- Monday, March 29, 2010
redressing the balance
Sometimes I can become so focused on the death of Jesus that I lose sight of the significance of the resurrection. I find that Easter is often a time to redress that balance.That has been my experience again this morning when I sat down to write the opening article for our church magazine. Here are the thoughts that I wrote:
Jesus' resurrection is hugely significant when we look at the Bible's teaching on salvation. As Paul writes, "He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification" (Roms 4:25). By his death Jesus paid the price for our sins so that we could be forgiven. However, if he had not risen from the dead we would not be able to be forgiven, share in his righteousness and be made right before God.
The resurrection of Christ is also the grounds and basis of our hope. Peter writes, "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead." (1 Pe 1:3). What is the Christian hope? An eternity with Christ - impossible without the resurrection. Life with Christ in the new heavens and new earth with resurrected bodies - again, impossible without the resurrection.
The resurrection of Christ is also necessary in all that we enjoy in knowing Christ. The Bible is full of the work of Christ today. He is our advocate, defending us from condemnation (Rom 8:34). He is our high priest representing us before the Father (Heb 4:13). He is our shepherd providing for all our needs (Ps 23). He is our greatest friend (Jn 15:14) as well as our Lord and protector (Eph 1:22-23). Needless to say, none of this would be true if Jesus had not been raised from the dead.
Jesus died, Hallelujah! It didn't end there. Jesus rose, Hallelujah! He is alive today, we can know him, we can be saved by him and we have the hope of eternity with him.
Picture drawn by my friend, John Grindell. To view his pictures for Bible stories visit his website
- Thursday, March 25, 2010
Do I trust my feelings?
Joshua Harris had this quote on his blog today. Thought I would share it:
"My feelings are not God. God is God. My feelings do not define truth. God's word defines truth. My feelings are echoes and responses to what my mind perceives. And sometimes--many times--my feelings are out of sync with the truth. When that happens--and it happens every day in some measure--I try not to bend the truth to justify my imperfect feelings, but rather, I plead with God: Purify my perceptions of your truth and transform my feelings so that they are in sync with the truth.
That's the way I live my life every day. I hope you are with me in that battle."
- John Piper, Finally Alive, pages 165-166
- Thursday, March 18, 2010
Why so popular?
A question that I have been asking myself as I've been reading Velvet Elvis is this: why is it so popular?
As I have read it I have found the message unclear, yet clearly at odds with the emphases and focus as well as the truths of the biblical gospel. He comes across as a cross between 19th century liberalism and new-age sprituality. I am surprised that so many, particularly evangelicals, are being influenced by this.
Yet, in the epilogue I think he gives us a clue why so many might be going to hear him tomorrow night in Swansea. He talks about one occasion in a church. An occasion filled with religious hypocrisy. Thorughout the book he speaks in stereotypical terms of times when people have lost the plot or tradition has become so entrenched that people forget why they are doing things. He says we can have two responses to this. Either cynicism and rejection of Jesus, or break out and re-find the dynamic faith of the Bible.
Many people today recognise the problems that Bell identifies and puts his finger on. He is asking the right questions and in many ways seeing the right problems. In that I can identify with him and many others as well. But, there is a big 'but' here. He is not giving us the right conclusions.
That is the danger. It is easy to get so taken up with the guy because he is speaking to our frustrations that we assume he must have the right conclusions.The problem is not his questions, it is where he goes with them. What he ends up doing, certainly in Velvet Elvis, is to go beyond removing the strait-jacket, to removing the very foundations of the gospel. He takes our eyes away from the cross of Jesus Christ and onto the work that we can perform. He de-emphasises the problem of sin, the saving work of Jesus on the cross, the need for the preaching of the gospel and the call to repent and believe the good news. Instead, he portrays the true extent of the good news of Jesus as offering a helping hand along the way.
Don't get me wrong. I am not saying that there are no social implications in the gospel, or that society should remain totally untouched by Christians. What I am saying is that is not the main thing. The gospel is so much more than that and Bell's teaching will rob people of it.
