Well, I got through the first semester of seminary. It has been a great experience so far, but I'll be glad for a few weeks off. My brain needs a reset. It hasn't been that taxing yet, really, but I just could not get my head out of neutral for my Greek final.
On that subject, Professor Hansen, if you happen to be reading this, it was a dirty trick to include "αφη" on the take-home exam. The lexicon lists its definition as "fastening" and does not point out that its also a form of "αφιετε." Do you have any idea how long I sat, scratching my head, trying to figure out why the verse was telling me that if I forgive someone else, God would attach my sins to me? Dirty trick. I hope you can sleep at night.
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
World Revolution
Before my readers proceed, I would like to state that this entry is actually for school, as well as about the ideas we've been discussion there. You are always invited to comment and discuss the content here, but on this occasion I would truly appreciate some discussion. (At least one of my professors is likely to read this, after all.)
That being said, lets dig in, shall we?
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Transforming into Christ-likeness: Boot Camp
Setting the Stage / Justifying the Logic
Christ's Birth: Less a Silent Night, more a spiritual equivalent of D-Day
Matt 2:1-12 – Herod's hostility towards a baby
Ephesians 6 – Armor of God. Verse 12: struggle is with powers and principalities
The word struggle here is παλη meaning “wrestle, struggle, or contest” (Analytical Lexicon to the Greek New Testament – Mounce). I used to wrestle. Its not a game of cards. It is an issue of straining, really struggling, a real strenuous commitment.
Matthew 11:12 - From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and violent men take it by force.
Conclusion: God is at war. Christ faced hostility from the moment of his birth until his murder.
Great Commission
Matthew 28:19-20 – Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.
We call that a commission for a reason. Like a military commssion, we have been given, by our commanding officer, the authority and the responsibility to carry out a task on his behalf.
“make disciples” = μαθητευσατε which is the imperative form. This is an order, a command.
Conclusion: We are at war as well. We have been given a commission into the spiritual war God is participating in.
Our Role In This War
Matthew 28:19-20 is not a call to a passive existence. Neither is it merely “evangelism” as we have come to think of it. It is nothing short of a declaration of world-wide revolution. Christ's Kingdom has already been established and it is our responsibility to expand its borders into the hearts of all the world (all the nations).
None of us have a bit role, a marginalized place in this commitment. Commissions are given to officers. We are all Christian leaders in our own lives. Each of us is significant. But how are we to be effective?
Training
Leadership must be cultivated and trained. In the case of Christians, this comes in through our on-going transformation into Christ-likeness.
Dying to Self
Mark 8:34-35 (NIV) Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it."
Luke 9:23-24 (NIV) Then he said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it."
Now, this sounds horrible. We should be mindful, however, of our own current conditions. Do you really like how you are living right now? Truthfully and honestly? Through sincere self-analysis we become aware of the fact that we are slaves to the “freedom” of this world and to our own selfish desires. There is no real fulfillment in lives like those.
John 10:10 - The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.
This commission, this life that Christ is calling us to is only a deprived life that “misses out” on freedom by the standards you have now. But how well is living by your own standards working out for you so far?
Proverbs 14:12 - There is a way which seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death.
The truth is that we knew that already, we've just been refusing to admit it to ourselves. If we honestly appraise the fulfillment we have in our lives, as they currently exist, we know that we are already “missing out.”
The truth is that the transformation into Christ-likeness liberates us from the slavery we live in now, the slavery to our own selfish desires, and frees us to live the lives we truly desire: lives of purpose and meaning.
Its Actually Possible
This process has to be one of the greatest mysteries and miracles of our faith and of the human condition. We can actually change. We can want different things than we want now. We can desire to do what God desires. The truth is, we will fail miserably at the revolution Christ has charged us with if we do not. We will be trying to remove a speck from our brother's eye with the plank still remaining in our own.
If we do change, however, into men and women resembling Christ, that revolution cannot fail. Real Christians, living as Christ, will transform the world without even trying. Like some great divine cancer, our lives will effect everyone around us. The good news is, it can happen. We don't have to wait until we die to be changed into the person God wants us to be.
Challenge
That is where we must begin. It is foolish, doomed to failure, and the height of arrogance to try to save the world before we have even addressed our own natures. As leaders in Christ's world revolution, we have a responsibility to actually know ourselves and, in cooperation with the Holy Spirit, to cultivate ourselves towards His image. Our churches should be concentrating more on equipping the Christians we already have to face the spiritual realities of the world and less on just “getting more butts in the seats.”
