Your Freedom and the Word of God

Imagine, for a moment, you were born somewhere in Europe, around the year 1350. More likely than not, you would not have been literate, and indeed, language at this time was very segregated by region. Languages could change 10 times in what we would now call a single country, because there were still not many ways of communicating other than hand written letters and books.

The church held most of the power in regards to education and literacy. If you were to become ‘literate’, you almost certainly had to be a monk or a priest,unless you were very well off (and then still the church controlled education). And further to this, the church mass, and indeed the whole realm of Christian scripture, was in Latin. The problem was, by 1350, Latin was not anyone’s primary language.

In a world where many people couldn’t read and write their own language, knowledge of something you heard for an hour on Sundays (if you even went to church weekly) was very limited.

Even further to this, it was church policy that only the church should interpret Scripture – the common person couldn’t be trusted with their own interpretation, and so, it was illegal to translate the Bible into anything but Latin.

So, chances are, you would have never read the Word of God, and even if you went to a Church, may never have heard any of it in a language you understood. You may not have understood much of the mass at all! If I spoke the below to you today (and for most people in 1350), you would just look at me funny.

sic enim dilexit Deus mundum ut Filium suum unigenitum daret ut omnis qui credit in eum non pereat sed habeat vitam aeternam

Worked it out? No? That is John 3:16 direct from the Vulgate.

Romans 10:14-17 (ESV)
How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?” So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.

Your Freedom

In our modern era, we take access to the Word of God for granted. It is no thought to us any more – book stores (even secular ones) carry Bibles. There are internet websites that carry translations in more languages than ever before. Even in our English language, you can get enough translations to fit a bookshelf.

But do you appreciate it?

What was they key trigger for the reformation? It was people first reading the Word, and having God reveal it to them. This then spread, and the reformation took hold.

What are you doing with your freedom to read and study the word, to worship and live for Christ, and for most of you, free from serious persecution…

What would happen if you studied the Word like it was a precious resource, and then discussed it – like the reformers?

Don’t take your freedom for granted, but thank God for it, and make full use of it!

Book Review – The Next Story by Tim Challies Part 3

(Todays post is a follow on from yesterday, which are personal reflections on technology and Christianity. Please take a read of that post, as this is a direct continuation)

Yesterday we discussed technology in general and the internet. We  then went over the first two personal risks of idolatry and distraction. Today I want to continue with Reliance and Church, remembering that it is not technology, but our application and use of it that we are concerned with here.

Reliance

Our next issue is reliance on technology, rather than God. We can see that technology does all these amazing things for us – why do we need to rely on God? I heard an argument recently that because of ‘Moore’s Law’ (basically describing how fast technology grows), we will be able to create life in our own right within 100 years (heard at podcasts from the White Horse Inn). This person was relying entirely on technology to substitute for God.

Another issue with reliance is relying on technology to service our Christian needs. We rely on Facebook groups to be our community. We rely on blogs and online teaching to give us solid grounding. We rely on Christian music to give us worship. We rely on our technology to bring us closer to God, which leads into my next point.

Church

I am aware this will be a controversial point, but I think in many contexts, we have ‘church’ wrong. In our modern western society, we believe church is a combination of worship songs and preaching. For some people, it may also include some form of sacrament, such as communion and baptism.

I honestly think this perspective is wrong. Church is a gathering of people. People are the church. It might be argued that ‘meeting’ online is the same, but I disagree (and I think the Bible does also). Online I can easily hide my feelings. Indeed, I can be someone entirely different. I can be who I think I am based on my Facebook profile and what people ‘like’ about me. I could be mortally wounded in my soul, but ‘praise God’ online. I can act happy, when I am not. I can be anyone, anywhere, and no one would know any different.

When people gather together, physically, there is a different level of relationship than online. You can see and know in minutes whether someone has an issue if you are physically with them. You can pray for them, cry with them, counsel them, put an arm around them, or even rebuke them if needed. You might be able to ‘virtually’ do some of these things, but I don’t believe it is the same, because the level of relationship online is simply not able to be the same.