- Wednesday, March 17, 2010
the resurrection fades
Chapter 7 begins with the resurrection, but soon moves on. It is the introduction to his main theme. The Christian life is about restoring the world through our actions. He begins with the environment, moves on to caring for each other, serving each other and generally making life better for people. This is really the hub around which Bell's gospel rotates.
Positives:
- God's plan of salvation does include more than the human soul (Romans 8:20-21)
- The call to love people whether they are in or out of the church (most of the love one another passages in the Bible are speaking about love within the church, but Jesus is also clear in the parable of the good Samaritan that love should also be towards all people).
Questions:
-
Was social justice ever at the core of gospel as it was taught by the apostles? My answer would be no. Think of Paul's conviction in 1 Corinthians 2:2. It is the cross, not our good works that form the heart of the gospel.
-
Is the gospel about a better life for us and others around us? Yes, in the sense that there will be a tangible difference in us when we put our faith in Jesus and as we seek to live out our love for him. But the heart of the gospel is far more significant and serious than that. It is about the reality of sin separating us from God and the judgement it deserves. It is about the love of God in sending his Son to die for us on the cross. It is about the amazing grace of Jesus in bearing our sins and the punishment we deserved. It is about his resurrection, winning the victory over sin and death. It is about the promises of God, that all who believe will be forgiven and have eternal life (more than a better life, but to know God now and forever). Bell minimises this from beginning to end.
- Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Who is forgiven?
Nearly at the end. To be honest, I can't wait to finish this book, except I've got another Rob Bell book to read afterwards. I started out trying to be impartial and give Bell the benefit of the doubt. I didn't want to prejudge anything. Yet, as I'm reading Velvet Elvis I am realising more and more how dangerous this book could be, chapter 6 perhaps more than any other.
Here he begins by recounting a conversation he had with someone who was feeling low and caught in the cycle that they were a sinner and couldn't seem to do anything about it. His answer, the Bible doesn't talk about us very much as sinners, but as people who have been changed and made holy through Jesus.And that's true for everybody, but not everyone knows that God has done this for them. We can chose whether to live in this reality or deny it. To embrace it is to believe it and live like it - bringing heaven to earth in the way we act towards others. To deny it is to live in a false reality and bring hell to earth and go to it. Whichever way we choose to live we are still forgiven and holy before God:
Heaven is full of forgiven people. Hell is full of forgiven people. Heaven is full of people God loves, whom Jesus died for. Hell is full of forgiven people God loves, whom Jesus died for. The difference is how we choose to live, which story we choose to live in, which version of reality we trust."
Positives:
- If you removed nearly the first two pages, and from page 142 onwards you have a wonderful description of the hope and reality of what it means to be justified by faith in Jesus Christ. Shame really that it is not put in that context.
Questions:
-
Does the Bible not identify us clearly as sinners in need of being saved? (Romans 3:23, Ephesians 2:1-3, Colossians 1:21)
-
Where does the Bible say that the reality, rather than the possibility, of forgiveness is true for all people in the world?
-
He cites an occasion at the end of the chapter where someone pays his restaurant bill for him. Grace has paid the bill, he says, but he points out he has to choose to accept it or not. But what will happen if he doesn't? No honest restaurant owner is going to allow him to pay it himself. Here is where his interpretation falls flat. If God has forgiven and sees everyone as holy then how can he punish them in hell? How can hell be full of forgiven people?
-
Has Bell grasped the reality of the biblical plan of where we are going? He seems to focus overly much on today. Being a christian is about bringing heaven to earth today and not so much about what will happen in the future. I appreciate his call to make a difference today, not to ignore what is now because we are only looking to tomorrow. We are to love and help, care and support those around us. But salvation has a massive future element that he tends to ignore (1 Peter 1:3-4).
- Monday, March 15, 2010
A rabbi eye view
In the next chapter of Velvet Elvis (chapter 5), Bell shares something of the view of Jesus he has formed through a study of the Jewish rabbinical system. As he says, 'as I have learned more about Jesus the Jewish rabbi, I have come to better understand what it means to follow him' (pg 124). He speaks about the schooling system of the time and how only the best of the best went on to become disciples of a rabbi. It is a real shock then that Jesus called those that he did to be his disciples.
