Can we know?
Can we know?
What if I don’t know if God exists?[1] What if I don’t know how to answer the big questions of life? What if I don’t think I’ll ever know?[2] Can we know? If so, how?
If we feel like we can’t be sure, we also can’t be sure about that. That is to say, if we feel like we can’t know, how do we know that?
In talking with people about the big questions of life, they often say they don’t think you can know. They think the big questions of how we got here and what we’re supposed to do while we’re here remain unanswered. We simply can’t know.
I played putt-putt golf with my family today. I enjoy the challenge and I definitely enjoy winning. I don’t like playing putt-putt at courses where skill is not a factor. I don’t like the sidewalls to be made out of rock because then you have no control of how the ball bounces. I don’t like when the course has variables that are out of my control. Today, however, on the last hole I couldn’t even see where the hole was. But I took the time and I walked to the end of the course, past the out house that obstructed my view, and saw the hole. My knowledge of where the hole was didn’t get me a hole-in-one but it did get me to the hole eventually. It helped me get a meager win. I beat my son by one stroke.
Knowledge is important in all areas of life, even putt-putt. It’s not always easy though. But putting in the work and at least trying to walk past the “out houses” that obstruct our view is worth it. If it makes sense in putt-putt—and it does especially if you want to win!—then it makes sense in life.
Can We Know Anything at All?
Wow. That is a super big question. And it’s a question that some people are not asking. That’s problematic and in some ways ignorant. Others, however, are asking that question but they’re asking it in a proud way. That’s also problematic and arrogant.
Let me ask you a question, how do you know your dad is your dad? Some of you will say, “He’s just my dad. He’s always been my dad. I’ve always known him as my dad.”
“But, how do you know you know for sure he’s your dad?”
Others will answer, “I know he’s my dad because my mom told me.” But how do you know your mom’s not lying? Or, how do you know she knows the truth?
Perhaps the only way to know your dad is actually your biological dad is through a DNA test. But could it be the case that the DNA clinic is deceiving you? Is it possible that there’s a big conspiracy to deceive you? What if you are actually part of The Truman Show? Everything is just a big hoax for people’s entertainment? How could you know without a shadow of a doubt that’s not happening? You really can’t. Not 100%.
Thankfully, things do not need to be verified 100% for us to believe it to be true. We can and do have knowledge of all sorts of things that are not proved beyond the shadow of a doubt.
We Can’t Know Everything
We, I hope you can see, can’t know everything. There is healthy humility when it comes to knowledge, just as there’s a healthy level of skepticism. If we think our knowledge must be exhaustive for us to have knowledge, we will never have knowledge. And we will be super unproductive. I, for one, would not be able to go to the mechanic. And that would be bad.
Our knowledge is necessarily limited. We may not like it but that’s the cold hard truth, we must rely on other people. We must learn from other people. There’s a place for us to trust other people and sources. Of course, we are not to trust all people or trust people all the time. But we must necessarily rely on people at points.
Philosophy and the History of Careening Back and Forth Epistemologically
John Frame, the theologian and philosopher, shows in his book, A History of Western Philosophy and Theology, that the history of secular philosophy is a history of humans careening back in forth from rationalism to skepticism and back again. One philosopher makes a case that we can and must know it all, every jot and title. And when they’re proven wrong, the next philosopher retreats to pure epistemological anarchy, claiming we can’t know anything at all. Again, when it’s found out that that view is wrong and we can in fact know things, we swing back the other way. And so, the philosophical pendulum goes and we have people like Hume and people like Nietzsche.
The history of philosophy shows that we should be both skeptical about rationalism and rational about skepticism. Both have accuracies and inaccuracies. Which helps explain the long life of both. We can know things but we can’t know everything or anything fully.
Christians give credible reasons for epistemological suspicion even while giving legitimate reasons for belief. Christians are realists, not rationalists or skeptics. Christians believe we should be skeptical about our rationalism and rational about our skepticism. We can know truly even if not fully in this life. We can know a lot even while we know we can’t know all. Christians hold tenaciously to the bedrock truths of reality, but hold other things loosely.
The Bible and Knowledge
The biblical understanding of knowledge takes both rationalism and skepticism into account and explains how both are partly right and partly wrong. And it explains that though we may not be able to know fully, we can know truly. It also explains that there are more types of knowing than just cognitive and rational. The Bible understands who we are anthropologically and so is best able to reveal the whole truth epistemologically.
The Bible also understands that there is experiential knowing, tasting—experiencing something—and knowing something to be true on a whole different level than mere cognitive knowing.[3] When the Bible talks about “knowing” it’s intimate, tangible, and experiential knowing. For example, it says Adam “knew” his wife and a child was the result of that knowledge. That, my friends, is not mere mental knowledge. It’s lived—intimately experienced—knowledge. It’s knowledge that’s not available without relationship.
Job says it this way, I’ve heard of you but now something different has happened, I’ve seen you (Job 42:5). Jonathan Edwards, the philosopher and theologian, talked about the difference between cognitively knowing honey is sweet and tasting its sweetness. It is a world of difference. The Bible is not about mere mental assent. It is about tasting. Knowing. Experiencing. Living the truth.
The Bible says and shows that Jesus is Himself the way, the truth, and the life. Jesus is what it means to know the truth. He is the truth and shows us the truth. He is truth lived, truth incarnate.
The Bible communicates that some people don’t understand, don’t know the truth. There’s a sense in which if you don’t see it, you don’t see it. If it doesn’t make sense, it doesn’t make sense. The Bible talks about people “hearing” and yet “not hearing” and “seeing” and “not seeing.” Some people believe the gospel and the Bible is foolishness (1 Cor. 2:14). “The god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers” (2 Cor. 4:4).
How Should Christians Pursue Knowledge?
First, our disposition or the way we approach questions is really important. How should we approach questions? What should characterize us?
Humility! Why? Because we are fallible, we make mistakes. However, God does not. Isaiah 55:8-9 says, “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, declares the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.”
Also, kindness, patience, and understanding are an important part of humility and asking questions and arriving at answers. So, “Faith seeking understanding,” is a helpful phrase. Christians have faith and reason; faith in reason, and reason for faith.
Second, where do we get answers from? Scripture. Why is this important? Again, I am fallible and you are fallible, that is, we make mistakes. And how should we approach getting those answers? Are we above Scripture or is Scripture above us? Who holds more sway? Scripture supplies the truth to us; we do not decide what we think and then find a way to spin things so that we can believe whatever we want.
Third, community is important. God, for instance, has given the church pastor/elders who are supposed to rightly handle the word of truth and shepherd the community of believers. We don’t decide decisions and come to conclusions on our own. God helps us through Christ’s body the Church.
Fourth, it is important to remember mystery. We should not expect to know all things. We are, once again, fallible. So, we should keep Deuteronomy 29:29 in mind: “The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.” There are certain things that are revealed and certain things that are not revealed.
Fifth, our questions and answers are not simply about head knowledge. God doesn’t just want us to be able to talk about theology and philosophy. Deuteronomy 29:29 says, “that we may do…” So, God also cares a whole lot about what we do. Knowledge is to lead to action. We are to be hearers and doers. Christians believe that knowing should absolutely lead to doing, or the thing “known” is not actually known.
Sixth, it’s important to acknowledge there are very big and important questions that are difficult to answer. We should have a sense of our smallness. Again, we should have a certain amount of humility. But that doesn’t mean we can’t find answers. Difficulty answering questions and humility in the face of questions should not be an excuse for digging deep and trying to answer the big questions of life. They’re too important.
