Tag Archives: good news

Hope Entombed with Sabbath Gloom

On a Friday long ago, history pivoted on the crucifixion of a carpenter turned peripatetic teacher. Extraordinary darkness (Matthew 27:45) oversaw the events at midday as “the earth shook and rocks split” and the curtain guarding the Holy of Holies was torn, top to bottom (51). Much has been written of that day, awful as it was, now known as Good Friday for what his sacrifice means to Christians.

Similarly, for those who truly trust in the person and work of Jesus Christ, both during his sinless life (“active” obedience), and including his unjust arrest, trial and death (“passive” obedience), Resurrection Day receives its due honor, both in our seasonal holiday, but also in our celebration on the first day each week, Sunday. This resurrection was the ratification of the New Covenant – proof that this God-man, who “came into the world to save sinners” (1 Timothy 1:15), accomplished just that.

Oh, the horrors of that Friday…and sweet contrast, the joy of that Sunday!

What, though, of that day between? Other than the Jewish/Roman tomb-guarding tactics (Matthew 27:62-66), the Bible says very little about that particular Sabbath. In preparation for it, “the Jews asked Pilate” (John 19:31) to break the legs of those crucified in order to hasten their death so they wouldn’t hang on the Sabbath (traditionally beginning at sundown Friday). Having been found already dead, Luke tells of the request for Jesus’ body and his burial (Luke 23:50-56). Speaking of those involved, the account finishes, “On the Sabbath they rested according to the commandment.”

One must suppose that, for all these disciples who had so much hope in Jesus as the coming Savior, this had to be the most restless “rest,” and the longest, darkest, most hopeless Sabbath in history. Perhaps this rest met the requirements of the God-given law, and the casuistic, pharisaical codicils, but one can scarce imagine anything other than stomach-churning, doom-inspired, internal agony.

To be carefree on that day was to be oblivious to the expense and expanse of what happened the day before. To be downcast was to be unaware that hope entombed would spring forth more robust, like a simple seed to fragrant flower or an acorn to mighty oak.

For them it was a time in-between. Deaf to his numerous promises that “on the third day (the Son of Man) will rise again,” and mistaken in precisely what manner the Messiah would be crowned King, they suffered a Sabbath with no expectations but of persecution for their association with him. Ah, unbeknownst to them, what glory awaits with that coming dawn as hope is reborn!

What of us? We also are in a time in-between. We don’t suffer the emotional nadir of watching him die, pondering how the one with power over “the winds and the waves” (Mark 4:41), even over life itself (John 19:44), lies in decay. Neither, though, do we have their pinnacle of joy, seeing him alive again, face-to-face. But, Jesus blesses us in this existential difference – “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed” (John 20:29b).

Our present struggle “between” means we see the crucifixion and bodily resurrection as God’s work in history – apparent defeat turned world-changing victory – so necessary for our hope (1 Corinthians 15:12-23). Blessed as we are to know the war is won, battles still rage. Life is hard. Happiness may lie beyond arm’s reach, but joy and a sure and certain hope remain, inextricably tied between his death and resurrection, and his promised return.

Indeed, “Christ Has Died, Christ Is Risen, Christ Will Come Again!”

A Word to Live By

More than a few folks bristle at the idea that people of faith get their warp and woof from a book. There are numerous examples of people, past and present, who use(d) their “holy” book to excuse wreaking havoc on the world. Others who believe all people are “basically good” are forced to conclude that these books and their brandishers must necessarily brainwash adherents – those who believe their specific book is given by God – and are therefore dangerous to the continued progress of man.

Religious books aren’t all of the same stripe. The ethereal natures of some Eastern and “New Age” religions don’t require verifiability or historical accuracy of their texts because their “truths” transcend those categories. Others, whose books would seem to be historical (including some Judaism and Christianity), use various four-fold interpretive methods that include the literal meaning of the text, but go to a more allegorical, subjective sense to derive ultimate meaning. Biblical Christians, and I suppose Qur’anic Muslims, and maybe Mormons and other quasi-Christian sects, must needs be “people of the book,” and those books must be in accord with actual natural and supernatural events to be coherent.

