What Made Noah Righteous - Genesis 7:1

 Noah's righteousness. Noah's righteousness was qualified. His righteousness was greater than those around him but not perfect. His righteousness was explained--he did all that the Lord commanded (5). Righteousness comes to us as we obey; righteousness is not within us, not even Noah. Only in connection to the Lord are we made and counted and seen as righteous. Our moments of obedience are just moments. None of us is always obedient and in right standing with the Lord. Only God's grace which we see in Christ provides the assurance of a right relationship to God, even for Noah.

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SBC Meetings are being held this month in California. As almost always there is controversy on the agenda. SBC leadership and the messengers at the convention will keep working on the challenge of how to put into the structure of the denomination a means of helping churches address sexual abuse. The controversy on this matter has arisen from past failures. It is good to face the issues, hold people accountable and to come together to find a way to be faithful as churches in protecting people from abuse.

Past controversies in the SBC remind me of a professor I had in seminary whom I consider, now, many decades later as an influence for good on my life that only grows. He was a teacher in a time when professors in SBC seminaries were being challenged on their faithfulness to Scripture; many were dismissed based on these challenges. The professor who meant so much to me was, in my mind, a candidate for challenge and dismissal because he simply did not use the acceptable language of the day in describing the Christian life, Scripture, church, ethics or much of anything else. He was a mystery to students and faculty alike. He was different in tone and language--even body language. He moved in a calm that made one slow down and think and in my case become more prayerful and I hope, more faithful. When I became a pastor in San Francisco I would visit him from time to time just to talk. Always, I left our conversations puzzled but invigorated in ways I could not explain. On one occasion I simply asked him, "How have you survived? You are so different from everyone else! I would think they (the challengers) would have you on their list." Quoting from Shakespeare's "King Lear," he told me, "I am one of God's spies." I am still trying to understand what he meant. I have thoughts about his comment that make me believe, I too, would do well to be one of "God's spies."

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Grandchildren, a Theological Conversation. The "Littles" (aged four and six) had a "sleep over" with us on Saturday evening last. At breakfast on Sunday morning (when I say morning, I mean early morning. The six year old woke us at 4am asking when the sun would come up. Judy got him back to bed, but both boys were up at 6am putting on their "fancy" clothes for church)--so, at our early morning breakfast of pancakes, the question of death came up. The youngest asked if my parents, Maw Maw and Paw Paw, were dead. We replied, yes. The youngest asked if we buried them, again yes. Judy told them that these loved ones were in heaven, so the six year old asked, "Is heaven under the ground?" Talking theology with children reminds me how little I know and how difficult it is to share what I believe I do know. We talked about body and spirit. The body is buried and the spirit is with God. (I know theologians dispute this picture, but I find it in the New Testament). The six year old said, "That's right, the spirit leaves and God catches it--like a football!"  

I love all our grandchildren for being who they are individually and as a part of the family, and I love the fact that they keep me thinking and hopefully, growing. My professor friend, mentioned above, once said that he hoped his last words would be, "what will I be when I grow up?" Stay close to children and youth. They are a blessing. They challenge you intellectually as in all the other ways that youth have always challenged their elders. 

I am sure that I do not always give the right answers to my grandchildren, and from time to time, I remember my faulty attempts at parenting my three sons. Like Noah I need God's grace. Occasionally, I am obedient--for a moment--but all my moments of obedience are far less than children, grandchildren, friends, all I love, need from me. I cast them and myself upon the grace of God.

Listening to a Sermon-Part Three

Listening to a well prepared sermon delivered in an effective manner is not difficult, and such sermons can help people in their worship of God. What’s difficult is listening to a poorly prepared sermon. In the first and second essays of this series I suggested the importance of a listener taking responsibility for the worship experience, and I listed five practical strategies for listening to bad sermons with the idea that an active listener can benefit even from a bad sermon. However, there are sermons to which we do best not to listen.

