And this is not from yourselves...

I am writing a note once again to argue with teaching I have heard. I have at times written to agree with teaching I have heard, but there is much less energy in such a post, at least for me. Just to say "amen," I would usually just post the thing I agree with on facebook. To enter a debate, to challenge a commonly held position, that's worthy of an entire post. If you don't like that sort of thing, feel free to skip over this post.

Ephesians 2:8-9 says (in the HCSB): For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift— ⁹not from works, so that no one can boast.

I have often heard it taught that "this is not from yourselves; it is God's gift" refers back to "faith," so the verses can be understood to mean: You are saved by grace, and you get to that grace through faith, and that faith is given to you as a gift in order to start the whole process.

Upon closer examination of the verses, though, I believe this cannot be the meaning of "It is God's gift." It seems clear that "God's gift" is contrasted with "from works." It is God's gift. It is not from works. Then if God's gift referred back to faith, the contrast would be "Faith is a gift from God. Faith is not from works." But this doesn't even make sense. What would it mean that faith was from works? Faith and works are contrasted with each other, here and elsewhere in Scripture. These verses are saying that salvation comes through faith, not through works. It is the salvation, not the faith that is in view as a gift in these verses.

So these verses are better understood to mean: Salvation comes by grace. This grace comes through faith. This salvation does not come from what we do, but is a gift from God. Works cannot earn it, so no one can brag about deserving salvation.

Meditating on Circumstances

Balaam's donkey turned aside, and for all he could see, she was working against him. But he didn't see the angel. He didn't know she was blessing him. And he struck her.

How often, o Lord, do I strike out against the circumstances You shape to bless me? Your word says "You will keep in perfect peace the mind that is dependent on You, for it is trusting in You." Help me, God to trust You in all circumstances. Help me to be a man of peace.

When money is scarce,

When things break,

When my children fight,

When my wife and I disagree,

When the church seems to turn aside,

When I lose things,

When I have too much to do,

When I don't get my way,

When I don't have much time,

When I don't like the plan,

When people are stupid,

When I am stupid,

When children are ignored,

When ministry is missed,

When I stumble and fall...

In all these and other circumstances, when action is required and when stillness is, may I act or be still in peace. For all things are in Your hand, and I am Yours.

Meditating on Circumcision

Warning: The following thoughts center around circumcision, which happens to involve a part of the body we don't normally talk about in connection to God. Nothing herein is profane, but if you do not wish to read about such earthy things, perhaps you should wait for the next post.

***

Seriously? Really, God? Circumcision? That's how you wanted to mark Your people as belonging to You by covenant? Not a braid like Anakin Skywalker? Not a brand of an Alpha and an Omega on the shoulder? Not an awl through the ear at the doorpost? None of these, but that? THERE?

Nothing could more clearly illustrate that Your ways are not like our ways. No way we would ever have picked that part of the body to represent Your covenant. And NO WAY we would ever have come up with cutting it!

So what were Your thoughts? Why did You decide on circumcision? Of course I'm sure I could never discover all You had in mind, but I have some thoughts. . .some maybe's.

* * *

Maybe. . .God was showing us how comprehensive His interest in our lives is. With this body part we do both the lowest and the highest of physical activities. We use it both for excretion and for love-making. In the former, we differ not a bit from the lowest of animals in the biological need to eliminate waste. In the latter, we rise above the animals and aspire toward the realms of heaven--ok, not always, but ideally. In union of husband and wife we express and explore the image of God, we delight in the intimacies of eros and agape intermingled, and we foreshadow the union of the Lord and His people at the end of time! God not only combined these two functions, the animalistic and the divine, in one organ--He then chose that organ to use for the mark of His covenant. Maybe in this He was showing us that He has concern for, and He claims rights to, every single aspect of our life, from the meanest to the most majestic.

Maybe. . .God was hinting at the internal nature of salvation. That part of the body is almost always hidden. It is seen by almost no one else. We do so many religious things out where people can see. Maybe God was giving us a clue that it is what others don't see that matters most.

