Sovereign Grace - It Makes Us Go 2

In the previous post we began to look at Ephesians 1:11-14,
“11 In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, 12 so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. 13 In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.”
We dove into the first phrase, "in him".  Now we must grapple with the next, "we have obtained an inheritance".  What is this inheritance? How do we obtain it? What does this mean? How is this connected to sovereign grace? The inheritance that we we obtain "in him" is that of the Kingdom of God. We have been transferred from the Kingdom of Darkness to the Kingdom of the Beloved Son.  You see, by being "in him" we have all that he has.  Just take a look at Ephesians 1:3-10 for a sense of the inheritance. We gain this inheritance by being "in him" and get to be "in him" by his grace.  There is nothing that we can do to earn our way into being "in him" we are all broken beyond recognition.  That's the way it is.  If you don't believe me, look in the mirror. Seriously, can you tell me you're not broken? I know I am.  I am broken beyond self-repair. So, we need help, we need to be brought in and we are done so by his grace. Check out Ephesians 2. This all means that we have been given something that is bigger than ourselves and we have a responsibility to do something with it.  We must act now in response.  We don't have to.  That is the beauty of sovereign grace.  We are not needed but we are wanted. This is significant.  It means that we can respond to God in proportion as we come to grips with a deeper more full understanding of his grace. We can't judge ourselves by others.  We can only look at the inheritance and ask, "How am I responding?" So, how are you responding? What kind of grace have you experienced?  

Before the Beginning...a Further Reflection

I was thinking about this whole Jesus is the theological center thing all weekend and realized that this rabbit hole is ridiculously deep. I mean here is the God of the universe walking among us. Here, present, in time and space. Think about this reality, just for a moment. It's pretty astounding isn't it? The burning bush, the pillar of cloud and fire, theophanies. But, here is the person of God perfectly human and perfectly divine. To explore the riches of this reality is something that we cannot possibly come to an end of. The practical realities of this truth are limitless as well, are they not? Where did God go when he was here? A manger. A wedding. The wilderness. Dusty roads. A place everyone else avoided. The tax collector's booth. The sea. The mountains. The prostitute's corner. The drunk's table. The Temple. The synagogue. God entered. He engaged this lost world in a very raw and very real way. He didn't hole up in the Temple courts or in the synagogue. He didn't only hang with the religious people. He said things like, "I came to seek and save the lost." "This sick need a physician not the healthy." He said things like, "If your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off." "The son of man has no place to lay his head." He said, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it." He leads us out into expedition. He leads us to a dangerous place. He leads to the place of faith. This is not for the faint-hearted but the for the courageous who can follow a master that is more concerned about glory than safety. I have come to this question, "Am I living safe?" If I am living "safe", I am not following the one who called me. Living "safe" means that I will not be in danger of losing my life. I love the fact that there are people in my life who are not living "safe". They inspire me. They inspire me because they are following Jesus. I want to follow Jesus too. I want to go where he goes. I really do. But, it is scary.

Before the Beginning...applied

So, if Jesus is the center, his life, death, and resurrection culminating in the reality that he is Lord, how does this apply to mission? How does this reality determine how we ought to live and act as his followers? Well, that's just it, we have to follow. I really like what Rt. Rev. Dr. David Zac Niringiye says here, it has been stuck in my head. We are to be followers. If Jesus is the center then we go where he goes. We follow where he leads. We love how he loved. We extend grace like he extends grace. We engage the lost world at the expense of our own safety and comfort. We enter into relationship with people who are the same and different from us. We speak truth. We live truth. We love the Scriptures. We ask questions. If we accept the invitation to follow and we believe that Jesus is the theological center of everything then our lives cannot be lived as our own. 1 Corinthians 7 offers a helpful reminder:
You were bought with a price; do not become slaves of men. (1 Corinthians 7:23 ESV)
If Jesus is our center then we cannot, must not, retreat behind the walls of a holy hideout. We must, we have to step out into the lost and broken world and... engage it, question it, challenge it, transform it. Following Jesus necessarily pushes us out and into the world as transformative ambassadors who bring a story, a message, healing, love, grace, mercy, truth, transformation. To call yourself a "Christian" means you are required to go on expedition on behalf of the one who bought you.

Before the beginning...

If we are going to be wrestling through what we believe and how those beliefs drive us to mission then we need to determine what is the controlling idea. In a previous post I outlined my presuppositions. Now, I want to give what I think is the controlling idea that we need to have at the center of our doctrine. While some would argue for beginning at the beginning, Genesis, I think we need to start before the beginning. As I wrestle through the driving force for my doctrine that drives us to mission I think we must look at one person:
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. (Colossians 1:15-20 ESV)
This is the hymn from Colossians 1.  It is an incredible statement of who Christ is. There is so much here that we cannot possibly dive into and digest all of it.  First, we need to understand that Paul was pointing out that Jesus is the real emperor.  The phrases and descriptors used here are those that were also ascribed to Caesar. Paul subverts the Empire and calls Jesus out as the real king. Consider what is true of Jesus, he is the image of the invisible God.  If we want to see God we look at Jesus. He is the creator, he is the ultimate authority, and he is the preeminent one. It doesn't stop there.  Jesus made peace.  Pax Christus versus Pax Romana.  One was brought through crucifixion and the other through war and violence. Peace and reconciliation though are not for just people.  It is an all encompassing reconciling for the entirety of creation.  The life, death, and resurrection of Jesus then must be the central lens through which we understand all things. Alan Hirsch says it well, "Jesus is Lord."

