Jesus

Environmentalism, Capitalism, Wealth, and Taxation: A Guest Post From David Crater

/ davidsschrock

I am thankful for friends who think biblically and who challenge me to think more faithfully about matters of life that I have limited expertise.  David Crater is one of those friends who has helped me to think through many matters pertaining to church, theology, and now public policy.  I met Dave in seminary, and look forward to continuing to glean from his wisdom as he has recently moved into Southern Indiana.  I have benefitted much from his legal expertise (he finished his J.D. from the University of Colorado a year ago) and his pastoral wisdom (he finished his M.Div in the same year).

Thinking through the issues of environmentalism, capitalism, and other politic matters, David Crater has given much food for thought for Christians wrestling with “politics according to the Bible.”  Consider these four miscellanies.

1.Environmentalism. Both Darwinism and environmentalism are examples of what Paul calls “worshiping and serving the creature rather than the Creator” in Rom 1. Environmentalism is not just subjecting mankind to the creation (though it is that), but abandoning the worship of God for the exaltation of what is created.

2. Capitalism. Capitalism is not utopia, and symptoms of sin permeate capitalism as they do every phase of life. But capitalism is the only moral economic system because the ownership of property is an essential characteristic of human beings as God’s image bearers. God owns everything, but He has delegated ownership to those who bear His image so that they can more fully image Him on earth, and commanded them to use what they own to produce wealth and build things and thereby subdue the earth. This system is what came to be known in modern language as capitalism. Capitalism is not destructive at root but productive at root because it is man imaging God’s ownership and creative activity.

The word “capital” means “wealth available for investment and productive activity.” It contrasts with wealth that is intended for consumption and that therefore cannot be used to produce further wealth. God owns all capital, but if He is going to command something like “fill the earth and subdue it,” His creatures need capital to fulfill the command. Nothing can be created without capital. The earth is the source of this capital God has provided, and the system that arises from the command and the obedience is properly called “capitalism.”

3. The Bible and Personal Wealth. We should balance discussions of capitalism with a reminder that the Bible is very hard on the wealthy. This comes out most prominently in Luke’s gospel, and Christianity has historically been a religion of the lower classes by and large, not the wealthy (cf. Luke 6:20-26; 8:14; 12:13-21; 16:1-13; 16:19-31; 18:18-30; cf. 1 Tim 6:17-19).  Capitalism is dangerous precisely because it is so powerfully productive. It makes people rich, and wealth then leads sinful men to become proud and corrupt themselves and turn away from God instead of thanking and glorifying God for the ability to create wealth (cf. Prov 30:8). Thus Jesus says it is easier for a camel to pass through a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. Jesus is not opposing property ownership or wealth creation, but He also is not a shill for laissez faire capitalism. He condemns in the strongest possible terms the pride and folly to which the rich are peculiarly liable. Recognizing this teaching is the answer to the sinful abuses of capitalism and wealth, not a socialistic or communistic utopia that denies mankind possesses the right to own and destroys his ability to create value.

4. Personal Wealth and Taxes. Jesus’ (and the apostles’) warnings against the dangers of wealth are ‘individual and family and church warnings.’  That is to say, they are private in nature, not public justification for public legal interference with property and free enterprise. Indeed, government must defend property and enterprise to make the widespread private charity and generosity the Bible commands even a possibility.

When God warned the Jews in 1 Samuel that a king would pillage their goods (8:10-18), the tax rate He warned them the king would impose was 20% (10% of their grain, 10% of their flocks). In biblical terms, then, a tax rate of 20% is oppressive. God Himself only commands a tenth as the size of the part He wants given back for His own service and worship (Mal 3:8, 10).  The implications of this for modern systems of taxation and government revenue are staggering, and it is no coincidence that as God has been increasingly rejected by US public culture in the 20th century, tax rates have skyrocketed.

May we continue to “provide for ourselves moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in heaven that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys” (Luke 12:33), for only then will our joy be secure.

Soli Deo Gloria, dss

 

Politics According to the Bible (4): A Biblical Worldview

/ davidsschrock / 1 Comment

[This is the fourth in a series of posts on Wayne Grudem’s Politics According to the Bible: A Comprehensive Resource for Understanding Modern Political Issues in Light of Scripture].

Before moving forward in his investigation of “politics according the Bible,” Grudem spends a short chapter reviewing the basics tenets of the Christian Worldview.  To most thoughtful Christians, his six points will be familiar.  Nevertheless, it is helpful to see the worldview that the Bible gives us, so that in all ethical, legal, and political decisions we are working with a biblical framework and not one of our personal development.  Our politics must be informed by the Bible, not vice versa.

A BIBLICAL WORLDVIEW

(1) God Created Everything

Grudem refers to the explicit teaching of Genesis 1-2, Revelation 4:11, Psalm 19:1, and Romans 1:20, among others to assert the Biblical view that the God who made the world and everything in it, is the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Jesus.  While this view has been contested and even excluded from public education in America for decades, it is the clear biblical position.  Amalgamations of this view where Christian try to reconcile the Bible with evolution continue to be concocted (e.g. theistic evolution); however, such a marriage of faith and reason produces sterile offspring.  Scripture is clear: God made all things, and thus has creator rights over everything.  Biblically, man is not at liberty to govern apart from recognizing the creator.  Many attempts have been made to erect governments that deny deity, but God’s wisdom proves true, such disconnection from God will not sustain ethical living, and society suffers.

