, he totally depends on God for all these things to take place.
Yet if the farmer doesn't do everything he needs to do - plow, plant, fertilise, and cultivate - he can't expect a harvest at the end of the season. He's in sort of a partnership with God. The farmer has a chance of benefitting only when he has fulfilled his own responsibilities.
Farming is a joint venture between God and the farmer. The farmer can't do what God must do, and God won't do what the farmer is responsible for.
Chasing after holiness is like that. Holiness is something we need God to do, yet on the flip side we need to do some of the work ourselves. If God isn't present, true holiness can't be present. Yet if we rely solely on God and don't put any effort into it ourselves, holiness isn't possible either.
God has marked out the path for us to run down, but he's given us the responsibility of the chase. We have to do the running ourselves.
- Jerry Bridges, The Chase
farming is a joint venture between God and the farmer. the farmer can't do what God must do, and God won't do what the farmer is responsible for. likewise, studying is a joint venture between God and the student. the student can't do what God must do (ie. enabling study), and God won't do what the student is responsible for (ie. effecting study).
again, enabling and effecting are two different things. there can be enabling without effecting, but there cannot be effecting without enabling. in other words, enabling is a necessary but not a sufficient condition for effecting.
building for the kingdom
"Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labour in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain." - Psalm 127:1 (NIV)
"Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labour in the Lord is not in vain." - 1 Corinthians 15:58 (NIV)
every deed which spreads the gospel, builds up the church, embraces and embodies holiness rather than corruption, and makes the name of Jesus honoured in the world - all of this will find its way, through the resurrecting power of God, into the new creation which God will one day make. likewise, every lecture which you attend, every seminar which you prepare for, every assignment which you hand in - all of this will find its way into your results at the end of the day.
faithfulness to vocation
"He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. By oppression and judgment he was taken away. And who can speak of his descendants? For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was stricken. He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth." - Isaiah 53:7-9 (NIV)
Jesus fulfilled the Old Covenant and established the New Covenant by being faithful to His vocation of the suffering servant. Suffer In Silence Plus Extra Confinement (three days and three nights in the abode of the dead)!
as a christian who happens to be a student, you build for the kingdom by being faithful to your vocation of putting the work to rights. as a christian who happens to be a student, you are justified by work.
Tuesday 13 January 2009
justification and calvinism
according to Piper, Wright holds that justification is by faith in the present and by works in the future. Piper holds that justification is by faith alone.
the thing is, the kind of justification we subscribe to and the kind of calvinism we subscribe to are inextricably linked.
according to classical calvinism, grace is unconditionally given by God and unconditionally received by man. in other words, faith is caused (or effected) by God. if faith is caused (or effected) by God, then justification is a past verdict.
according to moderate calvinism, grace is unconditionally given by God and conditionally received by man. in other words, faith is occasioned (or enabled) by God. if faith is occasioned (or enabled) by God, then justification is a present verdict which will be reaffirmed in the future.
more on classical calvinism vs moderate calvinism here, here and here.
the thing is, the kind of justification we subscribe to and the kind of calvinism we subscribe to are inextricably linked.
according to classical calvinism, grace is unconditionally given by God and unconditionally received by man. in other words, faith is caused (or effected) by God. if faith is caused (or effected) by God, then justification is a past verdict.
according to moderate calvinism, grace is unconditionally given by God and conditionally received by man. in other words, faith is occasioned (or enabled) by God. if faith is occasioned (or enabled) by God, then justification is a present verdict which will be reaffirmed in the future.
more on classical calvinism vs moderate calvinism here, here and here.
Monday 12 January 2009
gentlemen, start your engines
Piper sustains three arguments against Wright in The Future of Justification:
1. the nature of God
according to Piper, Wright holds that those of us in Christ are declared righteous because God has declared Christ righteous. Piper holds that those of us in Christ are declared righteous because God has declared Christ righteous AND imputed Christ's righteousness to those of us in Christ.
2. the nature of justification
according to Piper, Wright holds that justification is by faith in the present and by works in the future. Piper holds that justification is by faith alone.
3. the nature of legalism
according to Piper, Wright holds that works of the law are ethnocentric (soft legalism). Piper holds that works of the law are ethnocentric AND moralistic (hard legalism).
1. the nature of God
according to Piper, Wright holds that those of us in Christ are declared righteous because God has declared Christ righteous. Piper holds that those of us in Christ are declared righteous because God has declared Christ righteous AND imputed Christ's righteousness to those of us in Christ.
2. the nature of justification
according to Piper, Wright holds that justification is by faith in the present and by works in the future. Piper holds that justification is by faith alone.
3. the nature of legalism
according to Piper, Wright holds that works of the law are ethnocentric (soft legalism). Piper holds that works of the law are ethnocentric AND moralistic (hard legalism).
