Returning Upward

This morning at church I found myself vowing to make the theme of the coming year a pledge to know God better and more fully than ever before. The passage from Hosea 6 was echoing in my mind “…let us press on to know that LORD…” “Ah.” I thought to myself, “that will be my theme verse.” Perfect. I had a spark of desire, and now I was making vows about the theme of coming year and what’s more I had a verse to sanctify it all. This is going to be great year. But hold on just one moment. I am a seminary student which means I can no longer (at least not without an incredibly guilty conscience) rip a passage “bleeding” from its context without at least giving that context the dignity of a cursory reading.

So I read Hosea 6…and then 7 and then 8... what I found turned my stomach. The oft quoted prayer of the rebellious people of God from Hosea is not what I thought it was. The prayer, despite the fact that it was even more beautifully composed than I remembered, was not a prayer of true repentance and seeking God. Consider Hosea 6:1-3:

"Come, let us ^areturn to the LORD; for ^bhe has torn us, that he may heal us; he has struck us down, and ^che will bind us up. ² After two days ^ahe will revive us; on the third day he will raise us up, that we may live before him. ^{3 a}Let us know; ^alet us press on to know the LORD; ^bhis going out is sure as the dawn; he will come to us ^cas the showers, ^das the spring rains that water the earth."

What a declaration! What a commitment! But now consider what God says in response to this “commitment”:

Hosea 6:4 ⁴ What shall I do with you, ^aO ^bEphraim? What shall I do with you, O ^cJudah? Your love is ^dlike a morning cloud, ^elike the dew that goes early away.

The peoples’ commitment is like a mist that burns off in the heart of the morning sun. But there is more.

Hosea 7:13-16 ^{13 a}Woe to them, for they have strayed from me! Destruction to them, for they have rebelled against me! ^bI would redeem them, but ^cthey speak lies against me. ^{14 a}They do not cry to me from the heart, but ^bthey wail upon their beds; for grain and wine they gash themselves; they rebel against me. ¹⁵ Although ^aI trained and strengthened their arms, yet they devise evil against me. ¹⁶ They ^areturn, but not upward;¹ they are ^blike a treacherous bow; their princes shall fall by the sword because of ^cthe insolence of their tongue. This shall be their derision ^din the land of Egypt.

The people were “returning.” They were repenting, but not upward, not to the Most High God. This is where I am at tonight as write. I am returning but not upward. Oh Father, help me to return and return upward. May “upward returning” be the theme of this the year ahead of me, your gracious gift to me for the sake of your glory and renown.

(Composed on 12/24/2006 11:54:38 PM)

Majoring on the Minors and The Lost Books of the New Testament

Recently, I have been pondering how much Scripture goes untaught in evangelical churches despite their commitment to preach the whole council of God. For example, when is the last time one has heard good sermon on Zephaniah? Or 3 John? So many of these smaller books of the Bible are so often ignored and unnoticed in the wake of grand expositions of Isaiah and Romans. Yet, these shorter perhaps seemingly more obscure book are nonetheless Scripture give by God to his people for the edification and his glory.

In order address this deficiency, I have been given consideration to doing a sermon series or writing a book looks at these texts and gives pastors and teachers help in preaching them.

Scot McKnight On Labeling

Scot McKnight a New Testament scholar who just published the book The Real Mary and writes the Jesus Creed blog, recently posted some thoughts on how the practice of labeling people particularly within the church can be a very dangerous activity for brother and sisters in Christ to engage in. Take a look below or click here.

Name-calling in the Church

from Jesus Creed by Scot McKnight

The Church has developed its own mechanisms of calling people “names,” of “labelling” others. The most powerful “labels” in the Church are “fundamentalist” and “liberal.” Calling someone one of those labels is rarely a simple description — it is an act of repudiation and denunciation. Here are ten observations about labelling. But, first …

I do not think it possible to avoid labelling. I also think it nearly impossible for Christians to behave when it comes to labelling. Exaggeration in using a label seems to evoke a sense of being faithful to the tradition, so many have become “expert labellers.” (Sadly, I think.)

