Monthly Archives: August 2011

The Burden

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Having read Challies blog entry on leading kids through devotionals I decided to revamp some things we had been doing with the kids give his idea a try. I created a series of daily journal pages for my daughter Lauren and together we are working through Pilgrim’s Progress. This is my first time reading this classic by John Bunyan. For those who are wondering Lauren what my daughter did to deserve such a fate as to wrestle with the Old English text, she is using a simplified version from Abeka.

In this post I wanted to share some things that struck me from our devotional a few days back as we got to the point in the story where Christian has reached the gate.

For those who have not read the book it is an allegory of the Christan life. The story focuses on a man named Christian who has the goal of removing his burden – a large pack upon his back – that weighs him down. In the first part of the story he is traveling to the wicket-gate that Evangelist has told him about. After a bit of journey he is able to reach the gate that bears the inscription “Knock and it shall be opened to you” (Matt 7:7;13-14). Christian heeds the advice and knocks on the door. After knocking he is greeted at the door by Goodwill who asks him what he wants.


Let’s drop into the conversation:

Christian: Here is a poor, burdened Sinner. I come from the City of Destruction, but am going to Mt. Zion that I may be delivered from the wrath to come. I would therefore, Sir, since I am informed that by this gate is the way thither, know if you are willing to let me in.

Goodwill: I am willing with all my heart, said he; and with that he opened the gate.

As Christian enters through the gate the conversation continues. Goodwill asks if anyone has persuaded him not to travel to the gate:

Christian: Yes, both Obstinate and Pliable; but when they saw that they could not prevail, Obstinate went railing back; but Pliable came with me a little way.

Goodwill: But why did he not come through?

Christian: We indeed came both together until we came to the Slough of Despond, into the which we also suddenly fell. And then was my neighbour Pliable discouraged, and would not adventure farther. Wherefore, getting out again on that side next to his own house, he told me I should possess the brave country alone for him: so he went his way, and I came mine; he after Obstinate, and I to this gate.

Why did Pliable fail to reach the gate?

Looking back at his initial encounter with Christian we find him open to what he learns as it all seems reasonable. Pliable is even eager to reach the gate and heaven.

Christian:There is an endless kingdom to be inhabited; and everlasting life to be given us, that we may inhabit that kingdom for ever.

…

Pliable: the hearing of this is enough to ravish one’s heart. But are these things to be enjoyed? How shall we get to be sharers thereof?

Christian: The Lord, the governor of the country hath recorded that in this book, the substance of which is, if we truly be willing to have it, he will bestow it upon us freely.

Pliable: Well my good companion, glad I am to hear of these things; come on let us mend our pace.

Christian: I cannot go as fast as I would by reason of this burden that is on my back.

Why did Pliable fail to reach the gate?

It was not because Christian was a better person or a more courageous man.  The difference was that Pliable had no burden. Notice what Christian tells Goodwill:

Goodwill: But how is it that you came alone?

Christian: Because none of my neighbors saw their danger as I saw mine.

What is the burden? What is the danger?

Christian, unlike Pliable saw himself as a burdened Sinner destined for the wrath to come. He recognized that we are not some bio-chemical goo evolved from primal sludge that will vanish upon our death. He understood that there is a Creator God, Who is Almighty and Holy (Challies gives a good description in this blog post comparing holiness to gold). He knew that we are accountable to this righteous Judge to whom we owe a debt that is not repayable.

Pliable did not understand the danger he was in. Pliable is like the Pharisee that prays trusting that he is already ok with God (Luke 18:9-14) or the third example in the parable of the soils told by Jesus (Luke 8:4-15). The one where the seed (good news) falls on the rocky soil.

And the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy. But these have no root; they believe for a while, and in time of testing fall away.

Christian on the other hand is like the tax collector who recognizes his burden and prays:

God, be merciful to me, a sinner

Why did Christian reach the gate?

Without the burden, one is unlikely to seek the narrow gate and persevere as Christian.

