Will Christians be judged by God?

A friend put a question to me that sparked some important reflection for me:
If we are forgiven for our sins when we confess them and God wipes them away, what are we going to be judged for on judgement day?

My answer:

1) She asked one of the toughest questions I have tried to answer. It's not tough because the Bible doesn't address it directly (like what happens to a baby who dies?) but because there is so much spread across different parts of the Bible addressed to difference original audiences.

2) I think the general focus of Scripture is on finishing this life faithfully in light of Jesus' high calling on us. This can be as basic as not giving up under hardships (this is the force of Hebrews 10:19-39, which applies the 'full forgiveness' we receive in Christ [Heb. 10:1-18] to perseverance, illustrating it with examples of persevering faith [Heb. 11]). It can be framed positively, pointing to disciples' responsibility to carry on the mission of our Master (parable of the talents Matt. 25:14-30, but all of Matt. 24-25 urges disciples to faithfulness as the way to be prepared for the end).

3) The lost will certainly be judged by their works, but it seems that followers of Jesus will be 'found in Christ' (Rev. 20:11-15; Phil. 3:2-16 is Paul's personal application of this idea). Christians' obedience is not a matter of indifference, as though a disciple need not try to follow the Master in order to enjoy eternal life. It seems more like we all must obey fully and to the end, regardless of when we start or of how our performance stacks up to one another. In the end our reward for obedience is infinitely greater than our good works deserve. We obey and spend our lives serving Jesus in starts and stops, but then the payoff at the end is the full reward of Jesus' perfect obedience and victory. For this idea, check out the laborers in the vineyard (Matt. 20:1-16), the prodigal son & his brother (Luke 15), how condemnation compares to eternal life (John 3:16-21), who gets a crown (2Tim. 4:6-8), and why Jesus will inflict vengeance on some but rescue others when he returns (2Thess. 1:3-12).

Learning Theology for Cancer

Last night I presented my Wednesday faithful with a defense of creeds and confessions (which have always been contested by some Baptists in every generation).

“We have no creed but the Bible,” sounds pure, but it implies that the Bible can mean anything to anyone, just as long as each takes his cues from the Bible. The trouble: this opens the doors to heretical interpretations of the Bible.

I found this in my class notes from Prof. Shawn Wright's Baptist history class:

Asa Chandler (1849): “What harm can creeds do if they contain the truth? Is the truth less valuable because it is published, or declared in a creed? . . . Creeds that do harm are those that contain error—not those that are founded upon Bible truth.”

Then I listed the usual topics in theology (Scripture, God, creation, sin, etc.). I showed examples of deriving a biblical truth about one of these topics from different types of Scripture passages.

Finally, I gave a few examples of theology preparing us to live.

The Story of Zac Smith from NewSpring Media on Vimeo.

Pentecost 2010

A Prayer for the World

Almighty God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Together with believers all over the world, we gather today to glorify Your Name. You are the Creator of heaven and earth. There is no one like You, holy and righteous in all Your ways. We submit to Your authority as the King of the universe. We pray with one voice to enthrone You in our hearts and to honor You before the world. Lord God, You alone are worthy of our praise and adoration.

Our Father in heaven, Thank You for loving the world so greatly. You gave Your only Son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross for our sins so that we could be reconciled to You. We are grateful to call You Father and to be called Your children. Nothing can separate us from Your love. Thank You Father, for adopting us into Your family because of Jesus Christ our Savior.

Lord Jesus Christ, You alone are worthy to open the scrolls of history, for You were slain and have redeemed us to the Father by Your blood. We confess that You are Head of the Church

and Lord of all heaven and earth. May people from every tribe and language become Your followers so that Your blessing brings transformation among all peoples. Let Your kingdom be established in every nation of the world so that governments will rule with righteousness and justice. And may Your Name be great, from the rising of the sun to its setting. Jesus Christ, You are the Savior of the world and the Lord of all.

Father of mercy and grace, We acknowledge that we have sinned and that our world is gripped by the power of sin. Our hearts are grieved by injustice, hatred and violence. We are shamed by oppression, racism and bloodshed in our land. We mourn all loss of life in murder, war, and terrorism. Our homes are broken and our churches are divided by rebellion and pride. Our lives are polluted by selfishness, greed, idolatry and sexual sin. We have grieved Your heart and brought shame to Your Name. Have mercy on us as we repent with all our hearts. God of mercy, forgive our sins. Pour out Your grace and heal our land.

