Who Cares What I Think?

What determines how I live my life? Do I have a master plan that I’ve created to govern how I’ll think and feel and act? Could I even construct such plan? If not, is my life just an unplanned series of events without direction or purpose?

When you stop to think about it, these are really big questions. Unfortunately, many of us miss the opportunity to stop and think or when we do, we can’t figure out how to get to the answers. The next few minutes could begin a thoughtful journey, one that over time develops clarity regarding what you regard as really real and its affect on how you live.

Each of us has tucked away the building blocks that make up our understanding of how the world works. Some of these blocks form a foundation and others the walls and various rooms of our house of reality. The ideas that we use in the process of thinking itself form the foundation. Characteristics like self, things that are not a part of self, relationship between things and between ideas, the ability to place things and ideas into groups or categories, the relationship of cause and effect, the dimensions of space, time, and the like. We use these thoughts as tools to explore and determine what we hold to be real.

On that foundation of thinking tools, we have assembled a series of other ideas that we may have consciously examined or which we simply take for granted. Either way, we cannot imagine the world without these characteristics or ideas. They comprise the things we hold to be really real, the answers to the big questions in life that help us make sense of it all. These ideas form our worldview and consist of the principles by which we understand what our experience in life really means. Maybe this sounds a little too theoretical to have any practical use. Some have described a worldview as:

• A basic model of reality

• A Set of presuppositions which we hold about the makeup of the world

• A set of assumptions that explain reality

• The interpretive framework we use to make sense of the totality of our reality

One thing lies at the core of each of these definitions. A worldview consists of assumptions or presuppositions that we apply to the world to make sense of it all, to figure out what is real. Over time, people have assembled sets of questions to identify what assumptions or presuppositions form the walls of a particular worldview structure. These are the big or ultimate questions of life I referred to earlier. Questions like where did we come from? Why are we here? Where are we going? What’s wrong with the world? How do we fix it? How should we live our lives?

My hope is that this series of discussions leaves you with at least on foundational idea: Christianity is a worldview. Yet, even within Christianity, we have our family differences about the details of how the world works. For example, has God chosen me out of the population of rebellious humans, dead in their sin and unable to respond to Him without His choice? Or, did the death of Christ bestow on all mankind the ability to decide to allow Him to save us from our sin? Worldviews which compete with Christianity experience these same internal tensions. To characterize a person as a naturalist does not put that person in perfect lock-step with every other person identified as a naturalist. Because we're people, this business can be a little messy.

So, to some degree, our worldviews are personal (shared in the fine detail only by ourselves) as well as public (shared in general form by our group, for example evangelical Christians). This spectrum of worldview variations sometimes provides the wiggle room to talk one way and live another. What we state as our assumptions about life and how we actually live out our lives doesn't always match up. Now we’ve gotten to the place where personal examination will yield sometimes difficult, but very fruitful results. In great DVD series The Truth Project, instructor Del Tackett often says that in the church today, Christians don’t always believe that what they believe is really real. This observation deserves some unpacking. As we’ll see in the next chapter, a Christian worldview gathers it’s assumptions about what is real from God’s revelation of Himself, both in creation and in Scripture. Tackett says, in other words, that even though we profess to believe God’s revelation as our assumptions about life, we may not - and if not, it shows up in how we live our lives. The proof really is in the pudding.

A Question for the New Year

(NOTE: Three weeks of illness and the Christmas holiday left the blog dark during December, but it now returns to its weekly schedule.)

J.P. Moreland in his book Kingdom Triangle recommends the following: "Each year, I ask myself this question: How much of my life and ministry last year required the existence of the Christian God to explain it? How much would have happened if God did not exist? Here's the point: Life in the Kingdom - corporately in our churches and individually - is a supernatural colaboring with God in which we both matter." That's a tough question and one that simultaneously caused me to reflect on my participation in expanding the boundaries of the Kingdom by God's power and repent over living a naturally unsupernatural life.

