Doing some research on our adoption into God's family I read an article on the internet yesterday. The jist of it was 'We are comfortable to think of Jesus as our brother, but we don't like to think of him as our lord' I'd include a link but I just don't want to direct people there! Incidentally, for the biblical basis to Jesus being 'our brother' check out Hebrews 2:10-18.
The article drove me a bit mad for a few reasons but the first one was this. It started to compartmentalise Jesus.
Jesus is both our brother and our Lord... but the problem the author has is placing those two things together. He seems to see almost a contradiction. Jesus must either be our brother OR our Lord. It's true that Jesus is both and many, many other things to us (the bible calls him our high priest, our king, our saviour, our friend and a ton more stuff!) but that doesn't mean he's our brother one minute and he's our Lord the next, or that he has some dissociative identity disorder and is flicking between these many faces. He holds them all together in perfect harmony, neither lessening the other. In the same way we think of Jesus as the lion of Judah and the lamb of God, he holds power and might and humble, silent sacrifice TOGETHER.
If I could say one thing to the author of the article, it would be this: Jesus being your brother is integrally, inseparably part of him being your Lord.
I can see the heart behind the article was good and I actually know where it comes from, the motivation. There are some aspects of Jesus character which, separated from the others, suggest we shouldn't respect and have the awe for him we know we should. If Jesus is just my brother then I'm liable to treat him like just my brother and I'm a real pig to my brother sometimes, you can ask him!
Another is that sometimes people start to project onto Jesus things from their own lives which warp and change him into just what they want him to be and not who the bible tells us he is.
Jesus is our loving brother and friend and he brings us into union with our loving Father in heaven but do you know the bible also tells us that he is a mystery? Ephesians 3:4 mentions the 'mystery of Christ' but if you read around it, what does it say? It says that the mystery has been revealed to us. How has it been revealed? It has been revealed via 'the Spirit to God's holy apostles and prophets.' How do we know what was revealed to the apostles and the prophets? Because they wrote it down and it forms the bible, the prophets in the Old Testament, the apostles in the New! Hallelujah!
Now Jesus is a mystery but the answer and solution to that mystery is right before us in the word of God, we can reveal more and more of that mystery when we read. This verse also tells us something else: You can't know Jesus fully through just the New Testament! That's a challenge to someone out there!
The Holy Spirit will bring light as we read the word and we will understand Jesus on a deeper and deeper level. Like a friend, like a brother... we have to get to know him! We can't just stop short at the bits we like, we must continue to strive deeper but, and here's the true blessing, the more we understand about his might and his power, the MORE we will love him as our brother! Every bit of Jesus' character compliments the others perfectly and enhances and deepens the others as well.
Finally, if ever you feel like your view of Jesus is off, just spend an hour looking at Jesus in the gospels. Jesus was still Lord as he walked about the Middle East as a man but does that mean that he puts himself above his brothers and followers? Not at all, he gets down he washes their feet! Think of it! We have a servant king who is worthy of our praise and our unabashed love! Never, ever, ever, EVER, try and pull Jesus into his constituent parts - because you'll just ruin him.
Get to know the mystery through his word by his Spirit because although you know you've got a brother, you don't yet know fully how wonderful that brother is!
Friday, 17 July 2009
Saturday, 11 July 2009
Theology: Whether you like it or not!
This is really just a brief challenge to people who shy away from theology.
I think theology is best defined as 'understanding God'. Good theology is entirely biblical, saying only of God what it finds or logically deduces from the pages of the bible.
I'm saying this because I think there's a dangerous trend among Christians to think of theology as dry or impractical. I've heard two main arguments which I'll answer now.
1. 'God is impossible to understand, our minds are too small' - This is a statement which with the addition of one word becomes true. 'God is impossible to understand entirely, our minds are too small'.
The reality is that God has revealed himself to us in the bible and he expects us to use it! There are issues that are difficult to understand, there are complex theological arguments to look at for yourself and determine your personal convictions on, but they're not impossible! Some of the greatest truths about God are the hardest to understand... but the most rewarding to know. They take some mental work, some deep thought, but God is worth it! Theology tries to know God as completely as it can from his word. Don't shy away from knowing God on a deeper level just because it takes work and for you to stir your brain into action!
