Treasury of Daily Prayer, Psalm 20, O LORD, Save the King!

First off, I really like the Treasury of Daily Prayer. Such a cool book for "devotions." It has a Psalm, an Old Testament and New Testament reading, a writing from a church father, a hymn stanza, and a prayer for every day.

Today was a rich day for me. Not necessarily with answers, but sometimes just creating more questions. Today's Psalm is from Psalm 20. It's particularly interesting because it starts out "May the Lord answer you in the day of trouble" so you automatically start thinking this psalm is about me. It even goes on to say "may he grant you your heart's desire and fulfill all your plans!" That sounds pretty sweet. Then after in verse 5 it says "may we shout for joy over your salvation and in the name of our God set up our banners!" Hmm, now it seems like it isn't talking about me but about someone else. Vs 6 "Now I know that the Lord saves his anointed" ok, so this is probably about David or Jesus. But was this psalm written by David or someone else? I don't know. Then whose salvation are we rejoicing in? Then at the end it says "O Lord, save the king, may he answer us when we call" That's an interesting line "may he answer us when we call." IE. May the King answer us when we call. If speaking of David that's quite the responsibility he has to do. But it could also be talking about Jesus. Perhaps its another both/and situation, regarding David and Jesus.

On the side, I think, its interesting how people say "God save the queen." Salvation seems to entail a type of rule. (Sorry stream of consciousness here)

Then the OT reading was in Deuteronomy (the covenant renewed in Moab), the New Testament was the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant... then the writing was from Martin Luther:

"If the mass (holy communion) is a promise, as has been said, then access to it is to be gained, not with any works, or powers, or merits of one's own, but by faith alone. For where there is the Word of the promising God, there must necessarily be the faith of the accepting man. It is plain therefore, that the beginning of our salvation is a faith which clings to the Word of the promising God, who, without any effort on our part, in free and unmerited mercy takes the initiative and offers us the word of his promise. "He sent forth his word, and thus healed them," not: "He accepted our work, and thus healed us." First of all there is God's Word. After it follows faith; after faith, love; then love does every good work, for it does no wrong, indeed, it is the fulfilling of the law (Romans 13:10). In no other way can man come to God or deal with him than through faith. That is to say, that the author of salvation is not man, by any works of his own, but God, through his promise; and that all things depend on, and are upheld and preserved by, the word of his power (Hebrews 1:3) through which he brought us forth, to be a kind of first fruits of his creatures (James 1:18).

The Hymn
"Forgive our sins, Lord, we implore,
That they may trouble us no more;
We, too, will gladly those forgive
Who hurt us by the way they live.
Help us in our community
To serve each other willingly" - Our Father, Who from Heaven

Amen.

Random Thoughts on Translations.

I'm no expert in hebrew or greek, but having this Blue Letter Bible sure is helpful. It certainly favors the AV/KJV, but with the tools provided therein, you can see that even the AV/KJV isn't always the best translation.

But first the NIV. I really like the readability however, a lot of biases do come out.

The other day I was reading Hebrews 13:17

"Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you." ESV

I was curious to the phrase "keeping watch over your souls". How does the NIV translate it? "Keep watch over you." Really that's it? In English "you" can mean anything about you - spiritual or not. "You" can mean your pinky finger. It seems to me that the NIV is a little skiddish about the care of souls. Now, I'm not going to go crazy and say this doesn't convey that. Of course it can, because the word psyche can be translated as soul, lives, heart, mind - however the NIV skips over this word altogether, and turns "your" into "you" which I find curious. If they wanted to convey "you" as your "whole being" why didn't they go the extra mile that they already took? Lastly, looking at this letter you see it is written for a Church not an individual, if you say "watch over you" you could then think in terms of controlling institutions, programs and orderly worship rather than caring for souls.

The ministry that Christ left behind for pastors is caring for our souls. This is how every other translation translates "psyche"; the NLT, RSV, ASV, KJV, NKJV, ESV. If you know your translations you can tell that this is no textual variant, it's the same text in the textus receptus and the morphological texts.

However, I love a few things about the NIV:

Hebrews 12:2-3
Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

I love the word "fix" rather than "keep." It seems much more compelling and well, fixating.