Moreland's book (as the title suggests) presents a three-part strategy for advancing the Kingdom. First, developing the life of the mind, learning what and why we believe and acquiring a thoughtful Christian worldview. Worldview as an important concept for the church is gaining momentum. Chuck Colson says that Christianity itself is a worldview - a set of beliefs by which we make sense of the world, define reality, answer life's ultimate questions. Moreland's challenge here is to make sure our beliefs are biblically accurate, to make sure that we actually believe they are true, and to put these beliefs on center stage in what we hold to be real - our worldviews.

Second, cultivating our inner lives by developing emotional intimacy with God through spiritual disciplines and literature of the formation of the church. Jonathan Edwards would call this the development of religious affections where our desires and our wills are aligned with the desires of God. No small task and disciplines like silence, solitude, meditation, contemplative prayer, memorization, and fasting when understood and applied can provide the nutrients necessary for flourishing spiritual growth.

Third, Moreland urges us to learn to live in and use the Spirit's power and authority of the Kingdom of God, developing a supernatural lifestyle, receiving answers to prayers, learning to effectively pray for healing and demonic deliverance, and sharpening our ability to hear God's voice. This, of course, is the point of the quoted question. Have we lived lives of self-powered moral uprightness where the shining best is really just mediocre, or have we hurried on the path to walk shoulder to shoulder with Jesus encountering whatever comes our way in the power of the Spirit and the authority of Jesus?

These three ideas, recovering the Christian mind, renovating the soul, and restoring the power of the Spirit form what intelligent design theorists call an irreducible complexity. Michael Behe describes an irreducibly complex system as "composed of several well-matched, interacting parts that contribute to the basic function, wherein the removal of any one of the parts causes the system to effectively cease functioning." If we fail to develop any one of the three legs of the Kingdom Triangle, Kingdom life will break down. If our Christian beliefs are not what we hold to be really real, if our desires are not joined at the hip with God's desires, if we fail to rely on the power of the Spirit or exercise the authority of Jesus, our lives and the lives of those we touch will remain locked in the realm of what we can see, taste, hear, smell, and touch. Our deepest longings will remain unsatisfied, and God's redemptive work will continue on without us and without the joy and fulfillment of participating.

Something to be Thankful for

I pray that this day of thanks is filled with reminders of blessings and renewal of relationships.  Today I was blessed far beyond our celebratory meal and outstanding fellowship.  Today I read a document entitled the "Manhattan Declaration: A Call of Christian Conscience."  I've written much in the past about the meaning and effect of a Christian worldview.  The Manhattan Declaration demonstrates what can happen when your mind, your heart, is gripped by Christianity as the explanation of reality, as a worldview.  It will burst out of our personal sanctuaries and blow the doors of our corporate sanctuaries.  It will cause the Kingdom of God ooze, flow, splatter, and spray over our world - reclaiming territory for King Jesus, putting things back to the way their supposed to be.  Below you'll find the preamble to the Manhattan Declaration which briefly documents the profound preserving and advancing influence of Christianity on western culture.  This is much more than a profession of Christian ideas.  In this act of declaration Catholic, Orthodox, and Evangelical Christians have joined together out of a common understanding of what is really real and how that understanding ought to be lived out by real believers.  I urge you to read the complete document and if it agrees with your convictions about the way things ought to be, to sign it and pass it on.

Christians are heirs of a 2,000-year tradition of proclaiming God’s word, seeking justice in our societies, resisting tyranny, and reaching out with compassion to the poor, oppressed and suffering.

While fully acknowledging the imperfections and shortcomings of Christian institutions and communities in all ages, we claim the heritage of those Christians who defended innocent life by rescuing discarded babies from trash heaps in Roman cities and publicly denouncing the Empire’s sanctioning of infanticide. We remember with reverence those believers who sacrificed their lives by remaining in Roman cities to tend the sick and dying during the plagues, and who died bravely in the coliseums rather than deny their Lord.