(2) The One True God Reveals Himself and His Moral Standards Clearly in the Bible

The God of creation is the God who reveals his character to his people.  In the Bible, God’s standard is seen in Genesis 2:17, when he warns Adam and Eve that disobedience results in death.  Likewise, as Grudem points out, God the creator is God the judge of all people.  He writes, “The moral standards that God reveals in the Bible are not simply moral standards for one particular church or one particular religion, but are the moral standards for which the one true God… will hold every single person accountable at the last judgment” (118).  To support his point, Grudem cites  1 Peter 4:4-5 and Acts 17:24, 30-31 which teach that the risen Christ has been given the scepter of God to rule and judge over all the earth (cf Psalm 2).

This truth impacts the way we think about politics in that the standard for any official in government is not the cultural norm or the majority view, it is the character of God and the truth of God’s Word.

(3) The Original Creation was ‘Very Good’

Not only is God’s character revealed in creation (cf. Rom 1:20) and in his word (Exodus 20:1-17), but in creation itself, the goodness of God is perceived.  In Genesis 1:31 God judges his world and declares the verdict: “It is very good.”  Moreover, God tells the man to cultivate and keep the garden and to extend its borders to fill the earth with its cultivated beauty.  Had Adam and Eve not sinned, the people of God would have proliferated, spreading the glory of God over the whole earth (cf. Hab 2:14), exercising dominion and subduing all things as they were created to do.  Thus, in a perfect world government would have existed to promote the general welfare of God’s people (82).  As we think about politics in our day, it is helpful to remember the enterprise is not intrinsically evil and anarchy and malevolent governors are a result of sin.

(4) Because Adam and Eve Sinned, There is Moral Evil (‘Sin’) in the Heart of Every Human Being

We live in a moral universe, where good and evil exist and compete.  This is true within the church, and it is true in government; and how one interprets the nature of humanity will determine how one does politics.  It is not too much to say that this singular point is the continental divide between liberals and conservatives; the former believes in the intrinsic goodness of man, while the latter recognizes the limitations and inherent evil in the heart of every human being.  Grudem writes, “This one idea, that human beings are viewed as sinful before the absolute moral standards of the one true God, has immense implications for numerous policy differences between Republicans and Democrats (as will be seen in the chapters that follow)” (119).

Thus, the Bible’s worldview concerning humanity, sin, and the evil of society, as well as the possibility for good, will significantly shape our view of politics. As Grudem points out

This biblical principle means that evil does not come merely from the influence of society on a person, and those who do evil are not merely victims of external influences that they have experienced. Certainly there are evil influences on people, and society should try to remove those influences where possible. Nevertheless, doing evil things is still a result of a person’s evil choices, and people therefore should be held accountable for the evil they do.

By contrast to this viewpoint, a secular perspective would tend to believe that human beings are basically good and therefore when they do wrong the primary reason be because something in society has harmed them and has caused them to act in wrong ways. Thus, some part of society will be mostly blamed for the wrong, and wrongdoer himself will more likely be viewed primarily as a “victim,” not a wrongdoer. This difference accounts for many political differences regarding responses to crime and to the threat of international terrorism (121).

How one understands the depravity of man effects the nature of the gospel message and also the nature of government.

(5) Because Adam and Eve Sinned, God Place a Curse on the Entire Natural World

Just as our view of humanity impacts the way we approach politics, so does our view of the entire world.  Understanding that the entire created realm–people, animals, and creation–are under God’s curse (cf. Gen 3:14-19) delimits the kind of improvements men are capable of making in this world (e.g. it urges caution when any leader promises utopian change).  Simultaneously, it recognizes that we living in a world filled with “thorns and thistles” will require that much of the governments work to promote the good, is to help citizens overcome the dangers and difficulties faced in our environment.  All the while, this kind of legislation cannot subject men to the creation, for man was created to rule the earth, not be ruled by it. This leads to Grudem’s sixth point.

(6) God Wants Human Beings to Develop the Earth’s Resources and to Use Them Wisely and Joyfully

Mankind was put on earth to cultivate it and to keep it.  Genesis 1:28 commands Adam and Eve to subdue, rule, and have dominion. This is often misunderstood and easily mishandled. Grudem explains, “these commands to subdue the earth and have dominion over it do not mean that we should use the earth in a wasteful or destructive way or intentionally treat animals with cruelty (Prov 12:10; cf. Deut 20:19-20; Matt 22:39)… We should use the resources of the earth wisely, as good stewards, not wastefully or abusively” (123).  Thus humanity is encouraged by Scripture to “beautiful homes, automobiles, airplanes, computers, and millions of other consumer goods” (123), and governments should aid in the process.

This kind of biblical mandate leads to discussions of the environment and economics, something Grudem will tackle in the ensuing chapters.

CONCLUDING REMARKS

Though this chapter is brief, it is a helpful antiseptic to the views that subjugate humanity to the environment or that offer more good than can be effected through humanitarian efforts.  Though Grudem doesn’t spell it out here, the biblical worldview ultimately points us to a new age, with a new governor, and a new created order.  Only the Kingdom of Christ can satisfy all of our political longings.  Until his second advent, any political improvement is at best incomplete and temporary.  This should not deter us from working for the common good, but it should temper our utopian enthusiasm and/or our apocalyptic despair.