Here's another great translation from the NIV:

Galatians 3:27 "for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ."

And if you look up the concordance "endyo" often does mean "clothe." Yet all the other translations go with "put on Christ" which seems a bit vague and bland (yet also accurate). However, being clothed is such a rich theme in Scripture - from the garden of Eden to Jacob receiving his brother's blessing, and from David putting on Saul's uniform failing to fit him to putting on the armor of God. This verse has such a strong connection to this theme in baptism. As corny as I may sound, this translation is dear to my heart. It's a love/hate relationship

Look to Jesus.

Because I'm starting on a spirituality kick, I was going to post about how our spirituality is shaped by Jesus, aka the Gospel, and how the law still has application in our lives (as Saints who simultaneously battle out our sinful nature) but also how the Gospel truly helps us fight the battle in our flesh. However, I happened upon a post that already does so quite eloquently with good testimony. "Don't look to your sins look to Jesus" by the Seeking Disciple. I'm quite honestly impressed how often non-Lutherans sound more Lutheran than Lutherans.

I'd love to post about law and gospel right now but duty calls! Back to math.

The Psalms

Paul says, "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God" (Colossians 3:16).

How come the psalms get so little singing time in worship these days? There is so much good stuff in the psalms! I love the raw honesty. They have so much heart, and dare I say it, emotion. You find yourself wrestling with God, dealing with despair and skepticism, fallen-ness and sin; but you also share in joy, reverence, peace, awe, beauty, mercy and deliverance. It's down to earth but also accompanied with the grace of heaven.

Sure there are psalms sung in church every once in a while by way of vague references, but it's always the flowery psalms that get cherry picked. There is so much more than that. The psalms reveal Christ. They reveal Christ even in the darkest moments, especially in the darkest moments. Whenever I read the psalms I can't even tell if it's about David or the Messiah. I like that. It just shows how close Jesus is with us, sharing in our humanity, trials and temptations.

Why is it that we skimp out on the psalms? Is it our attempts to be relevant and seeker sensitive? Maybe that's part of it. But I think Christianity at large has become pretty comfortable. I think we have become blind to what surrounds us. When was the last time you sang about anguish, terror of death, fear and trembling, and being overwhelmed with horror? Or when was the last time you simply asked God for mercy? And when you look at that, you see how comforting the gospel actually is. How relevant it is. It's comforting but it's not comfortable. It's this word of Christ that dwells in us richly.

That said, I really like this introit. It's a substantial chunk of scripture distilled from Psalm 55. I'm also a sucker for responsive chant and harmony.



I call to God and he hears my voice
He redeems my soul in safety
Cast your burden on the Lord
And he will sustain you.
Give ear to my prayer O God
And hide not yourself from my plea for mercy
My heart is in anguish within me
The terrors of death have fallen upon me.
Fear and trembling come upon me
And horror overwhelms me.
But I call to God
And the Lord will save me.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit.
As it was in the beginning
Is now, and will be forever
Amen.

I call to God and he hears my voice
He redeems my soul in safety
Cast your burden on the Lord
And he will sustain you.

Pastoral Care to Former Evangelicals

"They basically have suffered from Christ-less Christianity or maybe its more accurately a cross-less Christianity. They do have a Christ that is taught them. Christ as the life coach or Christ as the entertainer. The Jews seek for a sign, the Greeks seek after Wisdom, but Americans desire to be entertained. It's not that they're getting Christ. They're getting a Christ. They're just not getting a Christ that comes to us on the cross, a Christ that is centered in his death and resurrection for you. And this leads people into a failure and inability to cope with life, reeling from the effects of sin and death." Pr. Jeremy Rhode, Issues etc interview.

Union With Christ (Part 2)

After 4+ posts on OSAS do you actually think I'm done? Well luckily for you, dear reader, I really am. But the recent onslaught of OSAS posts were not without intention. It wasn't my purpose to simply haggle a single random teaching. But it just so happens that it gets me to a point where I really want to go: The spirituality of our union with Christ. Our spirituality covers so much more ground. Is salvation just a one time thing pinpointed and limited to a single moment of time in the life of a Christian or is it more? A spirituality that embraces one or the other will look markedly different.