2. 'I don't want to waste my time with theology, I want to be reaching people with the gospel!' - The passion is great but the truth of it is not. By the gospel, we are trying to introduce people to God... but without theology, we don't know God at all. We are trying to introduce someone we don't know properly ourselves. To evangelise well, we should know God thoroughly! That's not to say we shouldn't give it our all in the meantime, seizing every opportunity with the truth that we have, but we should certainly aim to have a good enough knowledge of what scripture says about God to answer the questions that those we evangelise to will inevitably ask.
The more we know God, the more focused and effective our evangelism will be, even better, the more we know God, the more passionate we will be about his glory, and that is what really convinces people of his worthiness!
Proverbs 19:2 sums this up really well: 'Enthusiasm without knowledge is no good; haste makes mistakes.'
When it comes to evangelism, it's not about quantity but quality. There's a very human pressure to evangelise; theology provides both the ammunition for evangelism but also the fuel that will set you on fire and make that evangelism as natural as breathing!
So how do we 'do theology' then? What does that entail? Systematic Theologies are a good place to start. A pastor or author decides to put down everything they believe about all areas of Christian belief and, with scriptures, states the foundations of their views. As you can imagine, these books are usually pretty big but that's only because they're jam-packed full! That's your material for study!
Wayne Grudem's Systematic Theology is a fantastic one and get this... you don't have to agree with it all! You can use the theologies to teach yourself but you can also use your disagreement with them to fuel your own study, in fact Grudem's even contains other options along with why he believes them to be untrue! He doesn't try to hide other opinions although he does say why he doesn't share them.
There are some great internet resources too - Mars Hill Church has done a series of sermons called 'Doctrine' which you can find on their website. You can actually watch the series! Have a bible at the ready and read along, pause it to look for yourself.
Another great way to 'do theology' is to sit round with a group of friends and talk about it. Ask people! Challenge people! If someone says something, ask them to back it up biblically, ask them why they believe it. This is really great for areas where there's disagreement or debate such as creation or the end times. Friends are sometimes the best to help you form your opinions. Every Christian you know is a theologist because they believe something about God.
To conclude on a personal level, I think that we tend to see theology as only engaging our brains but this is the truth - some of the most emotionally moving experiences I've had of God have been looking at theology. There are wonders and truths that will bring you to your knees in awe and worship. Theology has a heart and it will touch yours - there is no way you can expose yourself to the word of God in the deep study of it and reference to it that good theological study requires and not be shaken up by it!
Theology is essential and it forms a stable backbone for our Christian lives.
I think theology is best defined as 'understanding God'. Good theology is entirely biblical, saying only of God what it finds or logically deduces from the pages of the bible.
I'm saying this because I think there's a dangerous trend among Christians to think of theology as dry or impractical. I've heard two main arguments which I'll answer now.
1. 'God is impossible to understand, our minds are too small' - This is a statement which with the addition of one word becomes true. 'God is impossible to understand entirely, our minds are too small'.
The reality is that God has revealed himself to us in the bible and he expects us to use it! There are issues that are difficult to understand, there are complex theological arguments to look at for yourself and determine your personal convictions on, but they're not impossible! Some of the greatest truths about God are the hardest to understand... but the most rewarding to know. They take some mental work, some deep thought, but God is worth it! Theology tries to know God as completely as it can from his word. Don't shy away from knowing God on a deeper level just because it takes work and for you to stir your brain into action!
2. 'I don't want to waste my time with theology, I want to be reaching people with the gospel!' - The passion is great but the truth of it is not. By the gospel, we are trying to introduce people to God... but without theology, we don't know God at all. We are trying to introduce someone we don't know properly ourselves. To evangelise well, we should know God thoroughly! That's not to say we shouldn't give it our all in the meantime, seizing every opportunity with the truth that we have, but we should certainly aim to have a good enough knowledge of what scripture says about God to answer the questions that those we evangelise to will inevitably ask.
The more we know God, the more focused and effective our evangelism will be, even better, the more we know God, the more passionate we will be about his glory, and that is what really convinces people of his worthiness!
Proverbs 19:2 sums this up really well: 'Enthusiasm without knowledge is no good; haste makes mistakes.'