Maybe. . .God was setting up another contrast between the old covenant and the new, another wall to be torn down. Obviously, only males could participate in this mark of the covenant. I wonder how that made females feel? Was it just another taken-for-granted thread in the fabric of their male-dominated society, or was it a specific cause for envy? Was there a connection between the man-mark, sexual union, and the hope of salvation through childbirth? At any rate, in the new covenant there is no male or female. All can be baptized. All are equal in Christ Jesus!

Maybe. . .God was helping with sexual temptation. Would the mark of the covenant have made any difference? The rabbis who wrote the Talmud seemed to think so. They said if a man was reminded by his circumcision of the covenant it would help him avoid sexual sin. Of course, the Talmud isn't always the best source for what God really intended. . .It does make me wonder, though, whether it aided in this way at all. I'm trying to come up with a NT parallel. To sin with the very thing that represented your agreement not to sin, would that be like using torn-out pages of the Bible to light up a doobie? Would it be like going skinny-dipping with your mistress in the baptistry?

* * *

If any of this is on the right track, it's a reminder to me of Your total 360-degree design of life, the universe, and everything (to quote Douglas Adams). Every detail of creation and relationship meshes with hundreds of others. The air we breathe surrounds us but doesn't keep us from moving, provides the oxygen we need but doesn't keep us from seeing (what if air weren't clear?), gives us a metaphor for Spirit and provides the lift for birds and helicopters, dissolves in the water for sea-life and holds water for rainfall. Every detail of the universe is like this, intertwined with countless others. . .and it shows how wonderfully wise You are. . .as does circumcision, I'm sure, if only we can rightly understand it.

Meditating on the Holiness of God

God is holy. This seems self-explanatory, but in my mind it becomes a little more difficult to understand as I analyze the meaning of the word holy.

The man-on-the-street definition of holy is probably most often expressed in terms of doing pious things. Someone is holy who reads their Bible a lot, and prays a lot, and goes to church a lot, etc. Or else “holy” is defined in terms of avoidance. Someone is holy who doesn’t drink or smoke or tell dirty jokes.

In opposition to these popular definitions, our pastoral staff has emphasized that holy means set apart. We ARE holy because we belong to God. The fact of our holy-ness is established by our Savior, not by us or our actions.

This concept is helpful, but I begin to see it is incomplete. I Peter 1:16 tells us it is written, “Be holy, because I am holy.” This makes no sense as a command if my above definition is comprehensive. Maybe, “You are holy,” but not “Be holy.”

Be holy implies that there is something we do that qualifies us a holy. I think it would be an over-simplification to return to the idea that holy equals pious. I think holy has two levels of meaning, when it comes to us who belong to God. There is the holy-as-set-apart aspect which I still believe is true. But there is also a living aspect. I would say it is living differently because of Who we belong to.

In the Old Testament, living differently included not planting two kings of crops in the same field, and not wearing blended fabrics. These prohibitions reinforced the idea of separation, that Israel was not to mix with those who worshiped other gods. Separation was part and parcel of holiness in the OT. God remained apart from humanity, and Israel remained apart from other nations.

But in the New Testament, the emphasis is no longer on separation. It is on incarnation. God meats us. :) God meets us in our flesh. Then we meet others in theirs. Holiness is not about pulling away from the muck and mire of sin, but about diving into it, being unchanged by it, and shining through it.

To say we are holy, then, is to say we belong to God, and He wants us to reflect Him to those who don't. We do this by being different, not just keeping a list of dos and don'ts. Our responsibility is to draw close to Him so we can better reflect Him.

Son in this sense we define ourselves as holy in relation to god--belonging to Him or reflecting Him. But how do we define God's holiness? I've usually defined it thus: He is OTHER. But I'm struggling with the limitations of this definition.

God isn't just Other--He's also like us, or rather we are like Him. We are made in His image. We are made to be like Him in many ways. But God does say His ways and thoughts are higher than ours. So He is both like us and different from us.

And a platypus is different from us. But that doesn't make it holy. Satan is different from us. He's certainly not holy.