A few things that I wanted to highlight in those posts is that we are saved, being saved and will be saved. It is all by grace through faith. Faith doesn't stop justifying. We are always justified by faith. Faith always justifies us because Jesus always justifies us. The two are related because each one joins us to the other. Salvation embraces our whole life since Christ dwells in us through faith. Faith is always complete and entire in our lives, and yet is always on going, because so is Christ. Christ is our righteousness. It is the gospel and the Holy Spirit that initiates our faith and it is also the gospel and the Holy Spirit that sustains our faith. The gospel is a gift through and through, it keeps on giving.

But here is the kicker: If people view their salvation only as a moment of the past then the gospel will also play a minimal role in their spirituality and fall by the wayside. It takes on a weird dynamic that shifts from gospel to law. It focuses on works and fruits without the sustenance that produces them. A lot of people often burn out and fall away because they are left with nothing else. But the gospel always needs to stay at the forefront because it is the daily water which nourishes us and produces fruits in us. If we cut off the supply the tree will die. Sure Christ's sacrifice is once and for all - a one time thing- but that news to us isn't! It is always something that feeds us and gives us life now.

This is where a lot of evangelicals stop or misunderstand how the gospel shapes Christian or Lutheran spirituality. A "saving moment" can be defined every time we hear the gospel - the gospel always saves whenever it is believed. Therefore, saving moments are an ever present reality in the life of a Christian. It is our life of faith that always has forgiveness being poured into our ears.

The nature of salvation is revelatory. Salvation is God's disposition of grace toward us sinners declaring us righteous; but this not something that we can figure out on our own. Salvation is something that must be revealed. It is a word that unveils Christ for us. Whenever this news is proclaimed to us it brings healing, wholeness, life and forgiveness. Christ, however, shows his forgiveness in multifaceted ways, but it is always the same word speaking because it is revealing the same forgiveness. This revealing is always declarative.

Every time you hear the gospel God is speaking salvation into you. Not that you had any less of it before, not that you need to fill up, but simply because God gives us more than we need - his salvation overflows in us and strengthens us in assurance. It's exactly like loving someone. When you love someone you should tell them you love them frequently. If you tell someone you love them it fills them. It doesn't negate the previous times you tell them you love them. But as humans we are prone to doubt and need assurance.

God also assures us in the here and now by revealing his grace in multiple ways. He doesn't just give us faith and then leave the rest up to us, but he constantly comes to us in the word of the Gospel. Also sermons don't all have to be the same - stylistically, we can learn of salvation from the example of Jacob being clothed as his brother receiving the blessing of another - because we are also clothed with our brother Jesus and receive his blessing. Or another sermon might highlight Christ as the pascha lamb - and God passes us over. It is the same word. Either way salvation is declarative and we receive something we do not inherently deserve. And God brings this home in us.

Not only can this word come in different ways stylistically it can also come to us different ways methodologically. It can be heard from the sound waves proceeding from the mouth of a preacher. It can be married to music with notes and rhythm. It can be read with eyeballs glancing at a piece of paper. Or felt with braille. Either one of these means of communication communicate the same grace.

Still with me? God's disposition to us isn't simply invisible guess work. It comes to us in earthy tangible ways. These tangible things come from outside of us and work its way into us by revealing them to us.

But for whatever reason, Lutherans often get a lot of flack for saying God offers and reveals his grace in Baptism and the Lords Supper. Yes, you heard it right. Lutherans claim that. Water, Bread and Wine when combined with God's word actually promise what they say. Sure these things are visible, but they are no more profane than the mouths of men or a book of paper. Both have God's authority attached to them because both are sanctified by the word of God.

For example, in the Lord's Supper Christ says to us "this is my body given for you." Though a pastor might say this - it is really the word of Christ speaking to you through the pastor. These words come to us with the full blast of Jesus' authority because Jesus is the one who has spoken them. Do his words not reveal forgiveness? Do they not have his word of promise? Do his words not demand our faith? "Given for you" speaks to me and spurs me to faith. I cannot ignore my savior. As God attaches his word to ink and paper, so he attaches his word to bread and wine. They all both adequately reveal God's salvation to us and declare us forgiven and sustain us in the gospel.