When it comes to evangelism, it's not about quantity but quality. There's a very human pressure to evangelise; theology provides both the ammunition for evangelism but also the fuel that will set you on fire and make that evangelism as natural as breathing!
So how do we 'do theology' then? What does that entail? Systematic Theologies are a good place to start. A pastor or author decides to put down everything they believe about all areas of Christian belief and, with scriptures, states the foundations of their views. As you can imagine, these books are usually pretty big but that's only because they're jam-packed full! That's your material for study!
Wayne Grudem's Systematic Theology is a fantastic one and get this... you don't have to agree with it all! You can use the theologies to teach yourself but you can also use your disagreement with them to fuel your own study, in fact Grudem's even contains other options along with why he believes them to be untrue! He doesn't try to hide other opinions although he does say why he doesn't share them.
There are some great internet resources too - Mars Hill Church has done a series of sermons called 'Doctrine' which you can find on their website. You can actually watch the series! Have a bible at the ready and read along, pause it to look for yourself.
Another great way to 'do theology' is to sit round with a group of friends and talk about it. Ask people! Challenge people! If someone says something, ask them to back it up biblically, ask them why they believe it. This is really great for areas where there's disagreement or debate such as creation or the end times. Friends are sometimes the best to help you form your opinions. Every Christian you know is a theologist because they believe something about God.
To conclude on a personal level, I think that we tend to see theology as only engaging our brains but this is the truth - some of the most emotionally moving experiences I've had of God have been looking at theology. There are wonders and truths that will bring you to your knees in awe and worship. Theology has a heart and it will touch yours - there is no way you can expose yourself to the word of God in the deep study of it and reference to it that good theological study requires and not be shaken up by it!
Theology is essential and it forms a stable backbone for our Christian lives.
Friday, 10 July 2009
Christian Deconstruction 3 - We do not wrestle against flesh and blood...
An absolutely essential lesson for anyone who's feeling called towards Christian Deconstruction as a discipline.
'For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.'
Ephesians 6:12
This world is an extension of the heavenly realm. The bible shows us that the two places interact heavily, what happens in heaven effects the earth, what happens on earth effects heaven. The warning here from Paul is simple: 'Get your target right!'
I'm not going to labour this point because I think it's fairly obvious. I'm going to point out two things from the verse.
Firstly, there's the one I've already mentioned in part 1; the implication that we DO wrestle with the stuff which isn't flesh and blood! Paul's saying: 'We're not fighting against this... but we are fighting against THAT!' and he's got a huge finger pointed at Satan and his demons.
They are always there, always lying, always deceiving, always at work and you cannot underestimate them but, above and beyond that, you cannot be scared of them! You're a soldier of light wearing the armour of God, he has not given you a spirit of fear but of love, of power and of a sound mind... so that he can send these liars packing through you!
Secondly, look at the impersonalisation that Paul brings in. He doesn't talk about men and women but about this spiritual plain of corruption and deceit and the principalities and powers that they have installed on earth in futile opposition to God.
Let's get one thing straight, God isn't struggling against them. God isn't wrestling. He is calmly and calculatingly crushing some and raising others up for his purposes. God allowed them and there will come a time when he destroys them. Get this, it's a big one and I'll be doing an entire post on it next week: Even the demons exist by God's grace.
Think about it; he's Lord of creation! If he wanted them out, they'd be out! They ARE there for a purpose, and I know that part of that purpose is to drive us ever forward in our lives with God by fighting alongside him in a war that he has already won.
So we're not picking on single people, on Richard Dawkins or Nick Griffin or whoever your personal boogieman is, we're fighting Satan and his legions of fallen angels! It would be useless to write an essay for Christian Deconstruction and attack a person, to blame them or target them. For illustrative purposes, I've named names to get you thinking but we really have no issue with Richard Dawkins; we LOVE the man!
We absolutely love him and if we don't, we don't know Jesus as we should. What we do take issue with is the work which the enemy is doing through him. the lies and the clever deceit which the enemy is using his powerful intellect, that mind with which God blessed him, to establish. Are you beginning to see just how hateful Satan is by the way?
