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Legalism. When “Right” is Just Not Enough.

December 23, 2009

the-ten-commandmentsChristmas – the season of Bible movies on TV – like the one in the picture. Maybe because of that I have been captivated lately by Jesus’ take on the Law given to Moses. It is fascinating because He himself says that he has not come to destroy the law, but fulfill it. Many take that to mean that the rules and feasts and other observances of orthodox Judaism should be followed by Christians as well. Paul and the other Apostles did not. They understood Jesus’s meaning – that the law exists to be our teacher, and its supreme lesson is this:

There is none righteous.

Jesus came for one purpose – to fulfill the righteous requirements of the Law on our behalf. The Law was true, and just and good, but we were incapable of fulfilling it. The Law puts into writing the metaphysical reality of the universe as God created it – sin must be atoned for by the shedding of innocent blood. And  “when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons.” The single greatest truth in all of human history.

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We preach…marketing?

November 1, 2009

not-a-geekThis may sound like a rant, or a reaction to something I saw recently. I want to assure you that it isn’t. You don’t have to believe me (I can’t prove it), but I’ve been on this journey of understanding for over ten years now, and I am just now to the point where I can talk about it intelligably.

A decade ago the Christian Church in America was at the apex of a movement to seek more relevant ways to engage our culture and put more keisters in our buildings every Sunday. That last part sounds cynical, but it’s the best way I can describe it. That was the point – to grow our attendance. And that was important, because most of us had some buildings to fill, and those gigantic mortgages don’t pay themselves. As a result, we engaged in market research and applied countless business methods to our ministries, all in the hopes of reversing what we had just then realized was a steady decline in attendance.

I won’t bore you with the details of everything that came from that, but I will oversimplify: The “seeker-sensitive” movement led to the founding of mega-churches, which led to the “emerging church” movement (define that however you like – I can’t anymore), all of which were centered around the relentless pursuit, as near as I can tell, of the answer to this question from the 90’s:

 

Q: How can we present the Gospel in a way that is acceptable to present-day Americans?

A: (If I may be so bold) You can’t.

 

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Evil.

September 11, 2009

800px-wtc-2004-memorialI don’t know why I turned on the tv in the morning 8 years ago today, September 11, 2001. I was up for an early staff breakfast, and watching the news wasn’t part of my morning routine. But I distinctly remember feeling the need to turn it on. It took me a few minutes to understand what I was seeing. A few minutes later I watched a second plane hit, then a tower collapse live. And then I knew what it was:

Evil.

There are some who disagree. They say this was justice – payback for years of American Imperialism and greed – some even say God’s judgement against us. If you want to decide what’s God’s judgement and what’s not (say for instance you’re John Piper and you like to interpret the weather), more power to you. I don’t claim that prophetic authority, and it is God’s to judge the merits of those who do. For me, one thing was abundantly clear: brutally murdering thousands of men, women, and children is evil. Cowardly, vile, despicable, murderous, and evil.