Notes
[1] There are multiple things that point us to the existence of God. We now know that the universe had a beginning. Whatever begins to exist has a cause of its beginning. Therefore, the universe has a cause of its beginning. It makes sense that God is that cause. God is the Uncaused Cause. God, being God, is immaterial and outside space and time. Further, if there are laws of physics it would make sense that there is also a law-giver. If not, where did those laws come from? In a similar way, it would seem the fine-tuning of the universe requires a fine-tuner. I’m not trying to be too repetitive but codes like the genetic code can only come from a Coder. Intelligence comes from Intelligence. What explains human consciousness except a Higher Consciousness? If there is a moral law, shouldn’t we expect a Lawgiver? Now, just because God exists doesn’t mean we know God. But if God does exist God would certainly be able to make Himself known. He would be able to communicate in various ways. But God being God, those ways may not fit into the categories we’d expect.
[2] People often refer to themselves as agnostic. Agnostic comes from Greek and means “unknown.” Gnosis means knowledge and the “a” prefix is a negation.
[3] As Blaise Pascal said, “the heart has its reasons which reason knows nothing of.”
*Photo by Paden Johnsen
Free e-Book
In preparation for Easter, I put together a devotional book. If you don’t have something to go through, I encourage you to check it out.
Here’s the link to the free e-book, I hope you find it helpful: Psalms of Our Suffering Savior
Biography As A Form of Discipleship: Edwards, Spurgeon, & Lloyd-Jones (pt. 2)
Different Levels of Gifting, Same Stewardship
Lloyd-Jones had a profound memory, “it was as if he was unraveling an endless ball of wool.”[1] Edwards had a keen intellect being the foremost of American thinkers. Spurgeon was “the Prince of Preachers.” As we can see by these small examples, these men were especially gifted by God but they were not merely gifted, they were also faithful with the gifts God entrusted to them. We will all be held accountable for what God has entrusted to us but praise God I am not held accountable for the intellect of Edwards. That, however, in no way clears me from being faithful. These men were not merely amazingly gifted but amazingly faithful. We may not be able to preach like Spurgeon but we can seek by God’s empowering to be faithful like him.
We are all stewards entrusted with different amounts, some 30, 60, and a 100 fold, but we must all be faithful (Matt. 13:8; 25:14-30; Luke 12:35-48; 1 Peter 4:10). I have not been entrusted with the same stewardship as the men of whom we are seeking to emulate, and it is highly unlikely that you have either. However, these men were not merely gifted, they were all entirely dedicated to the Lord (we will turn to this in more detail shortly). Michael Jordan, arguably the best basketball player of all time, still worked hard. What made him so great was that he was not just talented but also tough in his discipline. The men we are looking at were gifted, there is no doubt, but they were also incredibly faithful. So the first thing we see to emulate from them is their faithfulness.
They were Consumed with God’s Glory
All three of these men here were greatly concerned for the glory of God, even if this desire came to fruition differently in the lives of each man. They did not all, like Edwards, write The End for Which God Created the World, but they all would have agreed with what he wrote and desired, like him, to glorify God with their utmost ability.
It is said that though “Edwards was intellectually brilliant and theologically commanding, his true greatness lay in his indefatigable zeal for the glory of God.”[2] Likewise, “The chief element of Spurgeon’s entire career” was not his preaching, or anything else; it “was his walk with God.”[3] This was also central to Lloyd-Jones: “A God-centered theology was not an addition to his personal life, it was central to it… His jealousy for God’s glory… flowed from his knowing something of being in the presence of God.”[4] In fact, Lloyd-Jones’ concerned for God’s glory, told Iian H. Murray, his biographer, that the biography should be done “for God’s glory only.”[5]
We should, like these men, seek in whatever we do to glorify God. We must, however, remember that we are all gifted differently and thus the route we take may be different than that of these three men. We are all called to different things, but we are all called to seek to glorify God in whatever we do.
They had an All-Encompassing Commitment to Christ[6]
This section is one of the most significant sections. We must remember, however, that these men’s complete commitment to God was not something they mustered up on their own. God gave even that to them. He showed Himself glorious to them, more glorious than anything else, and their complete devotion followed.[7] These men invested all, their time and talent, indeed, their heart, soul mind, and strength because they had been granted eyes to see that God and His glory were worth it.
Their all-encompassing commitment to Christ flowed out of their understanding of the glory of Christ. Not only did these men see that God was glorious and thus worthy for themselves to entirely comment to but also that He was Lord of all. They understood the language in the New Testament that says that Jesus is our Master/Lord and we are slaves, which clearly implies that we do whatever He says, whenever He says it.[8]
Benjamin B. Warfield said that Edwards committed himself without reserve to God. His whole spirit panted to be in all its movement subjected to God’s government.[9] Edwards explained his reasoning for his total commitment. He said,
If God be truly loved, he is loved as God; and to love him as God, is to love him as the supreme good. But he that loves God as the supreme good, is ready to make all other good give place to that; or, which is the same thing, he is willing to suffer all for the sake of this good.[10]
Edwards was entirely committed to God because He is “the supreme good.”
Spurgeon commenting on first Kings 18:21 said, “If God be God, serve him, and do it thoroughly; but if the world be God, serve it, and make no profession of religion.” Later he goes on to tell us, “Either keep up your profession, or give it up… Let your conduct be consistent with your opinions.”[11] What Spurgeon was saying is, if the Bible and the gospel are true we must live as though they are. We must live in line with what we believe. As the scriptures say, “The LORD is God; there is no other… therefore be wholly true to the LORD our God, walking in His statutes and keeping His Commandments” (1 Kings 8:60-61).
Spurgeon lived out what he said. People told Spurgeon that he would break down his constitution by preaching ten times a week among all his other labors. But Spurgeon’s desire, like Paul’s, was to spend and be spent. Spurgeon could say, “If I had fifty constitutions I would rejoice to break them down in the service of the Lord Jesus Christ.”[12]
Spurgeon gave his money, time, and self completely to the Lord. God used Spurgeon greatly. He wrote over 140 books, penned around 500 letters a week, spoke to thousands of people each week, started an orphanage, started a pastor’s college, and led countless people to Christ among other things. That was all possible because he gave himself entirely to the Lord. One of Spurgeon’s biographers, Arnold Dallimore said, “Early in life he had lost all consideration of his own self, and his prayer that he might be hidden behind the cross, that Christ alone might be seen, had expressed his heart’s chief purpose.”[13] Dallimore also said, “Spurgeon was characterized by an earnestness that almost defies description.”[14]
Lloyd-Jones, too, saw that “our supreme duty is to submit ourselves unreservedly to Him.”[15] In fact, “Essential Puritanism,” Lloyd-Jones argued, “put its emphasis upon a life of spiritual, personal religion, an intense realization of the presence of God, a devotion of the entire being to Him.”[16] You can see that Lloyd-Jones did exactly that all over the place in his life, he gave himself to God and the work that He had for him. “When God calls us,” Lloyd-Jones said, “He is to be obeyed in spite of all natural feelings.”[17] Lloyd-Jones not only said this but practiced it himself because he was entirely commented to Christ.
God is looking for individuals in this generation who will rise above the status quo of contemporary Christianity and say with Lloyd-Jones, Spurgeon, and Edwards, “‘I am completely Yours.’”[18] We must resolve, as Edwards did, to be the jar of clay through which God will display his surpassing power. We must seek for pleasure in God above all things. We must seek to be so heavenly-minded that we can be of some earthly good. We must do all this with all the power that God so mightily works in us by His grace. “If one is to impact this world for Jesus Christ, he must live as Edwards did, with extraordinary purpose and firm determination.”[19]
Notes
[1] Murray, The Fight of Faith, 376 see also 406n1, 453, 759.