Despite all outward appearances, God is ruling over all the nations.  Whatever the state of the union, the state of the universe is in good hands (Psalm 115:3; 135:6).  God is using good and bad people, events, and governments to accomplish his intended purposes (Gen 50:20; Isa 46:9-11).  While we see brokeness in the world, God sees how all those pieces will be brought together in Christ (Eph 1:10); his blood will ultimately reconcile all things (Col 1:20).

We must remind ourselves of that if we are going to maintain a biblical worldview.  Otherwise, we will be tempted to put all our hopes in the next political election and candidate for change.  Political interest for the Christian is a “both-and’ kind of engagement.  We seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness (Matt 6:33) and we pray, vote, and speak in order to promote peaceful and quiet lives (1 Tim 2:1-4).

Still it must be asked:  Why do we promote such an environment?  Is it for us and for our children?  In part it is, but even more we pray and plead for justice from our governing officials so that the gospel may have freedom to deliver men and women from the dominion of darkness and bring them into the kingdom of the beloved Son (Col. 1:13).  To that we must endeavor relentlessly.

Soli Deo Gloria, dss

Politics According to the Bible (1): Five Wrong Views

/ davidsschrock / 1 Comment

[This is the first in a series of posts on Wayne Grudem’s Politics According to the Bible: A Comprehensive Resource for Understanding Modern Political Issues in Light of Scripture].

Wayne Grudem begins his discussion of politics and the Bible by outlining five wrong views.  These include: (1) Government Should Compel Religion, (2) Government Should Exclude Religion, (3) All Government Is Evil And Demonic, (4) Do Evangelism, Not Politics, and (5) Do Politics, Not Evangelism.  Lets look at each of these unbiblical approaches.

Government Should Compel Religion

First, Grudem appeals to the State Church’s that have arisen in Christendom where citizenship and religious affiliation are coterminous.  He relates these to the similar models of government found in Islamic nations today.  He shows that these are not Scriptural as he points to Jesus making significant distinction between the sphere of Caesar’s kingdom and the sphere of God’s kingdom (Matt 22:20-21).  He argues that this view is not tenable according to the Bible, nor does it result in the kind of faith and repentance, that Christ requires.

Government Should Exclude Religion

Second, he argues against the kind of secular government that denies any place to faith.  This is the kind of government promoted by the ACLU and Americans United for Separation of Church and State.  In the United States, this view is often grounded on the misunderstood statement about separation of church and state made by Thomas Jefferson in his letter to the Danbury Baptist Church (Danbury, CT).  It demands religion to be voiceless in the public sector and it “changes freedom of religion to freedom from religion.”  Yet, this was not Jefferson’s intention in 1802, nor is it compatible with the Bible which features numerous examples of God’s people influencing kings and rulers (Joseph, Daniel, John the Baptist, and Paul, to name a few).  This kind of regime is also seen in other countries that have persecuted Christians.  It is clearly unbiblical.

All Government Is Evil and Demonic

Third, the view that demonizes government does so from a misreading of Luke 4:6 which quotes Satan as saying, “To you I will give all this authority and their glory, for it has been delivered to me…” Proponents of this view include Gregory Boyd, who argues that every form and function of government is evil.  However, as Grudem points out, Boyd and his ilk, fail to consider the whole counsel of Scripture.  For explicitly in Romans 13 and 1 Peter 2, Paul and Peter instruct Christians to submit to governing authorities who are discharging God’s ‘ministry’ of government.  Moreover, Grudem points out that this view depends on the reliability of Satan’s description of his own authority in Luke 4:6, which is a highly speculative reality based on the deceitful character of Satan (cf. John 8:44).

In the end, Grudem points out that this view fails to recognize the difference between good and evil systems of government, and by extension it calls good evil and evil good.  Thus, it leaves citizens paralyzed and unable to resist or reform governmental structures for the good.  It results in an insipid pacifism that is not what the Bible requires.

Do Evangelism, Not Politics

Fourth, Grudem challenges evangelicals who distance themselves from political engagement due to the ‘hopeless’ enterprise that it is.  He suggests that those who advocate evangelism over against politics “narrow an understanding of ‘the Gospel’ and the kingdom of God” (45).  He warns that those who take this approach undervalue the effect that political involvement has for the gospel.  He provides a helpful illustration of the difference between heavily evangelized South Korea and repressive North Korea, and the resulting effect this has had in their respective countries.  He writes,

Governments can allow churches to meet freely and evangelize or they can prevent these things by force of law (as in Saudi Arabia and North Korea). They can hinder or promote literacy (the latter enabling people to read a Bible). They can stop murderers and thieves and drunk drivers and child predators or allow them to terrorize society and destroy lives. They can promote and protect marriages or hinder and even destroy them. Governments do make a significant difference for the work of God in the world, and we are to pray and work for good governments around the world (46).

While agreeing with his main objection, I think Grudem shows uncharacteristic imprecision on this point.  He argues that “the whole Gospel includes a transformation of society” (47).  I am not convinced this is “necessarily” true.  For instance, in countries where Christianity is outlawed, societal transformation may not come to fruition, because Christians may be martyred before they are ever able to transform their nation.  Even in situations where the blood of the martyrs brings change in time, it may take generations, so that to say the gospel “includes a transformation” is a little misleading.