The people, those little shells of flesh and bone like you and me, those fragile little things whose lives are as dust, here one day and blown away the next, are the surface symptoms of spiritual corruption. You're dealing with the lie, not the mouth from which it's uttered. You're engaging the falsehood with the truth of the word of God and with the help of God himself.
So, now we know WHO we're fighting, are we ready to get strapped up for battle? Keep reading, more articles to come...
'For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.'
Ephesians 6:12
This world is an extension of the heavenly realm. The bible shows us that the two places interact heavily, what happens in heaven effects the earth, what happens on earth effects heaven. The warning here from Paul is simple: 'Get your target right!'
I'm not going to labour this point because I think it's fairly obvious. I'm going to point out two things from the verse.
Firstly, there's the one I've already mentioned in part 1; the implication that we DO wrestle with the stuff which isn't flesh and blood! Paul's saying: 'We're not fighting against this... but we are fighting against THAT!' and he's got a huge finger pointed at Satan and his demons.
They are always there, always lying, always deceiving, always at work and you cannot underestimate them but, above and beyond that, you cannot be scared of them! You're a soldier of light wearing the armour of God, he has not given you a spirit of fear but of love, of power and of a sound mind... so that he can send these liars packing through you!
Secondly, look at the impersonalisation that Paul brings in. He doesn't talk about men and women but about this spiritual plain of corruption and deceit and the principalities and powers that they have installed on earth in futile opposition to God.
Let's get one thing straight, God isn't struggling against them. God isn't wrestling. He is calmly and calculatingly crushing some and raising others up for his purposes. God allowed them and there will come a time when he destroys them. Get this, it's a big one and I'll be doing an entire post on it next week: Even the demons exist by God's grace.
Think about it; he's Lord of creation! If he wanted them out, they'd be out! They ARE there for a purpose, and I know that part of that purpose is to drive us ever forward in our lives with God by fighting alongside him in a war that he has already won.
So we're not picking on single people, on Richard Dawkins or Nick Griffin or whoever your personal boogieman is, we're fighting Satan and his legions of fallen angels! It would be useless to write an essay for Christian Deconstruction and attack a person, to blame them or target them. For illustrative purposes, I've named names to get you thinking but we really have no issue with Richard Dawkins; we LOVE the man!
We absolutely love him and if we don't, we don't know Jesus as we should. What we do take issue with is the work which the enemy is doing through him. the lies and the clever deceit which the enemy is using his powerful intellect, that mind with which God blessed him, to establish. Are you beginning to see just how hateful Satan is by the way?
The people, those little shells of flesh and bone like you and me, those fragile little things whose lives are as dust, here one day and blown away the next, are the surface symptoms of spiritual corruption. You're dealing with the lie, not the mouth from which it's uttered. You're engaging the falsehood with the truth of the word of God and with the help of God himself.
So, now we know WHO we're fighting, are we ready to get strapped up for battle? Keep reading, more articles to come...
Tuesday, 30 June 2009
Praying for means, not ends
How often do we pray: 'Father God, I want... x, y and z because...'?
It's something I've really been challenged on lately in my prayer life, in that intimate conversation with God. I do believe that there's a great deal of sense in actually reasoning through what you want with God, not for his benefit but for ours.
It keeps our priorities and our motives in check. If I say 'Lord, I would like a new bike.' That might be a perfectly reasonable prayer in itself but let's add that dreaded word 'because' into the mix.
'Lord, I would like a new bike because...' Well why do I want it? What's the reasoning? Do you see that it opens a path of inquiry for ourselves? We have to follow that path to its logical end as part of prayer.
There are many possible reasons for why I want a new bike. James 4:3 says this: 'You ask [in prayer] and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures.'
And this tells us something about God's will for our prayers. They are to be for means towards him rather than ends towards ourselves. Read that again.
You see, if my prayer is 'Lord, I would like a new bike because riding a bike gives me a rush, a thrill and excitement that I don't find in you', do you think he will answer that prayer?
If it is 'Lord, I would like a new bike because my old one's getting a bit rusty and I need the security and the good feeling that comes when people see me riding past on a shiny, new, state-of-the-art, top-of-the-range model', do you think he will be falling over himself to answer that?