For the last 150-200 years, liberal scholars have taken to “demythologizing” the Bible. Enlightenment rationalism has forced many who would “save Christianity” to skew the Bible almost as ethereal, mystical and mythical, so that events like the virgin birth and the resurrection are not taken literally, but super-spiritually – “Jesus has risen in my heart” even if his body still lays dead somewhere. For Paul (and us), Christ’s actual, bodily resurrection is an imperative (1 Corinthians 15:12-19).

The Bible depends ultimately on the objective truth of God as he has revealed himself, and what his Word says he has actually said and done in history (revelation). There are copious tests for historicity, continuity, coherency and authority, and biblical Christians welcome honest scrutiny as should any said “people of the book.”

That said, there is indeed a spiritual component to understanding the Scriptures (1 Corinthians 2:14), so if you approach it to disprove it, you might indeed do so to your and others’ satisfaction. Blaise Pascal stated, “In faith there is enough light for those who want to believe and enough shadows to blind those who don’t.” (Note: authors Lee Strobel and Josh McDowell are two of many exceptions – scoffers whose investigations led to faith.)

So, I may take a later column to dispel some popular misconceptions (or skeptics’ holstered challenges – locked and loaded for rapid fire avoidance of actually considering answers) about the Bible and how it’s to be read and interpreted as the author(s) intended. For now, let me speak to (myself and) my brothers and sisters.

The reformers stated regarding the sufficiency of Scripture that “the Bible is our only rule for faith and practice.” Given that Christian Scriptures are central to understanding the God who made us – the Christ who saved us (Luke 24:27) – you might agree that knowing it should be somewhat paramount in our practice of the faith. Knowing it…is knowing Him. Reading, learning, memorizing and meditating on “the Word of God” would seem to be essential to leading a life pleasing to the God who made himself known. Yet, Christians are in too large measure illiterate of the book they claim to love. It is meant to be consumed for our guidance and delight (Psalm 119:11; 1:1-2).

Christianity’s PR Problem: Oh, What to Do?

Christianity has an image problem. Exclusivist claims are a turn-off, “puritanical” morality is behind-the-times, and we have some “crazy” beliefs about how humankind came into being. Further, the Church is saddled with all sorts of (true and false) baggage for reprehensible (and unbiblical) crimes committed under her banner. Finally, hawkeyed media outlets and others who glory in any hint of Christian buffoonery from a few, never miss the opportunity to proclaim it such that the reproach is universally shared. Who can blame them when some of us act in a manner to make parody superfluous?

It would seem major swaths of “Christians” have indeed hired PR consultants and have distanced themselves from presently distasteful stances by compromising with the world on creation, salvation, and morality (necessarily severing ties with much of the Bible in the process). “Get with it,” you might hear them say while their denominations race to conform. Their churches shrink with the contrast they now lack, and the spiritual food they serve is water soup to a starving world.

Others have used America’s one home-grown philosophy, pragmatism, and made Christianity more temporally useful than eternally crucial. With Christianity, you can “Have Your Best Life Now,” or take “8 Steps to Create the Life You Want.” Money, stress, health, drugs, marriage, raising children – every one of your problems can be “fixed” by this Christianity. Prosperity preachers preach, “You can have whatever you want,” with the escape clause, “if you have enough faith.” Otherwise orthodox pastors’ pulpit messages master in missing the point when they concentrate almost entirely on fixing the felt needs of the congregation over proclaiming the person and work of Jesus Christ.

Even biblical Christians can suffer this tendency to a small degree. When’s the last time you heard someone’s testimony that didn’t focus on how much better their life is since coming to Jesus? “I used to be ‘this,’ and now I’m ‘THIS!’” What about hearing from someone who grew up in church, always believed and never rebelled, but still understands deeply their need for a Savior? This is how it should be for our kids, but we discourage that when we celebrate the sensational. Besides, Tony Robbins or a juice cleanse may be just as likely to “fix” you.

So, if aping culture and offering practical/fantastical solutions to life’s problems isn’t the answer to our PR problem, what is?