Spirit of the living God, Apart from You, we can do nothing. Transform Your Church into the image of Jesus Christ. Release Your power to bring healing to the sick, freedom to the oppressed and comfort to those who mourn. Pour Your love into our hearts and fill us with compassion to answer the call of the homeless and the hungry and to enfold orphans, widows and the elderly in Your care. Give us wisdom and insight for the complex problems we face today. Help us to use the resources of the earth for the well-being of all. Holy Spirit, we need Your comfort and guidance. Transform our hearts.

Lord Jesus Christ, Because You were dead, but are now risen, and the Father has given You a Name above all names, You will defeat all powers of evil. Tear down strongholds and ideologies

that resist the knowledge of God. Remove the veil of darkness that covers the peoples. Restrain the evil that promotes violence and death. Bring deliverance from demonic oppression. Break the hold of slavery, tyranny and disease. Fill us with courage to preach Your word fearlessly, and to intercede for the lost faithfully. Almighty God, deliver us from evil.

King of Glory, Come and finish Your work in our cities, our peoples and our nations. We lift our voices in unison with believers from Africa and Asia, from the Middle East and Europe, from North and South America, and from Australia and the Pacific Islands—together we cry:

Lift up your heads, O you gates! Be lifted up ancient doors so that the King of glory may come in! As Your deeds increase throughout the earth, and as Your blessings abound to all the nations,

they will seek You, asking, “Who is this King of glory?” Together we will answer:

He is the Lord Almighty! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! Come fill the earth with Your glory as the waters cover the sea. The Spirit and the Bride say:

Amen! Come Lord Jesus!

Is the Gospel about the Kingdom or Salvation?

Have you heard anyone say that Jesus preached the 'good news about the kingdom of God' but Christians seem stuck on the good news about forgiveness for our sins through Jesus' death?

I don't think the average tract, average Christian book, or average church goer produces the right picture about the good news. It's often a 2-for-3 score.

Here is what I taught my church's basic Christianity class:

The gospel is the Jesus story with explanation.
1. his death – as the worthy substitute
2. his resurrection – human victory, God’s ancient promises fulfilled, judgment by Jesus is certain
3. his kingdom plan – bringing mankind & creation back into submission to God

I suggested a few easy ways to remember and to explain these three points to others. I also cautioned against letting things replace these three points - things like human response, God's character, blessings received through the gospel, or evidence for the truthfulness of these three points. All these things are important and good, but they must not overshadow these three points.

Knowing God's Will for Me

I just emailed a friend about figuring out what God wants us to do in life. I think there are two (complementary) ways to approach knowing God's will. I'll share:

existential (aka "subjective") - It comes down to *confidence* based on some thought, some dream, some godly desire or passion that drives what you do and where you go. I think it overstatement to say such "feelings" are always or even usually the Spirit of Christ; but he's with us and he has a personal influence on us. Maybe his influence comes to our awareness (1) by using our personality & already conscious inclinations, and other times (2) by introducing new or foreign ideas/desires.

inductive (aka "logical") - This is theological work combined with honest, personal reflection. Scripture tells us that God expects _(fill in the blank)_ of me; am I becoming such a person? Am I doing those things "heartily, as unto the Lord" himself? Going through a list of God's revealed expectations for a man in my situation with my responsibilities can establish parameters - "fences, goads, and rewards along God's path for me" - that can show me I probably am OR certainly am not walking down God's path for my life.

If I am inside the revealed parameters ("fences, goads & rewards") God has revealed in Scripture for someone in my situation, then I can assure my restless mind that my Shepherd will not let me wander so far off course as to miss his specific plans for my life. He's too kind to conscience such a thing.

Unfulfilled dreams, desires, passions, directions from others, etc. might be Jesus' voice leading us into a new path, but they should not become barbs and thorns that stick in our hearts to make us suspect that we've missed God's plan for us. Maybe even I made some promise in my past about what I would do or become - a promise that would cause me to hop the fence, kick against the goads, or ignore God's rewards. Jephthah (Judges 11) was not honorable for keeping his foolish vow to the Lord.

Those unfulfilled motivators might be to prepare me to see and pursue future opportunities the Shepherd has planned. If those unfulfilled motivators have me wondering about the past only ("What if I had..."), I might need to let them die, so that I can live and prepare for what's ahead.

Remember, Jesus is kind. He loves us better than and prior to any of our loves. Who can be against us?

What do you (our illustrious 3 readers) think?

Jesus' "Blessings": Examples or Prescriptions?

I'm posting my disappointment about Dallas Willard's take (from The Divine Conspiracy) on Matthew 5:3-16 to help me clarify my own thoughts. And as an aside, I like Willard's book! He attended schools and teaches at a school that wouldn't think twice about me. He's written books about things that I don't understand. I think Willard is correct that the statements in question address "the good life" that occupied philosophers for millennia. From what I've read of his treatment of Matthew 5:17-48, I think I like where he's going in his interpretation there (a transformed life that lives by God's moral law).