On this point, he continues, “Forgiveness of sins is not the only message of the Gospel” (47).  But is that biblically the best way to say it?  If Grudem had said, “Forgiveness of sins is not the only message of the Bible,” or “Forgiveness of sins is not the only ministry of the church,” I would agree.  The Bible certainly teaches Christians how to love their families, serve their employers, and fight for justice.  Likewise, the ministry of the church does include caring for orphans, widows, and the unborn.  So then, in these ways, the Bible says more than “Believe on Jesus Christ, and you will be saved.” However, when the gospel is defined as “forgiveness” and “societal transformation,” it enlarges the gospel in unbiblical ways.

In fact, Mark Dever preached against this very thing in his 2008 Together For the Gospel message, “Improving the Gospel: Exercises in Unbiblical Theology,” when he warned of making the gospel more than the salvation of sinners (see his chapter in Proclaiming a Cross-Centered Theology, pp. 106-109).  Grudem seems to make the gospel message coterminous with the whole counsel of Scripture, and by implication he includes gospel entailments within the message of the gospel.

I think Grudem, when he argues against  the “Do evangelism, Not politics” view, but his treatment of the gospel in this section needs more attention. (For more on the central tenets of the gospel, see Greg Gilbert, What is the Gospel?)  Within this section, however, Grudem does present some other helpful points, namely that God has intended the church and the government to work in tandem to effect positive change against the evil that is resident in our society.

Another point worth pondering in this section is the way that church history has demonstrated countless ways that Christians have influenced government for good.  He cites from Alvin Schmidt’s book How Christianity Changed the World, and lists dozens of social improvements from the discontinuation of the Roman gladiatorial games to the prohibition of burning widows alive in India.  Then Grudem names a number of Christians who have effected social justice in the world to show how has positively shaped our country (50).

Still, it would be helpful at this point to make a distinction that not all these “Christians” were orthodox, gospel-believing brothers in Christ.  No doubt, Martin Luther King, Jr. was used by God to bring about civil rights throughout the United States, but it must be asked, “Was Dr. King’s doctrine orthodox and evangelical?”   Grudem doesn’t make that distinction, which is an unfortunate lacuna.

Do Politics, Not Evangelism

Finally, his fifth wrong view is the one that says “Do Politics, Not Evangelism.”  According to Grudem, few respected evangelicals hold this Social Gospel view (53), however pastors Rob Bell and Brian McLaren are two influential proponents of a sub-standard gospel message who are advocating political and social change.  Their popular books and speaking tours are infecting many with a “New Kind of Christianity” that aims to advance the kingdom of God through social and political involvement and that denudes the gospel of its saving message.

Overall, Grudem’s first chapter is a helpful taxonomy of wrong views of government and politics.  It sets the stage for chapter 2, where he will develop “a better solution,” one that urges “significant Christian influence on government” (54). Preparing for this view, he closes his first chapter with a balanced statement on politics according to the Bible.

Genuine, long-term change in a nation will only happen (1) if people’s hearts change so that they seek to do good, not evil; (2) if people’s minds change so that their moral convictions align more closely with God’s moral standards in the Bible; and (3) if a nation’s laws change so that they more full encourage good conduct and punish wrong conduct. Item 1 comes about through personal evangelism and the power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Item 2 takes place through personal conversation and teaching and through public discussion and debate. Item 3 comes about through Christian political involvement. All three are necessary (54).

Soli Deo Gloria, dss

A Spiritual Fruit Inventory

/ davidsschrock / 2 Comments

Most church-going Christians have participated in a Spiritual Gifts Inventory (SGI).  You know, the one where you sit down to fill out a paper-and-pencil test of things you like, don’t like, are good at, bad at, and don’t know.

Personally, I am not a fan.  It is a fleshly way of discerning the Spirit’s work in your life.  I believe these forms are well-intended and have catapulted many vibrant Christians into active church ministry, but they may have also wrongly directed people away from genuine gifts of the Spirit.   Rather, I have found that the best SGI is found in the honest and loving people of God who are called to judge fellow believers with grace and truth.  Serving in the church is the best Spiritual Gift Inventory.

With that caution in mind, what I offer below, may be just as fleshly and unhelpful…but I hope not.

In preparing for Sunday’s message, I found a Spiritual Fruit Inventory (SFI), that I tweaked and will hand out on Sunday.  Unlike its cousin, the SGI, the SFI, is designed not to lead us down a path to ministry, but down a path to the cross, because it will either show the absolute deficiency of fruit in the life of the believer, in which a true believer has but one response: repentance and gratitude for Christ’s atoning blood.  Or second, it will prompt overwhelming gratitude that the Spirit is at work.  I suspect, as I see in my own life that it is both.  (One other note: it could lead a “believer” to realize that by the conspicuous absence of the Spirit’s fruit that he is not in fact saved; see Matthew 13:1-23).

When I look at Galatians 5:22-23, I see 9 qualities that are present in my life, but oh how anemic is the fruit.  Yet, I take heart that this is the Spirit’s work, not mine.  The only imperative in Galatians regarding the Spirit is to “Walk in the Spirit” (Gal 5:16, 25).  As we do that, fruit will come.  It has to; born again believers bear fruit!  So, as I contemplate the questions below, I go to the cross with sorrow and gladness, and I return to keep walking with the Spirit, praying to the Father to grow in me the life characteristics of Christ–love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control.

Here is the Spiritual Fruit Inventory.  Feel free to use it for your personal devotion or for your corporate ministry.