[2] Steven J. Lawson, The Unwavering Resolve of Jonathan Edwards (Lake Mary, Florida: Reformation Trust Publishing, 2008), 4.
[3] Arnold Dallimore, Spurgeon: A New Biography, (Carlisle, PA: The Banner of Truth Trust, 1999), 177.
[4] Murray, The Fight of Faith, 764-65.
[5] Ibid., 729 see also xxiv.
[6] See Deut. 6:5; 1 Kings 8:61; Matt. 8:22; 22:37-38; Mark 12:30 (heart, soul, mind and strength, i.e. total devotion); Luke 10:27; 14:25-33; 16:13; Rom. 14:7-8; 1 Cor. 7:35 (Paul wants to secure an “undivided devotion to the Lord”); 10:31; 2 Cor. 5:9; 14-15; Phil. 3:7-8; Col. 3:17, 23, and 1 John 2:3-6 for some examples of the all-inclusive nature of the call of Christ. Also in Romans 12:1, we are told to present our bodies as a living sacrifice because that is our reasonable (logical) worship. Thomas R. Schreiner says, “Paul used the term with the meaning ‘rational’ or ‘reasonable,’ as was common in the Greek language. His purpose in doing so was to emphasize that yielding one’s whole self to God is eminently reasonable. Since God has been so merciful, failure to dedicate one’s life to him is the height of folly and irrationality” (Thomas R. Schreiner, Romans [Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 1998], 645 [italics mine].). In addition, Schreiner points out that “the word ‘bodies’ here refers to the whole person and stresses that consecration to God involves the whole person… Genuine commitment to God embraces every area of life” (Ibid., 644. Italics mine). Christianity is all-encompassing.
[7] God often shows His glory to us before He calls us to comment to Him in unreserved obedience. Note, for example, in the Decalogue. God gives the commands but first He adds a relational and redemptive element, namely, “I am the LORD your God [relational], who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery [redemptive]” (Deut. 5:6). This same thing is seen throughout Scripture, both OT and NT.
[8] “Edwards would say that actions do reveal something about a man’s will and heart. Professing Christ implies being subject to him in practice, it entails the promise of universal obedience to him” (Iain H. Murray, Jonathon Edwards: A New Biography, (Carlisle, PA: The Banner of Truth Trust, 2008), 336). Edwards understood that “none profess to be on Christ’s side, but they who profess to renounce his rivals” (Idem, Jonathon Edwards: A New Biography, 337). Lloyd-Jones clearly saw that one cannot “receive Christ as Saviour without receiving Him as Lord” (Idem, The Fight of Faith, 470).
[9] Murray, Edwards, 98.
[10] Jonathon Edwards, Charity and its Fruits, (Carlisle, Pennsylvania: The Banner of Truth Trust, 2005), 257.
[11] C. H. Spurgeon, sermon “Elijah’s Appeal to the Undecided” from 1 Kings 18:21 (italics mine).
[12] Dallimore, Spurgeon: A New Biography, 132.
[13] Ibid., 239.
[14] Ibid., 76.
[15] Murray, The Fight of Faith, 181 (italics mine).
[16] Ibid., 460n1 (italics mine).
[17] Ibid., 588.
[18] Lawson, The Unwavering Resolve of Jonathan Edwards, 60.
[19] Ibid.
Biography As A Form of Discipleship: Edwards, Spurgeon, & Lloyd-Jones (pt. 1)
Introduction
We have clear scriptural warrant for emulation. We see this through Jesus’ earthly ministry; He made disciples and in the Great Commission, He instructed us to make disciples (Matt. 28:19). We see this precedence all throughout the New Testament. We will examine a few examples to establish the usefulness and biblical grounds for Christian biography.
The writer of Hebrews instructs us to be “imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises” (Heb. 6:12). He also encourages us with the thought of all the saints that have gone before us. He says, “Let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race set before us” (12:1). Of course, he wisely reminds us that our supreme example is Jesus (12:2). Again, he says, “Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith” (13:7). I think here, we can deduce that many times it is a good principle to wait to imitate leaders until we have considered “the outcome of their way of life.” This also shows us that we should not imitate them wholesale but evaluate them. We can emulate good Christian leaders, and that is fine, but we must always remember that only “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (13:8).
Paul tells us to “honor such men” (Phil. 2:29)[1] who are faithful in service to the Lord. Paul even urged people to imitate himself (1 Cor. 4:16), but only as much as he imitated Christ (1 Cor. 11:1).[2] I wonder if one reason for this is proximity. It is one thing to ask, “What would Jesus do,” it is another thing to see someone who by our evaluation tends to do things that Jesus would have done had He faced similar circumstances. It is easier to understand what love is when it has flesh on. Paul continues to say imitate me, but not just me, but also those who follow my example (Phil. 3:17). Thus, in as much as Jonathan Edwards, Charles Spurgeon, and Lloyd-Jones follow Paul as he followed Christ we should seek to learn from biography’s and emulate them.[3]
It is helpful for most human beings to see something demonstrated before they attempt to do it themselves; it is just how we tend to learn. This is also what we see when it comes to spiritual matters. We need someone to imitate because we are naturally imitators, but not just anyone. Imitators (mimetes) simply means ones who follow. We see this in some of its related words: a “mime” is someone who acts out an imitation of another person or animal. And a “mimeograph” is a machine that makes copies from a template. Thus, we see the template/person we chose to copy/imitate is vital because if we do our job well we will be a lot like them.
The New Testament shows us the importance of discipleship and there is even a sense in which those who have died can still teach us.[4] Look for example at the impact that Jonathon Edwards has had on John Piper or the impact of both Edwards and Spurgeon on Lloyd-Jones.[5]
Then look at the impact that Piper has had on many others. It reminds me of Paul’s exhortation to Timothy (2 Tim 2:1-2). Obviously, Paul is an apostle and Edwards is not, but the principle still applies. We in the 21st century have an unprecedented opportunity to entrust good teaching to faithful men who will teach others also. Biographies are a good source to use when discipling men. It is helpful for us to see men who though they are dead, still speak by the life of faith they lived. However, we must remember to evaluate them in light of Christ and see where they succeeded in following Him and where they failed.[6] We must learn from both the good and the bad. To this, we will turn momentarily but first, we will look at the unique way that God gifts certain people differently yet expects everyone, though not equally gifted, to be equally faithful.
Notes
[1] In this verse, in the Greek, we see the present imperative so Paul is commanding them to continually honor faithful men, in this case, Epaphroditus.
[2] In both these verses from First Corinthians, we see the present imperative tells us to habitually follow the command. It is to be our long-term commitment, our lifestyle, to imitate Paul as he imitates Christ.
[3] We could look at many other texts here to establish the legitimacy, indeed, the blessing of biographies however; we do not have the space for that here. Here are some further texts to look at Phil. 4:8-9; 1 Thess, 1:6, 7; 2 Thess. 3:9.
[4] The Hebrew writer reminds us that we can learn even from Abel though he has long since been dead. Even Abel “through his faith, though he died, he still speaks” (Heb. 12:4) Even though we do not know very much about him we can still learn from what he “speaks” with his demonstration of faith.
[5] Iian H. Murray, D. M. Lloyd-Jones: The Fight of Faith, (Carlisle, PA: The Banner of Truth Trust, 2009), 421 see also idem, D. M. Lloyd-Jones: The First Forty Years, (Carlisle, PA: The Banner of Truth Trust, 2008), 196n1.