For this third essay the most important matter to remember is the fact that a poor sermon is not limited to sermons that are boring or sermons that seem superficial. A gifted orator who seems profound can preach a bad sermon, and the worshiper is more likely to suffer harm from such gifted and attractive preachers than the ones we usually call poor preachers. Paul the Apostle warned against false teachers and warned that they can appear winsome and intelligent which is no surprise, since, as Paul wrote, “even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is not strange if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds” (2 Corinthians 14-15).

Even if a sermon is a delight to the ears and the preacher is pleasant to watch as he or she delivers the message, the sermon is a bad one if it fails to be true. The repercussions from false teaching are serious for the life of the church and individual listeners, especially young people. Bad teaching has been a problem from the first century until the present. 

Here are some examples: legalism and its opposite, moral relativism (“do your own thing”). Whenever a preacher emphasizes rules and regulations the preacher has lost hold of the Bible’s message of salvation through faith and grace. Such legalism creates despair as people fail to meet the legalistic standards of the sermons. Then comes hypocrisy as some people pretend to meet those standards even though they cannot; in fact, the preacher cannot meet them either, and the church becomes filled with suspicion and accusation as people see their own hidden sins and suspect that others are hiding sins, too. One errant way to relieve the guilt of self accusation is to accuse others of the sin hidden in one’s own life. Such behavior in a church is, indeed, toxic.

The opposite approach is bad, too. Some preachers proclaim an easy or cheap grace (see Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship) and the result is a church in which people lose sight of the message of holiness and righteousness which are the qualities that arise from God’s grace. The message of grace and faith and hope and love bring a lifestyle filled with gratitude and joy. The bad teaching of relativism which holds that there is no absolute law is as bad as legalism. Both approaches misunderstand the Gospel and the power of spiritual transformation. 

Reliance on the Bible as the sole authority for faith and practice is an important sign of true preaching and will help the preacher avoid the failures of legalism and relativism. A good preacher will speak from the Bible and will shape his or her messages to conform to the teaching of the Bible. Doctrines taught in the sermon will arise from the preacher’s knowledge and continual study of the entire Bible.

Unhappily, bad preachers can quote Scripture. Even demons can quote Scripture. It is important that the preacher yields his or her own opinions to the clear teaching of Scripture. It is important that every sermon includes and depends upon the Bible’s message of God’s salvation in Christ.

Even if a sermon has truths in it, that sermon is a bad one if it fails the Gospel.  A sermon on prayer or social justice or Bible study is not a good sermon if it fails the Gospel. There is a place in the church for teaching, but the teaching ministry never replaces preaching of the Gospel.

The Gospel is the message of Jesus’ birth, the incarnation; God has come to us in person. The Gospel is the message of the cross, Jesus’ death. Through the cross Jesus defeated sin and death by giving himself up on behalf of the world and winning the victory over evil. The bodily resurrection of Jesus is essential to the Gospel; the resurrection illuminates the cross and shows us Jesus as Christus Victor (see Gustaf Aulen). The Gospel is the promise that Jesus will return to make all things right. In the end justice will prevail. The Gospel is the message of Jesus’ life which calls us to live with the power of the Holy Spirit, as disciples or learners. We are being saved or transformed day by day as we await our own resurrection to the next life which God the Father has prepared for us who believe. This message is the heart of true preaching. (See C. H. Dodd, Gospel and Law, for a review of Scripture on this subject.)

Another essential theological teaching is the Trinity. Christians are Trinitarians. Christians believe that God is one in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. If a preacher fails to lay the foundation of the Trinity in his or her preaching then that preacher is giving a bad message. Usually, the error shows itself in a diminution of Jesus. In some way the preacher hints from time to time that Jesus is a good teacher, a good man, and a good prophet but not divine. When the preacher refuses to acknowledge and affirm in the clearest terms that Jesus is God in person, in flesh then the message is bad. In bad messages one will often hear how there are many wise religious teachers in history from Zoroaster to Buddha, Mohammed and Gandhi. Without, perhaps, saying it directly the preacher will imply that Jesus belongs in that list but is not divine. Such preachers have strayed from the Bible and strayed from the doctrines long established in the ecumenical church. A good preacher will give attention to the Trinitarian message that God is Father, Son and Spirit and will give the right emphasis to all three persons in preaching and teaching.