Soli Deo Gloria, dss

SPIRITUAL FRUIT INVENTORY

On a scale of 1-5 (bad-good), rate your spiritual fruit.  Then after you have done that, ask a friend, spouse, or family member to do the same.  Compare notes.  Go to God and thank him for the Cross, the Power of the Spirit, and the Promise of Progressive Sanctificaiton.  Continue to walk in the Spirit, by Faith in Christ’s atoning work on Calvary and his sanctifying work in you.

Love: Are you obedient to God’s word?  Do you delight in spending time with God? Does your love for God reflect in love for others?  Would others describe you as loving?  Do you love the unlovable? Or just the likeable?  

Joy: Is your joy based on circumstances?  Have you found joy in the midst of trials?  When you are discouraged, is Scripture your source of joy?  If not, why not?

Peace: Do you know the peace that passes understanding? When alone, are you at peace? When anxious, do you set your mind on God in Christ?  If not, why not?

Patience: Do you accept interruptions and delays with grace and peace? Do you see God’s larger plan at work in your life? How do you view people: as hindrances to be avoided or hurting people to be loved?

Kindness: Would your family call you “kind”?  Are your words refreshing & life-giving? Or sarcastic & mean? Do you seek ways to encourage others?

Goodness: Do you invent ways to help others?  Or do you relish putting others down?  Is your goodness forced or free?  Are you ‘good’ to please others or God?

Faithfulness: Do you keep your word? Do you finish what you start?  Are you a hard worker? Does your church attendance reflect faithfulness?

Gentleness: Are you quick to listen? Slow to speak? Slow to anger? Do your moods swing?  Is your language abrasive or harsh?  Do others confide in you?

Self-control: Are you free from addictions—illegal or legal? Do you have mastery over your thoughts, speech, actions? Do you think before you act?  Are your decisions governed by Scripture? Is your discipline lawful or loving?

Martin Bucer on Christ as Prophet, Priest, and King

/ davidsschrock

This fall I am writing a paper on the atoning work of Jesus the Christ as (1) Prophet, (2) Priest, and (3) King and how these relate to the church and the world.  So as I come across rich quotes, I will be putting them up. I hope they will encourage any who take the time to meditate on their truths.

The first is that of 16th Century, German theologian and contemporary of Martin Luther and John Calvin, Martin Bucer.  In his commentaries on the gospels, he makes two quotes worthy of contemplation.

Christ was anointed, so that he might be our king (rex), teacher (doctor), and priest (sacerdos) for ever.  He will govern us, lest we lack any good thing or be oppressed by any ill; he will teach us the whole truth; and he will reconcile us to the Father eternally.

And again…

Just as they used to anoint kings, priests and prophets to institute them in their offices, so now Christ is king of kings (rex regum), highest priest (summus sacerdos), and chief of prophets (prophetarum caput). He does not rule in the manner of an external empire; he does not sacrifice with brute beasts; he does not teach and admonish only with an external voice.  Rather, by the Holy Spirit he directs minds and wills in the way of eternal salvation; by the Spirit he offered himself as an acceptable offering to God; and by the same Spirit he teaches and admonishes, in order that those destined for his kingdom may be made righteous, holy and blessed in all things (Quoted from the combined version of Bucer’s commentaries on the first three Gospels and on John: M. Bucer, In sacra quator evangelia, Enarrationes (Basel, 1536), pp. 9 and 606; quoted by Geoffrey Wainwright, For Our Salvation: Two Approaches to the Work of Christ [Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1997],104).

Soli Deo Gloria, dss

The Wisdom of God is Seen in Intended Obsolescence

/ davidsschrock

If God is the architect of the Old Covenant, and the Bible says that the Old Covenant failed (Hebrews 8), the question may rightly be asked: Did God create something that did not work?  Did the sovereign, omnipotent God make a lemon?  Was the New Covenant (Jer 31:31-34; Heb 8:8-13) a repair job?

Hardly!

The relationship of the Old Covenant to the New Covenant, shows the unfathomable riches of God’s wisdom! (Rom 11:33-36).

On this challenging subject of covenantal relations, Barry Joslin gives an inspiring (but not inspired) vision of the way God wisely designed the first covenant with “purposed insufficiency.”  God’s plan did not fail.  It was designed to break down, so that Christ’s better covenant could be installed for eternity.  Professor Joslin explains,

The inadequacy of the first covenant espoused in verse 7 centers on the inabilities of its sacrificial system to deal with sin and in the “rebellious hearts” and “stiff necks” of the people (recall [Hebrews] 3:7-4:13 and the indictment of Ps 95).  The criticism here [Heb 8] comes from God, the speaker.  This is significant given that he was responsible for making the first covenant.  God, the covenant-maker, established a covenant which he knew to be anticipatory and limited in its abilities.  He knew that it would be insufficient and that its sacrificial system would ultimately not be acceptable to him in order to take away sin (9:1-10:18). Therefore one must pause and make the assertion that God had, in this manner, always planned for a [New Covenant] that would be superior to the old, and one that would consist of the blessings both to take away sin as well as to make obedience a hallmark of the NC People.  Thus [Hebrews] 8:7 reinforces the point that the first covenant was not a failure, but was insufficient due to its built-in insufficiencies that anticipated a new arrangement.  Therefore the [Old Covenant] fulfilled its divinely-ordained anticipatory purpose (Barry Joslin, Hebrews, Christ, and the Law: The Theology of the Mosaic Law in Hebrews 7:1-10:18, 183-185).