[6] As J. C. Ryle has said, “The best of men are only men at their very best. Patriarchs, prophets, and apostles,—martyrs, fathers, reformers, puritans,—all, all are sinners, who need a Saviour: holy, useful, honourable in their place,—but sinners after all” (Murray, D. M. Lloyd-Jones: The Fight of Faith, 752).
Photo by Aaron Burden
Our Time is Today
Our time is today, not yesterday, or yesteryear. We must be faithful today with the challenges we face today.
The story of Esther is one of the most epic stories there is. It has everything you could want in a story. It has a heroine whose time to shine is today. “For such a time as this.”
Obviously, I’m not Esther. And even my sister whose name is Esther, is not Esther. But could it be for Esther (my sister), for you, for me, that the time is now?! Perhaps God is calling us “for such a time as this”?
Let’s do what God gave us to do
God put us where He put us to do what He called us to do. There’s purpose and pleasures enough in that.
God has called us to be faithful today with the gifts and challenges we have. He hasn’t called us to be Spurgeon or Jonathan Edwards. Though perhaps He has called us to be this generation’s version and He has certainly called us to be inspired and encouraged by those who have gone before. But our lives and ministries will not or should not mimic theirs.
What Jesus said to Peter is powerful for many reasons but notice what was said: “What is that to you? You follow me!” (John 21:22). That is our part to play. We follow Jesus and the unique path He has set out for us. We don’t need to do what someone else has done. Jesus is likely not calling us to replicate their success. He is calling us in our unique setting with our unique talents (Matthew 25:14-30) to make much of Him in our own way.
For we are God’s masterpiece, created in the Messiah Jesus to perform good actions that God prepared long ago to be our way of life (Eph. 2:10).
Let’s speak in a way people can easily understand
I like the Puritans like the next guy (who also grew up theologically in the specific stream of Christianity as I did). I’ve read Baxter, Bunyan, Brooks, and Burroughs, and I’ve read authors whose last names don’t start with “B” too, Charnock, Owens, and Edwards. However, their 16th- 17th-century language will be slightly confusing to most people. I’ve enjoyed and gleaned from Augustine, Calvin, and Luther. But I’m not, nor will I ever be, in their world. I need to bring the stores of treasures they’ve revealed forward to our day.
Why do I say we need to speak in a way people will understand? Two reasons come immediately to mind. One, Jesus spoke in an understandable way.[1] Second, the New Testament was written in Koine Greek, the common form of Greek. It was not reserved for the intellectually elite. Of course, this does not mean no content in the New Testament is difficult to understand. There certainly is complexity in the Bible! A whole lot of it! But the biblical authors, especially the New Testament authors, wrote to be understood. We too must be aware of our culture and seek to faithfully “put the cookies on the lowest shelf.”
Let’s not whine about culture, but instead cultivate loving wisdom
As Carl Truman wisely says, “The task of the Christian is not to whine about the moment in which he or she lives but to understand its problems and respond appropriately to them.” (Carl R. Trueman, The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self). Plus, Trueman says,
As for the notion of some lost golden age, it is truly very hard for any competent historian to be nostalgic. What past times were better than the present? An era before antibiotics when childbirth or even minor cuts might lead to septicemia and death? The great days of the nineteenth century when the church was culturally powerful and marriage was between one man and one woman for life but little children worked in factories and swept chimneys? Perhaps the Great Depression? The Second World War? The era of Vietnam? Every age has had its darkness and its dangers (Trueman, The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self).
We don’t get to choose what we face but only how we face what we face. But even when we have done all we were commanded, say, “We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty” (Luke 17:10).
Action this Day
“Action this Day” is a phrase and sticker Winston Churchill used during World War II to indicate a task that required immediate action. If Churchill put the red “Action this Day” sticker on something there was no choice. There would be action. What action is Jesus calling you to today?[2]
Notes
[1] I realize this was not always the case. He did intentionally make things confusing sometimes.
[2] I think of “The man in the arena”:
“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”
Photo by Redd Francisco
Jesus is the foundation, not “free love” or “forced law”
Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you? Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like: he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built. But the one who hears and does not do them is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the stream broke against it, immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great (Luke 6:46-49).
To oversimplify, it seems to me that Christians who lean towards the conservative right could be liable to overly rejoice when moral ground is gained. On the other hand, more liberal-leaning Christians may be tempted to be overly distraught with certain people’s elections.
The reality is, however, that Jesus is the foundation—He is the solid ground. Everything else is sinking sand. Everything.
As Christians, may we not sing moralities praise or prosperities praise! No. Just Jesus’! Sure, prosperity is a blessing and a stewardship and I definitely believe it’s better to have a moral nation rather than an immoral one. But still, let’s keep our focus where our focus should lie: Christ and His Kingdom.
To oversimplify (again!), if one society leans towards “free love” and license (licentiousness), and one towards “forced law” and legalism, the ramifications will obviously be different but neither will be wholly good. The only truly good society is one built on Jesus. Now, of course, the full realization of that Kingdom is in the future (already/not yet).[1]
But we should faithfully work within our current “kingdoms,” and work for their prospering (Jeremiah 29:7). We shouldn’t be overly pessimistic or optimistic. We should think with sober and realistic judgment. And we should ever look to Jesus and His word and radically love and trust Him so we’re not hoodwinked (Revelation 2:4).
Sometimes the “free love” side rejoices when people have the freedom to make whatever choices they want, whatsoever those choices are. The “free love” side seems to see this “freedom” to align with love. On the other hand, Christians who lean towards the “forced law” side, see the enforcement of morality as good because law is good.
But Jesus talked about the law of Christ. He talked about the law of liberty. Jesus talked about something different from either one of those paradigms. We see this “law of love” in a few different places in Scripture.
- Starting in Deuteronomy 6:5 and 18, God says, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might… you shall do what is right and good in the sight of the Lord.”
- In Matthew 22:37–40, Jesus states that the two greatest commandments are to love God and love your neighbor as yourself.
- In John 13:34 Jesus says, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you.”
- Romans 13:8 and 10 says, “Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law… Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.
- Galatians 5:14 says about the same thing: “The whole law is fulfilled in one word: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'”
- James 2:8–9 shows us that the royal law of love is to love your neighbor as you love yourself.
Jesus isn’t building a “free love” or a “forced law” structure. Jesus explodes both of those paradigms as wrong and shortsighted. As Christians, we are to be about the Jesus structure, Jesus’ Kingdom. A whole different way of being human.
Jesus wasn’t with the Pharisees rejoicing at morality. Though, He did say you should do as they do—i.e., be moral (Matthew 23:3).[2] But Jesus wasn’t just super stoked at morality for morality’s sake. He didn’t act like morality itself was the cure to all that ails society (I know this sounds strange but hear me out).
But Jesus did talk about law. He fulfilled it! He also talked about and showed love. What Jesus got at, and the level we need to most care about, is the heart!
Jesus is the tightrope. We stand on Him or else! It’s perilous on either side. The solution is not merely “love” or “law.” It’s something altogether different. It’s the law of love.
Jesus is the way, the truth, the life. Until individuals in society have their houses firmly built on Him “love” and “law” are both sand and the house is destined to fall.
Let’s rejoice at what God rejoices at. We’re told God rejoices when a sinner comes to Him for salvation. God throws a party when that happens! God doesn’t throw a party when someone allows someone else to “follow their own heart,” whatever it is their heart says. God also doesn’t throw a party when someone is more morally upstanding than someone else. Actually, God says, “Woe to you hypocrites!” God rejoices, rather, when those who are utterly needy see their need and turn to Him. He rejoices when people build their everything on Jesus.