My prayer today is that (1) we will understand what we are doing in our use of labels, (2) that we will learn to be much more accurate and loving about our labels, and (3) that we avoid labelling as often as possible. Sticks and stones my break my bones, but “labels” will never hurt me. Baloney! Nothing wounds like unkind, unjustifiable, and exaggerated labels. (Just in case you are wondering, no, this isn’t a response to something said about me. Someone wrote and it led me to reflect on something I read years ago by Bruce Malina, called Calling Jesus Names.)

Here are my observations. I’d love to hear your reflections.

1. Each society, group, church has boundary lines of who is “in” and who is “out.” Familes know, churches know, and friends know who does and who does not belong.

2. This group-consciousness permits people to know where they are and if they belong or not. Labelling has to do with this fundamental way of viewing a society.

3. The labels used to describe who is “in” vs. “out,” because those labels use language, sometimes reflect reality — some really are “in” and some really are “out” — and sometimes they do not reflect reality. Some are called things that are inaccurate, even if they are effective (but wrong). So, the “label” itself may or may not tell the truth about someone.

4. Labels are of two sorts. Some are given honorable “titles”; others are given dishonorable “deviants.” An “entitled” person is approved; a “deviant” person is disapproved.

5. The rhetorical labels we use are as much “weapons” as they are “descriptions.” Labelling someone can both bring honor and destroy a person’s status.

6. A person who has the capacity to label deviants successfully is a “champion.” Champions defend the sanctity of the group and define the borders and boundaries.

7. Champions are supported by “enhancers” — those who spread the label of the champion.

8. To label a person a “deviant” creates collective avoidance and isolation.

9. The major function of labelling is to create a “master status” for a person — that is, it gives a number of people a way of interpreting and classifying another person.

10. O be careful labeller what you say; o be careful labeller whom you assign to deviance. We will be judged for every word we utter. Check out James 3.

A Prayer

"Direct me, O Lord, in all my doings with your most gracious favor, and further me with your continual help; that in all my work begun, continued, and ended in you, I may glorify your holy name, and finally, by your mercy, obtain everlasting life; through Jesus Christ my Lord. Amen (from mid-day Divine Hours for 11/27/06)."

Confession and Affection

This evening as I was talking with a friend a thought dawned on me about the relationship between our confession of sin and our affection for Christ. When we neglect the spiritual discipline of regularly and systematically confessing sin (both to God and to one another), we keep ourselves from experiencing the deep affection for Christ that comes when we acknowledge before him and one another our utter sinfulness and desperate need for a savior.

When we eschew confession, instead of experiencing grace and forgiveness, we end up feeling guilty and distance from God but not really knowing exactly why. This is because instead of confessing sin we have chosen either to ignore it or to justify ourselves. Yet, our souls are never content with either of these options. Between our consciences and the Holy Spirit, ignoring sin can last only so long. And in the end self-justification is really just self-deception. We know that our "righteousness" will never be enough to free us from the guilt and fear that come from a life in which sin is seemly ever present.

All to often we forget that the entire thrust of the gospel is the good news about the forgiven of sins! Consider just a few passages:

Matthew 26:27-28
27 And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, "Drink of it, all of you, 28 for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. (ESV)

Luke 24:45-47
45 Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, 46 and said to them, "Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, 47 and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. (ESV)

Acts 2:37-38
37 Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Brothers, what shall we do?" 38 And Peter said to them, "Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. (ESV)

The good news of the gospel is that our sin have been forgiven through the shed blood of Jesus Christ. However, when we are out of the habit of regularly confessing sin, we forget how much we need this forgiveness and consequently our affection and thankfulness for Christ decreases. Whenever we decrease the amount of sin we confess by either ignoring or justifying it, we truncate the scope of the glorious work of Christ on our behalf. I would submit that our affection for Christ is directly related to our perception of what he has done our behalf.