Another way that preaching goes wrong is the political sermon masquerading as prophecy. To use the pulpit to express political opinion is not prophecy, but it is bad preaching. The best way to address political issues is for the preacher to teach Biblical principles from the pulpit. The people in the congregation can take these principles into their personal lives, including their politics. Most congregations have Democrats and Republicans sitting side by side. The preacher does well to respect the faith of Christians who hold different political opinions. To attempt to think for the people or to demand that they think the same way the preacher does on political issues is bad preaching, not prophecy. 

Much attention has been rightly given by critics to the error of what is called the “Prosperity Gospel.” It is a popular message because it promises that God will always deliver material and emotional security to people who have the right faith practice. Any such message that teaches that a Christian can avoid suffering is bad preaching. In reality good and faithful Christians suffer. They may be persecuted. They may be caught in tragic circumstances. They may be materially poor. God’s grace sustains us in all these circumstances, and with God’s grace and with our trust in God’s providence we can make our suffering redemptive. We may not see the results of our witness in this life, but we live and are justified by our faith. It is bad preaching that downplays or ignores redemptive suffering which is, of course, most clearly seen in the cross of Christ.

Theology as expressed in preaching is a big subject. Although much more could be written, hopefully this essay raises some questions for the reader and will help listeners to evaluate sermons theologically as well as rhetorically. So, what can a listener do when the preacher does not speak the truth? My conclusion seems simplistic; however, if a preacher persists in teaching that fails the Gospel, the Trinitarian message, the call to grace, the authority of the Bible and offers false prophecy, then, simplistic as it is, the answer to bad teaching and preaching is, finally, “don’t listen!” 

Easter and Every Preacher's Dilemma

Matthew 5:48 "Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect."

Going through my journal this week I found an entry that I wrote after I attended a church many months ago. It was a good experience. The church was packed with people of all ages; it had a better measure of racial diversity than many churches; the folks were friendly; there seemed to be a strong education program; the music was great. The sermon was biblical and well delivered. Everything was good. In fact, it was too good.

I left the service feeling that somehow I was not quite living up to the expectations of the preacher or the church. The more I thought about the experience the more I realized that I didn’t believe that the church or the preacher was living up to the standards that had been set either. No one could be quite that good. So, if the person or group asking me to live in a certain way, doesn’t seem to be living that way or able to live that way, then how hopeful is the message? How honest is the message? It is every preacher’s dilemma!

Jesus set the goal high—even higher than the church I visited. He said, “Be perfect . . .” (Matthew 5:48) The difference between Jesus and all other preachers is that he was perfect, and only in him, can I be made perfect. 

The essential element in the message of the New Testament is that I cannot make myself perfect. No matter how much I want to be or how hard I try, I cannot reach perfection. (1 John 1:8-10) My standing before God is based on Jesus’ perfection, not mine. He takes away my sin, and in him I am made righteous. At the same time, the goal is there, and I am called to grow in faith and good works toward that goal of perfection. Every preacher’s dilemma is to point toward the goal while making it clear that we live by grace and not by works. (Ephesians 2:8-10)

The Resurrection reminds us that we are dying. We will be dead. All of us, no matter how hard we try to avoid it. The wages of sin is death, and death comes to all of us. The good news is that God has come in Christ to die with us, and Christ is risen from the dead. In him we have the promise of resurrection. In him our sins are removed. In him we are made perfect. In Christ we can stand before God and enter eternal life. Somehow on Easter Sunday the preacher will find a way—if he or she preaches the Gospel—to make it clear that our hope is not in ourselves but only in Christ. 

Ash Wednesday Reflection from Luke 15

LUKE 15:17   ". . . he came to his senses."

Some years ago then Vice-President Joe Biden made a speech on Ash Wednesday. He had been to church earlier in the day where his forehead had been marked in ashes with the sign of the cross. Two TV broadcasters covering the Vice-President noted the smudge on his forehead. They speculated on air to one another and to the multitude of people listening about the cause of the smudge. Perhaps, one of them said, it was a bruise from an injury. Neither of them was aware that it was Ash Wednesday. During a commercial break someone explained the sign of the cross and the significance of the day.

