Spectator Jesus, Part 2
While the consumer mindset and it's influence on the church have largely been negative, there are lots of other issues that we have yet to address that leads people to "go" to church rather than "be" the church. One of those issues is the tension (or outright warfare!) between tradition and change. Now, don't hear me saying that tradition is a bad thing, because it's not. However, worshipping tradition over Jesus is not okay! I'm also not saying change is bad, deciding to change things for the wrong reasons or not being anchored in truth are!
Now, in a great many churches, the phrase oft heard is, "But we've never done it that way!" This is both a denial of any possible need to do other things and a refutation of whatever idea is being presented. It's fear at its most basic. There is no need to analyze or extrapolate, the simple truth is they are afraid of losing their comfortable little world. It's another sterilization of the church, this time done by highly committed, extremely faithful people. The problem is, they're still people and their selfish desire trumps the need to do what Jesus said to. They have exchanged a wild, unpredictable Savior who is undeniably good for a staid, constant tradition of their ideal Jesus that gives them an anchor to hold to, no matter what the situation or trial, because of it's consistency. In a nutshell- they've exchanged the Creator for something created, a form instead of the substance. The idea of church as they idolize it is most important, not following the living Creator who says, "Behold, I am doing a NEW THING." Change in these situations isn't simply change, it is the destruction of an idol to move forward as people who are, once again, following Jesus.
Worshipping change is the same idea, just in the opposite direction! Change shouldn't be embarked upon lightly, but is absolutely necessary. The Reformed tradition is "reformed and always reforming," but that doesn't mean throwing out the baby with the bath water. Even Luther wasn't about creating a new church, he was calling the church back to the truth, one it had forgotten for a tradition and seriously marred interpretations. Today we see the same thing happening in many denominations- with some going as far as to say that the cry of the Reformation is dead. The five solae were the key to the Reformation: "Sola scriptura (only Scripture); sola fide (only faith); sola gratia (only grace); solo Cristo (only Christ); sola Deo gloria (only for the glory of God)." If Luther and the other Reformers hadn't believed these basic tenets, the Reformation would have died on the vine. Especially important is "Scripture alone"- when Scripture is only accessible to the few (as it was then) and only conveyed by those few, the truth of Christ gets obscured by people. That's the message today- unless you are capable of hermeneutic gymnastics or want to ignore large swaths of the Bible- you've got it wrong.
The simple truth is harder to handle- sin is sin. It doesn't matter what sin- anything that deviates from God's design is sin. My over eating? Sin. Someone's adultery? Sin. Someone else's lying? Sin. Homosexuality? Sin. Idolizing the church as it was? Sin. Worshipping change instead of God? Sin. God set an extremely simple standard- the lynchpin of the Torah- "Be holy for I the Lord your God am holy." (Leviticus 19.2). From this, all of Scripture derives it's meaning and purpose- else all we would know is we're kicked out of the garden and have a HUGE list of "to do's" & "to don'ts" we have to follow. This is the "why" to inform the "whats"and the reason Christ is absolutely necessary. No one can measure up to that call, and yet it is the requirement. Thus, by grace alone we can approach the throne of the holy God covered in Jesus' righteousness. Not covered by our church's institutional traditions. Not covered by our moral uprightness. Not covered by society's whims and wants. Only by the grace of God can we somehow stand. And how do we know the grace of God? Only through the Scriptures. And when we know the Scriptures, we now Christ. When we know Christ, we understand what God did for us and realize our absolute need for the unmerited favor and lovingkindness of our God.
Don't get stuck in the loop- "We've never done it that way before," or "That's old and irrelevant- let's change it to something we like better." Both are wrong and both lead to following something, not the Someone. Chase passionately after God in community. Value tradition and the truths discovered ages ago that still ring true. Value the needful change that allows us to take timeless truth and inject it into a sinful world that needs it desperately. But most of all, live by faith in the grace of God who sent His only Son to become sin on our behalf so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. Don't just go to church, be the church!
Sola gratia, sola fide, solus Christus, sola Scriptura, soli Deo gloria!
Now, in a great many churches, the phrase oft heard is, "But we've never done it that way!" This is both a denial of any possible need to do other things and a refutation of whatever idea is being presented. It's fear at its most basic. There is no need to analyze or extrapolate, the simple truth is they are afraid of losing their comfortable little world. It's another sterilization of the church, this time done by highly committed, extremely faithful people. The problem is, they're still people and their selfish desire trumps the need to do what Jesus said to. They have exchanged a wild, unpredictable Savior who is undeniably good for a staid, constant tradition of their ideal Jesus that gives them an anchor to hold to, no matter what the situation or trial, because of it's consistency. In a nutshell- they've exchanged the Creator for something created, a form instead of the substance. The idea of church as they idolize it is most important, not following the living Creator who says, "Behold, I am doing a NEW THING." Change in these situations isn't simply change, it is the destruction of an idol to move forward as people who are, once again, following Jesus.
Worshipping change is the same idea, just in the opposite direction! Change shouldn't be embarked upon lightly, but is absolutely necessary. The Reformed tradition is "reformed and always reforming," but that doesn't mean throwing out the baby with the bath water. Even Luther wasn't about creating a new church, he was calling the church back to the truth, one it had forgotten for a tradition and seriously marred interpretations. Today we see the same thing happening in many denominations- with some going as far as to say that the cry of the Reformation is dead. The five solae were the key to the Reformation: "Sola scriptura (only Scripture); sola fide (only faith); sola gratia (only grace); solo Cristo (only Christ); sola Deo gloria (only for the glory of God)." If Luther and the other Reformers hadn't believed these basic tenets, the Reformation would have died on the vine. Especially important is "Scripture alone"- when Scripture is only accessible to the few (as it was then) and only conveyed by those few, the truth of Christ gets obscured by people. That's the message today- unless you are capable of hermeneutic gymnastics or want to ignore large swaths of the Bible- you've got it wrong.
The simple truth is harder to handle- sin is sin. It doesn't matter what sin- anything that deviates from God's design is sin. My over eating? Sin. Someone's adultery? Sin. Someone else's lying? Sin. Homosexuality? Sin. Idolizing the church as it was? Sin. Worshipping change instead of God? Sin. God set an extremely simple standard- the lynchpin of the Torah- "Be holy for I the Lord your God am holy." (Leviticus 19.2). From this, all of Scripture derives it's meaning and purpose- else all we would know is we're kicked out of the garden and have a HUGE list of "to do's" & "to don'ts" we have to follow. This is the "why" to inform the "whats"and the reason Christ is absolutely necessary. No one can measure up to that call, and yet it is the requirement. Thus, by grace alone we can approach the throne of the holy God covered in Jesus' righteousness. Not covered by our church's institutional traditions. Not covered by our moral uprightness. Not covered by society's whims and wants. Only by the grace of God can we somehow stand. And how do we know the grace of God? Only through the Scriptures. And when we know the Scriptures, we now Christ. When we know Christ, we understand what God did for us and realize our absolute need for the unmerited favor and lovingkindness of our God.
Don't get stuck in the loop- "We've never done it that way before," or "That's old and irrelevant- let's change it to something we like better." Both are wrong and both lead to following something, not the Someone. Chase passionately after God in community. Value tradition and the truths discovered ages ago that still ring true. Value the needful change that allows us to take timeless truth and inject it into a sinful world that needs it desperately. But most of all, live by faith in the grace of God who sent His only Son to become sin on our behalf so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. Don't just go to church, be the church!
Sola gratia, sola fide, solus Christus, sola Scriptura, soli Deo gloria!
Comments
Post a Comment