Willard challenges the traditional interpretation of the Beatitudes, which thinks Jesus intended for all his followers to "be like that" - that is, to develop their personal character in reflection of all these qualities. He paraphrases Jesus' first statement: "Blessed are the spiritual zeros--the spiritually bankrupt, deprived and deficient, the spiritual beggars, those without a wisp of 'religion'--when the kingdom of the heavens comes upon them" (p. 100). Willard is very concerned that "poor in spirit" not be made into a meritorious condition which is rewarded with the kingdom of the heavens.

The traditional interpretation (which Willard seems to understand) is that "poor in spirit" means any and all persons who recognize their spiritual bankruptcy in relation to God. Since Jesus speaks to his "disciples" (Matthew 5:1-2), that setting qualifies his statement - those who come to him, aware of their desperation before God, will all be the beneficiaries of the kingdom of heaven.

Willard makes the traditional view out to be a cheap way to avoid what he thinks is an "example" or one kind of person to whom the kingdom of heaven is available. He teasingly says, "If they [people generally, considered under the traditional view] are not in a position to be humble-minded, they perhaps can manage to mourn, or be meek, or become persecuted, and then one of the other Beatitudes will, on the interpretation in question, take over to secure their blessedness" (p. 103).

"We would therefore expect anyone who seriously accepted this interpretation to seek to become poor, sad, persecuted, and so on, but very few people actually do this" (p. 104). Willard goes on to say it will not do to suppose that Jesus' statements were meant to be put off until a Millennium in the future when Jesus has returned and established his kingdom on earth. I agree.

I think it makes better sense to say "poor in spirit" has a background in the Old Testament, where the Psalmist(s) call themselves "poor and needy" (Ps. 40:17) and praise the "meek" (Ps. 37:11), etc. On this interpretation, it is not one or another of the Beatitudes that "get you in," but all of them (in a nice progression) describe and commend essential character qualities that Jesus expects of his disciples. In a since, these "blessings" are all required of all followers of Jesus. John Stott wrote a very readable book that brings the traditional interpretation of the Beatitudes (and the whole Sermon on the Mount) to bear on everyday life.

Jesus' Radical Teaching

In my Sunday morning sermons, I'm building up to Jesus' most famous summary of how he wants his followers to live - the "Sermon on the Mount." It is quite a radical summary of how he wants to re-make people. I picked up a handful of resources to help me see the teaching in Matthew's context but also through different eyes than just my mental grid.

Besides a couple of excellent commentaries (R.T. France & D.A. Carson), a non-technical exposition (John Stott), a study of the use of the OT, a Puritan's meditations on Matthew 5:3-12, and some G. E. Ladd material on New Testament theology, I have decided to look into Dallas Willard's The Divine Conspiracy, some of N. T. Wright's stuff, and Brian McLaren's The Secret Message of Jesus. McLaren's "Acknowledgement" page near the back actually credits Willard and Wright for much of his own understanding of Jesus' message.

A few reasons I'm pleased to be reading this book by McLaren:
1. He reminds me that Jesus' teaching had Old Testament roots.
2. He reminds me that Jesus' teaching should be set against the historical backdrop of his day (which was not so uniform as we once thought).
3. He reminds me that Jesus' message was meant to change everything as soon as possible. Or, as McLaren likes to call it - it was revolutionary.
4. He challenges the way I think with what if...type questions and straightforward assertions (that he seems to have thought about pretty carefully).
5. I had written him off after reading his famous book A New Kind of Christian.

Life-Transforming, Restful Faith

A guy I knew from our Hardin-Simmons years is at the house for a couple of days. He, Laura and I had a fascinating conversation last night about our lives. This guy has changed in his view of Christian salvation since I knew him in college. He did formerly hold a very man-centered, works-driven view of salvation, which left him with a handful of undesirable options:

(1) pride in his own good works and contempt of others, (2) legalistic drive that locates holiness mostly in procedures and abstinence from many "pagan" traditions, (3) lowering God's definition of sin so that sinless living is possible, and/or (4) restless anxiety that somehow his efforts to please God would prove condemnable and he would receive God's fury and judgment.

God has changed this guy's mind. He has found that the Bible unequivocally teaches that Jesus died as his substitute - a payment for sin that satisfies God's justice and wrath eternally. God does not receive piously driven men; he receives humble, penitent sinners who lean on Jesus alone. In short, my friend has become fully Protestant - believing that God saves people by Christ's work alone, by grace alone, through faith alone, by means of the gospel message alone.

This is a God-centered faith that can rest in God's welcome given in Christ Jesus.

Whose story is this?