Physically we can also perform things like communion and baptism, which the Bible affirms as important. I also think that the task of making disciples can only truly occur in a physical setting, because the teaching, guiding and even rebuking are so much harder when you cannot really see and know the person, but only their online persona.

Based on our faulty assumption that church is ‘just worship and preaching’, we can then easily say we can substitute physical attendance with a group of believers with an online ‘experience’. There are hundreds of online churches now, or internet churches. These places are as a rule not a bad thing. But I firmly believe they cannot replace the physical gathering of believers. Worship is good, but it is not church. Christian songs are good, but they are not church. Preaching and teaching are both good, even essential, but they are not church. I listen to teaching in my car all the time, and sometimes music, but it is not church.

Church is a physical gathering of believers in one place. (If you are looking for a more focussed study on ‘church’, ‘Ekklesia’ and ‘Logos’, I found Mark Roberts post ‘What is a Church’ and ‘Is Online Church Really Church?‘ very helpful, but there are many other resources as well)

The risk then is to the whole church, or Biblical concept of church. We begin to see our technology as a way to save time, and yet go to church. Or we see it as a way to attend a different church, more exciting church, larger church, etc. So we interact in a chat screen with other Christians, or maybe an online Pastor. We post to our Facebook that we are attending, just so all our friends know (or can click ‘like’ to edify us). But I think we miss that key ingredient – that is, the gathering of believers.

Please don’t misunderstand – I think that the online experiences available are in many cases great things. They reach out to the unchurched. In some cases, they fill a need for people who physically cannot attend church for a time and a reason (for example, someone in a hospital bed). But I don’t believe it should ever replace the physical gathering of believers for any length of time.

Conclusions?

I think there are many things we can take away from these thoughts. The key one for me is that technology brings great benefit to many things – but is also brings great risk. We need to continually evaluate not just the technology, but its use and effect in our lives, by the written Word of God. We need to continually ensure that we are not taking the easy, wide path, but are travelling by the narrow road (Matthew 7:13-14). Technology can make many things easier, but that doesn’t mean they are better.

Take some time to evaluate these things in your life, and what effect they have. If you are concerned, seek out answers. A good starting place is Tim Challies book, which is reviewed here. They key though is your life before God – not technology. Don’t let technology take away from God, or what He has for you.

Lord God, thank you for all of the benefits of technology, that you gave us the gift to find out about and use. Guide us in its use, teach us to be discerning stewards, always searching for your will. Show us where we are at fault, and bring us closer to you. In Jesus Name. Amen.

Book Review – The Next Story by Tim Challies Part 2

As promised in yesterdays post, today I wanted to post some personal reflections on modern technology, and our relationship to it. Because of how long this post ended up, I will be splitting it into 2 parts. Part 2 can be read here.

From a technical perspective, I’ve been a ‘geek’ for many years. I had my first computer in the mid ’80s (a Commodore Vic 20, followed by the amazing Commodore 64, with tape drive!), and had broken and repaired computers before 1990 (at which I was still in high school). I have since worked in technology related roles for many companies, from helpdesk, desktop support, project management and team leadership from 1992. At home we still maintain a ‘technical’ house – laptops, desktops, iPhones, iPad, Kindles and consoles populate every corner of our house, and are all frequently used. We are truly a technologically blessed house.

From a biblical perspective, I’ve been a Christian for over 20 years now, and including 6 month stint at a Bible college in 1993, have always enjoyed studying deeper into theology, part of which is hopefully borne out in my life, and on this blog.

So the question arises, what effect does technology have on Theology, and Christianity?

Tim Challies in his book, The Next Story – Life and Faith after the Digital Explosion, raises some significant points that we need to consider.

The first is that in the current technology explosion- primarily that of on-demand technology and the internet, has changed the way the world works already. Even if I look at my own life, we rely on the internet for much of our communication. I email my wife daily through the day. I use email to communicate with much of my family and extended family.

