It’s hard to put political feelings aside, I realize.  But I recognize that I’m part of a greater citizenship than that of a particular political party.  I’m a citizen of a heavenly kingdom first, and of a great nation second.  I think most of us recognize that.

So again, it’s amazing to me to see people already plotting our new President’s demise, after only three days in office.  I see them everywhere – CNN, Fox News, OpEds in papers, religious forums… even on Facebook.  There are, of course, the continued gripes about his policies – whether real or only imagined.  And then there are the petty jabs about something he said or did that was awkward… as if, just like our previous presidents, Mr. Obama is not a real human being who makes mistakes from time to time.

Is it possible that seeds of anger and division are already being sown, when the soil is only newly plowed?

I don’t suffer from the “savior delusion” many are claiming.  I’m as skeptical as many of you.  Barack Obama is not Jesus – he won’t be able to fix all our problems.  This side of heaven, no one is going to be able to fix all the ills that plague humanity.

But whether John McCain, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, Al Franken or even Fred Thompson had become president this week, I have concerns that are greater than any awkwardness those people might present in their first days in office.  In fact, a bit of awkwardness might be expected… if nearly anyone stepped into the most powerful office in the world without a bit of awkwardness, I’d be worried.

No matter who you voted for, Barack Obama is our president in a historic and crucial time for our nation.  In the midst of several great crises – economic, energy, environmental, and international relations to name a few – how can someone root for our elected leader to fail, and thereby allow our nation to slide into even worse condition than it already is?  Just because they hold a personal dislike for someone?  Because they want someone they “like” to swoop in and “save” us all instead?

Many imply it, but only Rush Limbaugh has been brave enough to actually say it so far: “I hope he fails.”  Granted, Mr. Limbaugh can say something like that, since he has millions of dollars and his reputation is already secure.

Perhaps Mr. Limbaugh is not governed by certain “Laws” and “Policies” that affect me as a Christ Follower.  Didn’t Jesus say to love and to pray for our enemies (Matt. 5 to for a start)?  Didn’t Paul urge us to respect and pray for our leaders and authorities (1 Tim. 4, Romans 13)?  Is there anywhere in the Scriptures where bitterness and discord are encouraged?

This is the time to support our president in prayer and in action, and work for the good of our country.  It’s the season to sow seeds of encouragement and unity, to work together to nurture the ideals that have made this nation great.  It’s time to look carefully and critically at the policies and practices of a new president, not his dance moves or his verbal stumbles.

The seeds we sow now will be reaped later.  What kinds of seeds are we sowing in these crucial days?

©2012 Notes From Jon. All Rights Reserved.

Yesterday afternoon I had a very disturbing experience.  I was checking up on the news on cnn.com, when I saw that Soledad O’Brien was doing an extended piece on the Jonestown Massacre in 1978.  Next week will be the 30^th anniversary of that tragedy, and I realized that while I had heard a lot about Jonestown, I had never really found out much about what happened there.  In today’s information age, this kind of stuff is easy to find, so I decided to do a little research.

Now I wish I hadn’t.  But in a way, I’m glad I did.  The story might be familiar to many of you – but it wasn’t to me.

First, I saw some videos of Jim Jones, and he sounded just like a normal preacher – he had a powerful voice, a strong delivery, and a familiarity with the bible that showed in the little “scripture snippets” he wove into his narrative.  I didn’t agree with all of what he said, particularly his interpretation of some passages, but he seemed solid in his understanding.  But I did agree with his assertion that Christians should be involved in repairing a broken society.  In fact, if I didn’t know the rest of the story, I probably would have thought he was just another preacher like myself… just a bit more conservative.

Jones’ popularity and wide audience in his early ministry, along with his strong convictions for racial equality, made him a natural choice as director of the Human Rights Commission in Indianapolis.  His speeches about the treatments of blacks were impassioned and persuasive.  African-Americans were drawn to his cause and to his “church.”

When he met with resistance to integration, Jones did not follow the urging of other Civil Rights leaders to remain peaceful.  Instead, he encouraged a militant attitude, saying that perhaps more violent measures were required to “free” the black people from their slavery.  While not in line with other leaders of the day, Jones’ ideas were not radical, and they made him even dearer to his congregation, of whom nearly three-quarters were black.

He equated socialism and communism with the Kingdom of God (which isn’t hard to do, by the way).  He preached that everyone should share their wealth and resources just as Jesus preached, and he tried to form villages and communes that reflected these ideals.  Again, nothing unusual – many others were saying and doing similar things in these turbulent times.

After Jones’ ideals met with resistance in his home state of Indiana, he moved his ever-growing flock to California.  His numbers swelled, even as his ideas drew scrutiny from the media and the US government.  Finally, convinced that the US was trying to destroy him, Jones moved with his family and nearly 1,000 other followers to a remote spot in the South American nation of Guyana – a few hundred acres carved out of the jungle that they named “Jonestown.”

Because he shunned visits and especially media, many were unaware that Jones’ teachings were becoming more and more radical.  He used end-justifies-the-means arguments to get his followers in the Temple to do things that were questionable at best.  He actually had his people cheering as he explained why it was OK that he had sex with many of the women in his cult – his deep godly love for his “children” made them all “attractive” to him.

And why would they question?  His followers had watched Jones fight for racial rights, had seen him defend the People’s Temple against attacks by the government and media.  He constantly declared that his actions were motivated by his love for them, so they followed as he gave them instructions for forming a socialist paradise.  They did not question as he asked them to do things that seem, to you and me, very wrong.

Concerned for the safety of their loved ones, family members of the Jonestown residents urged the US government to investigate Jim Jones and his People’s Temple.  The investigation led a US Senator, Leo Ryan from California, to fly to Guyana with a contingent of family and other officials.  Jones was receptive at first, but soon his paranoia won out.  Jones ordered his followers to murder Senator Ryan, asserting that if Ryan’s contingent made it back to the US, they would spread lies about Jonestown and the US government would take action.