In 2017 Ash Wednesday comes on March 1. I grew up in a church that did not observe Ash Wednesday, so, perhaps, I could have made the same mistake in my youth. I don’t want to be hard on the two commentators. Their ignorance, however, does suggest something broader in significance to me. The idea of repentance is not as appreciated as I would hope. People—Protestant and Catholic—are more likely to enjoy Mardi Gras than Ash Wednesday.

Mardi Gras refers to the celebration that occurs before Ash Wednesday and the season of Lent. On a superficial level the idea of carnival does sound better than the emphasis on repentance that starts with Ash Wednesday and carries through the 40 day season of Lent (Old English word for spring). Who wouldn’t rather celebrate than fast?

However, the message of repentance, though solemn is a source of profound joy to a believer. In repentance we turn away from our acknowledged sin to ask forgiveness of God. The message of repentance is that we can change. In God’s grace we are invited to move toward him. The gift of repentance is God’s welcome. It is the prodigal son (Luke 15) coming to himself, rising from debauchery and making the return home to a father whose arms are open to embrace him.

Perhaps, to the reader’s surprise, I have stopped observing Ash Wednesday and Lent. Not because I am ignorant of the Church Year and not because I devalue repentance. it’s just the opposite. Repentance in my life is a daily theme, not a seasonal one. In these later years I see the wisdom of early Free Church teachers who recognized the beauty, the promise, the power, the wonder of God’s grace in offering us the gift of repentance. Many times a day I repent. Prompted by the Spirit, I “come to myself” (Luke 15:17), and I turn toward the Lord that I may return to him. This gift of repentance is too precious for one day or for one season.

Romans 5:20 " . . . where sin abounded, grace did much more abound."

I  recently returned to my home town of Owensboro, Kentucky to attend the 50th anniversary of my graduation from high school. Judy went with me. We had a good time. She is, always, up for a party, and I enjoyed introducing her to my classmates. Only one or two had I seen in fifty years! Still, it felt comfortable to me to be there with them again in the context of our youth. A psychiatrist once told me that the heart knows no time; it certainly felt that way to me. With no effort at all I was back in 1966. 

I much appreciate my classmates who worked to make the reunion happen. Just being with friends from my youth was a good experience in itself, but there were highlights. I met with my debate team coach and fellow debate partners. I talked at length with several folks who shared their spiritual pilgrimages and their sharing inspired me. I went back to my home church and saw a few of the folks who made a big impact on my life of faith. I saw some of my relatives who still live in Owensboro and learned about their involvement in church mission work. But the big surprise of the weekend was a tour of my elementary school. One of my classmates arranged it through a current teacher in that school who was willing to come on a Saturday afternoon and take us through the building. Seven or eight of us made the tour. Several of us were in the first grade together. Our first grade classroom is still being used for first grade classes. I stood in that classroom and remembered an event that I have shared many times through the years.

During my first week of school my mother came to class with me. She sat by me as I worked on a assignment given by the teacher. I was copying something she had written on the chalk board. My mother pointed out a mistake I had made. I erased the mistake and tried again, but I still got it wrong. In fact, I had to erase three times, and on the third erasure the paper which had gotten black with smudges from my attempts to erase, tore. The paper was ruined, and I was devastated. In my childish imagination I thought that the teacher would probably not allow me to return to school. My mother tried to console me, but I was unconsolable. Miss Dobson walked to the back of the classroom where I was sitting and asked what was wrong. Through my tears I pointed at the paper and explained between sobs what had happened. Then she did what was remarkable to me. Miss Dobson had a big tablet of paper, and she tore out a clean sheet of paper and put it on the desk in front me, and she picked up the sheet that I had ruined. It seemed miraculous to me.