I think when we describe God as holy, we are talking about the beautiful, wonderful ways in which He is different, higher, greater. He is wise, just, pure, good, loving, patient, the list goes on and on, each one a trait we may share, and aspire to improve in, but which God exhibits with perfection. Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God Almighty!

Meditating on the Goodness of God

God is good. Such a simple truth, yet it carries layers of meaning.

• God is good, therefore "good" is defined by God. When we say, "How can a good God allow [or cause] such a tragedy?" we are missing the larger picture. Our concept of goodness is limited by our own perspective, which is in some ways merely limited, but in other ways decidedly flawed. God is too wise to make decisions based on anything less than all the facts and all His purposes. The parallel that I often use is that of a parent providing for her two-year-old to be vaccinated. The child only knows the pain of the moment, but the parent comprehends the greater good accomplished. Love, wisdom and knowledge come together to say, "Even though you don't understand, this pain is for your good, and not for yours only; your vaccination is part of the greater process of protecting the population at large from this virus reaching critical mass among the people."

• God is good, as opposed to evil. Though ultimately the definitions of good and evil find their source in the character of God, we have a sense of good and evil whether we comprehend God or not. Probably every religion teaches it is more blessed to give than to receive, and do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Though some societies may differ, humanity in general recognizes murder, stealing, and lying as evil, and generosity, sacrifice, and loyalty as good. When we consider any well-agreed-upon standard of "good," we will find that God meets and exceeds all human standards. Though His actions can be mis-characterized (some describe the cross as cosmic child abuse), rightly comprehended God shows Himself to be loving, just, compassionate, thoughtful, sacrificial, truthful, and every other "good" we might choose to name.

• God is good, as in good to us. In creation God provided for our physical needs, our enjoyment of beauty, our joy of discovery, our ability to improve the conditions of life, etc. He gave us air, food, water, sunsets, music, sex, fire, electricity, eclipses, oil, iron, x-rays, space exploration and dreams! In our lives He shows us our sin and provides forgiveness. He exposes our isolation and grants us fellowship. He tests our limits and equips us for greatness. He probes our hearts' longings and establishes for us purpose and meaning in life. He has given me a wife who has been an instrument of immeasurable good in my life, beside the joy, love and passion she brings. He has given me four children, always a home, always enough food (more than enough, judging from the bathroom scale), books unnumbered, multiple computers and other gadgets, a ministry of historical significance, friends, opportunities--the list could go on forever! God is so good/God is so good/God is so good/He's so good to me!

• God is good at what He does. He knows what needs to be done, when, where, and how. In creation we see His vast wisdom and limitless power. In the story of redemption , we see the same traits, as He works through Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Joshua, Rahab, Ruth, Mary, and Joseph to provide a Savior. He takes a motley crew of apostles and changes the world. He preserves His truth and His church through persecution, corruption, decay and Dark Ages. He doeth all things well.

Meditating on God and His words

The most fundamental element of our faith is God. That He is and Who He is are the starting points for everything else. Out of His existence and personhood flow His actions. And out of these actions spring our existence and personhood.

We first recognize Him as the One who existed before we did. Second, as the One who authored our existence--the Creator. We are the creature, and we come from and find our meaning in our Creator-God. This relationship is simultaneously one of intimacy and one of separation. The act of creation is a moment of naked connectedness, but it necessarily includes a stepping-apart, else He has not created an other, but only tattooed Himself.

Thus we, blinking in the light see the great Other, our Creator, with space between us. And when the space is smaller, our joy is greater. But sin widens the gap and lessens our joy.

First, pre-existent. Second, Creator. Third, Lawgiver and Judge. Do not eat the fruit. Dying thou shalt die. Cursed is the ground for thy sake. The space between us and our Creator grows greater and greater. And as sin works against the blessings of creation, the splendid holiness of God becomes something to fear rather than dwell in. The fire of our birth threatens to consume us if we draw too near, and the separation is nearly complete.

God is holy, and we are not. God is righteous, and we are not. God is good, and we...are...not.

And yet...the love of the Creator for His creation is undiminished. What we do not know, what we cannot see, is that the widening gulf, the ever-increasing Otherness, is serving an unimaginably beautiful counter-purpose: to develop in the creature a yearning for the Creator to mirror the yearning the Creator has had for the creature since the moment they first parted.