Then came the most chilling part – listening to the tape that was made as Jones met with his followers following the murder of Senator Ryan.  Using scripture and using affirmations of his love for them, Jones tells his followers that they must take action.  They mostly agree, and come to the microphone to ask questions about their next course of action.

Throughout the 45-minute tape, Jones smoothly and skillfully guides their comments and discussion toward his desired outcome (once you know the end of the story, you can easily tell where he’s leading them).  Early in the tape, they suspect that the government is going to come and take them and their children back to the US.  In just a few short minutes, they progress to the certainty that the US army will invade with guns and kill everyone in Jonestown, and torture their children.

There is only one course of action, Jones says, only one solution.  They will lay down their lives, rather than have their lives taken from them.  Jones orders them to bring in vats filled with a deadly mixture of kool-aid and cyanide poison.  With calm voices, he and his assistants organize the people to follow the predetermined plan – they will kill the children first, to make sure they are safely “taken care of.”

You can hear the people milling about, getting their cups of kool-aid.  Meanwhile, music plays and Jones tells his “children” how much he loves them, and what good things await them on the other side.  You can hear the agonizing cries of children as they experience painful spasms, and the heartwrenching despair of the mothers as they watch their children die.

Then the adults have their turn.  Some take time at the microphone to express their love for Jones, and their “appreciation for all you’ve done.”  “We’re doing this for you,” one lady tells him, presumably as she drinks the poison.

There is no remorse in Jones’ voice as he tells his followers to remain calm, to face death with dignity.  There is no audible sound of his sorrow that his “children” are dying painful deaths.  Eventually, all you hear is a few moans and silence, except for sad and soulful music playing from a record player in the background…

Why did I write all this?  It was horrible to hear, horrible to recount in words – I can still hear the children’s screams as I type.  I’m trembling, as I have been for the last day.

I tremble because all of this was done in the name of God. Because Jim Jones sounded nearly all the preachers I’ve ever heard – myself included.  The rhetoric is the same, the same imagery and figures of speech.  I imagine if I played this for someone in my church who didn’t know what the tape was, and took out a few key parts, they’d likely think it was a church business meeting about something very sad and important.

I tremble because of how easily the people were manipulated.  Jones had done good things for them – fought for their rights, for their freedom, for their equality.  He had expressed his honest religious and political beliefs, and told them he was always acting in their best interests.  And they believed him.  And they followed him – from Indiana, to California, to Guyana… to the grave.

I tremble because I see how easy it can be for those in leadership – and especially in spiritual leadership – to misuse the position they’ve been given to accomplish their own ends.  We see it all the time, and while the consequences are rarely so ghastly, they are equally as life-destroying:  Ministers who abuse their emotional influence and lead their congregants into affairs; Holy men who convince their followers that violence is the only way to resolve their disputes; Priests who use their positions of power to exert sexual influence over children; Pastors who use their time in the pulpit to convince their listeners of a particular social or political viewpoint.

I tremble because I never heard the story of Jonestown in seminary, never hear of it being discussed in churches.  And I wonder how God’s people can so easily forget something that was done in the name of their God, and how we can be so easily led away from God by someone claiming to speak on God’s behalf.

I tremble because it could happen again.  And I’m writing so that I’ll never forget.

©2012 Notes From Jon. All Rights Reserved.

For reasons I’ve previously mentioned, I’ve been careful not to be open in declaring my position about this election, even though I’ve got pretty strong feelings about it.  I made a contribution, however small, to the campaign of my choice because I believed in it – and still do.  But no one knew about that donation except me and my Visa card.  I didn’t put up yard signs, didn’t make phone calls.  I recognize the power I have as a spiritual leader, and I know that by advocating a particular candidate, I might have undue sway on someone in the community (either for OR against, depending on how they feel about me!).  I’d rather use that influence for things that will make a difference.

And no matter who wins, I will support them in whatever ways I can.  I don’t subscribe to the whole, “don’t blame me, I didn’t vote for him” mentality.  It’s a cop-out.  It’s as if we could say, “Since I didn’t vote for whoever is in government, I don’t have to abide by the rules of law, and I have no responsibility for what our nation does.”  If you didn’t vote for Bush, and if you blamed him for the current economic crisis, does that mean your retirement account is immune from the stock market fallout?  Of course not.  We’re all in this together, no matter who we voted for.

Now I’ve cast my vote, and so have most of you.  So at last, I feel like I can “vent.”

I voted for Obama, and I’m going to tell you some of the reasons why.  I am NOT going to slam John McCain – in fact, I have a lot of respect for him.  He has an amazing story as a soldier and as a US Senator…

[Edit: I've decided not to post my reasons here.  If you really want to know, email me and I'll share them.  But I think the above says enough.  This blog is primarily an outlet for my writings and musings about faith.  And while I viewed this election very much as a matter of faith, I also see that it was polarizing for people of faith.  I don't want this to be a place for that.]

©2012 Notes From Jon. All Rights Reserved.

First, I felt pride.  As I drove up, I saw a line of at least 20 people outside the Kenbridge Emergency Squad, waiting their turn to vote.  It’s the most people I’ve ever seen at the polling place here, and I’m proud because so many people obviously care enough about his election that they are willing to stand out in the rain in order to vote.

Second, I had to laugh.  Most of your polling places probably looked similar to ours on the outside.  The ground looked normal enough, close to the doors where people waited to enter the building.  But about 40 feet out, you could almost see a defiined perimeter – an army of red and blue campaign signs, laying seige on the polls.  By state law, you can’t even wear a t-shirt, hat, or sticker for the candidate of your choice within 40 feet of the building entrance.  So of course, at 41 feet there are tents with people waving signs, handing out literature, and “encouraging” you to vote for their candidate.

I laughed because today, in the age of information, what use are campaign signs?  They seem like a waste of money.  They say nothing about the candidate – unless you count some of those signs attacking the opponent, which actually says more about the person attacking than the one being attacked.

