Musings of a Former Fundamentalist (IFB) Renewed by Reformed Theology
I blogged about Tim Keller and his new DVD Gospel in Life: Grace Changes Everything, a few days ago. Here’s the trailer. Go over to crossfocusedreviews.com for more thoughts on this resource.
Trailer for Gospel in Life from Redeemer City to City on Vimeo.
I recently picked up Tim Keller’s new discipleship DVD Gospel in Life: Grace Changes Everything (Zondervan) [watch the trailer here]. It looks excellent, and I was struck by his description of the Prodigal Son parable and the 3 ways to live.
Here is a brief summary of his 3 ways to live:
I also stumbled across a brief online article adapted from Keller’s teaching on how the Gospel is the key to change. I thought I’d share an excerpt on how the Gospel counters this religious way to be your own savior. It’s the Gospel vs. Moralism.
Jesus lived the life we should live. He also paid the penalty we owe for the rebellious life we do live. He did this in our place (Isaiah 53:4-10; 2 Cor 5:21; Mark 10:45). We are not reconciled to God through our efforts and record, as in all ther religions, but through his efforts and record. Christians who trust in Christ for their acceptance with God, rather than in their own moral character, commitment, or erformance, are simul iustus et peccator (Latin) – simultaneously sinful yet accepted. We are more flawed and sinful than we ever dared believe, yet we are more loved and accepted than we ever dared hope at the same time.
Without this unique understanding of grace-salvation, religions have to paint God as either a demanding, holy God who is placated by back-breaking moral effort, or as what C.S. Lewis calls “˜a senile, old benevolence’ who tolerates everyone no matter how they live. The problem is that if I think I have a relationship with God because I am living morally according to his standards, it do s not move me to the depths to think of my salvation. I earned it. There is no joy, amazement, or tears. I am not galvanized and transformed from the inside. On the other hand, if I think I have a relationship with God because the Divine just embraces us all, no matter what how we live”” that also does not move me to the depths. I simply have the attitude of Voltaire, who, on his deathbed famously said, “Of course God forgives””that’s his job.” Any effort to take away the idea of Christ’s substitutionary atonement and replace it with a moralism (i.e., being moral, working for others, imitating Jesus) robs the gospel of its power to change us from the inside out.
The gospel is, therefore, radically different from religion. Religion operates on the principle: “I obey, therefore I am accepted” . The gospel operates on the principle: “I am accepted through Christ, therefore I obey.” So the gospel differs from both religion and irreligion. Not only can you seek to be your own “˜lord and savior’ by breaking the law of God (i.e., through irreligion), you can also do so by keeping the law in order to earn your salvation (i.e., through religion). A lack of deep belief in the gospel is the main cause of spiritual deadness, fear, and pride in Christians, because our hearts continue to act on the basis “I obey, therefore, I am accepted.” If we fail to forgive others–that is not simply a lack of obedience, but a failure to believe we are saved by grace, too. If we lie in order to cover up a mistake–that is not simply a lack of obedience, but a failure to find our acceptance in God rather than in human approval. So we do not “˜get saved’ by believing the gospel and then “˜grow’ by trying hard to live according to Biblical principles. Believing the gospel is not only the way to meet God, but also the way to grow into him.
Let me know what you think. I think Tim Keller has struck gold here. This is what legalism really is at heart. It’s a moralism which strikes at the root of the Gospel.
Jim Elliff of Christian Communicators Worldwide, drew my attention to this article on Christian Romance Novels. I thought it was a wise caution and could be a help to all of us who enjoy fiction of any kind, but particularly this genre. I’ll post some excerpts and encourage you to read the whole article.
Christian Romance Novels: Are They Our Harmless Little Secret?
by Susan Verstraete…If you are like most believing women I know, at some point you’ve read [a Christian Romance novel], too. Obviously someone is reading them. One major Christian bookseller has over 2,000 current titles listed in this category….
So, is this a harmless area of Christian liberty? I’ll let you decide. But it wouldn’t hurt to look more carefully at what we are reading and how it might””just might””be a problem for some of us.
Have you turned off your intellect? When researchers asked women why they read Christian romance, an overwhelming majority said they valued the books because they inspired an emotional response. That’s not necessarily wrong, but we need to be discerning even when reading fiction. For example, whole series of novels are written that are “Christian” in name only. The characters are practical atheists who may attend church, but their faith does not impact their decisions. We don’t want to passively accept this as normative Christian behavior….