* * *

Throughout this story God has spoken. We read words He spoke in the act of creation--"Let there be....Let us make..." Additionally, we may imagine He spoke to the mud He shaped as we speak to the belly-button of a pregnant mother: "I will be your Father, and I will care for you, and I will never stop loving you. . ." Then after breathing life into the earth-man, He spoke blessing: "Be fruitful and multiply!" And, of course, the words of Law and Judgment already recalled above. And as the gap widened, He kept speaking, sometimes a whisper, sometimes a shout so mighty an empire would crumble. And every word--every law, prophecy, song, proverb, judgment--was precious, and beautiful, and wonderful.

Not merely in themselves, but because they carried the heart of the One who spoke them. Through them He conveyed His yearning. And His promise. "This space will not forever come between us! There is no mountain too high, no ocean too vast, that my love will not find you! I am at work to cross the gap, and in due time I will have both won your heart and set it free! We will be together, you and I!"

And even through this time perhaps the image we are using of a gap, across which God sent His words, is only partially effective in representing reality. For in truth the Creator has found numerous times and ways to draw closer to His creatures. A fire in a bush speaks to Moses, and it is not just a word from God, but God Himself whom Moses faces. Prophets, kings, shepherds and soldiers have touched, or better, been touched by God. Yet each encounter carried with it the promise of one greater, one with the power to re-create creation, to reunite the Maker and the made in ways only hoped for by Moses, David, Daniel and the rest.

In the absence of immediate encounter, the Words were treasured, as a lover stores up letters from the front. This is what God is like! And this is what we are to be like! And here is His promise that we will be united someday!

But some grew confused. Some came to believe that these Words of promise do not portend our unity with our Creator, they ARE that unity. In them, we have what life is to be had! In them we meet our God in what way He is to be met! And the promise of life was exchanged for a life of death. The hope of the Sun was replaced with satisfaction in a fire in a cave. And the Words had to be controlled, reshaped, reinterpreted, hemmed in, lest the reality of the promise burst forth and engulf those who kept the words.

* * *

Then came the moment. The promises found fulfillment in a Child, a cross, a church. The beginning of the end, the end of the beginning, God crossed the gap and now dwells not just with, but WITHIN those who accept the Promises for what they are, and the Promiser for Who He is.

And so now, if the most fundamental element of our faith is God, the second must be God in us. Creation has begun to find fulfillment in its undoing and redoing. We are new creations in Christ, but this happens not in the stepping back, as at the first, but in coming together. The gap has been crossed! We are one!! His Spirit witnesses to our spirit!

So what of the Words? Are they now to be discarded? No! Though we have direct contact with our Creator, our faculties for comprehending Him are yet developing. Through His words he still teaches us about Him. Only now, as spirit unites with Spirit, we can grasp more fully the truths therein. And new Words have been given. "Now that you have seen what the Promise really meant, you are ready to learn more! And new Words are being given. "I want you to trust me with your wayward daughter." "This church needs to open a food bank." you "I forgive you for your abortion." But the words, as always, are not valuable most of all in themselves, but because they carry the heart of our God. It is in Him, not them, that we have life and the fulfillment of the promise.

But we don't act like it. We act like our primary contact with our Creator is still the words, when it is HIM! His Spirit within us! Yes, let us study the words. Yes let us teach new believers to study the words. But let us also learn and teach to commune with God directly, in prayer, fasting, meditation, and in other ways. Let ours not be a faith in Words, but in the Speaker of the Words.

Amen.

Purpose-related thoughts

I'm dropping the Warren and Prayer guide quotes for now. I have some thoughts to share with LeBron, and I want to share them here first.

Worship

I already raised some questions about how we evaluate our worship services. I am beginning to question the concept of a "worship service." I haven't thoroughly researched this yet, but it seems that the "services" that the early church held would be more accurately described as "discipleship and fellowship services." http://www.alanknox.net/2008/09/early-church-gatherings/ Not that there was no worship in those meetings, but I don't think they felt compelled to label everything as Worship through the reading of the Torah, Worship through the breaking of bread, etc. Worship was part of their gathering, I'm pretty sure, but it was also part of their life! They worshiped in prison, they rejoiced after being flogged by the religious leaders in Acts 5, but it doesn't seem (admittedly, after only a cursory search) that they had "worship services" in our contemporary sense.