I suppose, however, that undecided voters might just pull up to the polling site and begin counting the signs.  Whoever has more signs up here obviously deserves to be president.  Or if you’re undecided and you’re a gambler, maybe the “eeny-meeny-miney-moe” technique would work for you.

What do you think?  Is there a place for yard signs in future elections?

©2012 Notes From Jon. All Rights Reserved.

I encourage you to have a look at Chuck’s post from last week: “Why I will not endorse a candidate for president.“

©2012 Notes From Jon. All Rights Reserved.

Romans 5:1-8
“Rejoicing in Suffering?”

Last week we talked about the plotline of the story Paul is telling.  The exposition, the narrative hook, the rising action, the climax, and the falling action.  We also talked about how this is not just a novel or some story we’re reading – but that at the climax, each of our stories begin.  We hear the good news, we are confronted with the power and truth of the Gospel.  The rising action asks the question: How will we respond?  Paul assumes we will respond in true faith that changes our lives.

So Paul continues in chapter 5:

Rom 5:1-2 Therefore, since we have been declared righteous by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,  (2)  through whom we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in the hope of God’s glory.

This sounds good so far, right?  But Paul never leaves well-enough alone.

Rom 5:3-8 Not only this, but we also rejoice in sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance,  (4)  and endurance, character, and character, hope.  (5)  And hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

And why do we have hope?

(6) For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.  (7)  (For rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person perhaps someone might possibly dare to die.)  (8)  But God demonstrates his own love for us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Woah, Paul.  Why’d you have to go there?  Rejoicing in “the hope of God’s glory” from verse 2, that’s good.  Why don’t we skip a few verses?  There’s no need to talk about suffering, is there?

But this is not the only place this is mentioned.  Paul talks like this at least 11 times in his writing; James mentions suffering with Christ;  In Revelation, in the letters to the churches, it seems as if those early Christians must suffer for Jesus’ name.

Even Jesus himself hints at it a couple of times:

Mat 5:11 “Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you and say all kinds of evil things about you falsely on account of me.

And when Jesus talked about “taking up your cross,” people didn’t look at that as some symbol like we do.  The cross was a real, ugly and awful thing to them.  It would be like Jesus saying to us, “sit in the electric chair and follow me.”  There’s no mistaking what he meant.  For more on this idea, see 2 Cor. 4:11-12, Philippians 1:29-30, Phil 3:10-11; Colossians 1:24; 1 Peter 4:13-14.

What’s this about?  Why can’t we just stick with hope and not have to work through the whole theology of suffering?

First, it’s important to realize that Paul’s talking about REAL suffering.  He’s not talking about not being able to pray in school.  He’s not talking about being sad that the stores now use the word “holiday” instead of “Christmas.”  He’s not talking about seeing the Ten Commandments removed from a courthouse.

He’s talking about agony.  Betrayal.  Physical and mental suffering, like Jesus experienced.

And we don’t just ENDURE the suffering.  We aren’t just CONTENT with it… we REJOICE in the suffering.  How on earth could this be?  Why would anyone but a sadist want people to “rejoice” in their suffering and pain?

Other Reactions to Suffering

We don’t like to think this way – actually, we don’t like to think about suffering and pain much at all.  And it’s mostly because of who we are and where we live.  We’re so blessed to live in a place that’s relatively free of suffering and persecution.  It’s difficult for most of us to imagine actual “suffering” like Paul describes, because many of us have no idea what it’s really like.

Some Christians here in America have developed a different kind of theology that says we SHOULDN’T suffer.  It’s called “Prosperity Theology.”  They take passages from the scripture that talk about God’s blessings, and they translate that into everyday life.

“Are you suffering?  Are you poor or hungry?  It’s probably because you don’t have enough faith,” they would tell you.  God is placed as the middle-man in a greater system, whereby we receive blessings as long as we do things in just the right way.  We have to pray specific prayers, and we have to ask in faith.  We have to sacrifice in order for these blessings to come – especially if it means giving money to a certain person’s ministry.

To be fair, this is a caricature of these popular speakers and preachers.  Not all who teach the so-called “Prosperity Gospel” are this way.  But the root of their theology says that God doesn’t want you to be unhappy or to have to suffer.

To talk like this ignores all the teachings of the scripture about suffering.  And ironically, in the same way that it was necessary for Jesus to suffer and die in order for us to be saved, it seems that in some way we must also suffer and die in order to accept that salvation.

Another extreme is called “asceticism.”  If you read the book or saw the movie “The Da Vinci Code,” you probably remember the character of Silas – the albino assassin monk.  Whenever Silas committed a sin, he would whip himself, and would wear a collar with spikes that drove into his thigh.  One of the ideas behind practices like this is that if we are to “rejoice” in our sufferings, then we ought to spend our lives seeking out suffering.

The truth lies somewhere in between these two opposites.  I don’t think God ever promises us that life will be rosy if we act just the right way.  In fact, the amount of persecution and confusion we stir up seems to be the best judge of how well we’re living out the message of Jesus.  And if the Prosperity Gospel is true, there are a lot of wonderful Christian people out there who obviously have it all wrong – people who live in poor countries, or who have terrible diseases they cannot get rid of.

Neither do I think we’re called to inflict pain and suffering on ourselves.  We’ll get plenty of that if we truly act in Christ’s name.

Both of these extremes take God’s tools and put them in our hands.  We’re using these things as an end in themselves, when God sees them as a MEANS to an end.  When God gives material blessing in the scriptures, it’s usually for one of HIS OWN purposes.  When suffering occurs in the scriptures, it’s not just to make people feel bad.  God’s using it for something.

But WE are never called to use these things.  These are God’s tools, not ours.

Putting it Together

So how in the world can we make sense of this passage?  Psychologically, it actually makes sense, and Paul has given us the clues to understand it.