If we start concentrating on quality, the quantity will take care of itself.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The above would ideally be used as the first sermon or Bible study in a series concentrating on the cultivation of Christ-likeness in our lives and churches. If any of you are interested in immediately and further exploring the subject, I strongly recommend Renovation of the Heart by Dallas Willard. It is an excellent book, though one should be prepared for a mental workout going through it.
Information on the Book
Ordering
If you would prefer something more in the way of an overview of that book (and far less mentally taxing) I have uploaded a report I wrote on it here.
That being said, lets dig in, shall we?
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Transforming into Christ-likeness: Boot Camp
Setting the Stage / Justifying the Logic
Christ's Birth: Less a Silent Night, more a spiritual equivalent of D-Day
Matt 2:1-12 – Herod's hostility towards a baby
Ephesians 6 – Armor of God. Verse 12: struggle is with powers and principalities
The word struggle here is παλη meaning “wrestle, struggle, or contest” (Analytical Lexicon to the Greek New Testament – Mounce). I used to wrestle. Its not a game of cards. It is an issue of straining, really struggling, a real strenuous commitment.
Matthew 11:12 - From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and violent men take it by force.
Conclusion: God is at war. Christ faced hostility from the moment of his birth until his murder.
Great Commission
Matthew 28:19-20 – Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.
We call that a commission for a reason. Like a military commssion, we have been given, by our commanding officer, the authority and the responsibility to carry out a task on his behalf.
“make disciples” = μαθητευσατε which is the imperative form. This is an order, a command.
Conclusion: We are at war as well. We have been given a commission into the spiritual war God is participating in.
Our Role In This War
Matthew 28:19-20 is not a call to a passive existence. Neither is it merely “evangelism” as we have come to think of it. It is nothing short of a declaration of world-wide revolution. Christ's Kingdom has already been established and it is our responsibility to expand its borders into the hearts of all the world (all the nations).
None of us have a bit role, a marginalized place in this commitment. Commissions are given to officers. We are all Christian leaders in our own lives. Each of us is significant. But how are we to be effective?
Training
Leadership must be cultivated and trained. In the case of Christians, this comes in through our on-going transformation into Christ-likeness.
Dying to Self
Mark 8:34-35 (NIV) Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it."
Luke 9:23-24 (NIV) Then he said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it."
Now, this sounds horrible. We should be mindful, however, of our own current conditions. Do you really like how you are living right now? Truthfully and honestly? Through sincere self-analysis we become aware of the fact that we are slaves to the “freedom” of this world and to our own selfish desires. There is no real fulfillment in lives like those.
John 10:10 - The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.
This commission, this life that Christ is calling us to is only a deprived life that “misses out” on freedom by the standards you have now. But how well is living by your own standards working out for you so far?
Proverbs 14:12 - There is a way which seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death.
The truth is that we knew that already, we've just been refusing to admit it to ourselves. If we honestly appraise the fulfillment we have in our lives, as they currently exist, we know that we are already “missing out.”
The truth is that the transformation into Christ-likeness liberates us from the slavery we live in now, the slavery to our own selfish desires, and frees us to live the lives we truly desire: lives of purpose and meaning.
Its Actually Possible
This process has to be one of the greatest mysteries and miracles of our faith and of the human condition. We can actually change. We can want different things than we want now. We can desire to do what God desires. The truth is, we will fail miserably at the revolution Christ has charged us with if we do not. We will be trying to remove a speck from our brother's eye with the plank still remaining in our own.
If we do change, however, into men and women resembling Christ, that revolution cannot fail. Real Christians, living as Christ, will transform the world without even trying. Like some great divine cancer, our lives will effect everyone around us. The good news is, it can happen. We don't have to wait until we die to be changed into the person God wants us to be.
Challenge
That is where we must begin. It is foolish, doomed to failure, and the height of arrogance to try to save the world before we have even addressed our own natures. As leaders in Christ's world revolution, we have a responsibility to actually know ourselves and, in cooperation with the Holy Spirit, to cultivate ourselves towards His image. Our churches should be concentrating more on equipping the Christians we already have to face the spiritual realities of the world and less on just “getting more butts in the seats.”
If we start concentrating on quality, the quantity will take care of itself.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The above would ideally be used as the first sermon or Bible study in a series concentrating on the cultivation of Christ-likeness in our lives and churches. If any of you are interested in immediately and further exploring the subject, I strongly recommend Renovation of the Heart by Dallas Willard. It is an excellent book, though one should be prepared for a mental workout going through it.
Information on the Book
Ordering
If you would prefer something more in the way of an overview of that book (and far less mentally taxing) I have uploaded a report I wrote on it here.
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