So God tells us over and over he forgives us. But it is all the same forgiveness that comes from the cross. God brings the cross to us and reveals it in different ways.

The Philosophy of Once Saved Always Saved Pt 4.

If your theology causes you to ignore all the clear warnings from scripture you are wrong.

Hebrews 10: 26-31
For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries... How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has spurned the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace? For we know him who said, "Vengeance is mine; I will repay" ... It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

Hebrews 3: 12-14
Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called "today," that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end.

Galatians 3:1-12
For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. Look: I, Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you. I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law. You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace. For through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love. You were running well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth? This persuasion is not from him who calls you. A little leaven leavens the whole lump...I wish those who unsettle you would emasculate themselves!

Colossians 1:11-23
May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins... And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.

Colossians 2: 18-19
Let no one disqualify you, insisting on asceticism and worship of angels, going on in detail about visions, puffed up without reason by his sensuous mind, and not holding fast to the Head, from whom the whole body, nourished and knit together through its joints and ligaments, grows with a growth that is from God.

John 15: 1-9
"I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.

I John 2: 23-25
No one who denies the Son has the Father. Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also. Let what you heard from the beginning abide in you. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then you too will abide in the Son and in the Father. And this is the promise that he made to us eternal life.

Matthew 10:33
But whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.

Luke 12:9
But the one who denies me before men will be denied before the angels of God.

Matthew 10:22; Mark 13:13
And you will be hated by all for my name’s sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.

James 5:19-20
 My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.

I Corinthians 15:1-3
Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.

Union With Christ

I've been talking about the various defenses of the OSAS teachings, how the arguments don't hold up and what we need is a teaching from scripture for any reason to hold such views. I dealt with a supposed go-to verse explaining how it ignores the context and centers eternal security at the wrong point of redemption. At this point, I consider myself done with the Calvinist teaching of eternal security. However, the idea that we can abandon the faith and continue in grace still needs more hashing out. Unlike Calvinism, this view turns salvation into a narrow point of time in the life of a Christian. But salvation is holistic including our entire lives, being a state in which we constantly receive forgiveness. It is through faith that we have union with Christ and receive his forgiveness, because in faith itself Christ is present. This is the Biblical witness:

Romans 8:5-11
For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.

You either have Christ within you or not. You have faith or you don't. There isn't two ways about it. "So that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith-" (Ephesians 3:17a). "The righteous shall live by faith" (Romans 1:17).

The author to the Hebrews is quite clear what this means:

Hebrews 10: 38,39
"But my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him, But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls."

Scripture speaks of our salvation in three parts:
*Saved (II Timothy 1:9)
*Being Saved (I Corinthians 1:18)
*Will Be Saved (I Timothy 4:16)

Salvation is both now and not yet. The fullness of time breaks into the here and now when we are united with Jesus in faith. The whole package of our salvation is handed to us, and received in our union with him.

Romans 8:30
And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.

But it is only by this union in faith that we have this assurance.

Lutherans - Bad Wrap

Lutherans often get a bad wrap about having a narrow definition of the gospel. I'm sure we often bring this upon ourselves. However, the gospel in Lutheran theology also does have a "wide" sense of the term. Our confessions teach:

"the sum of the preaching of the Gospel is this, namely, to convict of sin, and to offer for Christ's sake the remission of sins and righteousness, and the Holy Ghost, and eternal life, and that as regenerate men we should do good works."

Apology of the Augsburg Confession 12.29

The Philosophy of Once Saved Always Saved Pt 3.

In the various teachings of OSAS there are major differences. One group says you cannot lose faith, another says you can lose faith. They are worlds apart. But they both end up saying the same thing. In these variations there is some overlap between them. Sorry Baptists, you're going to get lumped in with the Calvinists. Southern Baptists, you get no apology :P

Both systems have a common defense for eternal security:
1. When Jesus forgives sins it includes the past, present and future
2. When someone has faith their sins past, present and future are forgiven.
3* If a believer denies the faith his unbelief is still forgiven.

There is a lot to unpack here.

But first, I'd like to note that as a Lutheran I reject the way both groups frame that. But I can also agree with all three statements. I noted number 3 because Calvinists will understand that differently as well. But if you notice, numbers 1 and 2 look identical. What's the difference? I think this might be the key to understanding the differences - because I think most people actually start the argument at number 2.