But consider this: 'Lord, I would like a new bike because my old one is broken and I need it to ride to see a friend once a week in town who I know is receiving your gospel in our conversations.'
Let's step it up a notch. 'Lord, I want a wife!'
Because... that's my idea of ultimate security - not in your presence, in relationship with you but in a marriage.
Because... I think sex is the most wonderful thing I'm likely to experience here on earth and I want to have it!
Oh dear... those are some rather poor reasons aren't they?
'Lord, I want a wife because I want to try and mirror to them the extent of your love for your people and I want to feel that love myself.' That's a better reason right?!
'Lord, I want a wife because I feel that I will glorify you better in companionship and through that relationship that on my own as a single man.'
Do you see? The first prayers were making marriage an end. Something final, something through which we only satisfy ourselves. The second prayers made marriage the means to something, namely God's glory, the expression of his character.
And that's what all our prayers should, ultimately, be about; God's glory.
So next time you pray for something, with the honesty of your heart and the conviction of the Holy Spirit, tack because onto your prayer. God's not an idiot, he doesn't need you to explain it for him so he goes 'Oh yeah, I can get more glory out of this by doing that!' but you do need to explain it to yourself so that you know that your heart is in the right place. Take yourself through it in conversation, listening to his correction and rebuke.
If we make God's glory expressed in our lives the number one desire of our hearts (which it should be!) then it's true that, through prayer, we will have our desire answered. He will expose our hearts, our motives. Pray for God to draw you nearer, deeper into himself, look for the pathways in your life he has opened to take you there and pray yourself into them.
Pray for the means to God's glory in which lies your ultimate pleasure!
It's something I've really been challenged on lately in my prayer life, in that intimate conversation with God. I do believe that there's a great deal of sense in actually reasoning through what you want with God, not for his benefit but for ours.
It keeps our priorities and our motives in check. If I say 'Lord, I would like a new bike.' That might be a perfectly reasonable prayer in itself but let's add that dreaded word 'because' into the mix.
'Lord, I would like a new bike because...' Well why do I want it? What's the reasoning? Do you see that it opens a path of inquiry for ourselves? We have to follow that path to its logical end as part of prayer.
There are many possible reasons for why I want a new bike. James 4:3 says this: 'You ask [in prayer] and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures.'
And this tells us something about God's will for our prayers. They are to be for means towards him rather than ends towards ourselves. Read that again.
You see, if my prayer is 'Lord, I would like a new bike because riding a bike gives me a rush, a thrill and excitement that I don't find in you', do you think he will answer that prayer?
If it is 'Lord, I would like a new bike because my old one's getting a bit rusty and I need the security and the good feeling that comes when people see me riding past on a shiny, new, state-of-the-art, top-of-the-range model', do you think he will be falling over himself to answer that?
But consider this: 'Lord, I would like a new bike because my old one is broken and I need it to ride to see a friend once a week in town who I know is receiving your gospel in our conversations.'
Let's step it up a notch. 'Lord, I want a wife!'
Because... that's my idea of ultimate security - not in your presence, in relationship with you but in a marriage.
Because... I think sex is the most wonderful thing I'm likely to experience here on earth and I want to have it!
Oh dear... those are some rather poor reasons aren't they?
'Lord, I want a wife because I want to try and mirror to them the extent of your love for your people and I want to feel that love myself.' That's a better reason right?!
'Lord, I want a wife because I feel that I will glorify you better in companionship and through that relationship that on my own as a single man.'
Do you see? The first prayers were making marriage an end. Something final, something through which we only satisfy ourselves. The second prayers made marriage the means to something, namely God's glory, the expression of his character.
And that's what all our prayers should, ultimately, be about; God's glory.
So next time you pray for something, with the honesty of your heart and the conviction of the Holy Spirit, tack because onto your prayer. God's not an idiot, he doesn't need you to explain it for him so he goes 'Oh yeah, I can get more glory out of this by doing that!' but you do need to explain it to yourself so that you know that your heart is in the right place. Take yourself through it in conversation, listening to his correction and rebuke.
If we make God's glory expressed in our lives the number one desire of our hearts (which it should be!) then it's true that, through prayer, we will have our desire answered. He will expose our hearts, our motives. Pray for God to draw you nearer, deeper into himself, look for the pathways in your life he has opened to take you there and pray yourself into them.
