Yes, I borrowed the title from one of my all-time favorite songs. Anyone remember Rick Derringer? The song doesn't really say much, but the groove is classic!
Anyway, it's been awhile since I've added a post and I wanted all two or three of you who read this thing to know that I'm still here. I've been busy with church services/activities and blog reading/commenting (not to mention an increase of workload at my job) and have had little time to post new material. I do have a lot on my mind, I just haven't gotten around to organzing and then posting it. I was planning on posting a rant on the "anti-Christ" doctrines and practices of the Roman Catholic Church, but I'll leave that for another day.
I've been spending much of my free time learning about photography so that I can begin taking quality photos with my new Nikon D40 DSLR. This is a fantastic little camera and I'm really excited about using it to its full potential. I have some quality photos (at least I think they are!) up on greatgooglymoogly.net (and more on my computer) that I had taken from my Canon Powershot "point and shoot" camera, but I'm really looking forward to adding galleries with photos taken from my new D40. Once I learn this thing and start taking shots, I'll post an update here. I know you all are getting really psyched about this now, so I'll try learning it quickly!
Also, I've been spending some time interacting on another blog (and now via email) that has given me an opportunity to consider a new perspective on the scope of the Gospel that I want to continue to pursue. My initial "conversation" over there was very frustrating (to say the least), but as I continue to read the material (and listen to some audio) and dialogue about these things with a new friend, I think I'm beginning to understand what they're trying to say. I want to keep an open mind so that I can understand their position as best I can. There is much here that I'm very excited about as a Christian, but there are too many unanswered questions right now for me to fully endorse this perspective.
My time and energy of late have been devoted to these two pursuits (with church and work bearing the bulk of my life), so I've been slow to update here and at greatgooglymoogly. Hopefully after the holidays (which by now includes Christmas, of course!) I'll once again be posting regularly. Mrs. Moogly and I will be traveling to Florida again this year, so I'll try to upload some posts and pics of our time at The Villages. Also, hopefully, we won't be so cold down there this time. Believe me--50 degrees and sunny in Denver is great weather (heck, 45 degrees and sunny in Denver is nice!); 50 degrees in Florida is fffreeeeezing!
In the meantime, if anyone is interested in some fine reading material check these titles out.
The Israel of God in Prophecy, by Hans K. Larondelle. This is hands down one of the best books I've ever read dealing with the meaning and purpose of "Israel". This is a hermeneutical "tour-de-force" that should be read by every professing Christian. Larondelle's writing is clear and concise and his conclusions are Scripturally and logically unassailable. This is a relatively little book but it thoroughly exposes as unbiblical the dispensational myth that has captivated Western Christianity for the past century. **Highly Recommended**
Don't Stop Believing..., by Michael Wittmer. With the "emergent movement" making so much noise in the evangelical community in this post-modern era, the Church needs to be reminded that the Scripture is God's Word and is sufficient to lead a person into godly understanding (doctrine) and holy living (practice). God has spoken. There is nothing new under the sun. The errors of "fundamentalism" need not lead to the excesses of what Wittmer calls "post-modern innovation". From a biblical standpoint there is no dichotomy between doctrine and practice--and we shouldn't let the "emerging" movement create one! **Highly Recommended**
Heaven is a Place on Earth..., by Michael Wittmer. I've already mentioned this book before, so I'm sure you all have already read it. :-) If you haven't...do it! **Highly, Highly Recommended** (that's right, two "Highly's")
In the immortal words of Arnold, "I'll be back"...
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
The Best of Redemptive-Historical Preaching!
This is “redemptive-historical” preaching at its finest—both from the text itself as Stephen presents his defense before the Sanhedrin and in the sermon preached from the text (linked here and to the right). Like our Lord before him, Stephen has been accused of speaking against Moses, the Law and the Holy Place. And like our Lord before him, Stephen shows his accusers from the Scripture (the OT) that it is they themselves who are actually blaspheming God by not understanding the meaning of Moses, the Law and the Holy Place.
