The Fallacy of "Love"

“Our culture has accepted two huge lies. The first is that if you disagree with someone’s lifestyle, you must fear or hate them. The second is that to love someone means you agree with everything they believe or do. Both are nonsense. You don’t have to compromise convictions to be compassionate.” - Rick Warren

 I'm not sure who this post is for. Is it for Christians who are struggling to balance the competing interests of loving those around them while holding fast to their biblical convictions about sin? Or is it for the multitude of non-Christians who refuse to understand how a person could 'love' them and yet vehemently oppose their way of life. I guess, in short, I hope both sides might find a bit of encouragement here.

When Jesus was asked what the greatest of all the commandments were, his response was simple and poignant, "Love God with everything you are, and then love your neighbors as much as you love yourself." (paraphrased from Matthew 22:37-39). Of course, the One who gave that command was also the greatest example of living such love out. No one in history, and no fictional character ever dreamed up, could match the outpour and depth of Christ's love. Every word, every action, every thought and desire was focused on first loving and glorifying the Father, and then loving and redeeming us.

But love, Christ's love, was not merely a gesture of goodwill and support. It was just not endless compassion, sympathy, acceptance and mercy. Instead, Christ's love was something much more powerful: it was the desire to see a fallen world redeemed to the Father, a desire to see individuals transformed from corrupted beings of darkness into vessels of the Father's glory. You see, Christ loved us with a fervent and unending passion, but He didn't love our lifestyle. He didn't love our vanity, our pride, our immorality, our wickedness. He didn't love our sin. He didn't love the life choices that prevented us from full fellowship with the Father. And so, He came to love us, and in that love, He showed goodwill, support, compassion, sympathy, acceptance and mercy, but He also rebuked, criticised, admonished and exhorted us. He embraced the sinner with open arms but also condemned the life that sinner lived. And ultimately, He died, not to save the lives of those who followed Him, but to give us a new life, one separate from the corruption and sin that plague us.

The gospels are rife with demonstrations of this love. In John 8, he tells the adulteress woman, "Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more." Jesus loved her, He accepted her, He forgave her, but He also told her that her lifestyle was wrong and that it must change. He didn't condemn her, but He -did- condemn her lifestyle. He didn't tell her that it was her life to live how she wanted, or that she could choose whatever lifestyle best suited her. Instead, He loved her, and in showing that love, told her to change her ways.

So, then, when Christ says to love your neighbors as yourself, that doesn't mean we sit idly by and watch the world languish in lifestyles that celebrate the destructive power of sin. Instead, it means that we too should burn with the passion to see our neighbors embrace the grace and mercy of the Father and become those incorruptible, sinless vessels of His glory. Not because we've reached that stage (God knows Christians, including myself, have sins enough of their own) but because we know that we're called to something greater. So when Christians preach against all sorts of immorality, its not because we hate you, or fear you, or want to condemn you, or want to judge you and villainize you to make ourselves feel superior. Instead, we do it because we love you. We do it because our hearts are broken to see the corruption that runs rampant through ourselves and our neighbors. We do it because we want to see the mercy, power and glory of God realized in you, like it has been so wonderfully realized in us. So, non-Christians, realize that we don't hate you, but we also can't support a lifestyle that God has clearly condemned. He wants something greater for you, and so do we.

Has America Become Content With Superficial Christianity?

I'm not a big fan of excessive complaining, and I even consider myself an optimist.  But certain things about the expression of Christianity in America worry me, especially when I start to see them in myself:

Instead of trusting in the Lord, even with our money, we are content with putting “In God We Trust” on our money.

Rather than honoring Christ the Lord as holy in our hearts, we are content with honoring Him on our t-shirts and facebook profiles.

Jesus said to take up your cross and follow Him, but we are content with taking crosses and putting them up on our walls, and following Christian blogs, podcasts, and "tweets."

We were told to be diligent to make our calling and election sure, but we are content with being diligent in electing politicians who are Christians for sure.

When we should be asking if the Lord’s laws are written on people’s hearts and on their minds, we are content with having them written on courthouse monuments and in our nation’s statutes.