Sunday 11 January 2009
Wall-E world
i came across an article and found out that the writer and director of Wall-E, andrew stanton, is christian.
Well, what really interested me was the idea of the most human thing in the universe being a machine because it has more interest in finding out what the point of living is than actual people. The greatest commandment Christ gives us is to love, but that's not always our priority. So I came up with this premise that could demonstrate what I was trying to say - that irrational love defeats the world's programming. You've got these two robots that are trying to go above their basest directives, literally their programming, to experience love.
With the human characters I wanted to show that our programming is the routines and habits that distract us to the point that we're not really making connections to the people next to us. We're not engaging in relationships, which are the point of living - relationship with God and relationship with other people.
- Andrew Stanton, Interview with WORLD Magazine (28 Jun 08)
And though on the surface Wall-E looks like it's selling the easiest, trendiest message going today - environmentalism - it's too smart for that. True, the foundation for the story is that humanity has left the planet heaped in garbage. But far weightier themes - like how technology distances us from the wonder of creation and how that distance cripples us spiritually - play a bigger role.
In fact, if Stanton criticises people for anything, it's for worship of leisure. Because they live to be cared for rather than to care, the few human beings Wall-E meets have become, to use Stanton's words, giant babies - literally feeding on milk rather than solid food. In contrast, Wall-E, the meek little trash collector, accepts stewardship in a way that people have rejected. And because love springs from service, he comes to love the creatures that inhabit Earth. That's not an environmental message, it's a biblical one.
- Megan Basham, Editorial (28 Jun 08)
it doesn't look like the message of new creation which i took away from the movie was intended, but still.
Well, what really interested me was the idea of the most human thing in the universe being a machine because it has more interest in finding out what the point of living is than actual people. The greatest commandment Christ gives us is to love, but that's not always our priority. So I came up with this premise that could demonstrate what I was trying to say - that irrational love defeats the world's programming. You've got these two robots that are trying to go above their basest directives, literally their programming, to experience love.
With the human characters I wanted to show that our programming is the routines and habits that distract us to the point that we're not really making connections to the people next to us. We're not engaging in relationships, which are the point of living - relationship with God and relationship with other people.
- Andrew Stanton, Interview with WORLD Magazine (28 Jun 08)
And though on the surface Wall-E looks like it's selling the easiest, trendiest message going today - environmentalism - it's too smart for that. True, the foundation for the story is that humanity has left the planet heaped in garbage. But far weightier themes - like how technology distances us from the wonder of creation and how that distance cripples us spiritually - play a bigger role.
In fact, if Stanton criticises people for anything, it's for worship of leisure. Because they live to be cared for rather than to care, the few human beings Wall-E meets have become, to use Stanton's words, giant babies - literally feeding on milk rather than solid food. In contrast, Wall-E, the meek little trash collector, accepts stewardship in a way that people have rejected. And because love springs from service, he comes to love the creatures that inhabit Earth. That's not an environmental message, it's a biblical one.
- Megan Basham, Editorial (28 Jun 08)
it doesn't look like the message of new creation which i took away from the movie was intended, but still.
Saturday 10 January 2009
two kinds of justification
by God's grace, i made a number of theological discoveries for myself in 2008 which have fundamentally reshaped the way i think about (and approach) God. at the same time, there is so much more to learn!
"But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen." - 2 Peter 3:18 (NIV)
with the ongoing discourse between John Piper and N.T. Wright on the future of justification, as well as questions of justification naturally arising from new perspectives on faith and works, moderate "middle knowledge" calvinism and the new creation, 2009 is shaping up to be the year of justification.
to begin with, justification is the declaration that 'therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set [us] free from the law of sin and death' (Romans 8:1-2, NIV).
the question is not whether justification is by faith alone. clearly, justification is not by faith alone.
"You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone." - James 2:24 (NIV)
the phrase 'justification by faith alone' is not only not biblical, it is actually unbiblical.
the question is whether justification by faith and justification by works refer to the same thing. is there only one kind of justification which is by faith and made complete by works, or are there two kinds of justification - one by faith and one by works?
[we should not confuse justification by works (ie. justification by deeds) with justification by works of the law (ie. justification by works of the Old Covenant). just because we are not justified by works of the law does not mean that we are not justified by works. we are justified by works, just not by works of the law.]
two kinds of justification
it cannot be that there is only one kind of justification which is by faith and made complete by works. if there is only one kind of justification which is by faith and made complete by works, then the thief on the cross would not have been fully justified - because he did not perform any works. however, the thief on the cross was fully justified - even though he did not perform any works. therefore, there are two kinds of justification - one by faith and one by works.