Does it teach idolatry? I know that sounds harsh, but hear me out. If the heroine in your novels is always saved by a lover, that’s a false redemption. Christ is our Redeemer, and God is our ever-present help in time of trouble. Our hope is in Christ, not in Prince Charming. No mere man can fix all our problems….
Is it changing your expectations?… Do you think that God will always wrap up all the loose ends in your life in a timely manner? Do you expect your life to always be exciting, or your work always fulfilling? Should you always be the center of attention? Do you fantasize about being rescued by a man from a situation in which you feel helpless? If so, you may have been influenced by reading Christian romances….
Is it a steady diet? Finishing a Christian romance novel is a little like taking the last bite of a hot fudge sundae. We usually feel a little sad that it’s over. The fantasy has ended and we return to our comparatively boring, unglamorous, meat-and-potatoes lives. The temptation is, of course, to immediately pick up a new book and immerse ourselves in a new fantasy.
In the same way that we should not allow a steady diet of hot fudge sundaes, we should not allow ourselves a steady diet of popular fiction. If we do so, we miss the chance to read material that will teach us good theology, help us grow as believers, and develop realistic expectations about relationships and spirituality….
Be sure to read the whole thing, and let me know what you think. Am I way off base in thinking this is helpful? Or does she have a good point?
I should add that some of the escapism she brings out applies to guys like me who enjoy epic, Tolkien-like fantasy books as well. This isn’t an anti-women post, or anything….
Last night I had the pleasure of attending a lecture at Northwestern College here in Minneapolis with my good friend Shaun Tabatt. It was “An Evening with Dr. Michael Wise” — a very informative and enjoyable presentation on the history and nature of the Dead Sea Scrolls (DSS).
Dr. Wise is best known for coauthoring The Dead Sea Scrolls: A New Translation with Martin Abegg and Edward Cook (published by Harper San Francisco, 1986). The book was the first translation intended for the public and included many scrolls that had not previously been published. Dr. Wise is proficient in 9 ancient languages and is a true scholar. His ability to read and pronounce Hebrew and Aramaic was certainly on display last night, as was his extensive knowledge of the DSS.
His presentation followed along the lines of a brief article in the NWC college magazine entitled: Christians, Questions and Ancient Mysteries, also by Dr. Wise. I wasn’t able to find the presentation online, and so I will only be able to highlight the parts I remember.
At least some of the DSS were likely removed from the temple and other areas before the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70. They were secretly stashed in the caves on the north western edge of the Dead Sea near the site of Qumran. Dr. Wise described the scrolls as being more like the “Dead Sea Scraps”, with some being no larger than a thumbnail. But all told, there are 931 manuscripts found in the 11 caves of Qumran, and some of them include entire biblical and non-biblical books. These scrolls represented a substantial monetary value as the production of books was quite expensive in antiquity. Materials were so scarce, that many of the DSS were written on gazelle skins (an unclean animal).
Most of the DSS were in Hebrew (5/6), some were in Aramaic (1/6) and 20 were in Greek. About 1/3 of the scrolls were Biblical texts (225 or so), and the rest were religious texts some of which scholars believe were sectarian in nature (about 115 by his count). The sectarian aspect in Wise’s view attaches to texts about the “Teacher of Righteousness”, a messianic type figure from abut 100 years or more before Christ. Wise has some views on that figure that are not widely held among scholars, see this article in the New York Times for more.
Where Wise really shined was in drawing out the significance of the find. By all accounts it is one of the greatest archaeological finds of all time. Dr. Wise showed how both the Biblical and non-Biblical texts both have revolutionized our understanding in many key ways.
The Biblical manuscripts (which represent every OT book except for Esther), have moved our earliest copies of individual books of the OT up more than 1,000 years from what we had before. There was some understandable apprehension among scholars when the scrolls were first found. Would they show that our copies of the Bible were extremely flawed? Dr. Wise showed a picture of the Aleppo Codex from A.D. 954 the earliest mostly complete Hebrew Bible we had before the discovery of the DSS. Then he showed a picture of 4QDeutM, a manuscript dating to 150 B.C. (1100 years older than the Aleppo Codex). The passage contains the 10 Commandments from Deuteronomy and is identical — word perfect — to the Aleppo Codex! The accuracy level generally of the Hebrew text of our Bibles has been proven to be very high.