Rom 5:3-8 Not only this, but we also rejoice in sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance,  (4)  and endurance, character, and character, hope.  (5)  And hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

Paul shows us a progression:  Suffering   ->   Endurance   ->   Character   ->   HOPE

I learned a lot about my body when we were trained for our first marathon last year – a lot about what my body needed for different tasks.  For a marathon, my body didn’t need extra strength.  I also didn’t really need extra speed – It wouldn’t matter if I could win a 400-yard sprint.  I could have the strongest and fastest body in the world, but I wouldn’t have been able to run 26 miles.  What I needed was ENDURANCE.

And you don’t buy endurance in a sports drink.  You don’t get it by sitting at home and thinking about it.  In order to get the endurance, you have to practice those LONG runs.  You have to do longer sprints and get your body used to the hard work.  And while I’m not calling it suffering, it certainly was not pleasant at times…

This is what Paul’s talking about with endurance.  Life is not a sprint.  We don’t just sit back and run our little bit and then hang it up.  We’re in it for the long haul.  And in order to develop the endurance to deal with the difficulties of life, we have to EXPERIENCE those difficulties and learn how to deal with them.

And this endurance is what produces CHARACTER.  We are the sum of our life’s experiences, and true character is not something that’s taught or gained by reading a lot of good books.  Character is developed as we deal with life’s difficulties and learn to overcome them.

And finally, character is what produces HOPE.  And HOPE is one of the most important things we have.

Paul’s saying, “You want to have the mind of Christ?  You want to be transformed into the image of Christ, just as God wants you to be?”  You want to live with the hope of God burning so brightly inside you that others can see it?  You want to be able to weather the storms of life, to bend but not be broken?

You can’t skip the first step – suffering.  There are no shortcuts.

This is why we rejoice in our sufferings, Paul tells us:  Not because we enjoy the pain, but because of what that pain will eventually produce – endurance, character, and hope.

©2012 Notes From Jon. All Rights Reserved.

———————–

Casting the First Stone

Romans 1:24 – 2:16

Catching Up…

Two weeks ago, we started looking at Paul’s letter to the Romans.  Here are some of the things we learned about the book:

• Paul is writing to the church in Rome, which he did not start and which he had not visited.
• He is writing mostly to non-Jews, so he is forced to explain his arguments in ways that non-Jews (like us) can understand.
• Paul is also taking this chance to outline his understanding of the Gospel – our need for salvation and how God provided for that need.

Paul is using an argument that he has carefully thought out.  Paul is a highly educated man, and he is skilled at putting together arguments that are persuasive.  Here is the beginning of the outline of Paul’s argument.

• God’s anger is stirred up against ALL human beings:
  • No human being has an excuse – whether we have heard directly or only perceived in nature and in others, EVERYONE has some sense that there is a God.
  • So it is not IGNORANCE that stirs God’s wrath, but our deliberate rejection of him – especially when we know the Truth and ignore it.

We found encouragement in Paul’s outline of the Good News that God has done something about this already.  But we also found a challenge – especially for those of us who have HEARD the Truth and KNOW what it means to obey… but we CHOOSE to disobey anyway.

Moving Ahead – The Wickedness of “Them”

Now we’ll read 1:24-32.  It’s not an easy passage for us to hear:

Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator-who is forever praised. Amen.

Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion.

Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done. They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.

There are all kinds of things that we could latch onto here, and all kinds of things that might make us uncomfortable.  But let’s take things in proper order.

First, let’s notice the nature of sin and the judgment we receive.  Three times (v. 24, 26, 28) Paul says that God “gives us over” to the consequences of our sin.  God allows us free choice in whether or not we will obey him.  So when we do or do not obey, our choices make a difference.  And when we choose to disobey, our choice makes a difference.  When you get pulled over for a DUI, God’s not going to intervene and get you out of jail time and fees.  God does not remove the earthly consequences for sin.  This is part of the judgment we face.

So we see that judgment for our sin does not always come from God – it also comes from US.

The Controversial Question of Homosexuality

Now I debated whether or not to use these verses as I went through Romans.  The writers of the Lectionary left them out, and many preachers in our kinds of churches choose not to dwell on such topics.  There are some controversial things here, and some would tend to be sensational and try to stir up anger or righteous indignation.

But when we come to God’s Word, and we find something that is difficult, we can NOT run away from it.  We have to wrestle with it, try to understand it.  We have to pray that God would give us understanding, and that he would give us wisdom to know what to do with the things we DON’T understand.

And so I did a little wrestling, and I began to understand.  I still don’t understand the whole issue of homosexuality, and I don’t pretend to.  I have some ideas, just like all of us probably do.  But I also know we cannot turn off our brains when it comes to God’s Word.  Neither can we ignore all the other things that God teaches us in our lives and conversations.

I have known, and still know, many homosexuals – both men and women – who are Christians.  When I talk to them, I have no doubt that they are Christians.  Some of them HATE what they have become; some are merely comfortable with it; others are happy and seem to enjoy it.  I have sat and cried with a couple of my best friends who are gay, who grew up in the church and who denied for so long that they had these feelings.  They didn’t want to be this way, didn’t want to act this way.  And some are STILL tortured because of this thing they don’t understand.

They are human beings, just like you and me.  They have things they do that they don’t want to do – things they don’t understand – just like you and me.  I’m not making any kind of statement about the sinfulness of homosexuality – it’s not my place, and I’m not 100% convinced of anything.  But about one thing I am certain:  They are human beings, just like the woman Jesus rescued from being stoned.

There are churches so determined to be God’s judges in this matter that they have gone to great lengths.  You’ve heard about them in the news – particularly a church in Kansas that uses its church money to send members around the country to protest at funerals.  They go to these events, making sure the media are present, and carry signs that have all kinds of explicit language and pictures saying that God hates homosexuals.  They bring children to the picket lines, and give them the most explicit signs for shock value.  They have been at the funerals of soldiers killed in Iraq, children killed in bus crashes, people who have died of AIDS – any event they can link as God’s punishment against this particular sin.  And they raise an outcry and wonder why families are beginning to keep the location of a funeral secret!