[the thief on the cross was fully justified - even though he did not perform any works - not because justification is by faith alone, but because he could not perform any works regardless if he wanted to. if he could perform any works but did not, then he would not have been fully justified.]
more precisely, there are two kinds of justification - justification by faith in the present and justification by works in the future (ie. from the point of justification by faith). it just so happened that for the thief on the cross, his future - once he was saved - was not to 'remain in the body' (Philippians 1:24, NIV) but to 'depart and be with Christ' (Philippians 1:23, NIV).
for the rest of us, justification by faith in the present and justification by works in the future are inextricably linked. justification by faith in the present should result in justification by works in the future, and justification by works in the future should result from justification by faith in the present.
given that we have been justified by faith in the present, we should not sit back and relax from the point of justification by faith, but ensure that we will be justified by works in the future to the extent that we are building for the kingdom from the point of justification by faith.
"By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man's work. If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames." - 1 Corinthians 3:10-15 (NIV)
"Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize." - 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 (NIV)
"For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad." - 2 Corinthians 5:10 (NIV)
to be sure, God does not judge us on what we do not do with what we do not have. however, God does judge us on what we do with what we have.
[we should not confuse the bema judgment of believers (at the first resurrection) with the great white throne judgment of unbelievers (at the second resurrection). the former determines the extent to which believers are rewarded for what they do with what they have, while the latter determines the extent to which unbelievers are punished for what they do not do with what they have.]
past, present and future
i used to think that justification is a past verdict, believing that we have already been justified by Christ's finished work on the cross in the past. i now think that in one sense, justification is a present verdict; in another sense, justification is a future verdict.
justification is not a past verdict because while Christ's finished work on the cross in the past is both necessary and sufficient for justification by faith, we are not justified by faith until we receive Christ's finished work on the cross in the past by faith in the present. the righteousness of God in Christ is unconditionally given by Christ's finished work on the cross in the past but conditionally received by faith in the present.
justification is a present verdict in the sense that we are justified by faith in the present. from the point of justification by faith, we have 'crossed over from death to life' (John 5:24, NIV). this is why 'we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand' (Romans 5:1-2, NIV).
justification is a future verdict in the sense that we are justified by works in the future. from the point of justification by faith, we are judged by our works. this is why 'if we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God' (Hebrews 10:26-27, NIV).
after reading and listening to N.T. Wright (and, i hasten to add, John Piper) for a while, i do grasp his position that 'justification [by faith] in the present is based on God's past accomplishment in Christ, and anticipates the future verdict [of justification by works]'. when he says that 'justification [by works] is not about how someone gets in to God's people, but about God's declaration that someone is in', i think he simply means that we are not saved by our works (we are saved by faith), but our works declare that we have been saved by faith.
in other words, justification by works in the future is not about how someone gets in to God's people, but about God's declaration that someone is in. on the other hand, justification by faith in the present is not about God's declaration that someone is in, but about how someone gets in to God's people.
"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works [of the law], so that no one can boast. For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." - Ephesians 2:8-10 (NIV)
we are saved by faith, but once we have been saved by faith, our works determine the extent to which we receive our reward or merely escape through the flames in the end.
all in all, we inherit by faith the righteousness of God in Christ in the past, become a new creation in Christ in the present, and hope for 'our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies' (Romans 8:23, NIV) in Christ in the future!
The past we inherit
The present we create
But for those who hope, work and play
The best is yet to be!
- T.W. Hinch, Principal of ACS (1929-1947)
"But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen." - 2 Peter 3:18 (NIV)
with the ongoing discourse between John Piper and N.T. Wright on the future of justification, as well as questions of justification naturally arising from new perspectives on faith and works, moderate "middle knowledge" calvinism and the new creation, 2009 is shaping up to be the year of justification.
to begin with, justification is the declaration that 'therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set [us] free from the law of sin and death' (Romans 8:1-2, NIV).
the question is not whether justification is by faith alone. clearly, justification is not by faith alone.
"You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone." - James 2:24 (NIV)
the phrase 'justification by faith alone' is not only not biblical, it is actually unbiblical.
the question is whether justification by faith and justification by works refer to the same thing. is there only one kind of justification which is by faith and made complete by works, or are there two kinds of justification - one by faith and one by works?
[we should not confuse justification by works (ie. justification by deeds) with justification by works of the law (ie. justification by works of the Old Covenant). just because we are not justified by works of the law does not mean that we are not justified by works. we are justified by works, just not by works of the law.]
two kinds of justification
it cannot be that there is only one kind of justification which is by faith and made complete by works. if there is only one kind of justification which is by faith and made complete by works, then the thief on the cross would not have been fully justified - because he did not perform any works. however, the thief on the cross was fully justified - even though he did not perform any works. therefore, there are two kinds of justification - one by faith and one by works.