In his Gospel Luke records the following events:
36 Now one of the Pharisees asked Jesus to have dinner with him, so he went into the Pharisee's house and took his place at the table. 37 Then when a woman of that town, who was a sinner, learned that Jesus was dining at the Pharisee's house, she brought an alabaster jar of perfumed oil. 38 As she stood behind him at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. She wiped them with her hair, kissed them, and anointed them with the perfumed oil.

39 Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, "If this man were a prophet, he would know who and what kind of woman this is who is touching him, that she is a sinner." 40 So Jesus answered him, "Simon, I have something to say to you." He replied, "Say it, Teacher." 41 "A certain creditor had two debtors; one owed him five hundred silver coins, and the other fifty. 42 When they could not pay, he canceled the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?" 43 Simon answered, "I suppose the one who had the bigger debt canceled." Jesus said to him, "You have judged rightly."

44 Then, turning toward the woman, he said to Simon, "Do you see this woman? I entered your house. You gave me no water for my feet, but she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. 45 You gave me no kiss of greeting, but from the time I entered she has not stopped kissing my feet. 46 You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with perfumed oil. 47 Therefore I tell you, her sins, which were many, are forgiven, thus she loved much; but the one who is forgiven little loves little." 48 Then Jesus said to her, "Your sins are forgiven." (Luke 7:36-48, NET)

The more we comprehend our own sinfulness, the more affection we have for the one who has said to us, "Your sins are forgiven." Therefore, let us confess our sin to God and to one another in the assurance that God is faithful and just to forgive us because of what Christ has done on our behalf. As we do this our gratitude and affection for Christ will grow and deepen and ultimately it is a deep abiding affection for Jesus that allows us to see sin for what it truly is and flee from it into the arms of the one who has declared before the Father and the community, "Your sins are forgiven."

Mastering Scripture?

When studying a passage of Scripture, what is our goal? Mastery over the passage? In one sense, yes. As we study we ought to learn and gain mastery over the content, context, grammar, theology and application(s) of the passage. However, for the follower of Christ the ultimate goal of studying Scripture is not simply the acquisition of more true propositions about God (although it certainly not less than this either!). Ultimately, the goal is discipleship. In this sense, then, the goal is not finally our mastery of the passage but rather the passage's mastery over us, that is, our discipleship and subjugation to the Word, written and incarnate.

If we allow our study of Scripture to reach only the penultimate goal of our mastery over a passage but never attain the ultimate goal, the passage's mastery over us, then we have neglected the primary purpose for which Scripture, the Word of God, has been given to us. As one of my favorite professors has pointed out, "The Bible is written to sinners in need of salvation not to speculators in need of metaphysical propositions to ponder." We must never forget this for to do so is to fail to see that which is most important.

Study Scripture! Gain all the knowledge you can about it! Never cease striving gain additional knowledge about a passage even one which you studied many times in the past. But let us never forget that our study is not complete until we have been taught, nor our mastery complete until we have been mastered.

A Lover of Good

In the Apostle Paul's letter to Titus, he instructs Titus to appoint leaders for the church in Crete and gives Titus list of qualifications and qualities that these leaders must possess as well as vices to which they must not be subject. These are the words of Paul to Titus:

"For an overseer, as God's steward, must be above reproach. He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered or a drunkard or violent or greedy for gain, but hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined" (Titus 1:7,8 ESV).

The one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is seen and unseen, the one Lord, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life is the source of all goodness and glory in heaven and on earth, in things seen and unseen.

May we as creatures uniquely made in the image of the one God whose name is Father, Son and Holy Spirit, who alone is truly and wholly good, learn to see and love all that is good in that which he has made and declared good, so that we might turn to him in thanksgiving and in a fear that leads to a true knowledge of him.