Adopted Identity

The question arises in how we move from the commonly held identity of 'sinners in need of a savior' into the in Christ, adopted identity and all its implications.  We are 'sinners saved by grace,' yes this is true a soteriology statement, but is this who I am in Christ?  Are we moving from the realization (our sinfulness / need for a savior / understanding forensic justification), abate truism, to living out the identity of adopted sons whom cry out 'Abba, Father?'  Paul brings us to the conclusion that we are all sinners in need of a savior (Romans 1:18–3:20), but Paul does not stop at the need for salvation, he goes on to explain how we've been set free from the bondage of sin (Romans 7), moving towards our status as adoption children of God (Romans 8:15-16; Galatians 4:6).

Who we are 'in Christ' seems to become distorted in the Christian country club churches, driven by the agendas of successful people (patrons) who set the bar based on life performance: you are what you do, what you've accomplished, and you are your success in culture (infiltrating the church).  Christianity becomes a superficial system of moral and spiritual principles for people who are looking to gain an edge in life (participation is a way of earning God's favor, motivating the divine to help you get the life you desire), or by virtue seeking (seeking virtues) which gives one control / autonomy / freedom over one's life.  Instead of 'new life' [a different way of living] they teach 'better life' [abundant material living], and instead of born again (Spiritual transformation) they often teach self-betterment (a modified psychologically based individiation) which trivializes the change we find occurring in the biblical doctrine of conversion.

A strong argument can be made (seeing it already has been made countless times) that the gospel declares who Jesus is, His lordship, and then we are to understand the implications of His lordship.  When you remove the implications of His lordship, such as 'movement towards a new way of living,' it tends to collapse into what Willard had called the 'gospel of sin management.'  Ephesians 4 is a perfect example, where Paul is telling the church 'you must no longer live as the Gentiles' (Eph 4:17), describing the state of the darkened mind the Gentiles possess (Eph 4:18-19; cf Rom 1:26-28), exhorting them to the 'way of life' they were taught as they were gospeled (heard about Christ) and discipled (were taught in him) in (Eph 4:20-21), and to take of this old self so they can put on the new self (Eph 4:22-24) in participating with the Holy Spirit's renewal of their mind.  The problem is that when we skip from 'stop living like the Gentiles' to the therefor in v. 25-28 of 'now you have to stop sinning or you'll give the devil a foothold in your life,' we leave out the new life people are supposed to be living.  As a friend says, "we've been sold a ticket to heaven (God's reign) but haven't been told how to get on, sit on, or even how get along, whether on or looking for the train."

I've enjoyed how Billings' used a Kierkegaard's Anti-Climacus parable in The Sickness unto Death to illustrate our reluctance/resistance to this new adopted identity; "adoption by the King is such a radical notion, we resist it. We would rather have the occasional brush of God’s presence, or a relic of his solidarity with us, so that God can be an appendage of our identity. But God wants more than that; he wants our lives, our adopted identity. By bringing us into the new reality of the Spirit, we can call out to God—Abba, Father—as adopted children united to Christ. Yet there are few things more countercultural than this process of adoption—losing your life for the sake of Jesus Christ, to find it in communion with the Triune God."  (Billings, J. Todd. Union with Christ: Reframing Theology and Ministry for the Church. Kindle Loc. 425-429).

Jesus our hero.

Jesus our hero.  Hebrews 2:10-15

In bringing many sons and daughters to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through what he suffered.  Both the one who makes people holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters.

 He says, 

“I will declare your name to my brothers and sisters;    in the assembly I will sing your praises.”
 And again,
“I will put my trust in him.”
And again he says,
“Here am I, and the children God has given me.”

Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil—  and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.

Why was it fitting?  A question we all struggle with as we try to understand the cross.  It was fitting that God, the agent of creation, would make Jesus, the pioneer of salvation, perfect through what he suffered.  There are four main ideas we should pull out of this passage;

1) Something about the character of God can be understood from the fittingness of the crucifixion.  Does God really love people the way scriptures say He loves people?  Is the mercy and compassion of God a truth, or is it something we use to talk up our idea of goodness in the statement that 'God is love?'  It seemed fitting that Jesus suffered and died on a cross.  Within the teachings of Jesus we find the proper response to evil is not more evil, is not violence, no, Jesus' word and deed are one the same, and He defeats evil with love and self-sacrifice.

2) Jesus is the pioneer of salvation for the sons and daughters being brought to glory.  Without Jesus there would be no salvation.  The use of the term 'perfect' is a term qualifying Jesus to be savior of his people, not that Jesus was morally imperfect, but simply that Jesus is 'made completely adequate' for such a task.  The quotation from Psalm 22:22 is applied to Jesus, the righteous sufferer who brings deliverance to his people, and the quotes from Isaiah 8 remind us that the church is the 'children God has given' to Jesus, but then Jesus can also a stumbling block, a stone the builders have rejected.