[the thief on the cross was fully justified - even though he did not perform any works - not because justification is by faith alone, but because he could not perform any works regardless if he wanted to. if he could perform any works but did not, then he would not have been fully justified.]
more precisely, there are two kinds of justification - justification by faith in the present and justification by works in the future (ie. from the point of justification by faith). it just so happened that for the thief on the cross, his future - once he was saved - was not to 'remain in the body' (Philippians 1:24, NIV) but to 'depart and be with Christ' (Philippians 1:23, NIV).
for the rest of us, justification by faith in the present and justification by works in the future are inextricably linked. justification by faith in the present should result in justification by works in the future, and justification by works in the future should result from justification by faith in the present.
given that we have been justified by faith in the present, we should not sit back and relax from the point of justification by faith, but ensure that we will be justified by works in the future to the extent that we are building for the kingdom from the point of justification by faith.
"By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man's work. If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames." - 1 Corinthians 3:10-15 (NIV)
"Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize." - 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 (NIV)
"For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad." - 2 Corinthians 5:10 (NIV)
to be sure, God does not judge us on what we do not do with what we do not have. however, God does judge us on what we do with what we have.
[we should not confuse the bema judgment of believers (at the first resurrection) with the great white throne judgment of unbelievers (at the second resurrection). the former determines the extent to which believers are rewarded for what they do with what they have, while the latter determines the extent to which unbelievers are punished for what they do not do with what they have.]
past, present and future
i used to think that justification is a past verdict, believing that we have already been justified by Christ's finished work on the cross in the past. i now think that in one sense, justification is a present verdict; in another sense, justification is a future verdict.
justification is not a past verdict because while Christ's finished work on the cross in the past is both necessary and sufficient for justification by faith, we are not justified by faith until we receive Christ's finished work on the cross in the past by faith in the present. the righteousness of God in Christ is unconditionally given by Christ's finished work on the cross in the past but conditionally received by faith in the present.
justification is a present verdict in the sense that we are justified by faith in the present. from the point of justification by faith, we have 'crossed over from death to life' (John 5:24, NIV). this is why 'we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand' (Romans 5:1-2, NIV).
justification is a future verdict in the sense that we are justified by works in the future. from the point of justification by faith, we are judged by our works. this is why 'if we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God' (Hebrews 10:26-27, NIV).
after reading and listening to N.T. Wright (and, i hasten to add, John Piper) for a while, i do grasp his position that 'justification [by faith] in the present is based on God's past accomplishment in Christ, and anticipates the future verdict [of justification by works]'. when he says that 'justification [by works] is not about how someone gets in to God's people, but about God's declaration that someone is in', i think he simply means that we are not saved by our works (we are saved by faith), but our works declare that we have been saved by faith.
in other words, justification by works in the future is not about how someone gets in to God's people, but about God's declaration that someone is in. on the other hand, justification by faith in the present is not about God's declaration that someone is in, but about how someone gets in to God's people.
"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works [of the law], so that no one can boast. For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." - Ephesians 2:8-10 (NIV)
we are saved by faith, but once we have been saved by faith, our works determine the extent to which we receive our reward or merely escape through the flames in the end.
all in all, we inherit by faith the righteousness of God in Christ in the past, become a new creation in Christ in the present, and hope for 'our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies' (Romans 8:23, NIV) in Christ in the future!
The past we inherit
The present we create
But for those who hope, work and play
The best is yet to be!
- T.W. Hinch, Principal of ACS (1929-1947)
Friday 9 January 2009
the future of The Future of Justification
just over a year after John Piper published his response to N.T. Wright's position on justification, Wright has penned a response to Piper and his (Wright's) other critics. it will be released in the UK on 19 feb 09!
meanwhile, i have started reading Piper's The Future of Justification. regardless if Piper or Wright (or neither of them) proves to be right - and it is not about scoring points, it will be hugely beneficial to follow the ongoing discourse between these two giants of the faith on the future of justification.
*****
We all wear coloured glasses - most wear glasses coloured by tradition; some wear glasses coloured by anti-tradition; and some wear glasses coloured by our emerging, new reconstruction of reality. Which of these ways of seeing the world is more seductive, I don't know. Since they exist in differing degrees, from one time to the next, probably any of them can be overpowering at a given moment.
I love the gospel and justification that I have seen in my study and preaching over the last forty years. N.T. Wright loves the gospel and justification he has seen in that same time. My temptation is to defend a view because it has been believed for centuries. His temptation is to defend a view because it fits so well into his new way of seeing the world.
Public traditions and private systems are both very powerful. We are agreed, however, that neither conformity to an old tradition nor conformity to a new system is the final arbiter of truth. Scripture is. And we both take courage from the fact that Scripture has the power to force its own colour through any human lens.
- John Piper, The Future of Justification
meanwhile, i have started reading Piper's The Future of Justification. regardless if Piper or Wright (or neither of them) proves to be right - and it is not about scoring points, it will be hugely beneficial to follow the ongoing discourse between these two giants of the faith on the future of justification.