Many people have wondered about Stephen’s defense. Why isn’t he answering their charges? When we read Stephen’s “sermon”, it seems as if he’s just giving the people a history lesson. It doesn’t seem that he’s really answering the question, at least not directly. Ah, but he is! Stephen doesn’t simply give the Sanhedrin a history lesson—a history that they already know (in fact, they base their whole identity as a people on knowing their history). But Stephen takes them through their history to show them that they don’t know the meaning of their history or who they were as God’s people. Just as Jesus warned the people that they were in danger of missing the Kingdom because they didn’t understand the Scripture and what God was really promising, so Stephen is also showing the people that they have misunderstood the meaning of their own history and God’s purpose in it. The nation of Israel itself as well as the circumstances of their history point to Christ!
By accusing first Jesus Himself and now Stephen of blaspheming God by speaking against Moses, the Law and the Holy Place, the people are proving that they don’t know the meaning of their own history; they don’t know their own Scripture. They are the ones who are guilty of blasphemy because they don’t recognize the fulfillment of these things in Christ. Their own history condemns them, as Stephen is pointing out.
The Scripture isn’t concerned with the history of the tribe of Jacob in and of itself. Scripture tells the story of Jesus! Fundamentally, the NT is simply the interpretation of the Scripture (the OT) in light of its fulfillment in Christ—it’s all about Him! Stephen is doing the same thing that our Lord Himself had done, and that His Apostles/Disciples have been doing: they are proving from the Scripture that Jesus is the subject of the Scripture, that He is the promise of God! Stephen is preaching Christ from…the Old Testament!
And we must also preach Christ from the OT because He is what the OT is about! We have a deficient or incomplete understanding of who Jesus is and what He has accomplished if we don’t understand Him from the OT. As we see from the Gospels, the Epistles and the book of Acts (the entirety of the NT), the OT is about Jesus. Before the NT was written, Jesus was preached (to the Jew first, remember) from the Scripture. And this is especially evident in the book of Acts. The message of the OT is the message of the purpose of God in Christ; of the coming of the King—who He is and what He’s coming to accomplish. The OT is not concerned about the ethnic descendants of Abraham and a plot of land called Canaan—they and it are typological. The OT is the story of the King and His Kingdom—the Son of God and Sacred Space. Jesus is the fulfillment of the typological “Israel” and “Canaan”.
All is fulfilled in Christ! Contrary to the popular “Left Behind” mind-set and the false-teaching, judaizing Hagees of the world, the year 1948 means nothing with regard to OT prophecy. The OT (all of it!) finds its fulfillment in Christ Himself—the True “Israel” and Sanctuary of God. If the nation of Israel and sincere but misguided Dispensational Christians want to rebuild the Temple, all they’re doing is dishonoring the God they say they love and serve (as did the Pharisees and Saducees of Jesus’ day). The “Temple” has found its fulfillment; first and foremost in Christ Himself, and then in all those who are joined to Him by the Spirit who form the “house” of God—the Church! In Christ, we are (the Church is) the Temple of God, the dwelling place of God in the Spirit, the Sanctuary where God is present with His people. Jesus, the Lamb of God, was sacrificed once and for all! There will be no more sacrifices (even in “remembrance”) because it is finished in Him. And in Him God has formed one new man consisting of Jew and Gentile so that there are not two peoples of God but only one—those who are joined to Christ by the Spirit.
Stephen’s sermon confronts the Jewish people with their misunderstanding of the Scripture. He’s not speaking against Moses, the Law and the Holy Place. He’s showing the people from their own history that God expects them to understand these things as speaking of and being fulfilled in Jesus, whom they crucified. They refused to believe Jesus. They are the ones speaking against Moses, the Law and the Holy Place. They are blaspheming God.
I encourage you all to take an hour and listen to this sermon (and read the notes here). This is only part-one of Stephen’s defense (so keep following the messages on SermonAudio), but we already have here presented to us an overview of the Sanctuary/Holy Place theme. Kit does a wonderful job explaining the Scripture and showing how it is that Stephen’s defense speaks directly to the accusations brought against him.