Are moral laws good for society? Is love good for society? Yes and yes! With Jesus they are. When Jesus defines law and love, yes. But where Jesus is not King, Satan reigns.[3] There have been nations that have been considered quite moral. Many Muslim countries are “moral” and Nazi Germany was even moral in many ways. But “moral” is not the Christian’s ultimate desire.
We pray “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” Heaven is not just moral, however. Heaven is a world of love. But it’s not “love” in the sense of the culture of the French Revolution.
We’d be wise to remember these words from that old hymn, “How Firm A Foundation”:
How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord,
Is laid for your faith in His excellent word!
What more can He say than to you He hath said,
To you who for refuge to Jesus have fled?Fear not, I am with thee, O be not dismayed,
For I am thy God, and will still give thee aid;
I’ll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand,
Upheld by My righteous, omnipotent hand.When through the deep waters I call thee to go,
The rivers of sorrow shall not overflow;
For I will be with thee, thy troubles to bless,
And sanctify to thee thy deepest distress.When through fiery trials thy pathway shall lie,
My grace, all sufficient, shall be thy supply;
The flame shall not hurt thee; I only design
Thy dross to consume, and thy gold to refine.E’en down to old age all My people shall prove
My sovereign, eternal, unchangeable love;
And then, when grey hairs shall their temples adorn,
Like lambs they shall still in My bosom be borne.The soul that on Jesus hath leaned for repose,
I will not, I will not desert to his foes;
That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake,
I’ll never, no, never, no, never forsake!
Whether the dictatorship of oppressive law or the rage and licentiousness of the masses, the Christian’s hope is this: we have a firm foundation on the Lord. If to Jesus we have fled, no tempest can touch us. No breach can be made. We are loyal to the Lord of angelic armies, the King of kings, and the Lord of lords. The path to victory may lay in the grave, we’re not promised the road will be easy, but as sure as we’re planted we will rise.
The soul that on Jesus hath leaned for repose,
I will not, I will not desert to his foes;
That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake,
I’ll never, no, never, no, never forsake!
So, let come what may! This world’s awash in sand but we’re built on the Stone! Let’s rejoice not in so-called “law” or “love,” but in Christ! And let’s ourselves live the law of love. A more moral culture is great but may we never forget we need Jesus!
As Christians, let’s build our house on Jesus the Rock and not just hear His word but do what He says (Luke 6:47). Let’s articulate and live a positive vision of life that calls us forward.[4] Let’s actually be what Jesus has called us to be. Let’s be salt in a world of decay, loving light in a world of darkness.
Notes
[1] The “already/not yet” theological concept refers to the idea that Christians already possess spiritual blessings, but they are not yet fully experiencing the complete consumption of those blessings.
[2] Jesus says, “Do and observe whatever they tell you, but not the works they do. For they preach, but do not practice.”
[3] Obviously, Jesus is King of kings and Lord of lords, and there is no being in the universe who will not bow before Him. But Satan is the god of this world and we can’t serve two masters (2 Cor. 4:4; Matt. 6:24). So, it would seem, that people are either ultimately following Jesus or following Satan.
[4] “As Christian theologians, we are not followers of John the Baptist, the prophet of national repentance, but of Jesus Christ, the bringer of good news to the whole world. The core of our response toward moral decline—where and when it exists—should be to articulate a positive vision of life that calls us forward” (Miroslav Golf and Matthew Croasmun, For the Life of the World: Theology That Makes a Difference).
Photo by Julian Gentile
Why care about justice?
Is there motivation for practicing justice? Christianity says, ‘Yes.’ Jesus Christ Himself practiced justice and called His followers to as well. In fact, Jesus taught that what we do for the most down-and-out is viewed as if it’s done for Jesus Himself. And when those in need are spurned it is as if we are spurning the very Lord of the universe.
Christianity gives clear reasons for convictions regarding practicing sacrificial justice for all people—regardless of age, race, creed, or color. That of course doesn’t mean that Christians always carry out the ideal. They don’t. But Christians do have a clear goal for which they are to sacrificially work. Christians are commanded to practice sacrificial justice.
Christians have very strong reasons to practice radical generosity, promote universal equality, provide life-changing advocacy, and take personal responsibility.[1] Messiah Jesus made Himself poor to make people rich (2 Corinthians 8:9). Jesus treated all people—woman or man, slave or free, rich or poor, able or unable—with dignity and love. Jesus is Himself the great advocate and intercessor. And Jesus, instead of leaving us in our suffering and sin, took personal responsibility and suffered in our place. Christians have strong reasons indeed for justice and mercy.
Christianity gives solid and serious reasons for believing in actual human rights. Not only that, but Christianity has “the strongest possible resource for practicing sacrificial service, generosity, and peace-making.” Because at the very heart of Christianity’s view of reality is, as Timothy Keller has said, “a man who died for his enemies, praying for their forgiveness. Reflection on this could only lead to a radically different way of dealing with those who [are] different from them.”[2] Of course, once again, that doesn’t mean that the ideal is always followed.
All Christians should totally agree with Rebecca McLaughlin:
Christians must work for justice for historically crushed and marginalized people, because Jesus came to bring good news to the poor and to set at liberty those who are oppressed. Christians should be the first to fight for racial justice and to pursue love across racial difference, not because of any cultural pressure from outside, but because of scriptural pressure from inside.[3]
Christianity calls Christians to care and to even sacrifice for justice. Christians are to care about justice because Jesus cares about justice.
Jesus, who is God, became flesh, to enter into the broken world to rescue people that needed rescue. He didn’t just sit back and practice ‘clicktivism’ but was crucified. The Bible teaches us that Jesus, the just-one, the one who was right, came so that we could be declared to be right. That is, justified.
Martin Luther King Jr. said, “If we are wrong—Jesus of Nazareth was merely a utopian dreamer and never came down to earth! If we are wrong—justice is a lie.” He also said, “Love is one of the pinnacle parts of the Christian faith. There is another side called justice. And justice is really love in calculation. Justice is love correcting that which would work against love.”[4]
Christians have deep reasons to sacrifice and pursue justice for others because that is what their Savior Himself did. It’s true that “it is one thing to have a general desire for justice, and it’s a very different thing to actually labor self-sacrificially against injustice in ways that effect substantive change.”[5] Christians are called to ‘actually labor self-sacrificially against injustice’ and there are many powerful examples of Christians doing exactly that. One such example is Denis Mukwege, a human rights activist and Nobel Peace laureate, is an advocate and specialist for women who have suffered sexual violence as a weapon of war.
Christians have deep reasons to care about justice. Those who follow Jesus closely are “willing to disadvantage themselves to advantage the community” whereas “the wicked are willing to disadvantage the community to advantage themselves.”[6]
Why care about justice? The Christian should answer because Jesus does! And because Scripture says to.
Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy (Proverbs 31:8-9).
Do what is just and right. Rescue from the hand of the oppressor the one who has been robbed. Do no wrong or violence to the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow (Jeremiah 22:3).
What does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God (Micah 6:8).
Surprisingly the Bible teaches that monetary gifts can be meaningless even when given to the church. It says that gathering together can be worthless and even church celebrations can be hated with all of God’s being (Isaiah 1:14). Why? That is some very strong language. Why does the Bible say that? Because God hates hypocrisy. We can’t say we love God (whom we can’t see) and yet not care for people made in His image (1 John 4:7-21).
It doesn’t make sense for Christians to raise their hands in worship when they are essentially covered in blood. Yet, that’s what it’s like if we don’t seek for justice and care for the oppressed. In fact, rulers are rebels when they don’t defend the cause of the needy (Isaiah 1:23) because that’s one of the roles of rulers (Proverbs 31:8-9).
Notes
[1] See Timothy Keller, “Justice in the Bible.”