After the barbarian tribes overran Europe, Christian monasteries preserved not only the Bible but also the literature and art of Western culture. It was Christians who combated the evil of slavery: Papal edicts in the 16th and 17th centuries decried the practice of slavery and first excommunicated anyone involved in the slave trade; evangelical Christians in England, led by John Wesley and William Wilberforce, put an end to the slave trade in that country. Christians under Wilberforce’s leadership also formed hundreds of societies for helping the poor, the imprisoned, and child laborers chained to machines.

In Europe, Christians challenged the divine claims of kings and successfully fought to establish the rule of law and balance of governmental powers, which made modern democracy possible. And in America, Christian women stood at the vanguard of the suffrage movement. The great civil rights crusades of the 1950s and 60s were led by Christians claiming the Scriptures and asserting the glory of the image of God in every human being regardless of race, religion, age or class.

This same devotion to human dignity has led Christians in the last decade to work to end the dehumanizing scourge of human trafficking and sexual slavery, bring compassionate care to AIDS sufferers in Africa, and assist in a myriad of other human rights causes – from providing clean water in developing nations to providing homes for tens of thousands of children orphaned by war, disease and gender discrimination.

Like those who have gone before us in the faith, Christians today are called to proclaim the Gospel of costly grace, to protect the intrinsic dignity of the human person and to stand for the common good. In being true to its own calling, the call to discipleship, the church through service to others can make a profound contribution to the public good.

The End of the Sermon

Jesus' model prayer next moves from our immediate physical needs to the sustenance of the inner man. Forgive us as we have forgiven others. Though each member of the Father’s family has received forgiveness in the fullest sense so that none will answer in final judgment for his or her sin, the matter does not end there. We have begun a relationship with the Father but we have not fully rid ourselves of the old man, the rebellious man, the self-directed man. We each know that more regularly than we would like, we turn our backs on the Father and go our own ways. It may only happen for a moment, but in that moment relationship becomes broken. Forgiveness paves the way to restoration. But Jesus describes this forgiveness in a particular way – not just any forgiveness, but forgiveness that mirrors that which we extend to others. You can hear the echo of another portion of the Sermon. “For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.”

Jesus does not suggest that we can earn our forgiveness by forgiving others. No, the New Testament clearly states over and over that we, in fact, cannot earn forgiveness. Instead, Jesus points to the primacy of relationships in God’s kingdom. Remember back to when Jesus redefined murder to include something deeper than the physical act. At the end of the discussion, He emphasized the restoration of relationships – if I’m engaged in what a first century Jew considered his highest duty, ritual worship, and discovered that a brother had something against me, I ought to set aside my worship, go to my brother and restore our relationship. “God does not work by halves. He will not allow us to come to Him confessing half a sin while hanging on to the other half. It must be all or nothing. Thus if we confess our sin, our confession must of necessity involve a forgiving attitude towards others.” By asking God to forgive us as we have forgiven others, we impliedly ask God to assist us in forgiving others. For, without that the restorative act of forgiveness towards others, we cannot effectively seek the forgiveness of God we so desperately need.

Finally, we hear the call of our daily battle: lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. The term “temptation” is a neutral word, sometimes meaning to lure one into sin and other times to test or try a person. James makes it clear that God does not lure anyone into sin. “When tempted, no one should say, God is tempting me." For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. “ That leaves only one option to clarify this phrase in the prayer: do not lead us into trials. If possible, keep me away from the places where I might be tested. But if tested, deliver me from the evil one, keep me from sin. I do not want to experience testing, but I might need it.

Several biblical principles help us navigate the shoals here. First, though unpleasant, testing has its place. “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” And, finally, “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.” Testing will help form us into the people God intends by forcing us to face the weak points where we have yet to surrender to Christ’s authority. It will provide us a history of God’s work in our lives which builds our faith into an absolute expectation. God will use even those events intended by others for the worst outcomes toward us to our good, bringing towards our inheritance one step at a time. And Finally, God will never allow the testing to go beyond the resource He provides and our ability to grasp it. He will always, always provide a way of escape.