Last weekend I had the privilege to have breakfast with a Vietnam veteran and another man, a father of four. The vet. told me much more than I ever knew about the war through his eyes. He was truly a patriot as well as a humble and grateful man. What amazes me most (upon reflection) is how his experiences of 40 years ago shaped everything - everything - about his life since then. He returned to the states wanting to attend college, but even though he had access to government financial aid, he could not imagine associating himself with a university (hotbeds for anti-war protests). His career, his passions, his family life, his faith - all of them - are what they are because of his tour in Vietnam. I could not understand him until I began to understand his war experiences.
I had planned to preach the next day from Matthew 2. The statement in verse three says a great deal about the story in which the Jews (generally) saw themselves: "When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him." The birth of another, rival, heaven-sent king marked a new "chapter" in Herod's mind. Others in Jerusalem: Zealots, Pharisees, Sadducees, and maybe even the hermetic Essenes outside Jerusalem would have been "troubled" for various reasons - either worry or hope. But, I can guess, most people saw a new king - the Messiah even - as the next chapter in their story, a resolution to their prolonged Exile and subjugation by foreign powers (which the Prophets said was God's judgment on idolatry and injustice). Israel was largely defined by one big story - Exile unending. Maybe the Messiah would be the one to turn the page, getting their story into the good times.

But then there is that word about fulfillment just back in Matthew 1:22-25. Jesus was Immanuel. "God is with us," the straightforward meaning of that Hebrew compound would certainly have been understood to imply "God is on our side (finally)" to King Ahaz of Isaiah 7 (when the prophecy was originally given). This phrase was still the hope of Jews who heard of Jesus' birth. Maybe God will be on our side, clean up our mess, restore his blessing on us. Maybe God would fix their story.

Matthew, the other Evangelists, and Jesus himself, ultimately, understood "God is with us" to mean more than "God is on our side." God was now one of us, a baby among us. The genealogy of the last chapter reminds us that the earlier son of David had built the majestic temple where God would make himself available to his people - where he would be with his people. This later Son of David accomplished a permanent residence of God among men. Jesus' story stretched at least as far back as Abraham, just by the genealogy of Matthew 1. We know from other texts that 5 BC (or whenever exactly Jesus was born) was not a new chapter for the story of Israel - Israel's story was (as were and are the scores of stories still going) an introduction to the story of God's Son.

Grace to Change My Mind

What?! JM changes his mind?

After a wonderful week in Texas, visiting family, I have thought back on some of the interesting discussions I had with family and friends. Laura teases me about it, but I have an insatiable desire to turn conversations into reflective, theological discussions. Those of last week were stimulating (to say the least!) and precious to me.

It is sort of a truism that at every point in my life (as with almost all of us) I was fairly convinced that my views about all the important things in life were, in fact, the correct views. From where I stand now, I am absolutely certain that I have held some inaccurate, unhelpful, poorly supported opinions. I anticipate that I will need grace to change my mind about some things in the years to come - I just can't imagine which views I hold now need to change!

I remember having a heated (but not well-lit) debate with a family member while I was in high school about Calvinism. My family member, in frustration toward me, said, "John, I used to think that way!" I wondered to myself why anyone would ever move past what I think now. I'd like to give a short list of a few of the ways I have changed my mind on important issues through the years. 'Twas grace hath brought me safe thus far, and grace will lead me home (when I will know fully, even as I have been fully known all the while).

1. I was taught to trust the Bible in all things, but my undergrad shook my confidence in the complete reliability of it. I now believe that the Bible is without error in its original writings, when interpreted correctly.

2. I once believed that miraculous spiritual gifts had ceased after the New Testament period; I now believe that the New Testament seems to anticipate that God would continue bestowing those gifts on his Church.

3. In college, I was very tempted to endorse pacifism because I thought Jesus taught a version of pacifism; I think I misunderstood Jesus' relation to the Old Testament and the remainder of the new - I believe that God still wants governments to practice the "eye for an eye" principle, even including capital punishment and war.

4. From my earliest years as a believer I thought the next major events in God's program for history were the Rapture, the rise of the Antichrist, the salvation of 144,000 Jews, Christ's 2nd coming, the Millenium, the battle at Armageddon, and Eternity; I now think much of this stuff will actually be collapsed into Jesus' return or even into the present age (I'm amillenial and I take the "idealist" view of Revelation).

5. I used to think of marriage as optional and parenting as a contingent option; now I am convinced that marriage is God's will for almost everyone, and having children is part of God's design for marriage (except where there are good reasons not to have children).

6. In college I developed a disdain for denominations generally - but especially my own; now I appreciate the story of the Church that denominations preserve, and my heart is invested in serving within my denomination to help steer its course toward fidelity to Christ in all things.