If someone supports eternal security using this 123 argument I would like to ask, When does Jesus forgive your sins? Likely this will go into when they got saved, invited Jesus into their heart and that kind of thing - and now if they apostasize they are still good to go.

This is where it gets curious. If God forgives your unbelief why doesn't he forgive everyone's unbelief? What's so sanctified about your unbelief? So if you can be raised without faith then that should be true of everyone who would otherwise perish.

Let's use this same line of reasoning to conclude something else.

We can say:
1. Jesus forgives the sins of all including their past present and future on the cross.
2. Unbelief counts as a covered sin
3. Therefore, Universalism

Sure its twisted and un-biblical but the argument works both ways. You see it is conditional. If it is conditional upon faith then why can't it not always be conditional upon a present faith?

As a Lutheran I believe God has already forgiven the sins of the whole world. But it doesn't benefit anyone unless they receive it through faith. Forgiveness is proclaimed to the sinner in order to create faith. Forgiveness (past, present and future) comes from outside of us and works its way into us and lives by faith. Forgiveness precedes faith. I would even go so far as to say that in God's forgiveness he forgives unbelief. But it still has this condition: it must be received in faith. If I fall away, I no longer benefit from that forgiveness, but if I return my unbelief is forgiven because Christ is always proclaiming forgiveness to create faith. And so in that stand point all sins past present and future are forgiven on the cross, but they are also forgiven past present and future in faith - because in this we are united to Christ and destined for glory.

Still with me?

Verdict: Whenever you try to make an argument first ask yourself, Can this same line of reasoning be used to argue all sorts of crazies? What makes the way you argue it seem so special? Then maybe it isn't all that great. Secondly, arguments for the sake of arguments are tiring and lead nowhere.

Yawn.

Systematic Theologies

In systematic theology you can prove anything. Each theology keeps snowballing. And when it turns into a cohesive heap, you can explain everything and more. You can even prove that Jesus does not love the whole world, you can justify yourself to sin, to not reach out to your neighbors, to get an annulment and destroy a family, to hate your enemies, to let people wander from the truth, to sit comfortably in your life, and so on. For this reason I think there will be no end to it.

People will do this for a number of reasons. Likely for simplicity, the thirst for knowledge or self-justification. But when you see people do this you can see the tangle work. They are caught in constructions grounded on rational deductions and pet theories which have no clear word fashioned from scripture. This I find to be scary. Anybody will believe anything when you position it in a specific God framework.

But it doesn't stop there. Somehow these constructions carry the same currency as scripture. You must compel others to propagate the system. After all, we're talking God here. And so you need to reinforce your convictions by recruiting others to the team. - But that's a game I refuse to play. A spoken word without God's authority will be held to account.

I don't mind taking systematics to task. I find them intriguing and engaging, but I also find them draining. God without a spoken word is nothing. I was going to write a final post about OSAS and blah blah blah. But I lost my motivation. I will finish it. But I don't like to dwell on it too often. I would rather be more positive.

Yet I do see how people just grow into these things without even knowing it. After all, theologies don't just sit on the shelf, they create communities. Ironically, some communities just let their theology sit on the shelf. As sinners every theology is prone to be caged. No theology or church is "safe." For a while now, I've stopped caring about keeping theology tidy. Theology doesn't sit and systematize itself. Theology is muddy. It gets on your shirt, tracks on your floor, it gets everywhere. Theology must get everywhere.

That is why I named this blog "Losing All." It motivates me in losing my pride. It motivates me in losing my idols and everything to which I cling, my possessions and my life. And ultimately it motivates me to lose my systematic theologies. It's about losing it all in order to gain Christ. And looking at it that way, Christ is all theology. All other things at some point will go.

I certainly haven't arrived, but I look forward to the day.

The Philosophy of Once Saved Always Saved Pt 2.

A lot of people believe the same things for different reasons or agendas. The eternal security/ once-saved-always-saved teaching is one of those things. Calvinists teach OSAS in a different light. Their particular version is called "Perseverance of the Saints." And it seems to me, yet again, that this brand is just another philosophically derived theory rather than a positive statement from the Bible.