These kinds of actions, these motivations, I simply can’t understand.  Have these people ever actually talked to someone who’s gay, gotten to know them?  I can’t help but think they’ve focused on one portion of scripture to the exclusion of all others… and it’s the parts they’re excluding that we REALLY need!

Grace and Judgment

I understand that there is a constant paradox (at least for us) between God’s wrath and God’s grace.  But when we focus on one at the expense of the other, we miss the Gospel message completely.  Look at the Gospel story we read earlier in the service – when the people brought to Jesus a woman who had been caught in the act of adultery.  It was clearly wrong – no question about that.  The scriptures were clear.

But did Jesus respond with judgment, or with grace?  Both.  He made sure the playing field was even.  For the woman, who had already experienced “judgment” from the mob, he offered grace.  And for the mob he offered a kind of mild judgment.

But I’m not up here this morning to talk about the evils of homosexuality.  I’m not here to talk about how any sin is worse than another.  Come to me anytime, and I’ll be glad to talk with you about my understandings and studies on homosexuality.  But these two verses did not provide me with a revelation about the practice and state of homosexuality in God’s kingdom – Paul didn’t mean for them to.

In fact, I think Paul’s up to something

Paul’s Agenda

We can see what Paul’s up to by looking at the details in the passage.  First, note how Paul lines up the list of sins.  He starts with some of the “hard-hitters,” the ones everyone thinks about.  In Paul’s day, homosexuality was widely practiced and accepted in the Roman Empire.  And for Jews and Christians, there was an obvious conflict.  The homosexual question was just as “hot” in Paul’s day as it is today.  So he starts there.

But he doesn’t STOP there.  Look at some of the other sins he mentions… ones that come closer to home, perhaps:

Wickedness, Evil, Greed, Depravity, Envy, Murder, Strife, Deceit, Malice, Gossiping, Slandering, God-hating, Insolence, Arrogance, Boasting, Inventing new ways of sinning, Disobedience against parents, Senselessness, Faithlessness, Ruthlessness, Blatant disobedience of God’s decrees

And second, look at Paul’s use of a simple pronoun to make a point.  Throughout these verses he uses “they,” allowing us and his hearers to think that Paul was talking about someone else.  That’s one of the ways the Devil works most – is allowing us to compare ourselves to someone else and think, “at least I’m not THAT bad…”  You can almost feel the anger mounting as Paul mentions some of the sins, then the confusion begin as he gets down to things like “gossiping” and “disobeying your parents.”

That’s where he turns around and delivers the punch at the beginning of chapter 2:

You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things. Now we know that God’s judgment against those who do such things is based on truth. So when you, a mere man, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God’s judgment? Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness leads you toward repentance?

5But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed. 6God “will give to each person according to what he has done.” To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life. But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger. There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile; but glory, honor and peace for everyone who does good: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. For God does not show favoritism.

Nit-picking

We could dwell on these individual sins.  But if we did, we’d be missing the point.  Paul is not making theological statements about certain sins here.  In fact, just the opposite – Paul is saying that we have ALL sinned, and we are ALL under judgment.

My girls aren’t at this stage yet, but I know it well.  Two children get in a fight, and no one sees who really started it.  They’re rolling and scratching and yelling and punching, and you pull them off each other.  When you do, what’s the first thing they say?  “He started it.  No, SHE started it.”

And what’s the first thing YOU say?  Do you try to arbitrate between them?  Do you all sit down and try to get to the root of the problem?  No.  That’s useless, because the truth of the matter is that they BOTH had a hand in starting it.

Paul is reminding us of an important fact, one that today’s church around the world (but especially in the U.S.) needs to hear and pay attention to.  It’s useless to point fingers at one another, saying “look what he did” or “look what she did.”  GOD is the judge, not us.  We may see the outward action, but we can never determine the state and motive of someone’s heart when they do something.  Only God can do that.  And only God can say he’s never done anything wrong before.  So only God can pass judgment.

So what’s our job?  Grace.  God gives judgment and grace, and we are only capable of giving grace.  Because when we look at the ledger book of our lives, and see our sins written in red ink, the AMOUNT of red ink is not going to matter.  If we only sinned once we’d still be under judgment.  Fighting over individual sins is ridiculous – like arguing over how many bullets killed a man, or how many matches an arsonist threw on the gasoline.  The number doesn’t matter – it was the first one that tipped the balance.

All we can do is offer grace and love.

Closing

Paul’s headed somewhere with this, and we’ll see where that is in the weeks ahead.  If the first part of Romans offered us a challenge, this one offers even more.  Paul is not trying to differentiate between sins – he’s showing that ALL of us are equally under judgment.  Paul’s not trying to set himself or anyone else up in a place to judge the actions of others – he’s saying that NONE of us can judge another’s actions, no matter how bad they may seem.  Paul’s not handing out grace and forgiveness – he’s saying only GOD can do that.

But there’s more ahead – including some good news!

©2012 Notes From Jon. All Rights Reserved.

Album Cover: Before the Throne by Sojourn Music

Shea Gilbert, a friend of ours, stumbled on an interesting song I decided to check out.  I love it – the tune has a simple, hymn-like quality, and the lyrics express what (in my opinion) should be Christians’ proper prayer and concern for our nation (ourselves included).  It’s certainly not the “strong” position we’re used to hearing as Americans: it exhibits weakness, expresses doubts about our own motives and actions, it’s repentant and thoughtful…

It’s published by Sojurn Music, and it makes me want to hear some more of their music.  The lyrics are below, and you can find an mp3 recording here.

Falling down upon our knees,
Sharing now in common shame,
We have sought security,
Not the cross that bears Your name.
Fences guard our hearts and homes –
Comfort sings a siren tune.
We’re a valley of dry bones;
Lead us back to life in You.