I'm not trying to advocate cutting worship out of our gatherings, but it might be easier to realistically plan and evaluate our gatherings if we don't feel the need to label everything as worship. It might be easier to interrupt a sermon (one form of discipleship) to tend to rebellious teenagers (another form of discipleship) if we don't take the view that we are "interrupting" the WORSHIP OF THE LORD. If worship is viewed as every breath we take rather than what we do when we gather, how would it change our expectations?

Fellowship

I believe the current culture of church-hopping undermines fellowship in its deeper senses. Accountability and church discipline are destroyed when all a rebellious person has to do is go to the church down the street and start over. If people bounce from church to church every now and then when they get bored or ticked off, they will never develop deep relationships with fellow church members. I propose we found a movement: first on an associational level, but eventually globally. The pastors and churches that subscribe to the concept would agree not to take new members moving from other local churches that were part of the movement without first meeting with the prospective members and the soon-to-be-former pastors. The reasons for moving can be discussed honestly, and any issues that need to be dealt with (conflict, ego, bitterness) can be lovingly addressed, rather than simply ignored to fester. In many, if not most, cases the aim would be reconciliation with the original church family, though the second church could provide a nurturing environment for healing and growth if necessary on the path to such restoration.

Discipleship

I raised the idea of depending on the Spirit to lead new (or otherwise) converts in their own discipleship. I guess individual needs also need to be balanced with community needs, which is what happens in larger settings, like Sunday School and especially sermons. And I think our community of modern Christians needs to be taught some basic things like: all suffering is not to be avoided, being dishonored for the cause of Christ is worth rejoicing over, mission work is messy and costly, forget about what you "like" and give your life for the kingdom, etc. Of course, others could look at me and list things I need to be taught, I am sure...

Service

While I am intrigued by the idea that our pastor has raised, that we are to do good "especially to those of the household of faith" (Gal 6) my thoughts today have taken me in another direction. I have thought of the example of William Wilberforce, who actively and intentionally and for years pursued the end of the slave trade in England. By comparison, most of our "benevolence" is random and compulsory--we help when someone comes to us. (I do realize that some had to come to Wilberforce, but once he learned of the greater need he did not need individual slaves to come up to him over and over again.) I think of those who worked to end slavery in this country. I think of Mother Theresa serving in Calcutta. I think of Heidi Baker in Mozambique. I think of Paul going from city to city collecting for the poor in Jerusalem. I think we need a ministry mission (at least one). I think we need to look at our community, and perhaps beyond our community, and say to ourselves what is the greatest need that we can impact as ambassadors of the Kingdom, and then marshal the forces of heaven and earth in the effort (all under the direction of God, of course, not to imply directing Him)!

Evangelism

I believe if our church is to matter, we have got to get serious about penetrating the darkness around us with the light of the Gospel. I think we need to make a declaration. We are staking claim to our block for the Kingdom of Heaven. There are about 22 buildings on this block. Some are residences, some are businesses. Within a month, we will get to know every family and every business on this block. We will know them and something of their story. If they have needs, we will seek to aid them. If they are lost we will share Christ. If they are unchurched we will share EHBC. If they are active church members with us or with someone else, we will seek to bless them in their walk with the Lord. If we can patronize their business we will. We will know and be known by this block in the name of Jesus Christ. . .and then we'll take another. And another. Our reach in ministry and evangelism will grow and grow and as we bring in new people they will help us grow even more. And our talk about being a light in this community will mean something.

A second, parallel line of attack comes from the lives of our members. I still believe in the "Wellspring" concept, and the idea of Babystep Evangelism. Maybe it needs to be packaged differently. Maybe my ego got in the way when we tried to launch it before. Whatever the case, our reach shouldn't only spread from the location of our building, but also from the lives of our members.