Are we becoming content with superficial Christianity?

Ministry

Convicted. That is the word that describes my experience whilst reading "Life Together" by Dietrich Bonhoeffer. I will let his words make up the rest of this post.

"We must be ready to allow ourselves to be interrupted by God. God will constantly be crossing our paths and canceling our plans by sending us people with claims and petitions. We may pass them by, preoccupied with our more important tasks, as the priest passed by the man who had fallen among thieves, perhaps - reading the Bible(Luke 10). When we do that we pass by the visible sign of the Cross raised athwart our path to show us that, not our way, but God's way must be done.

It is a strange fact that Christians and ministers frequently consider their work so important and urgent that they will allow nothing to disturb them. They think they are doing God a service in this, but actually they are disdaining God's "crooked yet straight path" (Gottfried Arnold). They do not want a life that is crossed and balked. But it is part of the discipline of humility that we must not spare our hand where it can perform a service and that we do not assume that our schedule is our own to manage, but allow it to be arranged by God.

Only where hands are not too good for deeds of love and mercy in everyday helpfulness can the mouth joyfully and convincingly proclaim the message of God's love and mercy."

Paul repeated the question: “Who has known the mind of the Lord?” And Jesus spoke in parables. So is doctrine just a bunch of trivia created by preachers and theologians—essentially theoretical—that might direct us toward God, but should not cause anyone to think he or she knows anything about who God really is?

J.F.K. once said, “Don’t ever take a fence down until you know the reason why it was put up.”  This could probably apply to doctrine, which means instruction or teaching.  The bible discusses two types.  One is man-made (e.g., Mar. 7:1-16), and the other comes from God (Tit. 2:10).  As Corey and Matt explained, the bible—God’s instruction—reflects who God is.  So those who genuinely desire to know God must be open to his instruction (Joh. 14:15-17).  The danger of man-made doctrine is that it causes people to stray from God’s instruction (Mar. 7:1-16, Col. 2:8).  Those who promote it aren’t interested in building up the church or being faithful to the clear teaching of the bible—they’re experts in things that cause speculation, disputes, and moral uncertainty (1 Tim 1:3-11).  They often operate subtly.

In Genesis, for example, Satan could’ve openly told Eve, “Disobey God!”  Instead, he cleverly approached her when she was alone, asking, “Did God actually say . . . ?” (Gen. 3:1).  He apparently convinced Eve to eat the forbidden fruit by getting her to question the authoritativeness of God’s instruction.  By causing confusion about what God has said, Satan causes confusion about who God is (see Rom. 1:18-32).  But our “God is not a God of confusion.”  (1 Cor. 14:33).  He wants us to know Him (Joh. 17:2-3).  This is why Paul prayed that we would “be filled with the knowledge of [God’s] will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding . . . and increasing in the knowledge of God.” (Col. 1:9-10).

Of course, we presently know only what God has revealed to us at this time.  But at some point, we “shall know fully.” (1 Cor. 13:12).  Meanwhile, we can be confident that what we know now is substantial (see 1 Joh. 5:20).  Believers “have the mind of Christ” and can actually comprehend “the thoughts of God.” (1 Cor. 2:9-16).  And what we learn about God through the Spirit is confirmed in the bible.  So if you reject or otherwise mishandle sound, biblical doctrine, you’ll be rejecting the truth about who God really is—this is not trivial (see Tit. 1:10-16).

Is it easy to follow God?

Is it easy to follow God? I think that depends on how much God you're actually following. I have observed a peculiar behavior from some, where the Bible is taken to a sieve, and any part of it that would make someone uncomfortable would be sifted out. What remains is a politically correct, albeit watered-down, version of God. A version of God that will tell you whatever you want to hear and that lives for you. A version of God that is butterflies and rainbows. A version of God that is easy to follow. Why are these thoughts peculiar? Because they are far from the truth that God wants us to have. If you remove parts of the Bible you are removing God's intentions for the world and for you. In fact, you're missing out on something.