From before the foundation of the world, God had planned the salvation of his people, and from Genesis 1:1 until the cross of Jesus Christ, God’s history was being worked out according to his sovereign and wise plan.  The intended obsolescence of the Old Covenant is just one feature of God’s perfect wisdom refracted through redemptive history.  It is for this reason that all the redeemed should study the works of God (Ps 111:2), so that they may praise with Paul,

Oh, the depths of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!
How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out!
Who has know the mind of the Lord?
Or who has been his counselor?
Who has ever given to God, that God should repay him?
For from him and through him and to him are all things.
To him be the glory forever! Amen.

Amazed at the wisdom of God in redemptive history, dss

The Self-Sacrificial Mission of the Law

/ davidsschrock

We know that Christ was sent to earth to die for sinners.  The Bible is clear on that matter: For God so loved the world that he gave his only son (John 3:16)… But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under Law, so that he might redeem those who were under the Law (Gal 4:4-5)…In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that Godsent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him (1 John 4:9).

However, have you ever stopped to think about this fact: Long before Christ came and died on the cross, the law was sent with a similar terminal mission.  The law which points to Christ (John 5:39; Luke 24:27), was fulfilled by Christ (Matt 5:17), and which was in some sense terminated with Christ (Rom 10:4; Gal 2:18-20), had a similar self-sacrificial purpose.

Granted, the law is impersonal, but it is God’s very word–holy, true, and inspired.  For centuries, it was God’s abiding revelation among his covenant people.  The people of Israel prized it, protected it (most of the time), and passed it down from one generation to the next, because of its centrality in knowing and worshiping YHWH.

The Law, in and of itself, was never designed to save.  It does offer life upon the condition of perfect obedience (Lev 18:5), but as the prophets, and even the law itself indicates, perfection for Adam’s race and Abraham’s offspring is impossible.  Nevertheless, within the confines of redemptive history, it serves a necessary role to prepare the way for Jesus.  But from the beginning this role was restricted and designed to be temporary.  The law was sent to die!

Hear Richard Longenecker’s fourfold explanation of the laws ‘temporal’ function as he comments on Galatians 2:20:

(1) [I]t was the law’s purpose to bring about its own demise in legislating the lives of God’s people; (2) that such a jurisdictional demise was necessary in order that believers in Christ might live more fully in relationship with God; (3) that freedom from the law’s jurisdiction is demanded by the death of Christ on the cross; and (4) that by identification with Christ we experience the freedom from the law that [Christ] accomplished (Galatians in The Word Biblical Commentary [Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1990], 92).

It is amazing that in his sublime wisdom, God’s eternal word has a pre-engineered expiration date on the law.  An expiration date that does not make the law go bad like spoiled milk, but one that renders its function as covenantally inoperable.  Why?  Because Jesus Christ has fulfilled all the law and issued a new law–a law of faith and love (Rom 3:27 and Gal 5:4)– according to a superior covenant (Heb 8:6).   There is so much more to be said and savored on this matter, but let us with Paul offer praise to God for his inscrutible wisdom that upholds the law, all the while offering a better set of promises through the gospel of Christ.

Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God!  How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!
“For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?”
“Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid?”
For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.

Amen, dss

What is the Gospel?

/ davidsschrock

On the The Gospel Coalition website is a short explanation of the gospel by D.A. Carson.  In his concise chapter on “The Biblical Gospel” from For Such a Time as This: Perspectives on Evangelicalism, Past, Present and Future (p. 75-85), Carson defines the gospel by its connection to the entire corpus of the biblical narrative.  He writes,

Thus the gospel is integrally tied to the Bible’s story-line. Indeed, [the gospel] is incomprehensible without understanding that story-line. God is the sovereign, transcendent and personal God who has made the universe, including us, his image-bearers. Our misery lies in our rebellion, our alienation from God, which, despite his forbearance, attracts his implacable wrath. But God, precisely because love is of the very essence of his character, takes the initiative and prepared for the coming of his own Son by raising up a people who, by covenantal stipulations, temple worship, systems of sacrifice and of priesthood, by kings and by prophets, are taught something of what God is planning and what he expects. In the fullness of time his Son comes and takes on human nature. He comes not, in the first instance, to judge but to save: he dies the death of his people, rises from the grave and, in returning to his heavenly Father, bequeaths the Holy Spirit as the down payment and guarantee of the ultimate gift he has secured for them—an eternity of bliss in the presence of God himself, in a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness. The only alternative is to be shut out from the presence of this God forever, in the torments of hell.6 What men and women must do, before it is too late, is repent and trust Christ; the alternative is to disobey the gospel (Romans 10:16; 2 Thessalonians 1:8; 1 Peter 4:17).

As usual, Carson hits the nail on the head, and helps us see that the “simple gospel” can only be understood and proclaimed against the backdrop of the whole counsel of Scripture. This has import for personal evangelism, preaching, counseling, and everyday decision-making.

In his chapter, Carson also shows that the gospel not only presents a positive message about Jesus Christ; it also denies any and all pseudo-gospels that plague our churches today (and throughout church history for that matter).  He cites the ‘evangelical’ trend towards psychology as one of the greatest causes for distorting the gospel.