More than six decades later I stood on the spot in the same classroom where Miss Dobson had worked her miracle. I never went back and told Miss Dodson how much her intervention meant to me, but I’ve told people around the world in sermons and talks about that moment of grace in my young life. She is now living in a nursing home in Owensboro; she was not available for a visit. Heaven will provide a time to talk with people who blessed our lives, a time to say thank you. Miss Dobson is on my list of folks I want to see.

Romans 5:20 is a passage of Scripture meant for adults. It reads, “. . .where sin abounded, grace did much more abound.” As a first grader I had not sinned when I tried to erase the paper and tore it. Still, that experience is a picture for me of how gracious God has been in my life. Again and again a clean sheet of paper has been placed in front of me, and the ruined has been removed. 

Mark 10:17-31 The Measure of Goodness

Mark 10:18  “Why do you call me good?”

What does it mean to be good? The conventional and cultural definition of good is easy to identify. Judging by popular news broadcasts, movies, television and novels, today's conventional standard for goodness is tied to one’s care for the poor and one’s absolute rejection of any whiff of bigotry. Entertainers and other opinion makers eschew the earlier standards that popular culture elevated: chastity, temperance, hard work, even truth telling. Along with modesty these old standards seldom get much support on the athletic field or in the movie theater or the nightly news. Today, if one is egalitarian and one helps the poor then one has met the basic definition of good.  

Today, as in the first century, one would find it difficult to enlist Jesus in support of a definition of the good. Jesus refused to be called good. (verse 18) Unlike today, conventional goodness in the first century was defined by the Ten Commandments as interpreted and applied by religious leaders. However, that standard did not meet the definition of Jesus for goodness. It didn’t work in the first century, and it didn’t work fifty years ago, and it doesn’t work now. Yet, the current standard of goodness in America doesn’t work either. These standards do not put us right with God because they are misused. Like the young man in Mark chapter ten the standards--ancient or modern--are most often used to justify one’s behavior. “I must be good because I have kept the Ten Commandments,” or “I must be good because I am not prejudiced,” and “I must be good because I volunteer in my local homeless shelter.”

When the earnest young man came to Jesus with his desire for affirmation he was disappointed. Although Jesus looked upon this inquirer with love (verse 21) Jesus refused to give his blessing to conventional goodness. Jesus simply raised the standard to a level that the man could not reach. (verse 21) It is amusing that current opinion makers will quote this passage to support their idea that service to the poor is the best, the most Christian definition of goodness. However, none of those would-be-ethicists do what Jesus said: sell everything, give to the poor and follow him. Today, just as in the first century people cannot and will not meet this standard of goodness. Even the disciples of Jesus, who had left everything to follow Jesus, despaired in face of this standard. They asked, “Who then can be saved?” (verse 26)

“No one is good--except God alone.” (verse 18) What good we do by any definition of goodness that we propose is never enough to justify ourselves before God. The message of the gospel is God’s mercy which has come to us in person in Jesus, God’s very presence among us. He died and was raised from the dead to give us eternal life, not because we are good but because God alone is good, and God loves us and is merciful to all who call upon him. To seek goodness on our own merit or without reference to God is to go away from the one place where goodness exists. What the world puts first--in the ancient world and today--God puts last. (verse 31)

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Grandchildren. Our youngest grandson will be baptized at Trinity Presbyterian Church in Charlottesville Sunday October 4, 2015. He is ten weeks old. Last night Judy and I took care of him while his parents went out for a couple of hours. He was awake most of the time. He smiled a lot, especially when Sweetie Pie and Mr. Happy huddled around him and gave him kisses, but he also delighted his grandmother with a series of big smiles just for her. I'm still waiting for the youngest grandchild's nickname to emerge. Mr. Happy has called him "Squeaker," and "Floppy." Neither of those names will be allowed to stick. In due time, something just right will emerge.

Mark 10:2-12 A Reflection on Divorce

Mark 10:5   “It was because your hearts were hard.”

Jesus understood some of the prescriptions in Deuteronomy as God’s accommodation of the “hardness of heart” (v. 5) of his people. The laws on divorce fit into this category. God’s accommodation through divorce was intended to help people work through broken relationships in a just way. God still helps us--weak that we are--to work through broken relationships. Divorce, done according to the standard of justice is meant to help families caught in sin and failure.