Just after the prayer Jesus talks about our treasure, a fitting commentary on the jump from petition for bread to meet our temporal needs and the request to receive forgiveness and avoid temptations to satisfy our souls. He’s already told us not to worry about our material needs, but here He goes beyond our needs to those things we hold dear, to our treasure. What kinds of treasure do we have – horded earthy things, wealth, power, and status, or the eternal treasure of refined character, wisdom, powerful faith, and God-like love? Jesus makes it clear, we can’t have both – we’ll either “hate the one and love the other,” or “be devoted to the one and despise the other.” In the end, like metal detector beeps in the ear of a beach sand jewelry hound, our treasure will shout out the home of our hearts. They either rest in the hands of Jesus, a fitting gift for the One who turned them from stone to flesh, or we’ll have clutched them to ourselves where they slavishly serve our desires alone.

This brings us to the end of the Sermon and the final exam. We only have two options after hearing Jesus’ words: put them into practice, or not. The one who puts them into practice builds for herself a foundation that will not fail. Rain, rising water, nor beating wind can move the house built on the rock. Even if we must encounter temptation or trials, we can endure. We will have the strength to restore relationships and actively seek the good of others. Our kingdom lives will flavor the lives of those whom we touch and provide a Jesus beacon to a groping world. We will rid ourselves of contempt and lust and garnish our conversations with truth.

The other side of this canvas bears the portrait of a house built on sand. Rain, rising water, and beating wind will have their way with this house and will reduce it to a pile of rubble and bits of flotsam that disappear with the tide. This might occur through neglect or outright refusal, but the result remains the same. Can we witness any greater disaster than one who recognizes and responds to the salvation call of Jesus, yet fails to put His words into practice – one who has entered the kingdom gates but fails to put all into kingdom life?

Staying in the Kingdom

After instructing His disciples not to pray as the pagans do, mindlessly repeating the same words or phrases, hoping that repetition will have some effect, Jesus says, when you pray, pray like this:

"Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.”

Though he had an existential slant to his theology, Karl Barth was a deep theological thinker, prolific writer, and an ardent follower of Jesus. When this one who could fill a wheelbarrow with the books he’d written on theology was asked, how do sum up your theology, your view of God, responded “Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so.” I’ve heard this described as simplicity on the other side of complexity. For Karl Barth to quote the words to a child’s tune means much more than when sung by a first grade Sunday School class. For Barth, these simple words were jammed with a depth of meaning that many adults may never comprehend.

I think of Jesus’ words in the Lord’s Prayer in a way. Even a cursory glance at the Gospel of John leaves one with the conclusion that Jesus and the Father are one – knowing each other so intimately that to know one is to know the other. So when Jesus speaks these simple words, only 53 in total, they carry an exponential depth of meaning. They touch the tips of icebergs that we will rightfully spend a lifetime exploring.

Though we cannot treat them exhaustion here, a helicopter view of the portions that breach the surface will do us well. First, note that Jesus introduced the “Lord’s Prayer” with a warning – don’t pray like the heathens – which indicate He intended this as a pattern for prayer rather than a literal string of words for us to repeat. Even so, we often find it useful when praying corporately or individually to use these actual words, particularly when we begin to understand their full meaning. In that way, they become for us simplicity beyond complexity – common words with deep meaning.

The prayer begins first with God and then moves to us, setting the proper relationship and attitude for our own prayer. All but once (while hanging on the cross – “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” – Jesus addresses God as Father. The Jews would have heard this as something unique and new in matters spiritual. We commonly hear how the Jews would not even speak the name of God and as a result, we do not have an accurate pronunciation of His name YHWHW. In contrast, and in keeping with the announcement that the Kingdom of God is near, that new access to God has arrived, Jesus calls God “Father.” Even with such an intimate address, we must still hallow, or hold sacred, or sanctify, or set apart, the name of God. We must use it in consideration of who He is (He’s God and we’re not).
In the second of three phrases focusing on God, Jesus addresses the Kingdom – requesting that it come. Let’s think about that for a moment. What is a kingdom? In common terms a kingdom consists of all that comes under the power and authority of its king. A kingdom exists in the place where activity bends to the will of the king. Sitting in our world with His dicisples, Jesus says we ought to pray that here, were we live out our present lives, God’s kingdom might come. He instructs us to petition the Father to make His presence as King, the one to whom the subjects defer, known.