A litany of devices designed to make us more spiritual or mature or productive or emotionally whole threatens to relegate the gospel to irrelevance, or at least to the realm of the boring and the primitive. The gospel may introduce you to the church, as it were, but from that point on assorted counseling techniques and therapy sessions will change your life and make you happy and fruitful. The gospel may help you make some sort of decision for God, but ‘rebirthing’ techniques—in which in silent meditation you imagine Jesus catching you as you are born from your mother’s womb, imagine him hugging you and holding you—will generate a wonderful cathartic experience that will make you feel whole again, especially if you have been abused in the past. The gospel may enable you to be right with God, but if you really want to pursue spirituality you must find a spiritual director, or practise asceticism, or discipline yourself with journalling, or spend two weeks in silence in a Trappist monastery.

Tomorrow I will preach on Galatians 1:6-9: What the gospel is and what the gospel is not.  Carson’s short essay, like Paul’s excited admonition to the Galatians, reminds me that the gospel is something that is easily distorted and too often assumed.  Consequently, there are dozens of half-gospels that are tempting us to turn from the pure gospel of Jesus Christ.  So, I am praying that for our church and for myself, that we will trade in our own personal narratives for the gospel-narrative of Jesus Christ and that we will eschew any vision of Jesus that makes him less than the eternal Son of God, sent to earth to be the bleeding sacrifice, who takes away the sin of the world, and delivers all those who trust in him from this evil age.

I am praying that we will know what the gospel is and what the gospel is not!

(For more on this subject see Greg Gilbert’s new book: What is the Gospel?)

Soli Deo Gloria, dss

March Madness

/ davidsschrock

One of the great diseases of our day is trifling.  The things with which most people spend most of their time are trivial.  And what makes this a disease is that we were meant to live for magnificent causes.  None of us is really content with the trivial pursuits of the world.  Our souls will not be satisfied with trifles.  Why is there a whole section of the newspaper devoted to sports and almost nothing devoted to the greatest story in the universe–the growth and spread of the church of Jesus Christ?  It is madness that insignificant games should occupy such a central role in our culture compated to the work of God in Christ.  (John Piper, A Sweet & Bitter Providence, 120).

Growing up as a basketball fanatic, March was my favorite month.  “One Shining Moment” was my favorite song.  And many were the days that I day-dreamed of playing college basketball and going to the ‘Big Dance.’ 

Today if you go to my boyhood home, you can find cases of VCR-recorded tapes of college basketball games.  Duke vs Kansas (1991) and  Duke vs Michigan (1992) come to mind right now–yes, I was a Duke fan.  In short, in those days I lived for basketball! 

But in the mercy and providence of God, He showed me in high school that being a success on the basketball court was not entirely satisfying.  In fact, it was altogether depressing.  Despite any relative accomplishments that came on the hardwood, I was always left empty.  What I didn’t know then, but have come to learn is that this is how idols always work (Ps 115).  They promise great things and deliver very little.  They take and take and take and offer diminishing returns.   They take the God-given and good desire to worship, to adore, and to devote our lives to something and they put before our hearts and minds an object unworthy of our worship.  Indeed idolatry is trifling and maddening.

In my life basketball was an idol.  And each year in the month of March, I am reminded of my past, and I am thankful that God delivered me from my enslavement to a game.  With Paul in 1 Corinthians 6, I agree and affirm in my life:  “Do not be deceived: …. idolaters…will [not] inherit the kingdom of God.”  Yet, he goes on to say, “And such were some of you.  But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.”

Today, I am just as prone to idolatry because of the sinfulness of my heart and the temptations of the evil one.  I believe that my heart is an idol-making factory, and that apart from the overpowering grace of god  I would clutter my life banal and joy-depleting things.  I am tempted to trifle with so many things–even this very blog!  And yet, the Word of God calls us to reject trifling and to live for the imitable glory of God in the face of Christ and the upbuilding of his kingdom. 

This weekend marks one of the largest Final Fours in history, with 71,000+ fans filling Lucas Oil Stadium and millions more crowding around HDTV’s in bars, homes, and student unions.  As they do, I pray that they, and you and me too, will see the madness of march as it truly is, that it is spiritual insanity that leads people to care more about one shining moment than an eternity of light and love.  This weekend we will see three heart-broken schools and one temporary victor, but for those anchored by joy in Jesus Christ, victory is eternally secure, and win or lose in the trifles of life, all of them pale in comparison to the eternal weight of glory promised for those who have the Son, the one who we must remember does more than put a leather ball through an iron hoop, Jesus Christ rules with a rod of iron and gives unspeakable joy to all those who ask. 

Soli Deo Gloria, dss

Ten Ways to Help You Read Leviticus

/ davidsschrock / 6 Comments

What is the Bible about?

Well, if you are reading through the Bible this year, during the month of February, the Bible is all about food laws, leprosy inspections, and instructions about bodily discharges.  Exciting stuff!

For twenty-first century readers, understanding the significance of Leviticus, the book of the Bible where these things are found, can be difficult.  In fact, I am sure the book of Leviticus has been the rocky coast on which many Bible-reading plans have crashed.  Nevertheless, the book plays an important role in the life of the Christian, even as it played an important role in the lives of Ancient Israelites.  Granted, we live in a different redemptive era (post-Incarnation/Crucifixion/Resurrection/Ascension/Pentecost), but the truth is, to understand any of these NT events requires a general familiarity with the Levitical laws.