Goodwill: Then said Goodwill, Alas poor man; is the celestial glory of so little esteem with him [Pliable], that he counteth it not worth running the hazard of a few difficulties to obtain it?

Christian: Truly said Christian, I have said the truth of Pliable, and if I should also say all the truth of myself, it will appear there is no betterment betwixt him and myself. It is true that he went back to his own house, but I also turned aside to go in the way of death, being persuaded thereto by the carnal arguments of one Mr. Worldly Wiseman.

Notice the humility in the answer he give (Luke 18:14). Christian recognizes that it is not because he was more courageous or less of a sinner because he too has been led astray by the wisdom of the world and does not deserve to enter the gate anymore than Pliable. He just understood the big picture better and the burden he carried.

As I read and thought through this chapter three dangers for the Christian came to mind. The first is forgetting our burden that was taken from us, the second is thinking that we deserve heaven and others don’t, and the third is following worldly wisdom that contradicts God’s principles and promises.

The Few, the Humble, the Reborn

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In a prior post we explored the gospel according to Love Wins and the two questions it asks:

What is the gospel?

And does how I live my life now matter?

After reading through the book I concluded that the gospel according to Rob Bell and Love Wins is muddled and confusing. I understand that Bell is committed to Jesus being the means of salvation but at the end of the book the question how do you become one of the few (or many) is still left unanswered. Is the best we can say regarding the fate of every person who ever lived is – “how exactly that pans out? That’s God’s job“. This post explores these questions.

Is the gospel a message that can’t be known?

And if that is true, why does John write so that you may believe and have eternal life (John 20:30-31) and that you may know that you have eternal life (1 John 5:13)?  How can you know you have eternal life if we don’t even know how that pans out?

How could Paul expect anyone to test or examine themselves to see if they are in the faith if we don’t know how it all pans out (2 Cor 13:5)?

What gospel were the Galatians distorting and against what gospel were they to  compare “other gospels” too (Gal 1:6-9)?

What was the gospel preached and received in Corinth (1 Cor 15:1-5)?

What gospel did Jesus teach and preach with authority (Luke 20:1-2; Mark 1:4-15)?

What gospel did Jesus want proclaimed to the nations (Mark 13:10, 16:15)?

What is the good news that the beautiful feet bring and that must be obeyed (Rom 10:14-16)?

What gospel is Paul unashamed of (Rom 1:16)?

How do I become one of the few?

How do I become one of the few? What must I do to be saved? How can I inherit eternal life? How do I enter the kingdom? No matter how it is asked – it is a question asked over and over again in the pages of Scripture. Here is a table of them:

Passage with Question Summary of Answer
Acts 2:37 Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit
Acts 16:30 Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household … and he was baptized at once, he and all his family
Acts 22:10 Rise and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on his name (22:15)
Luke 10:25 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself. And he said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.
John 6:28 This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent
John 3:3 Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.
John 3:16 whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life
John 3:18(also 3:36) Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God

The answer is trusting Jesus. Trusting is expressed using terms like repenting (changing your mind about who Jesus is (which in the Acts 2 context was between a blaspheming criminal or the Messiah)), believing (faith), and calling. The result is being reborn (or born from above).

At the heart of the gospel message is Jesus. He is the object of our faith – the One in whom we place our trust.

We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel, which has come to you, as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and growing—as it also does among you, since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth, (Colossians 1:3-6 ESV)

The gospel is a message of grace and truth which must be taught. Those who respond and accept the message have faith in Jesus that results in love for others and is based on a future hope in heaven.

Is faith a verb and does that contradict the notion of grace?

According to Bell in Love Wins [page 11]:

If the message of Jesus is that God is offering the free gift of eternal life through him – a gift we cannot earn by our own efforts, works, or good deeds – and all we have to do is accept and confess and believe, aren’t those verbs?

Yes, the words accept, confess, and believe are verbs. But the question as posed above suggests that this contradicts that gracious gift of eternal life. I assume that Bell is trying to cloud things a bit so that the door can be opened to a more inclusive gospel that does not require a response of faith. However, even though faith is a verb and is an action that a person must do to be saved it does not contradict a message of grace. In fact in Romans Paul clearly states that in order for salvation to be by grace it must be through faith.

Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. 5And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness …  That is why it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his offspring—not only to the adherent of the law but also to the one who shares the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all, (Rom 4:4-5,16 ESV)

Did you catch that. Being declared righteous (forgiven) depends on faith so that the promise is by grace and not works. The same contrast between grace, faith, and works is found in Ephesians 2:8-9. It is by grace through faith and not by works.

What’s the least I can believe and still be a Christian?

That is actually the title of another book (which I have not read). But it is an interesting question. And how we answer it matters because it will shape how and what we present to others as the good news. What is it that we must understand about Jesus when we repent and place our faith in Him?

We must believe that Jesus is the Messiah whom God sent (John 3:16; 6:29). Since Jesus was sent the implication is we must also believe in God the Father who sent Him (Heb 11:6).

Here is a basic outline of the core gospel message:

Passage Summary
Heb 11:6; Deut 6:4-5; Acts 13:26 There is One God
Acts 17:24-28; Rom 1:20 God is Creator
Acts 10:42, 17:31; Matt 25:31-32; John 5:22,27; 2 Cor 5:10 Judgment
Rom 3:23; 5:8; 6:23a Sinner and wages of sin is death
Acts 2:23-24, 32-33; 10:39-40;13:23,28-33; 1 Cor 15:1-5; Rom 10:9-10 Christ died for our sins that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day
Eph 2:8-9 Saved by grace through faith (not works)
2 Cor 5:21 Sinless Jesus

We find many of these elements in the creeds captured in Scripture (Col 1:15-20 and Heb 1:1-4) as well as the Apostles’ Creed.

The Few, the Humble, the Reborn

Despite this claim in Love Wins (page 154)

What he doesn’t say is how, or when, or in what manner the mechanism functions that gets people to God through him.

It is clear that God does say how, when, and in what manner people can get to God through Jesus.

22 He went on his way through towns and villages, teaching and journeying toward Jerusalem. 23And someone said to him, “Lord, will those who are saved be few?” And he said to them, 24 “Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. 25 When once the master of the house has risen and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, open to us,’ then he will answer you, ‘I do not know where you come from.’ 26Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.’ 27But he will say, ‘I tell you, I do not know where you come from. Depart from me, all you workers of evil!’ 28 In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God but you yourselves cast out. 29And people will come from east and west, and from north and south, and recline at table in the kingdom of God. 30And behold, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last.” (Luke 13:22-30)

Those that enter through the narrow door shall enter the kingdom of God.

Those that call on Jesus are saved.

Those that trust (believe, have faith) in Jesus are given eternal life and do not perish, are not condemned, and God’s wrath is not still upon them.

Those that set aside pride and humbly admit the need for a Savior are reborn.

God is looking for The Few, the Humble, the Reborn!

[How we live our life will have to wait for another post.]

History of Hell (Christian History)

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Saw this tweet from Mark Driscoll and thought I would share since I have blogged and taught on Love Wins a bit.

http://twitter.com/#!/PastorMark/status/98581362067521536

The link refered to is from Christian History Magazine which has put out a resource (pdf) on various views of hell.

A quick summary of some of the early writers based on the article (italics are my additions):

  • Justin Martyr – potential father of inclusivism – writings inspired later thinkers to speculate on fate of unbelievers who did not have access to gospel.
  • Irenaeus – eternal punishment awaited those who rejected Jesus
  • Tertullian – eternal punishment awaited unbelievers
  • Origen – father of universalism / postmortem evangelism – writings speculate on fires of hell as purifying
  • Athanasius – potential father of annilationism
  • Augustine – eternal punishment awaited unbelievers

and a summary on some of the reformers:

  • Huldrych Zwingli – reformed inclusivism –  those elect by God are saved (even if they don’t hear the gospel)
  • Martin Luther – eternal separation awaited unbelievers
  • John Calvin – eternal separation awaited unbelievers (unelect)

The article contains many more as well as a list of books that have added to the discussion on the after-life.