The term 'pioneer' (Gk. archēgon), can mean 'author', or it can mean a hero, a champion, a pioneer, or a trailblazer.  Calling Jesus our hero will make sense in the lager context of the passage explaining what Jesus has accomplished.  "The term was used for both human and divine heroes, founders of schools or those who cut a path forward for their followers and whose exploits for humanity were rewarded by exaltation. (Keener.  Heb 2:10)

3) Jesus has victory over the death and the devil.  The purpose of the incarnation was so death and Satan would be defeated; to achieve salvation for his children.    He is the one who overpowered the strongman (Luke 11:21-22). Kings win victories for their people, and Jesus is our king, our hero, our champion.  What we should not forget is that the devil continues to hold people in slavery because of their fear of death, and while we have been freed by the forgiveness (cleansing) available because of Christ's work on the cross, others are still in captivity.  Many are waiting to hear the gospel, they reject the idea that they are in bondage, and they need to understand our approach to death brings complete deliverance; Jesus' offer of eternal life.

4) Jesus is someone to be followed.  He is our hero, a forerunner who leads the way.  He is 'the source of eternal salvation' (Hebrews 5:9), 'and being perfected, he became the source of eternal salvation to all those who obey him,' obedience in the acceptance of God's will.  What does not come from Jesus (the source, or the cause) is not true salvation, this is the ultimate point.


Another thought:

The term 'perfect' means complete.   Paul talks about the resurrection being an act of 'completion.'? Jesus was divine and human, but was there something incomplete about Jesus?  Perhaps there is something incomplete about creation?  Creation is good, humans are very good, and now in the resurrection we find completion.  It is finished.  



Bibliography:

Donald Guthrie.  Hebrews.  pp. 90-98
New Bible commentary: 21st century edition. 1994 (D. A. Carson, R. T. France, J. A. Motyer & G. J. Wenham, Ed.) (4th ed.) (Heb 2:5–18).
Keener, C. S. (1993). The IVP Bible background commentary: New Testament (Heb 2:10). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.
Dan Doriani.  lecture.  Jesus Our Emphatic Hero.  Covenant Theological Seminary.

Recycled sermons?

I've recently read of an alleged problem within Christianity pertaining to the lack of unique sermons.  The citation warned about 'recycled sermons,' but this sounds like as a strange chord being played in striving for unique sermons as if we need to search for brave new interpretation to suit the growing complexity of the audience receiving the application.  Recycling two hundred year old illustrations will certainly leave an audience baffled, just as much as a message contextualized for the problems of a foreign culture will most likely be misunderstand in our culture, but the main points in exposition will not drastically change.    

The very idea of too many recycled sermons seems to be kind of a misnomer because of the limited amount of qualifying sermons in the New Testament, so it is a tragedy to think you need a new sermon, or even a different sermon.  Truth is not recycled; the truth claim made in the N.T. is the truth we stand by, and it will always be the truth.  The problem is not too many recycled Piper, MacArthur, Spurgreon, or Westley sermons, all embedded with lots of truth value, but at the same time they have a practical variant which is a tad distant from saying they have the same homelitical truth claim in the Acts sermons or the 1 Corinthians 15 proclamation of the gospel which followed the exhortation of living in a still fallen world.  The problem arises when we are not preaching the N.T. sermon of living in Christ our Lord crucified, resurrected, ascended, and reigning.

Do we suffer from a lack of creativity?  Yes.  Is it wrong for the same thing to be said over and over again?  No.  We have a limited amount of source material, so it may get old to hear the same things over and over again, but should we stray away from N.T. homelitics patterned in the oral gospel and the liturgical epistle.  I'm all for retelling the gospel in today's language, but I don't think we need a unique retelling every time around.

Hardness of Heart

"The quality of being hard rather than soft, stiff instead of pliable, is hardly mentioned at all int he Bible as a physical property. Instead it is a psychological, moral and spiritual quality that covers a range of attitudes, including refusal to listen, inability to understand, irrationality and rebellious disobedience. The part of the body that most often gets metaphorically hardened is the heart ; the image of being "stiff-necked" is a variant." 

Conclusion: "Softness or pliability toward God means to be enlightened by God's truth, obedient to God's commands and compliant with God's will."

Dictionary of Biblical Imagery. pg. 364. 

Scriptural references:

- Pharaoh and the Egyptians (Exodus), classic example
- Joshuah 11:20, achieving His purpose by the action of evil people (also Romans 9:7)
- Rebellion. Psalm 95:8, Exodus 17:1-7, Number 14:22, Hebrews 3:8, 15
- Refusing to listen, not hearing the voice of God. Hebrews 4:7
- Not listening to prophets. Ezekiel 3:7
- Lack of fear of God and straying from His ways. Isaiah 63:17. Not following his commandments. Mark 10:5 (God let them even though it was not God's idea)
- Spiritual Blindness. Mark 3:5, not understanding Jesus redemptive work. Mark 6:52, not understanding or discerning. John 12:40. Hardened mind, 2 Cor 3:14. and being in darkness in Eph 4:8.