In the third God-focused phrase, Jesus enforces the idea of God’s kingdom coming now by instructing us to pray for His will to be done just as it is in heaven. In heaven He rules unopposed, without the rebellion of sin. Later on, we’ll discuss how this Kingdom or rule of God ought to extend to every arena of life and how Jesus, sitting at the right hand of God in His place as our King lays claim to every inch of human existence.

After setting the priorities – recognizing who is King, Jesus moves to four petitions that cover the entirety of human existence. First, our sustenance. This directive thrusts at the idea of complete reliance upon the Father for sustenance. It also indicates we ought to pray this way regularly and repeatedly, today for our daily bread. Two other sections of the Sermon flesh out the short phrase, “give us today our daily bread.”

Matthew 6:25-34 begins “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?” And it continues “your heavenly Father knows that you need them.” Rather than worry about our daily bread, we ought to come regularly to our Father, who knows that we need them, acknowledge our dependence upon Him and simply, reverently, and faithfully ask. If we ask, “it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.“ (Matthew 7:7-11). Still, what assurance do I have that God will really do what He says? "Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him?”

Warnings

Jesus’ warnings continue in Matthew chapter 7 – don’t judge, don’t throw valuable things to the pigs, avoid the wide road, and watch out for false prophets. Taken by itself, Matthew 7:1 appears to present a prohibition against judging. However, when we couple it with the illustration that follows something different emerges. The example ends with “first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye,” not “don’t look at the speck in your brother’s eye.” Jesus did not prohibit judging, but contemptible judging, the kind that disregards the common fallen condition of all mankind with its propensity for sin, including in us. This kind makes a determination on the value of the person judged and elevates the person judging in the process. Contemptible judging does not direct itself in any way toward the benefit of the one judged. Jesus says this kind of judging doesn’t belong in the kingdom.

What kind of judging does belong? Jesus’ example gives us a good start. First, it recognizes that the one passing judgment must guard against the infirmaries of his own flesh. He must begin with self-examination, removing the vision blocking element from his own eye before he attempts to assist his brother. Galatians 6:1-4 comes to mind. “Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted. Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. If anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. Each one should test his own actions. Then he can take pride in himself, without comparing himself to somebody else.” This passage makes it clear that we judge for the purpose of restoration and we do it in a spirit of humility, understanding the well worn saying “there but for the grace of God go I.”

Within the body of Christ, we do not posses the made-up rights assumed in today’s world. However, outside the body, proper judging becomes impossible because we have lost a common standard. Each person retains the right to make their own rules, to live life the way they see fit. Imagine what that would look like in a criminal proceeding. The defendant (named Joe) enters the court and the judge reads the charges against him. When finished, Joe’s lawyer stands up with a fat book in hand and says “your honor, I have here the law according to Joe and the violations of law alleged by the state appear nowhere in Joe’s law. Therefore, you must release Joe immediately.” If Joe really does get to make up his own law, what choice would the court have? The judge must release Joe. In fact, we should call the court official something other than a judge for no judging could possible take place. Sadly, Joe becomes the loser in this story. He misses the opportunity to have his life formed closer to what God intended. Even if Joe does not respond to the prospect of an eternal relationship with Jesus, he would benefit from proper judging because it would encourage him to live his life based on the truth.