Lord we fall upon our knees,
We have shunned the weak and poor,
Worshiped beauty, courted kings
And the things their gold affords,
Prayed for those we’d like to know –
Favor sings a siren tune.
We’ve become a talent show;
Lead us back to life in You.

You have caused the blind to see,
We have blinded him again
With our man-made laws and creeds,
Eager, ready to condemn.
Now we plead before Your throne –
Power sings a siren tune.
We’ve been throwing heavy stones;
Lead us back to life in You.

We’re a valley of dry bones
Lead us back to life in You.
We’ve become a talent show
Lead us back to life in You.
We’ve been throwing heavy stones
Lead us back to life in You.

©2012 Notes From Jon. All Rights Reserved.

You can read the article yourself (follow the link above), but here’s the final few sentences that said what I wanted to say in my sermon.  He always has a way of saying it better!

Doubt is not the opposite of faith. Certitude is the opposite of faith. Doubt is an essential human quality that keeps us from being tricked into thinking we know what in fact cannot be known. We can have faith in God, but as humans we are incapable of grasping the totality of who God is.

A little healthy doubt keeps us honest and humble.

©2012 Notes From Jon. All Rights Reserved.

One of my goals in preaching is clarity – making sure that by the end of my message, what I’m saying has been clearly conveyed. Realizing of course that clarity depends partially on the one who’s hearing as well as the one who’s speaking, I work to make sure my presentation is easy to follow and understand, keeps the attention, and doesn’t try to fit in too many different ideas at once.

Sometimes I feel I do pretty well. Other times I don’t, and this past Sunday was one of those times. So what I’m doing now is trying to clarify. I apologize for not being as thoughtful about this sermon as I usually am. But I’m not taking back anything that I said. I simply want to make my own thoughts a little clearer.

So what follows is an expanded and (hopefully) clearer version of the sermon I preached on Sunday.

—

Introduction – Poor Mr. Thomas

Before I read the scriptures for the message, I want to play a little game. It’s called “word association.” Psychologists use it all the time to get at our deepest thoughts, but I want to use it this morning to prove a theory.

I’m going to say a disciple’s name, and I want you to call out the first thing that comes to mind when I say it:

• Peter [responses included "steady," "denial," "foundation," "great preacher."]
• John [responses: "beloved," "faithful"]
• Matthew ["tax collector," "Levi,"
• Judas ["traitor," "betrayer"]
• Thomas [a resounding "DOUBTER"]

[Here, the scriptures were read]

How many of you have ever “doubted” God? Questioned? What were the circumstances? Look at Mr. Thomas, the disciple. He has been looked down on for centuries because of his doubt – even gaining the nickname “doubting Thomas.” And somewhere along the line we’ve picked up the idea that what Thomas did was wrong.

After all, the Bible seems pretty clear about doubt in places. James 1:6 says the man who “doubts” in his prayer is like a wave of the sea, tossed with the wind. In Mark 11:22-24, Jesus tells us to ask without doubting and anything we ask will be accomplished.

But look how lenient Jesus seems to be with those who doubt – even Thomas. Notice that all of the disciples doubted at some point, and were not convinced until they had seen Jesus face to face. And Thomas is not asking for any special proof – he’s merely asking for what the other disciples have seen, since he wasn’t there when Jesus showed up the first time. Jesus showed them his hands and side, so why can’t Thomas see it too?

“Tsk, tsk, Thomas. You should have believed all your friends – even though you know for a fact that Jesus was dead three days ago. Even though very few people in history have ever come back from the dead, you should blindly believe these men because they say it’s true.”

But can we blame him? You and I can see after the fact, but we weren’t in the garden, and we didn’t watch from afar as Jesus was paraded down the streets of Jerusalem with a cross on his back.

And then there’s the phrase that is comforting on first brush for us, but then puzzling: “blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

Blessed? Exactly what kind of blessing is that, Jesus?

You’d have to be a little off NOT to doubt – look at the fantastic claims we’re asked to believe, all based on no firsthand knowledge at all! If you have never doubted, for even a moment, then you either have a supernatural gift of faith, or you might want to check to make sure you understand what you claim to be true. Paul called it foolishness for a reason – the story is almost nonsense unless you choose to look at it through eyes of faith.

Thomas was not alone in his doubt that week. At least he was sincere in his doubt, if a little stubborn. And Jesus was graceful to him and to the disciples. He knew the disciples had doubts, so he ate before them (which they considered proof that he was not a ghost). He knew Thomas had doubts, but he didn’t say, “Now Thomas, don’t you feel ashamed of yourself?” No, he simply turned directly to him and held out his hands for Thomas to see.

To me, it seems Jesus was very merciful to Thomas if doubt is really the sin we make it out to be…

Is Doubt the Ultimate Sin?

Talking about doubt is difficult for Evangelical Protestants, and I think I know why. It’s because of the atmosphere we’ve created around “faith” and “belief.”

We’ve been taught – and had it regularly reinforced – that salvation comes through “faith alone” (Ephesians 2:8-9). We’ve turned the word “faith” into “belief,” and by belief we mean this: We’ve decided that we think something is true. Despite all our better judgment, despite our faculties and senses telling us it’s difficult to believe, we’ve decided that it’s true that Jesus was the Son of God, performed all kinds of miracles, and died and raised from the dead. It’s a decision, a work of the mind and will.

And this, we think – this decision, this leap of belief that takes place completely in our minds – this is salvation, and nothing else. We call it all kinds of things: “accepted Jesus into my heart,” “invited Jesus into my life,” (both based on the image in Revelation 3:20, which I believe is taken out of context) or “gave my life to Jesus.” But the main idea is the same – “faith” is an exercise of the mind, not something we do with our lives. After all, salvation comes by “grace through faith, and not by works, lest any man should boast.”

It’s a free gift, we say. It’s absolutely simple. Just read this tract, and you’ll understand. Just pray this prayer and you’ll be saved. Just be really sorry for your sins, and then you’ll have it. It’s easy, the easiest thing in the world.

