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Why do we bother?
The link can be found here.
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Why is Christianity here? Let's plunge into the Deeper Waters and find out.
I've been reading a book by an atheist called Good Without God and while I think it's fallacious, I think of the main point. Why is it that so many atheists make this kind of argument? Now I do know that we do say that God is necessary for realities such as goodness and the moral law, but at the same time, there is also much missing of the point. Some people will say "Well you can be good without being a Christian or even a theist so what's the point in being a Christian?"
Now move forward to your average church service. What will you usually hear? You'll hear a sermon where you read the text and then you pretty much jump straight to application. I'm not opposed to application of course. We have to apply the text to our lives. I'm opposed to an application hanging in the air. You can get the impression that the only reason for the Bible is so we could all be good people.
Along these lines, I can't help but remember when I was in a sunday school class in college. Our teacher was leading us through the book of Joshua. We were told that Joshua was written so that we would learn to obey God. There's no doubt Joshua wanted Israel to do that, but Joshua included a lot of historical information. How does the division of the land get the reader to say "Wow! I have to obey God!"?
The Bible contains a story. We tend to cut out most of it and have the parts relevant to us. We can remove all this stuff about Israel. That was just failed plan in the past after all. The Gospels are nice, but we really only need the death and resurrection of Jesus. Paul's epistles are good, but that's only when they tell us what we need to do. We can appreciate Revelation because it just satisfies our curiosity about the end times because hey, that's why it had to be written. Right?
What happens as a result? We go to church and then we wind up leaving being good people, which I'm not objecting to, and then think that we've reached the goal. God broke us of our bad sinful habits. Thanks to God, we gave up smoking or stopped abusing our wives or learned to be patient or found a hope in life and hey, that's the point. None of those are bad things, but what if the end is actually not us. What if, shock of shocks, it's not all about us?
We do tend to end the story with us. In this case, God becomes a means to an end. I need to lose those extra twenty pounds. God should help me. I need to learn to calm down. God should help me. I need to get a new job. God should help me. I need to overcome my addiction to alcohol. God should help me. Now, of course, God can and will help those who earnestly want help, but it doesn't mean that's the sole goal. Once that has happened, the story hasn't ended. That would be like saying that once a couple goes to the altar and says "I do" to each other, then the story is completed. No. It's only just begun.
You see, God didn't create us to turn us into good people. He created us so we could rule over His creation on His behalf. Did He make Adam and Eve and then say "What can I do to make these two into good people?" No. They were already good. He had an original purpose for them. Rule over creation. That purpose hasn't changed. God just has to get us in a position where we are fit to rule again.
That means that in our sermons, we need to hear about the story of the Gospel. What is going on in history when Israel acts or when Jesus speaks? What is the historical situation Paul is addressing? All of this matters greatly. None of this will detract from application. It will enhance it.
We also have to stop thinking that being a Christian is all about being a good person. Christians should be good people, but that is not the point. The point of Christianity is to make us ruling people. We are to be Kingdom people. We are to be seeking to bring this world back to God. We are going forth proclaiming a victory. That victory will bring about change in people's lives as the kingdom of the devil is destroyed bit by bit, but that is not the end. Once you set a prisoner free, you have to give them a purpose in life.
Let's show our church people that they have a role to play in this cosmic drama. In fact, if C.S. Lewis is correct, you will play a role. You will serve God somehow in this Kingdom. You will do it willingly or unwillingly. This applies even to people who don't believe in Jesus as Christianity teaches. They will wind up serving God somehow. All their actions will be turned toward their service, but it will benefit them nothing.
Christianity is not all about you. It's not all about making you a changed person. God is not a means to an end. He is the end. He is the point of all that we do. God is not here to enhance your glory. You are here to enhance His.
In Christ,
Nick Peters
The link can be found here.
------
Why is Christianity here? Let's plunge into the Deeper Waters and find out.
I've been reading a book by an atheist called Good Without God and while I think it's fallacious, I think of the main point. Why is it that so many atheists make this kind of argument? Now I do know that we do say that God is necessary for realities such as goodness and the moral law, but at the same time, there is also much missing of the point. Some people will say "Well you can be good without being a Christian or even a theist so what's the point in being a Christian?"
Now move forward to your average church service. What will you usually hear? You'll hear a sermon where you read the text and then you pretty much jump straight to application. I'm not opposed to application of course. We have to apply the text to our lives. I'm opposed to an application hanging in the air. You can get the impression that the only reason for the Bible is so we could all be good people.
Along these lines, I can't help but remember when I was in a sunday school class in college. Our teacher was leading us through the book of Joshua. We were told that Joshua was written so that we would learn to obey God. There's no doubt Joshua wanted Israel to do that, but Joshua included a lot of historical information. How does the division of the land get the reader to say "Wow! I have to obey God!"?
The Bible contains a story. We tend to cut out most of it and have the parts relevant to us. We can remove all this stuff about Israel. That was just failed plan in the past after all. The Gospels are nice, but we really only need the death and resurrection of Jesus. Paul's epistles are good, but that's only when they tell us what we need to do. We can appreciate Revelation because it just satisfies our curiosity about the end times because hey, that's why it had to be written. Right?
What happens as a result? We go to church and then we wind up leaving being good people, which I'm not objecting to, and then think that we've reached the goal. God broke us of our bad sinful habits. Thanks to God, we gave up smoking or stopped abusing our wives or learned to be patient or found a hope in life and hey, that's the point. None of those are bad things, but what if the end is actually not us. What if, shock of shocks, it's not all about us?
We do tend to end the story with us. In this case, God becomes a means to an end. I need to lose those extra twenty pounds. God should help me. I need to learn to calm down. God should help me. I need to get a new job. God should help me. I need to overcome my addiction to alcohol. God should help me. Now, of course, God can and will help those who earnestly want help, but it doesn't mean that's the sole goal. Once that has happened, the story hasn't ended. That would be like saying that once a couple goes to the altar and says "I do" to each other, then the story is completed. No. It's only just begun.
You see, God didn't create us to turn us into good people. He created us so we could rule over His creation on His behalf. Did He make Adam and Eve and then say "What can I do to make these two into good people?" No. They were already good. He had an original purpose for them. Rule over creation. That purpose hasn't changed. God just has to get us in a position where we are fit to rule again.
That means that in our sermons, we need to hear about the story of the Gospel. What is going on in history when Israel acts or when Jesus speaks? What is the historical situation Paul is addressing? All of this matters greatly. None of this will detract from application. It will enhance it.
We also have to stop thinking that being a Christian is all about being a good person. Christians should be good people, but that is not the point. The point of Christianity is to make us ruling people. We are to be Kingdom people. We are to be seeking to bring this world back to God. We are going forth proclaiming a victory. That victory will bring about change in people's lives as the kingdom of the devil is destroyed bit by bit, but that is not the end. Once you set a prisoner free, you have to give them a purpose in life.
Let's show our church people that they have a role to play in this cosmic drama. In fact, if C.S. Lewis is correct, you will play a role. You will serve God somehow in this Kingdom. You will do it willingly or unwillingly. This applies even to people who don't believe in Jesus as Christianity teaches. They will wind up serving God somehow. All their actions will be turned toward their service, but it will benefit them nothing.
Christianity is not all about you. It's not all about making you a changed person. God is not a means to an end. He is the end. He is the point of all that we do. God is not here to enhance your glory. You are here to enhance His.
In Christ,
Nick Peters
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