So far, I am following him, but then he gives us two strange interpretations of scripture. First, the rock on which Jesus will build his church (in Matthew 16:18) turns out to be the followers of the goat god Pan. whose base is in Caesarea Philippi(or people like them). Second, Peter's doubt when he walked on the water was in himself and not a doubt of Jesus. His loss of faith is in his own personal ability, something, Bell says, Jesus believed in.
Positives:
- His very first sentence, At the center of the Christian faith is this man named Jesus who actually lived (pg 124)
- His reminder that Jesus called the 'not good enoughs' to turn the world upside down (something though that seems to contradict with his ending about the greatness and sheer impressive capabilities that the disciples didn't realise they had)
- He reminds us that discipleship to Jesus is not an easy option.
Questions:
- Is Bell allowing his study of the Jewish rabbinical system and the geographical area to tilt his interpretation of scripture? Perhaps a strange thing to say, because surely this can give us important insight. Yet, is it not counterproductive when something like this becomes the lens through which we view everything to the extent that we miss the plain meaning of the scripture (of course Bell denies that there is any such thing). I am thinking of the verse in Matthew 16. There is no mention of goat loving pagans or the god Pan. But a clear mention of the confession of Christ and the connection between the word rock and the name Peter. Has Bell's lens turned up a novel idea that he has grabbed hold of too strongly?
- Bell's conclusion at the end. His point is that the disciples have abilities and capabilities that were exceedingly great. All they needed to do to turn the world upside down was to believe in themselves. That just seems just odd. I think of Paul who rejoiced in his weaknesses (2 Corinthians 12:9-10). The biblical perspective doesn't appear to me to be that we are so fantastic and all we need to do is believe it and run with it, but that we are weak and incapable, but God is great and uses us in amazing ways. Am I wrong?
- He seems a little dismissive of the role of the Spirit. 'He promises to send his Spirit to guide them and give them power, but Jesus himself leaves the future of the movement in their hands' (Pg 134). I think he has missed the point. Jesus wanted them to be part of the spread of his kingdom, but surely the presence of the Spirit is a demonstration that Jesus hasn't left them to get on with it, but he is there to guide them, strengthen them and enable them to do it.
- Saturday, March 13, 2010
we're what?
Last night I was up late building a website with the radio on in the background. Part of the programme was a debate on the promiscuity of celebreties after several revelations and confessions of affairs in the last couple of months. As is common practice, there was a so called expert calling in to join in the discussion. His words went over my befuddled head at 1am, but rang with frightening clarity this morning. Something like:
At youth yesterday we were discussing how differently teenagers behave today as opposed to 40 years ago - it amazes me how often this is a topic of conversation. So I asked, 'well why?' The answer we looked at is the change in our society from one side of the pendulum - with quite rigid standards - to the other - with a great deal of permissivity. I still think there is something in that, but perhaps the main reason is what is implied above.
As a whole, we have lost site of what it means to be human and made in the image of God. If we are just animals, we are not morally responsible and survival of the fittest is the order of the day. I don't know about you, but I see that pervasively as I walk through this world.
- Friday, March 12, 2010
heart on the sleeve
In chapter 4 Bell relates his own story of discovery that Jesus wanted to heal his soul. He speaks openly about a painful time in his experience when, burnt out and at the end of himself, he nearly turned his back on pastoring the church he planted.
He doesn't end there, he continues to speak about the lesson that he learned and the advice that he found so helpful from his counsellor, 'your job is the relentless pursuit of who God has made you to be, And anything else you do is sin and you need to repent of it.' (Pg 114.
Postives:
- His desire for church on Pg 97. 'people who gathered because they wanted to'. Too often it is not and that is a sad reflection.