The scrolls also helped correct minor faults with the later copies that we have. He pointed out two cases in Isaiah 53 where letters were mis-copied resulting in unique and difficult readings. One of the largest scrolls found is a copy of the entire book of Isaiah (all 66 chapters), and that scroll corrects those readings that were handed down imperfectly by the Masoretes who gave us the Hebrew Masoretic Text (MT). He also showed where a paragraph in 1 Samuel was found in one of the scrolls that had completely dropped out of the MT.
New questions have also been raised by these biblical texts, however. A Hebrew text that follows the Greek LXX of Jeremiah for instance, was discovered in 2 scrolls. We used to think the Greek was a late corruption, but now there is evidence that two competing Hebrew forms of the book of Jeremiah were to be found in Jesus’ day. It is now known that two or three editions of most books of the Old Testament existed and were current at the time of Jesus. This is an area biblical scholars are now focusing on, the development of the Hebrew canon of Old Testament Scripture. Dr. Wise thinks we shouldn’t be afraid of this kind of inquiry, as all truth is God’s truth. He compared the differences between the editions to the sometimes widely differing English translations of the Bible available today.
The non-biblical texts illumine the world of Jesus’ day for us like never before. There are commentaries on the biblical books which help us understand the methods of interpretation which were in vogue in the years before the New Testament authors published their interpretation of the Old Testament. We find a great degree of similarity between the methods used by second Temple Judaism and the authors of the New Testament, according to Dr. Wise. The texts also reveal the kind of ideas and themes which were common in religious thought of the day. Several scrolls reveal a great emphasis on the obscure Biblical character Melchizedek. He is viewed as a heavenly priest just one notch below Jehovah God in status. It is no wonder then that the New Testament book of Hebrews addresses how Jesus compares with Melchizedek.
Perhaps the most fascinating non-biblical find is the presence of a description declaring that the Messiah will “cause the dead to live” (or raise the dead). Nowhere in the canonical Hebrew Bible do we find a description of the Messiah raising the dead. Yet in Luke 7:22, Jesus tells the followers of John the Baptist how they can be certain that he (Jesus) is the Messiah. He lists off the things he is doing, healing the sick, proclaiming good news to the poor, restoring sight to the blind, and raising the dead. Jesus knew it was a current belief in the thought of his day that the Messiah would raise the dead. This Dead Sea Scroll (the Messianic Apocalypse) testifies to that widespread belief as well.
The event ended with Dr. Wise encouraging us to go see the Scrolls on display at the Science Museum of Minnesota. I blogged about my visit to the exhibit before. I would add my recommendation to go see the Dead Sea Scrolls while they are here (through October 24). It is a chance to view and appreciate a piece of history, and share in the wonder of the Bible itself.
The Christian Counseling and Educational Foundation is an excellent resource for a Scriptural-based approach to life’s problems. Their motto is “Restoring Christ to counseling, and counseling to the Church.” I have found their materials to be gospel-centered and grace-oriented. They are an incredible help to the church.
CCEF through its publishing arm, New Growth Press, makes available a wide range of booklets that address a host of common problems. I am going to highlight a few of these booklets in this post.
The booklets are sensitive to the life-situation they address, yet also apply the Bible and particularly the Gospel to the problem. I highly recommend them.
Single and Lonely: Finding the Intimacy You Desire by Jayne Clark.
This booklet explores how loneliness, which plagues single young people as much as it does the elderly, sick and widowed, is connected to the gospel. Protecting yourself, and aiming for one or two close friendships usually backfires. Recognizing our acceptance and love found in Christ, we should instead pursue wholeness and healing in a community of Christ-lovers. Practical steps for recognizing and dealing with the problem of loneliness in oneself and others are also included.
You can preview the booklet here, and purchase it directly from CCEF or from Westminster Bookstore.
Sex Before Marriage: How Far is Too Far? by Timothy Lane.
A counseling booklet with that title would scare me. But that’s the kind of question on many people’s mind. The booklet begins by rooting advice in a biblical view of sex. It’s wonderful and its a big deal, not something flippant or light. It goes on not so much as to prescribe boundaries but to expose heart issues and motivations. It admits chastity will look different in different cultures and times, but it gives an overarching principle: “Don’t act like you are married when you are not!” It draws a line and recommends no romantic or involved physical touching, let alone other questionable acts. It shifts the focus to marriage and will lead the conscientious reader right in this difficult arena.
You can preview the booklet here, and purchase it directly from CCEF or from Westminster Bookstore.
Find more of these helpful booklets here, or check out their mini book subscription program.