Well, avoid joining the ranks of the thin-skinned “reactivists” with a featherweight chip on weak shoulders. Real, dangerous persecution happens overseas all too much for American Christians to complain. Did biblical laws inform our forefathers as they laid the foundation of this country? Of course and in many ways there is marked erosion, but this has never been a “Christian nation,” and as pluralism increases, liberties we once assumed can be assumed no longer. Sans paranoia, we can offer a calm and civil response when there are real changes to the freedom of speech or religious liberties intended by law.

So, is there a “war on Christmas” and on Christianity in general? Yes! There has been for two thousand years! Jesus said, “You will be hated by everyone because of me…” (Matthew 10:22a) He said it to his apostles in a specific context, but there is so much more biblical weight promising a hard road (cross-bearing, trials, persecution) for all who love and follow Christ.

Faithful, biblical churches will never solve their PR problem. We should be intentional in love, winsome in manner, but unyielding in truth. The cross is its own offense. It needs not our help.

Understanding the Gospel: What is Good News?

Everyone believes that they are right. Think of the well-worn religious parable of the elephant and blind men. Each has hold of a different portion of the elephant. Asked to describe the elephant, each is confined to his tactile perspective, where a leg “is like a tree trunk,” the tail “is like a rope,” the side “is like a wall,” the trunk “is like a snake,” and the ear “is like a leaf.” “So,” says the teller of the parable, “each has their own perspective, and likewise each religion has some portion of the whole truth.” Sounds compelling until you realize this “inclusive” storyteller is claiming to see the whole elephant! He’s not blind, everyone else is. One path or many? Are our divergent beliefs inconsequential? God only knows for sure.

It comes down to authority. Who or what informs our theological ethic? Unaided conscience? Present social mores? Biblical Christians believe that the Bible is our authority simply because it’s God’s revelation to us (Kevin DeYoung said about the parable that everything changes when the elephant speaks!). I could be wrong, but I have good reasons to believe that the Bible is true – all of it, not just my favorite bits. I know there are tough verses, but I have sufficiently studied the doubters’ accusations and believers’ responses. There remain tensions, nuances and depths of understanding that escape me, but I’m comfortable with the admixture of the rationally grasped, the spiritually understood and the mystery when I find neither. After all, the God of the Bible is a God who can be essentially, not comprehensively, understood (Is. 55:8,9).

While the Bible proclaims clearly that ALL are sinful (Rom. 3:23), or sick, if you will, many people don’t perceive their need for saving or healing. Others would save themselves with perfunctory religiosity – church membership, attendance, rituals – and/or they simply work their “balance sheet” accumulating good deeds and minimizing bad, or hope by comparison with others that they make the grade. “Hey, it’s not like I ever killed anybody.” It’s not a competition. If it was, we’d all lose.

You see, no résumé, no balance sheet, and no comparison of deeds will suffice to cancel the debt each of us owes. If we were true to ourselves, we’d rightly argue with Paul about who, indeed, is the “chief of sinners” (1 Tim. 1:15). I pity the person who cannot look inside and see something broken, something sick, something that needs fixing. I hope you can see that. If so, I have GOOD NEWS!

The gospel, or good news, is that “while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:8). The God of the Bible is a holy God who hates sin. In his grace, he visited the punishment for sin on his sinless Son, Jesus Christ, on the cross. His death and subsequent resurrection “conquered the grave.” If we trust in the person and work of Jesus Christ on our behalf, we will be saved, adopted as sons and daughters. We have no righteousness of our own (Titus 3:5) – instead, we trust in Christ alone. Augustus Toplady wrote in his classic hymn, Rock of Ages, Cleft for Me, “Nothing in my hand I bring, simply to the cross I cling.”

I understand the exclusive claims of this gospel and the offense it is to some (1 Co. 1:23). Whether biblical Christians are right or wrong, we believe that our ability to truly love the world rests on the proclamation of the gospel. Are we clumsy, forgetting the grace shown us? Too often. Grace should be humbling, for it is not merited, not earned and not deserved.

[This article originally appeared in the Tallahassee Democrat.]