If you want more excellent redemptive-historical preaching, visit us on SermonAudio (linked to the right) and listen to all our sermons. We mostly exposit individual books of the Bible, but occasionally we engage in a topical series. I especially recommend our series on Sacred Space (God With Us) which tracks the purpose of God in Christ from the beginning of Creation through Revelation. This series is the absolute best that Biblical Theology has to offer. If you want to know the story of the Bible, what God is trying to tell us in His Word, then check this out. You won’t be disappointed!
As a side note (and the subject of a future post, Lord willing), Stephen’s message, though aimed at the Jewish leaders who refuse to believe God, should also convict the dispensational believer who fails to understand the complete fulfillment of the Temple/Sanctuary motif in Jesus. The similarities between modern Judaism and Dispensationalism should be a cause for concern within the Church.
Many people have wondered about Stephen’s defense. Why isn’t he answering their charges? When we read Stephen’s “sermon”, it seems as if he’s just giving the people a history lesson. It doesn’t seem that he’s really answering the question, at least not directly. Ah, but he is! Stephen doesn’t simply give the Sanhedrin a history lesson—a history that they already know (in fact, they base their whole identity as a people on knowing their history). But Stephen takes them through their history to show them that they don’t know the meaning of their history or who they were as God’s people. Just as Jesus warned the people that they were in danger of missing the Kingdom because they didn’t understand the Scripture and what God was really promising, so Stephen is also showing the people that they have misunderstood the meaning of their own history and God’s purpose in it. The nation of Israel itself as well as the circumstances of their history point to Christ!
By accusing first Jesus Himself and now Stephen of blaspheming God by speaking against Moses, the Law and the Holy Place, the people are proving that they don’t know the meaning of their own history; they don’t know their own Scripture. They are the ones who are guilty of blasphemy because they don’t recognize the fulfillment of these things in Christ. Their own history condemns them, as Stephen is pointing out.
The Scripture isn’t concerned with the history of the tribe of Jacob in and of itself. Scripture tells the story of Jesus! Fundamentally, the NT is simply the interpretation of the Scripture (the OT) in light of its fulfillment in Christ—it’s all about Him! Stephen is doing the same thing that our Lord Himself had done, and that His Apostles/Disciples have been doing: they are proving from the Scripture that Jesus is the subject of the Scripture, that He is the promise of God! Stephen is preaching Christ from…the Old Testament!
And we must also preach Christ from the OT because He is what the OT is about! We have a deficient or incomplete understanding of who Jesus is and what He has accomplished if we don’t understand Him from the OT. As we see from the Gospels, the Epistles and the book of Acts (the entirety of the NT), the OT is about Jesus. Before the NT was written, Jesus was preached (to the Jew first, remember) from the Scripture. And this is especially evident in the book of Acts. The message of the OT is the message of the purpose of God in Christ; of the coming of the King—who He is and what He’s coming to accomplish. The OT is not concerned about the ethnic descendants of Abraham and a plot of land called Canaan—they and it are typological. The OT is the story of the King and His Kingdom—the Son of God and Sacred Space. Jesus is the fulfillment of the typological “Israel” and “Canaan”.
All is fulfilled in Christ! Contrary to the popular “Left Behind” mind-set and the false-teaching, judaizing Hagees of the world, the year 1948 means nothing with regard to OT prophecy. The OT (all of it!) finds its fulfillment in Christ Himself—the True “Israel” and Sanctuary of God. If the nation of Israel and sincere but misguided Dispensational Christians want to rebuild the Temple, all they’re doing is dishonoring the God they say they love and serve (as did the Pharisees and Saducees of Jesus’ day). The “Temple” has found its fulfillment; first and foremost in Christ Himself, and then in all those who are joined to Him by the Spirit who form the “house” of God—the Church! In Christ, we are (the Church is) the Temple of God, the dwelling place of God in the Spirit, the Sanctuary where God is present with His people. Jesus, the Lamb of God, was sacrificed once and for all! There will be no more sacrifices (even in “remembrance”) because it is finished in Him. And in Him God has formed one new man consisting of Jew and Gentile so that there are not two peoples of God but only one—those who are joined to Christ by the Spirit.