*****
We all wear coloured glasses - most wear glasses coloured by tradition; some wear glasses coloured by anti-tradition; and some wear glasses coloured by our emerging, new reconstruction of reality. Which of these ways of seeing the world is more seductive, I don't know. Since they exist in differing degrees, from one time to the next, probably any of them can be overpowering at a given moment.
I love the gospel and justification that I have seen in my study and preaching over the last forty years. N.T. Wright loves the gospel and justification he has seen in that same time. My temptation is to defend a view because it has been believed for centuries. His temptation is to defend a view because it fits so well into his new way of seeing the world.
Public traditions and private systems are both very powerful. We are agreed, however, that neither conformity to an old tradition nor conformity to a new system is the final arbiter of truth. Scripture is. And we both take courage from the fact that Scripture has the power to force its own colour through any human lens.
- John Piper, The Future of Justification
Thursday 8 January 2009
Building for the Kingdom
Many people, faced with the challenge to work for God's kingdom in the present, will at once object. 'Doesn't that sound,' they will ask, 'as though you're trying to build God's kingdom by your own efforts?' Well, if it does sound like that, I'm sorry. It wasn't meant like that. Perhaps some further clarification is needed.
Let's be quite clear on two points. First, God builds God's kingdom. But God has ordered his world in such a way that his own work within that world would take place not least through one of his creatures in particular, namely the human beings who reflect his image. That, I believe, is central to what the notion of 'being made in God's image' is all about.
God intends his wise, creative, loving presence and power to be reflected, 'imaged' if you like, into his world through his human creatures. He has enlisted us to act as his stewards in the project of creation. And, following the disaster of rebellion and corruption, he has built into the gospel message the fact that, through the work of Jesus and the power of the Spirit, he equips humans to help in the work of getting the project back on track. So the objection about us trying to build God's kingdom by our own efforts, though it seems humble and pious, can be a way of hiding from responsibility, of keeping one's head well down when the boss is looking for volunteers. Not that one can go on eluding God's call for ever... but still.
The second point is to distinguish between the final kingdom and the present anticipations of it. The final coming together of heaven and earth is, of course, God's supreme act of new creation, for which the only real prototype - other than the first creation itself - was the resurrection of Jesus. God alone will sum up all things in Christ, things in heaven and things on earth. He alone will make the 'new heavens and new earth'. It would be the height of folly to think that we could assist in that great work.
But what we can and must do in the present, if we are obedient to the gospel, if we are following Jesus, and if we are indwelt, energised and directed by the Spirit, is to build for the kingdom. This brings us back to 1 Corinthians 15:58 once more: what you do in the Lord is not in vain. You are not oiling the wheels of a machine that's about to fall over a cliff. You are not restoring a great painting that's shortly going to be thrown on the fire. You are not planting roses in a garden that's about to be dug up for a building site. You are - strange though it may seem, almost as hard to believe as the resurrection itself - accomplishing something which will become, in due course, part of God's new world.
Every act of love, gratitude and kindness; every work of art or music inspired by the love of God and delight in the beauty of his creation; every minute spent teaching a severely handicapped child to read or to walk; every act of care and nurture, of comfort and support, for one's fellow human beings, and for that matter one's fellow non-human creatures; and of course every prayer, all Spirit-led teaching, every deed which spreads the gospel, builds up the church, embraces and embodies holiness rather than corruption, and makes the name of Jesus honoured in the world - all of this will find its way, through the resurrecting power of God, into the new creation which God will one day make.
That is the logic of the mission of God. God's recreation of his wonderful world, which has begun with the resurrection of Jesus and continues mysteriously as God's people live in the risen Christ and in the power of his Spirit, means that what we do in Christ and by the Spirit in the present is not wasted. It will last all the way into God's new world. In fact, it will be enhanced there.
- N. T. Wright, Surprised by Hope
Link: The Grace (and Duty) of Giving (9 Aug 10)
Let's be quite clear on two points. First, God builds God's kingdom. But God has ordered his world in such a way that his own work within that world would take place not least through one of his creatures in particular, namely the human beings who reflect his image. That, I believe, is central to what the notion of 'being made in God's image' is all about.
God intends his wise, creative, loving presence and power to be reflected, 'imaged' if you like, into his world through his human creatures. He has enlisted us to act as his stewards in the project of creation. And, following the disaster of rebellion and corruption, he has built into the gospel message the fact that, through the work of Jesus and the power of the Spirit, he equips humans to help in the work of getting the project back on track. So the objection about us trying to build God's kingdom by our own efforts, though it seems humble and pious, can be a way of hiding from responsibility, of keeping one's head well down when the boss is looking for volunteers. Not that one can go on eluding God's call for ever... but still.