Calvinists teach:
A) the Elect cannot possibly resist the Holy Spirit.
B) Therefore, a believer cannot possibly lose faith.

They start out with the teaching of God's sovereignty over all things and run it through the gamut of soteriology. The reason goes like this: Not all people are saved, therefore God didn't want all people to be saved, therefore Jesus didn't die for everyone, therefore his elect cannot resist him and will persevere in faith. So they say.

A few problems come from this line of reasoning.

1. Those who fall away from faith never had faith.
2. You cannot be assured of your salvation.

Quite the conclusions!

If someone had strong faith and falls away, this theology must claim they never had faith. When something like this happens it must cause other believers to doubt whether their own faith is genuine. And their systematic answer isn't exactly the Gospel. It turns themselves inwards rather than outward to the cross.

This also must be hard for Calvinist pastors to provide pastoral care. The certainty of their salvation doesn't necessarily come from Christ crucified, but from their own experience and response to it. A Calvinist cannot really say with any credibility that "Christ died for you" because who knows if he in fact did? After all, people don't have "elect" tags on their backs. Therefore, they have faith in their own faith which leads to a curious spirituality which down spirals.

In effect, it is a cosmic game of chicken. Jesus doesn't declare forgiveness until you have faith. But the question is, how do you have faith unless he declares to forgive you? Who is going to give first? You see the dilemma. It's a catch 22. You may believe Jesus was raised from the dead as an unmovable fact, but you don't know if your faith is genuine, you don't know if the Holy Spirit is in you. And looking to the cross may not make it anymore assuring to you. It's all quite impersonal.

Verdict: Calvinism is a strange disco. And I love to dance but I'm not sure if I'm invited.

Proof Texts on Trial: (OSAS)

As someone who used to believe in the teaching of Eternal Security, a.k.a. Once Saved Always Saved, I'm a bit surprised that I can't find any verses that appear to teach it. But this seems to be a common one:

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.  I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. - John 10:27,28

How is this to be understood? I try to think of two things: sub-plot and context.

Sub-Plot: Jesus is in Jerusalem where he will be tried by the religious establishment and sentenced for crucifixion. It isn't the last time he will be here, but you can see where this is quickly going. Christ has already called the flock, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it" (Mark 8:34,35). Jesus has already counted the cost and he is on his baptismal road into death - the sheep are to follow. We are to follow Christ into death.

Context: Jesus emphasizes that he is going to the grave. "I am the Good shepherd.. I lay down my life for the sheep... I lay down my life that I may take it up again" (John 10: 14-17). Therefore when Jesus says, "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand," the imagery hearkens us to the Messianic Psalm 23: Christ is our Shepherd who leads us through the Valley of the Shadow of Death. It is Messianic promise fulfillment regarding our bodies. We will not perish because we will be resurrected and shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Verdict: It is important to know the context of what Jesus means by "follow" and what it means where he is going. It does not say that those who turn away from Jesus are still in his hand - but that those who follow Jesus into death will be raised. Though people may take our lives, our lives are in the hand of God. Death will have no victory over us. Jesus saves us from being devoured by death by leading us through it.

The Philosophy of Once Saved Always Saved.

I have yet to see a single verse that teaches "Once Saved Always Saved" and "Eternal Security" in any distinct way. That is why I think it is a philosophy.

I once had lunch with my Radical Baptist KJV-Only Fundamentalist friend and his pastor. I think it was all accidental but we landed on the topic of salvation by grace through faith. He thought that Lutherans might believe in justification by works. I assured him no, and reminded him of the Reformation. So he plainly asked me, "If you fell away from faith would you still go to heaven?" He was quite genuine, but I was honestly shocked. This is his litmus test for works righteousness? Srsly.

This was his reasoning: If I have faith then I must do something to continue in faith - therefore continuing in faith = works. Therefore, if I believe that I must continue in faith I must trust in my own works.

This is the poorest philosophy for OSAS that I've ever encountered. Why must faith be sustained by works? Why can't faith sustain itself in the Gospel and the Holy Spirit?

If I claim to be justified by faith then I'm going to claim that faith always justifies - it doesn't stop justifying. However, if I refuse faith I refuse justification. The same is with the casual unbeliever.