Even more concerning though, is that the internet drives my work. I currently manage the technology for around 15 retail stores across the country. The only way these stores work together is that they are always connected – through the internet. If the internet were to go ‘down’ centrally, all stores but one would be crippled, as they no longer have the tools locally to function. 2 Weeks of no internet would almost certainly send the business on a rapid road to bankruptcy, and leave 200+ people unemployed.

I am not saying that the internet is about to fail – but my point is that it is an essential foundation to modern business and personal life. Just like cars, or telephones, or electricity, without the internet, life would immediately stop. It has become essential to a majority of people.

The question then arises, what does this mean for us as Christians?

Firstly, in that technology has become essential for life to continue as it is, I think there is no effect. As Christians the backdrop of life on this earth is not very important. We trust in God. We know God has His plans for this world, and we know God knew all about the internet before He created the first living thing. God knows what is going on, and if the internet does fail, he already knew it would and will use it for His glory, while still providing for us.

The real issue though, as discussed in Challies book, is our use of technology. There are some significant risks here.

Idolatry

The first obvious issue, which I mentioned in yesterday’s review, is idolatry. We can become enamoured with technology as a ‘thing’. We can always live and desire the latest, greatest thing. We can start to think that we cannot live without some of this technology in our lives. It can also be brand related – I know many ‘geeks’ who worship at the ‘temple of Apple’. Many people love Apple products, but some people have made them (and in some cases, the CEO Steve Jobs) an idol.

I came across this in my life just this week. My iPhone died. Long story which I will not go into the details of, but I wondered what will I do? Can I get it repaired? Do I go and get another one, or do I go and get an Android phone? I wasted at least an hour reading reviews of the latest and greatest Google Android phones, wondering if I could somehow swing it into the budget, because the iPhone was not working. Idolatry? No, but I am sure it certainly got close. Why do I love this device so much? Because it’s cool, I always have games, or Bible reading with me. I use it for hours each day to listen to teaching. Surely this is a good thing? Yes – but I don’t need an iPhone to do that. I have other devices, maybe not so new, maybe not so cool, maybe not even so simple to use in one device, which will meet all of those needs. I have a phone, I have an iPod, I can do this. So I went from ‘needing’ a new iPhone or replacement, to realizing it really isn’t necessary in my life, no matter what I might feel.

Technology also makes it easier to find more and more idols, and maintain our worship of them. Be it communication (Facebook for example), the need to be loved, sports worship or even celebrity gossip, technology allows us now to engage in any of these things more and more, and for them to become preeminent in our lives – in short, to become an idol.

Distraction

Distraction is one of the greatest issues with technology. We can’t turn our phones off even in Church, or visiting a friend. If it beeps in the middle of a conversation we pull it out to see, without even thinking of the other person we are physically with (this has become almost normal behaviour). We can’t be without our phone beeping every time someone likes our status on Facebook. We need to know if someone emailed us – no matter what the time, no matter how mundane.

The other thing technology does is allows us to fill our lives. We can fill our lives with on demand television or movies – at the click of a button. Apple TV or netflix will deliver us something – now. Or maybe we can play a game on a console or the PC. More often than not, we can sit in front of our TV, stream a netflix movie while looking up something on our iPad and having our iPhone go off next to us every time we get a text or email. We are distracted. We have no room left for our own thought even – let alone room for the creator of the universe! We have no room for quiet contemplation and meditation. We start to believe all the ‘likes’ on Facebook, rather than take time to know ourselves and come before God in repentance.

Come back tomorrow for my thoughts on the next two points, reliance and Church!

What do you live by? Matthew 4:1-4

Matthew 4:1-4 (esv)

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.”

But he answered, “It is written,”‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’“

What do you live by?

About 12 months ago my wife and I were ‘church shopping’. We had just recently moved countries (intercontinental flights each weekend being a bit much for a Sunday commute), and were looking for our new home, where we would be in fellowship with other Christians and hear the Word of God.

In one church we visited, we saw many people there we knew. The kids had a great time at kids church. The second week we were there the pastor was preaching on how to live a better life, and quoted primarily from a book by Rick Warren.

