From Death to New Life

The Following is adapted from my presentation of the Final Chapter of "Hosanna:  A Spiritual Journey Through Holy Week" published by Kerygma.   I acknowledge all influences and quotes from that material.

*** ASM ***

Much of the historical record concerning Jesus focuses on the last week prior to his execution.  How he rode into Jerusalem in apparent fulfillment of God’s words spoken through the prophets.  How he refocused the sacred feast of Passover.  How he was crucified by the Roman authorities at the urging of the Jewish Sanhedrin.  It has been said that biographies focus on the lives of their subjects; Jesus’ biographies focused on his death.

While some argue for a Thursday execution, most readers of the text support the traditional Friday crucifixion of Jesus.  Out of respect, he was given a proper burial but that was it.  His life, his ministry, was over.  Nothing more could come of it.  It is written in The [Jewish] Law: “a hanged man is cursed by God.”[1]  Knowing this, Jesus’ followers, demoralized, scattered.  His closest followers hid together in fear of what would come next.  Jesus had been hanged and nothing more could come of it… or could it?

All four Gospels accounts agree that Jesus was raised from the dead.  From Mark’s simple proclamation to the women by the young man, to the more detailed accounts of Matthew, Luke and John, “He is risen!” is the triumphant conclusion of the Evangelists.  They don’t attempt to explain it.  They simply state it.  It is understood that Jesus was raised by the power and will of God.

Jesus’ resurrection is the capstone in the arch of Christianity.  Without it, Jesus fades into a long line of pious preachers.  By it, God vindicates everything Jesus’ said and did. 

In his greeting to the Romans, Paul stated that Jesus “was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead” Romans 1:4 (ESV).  Even Jesus points to His resurrection (although cryptically) as sign of His authority (Mat 12:39 & Luke 11:29 – the sign of Jonah; John 2:19 – destroy this Temple).  It is no wonder that skeptics will offer a multitude of explanations to avoid the uncomfortable reality of the Resurrection.  To acknowledge Jesus’ Resurrection is to allow that what He taught, what He demonstrated and what He stood for has divine authority that extends to this very day.

In C.S. Lewis’ book “The Screwtape Letters,” the devil Screwtape writes to his “nephew” Wormwood:

You must have often wondered why the Enemy [meaning God] does not make more use of is power to be sensibly present to human souls in any degree He chooses and at any moment. But you now see that the Irresistible and the Indisputable are the two weapons which the very nature of His scheme forbids Him to use. Merely to override a human will (as His felt presence in any but the faintest and most mitigated degree would certainly do) would be for Him useless. He cannot ravish. He can only woo.[2]

In like manner, Jesus resurrection appearances were only to His followers, demonstrating, as one artist titled his CD, “Everything Sad is Coming Untrue.”  That He didn’t reveal Himself to His skeptics demonstrates God’s regard for our free will, not to mention that a determined unbeliever can always come up with an explanation for a miracle.  Despite this, from the beginning, the church has proclaimed “He is Risen!” as the sign and assurance of our faith, hope and love.

It should be noted that none of the Gospel accounts even hint at anything but a corporeal resurrection.  For the Hebrew mind, the “soul” and the “body” are a psychophysical unit.  To kill the body was to destroy everything about the person.  In the disciple’s minds, Jesus’ death was the end of all their hopes.  His resurrection was a triumph; a joy too great to imagine.

“It’s the person who wants to know God that God reveals himself to.”- D Willard

---

[1] “And if a man has committed a crime punishable by death and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree, his body shall not remain all night on the tree, but you shall bury him the same day, for a hanged man is cursed by God. You shall not defile your land that the Lord your God is giving you for an inheritance. Deuteronomy 21:22–23 (ESV)

[2] Lewis, C. S.  1955  The Screwtape letters, ch/8, p/38

The Problem with the Basic Premise of Christianity - A Response

The Statement:

The Problem with the basic premise of Christianity is that God was wrong and created the Savior institution to fix his mistake.

As it was explained to me, His error was accepting only the perfect into Heaven, but Man cannot be perfect.  But – GOD CANNOT BE WRONG – or everything else falls apart.

Summary of The Response:

• God created man to live in perfect fellowship with Him in love.
• Man rebelled and choose to live according to his own will and not God’s.
• In Jesus, God choose to take man’s just punishment upon Himself to restore the loving relationship we were designed to have with Him.

The Response:

I agree that God cannot be wrong.  He also cannot be a liar, unjust or evil.  If He is any of these things, “everything else falls apart.”  Therefore, the basic premise of Christianity cannot be that “God was wrong.”

God has certain characteristics that are part of His nature.  Just like a person cannot choose the color of their eyes (baring surgery), God cannot change those characteristics that are part of who He is.  Christians, along with other religions, profess that one of those characteristics is holiness.  God is holy.  Because of this, what is unholy or unrighteous cannot enter his presence.

