Year: 2014

In Hebrews three, the author compares and contrasts Jesus with Moses, the greatest leader in Jewish history.

The writer of Hebrews states that both are marked by faithfulness, but that Jesus’ faithfulness is different than Moses’. Jesus’ faithfulness, in contrast to Moses’, is “over” God’s house rather than “in” it (cf. Heb. 3:5-6). In chapter 1 and chapter 2, Jesus is set up as supreme over creation, and this theme of supremacy carries over here.

The author brings the concept closer to home for his or her readers–showing that Jesus is the logical and natural fulfillment of the Mosaic leadership example.

The parallel between the Exodus event and Jesus’ work is unmistakable.

The ultimate grand ending of the Exodus is entering the promised land, and the author is quick to point out that those that did not enter this place of rest and refreshment–flowing with milk and honey–were denied because of their unbelief.

The implication is clear: entering God’s rest through Jesus parallels the Exodus/Promised Land story, and belief plays a key role in this.

To find rest, to find our ultimate home in God, we must believe in Jesus.

Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. (Hebrews 3:12, ESV)

If we are not living in rest and peace, I suppose the question for us, then, is this:

Do I believe?

I was recently part of a prayer service where I was (for reasons still somewhat unknown to me) touched by the Holy Spirit and overcome with emotion, to the point of weeping. It was simultaneously beautiful and disorienting. Read More “An Embarrassingly Emotional Experience”

Chapter two of Hebrews solidifies Christ’s sovereignty in all things, especially salvation.

In a final, powerful statement, however, the humanity of Jesus is underscored when the author reminds us that “he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.” (Hebrews 2:18 ESV).

Our God suffers with us.

This reminds me of the overriding purpose of the spiritual disciplines: to know Jesus more and to be conformed to his likeness. These practices take time, effort, and sacrifice.

They wouldn’t be worth it, save for the fact they help me know this person who is somehow my friend and brother and king and God, this person who not only died for his people, but rose victorious from death to redeem them from the clutches of death.

The ultimate worthiness of pursuing Jesus at all costs is confirmed.

The first chapter of Hebrews is beautiful, enlightening, and foundational for Christian doctrine. It sets up Jesus as God in no uncertain terms, tell just how much of God we see in Jesus: the “radiance of his glory and the exact imprint of his nature” (Hebrews 1:3 ESV).

This is nothing short of breathtaking for me, that somehow the depths of God’s nature–the creator-king of the universe–are revealed in a humble man.

The mystery is unfathomable, yet it provides so much assurance that God is close, knowable, and that he desires to be known by us. Why else would he have chosen this way of salvation for his people?

Jesus is the crux of creation and reigns supreme over everything.

Man is created to praise, reverence, and serve God our Lord, and by this means to save his soul. And the other things on the face of the earth are created for man and that they may help him in prosecuting the end for which he is created. From this it follows that man is to use them as much as they help him on to his end, and ought to rid himself of them so far as they hinder him as to it. For this it is necessary to make ourselves indifferent to all created things in all that is allowed to the choice of our free will and is not prohibited to it; so that, on our part, we want not health rather than sickness, riches rather than poverty, honor rather than dishonor, long rather than short life, and so in all the rest; desiring and choosing only what is most conducive for us to the end for which we are created. ~ Ignatius of Loyola

Our ultimate, primary, overriding desire is meant to be communion with Christ.

Only want that which helps you grow closer to Christ.

Anything else isn’t worth holding on to.

The scandal of the evangelical mind is that there is not much of an evangelical mind. ~ Mark Noll

Evangelicalism and especially the revivalist tradition have often had a very strong anti-intellectual bent. Mainstream Evangelicalism’s continued emphasis on religious experience to the exclusion of critical thought is well intentioned, but ultimately self-destructive.

We now have generations of people in the church that either simply don’t care or have developed an underlying suspicion of science and logic.

Unfortunately, this leaves many Christians completely vulnerable to even the most easily refuted attacks against against the reasonableness of our faith.

“…in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, (1 Peter 3:15, ESV)”

The fact is that the Christian faith is grounded in the historical reality of the resurrection of Jesus, and we have good reasons to believe our confession is true. We have nothing to fear from solid reasoning or science.

God can handle our questions and the Christian faith is not shaken by a better understanding the world that God has created.

We need to be teaching the basic principles of valid reasoning and how to apply them not only in theological study, but in everyday conversation.

Although basic critical thinking skills should be part of everyone’s basic education, this is unfortunately not the case.

It’s time to make critical thinking a foundational part of our discipleship efforts.

Have you ever noticed how theological conversations on Facebook tend to disintegrate quickly? Anger, accusations, and off-the-cuff rhetoric now seem to be standard procedure. I know a lot of Christian leaders that choose to simply not ever engage on Facebook, because it tends to go downhill so quickly.

I’m convinced it doesn’t have to be this way. You can choose to join or start a conversation in a Christ-honoring way and make a positive impact in the social media space.

Here are a few things to keep in mind as you venture out into the waters of online theological controversy.

1) Write with grace

Remember that you are an ambassador for Christ in this moment. You are not primarily representing your church, your employer, or even yourself. You are representing Jesus himself. Find points of agreement with the person you are conversing with, and make the effort to genuinely understand their ideas.

Keeping the the tone light and respectful will go a long way toward keep the conversation civil. And speaking of tone, remember that things don’t always come across the way you intend in the written medium. If in doubt, rephrase or explicitly state how you want your idea to come across (for instance: “This is a sincere, not sarcastic question…”)

Never respond when frustrated, angry, or flustered. Take time to cool off. It can always wait until tomorrow. Avoid deliberately inflammatory rhetoric like the plague. Don’t call people names and don’t throw accusations of heresy around lightly.

2) Know the limits of the medium

Facebook threads get pretty unwieldy when the comments get too long. Honestly, it’s just may not the best place to lay out your thoughtful, logical argument for whatever theological truth is under discussion. It seems unlikely to me that a very long response is even very likely to be read. Be concise, articulate, and accurate.

3) Don’t aim to convince

Don’t always try to fully persuade the other person of your point of view, especially if you can’t lay out your whole argument in a thorough yet brief way. Instead, provide a compelling thought that could spur further discussion or exploration, and offer to discuss the issue in more detail via private message or email.

4) Know when to bow out

If the conversation starts to get repetitive (“As I said in my previous comment,” “Let me restate what I’m actually saying…”) the discussion may be over. If it’s clear you each understand the other’s position, yet neither of you is ready to change their mind, then gracefully bring the thread to a close. If it’s obvious your conversation partner isn’t going treat your arguments seriously or if the other person starts making personal attacks and assumptions, it’s time to stop. Don’t be afraid to write something like this when the time is right:

“I totally understand your point of view, and I hope I’ve been able to communicate mine accurately. Although we disagree, I’m grateful for what we have common. Grace and peace!”

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Don’t waste the opportunity to engage in theological conversation on Facebook. Just choose your battles wisely and remember it takes effort, forethought, and often extraordinary amounts of patience.

In educational psychology, there are a number of “laws of learning” or “principles of learning.” One of those is called the law of primacy, which basically states that when a student learns something for the the first time, a strong and almost unshakable impression is made.

“Unlearning” or “reteaching” ideas is therefore incredibly difficult.

If a student learns incorrect information regarding a topic, the teacher faces an uphill battle when it comes to repairing the mistake.

This is a huge reason why serious discipleship is so lacking in various parts of the Christian culture. New Christians have basically been taught (often implicitly and usually unintentionally) that learning a few theological basics and having the occasional “quiet time” is enough grow deep in their faith. Read More “Why we have to get discipleship right the first time”