Where's the 'Real'?

I am being struck more and more by my inability to be quiet.  I get uncomfortable.  It makes me feel like I am missing something if 'the Twitters' or the 'the Facebooks' are turned off.  Heaven forbid, I don't access my email. When I study the Scriptures it strikes me that the same is true. I don't settle down and respond in the quiet moments that follow. I move on to what is next. I have been thinking about so many things in my life and so much of it needs to be written down and processed.  But, I don't have the white space to write and process. I don't have the space to be quiet.     Why?     Because I think it scares me.     In the quiet I just might meet the God of the universe and no longer be in control.     What about you?

Do the Lenten Twist

This morning as I watched my Facebook and Twitter feeds fill up with what people were giving up for Lent a thought struck me. It was simple and profoundly un-original. I began thinking about what Jesus did during those last forty days. The Scriptures don't really give us a blow by blow. However, I think what we see is that Jesus did not give things up. Jesus drew closer to his disciples. He spent more time with them. All this was in preparation for his death. We know now that he lives. Death could not keep him. So, I think for Lent instead of giving up something, we ought to think about picking up something. Why not take the next forty days and draw close to Jesus? What would it look like if we did this? What if, for the next forty days we spent time in prayer, study, and community? Oh, wait...it turns out that is exactly what Lent is supposed to be about. It's not about giving up candy, coffee, or pop. It's about taking a season of our lives each year to significantly focus our attention, to twist our thoughts to Jesus. For forty days will you focus? Will you join me in doing the Lenten Twist (I know it's cheesy, but hey, I like cheese)?

Practice Makes Perfect

I am currently reading, After You Believe: Why Christian Character Matters
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and Bishop Wright is challenging me deeply. I will write a more thorough review in the coming days but what I wanted to highlight something that is hitting home. Bishop Wright talks about Christian virtue and character development from an eschatalogical perspective. We are destined to live and reign with Christ as co-heirs in the kingdom, he argues, we must therefore, begin practicing for those responsibilities now. What has struck me deeply is the sense that this life has value. Our time on Earth is supremely valuable. I have known this for a long time, but it is hitting home in a fresh way. Warm-ups, practice, and training, while not fun or exciting are supremely valuable. The NFL combines start this week and I keep hearing that the guys who will make the best pros are the "gym rats" and "film junkies". In college, it is said, you can get by on talent, but in the pros you have to have the will and desire to practice. It hit me last night that this life is preparatory. We are getting ready for our true calling as princes and princesses in the kingdom of God. Evangelism matters because it embeds the gospel more deeply in us. Discipleship matters because it embeds the gospel more deeply in us. Worship matters because it embeds the gospel more deeply in us. Prayer matters because it embeds the gospel more deeply in us. Service matters because it embeds the gospel more deeply in us. Diligent study of God's Word matters because it embeds the gospel more deeply in us. It is this gospel embedding that prepares us for the kingdom. It is our practice. It counts. This life matters and it has eternal significance.

Community and Christmas

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What is the meaning of Christmas? That was the question that NBC's Community asked last week in an incredibly creative stop motion animation episode that left me laughing. The episode was full of hat tips to great Christmas specials of the past and a few nice shots at the Christian faith. Shots at Christianity in a Christmas special? Yes. Are you offended? The shots that they took weren't the kinds that you might expect.  The most crushing one came from Shirley, whose character is an outspoken Christian. She said, "I am a modern day Christian, I have learned sensitivity and so I say Happy Holidays not wanting anyone else's religion to feel inferior to mine." I laughed. Then, I cried. Not really. But, I have been thinking about this for the last few days. Christmas has lost something in the post-modern malaise of mutual worldview affirmations. Then I remembered last Friday, my son sang in a "Holiday Concert" at his school.  They sang Happy Hannukah, Mud Slide, and Up on the Housetop. Silent Night was played on the piano, no singing. Something manifestly changed. A hush came over the crowded cafeteria. You could have heard a pin drop. Christmas, the moment when God split time one passover many years ago and entered into history. Even today with all of our sensitivity and complacency humanity still becomes silent before the reality that took place when God moved into the neighborhood. Everyone in that cafeteria experienced something different in that moment than all that had come before. That moment was thick with the holy. I wish I could sit down with Abed and over a peppermint mocha just talk about the meaning of Christmas. Maybe I can, maybe there are people all around me looking for the real meaning if I would just open my eyes to see and have ears to hear.