Contra Mundum 1 (definition of this soon to come)

A lot of people today are concerned about the state of other people. Such as the current condition of their stomachs and self esteem, or famine and future being chiefly the issues to deal with. And so in essence if we could just figure out how to feed ourselves, both spiritually and physically, and then figure out our future or where we are going because of who we are, then life would be solved, all problems would fold up inside themselves like black holes collapsing in and thus leaving us in this perfect neutral state of complete bliss. Right anyone know who General George S. Patton was? Right. Moving on.

Funny thing is though that this is not the reality. This is not the greatest need. Why? Because it’s not the longest lasting issue, eternity, if we are going there, and what will happen when we are there is. And as history returns to its vomit, so these problems can never be solved by any worldview outside of a biblical one. Take communism for example, communism fills your stomachs and self esteem with rice and nationalism. Then it gives you a future because of that nationalism, and a purpose, telling you that your entire identity revolves around the state. So you have the problems of stomachs and self esteem solved! Wonderful! This is great. Except that minor detail of that communist governments don’t work like oil and water don’t mix. Don’t believe me? Wikipedia a single date for me and then follow the worldview to history, November 7^th, 1917. oh and while your there check out the life of Stalin, he killed like 24 million people.

I recently, as in this morning watched a Nooma video because some of my friends were checking it out and I wanted to give it the benefit of the doubt. I watched the one I downloaded from itunes podcast (I understand if you think I am slitting my own throat but you have to get the resources somehow). I watched episode 18 ‘Name’, and he is saying that if we could just figure out who we are, and that Jesus accepts us as we are then all these social stereotypical problems would be solved. If we just look at ourselves and think about Jesus, then alls well that ends well.

Then, I proceeded to watch the newest Don’t Waste Your Life video podcast about the Joshua project. And the basic idea presented was that we need to be about the gospel. The gospel tells us that humans don’t live on bread, but on our own self esteem which is the idol of self, replacing God as the goal with ourselves, depression ensues from here. Then it tells us that we need more than bread to live, we need to stand in awe of the marvelous work of redemption that King Jesus has wrought and he will come again to bring the real ‘community’ with a sword to judge the nations. That is the business of the kingdom, going forth and establishing the explicit commands of Jesus and the Apostles such as something so difficult and time consuming as, well, lets make this hard and separate the wheat from the chaff, a life totally consumed with the ‘being’ a Christian. Time, money, sleepless nights, hours of conversation, lifestyle of biblical repentance, and foremost all motives based in the giving to God the glory he deserves.

So, what is your goal? To have yourself defined by looking for it or by going and doing it? In the word of Bill from my beloved Hawes, “Are you a human doing? Or a human being?” Because the bible says that we ARE Christians, and it is not because we do something, feed stomachs, stop famines, give people purpose (including ourselves in all of this) but because of what Christ has done for us granting us continual grace and mercy to come to God freely not of our own accord (1 Cor 15:3-8, Rom 3:25-26, Col 1:19-23, look it up stop being lazy). And for sure this would not be complete without a quote from the blessed Doctor, “…the Christian gospel places all its primary emphasis upon being, rather than doing. The gospel puts greater weight upon attitude than actions…To be Christian, I say, is to posses a certain type of character, and therefore to be a certain type of person…we are Christians and Actions come out of that”[1]. And so I would present you to look at these two sides that Christianity is presenting, and foremost, firstly and most importantly see which one holds to the Bible and most clearly and most accurately to the New Testament. Keep in mind the adjectives clearly and accurately because as J.I. Packer says, “A half truth masquerading as a whole truth, becomes a complete untruth.” Or that if we settle for just eating the meat and spitting out the bones we will eventually not have anything to eat. Our spirituality we become leaner and leaner until we are not living off the truth of the gospel. The danger here is not in the immediate consumption of ‘new’ ideas such as are presented in the Emerging Church but that of our life as when we are 70. Is this building spiritual disciplines or just helping us nod our heads. Do these truths presented in whatever we are consuming as far as media, constantly goad, push, stab us into finding out what is really going on in this world or does it just soothingly salve and dull our conscience into agreement. One of the best truths for our lives are the ones that we don’t agree with, because it makes us find, search, and conquer things to find out what is real, what is true. So consider such people and their truths, is it real? Or better yet is it biblical, fully, not just in part or in presentation because the Devil loves to masquerade as an angel of light to deceive those who will be deceived, even you, you Christian if that were possible.

---

[1] p 81. Lloyd-Jones, D. Martyn. Studies in the Sermon on the Mount. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1971.

Nooma

Dont Waste Your Life Joshua Project