It is said, “to err is human.”  It is painfully obvious that people are not perfect.  Human history is full of examples of us not living up to a standard of righteousness that, deep in our hearts, we know is real.  It is evident in that feeling of injustice when, having stood up for a moment, we return to our seat only to find someone else sitting in it.  But were we always like that?

Perhaps a distinction should be made between errors caused by lack of knowledge and ones resulting from an act of will.  We all have gotten a chuckle from a child who has said something cute because they don’t know better, but when that child is stubbornly refusing to follow direction, that is another matter altogether.  The same is true for us.  Making a mistake due to a lack of information usually result in humor for those privileged to witness it.  Yet, exercising our will in a way contrary societal standards can only result in a breaking of fellowship and, if caught, some sort of punishment.  How then, can a Holy God, whose righteous standard comes from His very nature, have fellowship with people live contrary to His standard?  How can a just God not act and meet out the justice rightly deserved?

So why would God create a race of people which His very nature would require Him to punish?  Setting aside the notion that God created us for some sadistic pleasure (such a god would be too horrible to contemplate), the short answer is, He didn’t.  Since God is perfect and his nature requires moral perfection, then God would have created us morally perfect in an intimate relationship with Himself (which is what Genesis testifies).  But something went wrong.

What is it that God wants from us?  John writes that “God is Love,” and love needs an object of affection.  How can a person be loving if they are stranded alone on a deserted island?  Yet, strand one more person on that island and there can be love… or not.  Love is also an act of will, a choice.  So God gave us a free will so we could exercise the option to love God… or not.  We choose “not.”

We exercised our free will and disaster followed.  Families estranged from each other, nations at war with each other, selfishness, greed, mistrust, and hatred.  The list goes on.  Have you ever had a friend hurt by someone else?  How did you feel?  What did you want to do?  Now think of a time you hurt someone else.  Know that God loves that person that you hurt.  What is God to do?

This is the dilemma.  God, whose very nature is love, is a just being.  He cannot turn a blind eye to our rebellion (make no mistake, when we assert our own wills above God’s we are being as rebellious as any child who will not follow their parent’s instructions).  Jesus’ disciple John wrote, “the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.”  Yet God, in His foreknowledge, knew the choices we would make and had a plan.  A plan to reconcile a rebellious people to Himself, a plan to restore the love between God and man.  That plan is the Gospel of Jesus.

I want to know what love is

In 1984 Foreigner asked, “I want to know what love is.”  In 1995, John Elefante replied:

Endless days and long hard journeys,
Mending hearts forever yearning,
This is what love is.
Healing blind men by his touch,
Knowing that he cares so much,
This is what love is.
And teaching us to love each other as we love ourselves,
And laying down our lives for someone else,

And even when we fall, he loves us through it all,
His gentle guiding hand keeps understanding.
He knows the tears we cry.
He knows our hearts may lie.
For us again, he'd die.
That's what love is.[1]

While I admit I’m biased, I can’t think of a better example of love than the Christian God.  Here we have a being who, despite being ridiculed, rejected, misquoted, misunderstood and outright ignored, continues to reach out to us.  What wondrous love is this?

Here we stand, rebels before a holy God and not realize the extent of our offenses.  We look at each other and think, “I’m not that bad, I’m just like most other people,” yet we don’t understand that we are not being graded on a curve but against absolute righteousness.  And yet, this God would offer us pardon, restoration and renewal.  What wondrous love is this?

Here we are, living our lives as we think is best yet making a mess of it.  Unintentional hurts, unplanned events and uninformed decisions result in unsatisfying results, depression, anger and resentment.  And God offers to clean it up, put it back together and, take all these bad things and somehow, miraculously, bring something good out of it. What wondrous love is this?

Does this sound too good to be true?  It is easy to write all these things.  How do we know it is true?  Where is the evidence?  Who gave the testimony?  I am persuaded that this reflects reality.

God wrote it in history.

---

[1] John Elefante "This Is What Love Is" © 1995

Christian Unity?

Recently, two items came across my reading that, while were related, reflected opposing realities.  The first is from the book “”The Anglican Tradition : A Handbook of Sources”.  It is an except from The Chicago Quadrilateral, which was a resolution from a meeting in Chicago, 1886, by the Bishops of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America.  The second is a letter to the editor by Rev. Sara Fisher, an Episcopal priest, as publishe in The Oregonian on May 3, 2011.  Below are the relevant quotations.  I leave you to draw your own conclusions.

The Chicago Quadrilateral

General Convention of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America,
A Communion of Communions (1886).