[2] Timothy Keller, The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism (New York: Penguin Group, 2008), 21. Keller asserts that “the typical criticisms by secular people about the oppressiveness and injustices of the Christian church actually come from Christianity’s own resources for critique of itself” (Timothy Keller, The Reason for God, 61 see 62).
[3] Rebecca McLaughlin, The Secular Creed: Engaging Five Contemporary Claims (Austin, TX: The Gospel Coalition, 2021), 27-28.
[4] Taylor Branch, Parting the Waters: America in the King Years 1954-63 (New York: Simon & Schuster,1988), 141.
[5] Joshua Chatraw and Mark D. Allen, Apologetics at the Cross: An Introduction for Christian Witness (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2018), 234.
[6] Bruce K. Waltke, The Book of Proverbs: Chapters 1-15, (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 2004), 97.
Photo by Tim Mossholder
Confession Before A Christian Meal
When our church gathers, we always share a meal together. Sharing a meal follows the pattern of the early church and helps us cultivate hospitality and relationships; both of which are sorely lacking in our American culture. Before we eat, we share a confession to remind ourselves of the special significance of eating together.[1] Here are some of our past confessions:
“Let us say what we believe…
#1: Being the apprentices of someone who is sinless and who died for the sins of a sinful world, never promised to be easy or to fit nicely into the life we carved out for ourselves. Jesus says, “If you lose your life you will find it.” He doesn’t say, “Find a place to fit Me in.” But the reason Jesus so wants to explode our lives and the way of living is not because He is some monster that wants to ruin the good thing we have going. No! Jesus wants us to walk in the way of abundant, full flourishing, and eternal life. Jesus, as the way, the truth, and the life, knows how we ought to live, and wants us to walk that straight and narrow, beautifully righteous, road.
One of the things Jesus shows He values is eating with others, eating with friends and soon-to-be friends. We take time to eat and talk because Jesus did. We take time to love because Jesus did. So, as we eat and talk and love today, let’s seek to take time this week to do the same. As followers of Jesus, let’s follow Jesus.
#2: Messiah Jesus has called us together to be a people of purity in a land littered with porn, He has called us to be light in a world of darkness, salt in a world of decay, a harbor of hope in a world of hopelessness. He has called us to be His people of radical love in a world of hate. So, as we gather, may God gift us and grow us to that end. May God build us up as we are gathered and use us to bless this broken world as we scatter.
#3: Jesus’ Kingdom is made up of people from Sierra and Senegal, Armenia and America, China and Chad, Portugal and Pakistan, Mexico and Malaysia, and many many more. The reality is, in Christ, we are all one. Division is dead. We are united. So, we are to live together in purposeful unity. It will not be easy, but Jesus’ blood was spilled to welcome us into union with Him and each other. We should not disregard Jesus’ great sacrifice for us, instead, we must “make every effort to keep the unity” (Eph. 1:3).
#4: As we eat even a meager meal together it is significant. We testify to the truth of our unity in Jesus. We remember the relationship with God and each other that Jesus has welcomed us into at great cost to Himself. We remember the various people that Jesus ate with while He walked the earth—prostitutes, Pharisees, and frauds. He welcomed them, He welcomes us, and we are to welcome others. We also remember that soon we will eat with Jesus and with people from every tribe, language, nation, and tongue.
#5: We eat remembering the fellowship and love of the Trinity and we share together in that fellowship. We eat as an act of rebellion against the ways of the world. We eat as a tangible reminder of all we share. So, while we eat, let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding (Rom. 14:19).
#6: God gives the gift of rain and crop, He gives the gift of life, and breathe, and everything. Often we as humans fight over everything. But in a meal we share and partake together. We give grace and we receive grace. A meal is a teacher and a uniter. God cares about meals. As we eat, we remember and we are thankful that we are not in the final analysis independent, we are dependent, dependent on God and upon one another.
#7: Jesus’ posture on the cross is His posture towards us; His arms are open wide. Jesus says to everyone who is thirsty, “Come. Quench your thirst.” To everyone who is sick, Jesus says, “Come. Be healed.” To everyone who is lonely, Jesus says, “Come. Be loved.” Jesus welcomes us, so we welcome one another, and we welcome others. And as we eat now, we remember and celebrate the fellowship Jesus welcomes us into.
#8: When the church comes together, it’s a political rally. We testify and celebrate the reality that Jesus is King. Jesus reigns in goodness, justice, and power. And though we may not see it with physical eyes, we are a powerful group of people, because we are the LORD’s people, we are the church of God (Gal. 1:13; 1 Cor. 10:32, 15:9). We all together are in Christ. Our identity is new in Him; we are not the old people we used to be (2 Cor. 5:17), we are people who radically love, who radically give. We are in Jesus’ Kingdom and under His powerful and eternal reign. We can’t be hurt by the second death because we are more than conquerors and will celebrate at the marriage supper of the Lamb. So, even as we eat now, we testify to these realities. We remember and we rejoice.
#9: It is no light or flippant thing to gather with God’s saints. We celebrate and rejoice that we get to share this meal and time together. As Hebrew 10:24 says, we want to consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, we do not want to neglect meeting together, but instead intentionally encourage one another. So now, Father, may you build us up, and bless us so we can bless the broken world that needs to know the love of your Son, Jesus.
#10: We together give thanks to the LORD for He is good, for His steadfast love endures forever (Ps. 136:1). We give thanks because the LORD is the giver of every good gift (James 1:17), the giver of life, breath, and everything (Acts 17:25). Our Lord gives food and friends to eat with. Therefore, as we come to eat together, we come with thankful hearts. Together we acknowledge God’s abundant goodness. As we eat, may we remember and teach ourselves and one another, that God is a God of extravagance and abundance; God has more grace, more love, and more pleasure in store, so may we likewise be lavish in our love for others.
[1] During the singing portion of our gathering, we sometimes confess one of the historic confessions (the Nicene Creed or Apostle’s Creed). I’ve thought about us systematically working through a confession but we haven’t done that yet.
Photo by Jaco Pretorius
Who is the real Jesus of history?
People sometimes think of Jesus as a white man with long beautiful hair and chiseled abs. We don’t know a lot about Jesus’ hair or abs, but we do know He’s not a white guy. We often picture pop culture Jesus or Jedi Jesus.
Is there a real Jesus of history? If not, what explains the story about Him and His countless followers?
The movie Talladega Nights gives a funny and strangely accurate description of how we often think about Jesus. Ricky Bobby says, “I like to think of Jesus as wearin’ a Tuxedo T-shirt, ’cause it says, like, ‘I want to be formal, but I’m here to party too.’ I like to party, so I like my Jesus to party.” We often have self-conceived versions of Jesus. We may not say we think Jesus is “wearin’ a Tuxedo T-shirt” but may have misconceptions about who Jesus is.
People have said Jesus was a magician, a sage, a homeless charismatic, a mystical peasant, a revolutionary rebel, or a guru. Many things have been said. But it really comes down to four options. Jesus was either a legend, a liar, a lunatic, or the Lord.
Is Jesus just a myth?
Couldn’t Jesus be like Robin Hood; a fun story but not based on reality? Maybe Jesus was just a good guy and because of various random historical factors, a legend was built up around Him that is not based on facts. Couldn’t Jesus be an elaborate forgery by His friends?
Is the story around Jesus nothing more than a myth or mythology like the Romans have about Hercules or the Norse have about Thor? Is Jesus a folk hero, like Paul Bunyan is for Americans and Canadians?