- He does acknowledge Jesus dying for our sins, but he moves on very quickly as if it is fairly unimportant
Questions:
-
On Pg 101 he writes, 'all we cared about was trying to teach and live the way of Jesus'. I am wondering whether here is where we see the clearest difference between Bell and the New Testament. For Bell the biggest thing seems to be on living like Jesus, for the apostles the biggest thing seems to be the power of the cross of Jesus. 'For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.' (1 Cor 2:2)
-
Has Bell reached the right conclusion in his statement of what salvation is really about, 'God isn't just interested in the covering over of our sins; God wants to make us into the people we were originally created to be' (pg 108). He is right that God doesn't only want to forgive us, he wants to change us. However, is that the main aim. I think there are two things that would come above these in any list. First, to glorify God (Eph 1:5-6). Second, to know God (Jn 17:3). Again, I am picking up the sense that to Bell the gospel is primarily about how we live and the things we do.
-
Is being the person God intends for us to be the real solution to burn out? I see the point in the sense that we are not living to please others, but just God. But the danger is that pleasing God also becomes the way of salvation and we run around like headless chickens trying to earn favour with God and make up for all our mistakes. To me the answer is grace. That Christ loved me and gave himself for me on the cross. He has paid the price of my sin and in being united to him, through faith, I share in his righteousness. Because of that I am accepted before God despite who I am, and despite my mistakes, 100% of the time. I mustn't abuse that, but it is the only thing that keeps me sane. Sadly, though, Bell makes little of the cross and minimises these great truths.
- Thursday, March 11, 2010
encountering God - everywhere!
Chapter 3 of 'Velvet Elvis' is about the all present nature of God. God is everywhere which means, according to Bell:
- we experience him in those significant moments of life
- there is truth all over the place
- there is no sacred/secular divide
- missionaries don't take Jesus to places but point out he is already there
Positive:
- It is good to be reminded that God is bigger than we think
- People everywhere speak true things. It is arrogant to think that because people have got it wrong about God then they have it wrong about everything.
- This quote: 'Being a Christian is not cutting yourself off from real life; it is entering into it more fully' (pg 91)
Questions:
- Is every significant moment a God moment? (Bell talks about occasions such as, standing with someone at a funeral, being at a U2 concert, taking a wedding for non-christians who didn't want him to talk about Jesus, and refers to these a holy moments)
- Is there a difference between acknowledging that people everywhere know and speak some true things and saying they know the truth? Whether Bell would explicitly state it or not, I don't know, but I found his words opened the door for the search for truth across the religions and not in Christ alone.
- Is it really diminishing Jesus to make much of his work in rescuing people through the cross? (pg 82) I would say Bell diminishes Jesus, in this chapter anyway, by dismissing this and only writing about Jesus as a 'force' in the universe.
- Has Bell understood the differentiation in the Bible between God's presence everywhere and the manifest presence of God to bless? To him, it seems, because God is everywhere, everyone can experience him. He refers to his non-christian friends who don't want to hear anything of Jesus 'in the deepest sense we can comprehend... resonating with Jesus.' (pg 92)
- Is the role of Jesus just to teach us 'to live in tune with how reality is' (pg 83), or is it something more? What about dealing with the barrier of sin that makes it impossible to know God and know the deeper reality?
- Wednesday, March 10, 2010
the hidden word
In chapter 2, entitled Yoke, Bell explains something of his understanding of how we should read the Bible. His first sub-heading is, 'it's difficult', and that's certainly what he does for anyone reading this chapter. His main points appear to be: first, we cannot get at the simple meaning of a passage, only our interpretation of a passage, then second, we have the authority to say what the Bible means in our day.
Positives:
- Bell urges us to ask questions when people tell us what the Bible says. In effect, don't take their word for it. Good advice.
- Bell points out that people approach the Bible with presuppositions. Again useful to know and remember.
- The Word is living and active - not just a book about yesterday. A good reminder.
- Remember context. Bell's pet hate is when people take verses and use them to prove points that the verse in context just doesn't say. Again, vital reminder.
Questions:
- Has Bell read his own book. On Pg 44 he cites 1 Corinthians 7:4 as a verse that teaches a wife's authority over her husband - Is this what the verse means in context?
- Has Bell exagerated his point? To me it seems he has pushed his point so far that he has made the Bible inaccessible. David speaks of the Bible saying it makes 'wise the simple' (Psalm 19:7). After reading this chapter I think Bell seems to want to re-write it 'no-one can understand it'
- Do we really have the keys of the kingdom - the authority in ourselves to tell people what the gospel is and what it isn't?
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