Whereas, many of the faithful in Christ Jesus among us are praying with renewed and increasing earnestness that some measures may be adopted at this time for the re-union of the sundered parts of Christendom … we Bishops of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America, in Council assembled as Bishops in the Church of God, do hereby solemnly declare to all whom it may concern, and especially to our fellow Christians of the different Communions in this land, who, in their several spheres, have contended for the religion of Christ:

1.   Our earnest desire that the Saviour’s prayer, ‘That we all may be one’, may, in its deepest and truest sense, be speedily fulfilled;

2.   That we believe that all who have been duly baptized with water, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, are members of the Holy Catholic Church;

3.   That in all things of human ordering or human choice, relating to modes of worship and discipline, or to traditional customs, this Church is ready in the spirit of love and humility to forgo all preferences of her own;

4.   That this Church does not seek to absorb other Communions, but rather, co-operating with them on the basis of a common Faith and Order, to discountenance schism, to heal the wounds of the Body of Christ, and to promote the charity which is the chief of Christian graces and the visible manifestation of Christ to the world;

...

Furthermore, Deeply grieved by the sad divisions which affect the Christian Church in our own land, we hereby declare our desire and readiness, so soon as there shall be any authorized response to this Declaration, to enter into brotherly conference with all or any Christian Bodies seeking the restoration of the organic unity of the Church, with a view to the earnest study of the conditions under which so priceless a blessing might happily be brought to pass.^[1]

The Q Movement[2]

In response to Steve Duin's May 1 column, "Culture, Christianity and Q": It will be interesting to see which group has more resistance to the Q movement: spiritual-but-not-religious Christo-phobic Portlanders, or mainline denominational groups. Some of these won't even use the word "Christian" to describe themselves, for fear of being mistaken for a conservative evangelical.

As the pastor of an Episcopal church, I know whereof I speak. We are proud of our denominational identity as sacramental, incarnational, progressive and justice-oriented. But despite our talk of tolerance and inclusivity, many of our members exhibit an abiding prejudice against evangelicals, "conservative" or not. Yet imagine what good we could accomplish if we all moved beyond ideology toward the gritty edges of real life, where the guy we claim to follow hung out.

I am excited by the work being done and the work being dreamed of by people of faith in our city. This Christian looks forward to working alongside them.

REV. SARA FISCHER

Southeast Portland

Fischer is rector of St. David of Wales Episcopal church.

---

^[1] Evans, G. R., & Wright, J. R. (1991). The Anglican tradition : A handbook of sources (345–346). London: SPCK.

[2] The Oregonian, May 3, 2011, Letters To The Editor

A BOX WITH NO WALLS

So often I have been cautioned about putting God into a box, to limit Him, to make Him smaller than He really is.  It seems that those who would liberate God from His box advocate a God with NO limits, that “It” is everything to everyone, that “It” is so big that “It” cannot be comprehended nor “Its” will imagined.

On the one hand there is the boxed in God: limited with defendant opinions on how we should live.  On the other there is the unboxed, “unlimited” God who has little impact because “Its” will for our lives cannot be determined nor “Its” desires perceived.

What does an unlimited God want?  What demands does “It” place on our lives?  “It” can place none because “Its” desires and will cannot be perceived nor comprehended.

How can a finite creature come to terms with an infinite God, unless that God reveals Himself?  In that act of revelation, God takes on definition.  He has a definable will and purpose for our world, our race, our nation and our lives.  It’s not because “I say so”, but because “He says so”.  Suddenly it is no longer “anything goes” but “this is what God wants” and “this is what God desires.”

As Christians, we believe that God has revealed Himself to us, generally through His creation and specifically through Holy Scripture.  The chatechism in the Episcopal Book of Common Prayers states: “God first helped us by revealing himself and his will, through nature and history, through many seers and saints, and especially through the prophets of Israel.”  And therein lies one reason for hostility or indifference toward the Bible.  If God has revealed Himself in Scripture, then Scripture is an objective source for what God wants and desires, for what is good, right and moral.  Yet the natural human condition desires to set its own rules for how to live.  This leaves us with a choice: to disregard the Bible or to bow humbly before the Word of God.

What place does God’s Word have in your life?  If your Bible were taken from you, would it make a difference?

Why Christians say that Jesus the only way

Of all Christian beliefs, none may cause as much controversy as the belief that Jesus is the only way to God.  Living in an age when tolerance is a virtue and acceptance of diverse opinions is a cultural norm, this belief seems archaic and exclusive.  The following is presented to show that not only do Christian have good reasons to hold this view, but it is not something they could change if they so chose.  As Paul Little wrote, “If we should say we would like to change this truth and vote in something more inclusive, here is our dilemma. We would be changing something that is not humanly changeable. It is fixed and is either completely true or completely false.”[1]

The belief that Jesus is the only way to God, or that Jesus is the only means of salvation, originates with the first Christians, Jesus’ original disciples.  When Christians state that Jesus is the only way to God, they are holding to the teachings of the Apostles.  When responding to questions put to them by the Jewish council, Peter proclaimed, “This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone.  And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” Acts 4:11-12 (ESV)