Pray for the means to God's glory in which lies your ultimate pleasure!
Wednesday, 24 June 2009
Christian Deconstruction 2 - Strength and the WHOLE armour
Ephesians 6:10,11: 'Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armour of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.'
Outside God, there is no 'Christian' deconstruction. Without him, your efforts will be in vain, like a fish flapping on the dock when those movements should be exerted in moving it through the water. It is only by recognising your complete dependence and reliance on God that your attempts will be successful. Outside that, you needn't bother, you will producing useless cultural studies with scripture thrown in for good measure.
Be strong in the Lord. Be strong, but be strong in the Lord! Any other sort of strength is weakness. It is him who gives you the power to do it, it is his wisdom, his insight and his skill which flows through you as your pull apart this world and see its inner workings. You are a vessel, a tool and an instrument bringing his truth to bear and shining the lamp of his word on the darkness of our culture to see what flees in its brilliant light! That's privilege enough, surely?!
How are we strong in the Lord? We do not hold back; we are forceful in our arguments, uncompromising in our approach, ruthless in exposing the lies of the enemy in the workings of our culture but all of this is from a platform of prayer and fellowship with God. Before we begin on any 'text', any film or book, anything, we must ask God for his help. In deconstructing a text, we are not serving God - he is serving us by providing strength and intellect, wisdom and truth, the very air that you breathe as you research, the blood that flows through your veins! He provides it all so that we might glorify him, in the case of Christian Deconstruction by proclaiming his truth in the face of worldy and devilish lies; shining a light into the darkness.
To believe that you are somehow bringing something to God is foolishness. He is bringing his glory back to himself through you... and that's enough!
So, with the right frame of mind, put on the whole armour of God. What follows is the list of this armour, this equipment that God has at our disposal and his command is to use all of it. Not just the bit you think suits your need, not just what you decide. So, in the articles that follows I will be detailing how each specific bit of armour and equipment can be used... but they must all be used together. It's not a case of putting the sword down to take up the shield but of holding them at the same time!
And when we do this we will be able to 'stand against the wiles of the devil.' The word translated as 'wiles' here in more accurately translated as methods or strategies with the implication of trickery and deceit and, most importantly, movement. The devil will come from different angles, he will employ different tactics but with the armour of God, you will see and disable any attack from any direction. Do not grow complacent in deconstruction. Don't settle into patterns or methods, let God guide you in each new attack!
Outside God, there is no 'Christian' deconstruction. Without him, your efforts will be in vain, like a fish flapping on the dock when those movements should be exerted in moving it through the water. It is only by recognising your complete dependence and reliance on God that your attempts will be successful. Outside that, you needn't bother, you will producing useless cultural studies with scripture thrown in for good measure.
Be strong in the Lord. Be strong, but be strong in the Lord! Any other sort of strength is weakness. It is him who gives you the power to do it, it is his wisdom, his insight and his skill which flows through you as your pull apart this world and see its inner workings. You are a vessel, a tool and an instrument bringing his truth to bear and shining the lamp of his word on the darkness of our culture to see what flees in its brilliant light! That's privilege enough, surely?!
How are we strong in the Lord? We do not hold back; we are forceful in our arguments, uncompromising in our approach, ruthless in exposing the lies of the enemy in the workings of our culture but all of this is from a platform of prayer and fellowship with God. Before we begin on any 'text', any film or book, anything, we must ask God for his help. In deconstructing a text, we are not serving God - he is serving us by providing strength and intellect, wisdom and truth, the very air that you breathe as you research, the blood that flows through your veins! He provides it all so that we might glorify him, in the case of Christian Deconstruction by proclaiming his truth in the face of worldy and devilish lies; shining a light into the darkness.
To believe that you are somehow bringing something to God is foolishness. He is bringing his glory back to himself through you... and that's enough!
So, with the right frame of mind, put on the whole armour of God. What follows is the list of this armour, this equipment that God has at our disposal and his command is to use all of it. Not just the bit you think suits your need, not just what you decide. So, in the articles that follows I will be detailing how each specific bit of armour and equipment can be used... but they must all be used together. It's not a case of putting the sword down to take up the shield but of holding them at the same time!