The second point is to distinguish between the final kingdom and the present anticipations of it. The final coming together of heaven and earth is, of course, God's supreme act of new creation, for which the only real prototype - other than the first creation itself - was the resurrection of Jesus. God alone will sum up all things in Christ, things in heaven and things on earth. He alone will make the 'new heavens and new earth'. It would be the height of folly to think that we could assist in that great work.
But what we can and must do in the present, if we are obedient to the gospel, if we are following Jesus, and if we are indwelt, energised and directed by the Spirit, is to build for the kingdom. This brings us back to 1 Corinthians 15:58 once more: what you do in the Lord is not in vain. You are not oiling the wheels of a machine that's about to fall over a cliff. You are not restoring a great painting that's shortly going to be thrown on the fire. You are not planting roses in a garden that's about to be dug up for a building site. You are - strange though it may seem, almost as hard to believe as the resurrection itself - accomplishing something which will become, in due course, part of God's new world.
Every act of love, gratitude and kindness; every work of art or music inspired by the love of God and delight in the beauty of his creation; every minute spent teaching a severely handicapped child to read or to walk; every act of care and nurture, of comfort and support, for one's fellow human beings, and for that matter one's fellow non-human creatures; and of course every prayer, all Spirit-led teaching, every deed which spreads the gospel, builds up the church, embraces and embodies holiness rather than corruption, and makes the name of Jesus honoured in the world - all of this will find its way, through the resurrecting power of God, into the new creation which God will one day make.
That is the logic of the mission of God. God's recreation of his wonderful world, which has begun with the resurrection of Jesus and continues mysteriously as God's people live in the risen Christ and in the power of his Spirit, means that what we do in Christ and by the Spirit in the present is not wasted. It will last all the way into God's new world. In fact, it will be enhanced there.
- N. T. Wright, Surprised by Hope
Link: The Grace (and Duty) of Giving (9 Aug 10)
Wednesday 7 January 2009
human goals and new creation
But the most important thing to say at the end of this discussion [purgatory, paradise, hell], and of this section of the book [God's future plan], is that 'heaven and hell' are not, so to speak, what the whole game is about. This is one of the central 'surprises' in the Christian hope. The whole point of my argument so far is that the question of 'what happens to me after death' is not the major, central, framing question that centuries of theological tradition have supposed.
The New Testament, true to its Old Testament roots, regularly insists that the major, central, framing question is that of God's purpose of rescue and re-creation for the whole world, the entire cosmos. The destiny of individual human beings must be understood within that context - not simply in the sense that we are only part of a much larger picture, but in the sense that part of the whole point of being 'saved' in the present is so that we can play a vital role (Paul speaks of this role in the shocking terms of being 'fellow workers with God') within that larger picture and purpose. And that in turn makes us realise that the question of our own 'destiny', in terms of the alternatives of joy or woe, is probably the wrong way of looking at the whole question.
The question ought to be, 'How will God's new creation come?' and then, 'How will we humans contribute to that renewal of creation, and to the fresh projects which the creator God will launch in his new world?' The choice before humans would then be framed differently: are you going to worship the creator God, and discover thereby what it means to become fully and gloriously human, reflecting his powerful, healing, transformative love into the world? Or are you going to worship the world as it is, boosting your corruptible humanness by gaining power or pleasure from forces within the world, but merely contributing thereby to your own dehumanisation and the further corruption of the world itself?
This reflection leads to a further, and sobering, thought. If what I have suggested is anywhere near the mark, then to insist on 'heaven and hell' as the ultimate question - to insist, in other words, that what happens eventually to individual humans is the most important thing in the world - may be to make a similar mistake to the one made by the Jewish people in the first century, the mistake which both Jesus and Paul addressed.
Israel believed (so Paul tells us, and he should know) that the purposes of the creator God all came down to the question: how is God going to rescue Israel? What the gospel of Jesus revealed, however, was that the purposes of God were reaching out to the question: how is God going to rescue the world through Israel, and thereby rescue Israel itself as part of the process but not as the point of it all?
Maybe what we are faced with in our own day is a similar challenge: to focus, not on the question of which human beings God is going to take to heaven, and how he is going to do it, but on the question of how God is going to redeem and renew his creation through human beings, and how he is going to rescue those humans themselves, as part of the process but not as the point of it all.
- N.T. Wright, Surprised by Hope
The New Testament, true to its Old Testament roots, regularly insists that the major, central, framing question is that of God's purpose of rescue and re-creation for the whole world, the entire cosmos. The destiny of individual human beings must be understood within that context - not simply in the sense that we are only part of a much larger picture, but in the sense that part of the whole point of being 'saved' in the present is so that we can play a vital role (Paul speaks of this role in the shocking terms of being 'fellow workers with God') within that larger picture and purpose. And that in turn makes us realise that the question of our own 'destiny', in terms of the alternatives of joy or woe, is probably the wrong way of looking at the whole question.