Stephen’s sermon confronts the Jewish people with their misunderstanding of the Scripture. He’s not speaking against Moses, the Law and the Holy Place. He’s showing the people from their own history that God expects them to understand these things as speaking of and being fulfilled in Jesus, whom they crucified. They refused to believe Jesus. They are the ones speaking against Moses, the Law and the Holy Place. They are blaspheming God.
I encourage you all to take an hour and listen to this sermon (and read the notes here). This is only part-one of Stephen’s defense (so keep following the messages on SermonAudio), but we already have here presented to us an overview of the Sanctuary/Holy Place theme. Kit does a wonderful job explaining the Scripture and showing how it is that Stephen’s defense speaks directly to the accusations brought against him.
If you want more excellent redemptive-historical preaching, visit us on SermonAudio (linked to the right) and listen to all our sermons. We mostly exposit individual books of the Bible, but occasionally we engage in a topical series. I especially recommend our series on Sacred Space (God With Us) which tracks the purpose of God in Christ from the beginning of Creation through Revelation. This series is the absolute best that Biblical Theology has to offer. If you want to know the story of the Bible, what God is trying to tell us in His Word, then check this out. You won’t be disappointed!
As a side note (and the subject of a future post, Lord willing), Stephen’s message, though aimed at the Jewish leaders who refuse to believe God, should also convict the dispensational believer who fails to understand the complete fulfillment of the Temple/Sanctuary motif in Jesus. The similarities between modern Judaism and Dispensationalism should be a cause for concern within the Church.
Sunday, September 6, 2009
"A Different King of Kingdom"--Greg Boyd
This message (audio available here: http://greatgooglymoogly.net/ on the blog page) is part of a series that Greg Boyd taught a while back in connection with his book, “The Myth of a Christian Nation: How the Quest for Political Power is Destroying the Church.” This book and series of messages was chiefly responsible for, as Greg himself states: “approximately 20 percent of my congregation (roughly 1000 people) leaving the church.” The topic of the relationship between the church and government is a polarizing issue, and this message only adds fuel to the fire. But I find much (not all) of what Boyd says to be refreshingly Biblical.
While I don't always agree with Greg Boyd, I do appreciate his courage to challenge the politicized Christianity that is so prevalent in our day. For far too long Christianity in America has been identified with particular political parties, specific political/social policies and an ethical/moral distinctive rather than with the Lord Himself and the Kingdom that He has inaugurated. Oh, we have no problem attaching the name of Jesus or the character of God to our political/social positions, but our identity as “Christians” in this country is seldom (if at all) associated with the Gospel or the Kingdom of God but rather with political ideals and moral orientation. We seem to have lost our “first love” and have replaced it with a “love of the world” that manifests itself in a “nationalism” and political activism that in no way resembles the Kingdom that Jesus taught. For Christians to be identified by the world as a particular political party, or with specific political/social policies and ethical/moral persuasions rather than (or, at best, even before) being identified with Christ and His Kingdom is simply unbiblical—it’s “not the way it’s supposed to be”!
I’m not saying that as Christians we should stick our heads in the sand and have nothing to do with the direction of our nation or the promotion of moral excellence that God calls for. We should be good citizens of this country while recognizing that we are ultimately citizens of a better country, a “city” whose builder and maker is God Himself; fundamentally, we are citizens of the “Kingdom of God”. I realize that there is a fine line between living for Christ in the world while recognizing that we are not of this world, even as the Kingdom that we belong to is not of this world. But we must surrender the temptation to equate our Christianized “American way of life” with that of the Kingdom of God. It’s not!
The Bible speaks of two kingdoms: the Kingdom of God/Christ (light) and the kingdom of Satan (darkness). The kingdom of Satan is associated with all the kingdoms of this earthly “worldly realm” in distinction from the Kingdom of Christ which is associated with the Kingdom of Heaven, the Kingdom that is “not of this earthly realm” (see John 18:28-38), though it will one day and forever rule over all the kingdoms of earth (Rev. 11:15; Isa. 9:6-7, Isa. 11, etc.). As Boyd points out, however, at this time we must not confuse the two. Until Jesus returns in the consummation to reign over all of creation, the kingdoms of this world are distinct from the Kingdom of God. Only when Christ returns and the creation enters into its own redemption will the kingdom(s) of this world be transformed into the kingdoms of Christ (though our cultural mandate as “image-bearers” is still in effect as we work with God to transform lives and promote “shalom” in this world). Until then, however, the Kingdom of God is in this world but not of this world, and it’s made up of people from every tongue, tribe and nation (Rev. 5:9-10; 1Pet. 2:4-10; Gen. 12:1-3 with Galatians 3:6-9; etc.). Constantine's "kingdom" was no more the Kingdom of God than is America or Iran or Nazi Germany.