What?

Needless to say, we didn’t return.

This post is not here to pick on other sources that we may use from time to time. There are many good books out there, and also documents like creeds, confessions and catechisms that can help guide us in our knowledge and understanding of God. But none of this replaces the Word.

God has revealed Himself to us in two primary ways. We have general revelation, that being the creation all around us (Romans 1:20). And we have specific revelation, which is the Word of God, otherwise known as the Bible.

If you take the scripture above from Matthew, we are called to live by ‘every word that comes from the mouth of God‘. How can we do that? By reading those exact words, God’s inspired words, the Bible. The Bible is our one single source of God’s words into our lives.

And we are called to live by it.

What do you live by?

I encourage you, read your Bible. Every day. More than once a day.

Are you looking for tips to make your life better? Do you want to know how to be healthy, wealthy and wise? Then read your Bible, every day. You will come to understand God’s plan for your life, God’s wisdom, and God’s plan for eternal blessing and salvation.

Prayer

Lord God, thank you for your Word. Thank you for guiding your servants to record the things you have done and said, that we can still read them, and through them and your Spirit, be reconciled to You. Give us a passion for Your Word, that we cannot go a day without reading it. Give us a hunger for Your Word that we yearn to look into it more, and through it, know You. In Jesus Name. Amen.

Unlimited, Unmerited, Undeserved Grace – Psalm 23:5-6

Psalm 23 5-6 (esv)

You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord
forever.

(Please, if you haven’t read the previous posts, you can find Verse 1 here, Verses 2-3 here and Verse 4 here)

Sola Gratia, or ‘Grace Alone’, is one of the key doctrines of the Protestant church. What is grace alone?

Romans 3:23-26 (esv)

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

Ephesians 2:8-9 (esv)

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

We are saved then by grace alone – through Gods grace towards us in our lives, not through anything we have done, or any good thing that is in us.

Grace is simply this – the unmerited, undeserved favor of God towards us, in our lives. We are all sinners, we have all fallen short of Gods highest standards, and therefore, are worthy of nothing but death and punishment.

And yet….

Through Jesus Christ we find unmerited grace and favor in our lives, that the punishment that should have been ours because of our sin was was on by Him, that we might be found right before the Father.

And yet…

Not only found right with God (which you could very well call grace enough!), but also we suddenly find ourselves totally and utterly blessed by God, in so many ways. These last verses in Psalm 23 to me speak of two things – blessing and protection (which could also be said to be a blessing).

Protection

As we have already seen in the previous verses, the person who is submitted to God is already under the protection of the Great Shepherd. But what protection! A table is prepared for us – in the presence of our enemies. That is more than protection, that is utter disregard to any power that they have over us or Him. They have no power at all to affect anything, so even in their presence, God is able to bless us. You would think that the psalmist here is overstating the case to bring the point home – but the most amazing thing is that it is not overstated! God is really that powerful.

Blessing

And what blessing! Firstly we are anointed with oil, as a visible outward sign of Gods blessing upon us. Our cup is also not full – it overflows. We don’t just have enough, we will always have too much than we can hold or deal with.

Forever

Finally, the last piece of grace. We are not just protected and blessed for a time. We are not ‘the flavor of the month’, with a short burst of grace and gradual decline to nothing. We are blessed, forever. In eternity with the Father, dwelling in His house.

The more I think on this, the more it just blows my mind. Undeserved, unwarranted favor of God, upon our lives. Forever.

What other response can there be but to praise and worship Him?

Prayer

Lord God, thank you for your grace in our lives! It is so amazing we cannot comprehend it enough to truly give you thanks. Once again we come before you and submit our lives before you. Once again we call you Lord of our lives, and declare that we shall not want. Thank you that even though we are deserving of nothing but punishment, you have paid the price and allow us to come before you and submit ourselves to you. Guide us in your way that we might be effective members of Your kingdom, to Your praise and glory. In Jesus Name. Amen.

(Photo: Flickr / Mike Chen)