But here is the irony for me. If he believes that continuing in faith is a work then initiating faith is also a work. No matter how thin you slice it, they're the same thing. I don't care if its a nano second or two nano seconds, faith is faith and you cannot call it a work, (especially a work of man), at any point in time. Furthermore, scripture never makes such a distinction.

Verdict: This argument is self defeating, and is built upon the false assumption that the Gospel cannot sustain us.

Just a quick after thought: It seems a little silly to suppose that at the moment of faith, faith dies and goes to heaven, and ceases to exist in its original justifying form - it's just plain old subsequent faith now and if you disagree with this diagnosis then it turns your life into a works righteousness religion. Um.. Yeah, right.

Theology of the Cross Quotes

"A God who is everywhere is as useless as a God who is nowhere. What we need is a God who is somewhere." Dr. Norman Nagel

"God hides himself in order to reveal himself." Rev. Todd Wilken.

Mandala.

My girlfriend had a "mandala" at school which ties into her nursing purposes. On one of the slides she had a picture of a cross. She said something to the effect of:

"Faithfulness is first about God's faithfulness to me, not my faithfulness to him. It is because of his faithfulness that I can be faithful to others"

One of the many reasons why she rocks.

A Kleinig Gem

"We, surprisingly, stand in for others [who do not know God] with Christ through our thanksgivings for the blessings that they have received from God. If they prosper and things go well for them, we do not envy them and begrudge their happiness. Instead, we act as if their blessings are ours. We use our access to God to thank Him on their behalf for His loving kindness and generosity to them because they are not yet in the position to do so themselves. This is an aspect of intercession that has received scant attention in recent times, but it was prominent in both Judaism and the Early Church. They believed that the Church was appointed to serve, together with the angels, as a single choir that voiced thanks and praise to God on behalf of the whole human race." -- John Kleinig *Grace Upon Grace*

Put that in your Thanksgiving Holiday Pipe and smoke it.

God and Taking out the Laundry

If you can fit God into your head he's not the God of the universe. At the same time, the God of the universe fits into our flesh in Christ Jesus. Go figure.

I think any time you start talking about certain God qualities you're going to run into seeming contradictions: God the infinite is incarnate in the finite. There is one God in three persons. God died. God is just and forgiving. God is timeless, yet works in time - to name a few. It looks crazy.

This presses on a couple points. We like to grasp God on our own terms and compartmentalize him. But such attempts will always fail. God isn't in the business of explaining himself, he's in the business of saving us. Perhaps, the God who exceeds or transcends our human dimensions should look this way. Of course, when we read the Bible, our gut reaction goes, "that doesn't make sense" as if a God would completely makes sense to us.

In Genesis 1:1, God is assumed. There is no explanation for him. After, when God reveals himself to Moses in the burning bush as "I am who I am" or "I will be who I will be," God doesn't credential himself with a laundry list of abstract qualities. God binds himself to concrete promises, and defines himself and his people through blessing and redemption. He calls the shots and solicits our faith.

But come on God, give us the rundown, inquiring minds want to know! Lets face it, who puts their fear, love and trust in isolated attributes anyways? See how much sooner people make a god out of money, clothing, health and the like - and yet none of these things posses the true attributes of divinity. For us, a god is something we trust, pure and simple. In the same way, God, first and foremost, is relational - he is what demands our faith and dependency for all our good.

God chooses to reveal himself through story. He doesn't lay out a host of articles, abstract formulations and stringed-together attributes. When Jesus comes, he is true to form, he comes in concrete story for our good. Sure, character traits have their place, but ultimately its the narrative that gives any meaning and definition to them. It's the narrative that creates faith like that of children. (Isn't that how children learn anyways, through story?) Children love to hear their favourite stories over and over. Especially the children of God with the Gospel. The Laundry list.. doesn't quite do the trick.

In my head I liken it to a 3D person interacting in a 2D world. The existence of such a person doesn't jive with the preconceived notions of those on the inside. God isn't subject to what confines us. Likewise, God chose to enter our playing field in a tangible way for our good. And for us mere space/time objects, the incarnation is a huge bridge in revelation of the character of God. It doesn't rationalize him, and it may not satisfy all our curiosities, but he reveals the mystery of his grace.