And when we do this we will be able to 'stand against the wiles of the devil.' The word translated as 'wiles' here in more accurately translated as methods or strategies with the implication of trickery and deceit and, most importantly, movement. The devil will come from different angles, he will employ different tactics but with the armour of God, you will see and disable any attack from any direction. Do not grow complacent in deconstruction. Don't settle into patterns or methods, let God guide you in each new attack!
Wednesday, 17 June 2009
Christian Deconstruction 1 - Introduction and explanation
To begin with, I'd like to start by disassociating the term 'Christian Deconstruction' from deconstruction; the school of thought in philosophy and literary criticism. The two have very little in common! I'd also like to remove the idea of a wrecking ball from your minds, that is destruction whereas what I'd like to discuss is a much more ordered and careful activity.
There is a need, I really do feel, for Christians to begin to carefully examine the world in which they live. More and more, there are things growing up around us in society that are dangerous and powerful influences against us. They are being 'constructed', make no mistake. The enemy and sinful mankind, hand in hand, are creating structures, systems and ideas designed to obscure and remove God and to lead people away from him. These come in all shapes and sizes, a great deal of the time very subtlely and almost subliminally. Genesis says of the devil, in the form of the snake, that he is 'more cunning than any beast of the field' Genesis 3:1.
Films, television, music, magazines, advertising, politics, books. A massive range of things which have input on our minds and our thinking are riddled through with these ungodly influences and I think the time has come where it's either fight or flight... and far too often I see people endorsing the 'flight' option; to totally remove these influences from their lives. No! No! No!!!
A direct biblical response to that: Ephesians 6:12 - 'For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers...' We don't wrestle against flesh and blood but we do and should wrestle against principalities and powers. What follows in Ephesians 6:13-18 is a carefully-considered, divinely-inspired description of how we should go about our 'wrestling'. I'll be unpacking that in another article so that this one doesn't get too long!
Basically I firmly believe, as believers and vessels of the Holy Spirit, we have a role to play in actually dismantling and exposing these 'structures'. As people obsessed with God's truth and justice being seen, we are obliged to counter and destroy the attacks and attempts against him. For us, this takes a really simple, straightforward approach. We apply the principles, the worldview and truth of scripture to aspects of our culture. Advertising, movies, television, books, music etc., should be looked at through the scope of Christian Deconstruction. This brings an added bonus that the positive influences of these things will also become clear! We can see where they are effective and how they might be used for God rather than against him.
The beauty is that all we need do is to write. Essays are the simplest, most practical way to deconstruct something and see into its heart and motivations. I hope that you will listen to this call to arms and benefit greatly from my instructional, scriptural principles which follow in the next few weeks. I sincerely hope that you are already taking this idea and making it your own!
Take up the Word of God as a sword and, using its razor sharp tip, begin to pick apart the world, the culture that you live in!
There is a need, I really do feel, for Christians to begin to carefully examine the world in which they live. More and more, there are things growing up around us in society that are dangerous and powerful influences against us. They are being 'constructed', make no mistake. The enemy and sinful mankind, hand in hand, are creating structures, systems and ideas designed to obscure and remove God and to lead people away from him. These come in all shapes and sizes, a great deal of the time very subtlely and almost subliminally. Genesis says of the devil, in the form of the snake, that he is 'more cunning than any beast of the field' Genesis 3:1.
Films, television, music, magazines, advertising, politics, books. A massive range of things which have input on our minds and our thinking are riddled through with these ungodly influences and I think the time has come where it's either fight or flight... and far too often I see people endorsing the 'flight' option; to totally remove these influences from their lives. No! No! No!!!
A direct biblical response to that: Ephesians 6:12 - 'For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers...' We don't wrestle against flesh and blood but we do and should wrestle against principalities and powers. What follows in Ephesians 6:13-18 is a carefully-considered, divinely-inspired description of how we should go about our 'wrestling'. I'll be unpacking that in another article so that this one doesn't get too long!