Does the story of Jesus seem like a legend? C.S. Lewis, someone who knew a lot about legends, didn’t think the Gospels read like legends. He said, “As a literary historian, I am perfectly convinced that whatever else the Gospels are they are not legends. I have read a great deal of legend and I am quite clear that they are not the same sort of thing.”[1]
Also, legends do not arise that contradict the fundamental convictions held by a culture.[2] Cultures do not make myths to erode belief; instead, they make myths that gird them up. So, how would a legend about an alleged God/man arise among first-century Palestinian Jews, and especially, how did the alleged legend arise as quickly as it did?
The earliest Christians did not embrace the doctrine of Jesus’ deity easily. They were Jews. They were repulsed by the notion that a human could be, in a literal sense, God. Jews are one of the least likely groups in history to confuse the Creator with a creature. As Richard Bauckham has said, “Before the advent of Christianity, Judaism was unique among the religions of the Roman world in demanding the exclusive worship of its God.”[3] And yet, Jesus’ disciples worshiped Jesus.
If first-century Palestinian Jews were going to produce a legend, it would not have been one about a man who was God. That would have seemed blasphemous. The earliest Christians did come to understand the deity of Jesus. They even saw how it was forecasted by the Old Testament, but it was very difficult for them to grasp at first.
A few things about legends. First, most of the time, people know when a legend is a legend. And they’re not willing to die for something that is a legend. I don’t think anyone has died over claims about Paul Bunyan or Robin Hood. Yet, Jesus’ disciples did die for their claims about Jesus.
Second, it takes time for a legend to become a legend. The dates of the Gospels—Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John—are too early to be legends. There were legends later, legends such as the Infancy Gospel of Thomas, where the child Jesus caused one of his playmates to whither up like a dying tree. But how would the Jesus legend have arisen so quickly when those who could have easily contradicted it were still alive?
Jesus was crucified in the early 30s, yet Paul wrote about the deity of Jesus already in the early 50s and 60s. There is good evidence for dating at least two of Jesus’ four biographies before AD 62. When the New Testament authors wrote, those who claimed to see the risen Jesus were still around. So, if Jesus is just a mere legend, how did the legend arise so fast? Further, why would those who were in a place to know that Jesus was only a legend, die rather than admit the hoax?
Third, Jews did expect a messiah, and many so-called messiahs led revolutions. Yet, it is very unexpected that a legend would arise about a crucified criminal being God-in-flesh. But that’s just what the early followers of Jesus claimed, and they did so at great cost to their own lives.
Is Jesus just a liar?
Maybe Jesus wasn’t a legend. Maybe He was a liar. Other people didn’t make up tales about Him, He made them up. Perhaps Jesus orchestrated an elaborate deception. People thought He was special, but in reality, He was just an especially good liar.
People were conflicted and confused about Jesus. John 7:12 says, “There was a lot of grumbling about Him among the crowds. Some argued, ‘He’s a good man,’ but others said, ‘He’s nothing but a fraud who deceives the people.’” Some people did, in fact, say Jesus was a liar. After Jesus’ death, some of the religious leaders went to the Roman governor, Pilate, and said,
“Sir, we remember how that impostor said, while He was still alive, ‘After three days I will rise.’ Therefore order the tomb to be made secure until the third day, lest His disciples go and steal Him away and tell the people, ‘He has risen from the dead,’ and the last fraud will be worse than the first.” Pilate said to them, “You have a guard of soldiers. Go, make it as secure as you can.” So they went and made the tomb secure by sealing the stone and setting a guard” (Matt. 27:63-66).
Does Jesus, who seemed to always speak the truth wisely, seem like a liar? Many works of charity—like hospitals and orphanages—can be traced back to Jesus’ influence, yet was Jesus Himself a deceiver and a bad person?
Jews took the Ten Commandments very seriously. They did not look lightly on “You shall have no other gods” (Ex. 20:3) or “You shall not make for yourself a carved image” (v. 4). Jews even regarded the images on coins as “graven images” so special coins were printed in areas heavily populated by Jewish people. Neither did they take the command not to lie lightly (Ex. 20:16). Jesus’ earliest followers and worshipers were Jewish. They, however, didn’t worship Jesus early on in His ministry. They were still confused or unsure about His identity. But they did worship Him after His resurrection from the dead (Matt. 28:9, 17). They knew He was not a liar after they saw Him alive from the dead as He said He would be.
If the Gospels are merely a big hoax or prank, why would the authors include embarrassing or counterproductive aspects? Why would the Gospel of Mark tell us:
- Jesus’ family questioned Jesus’ sanity
- Some thought Jesus was possessed by a demon
- Jesus seemed to disregard Jewish laws
- Jesus’ disciples are often seen in a bad light
- Women discover Jesus’ empty tomb, while the men are hiding in fear
Beyond all this—and many other examples could have been given—there’s the fact that the Gospels center around an alleged Messiah who was crucified by the Roman oppressors. It is hard to imagine a more difficult story for first-century Jews to believe.
I imagine a first-century Jew saying this to an early Jewish Christian: “So, you’re telling me that Yahweh took on flesh and was crucified by our military overlords, and you claim He’s the Savior of the whole world?!… What?! What are you smoking?” Why spread such a lie?
What motivation would Jesus have to deceive? And does He seem to be a liar? If Jesus was a liar that does not explain how the hoax continued after His death. Why would the early church make up such an elaborate lie? If it was the most masterful lie in all of history, what was it for? The earliest followers of Jesus had nothing earthly to gain by claiming Jesus was something special. Jesus was crucified. People weren’t exactly lining up to die in that excruciating way.
Is Jesus just a lunatic?
The other option is that maybe Jesus thought He was the Messiah. He thought He was God. He was self-deceived and He deceived others. Perhaps He had a “God complex”—a narcissistic personality disorder as listed in the DSM (*Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders*)? The Mayo Clinic says those with this condition have an inflated sense of their own importance and a need for excessive attention and admiration. Other signs of this disorder are troubled relationships, a sense of entitlement, a willingness to take advantage of others to achieve goals, and a lack of empathy for others.
Does it seem like Jesus had a narcissistic personality disorder? I’d encourage you to read the Gospels and consider that question yourself. But in my reading of the Gospels, that does not fit Jesus. Jesus loved others and literally laid down His life for others.
Jesus does not seem like a lunatic. Although, He is unlike any other human. In all of literature, Jesus stands out as exceptional and real. But Jesus was accused of being demon-oppressed.[4] And Jesus did say some strange and confusing things. He said He was “the bread of life” (Jn. 6:35) and “the resurrection and the life” (Jn. 11:25). He said, “My flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink” (Jn. 6:55). He said, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me” (Matt. 16:24).
Jesus said some things that would understandably make people think He was crazy. If I said the sort of things He said, I wouldn’t be taken seriously. It’s interesting to me though, that He was taken seriously. People don’t take crazy people seriously because they’re crazy. They might laugh, they might care for them, and they might even lock them up,[5] but they don’t take them seriously. Jesus was taken seriously. So seriously, in fact, that people sought to kill Him for His claims (Jn. 8:59; 10:31).
Not surprisingly with the claims that Jesus made, some people said He was insane (Jn. 10:20). In fact, there was a time that Jesus’ family thought He was out of His mind (Mk. 3:21). Yet, lunatics may claim to rise from the dead, but they don’t really rise from the dead. Jesus on the other hand, showed Himself to be alive by many proofs after He clearly died (Acts 1:3). Therefore, Jesus’ unbelieving brothers and even doubting Thomas believed. They went from categorizing Jesus as some kind of misled crazy zealot, to calling Him King.
Why did people go from thinking Jesus was looney to bowing to Him as Lord? What explains this? If Jesus was crazy, why does He seem so sane and remarkably appealing and persuasive? And what should be thought of Jesus’ seismic impact?