The Apostles taught that it is through Jesus that we are reconciled with God.  We need this reconciliation since, by following our own desires, we have rebelled against God and have become separated from Him.  Such is the condition of the human race.  We are imperfect, fallen, and unable to restore the relationship between us and God that God desires.  No one has lived up to God’s standard and few live up to their own standard.  Because of God’s great love, He took upon Himself the task of restoring us to Himself.  As Isaiah prophesied, “I, I am the Lord, and besides me there is no savior.” Isaiah 43:11 (ESV)

Since no human can live a divine life, The Divine chose to live a human life.  In Jesus, God stepped into human history and did for us what we were unable to do for ourselves.  Through Jesus, God offers us forgiveness and a restored relationship.  As Paul said to the Jews in Antioch, “Let it be known to you therefore, brothers, that through this man [Jesus] forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, and by him everyone who believes is freed from everything from which you could not be freed by the Law of Moses.” Acts 13:38-39 (ESV)  This is why Christians can be assured of their salvation.  A Christian does not have to be “good enough” or “holy enough” or “whatever enough” to come to God because Jesus was good enough and holy enough and it is through His righteousness that we are reconciled with God.  (ref 2 Corinthians 5:21)

How did the Apostles come by this exalted notion about Jesus?  They were primarily Jews.  A fiercely monotheistic people who regarded the Roman gods as false and would rather die than allow the presence of the Roman Standard in the Holy City.

So deep was the feeling on this point, that even the attempt of Pilate to introduce by night into Jerusalem the effigies of Cæsar on the top of the Roman standards led to scenes in which the Jews showed themselves willing to die for their convictions (Jos. Ant. 18. 3, 1); while the palace of Herod Antipas at Tiberias was burned by the mob because it was decorated with figures of animals (Jos. Life, 12). [2]

Into this culture came Jesus, proclaiming a message of forgiveness and reconciliation with God.  More than that, he made some very controversial statements.  His Apostle John, records that, when the Jews in the Temple questioned him, demanding that he tell them plainly if he was the Christ.  At the conclusion of his reply, Jesus states, “I and the Father are one.” John 10:30 (ESV)  To understand the full meaning of what Jesus was saying, one only needs to look at how the Jew’s responded.

The Jews picked up stones again to stone him. Jesus answered them, "I have shown you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you going to stone me?" The Jews answered him, "It is not for a good work that we are going to stone you but for blasphemy, because you, being a man, make yourself God." John 10:31-33 (ESV)

Nor was this an isolated incident.  All of the witnesses to Jesus’ teachings make various statements that Jesus regarded himself as uniquely divine.  He was not another prophet.  He was not another in a great line of teachers.  Jesus claimed the authority to forgive sins (which was only God’s prerogative), he claimed to be greater than the prophet Jonah, greater than Solomon and greater than the Temple.  (Matt 12)  He claimed that he would judge the nations.  (Mat 25:31ff; Luke 21:27)  Even at his trial before the chief priests, when “the high priest said to him, ‘I adjure you by the living God, tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God.’”  Matthew 26:63 (ESV)  The result of Jesus’ response was that “the high priest tore his robes and said, ‘He has uttered blasphemy. What further witnesses do we need? You have now heard his blasphemy.’” Matthew 26:65 (ESV)

With statements like these, how is it that Jesus managed to retain any of his followers?  When Jesus declared himself to be “the bread of life”, many of his disciples turned away.  When Jesus asked the Apostles if they also wanted to leave, “Simon Peter answered him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God."” John 6:68-69 (ESV)  And to those who were skeptical of what he said, Jesus replied, “even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father." John 10:38 (ESV)

It is evident from the record that Jesus held a high view of himself and offered his activities and miracles as proof of his claim.  His disciples, impressed by his teaching, his character and his miraculous works were further convinced by Jesus’ physical appearances following his resurrection.  Their conviction can be measured by the persecution they received from those trying to suppress this new message.  A modern day follower can be sincere, yet sincerely wrong.  These first disciples were in a unique position to know the truth and they proclaimed it to their deaths.

The Christian message of salvation, of God becoming one of us to reconcile us to Him, is a statement of reality and, as such, is a testable claim.  Simply dismissing it because it sounds harsh and exclusive ignores the real question: “Is it true?”  If Jesus is God, then no one can come to God without coming to Jesus.  Simply put: to come to God, you must come to God.

There are many paths to The Father and they all go through Jesus.

[1] Paul E. Little, Know Why You Believe: Connecting Faith and Reason, (Colorado Springs, CO: Cook Communications, 2003), WORDsearch CROSS e-book, 124.

[2] Edersheim, A. (2003). Sketches of Jewish social life in the days of Christ. (90). Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

---