Commentators most commonly treat Jesus’ next warning as an instruction not to spend the gospel on those who have rejected it – not throwing the “pearls” of the gospel before the swine. If we view this verse from a few steps back, a fuller meaning emerges. We should not throw our pearls to swine not because they don’t deserver them, but because they have no use for them. Pigs primarily have a single goal: food. Pearls are no good for food. Let’s not force the pearls of the gospel on folks while they remain in a pigly state, one in which they have yet to understand the value of gospel pearls. Once they recognize the value, a transformation will occur. They become like the man who discovered a pearl of great price in a field and in his excitement, ran and purchased the field so he could possess the pearl.

I recently attended a graduation party for the daughter of some old friends. They live on a small road that connects to a much busier one and if I’ve missed the turn once, I’ve missed it twenty times. If I want to actually end up at my friends’ home, I have to work at it, paying attention to the where the turnoff is and make the turn. Jesus reminds us that like visiting my friends, we do not come to the kingdom by accident. Not at all. We must choose the path that leads to the kingdom and apply some effort. The path that misses the kingdom requires little effort. It has wide margins and will take any who come. The kingdom road, on the other hand, requires that we choose and act.

Finally, Jesus warns “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.” Alright, I’m watching. What should I look for? “By their fruit you will recognize them.” Grapes don’t come from thorn bushes and we don’t get figs from thistles. Only true prophets will bear kingdom fruit. And, what does kingdom fruit look like? It looks like what Jesus has described so far in the sermon. It runs deeper than the actions of a man. It comes from a heart which Jesus has transformed and it works itself out in action reflective of that transformation. Who should I listen to and who should I follow? Jesus has carefully laid out the pattern of a true prophet so we can discern his fruit. The rest is up to us.

Outside the Kingdom

In the next section of the sermon (Matthew chapter 6), Jesus dishes out some stern warnings. “Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them.” Jesus gives three examples of how the religious folk of the day missed the point of their practices. Rather than honoring God, they did little more than honor themselves. When they gave money to the poor, they sounded a trumpet. They wanted everyone to look up like we do today when we here a fire truck’s siren. They did their praying on street corners (and probably out loud). Finally, when fasting, they would put on a “gloomy face” and ignore their personal grooming. They were the first century equivalent of that co-worker who mopes around the office does everything in his power to entice you to ask “are you O.K.” so he can cut fifteen minutes off of your lifespan by telling you how horrible his life is. In each of these instances, giving, praying, and fasting, Jesus repeats a single conclusion. “Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full.”

The ability to ignore God and go our own way gives significance to our choices. If I were not morally responsible for rejecting God, my choices would mean nothing. However, since I can reject God, choosing God becomes highly significant. God respects our choices whether for Him or against Him. To do otherwise would rob us of our freedom and ultimately destroy our personhood. Without the ability to choose in this manner, we could not claim to be the image a personal God.[1]

So, if I choose to use spiritual disciplines to gain the admiration of men, God will let me do so. However, that does not mean that He’ll agree to participate in my sham. Human admiration will become my prize, all I get, my “reward in full.” Giving away my money will just make me have less money. Praying will only exercise my vocal chords, and fasting will just make me hungry.

In true Jesus form, He doesn’t stop with highlighting the old way, life outside the kingdom. Jesus points it out and then goes on to explain what life in the kingdom will look like. First, we’ll practice spiritual disciplines for their intended purpose. They’ll become part of our partnership with God in working out our salvation. We’ll give to others because they have a need that pulls at our hearts. We’ll pray to build our relationship with God, to seek His involvement in our lives, and to exercise the authority He has given us. We’ll fast to remind ourselves of how the flesh constantly chatters about our physical needs and to attune ourselves to the voice of God. And, we’ll guard the sanctity of these practices by engaging them in secret, avoiding the possibility of abusing them.

[1] The point here is not to debate the meaning of the sovereignty of God. Whether we approach our decision for or against God from a perspective of (a) human will that though corrupt still retains the ability to choose God, or (b) a perspective of compete depravity that requires action from God before we can turn to him, or (c) something between these two views, Scripture is clear that we are morally responsible for a choice against God and He will judge us so.