Discipleship, church as family.

Ross Parsley. Messy Church. pg. 20-21..

In a family we learn how to work hard, sort out injustice with siblings, and wrestle through disappointment with our parents. We learn expressions of love, humor, manners, and humility, all within the family context.

The family analogy is the best picture of what a healthy and vibrant church community is supposed to look like. If you think about it, families are perfectly designed for discipleship: constant access, consistent modeling, demonstration, teaching and training, conflict management and resolution, failure, follow-up and feedback. And this should all happen in an attitude and atmosphere of love. Children are raised, parents are matured, and grandparents are valued all at the same time. 

This is God’s design.

But our churches don’t tend to have the characteristics of families anymore. Instead, we are more often full of consumers looking for our next God product, bingeing and purging Sunday to Sunday with a steady diet of fast-food TV preachers. We don’t often learn how to fight fair with loving correction and guidance but instead appear to be recruiting culture warriors to fight against an unholy society—or worse, against a perceived political opponent. We all hate religion but love our spiritual individualism with such passion that we may be creating a generation of dechurched orphans who have no authentic spiritual family or heritage.

.. The big C Church is on the verge of a massive shift philosophically and generationally. We are addicted to instant gratification. Microwave Christianity has replaced cooking the family meal. Instead of filming a movie classic, we’re capturing YouTube videos. Instead of taking long, leisurely walks, we’re making mad dashes to the mall. Instead of saving for our children’s inheritance, we’re buying lottery tickets. Our picture of who we are as the church is woefully inadequate and tragically shortsighted.

The Sinners Prayer reconstructed Campus Crusade like prayer for a friend. 

Dear God in heaven, I appeal to Your throne in the name of Jesus. I acknowledge that I am a sinner, and I am remorseful for my sins.  I repent of the life that I have lived; I need your forgiveness and grace to enter into my life. 

I believe that Jesus, conceived of by the Holy Spirit, willingly gave his life on the cross for my sins, and the sin of the world.  You said in Your Holy Word, Romans 10:9 that if we confess the Lord our God and believe in our hearts that God raised Jesus from the dead, we shall be saved. 

With my heart, I believe that the Spirit of God raised Jesus from the dead. I confess Jesus as Lord, the incarnate Son of God, after dying on a cross and being raise, He has ascended to a place of authority over heaven and earth; His kingdom I desire to enter, and His reign I want to live under. In saying that I commit my life to following Jesus, and to living in communion with other followers of Christ Jesus. This very moment I proclaim Jesus Christ as my Lord, and Lord of all, thus according to His Word all who call on His name shall be saved, so in faith and hope I know that in accordance to Your will I can be saved.

Thank you Jesus for your unlimited grace which has saved me from my sins. I thank you Jesus that your grace never leads to license to sin, but rather it always leads to repentance. Therefore Lord Jesus transform my life so that I may bring glory and honor to you alone and not to myself. 

Thank you Jesus for dying for me and giving me eternal life.
Amen.

Glory of God - size?

I don't think it can be expressed in size as if God can easily be conformed to our imagination. To even begin to consider the bigness of God in terms of greatness is to first look at the vastness of the universe. Some have tried this method, and while I think it is fascinating and helpful, this only begins to express God's glory.

Imagine a standard grid used to plot numbers.

               --- Us
<---------------------------> God


We are limited by depth of field to the visible portion of the line, yet the line representing God is beyond finite, so we cannot plot God as anything limited to the grid.

God's glory is also expressed by His goodness and holiness. A fuller understanding of the term 'holiness' removes God from the grid and then makes Him author of the grid and your line. The paradox to God not being on the grid is that God is still active on the grid, multi-directional, yet separate from the grid. If we were to speak of God as the grid, then everything becomes divine, polytheistic, and worthy of worship. God's glory sets Him apart as the only thing worthy of worship.

"The God of the Bible is not an ontological black hole, so to speak, but rather a "white hole" of infinitely dense and concentrated reality that can spew forth a universe at the moment of the big bang creation.  Neutron stars, stars that have collapsed catastrophically but that have not yet reached the black hole state, are said to have such a dense concentration of neutrons at the core that all the molecules in Mount Everest could be concentrated in a space the size of a teaspoon.  The image of an intensely and densely concentrated star suggests the analogy of God as an "neutron star" of being - more intensely and densely real than anything in our ordinary human imagination and experience."

John Jefferson Davis.  Worship and the Reality of God.  pp. 50