What if, instead of being crazy, Jesus is the sanest human that ever walked the earth? What if Jesus shows us what we’re supposed to be like? What if, when He loves so much that it looks ludicrous, He’s actually showing us how we were always meant to be? What if Jesus is the Lord, and when He walked among us, He was seen as so different—so crazy—because He was so different? What if calls at His insanity actually testify to His deity? What if Jesus was at least for a time mocked as a lunatic because He is the Lord?
In complete darkness, light seems very strange. In a place where everyone is lost and groping to find their way, someone who knows the way is an anomaly, and knowing human nature, likely an ostracized one. The different duck is the ugly duckling, even if it’s a swan. In the same way, early claims of Jesus’ lunacy might identify Him as Lord.
Could Jesus be too good to be false? Could Jesus’ impeccable character reveal who He really is?[6] Could Jesus have seemed crazy for the very reason that He is the Lord?
Is Jesus the Lord?
To consider where you should land with this important question, I encourage you to read Jesus’ biographies—Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John—yourself and see if they describe a legend, a liar, a lunatic, or the Lord.
Who do you say that I am? (Matthew 16:15)
Notes
[1] C.S. Lewis, “What are we to make of Jesus Christ?,” 169 in God in the Dock.
[2] Gregory A. Boyd and Paul Rhodes Eddy, Lord or Legend? Wrestling with the Jesus Dilemma (Grand Rapids, MI: BakerBooks, 2007), 37.
[3] Richard Bauckham, Jesus and the God of Israel (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2008), 140.
[4] Matt. 12:22-32; Mk. 3:22; Lk. 11:14-23; Jn. 7:20.
[5] Mark chapter 5 talks about a demon-possessed man who would have appeared crazy. People attempted to chain him. They didn’t take him seriously.
[6] See Tom Gilson’s helpful book, Too Good to be False: How Jesus’ Incomparable Character Reveals His Reality.
Photo by Conscious Design
Equality: What it is & where it comes from
In the United States equality is at least expressed to be important. Its importance is seen in people’s views and policies on political participation, education access, views on employment and pay, and disability rights. The Civil Rights Movement has shown that equality is valued by many but not all.
What does equality mean and where did the concept of equality come from? It means the state or quality of being equal. Are there good reasons for believing in equality?
The Assumption of Equality is An Assumption
Naturalism, the belief that no God exists, gives no explanation or reason for equality. People who don’t believe in God or the relevance of God might believe in equality but the belief for them is not based on any foundation. The idea of equality is accepted as true without proof or a solid reason to believe it.
Yuval Noah Harari is a historian, philosopher, and author who received a PhD from the University of Oxford and is a lecturer at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. I appreciate his candor in this quote from his book Sapiens:
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. According to the science of biology, people were not ‘created’. They have evolved. And they certainly did not evolve to be ‘equal’. The idea of equality is inextricably intertwined with the idea of creation. The Americans got the idea of equality from Christianity, which argues that every person has a divinely created soul, and that all souls are equal before God. However, if we do not believe in the Christian myths about God, creation and souls, what does it mean that all people are ‘equal’? Evolution is based on difference, not on equality. Every person carries a somewhat different genetic code, and is exposed from birth to different environmental influences. This leads to the development of different qualities that carry with them different chances of survival. ‘Created equal’ should therefore be translated into ‘evolved differently.’[1]
So, Harari rewrites the famous line from the Declaration of Independence: “We hold these truth to be self-evident, that all men evolved differently, that they are born with certain mutable characteristics, and that among these are life and the pursuit of pleasure.”[2]
For the naturalist, equality isn’t really a thing. It is a dream wish. Perhaps maybe pleasant make-believe.
Christians have a Foundation for Equality
The Bible teaches the equality of all humans by saying all humans are made in the image of God (Gen. 1:26-27). It also explains that we are all equally fallen. That is, we all sin and do wrong things. Lastly, it says that salvation is freely offered to all through Jesus.[3]
In Dominion: How the Christian Revolution Remade the World, Tom Holland argues that Christianity has profoundly shaped Western civilization, influencing core values like human rights and equality. It may not be consciously recognized but many Christian beliefs our embedded in society. As Harari has said, we “got the idea of equality from Christianity.”
The belief in human equality and rights, equality of men and women, love for foreigners, and care for the poor, weak, and marginalized are specifically Christian beliefs. History shows us that it was only as Christianity spread that these believes became generally accepted. The ancient Greeks and Romans would have laughed at them.[4]
Christian Equality has a lot of Explanatory Power
“We’ve all got both light and dark inside us. What matters is the part we choose to act on. That’s who we really are.” Sirius Black said this to Harry Potter in one of their last meanings. Humans have complexity as J.K. Rowling is so adept at showing. The Bible agrees. We are complex beings. We are all equally made in the image of God, fallen, and redeemable.
The Bible says we all stumble in many ways (James 3:2). We are all broken. Christians are no less complex. Christians are simultaneously sufferers, strivers, sinners, and saints. So, “The line between good and evil is never simply between ‘us’ and ‘them.’ The line between good and evil runs through each one of us.”[5] Or as Dietrich Bonhoeffer said in prison in Nazi Germany, “Nothing that we despise in the other man is entirely absent from ourselves.”[6]
Therefore, in one sense, Christians should be “culturally wary because they know that evil is real, that everyone is a sinner, that no one is beyond a stumble or a scandal, and that human beings are capable of some devious deceptions and horrific thoughts, words, and acts.”[7] Yet, in another sense, Christians should also be cultural optimists “because they know that no matter how grim and hopeless sin makes the world or how wretched sin makes an individual or a group, it does not define us at our deepest level, and it is an imposter that has no ultimate claim on anyone, whoever they may be and whatever they may have done.”[8]
Christianity gives a realistic and complex picture that explains the paradoxical nature of people.
If we lose Jesus, we lose our bases for Equality
I appreciate how Rebecca McLaughlin says it:
Even if historians agree that our moral building blocks came to us from Christianity it’s tempting to think we can keep the values we cherish while gently removing the claims about Jesus Himself. Like easing out a bottom layer Jenga block, perhaps we can build our moral tower higher without belief in God at all. But extracting Jesus from our moral structure isn’t like gently sliding out a Jenga block. It’s like pulling the pin on a grenade. In the resulting explosion we don’t just lose morality, are sense of meaning blows up too.”[9]
This is the case because if Jesus is not real and right, the next most plausible explanation is that of Harari or Nietzsche.
Conclusion
Secular culture assumes equality but gives no basis for it. Christianity, and specifically Jesus, gives a solid footing for equality. Without Jesus equality is on a shoddy structure and is destined to fall. In other words, if Jesus is make-believe so is equality. On the other hand, if Jesus and His ethic are real, we can’t mix and match to our liking. He is either a liar, lunatic, legend, or the Lord. But if He is anything other than the Lord, His emphasis on equality evaporates with Him.
Notes
[1] Yuval Noah Harari, Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind, 109.
[2] Harari, Sapiens, 110.
[3] See Christopher Watkin, Biblical Critical Theory: How the Bible’s Unfolding Story Makes Sense of Modern Life and Culture, 116.
[4] Rebecca McLaughlin, Is Christmas Unbelievable?
[5] N. T. Wright, Evil and the Justice of God, 38.
[6] Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Letters and Papers from Prison, 10 as quoted in Biblical Critical Theory, 128.
[7] Watkin, Biblical Critical Theory, 168
[8] Ibid.
[9] McLaughlin, Is Christmas Unbelievable?
Photo by Jacek Dylag
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