I think Boyd is correct in principle but I think he goes a little too far with the dichotomy between the two kingdoms. As I stated above, there is a distinction between the Kingdom of God and the kingdom(s) of this world that Boyd rightly points out; and Boyd’s overall point in emphasizing the preeminence of the Kingdom of God over against the kingdom(s) of this world and our identification as Christians with the one over against the other is very important to remember. Every nation on this earth, every government that rules a particular people group is part of the “worldly realm” and therefore a part of Satan’s “kingdom of darkness”. There’s a sense in which we as Christians have a “dual citizenship”; but our ultimate residence and loyalty is to Jesus, not “Caesar”. We are called to be “light” and “salt” in this dark and dying world and by our lives and activity in the world we should be promoting righteousness and Shalom. We must be faithful to our calling in both kingdoms.
But is there no sense at all in which we can see the Kingdom of God working within existing “worldly” kingdoms? The Kingdom of God is, at the present time, a “realm” that is distinct from the “worldly” realm, but in a very real sense it has broken into this world by the very fact of the incarnation and then the work of the Spirit as He builds God’s House. As Christians, we exist in both kingdoms. As “new creations” in Christ, we belong to the New Creation that is the Kingdom of God; a Kingdom that is made up of people from every nation under heaven and whose paradigm is not with political or social policies, but with light and life. And even though our lives are even now hidden with Christ in God, yet we also live in this world and live within the framework of “worldly kingdoms” that exist within the paradigm of darkness and death. But as “new creations” do we not have any influence in this world that would cause the Kingdom of God to be noticed more within one existing “worldly rule” than another?
As one writer put it, “Can't we see in-breakings of the coming (and present) kingdom (of God) here and now, better in some places than others?” Is the Kingdom of God, which is a present reality here on earth now, not able to be communicated in any way by existing “worldly” governmental activities? As Christians not only influence but also find vocation within existing governmental structures, isn’t it possible that aspects of the Kingdom of God would be visible and operative? Is the dichotomy so great that there can be no resemblance at all between the Kingdom of God and a kingdom(s) of the world?
As I understand Boyd, he suggests that there isn’t. While rightly causing us to consider the radical difference between the Kingdom of God and the kingdom(s) of the world, Boyd doesn’t seem to leave room for the work of the Spirit to transform culture. Of course, he would disagree with this and rightly so. His ministry is a strong voice in encouraging Christians to reflect Jesus by reaching out and engaging the world; to feed the hungry, to house the homeless, to help the helpless, etc. In other words, Boyd is quick to advance the practical outworking of our Christian calling and its effect in the world. And if we are to mirror Jesus to the world, then our efforts should, in some measure (however small or seemingly insignificant), transform culture. After all, Jesus Himself transformed culture in a huge way.
But isn’t “government” a part of culture and a legitimate means to help effect cultural change? Why should we assume that our efforts within culture at large are manifestations of the Kingdom of God operating in the world but not so our efforts within governmental structures? Boyd seems to think that the dichotomy between the kingdom(s) of the world and the Kingdom of God is so tight that the Kingdom of God can never be witnessed in any way within any existing worldly power. I can’t go that far.
I empathize with Boyd’s concern with contemporary “American” Christianity’s muddling of the distinction between the Kingdom of God and the kingdoms (governments) of the world. We seem to think that if we “fix” the government, then the world and our lives as Christians will be better. That may be true. But unless we manifest the Kingdom of God and show people the way in, what does “better” really mean? I believe there is a balance here that allows us to remain faithful as citizens of the Kingdom of God while at the same time working toward expressing this Kingdom within the kingdoms of the world.
Of course, that begs another question…which I leave for you to contemplate.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)