There are all kinds of problems inherent in this understanding of salvation. It creates a paradox that we just don’t want to admit or to talk about. But rather than get on that soapbox now, I’ll put my ideas on that at the end of this post (see the section marked “Postscript“).

But my point is this: In this kind of atmosphere, where “belief” is everything, the worst thing we can imagine is DOUBT. Question God? Wonder about the accuracy of the Gospel accounts? Have second thoughts about God’s goodness in light of all the evil in the world? These things seem dangerously close to damnation, so we’ve been taught (or at least told ourselves) that asking questions is a sin. Questions like that are for the pre-saved, we think. Once you’re saved, you don’t question at all – you “check your brain at the door.”

Case Studies

Job’s story makes us uncomfortable, then. What to make of this man on whom God allowed all kinds of calamities to fall (we won’t even talk about how uncomfortable that idea makes us)? I think a lot of folks have never read Job all the way through, so we’ve contented ourselves with pithy ideas without ever getting to the heart of the story – “he has the patience of Job,” we’ll say… never mind the fact that, most of the time, Job wasn’t very patient at all.

Job refused his wife’s advice to “curse God and die,” but he came about as close as you could get. He didn’t hold anything back – accused God of being his enemy, of hating him, of mocking him, of besieging him with the intent to kill. He wishes he’d never been born, and wonders why God would have created him just to be a kind of punching bag. He rants, says that no matter what anyone else may say that God is unfair, and calls the heavens and the earth to witness that God has wronged him.

All the while, his friends are trying to convince Job that he has sinned, that he brought this on himself, and that he’s wrong to talk to God this way.

And in the end of the book? If we really read it, we might not know what to expect. Maybe God will come out and reveal all the behind-the-scenes betting that was taking place. Maybe God will come out and finish Job off for being so impetuous. Maybe God will give everyone a little theology lesson in theodicy and divine motivation. Maybe God will reward these three friends who kept telling Job to keep his mouth shut.

But what really happens is surprising. First, God answers Job by saying, basically, “I am wise enough and powerful enough to have created everything in the universe. Do you really think you would understand if I told you?” And then to Job’s friends, he says, “My anger is stirred up against you… because you have not spoken about me what is right, as my servant Job has” (42:7).

What??!! Didn’t God just get onto Job for asking too many questions? What about all this stuff Job said about God being unjust, unfair, and cruel? How could God just cover over all that stuff?? This seems to fly in the face of what we’ve been taught about questioning as the ultimate sin!

And what about Moses and his constant arguing – we might even call it bickering at times – with God? Or Elijah, who accused God of ruining his life and asked to die? What about Jacob, who both literally and figuratively wrestled with God? What about Jesus himself who, in the Garden of Gethsemane, seemed to be having second thoughts about what lay ahead?

All of these people display a relationship with God in which it is OK to question, OK to doubt. As Job’s story points out, we don’t understand what God is doing most of the time, and it’s natural to have questions about that. How many people have ever asked God “Why?” in a time of crisis? How many people have ever wondered about all the miraculous events that the Bible claims?

To me, this is where “faith” takes over – NOT blind faith that says, “I’m just going to ignore all that stuff and pretend I don’t have questions.” It’s a faith that says, “I don’t understand, but I’m going to act on what I believe to be true. I don’t understand why Jesus asked me to love my enemy, or how it’s even possible, but I’m going to try. I don’t understand how God could have raised Jesus from the dead, and I’m never going to have historical proof – but I’m going to proclaim it anyway.”

It’s a faith of ACTION, not just of mind. I can “believe” all I want that humans can breathe underwater, but my mental stubbornness is not going to change the fact that I can’t. If I really “believe” it, I will ACT as though I believe it – I’ll decide to walk across the bottom of an ocean, let’s say. Belief and faith are not passive, mental things that we THINK – they are active, living and breathing things that we DO.

Doubting vs. Un-faithing

The word for “doubt” in the NT – diachrino – is relatively rare, and it’s generally used to mean to discern, judge between, or to hesitate. It’s really only used twice in reference to how we act toward God – by James and by Jesus (mentioned above), to talk about how we ask for things in prayer.

I don’t think we need to be afraid of questions and doubting. But there is something I think we need to be afraid of. That word is “un-faith.”

In the NT Greek, there is no distinction between the words “believe” and “have faith.” When you see those two words, they are the same word in Greek – pisteuo – that someone has decided to translate one way or the other.

The opposite of these is apistia – “un-faith” or “unbelief.” Between doubt and apistia, apistia is the more dangerous of the two. Apistia is the reason Jesus could not do miracles in certain places – because the people would not have faith. Apistia is the reason the disciples could not cast out demons when Jesus could. Apistia in Hebrews is the reason some people will not enter the Sabbath rest God has promised.

We need to recapture the Greek notion of faith/belief. To the Greek mind, these words “believe” and “have faith” mean the same thing – to trust in something, despite our reservations. It means to trust enough to act upon our trust. That’s how James can say things like, “Faith without works is meaningless.”

We’ve made a distinction between “having” faith in God and “acting” on that faith. We look at belief as some kind of mental exercise – like learning the multiplication tables, and we either get it right or wrong. But there IS NO DISTINCTION. Faith is not knowing just the right facts. Faith is trusting in something that may or may not seem trustworthy, and acting on that.

Some people have used the illustration of the chair to talk about faith, and it helps us somewhat. But when I came up and sat on that chair, I wasn’t exhibiting faith. I was using my senses (sight, maybe feel) to decide whether that chair was trustworthy, and I made that decision based on my senses. Now, if I’d come up, and the chair had only three legs and looked like it was about to fall over – and I decided I’d trust it enough to sit in it anyway – THAT’s faith. That’s putting my belief into reality.

The opposite of faith is “un-faith,” “unbelief” and all the things that come along with it. Fear, cowardice, refusal to act when God has spoken to us. These things are much more dangerous than asking questions.