Basically I firmly believe, as believers and vessels of the Holy Spirit, we have a role to play in actually dismantling and exposing these 'structures'. As people obsessed with God's truth and justice being seen, we are obliged to counter and destroy the attacks and attempts against him. For us, this takes a really simple, straightforward approach. We apply the principles, the worldview and truth of scripture to aspects of our culture. Advertising, movies, television, books, music etc., should be looked at through the scope of Christian Deconstruction. This brings an added bonus that the positive influences of these things will also become clear! We can see where they are effective and how they might be used for God rather than against him.
The beauty is that all we need do is to write. Essays are the simplest, most practical way to deconstruct something and see into its heart and motivations. I hope that you will listen to this call to arms and benefit greatly from my instructional, scriptural principles which follow in the next few weeks. I sincerely hope that you are already taking this idea and making it your own!
Take up the Word of God as a sword and, using its razor sharp tip, begin to pick apart the world, the culture that you live in!
Monday, 15 June 2009
Praying into sovereignty
Two considerations have been brought up recently when talking to people about God being sovereign - in complete control of everything that happens. One is a direct question, the other is my own thought.
1. What is the point of praying if God has already determined everything he is going to do? If he already knows the end of all things, what difference do our prayers make?
I think that this question is reasonable but answerable fairly quickly. God is clearly using men and women to fulfil the plan which will lead to the new creation. We're not just kicking around, getting in the way as God goes about his business, but his business is being done through us. Also, if God knows everything that will happen, prayer does not come outside that. God knew if you were going to pray and knew the effect he would bring from that prayer. Sovereignty is not an excuse for not praying! God may be at the end, all time might be present to him, but the same is not true of us. We are in his chronology.
I think it shows us just how sinful we are that our almost immediate reaction is:
'Oh, well God's doing to do what he wants with or without me!'
He has chosen to do it with you! Be honoured!
2. God, in his sovereignty, shows us what to pray for.
The things that stay with us, touch our hearts and come into our minds are all directed by God. He also leads us into certain situations and faces us with certain issues that need prayer. He is in complete control and is engineering the universe to bring about these situations. I'll get to the point really quickly. In a sentence...
You are wasting the opportunities and situations which God, in his sovereignty, lays before you when you fail to return them to him in prayer.
Prayer stimulates not only God's actions (however predetermined) but also ignites our hearts for the situations we pray into. If we are not praying into the areas that God has made present to us, we might as well ignore him!
Prayer is one of the areas of my life I personally struggle in commitment towards but this revelation really struck me when thinking of sovereignty and challenged me to take prayer more seriously. Praying into sovereignty is praying into a securely-rooted, eternally-triumphing, unshakable God, but one who listens and acts on the prayers of his people.
1. What is the point of praying if God has already determined everything he is going to do? If he already knows the end of all things, what difference do our prayers make?
I think that this question is reasonable but answerable fairly quickly. God is clearly using men and women to fulfil the plan which will lead to the new creation. We're not just kicking around, getting in the way as God goes about his business, but his business is being done through us. Also, if God knows everything that will happen, prayer does not come outside that. God knew if you were going to pray and knew the effect he would bring from that prayer. Sovereignty is not an excuse for not praying! God may be at the end, all time might be present to him, but the same is not true of us. We are in his chronology.
I think it shows us just how sinful we are that our almost immediate reaction is:
'Oh, well God's doing to do what he wants with or without me!'
He has chosen to do it with you! Be honoured!
2. God, in his sovereignty, shows us what to pray for.
The things that stay with us, touch our hearts and come into our minds are all directed by God. He also leads us into certain situations and faces us with certain issues that need prayer. He is in complete control and is engineering the universe to bring about these situations. I'll get to the point really quickly. In a sentence...
You are wasting the opportunities and situations which God, in his sovereignty, lays before you when you fail to return them to him in prayer.
Prayer stimulates not only God's actions (however predetermined) but also ignites our hearts for the situations we pray into. If we are not praying into the areas that God has made present to us, we might as well ignore him!
Prayer is one of the areas of my life I personally struggle in commitment towards but this revelation really struck me when thinking of sovereignty and challenged me to take prayer more seriously. Praying into sovereignty is praying into a securely-rooted, eternally-triumphing, unshakable God, but one who listens and acts on the prayers of his people.
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