 Jesus affirmed the Old Testament law. He made the point that he did not come to change the law but to fulfill it. (Matt. 5:17) From the Sermon on the Mount we know that Jesus fulfilled the law by raising the standards not lowering them. Too often laws have been interpreted so that people have found ways to avoid the spirit and intention of the law. (Mark 7:11) Some people in the first century used the laws on divorce as a way to exert power over women. Jesus stood against this abuse.

Marriage was meant to be permanent. (v. 9) Divorce is God’s accommodation to our brokenness and is a grace, but divorce was never meant to be normative and never meant to be a tool of abuse.

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Books. For those interested in church history and theology, Justin Holcomb has written a small book that is quite accessible and helpful. It is entitled Know the Creeds and Councils. He begins his book by explaining terms. Creeds describe the basic beliefs of Christian faith; confessions distinguish denominational differences; catechisms are outlines of belief used for teaching purposes; councils are large church meetings meant to resolve differences between believers. In this book Holcomb has reviewed the major creeds and councils of the church. He has reviewed several confessions including two from the 1970’s. It is a helpful book, especially for pastors, but also for anyone who wants to understand theology and church history better.

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Main Street Baptist Church in Luray, Virginia has called me to serve as their intentional interim pastor. I begin this good work on October 1. Prayers are much appreciated!

Mark 4:26-34 "The Kingdom of God Grows by Grace"

Mark 4:26  “. . . what the kingdom of God is like . . .”

The kingdom of God is a phrase that signifies the rule of God in one’s life and the rule of God in the world. For each believer the kingdom of God has come and is present as we yield our hearts to Jesus; clearly, the rule of God is yet to come to the world as a whole. Every day we see the evidence of the self-destructive refusal to accept God’s grace; though God holds out his arms to his children they continue to turn from the fullness of life that his love freely offers.

Jesus explained to his disciples how the kingdom grows in the life of those who want to live according to God’s rule. First, the kingdom grows by grace. The believer cannot make the kingdom grow. It happens in ways that we do not control or understand (v. 27). We pray; we study; we give; we serve; we worship. We live out the disciplines of the Christian life, but we cannot tie those disciplines to the wonders of God’s bounty in our lives. All our disciplines are ways of expressing gratitude to God. They are not ways of earning God’s blessings. As the harvest of God’s grace comes to fruition in our lives we are often surprised. We know that we do not deserve God’s goodness, and we do not understand the harvest of grace we have received.

Second, the kingdom of God cannot be measured. It begins in ways that we do not see or in ways that seem so small that we count it as nothing (v.31). What starts as the smallest seed becomes a great bush or tree. We can see in this parable of the mustard seed the growth of the church. From almost nothing it has spread round the world to every ethnic group on every continent. All have been invited to the shade and shelter of the tree of life. Just as Jesus envisioned, the kingdom of God has grown from the smallest seed to a great tree. Of course, we cannot fully equate the church and the kingdom of God. The church has much of the rebellious world still in it. But, as Jesus promised, we are learning and growing. We are like the first disciples of whom it was written, Jesus “spoke the word to them, as much as they could understand” (v. 33) Mysteriously, wondrously, secretly and powerfully the kingdom of God grows in and through the church by the grace of God in ways that surprise us still.

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Grandchildren. We were outside with Sweetie Pie and Mr. Happy at their house waiting for their father to come to the car. I slipped up behind Mr. Happy and put my hands over his ears and said, “Got ‘em; I got your ears.” He responded in his sternest three year old voice, “Give ‘em back!” Knowing that Mr. Happy is still in the “Magic Years,” and sometimes takes things literally, I pressed gently on his ears and said softly, “Ok, I put them back.” To which he exclaimed, “You put them on backwards!” I laughed out loud; I’d never heard that quip before. His mother had taught him this fun response. Our little exchange reminded me that youth--no matter how young--can delight us and teach us. It is not just the elders instructing the young. The learning goes two-ways, and it is wonderful.