So, with the aim of reading the Bible better, I want to suggest 10 things to keep in mind as you read Leviticus, 10 things that you may find helpful as you make your way through the Bible in 2010.

  1. Pray.  Ask God to help you understand his Word.  The same Holy Spirit who dwells in you, if you are a believer, inspired these words.  He will guide you into all truth, just the Bible promises (John 16:13; 1 John 2:27).  He illumines our eyes and he bears witness to Christ and he will show you how Leviticus points to Jesus, if you will ask him (and then read).
  2. Remember that this is God’s word.  2 Timothy 3:16-17 tells us that all Scripture is God-breathed and useful.  The truth about Leviticus is:  IT IS USEFUL.  You just have to sort out how.  While it is true that not all sections of the Bible carry the same kind of “devotional punch””–compare Leviticus 1-7 with Isaiah 53–every word is inspired by God and necessary to complete his perfect revelation.  Moreover, every word carries precious truth that believers need, which leads to our next point.
  3. Recall that all Scripture is inter-connected.  Thus, a passage like Isaiah 53 with it address of sin, its sacrificial imagery and intercessory prayer requires the background that Leviticus provides.  Without Leviticus, Isaiah 53 is almost unintelligible.  In the NT, Leviticus is sixth on the list of books quoted by NT authors.  Excise Leviticus from the Bible, or your Bible reading, and it is impossible to understand what Jesus is saying when the Greatest Commandment includes loving your neighbor as yourself (Lev. 19:18).  See also Rom 10:5’s use of Lev. 18:5, and 1 Peter 1:16 quotation of Leviticus 19:2).  Practically speaking, if reading Leviticus fails to stir your soul, read a chapter or two and then turn to Hebrews to see the fulfillment of Leviticus in Christ. 
  4. Recognize the symbolism.  The book of Leviticus is filled with symbolism.  God’s OT instructions are physical, tangible, and visible means of introducing himself to his people.  These sacrifices picture the kind of penalty sin requires, just as they demonstrate the kind of love that God has in providing a means of atonement and reconciliation.  In other words, read Leviticus typologically, looking for the types that find their antitype (i.e. fulfillment) in Jesus.
  5. Read with Christ in view. Many if not most of these symbols prefigure the life and death of Jesus Christ.  Therefore, the law that Christ fulfills, the cross on which Jesus bleeds, and the Spirit that he pours out at Pentecost all find significant explanation in Leviticus.  If you want to know more about the gospel, the laws of Leviticus are a good instructor.
  6. Look for themes.  There are tremendous gospel themes running through Leviticus.  Take out a pen or a colored pencil (if you are into that) and mark up the places where these themes irrupt.  Tomorrow I will list a number of helpful themes to pick up, but for now look for things ‘atonement,’ ‘blood,’ ‘holiness,’ the work of the ‘priest.’  By keeping your eyes open (figuratively) looking for themes, it will help you keep your eyes open (literally) when you read through this unfamiliar book.
  7. Look for purpose statements.  For instance, Leviticus 15:31 concludes a long section on cleanliness laws saying, “Thus you shall keep the people of Israel separate from their uncleanness, lest they die in their uncleanness by defiling my tabernacle that is in their midst.”  Here Moses records the YHWH’s reason for the meticulous laws about bodily discharges and other matters of cleanliness.  By noticing these purpose statements, you can discern why God requires Israel to do all these things.  (See also Leviticus 9:6, 22-24; 11:46-47).
  8. Read with imagination.  As you read about the sacrifices, imagine what that must have looked like, sounded like, smelled like.  Our worship services today are very, very sanitary.  Even the food we eat at the Lord’s Supper is package so that we do not stain the carpets or our clothes.  This is entirely different from the OT>  In in the OT, without blood stains, the people would have perished.  So read with imagination as you encounter the elaborate descriptions. 
  9. Read with others.  Talk about what you are reading with others in your church.  Ask your pastor or Sunday School teacher to teach through the Bible.  Look for ways to walk through the Bible together.  Reading the Bible is personal, but it should never be private.  Recruit others to read with you.
  10. Invest in a Study Bible.  As you read Leviticus or any other book of the Bible, you will inevitably have questions.  Or at least, you should.  Is the leprosy described in Leviticus the same as today’s leprosy? (No).  Why is it always a male animal that is sacrificed?  My personal suggestion is the ESV Study Bible.   That is what I read, and it has many, many helps for discerning the historical and cultural significance of what I am reading.
  11. Read in small doses and with other books of the Bible.  Okay, so I said ten, but here is one more.  Like the Big Ten which has eleven schools, so our list includes an extra idea for those who still struggle.  If all else fails, read Leviticus in small doses, maybe even in smaller doses than your Bible reading plan suggests.  If it takes 13 months to read the Bible, that’s okay.  The point is that you are enriched by God’s life-giving word.  Even if you have to treat Leviticus like eating vegetables–mixing it in with other foods or in small portions–the point is that you take God at his word and benefits from this book, because at the end of the day it will help you know and love Jesus Christ more for the high priest that he is and the sacrfice that he made.

These are just a few suggestions to aid your reading of this important book.  I hope you see that the gospel of Jesus Christ depends on our understanding of God’s holiness, man’s sinfulness, the need of sacrifice and atonement, and the work of a life-giving high priest; and that no book is better to teach you about these things than Leviticus. 

If you have other suggestions on reading this book, please do share.

Soli Deo Gloria, dss