The idea of being challenged by the Bible is not a new one. In fact, a man approached Jesus believing that he had it all together- he had kept all the commandments. Jesus then told the man something he didn't want to hear:

Jesus said to him, "If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me." (Matthew 19:21 ESV)

What did this young, rich man do when he heard the Truth of God, straight out of the mouth of Christ? He left in sorrow, because he had so many possessions. Like this man, it is easy for us to get out of scripture only what seems relevant to ourselves, and to dismiss the rest as irrelevant, mistranslated, or metaphorical. The man in the verse thought that knowing God was only about keeping the Commandments, but it was quickly pointed out to him that there was more to it than that. He found out that in order to know the real God, not one just invented for his own reality, he must dig deeper. A God that has been sifted and watered-down is not the God of reality, not the God who promises eternal life, treasure and everlasting joy, but a false, shallow god. To have the true God means to take God in full, down to the core. It is imperative that we embrace all of God through the Scriptures and not hold back.

Can we really know God? More on this next post.

The Bible

This is the start of a four part series. We are starting with the following question:

How much of the bible do I need to accept in order to become a Christian?

In order to become a Christian you need to accept a person, and that person is Jesus Christ. There is not a set of certain propositions that you have to intellectually accept before you can become a Christian. “Christian” means “little Christ,” and it was a term used to describe some of the early disciples of Christ. A disciple of Christ is someone who follows Him, trusts Him, and continuously learns from Him how to live his/her life. To become a disciple of Christ, you simply have to accept HIM into your life, to put HIM above everything else in your life. No matter how much information you intellectually accept as true about Christ, you do not become a disciple until you accept HIM into your life, which means that it is entirely possible to believe that every word of the bible is true and still not be a disciple of Christ. And keep in mind that “accepting” Him also does not mean accepting an idea of Him that someone has created that is not grounded in the truth of the bible.

So where is the balance here? How do Christ and the bible fit together? The bible is entirely about Christ, from the beginning to the end. When you accept Christ into your life you get the entirety of the bible as well. The Christ that you have accepted is the same Christ that the bible extensively talks about. So how much of the bible do you “need” to accept in order to become a Christian? You “need” to accept Christ, and when you do you get the privilege of reading and accepting His words, the bible. Christ says himself that, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” If we accept Him then we will also listen to and accept what he has to say to us. But this poses a problem for many of us. What happens when we come across some of His words that we don’t like? What do we do when the bible says something that makes us feel uncomfortable? This will be addressed in the next post.

Pointless Fighting Over Religion

For centuries, Jews, Babylonians, Romans, Muslims, and even Christians have fought for control over the location at which God told Abraham to offer his son (near Mt. Moriah, the present site of the Muslim Dome of the Rock). Originally the site of King Solomon’s temple, several other temples have been built on this land, destroyed, and rebuilt over time. People of various cultures have offered sacrifices and prayers to various gods at this spot. One might ask, "why couldn't they just get along and worship together? Don't they have anything in common?"

Well, to some extent, there is common ground. The common ground is the ground itself and the stories it tells. Jews, Christians, and Muslims all believe that God told Abraham to offer his son on a mountain in Moriah. There is disagreement over which son, as well as over the event's implications. Regardless, we can agree that God stopped Abraham just before he could take his son’s life on that mountain. As Abraham had already spoken, God provided the offering that day.

And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son.(Gen 22:13)

God spared Abraham's son and provided the offering in Abraham's day, but he did not spare his own son when Jesus died on the cross. Abraham's "test" on the mountain in Moriah foreshadowed the perfect offering of God’s only begotten son as the ultimate sacrifice for sins.

Pilate went out again and said to them, "See, I am bringing him out to you that you may know that I find no guilt in him." So Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said to them, "Behold the man!" (Joh 19:4-5)

Interestingly, although we don’t know the exact geographic location of Calvary (a.k.a. Golgotha), the place of Christ’s crucifixion, it is believed that Calvary is at least within half a mile of Mt. Moriah (Heb. 13:12), just outside of the walls of Jerusalem.