The question ought to be, 'How will God's new creation come?' and then, 'How will we humans contribute to that renewal of creation, and to the fresh projects which the creator God will launch in his new world?' The choice before humans would then be framed differently: are you going to worship the creator God, and discover thereby what it means to become fully and gloriously human, reflecting his powerful, healing, transformative love into the world? Or are you going to worship the world as it is, boosting your corruptible humanness by gaining power or pleasure from forces within the world, but merely contributing thereby to your own dehumanisation and the further corruption of the world itself?
This reflection leads to a further, and sobering, thought. If what I have suggested is anywhere near the mark, then to insist on 'heaven and hell' as the ultimate question - to insist, in other words, that what happens eventually to individual humans is the most important thing in the world - may be to make a similar mistake to the one made by the Jewish people in the first century, the mistake which both Jesus and Paul addressed.
Israel believed (so Paul tells us, and he should know) that the purposes of the creator God all came down to the question: how is God going to rescue Israel? What the gospel of Jesus revealed, however, was that the purposes of God were reaching out to the question: how is God going to rescue the world through Israel, and thereby rescue Israel itself as part of the process but not as the point of it all?
Maybe what we are faced with in our own day is a similar challenge: to focus, not on the question of which human beings God is going to take to heaven, and how he is going to do it, but on the question of how God is going to redeem and renew his creation through human beings, and how he is going to rescue those humans themselves, as part of the process but not as the point of it all.
- N.T. Wright, Surprised by Hope
Tuesday 6 January 2009
our citizenship is in heaven
"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." - Matthew 6:19-21 (NIV)
"But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Saviour from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body." - Philippians 3:20-21 (NIV)
"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade - kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time." - 1 Peter 1:3-5 (NIV)
If I say - supposing a friend is coming to visit me - and I say, "I've kept some cold beer in the fridge for you," that doesn't mean my friend has to get into the fridge to drink the beer. It means that when he arrives we get the beer out of the fridge so that he can drink it in the living room.
And when Paul says this new salvation, this new body is waiting for you in heaven, that doesn't mean so that when you go to heaven you will get it, but rather so that it will come from heaven. Heaven is God's space, God's sphere, God's reality, so that when heaven and earth are one, then this salvation which is stored up for you - kept in the cupboard if you like - will be brought out of the cupboard so that it will be yours and you can enjoy it.
- N.T. Wright, Resurrection and the Future World (Mar 07)
Citizens of Heaven - Colonising the Earth
Philippi was a Roman colony. Augustus had settled his veterans there after the battles of Philippi (42 BC) and Actium (31 BC). Not all residents of Philippi were Roman citizens, but all would know what citizenship meant.
(Being citizens of heaven, as the Philippians would know, doesn't mean that one is expecting to go back to the mother city, but rather that one is expecting the emperor to come from the mother city to give the colony its full dignity, to rescue it if need be, to subdue local enemies and put everything to rights.)
The point of creating colonies was twofold. First, it was aimed at extending Roman influence around the Mediterranean world, creating cells and networks of people loyal to Caesar in the wider culture. Second, it was one way of avoiding the problems of overcrowding in the capital itself. The emperor certainly did not want retired soldiers, with time (and blood) on their hands, hanging around Rome ready to cause trouble. Much better for them to be establishing farms and businesses elsewhere.
So when Paul says 'we are citizens of heaven', he doesn't at all mean that when we're done with this life we'll be going off to live in heaven. What he means is that the saviour, the Lord, Jesus the King - all of those were of course imperial titles - will come from heaven to earth, to change the present situation and state of his people.
The key word here is 'transform': 'he will transform our present humble bodies to be like his glorious body'. Jesus will not declare that present physicality is redundant and can be scrapped. Nor will he simply improve it, perhaps by speeding up its evolutionary cycle. In a great act of power - the same power that accomplished Jesus' own resurrection, as Paul says in Ephesians 1:19-20 - he will change the present body into the one that corresponds in kind to his own, as part of his work of bringing all things into subjection to himself. Philippians 3, though it is primarily speaking of human resurrection, indicates that this will take place within the context of God's victorious transformation of the whole cosmos.
- N.T. Wright, Surprised by Hope
yes, we are to 'store up for [ourselves] treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal' (Matthew 6:20, NIV). yes, 'our citizenship is in heaven' (Philippians 3:20, NIV). yes, we have 'an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade - kept in heaven for [us]' (1 Peter 1:4, NIV).
but we do not go to heaven to receive our reward in heaven. Jesus came from heaven to earth in the first coming, and He will come from heaven to earth again in the second coming - bringing our reward with Him - to give us our reward on earth.
"Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done." - Revelation 22:12 (NIV)
"But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Saviour from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body." - Philippians 3:20-21 (NIV)
"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade - kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time." - 1 Peter 1:3-5 (NIV)
If I say - supposing a friend is coming to visit me - and I say, "I've kept some cold beer in the fridge for you," that doesn't mean my friend has to get into the fridge to drink the beer. It means that when he arrives we get the beer out of the fridge so that he can drink it in the living room.
And when Paul says this new salvation, this new body is waiting for you in heaven, that doesn't mean so that when you go to heaven you will get it, but rather so that it will come from heaven. Heaven is God's space, God's sphere, God's reality, so that when heaven and earth are one, then this salvation which is stored up for you - kept in the cupboard if you like - will be brought out of the cupboard so that it will be yours and you can enjoy it.
- N.T. Wright, Resurrection and the Future World (Mar 07)
Citizens of Heaven - Colonising the Earth
Philippi was a Roman colony. Augustus had settled his veterans there after the battles of Philippi (42 BC) and Actium (31 BC). Not all residents of Philippi were Roman citizens, but all would know what citizenship meant.
(Being citizens of heaven, as the Philippians would know, doesn't mean that one is expecting to go back to the mother city, but rather that one is expecting the emperor to come from the mother city to give the colony its full dignity, to rescue it if need be, to subdue local enemies and put everything to rights.)
The point of creating colonies was twofold. First, it was aimed at extending Roman influence around the Mediterranean world, creating cells and networks of people loyal to Caesar in the wider culture. Second, it was one way of avoiding the problems of overcrowding in the capital itself. The emperor certainly did not want retired soldiers, with time (and blood) on their hands, hanging around Rome ready to cause trouble. Much better for them to be establishing farms and businesses elsewhere.
So when Paul says 'we are citizens of heaven', he doesn't at all mean that when we're done with this life we'll be going off to live in heaven. What he means is that the saviour, the Lord, Jesus the King - all of those were of course imperial titles - will come from heaven to earth, to change the present situation and state of his people.
The key word here is 'transform': 'he will transform our present humble bodies to be like his glorious body'. Jesus will not declare that present physicality is redundant and can be scrapped. Nor will he simply improve it, perhaps by speeding up its evolutionary cycle. In a great act of power - the same power that accomplished Jesus' own resurrection, as Paul says in Ephesians 1:19-20 - he will change the present body into the one that corresponds in kind to his own, as part of his work of bringing all things into subjection to himself. Philippians 3, though it is primarily speaking of human resurrection, indicates that this will take place within the context of God's victorious transformation of the whole cosmos.
- N.T. Wright, Surprised by Hope
yes, we are to 'store up for [ourselves] treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal' (Matthew 6:20, NIV). yes, 'our citizenship is in heaven' (Philippians 3:20, NIV). yes, we have 'an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade - kept in heaven for [us]' (1 Peter 1:4, NIV).
but we do not go to heaven to receive our reward in heaven. Jesus came from heaven to earth in the first coming, and He will come from heaven to earth again in the second coming - bringing our reward with Him - to give us our reward on earth.
"Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done." - Revelation 22:12 (NIV)
chess in york
i took part in the 22nd york chess congress over the weekend, just for fun. the playing venue was just a 30-minute bus ride away from my place so i didn't have to travel very far.
it was interesting to meet other members of the chessplaying community in york and do battle with them over the board. i even got to play against international master and published chess author richard palliser in the last round (and escaped with a draw)!
i also found out a bit more about the chess scene in york and the uk in general. there is a whole british grand prix circuit, which means that it is literally possible to play in a different city every weekend. but it would just be too draining to balance semi-professional chess, studies and other commitments. over the weekend alone, i sat at the board for close to 20 hours (5 4-hour games which went the distance).
as it is, i'll probably play for york university a few times a term and maybe play for york city/yorkshire county once or twice a year, as the opportunities arise. any more than that would be permissible, but not very beneficial.
""Everything is permissible" - but not everything is beneficial. "Everything is permissible" - but not everything is constructive." - 1 Corinthians 10:23 (NIV)
Thursday 1 January 2009
7 theological discoveries in 2008
1. the person of Jesus (here, here and here)
2. faith and works (here, here and here)
3. new perspectives on prisons (here, here and here)
4. moderate "middle knowledge" calvinism (here, here and here)
5. the 7 major jewish feasts (here)
6. the new creation (here, here and here)
7. heaven, hell and everything in between (here, here and here)
as for my new year resolutions, the ones i made a year ago seem as relevant as ever!
2. faith and works (here, here and here)
3. new perspectives on prisons (here, here and here)
4. moderate "middle knowledge" calvinism (here, here and here)
5. the 7 major jewish feasts (here)
6. the new creation (here, here and here)
7. heaven, hell and everything in between (here, here and here)
as for my new year resolutions, the ones i made a year ago seem as relevant as ever!
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