I look at it like the story of the sons who were asked by their father to work in the field – one said “no” but went anyway. One said “yes” and did not go. Which one was obedient?

You can “believe” all you want. You can learn the multiplication tables of Christianity and have everything down pat. Theologically, you can be as solid as a rock. But if you “believe” these things and do not ACT on them – when God has called you to share his Gospel, when God has called you to minister and care for the poor, when God has called you to a closer and deeper walk with him – that’s much more dangerous than doubt. That’s flat-out “un-faith.” And if we look at the biblical stories, we find that “un-faith” is the most dangerous place we can be.

The Difference?

What’s the difference between doubt and un-faith? I think this is crucial. And to understand it, we can look at the stories where un-faith is mentioned. As followers of Christ, we enter into a relationship with God – not just a king-servant relationship, but a friend-friend relationship. Yes, God is the one, true, almighty God. Yes, God is the omnipotent creator, his ways are higher than our ways. But for some reason, that God decided he would stoop down to become one of us. And when he did, he said, “Now I call you my friends.”

When we decide to “faith” God, decide to hold onto him and to act as if his word and promises are true, we enter into a relationship of loyalty. That means we are holding onto that relationship, even when we don’t understand what the Other Party is up to. The key is the loyalty to the relationship – not loyalty to a theological construct or doctrine, not loyalty to a book – loyalty to God himself.

It’s a loyalty that says, “I don’t understand why you’re asking me to do this, and I’d love for you to explain. But even if you don’t, I’m going to do it anyway because you’ve asked me to.” That’s the kind of faith Abraham exhibited when God asked him to leave his home behind, and later to sacrifice his only son. That’s the kind of faith Jacob showed when he “wrestled” with God. That’s the kind of faith Moses showed when he “bickered” with God over the fate of the Hebrew people.

That’s the kind of faith Job showed, too. Notice the main difference in his statements and those of his friends: Even though he was angry, hurt, and confused, Job directed these feelings at God, not at his friends. Job may have said some things that were not true of God, but he didn’t go talking to his friends “behind God’s back.” He was loyal to the relationship.

It’s a loyalty that says it’s OK to question and doubt – but it’s not OK to let go.

The Good News, the Bad News, and the Good News

So, we have good news and bad news, and good news again.

The good news is that the questions are OK. We’ve seen from a few biblical characters – and could find dozens more – that questions and doubts are OK, as long as we aim them at the Source and hold fast to the relationship.

The bad news is that we’re all probably guilty of “un-faithing” sometimes, when we allow our doubts and questions to draw us away from a relationship with God. This is the very situation that Thomas and the disciples found themselves in – the word Jesus used with them is “stop un-believing and believe!” They had shut themselves behind closed doors, forsaken the teaching and instructions that Jesus had given them – they could not understand, and they had abandoned the relationship.

Like them, we have a tendency to wander from the relationship and allow our human doubts and fears to draw us away. Like them, we have a tendency to pretend faith, when we are actually too fearful to act on what we know God is calling us to do.

But there is still more Good News. Even in the midst of their un-faith, Jesus turned to those disciples and offered grace. And he offers us the same. May our prayer be that of the man who wanted Jesus to heal his daughter – “I believe… help me in my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24).

—

Postscript

First in my mind is the fact that we’ve made the act of salvation a “work” once again. Somehow, we’ve convinced ourselves that when Paul said “not by works,” he meant we aren’t saved by volunteering at the homeless shelter or by going to church every Sunday. This is true, but the point I believe Paul was making was that salvation is a work of GOD, not of human beings. If we say that salvation is still dependent on our making this mental decision, we’re still saying it’s dependent on US. Think about it – even if God offers all the incentive in the world, and makes it so easy that we only have to do one thing, but we can’t get salvation until we do that ONE THING… then who does salvation depend on?

Second, if salvation is a matter of a mental decision to believe, what are the exact requirements for belief? Do we have to “believe” that Jesus was born of a virgin? Do we have to “believe” the doctrine of the Trinity? I could go on listing doctrines, but I put the word “believe” in quotation marks because to believe these things means something different to every single person. There is no list in the scriptures that says exactly what we must do – Romans 10:9 comes closest, but even that can be interpreted lots of ways. Does “confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord,” mean simply saying those words? Do you have to say them in Greek? What does it mean to “believe in your heart that God raised [Jesus] from the dead?”

Third is the fact that Jesus never said salvation or discipleship were going to be easy – in fact, he seemed intent on talking people out of it sometimes. This “free gift,” simple-as-a-prayer salvation doesn’t seem to fit with, “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother, and wife and children, and brothers and sisters, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.” How is that easy? Or is discipleship not required for salvation? Speaking of which…

Finally, this idea places a separation between faith and works, ignoring the fact that 80% or more of the instructions in the New Testament are concerned with the way we live our lives if we really have “faith.” And yet, we persist in saying all that’s required of us is “to believe.” As much as no one wants to admit it, this way of thinking makes our behavior a secondary matter to this primary mental exercise of “belief.” First we have to get saved, then we start the business of works.

But what if we never get around to changing our patterns of behavior? It makes us uncomfortable to say it, but someone could be a lying, murdering thief, could stumble into church drunk one night and be “saved,” then stumble home and continue about his ways until he died. And that man would still be “saved.” We’ve come up with all kinds of ways of talking around this – “maybe he was never saved to begin with?” – but we still must admit that we believe our actions to be a secondary part of salvation… again, ignoring the fact that the vast majority of the New Testament teachings involve our behavior, not some indefinable mental condition (and Jesus’ teachings are an even greater percentage).

I don’t pretend to understand how salvation works, and neither did Paul – he always talks about it as a mystery. But I have a hard time with the idea that a sacrifice so costly to God would be so simple for us to receive and cost us nothing in return.  I don’t think Jesus died just so that we could get a free pass into heaven.

©2012 Notes From Jon. All Rights Reserved.