One Story Only

There is one story and one story only
That will prove worth your telling...

There were thousands of books at the Brazoria County Library book sale, last Saturday. To my credit, and my wife's visible relief, I came home with only four - a thin, popular theology book about comparative religion, by Timothy George, which I will probably give away; a history of Britain at the time of Shakespeare; a novel by Faulkner; and... a first edition of Robert Graves Poems 1938-1945. All for $3.75.



It took me a while to come across Graves the poet. I'd read several of his novels - I, Claudius, Claudius the God and Count Bellisarius. I'd also read his youthful autobiography Goodbye to All That, which I enjoyed. Then I encountered the schizophrenic poet. To be perfectly honest I'd never related well to Graves' poems. Some of them (his "left-handed" poems, he called them) are satirical. Satire doesn't age well, and I found them very dated. I also found them mean-spirited, but that didn't make them poor poems, just uninteresting.
Of more interest were his "right-handed" curative poems, which still seemed dense and arcane. The Greek mythological references were usually too obscure for me (that's what an English Comprehensive school education will do for you). More often than not, I'd no clue what they were supposed to be about. Then I read, somewhere, about Graves' fascination with pre-historical myth. Specifically, I learned that Graves' imagination was captured by the Goddess myth, which he attributed to the Pelasgians who apparently inhabited Greece about 3500 B.C.
According to this myth, it was a goddess who was the creator of all things. She arose out of the primordial chaos and danced wildly until her movements created a great wind. The wind somehow became a serpent, with which she danced, and by which she bore the Universal Egg, out of which all things came. Thereafter, the serpent tried to claim power for himself, but was banished to the caves beneath the earth.
Or of the undying snake from chaos hatched,
Whose coils contain the ocean...
All very interesting, I'm sure; yet out of this myth, Graves constructed his rationale. For him, the goddess became the muse that moved him. Her usurpation by the later Greeks explained the violence of a male-dominated world. Just as Zeus begat Alexander the Great, Jehovah begat Napoleon. Instead of being warm, affirming and peace-loving, as the goddess intended, the world descended into war-mongering, bellicose, male-dominated monotheism. The solution, for Graves, is for the world to return woman to her rightful place as the dominant sex!
The most famous poem in the slim volume I picked up is called To Juan at the Winter Solstice, from which I have already quoted. Without the context of Graves' goddess infatuation it remains obscure; but with it, things begin to fall into place. The one story that explains everything to Graves is the grand theme of man's birth from woman, and his love and death in her arms.
Water to water, ark again to ark,
From woman back to woman:
So each new victim treads unfalteringly.
In a way, I can understand. Graves endured the war to end all wars. He served with the Royal Welsh Fusiliers in World War I, and was so badly wounded that, at one time, he was presumed killed in action. He had seen the worst that men could throw at each other. He had witnessed a generation being sacrificed on the bloody altar of nationalism. No wonder he preferred the embrace of a woman.


Yet the mythology around which Graves based his creative or curative poetry, and which became the defining meta-narrative of his life, was really nothing more than a romantic notion. His goddess may not have started any wars, but neither had she built any hospitals. The longing for a "female sense of order", as opposed to a "restless and arbitrary male will" may be laudable, but can you really base your life upon a tale of an empty egg?
Critics will say that that is exactly what Christians do, but I'm not falling for it. Christians have a grand narrative, by which we understand ourselves and our place within the world. But ours is based on the reality of a man who actually lived. And the empty tomb is not just a metaphor for a broken egg. For Christians it means something to say "Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again."
I don't want to imply that this is an either/or situation, that we must choose the hard masculinity of Christ over the soft femininity of Graves' goddess. You don't need to be a sabre-rattler to be a follower of Christ; after all, don't we call Him the Prince of Peace? But I do think it matters what story you take as the meta-narrative of your life, the lens through which you understand the world and your place within it. It can't just be a story that resonates with you; you can't pick a world-view on the basis of what you happen to prefer. Truth has to be external. It has to grab you. You understand your life through the story not because it gives you the results you want, but because the story is true. As I look at it, Graves accepts the myth because it fits his experience. Isn't it better to understand your experience on the basis of the story? And what is that story? For me, it's the glorious narrative of salvation history, the love story of a Creator from whom we had been alienated by our own foolishness and pride, who sent His Son to redeem us and to bring us home.
There is one story and one story only
That will prove worth your telling...
And that is the story of Christ.

Cherubini in a Crypt

What music was played at Beethoven's funeral? I was surprised to learn that Beethoven requested a requiem written by his contemporary, Luigi Cherubini. Almost forgotten today, Cherubini was once regarded as Beethoven's greatest rival. So, there's quite a story behind the used CD I picked up in a sale at Hastings this weekend!

Luigi Cherubini was born in Florence in 1760. A child prodigy, he was composing by an early age. He enjoyed success in Italy and England before settling in France. He was a court favorite during the last years of the ill-fated regime of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. Somehow, he survived the revolutionary years, even producing suitably bombastic pieces for both the Jacobins and the Girondists. Napoleon thought his music too complex, but he returned to full favor with the restoration of the monarchy. His famous requiem was written for the re-entombment of the bodies of the late king and queen, in 1816, in the crypt of the church of St. Denis, where most of France's monarchs lie buried.

That was what attracted me to the CD in the first place. I've visited the lovely Basilique of St. Denis twice now, once by myself and then with a few intrepid travelers from our church. St. Denis is way out in the Paris suburbs, in an industrial area that has seen some unrest in recent years. The church is less than half a mile from the metro station, through a nasty modern shopping center, just beyond the imposing and rather pompous town hall. It is one of the most evocative buildings I have ever seen, moreso even than Chartres. To step within its walls is to recapture something of the magnificence of medieval France. It's walls are lined with sarcophagi containing the remains of men who changed history: Clovis I is buried there (465-511) as is Charles Martel (686-741). Of course it was defiled by the Luddites during the revolution. Ancient bones were dug up and piled together in a charnel house of abuse. Only at the restoration were the bodies reinterred, together, in an ossuary, since they could no longer be separated. The crypt is quiet, cool, and pregnant with history.

I can barely imagine Cherubini's gentle introit and kyrie echoing through the subterranean passageways of St. Denis. If a rendition of the Dies Irae can make the hair on the back of your neck stand erect when you hear it on a Texas highway, what could it do if, as you listened, you stood beside the plaque marking the place where the mummified heart of the ten year old Dauphin was interred within the wall? How would the majestic Agnus Dei move you if you witnessed it as the sun filtered through 500 year old stained glass, and your eye wandered over the azure tinted fleur de lys?

Which is all to say: I hope I never stop looking for beauty in the most unexpected places; and I hope that, even in a world that can so often be cruel and ugly, I never lose the capacity to be surprised by joy.

What Christians Believe - Study Questions

The following questions can be used in small group studies to discuss the four foundational elements of our faith.

Questions. Part 1. Our Condition

1. How can you be guilty of something Adam did?
2. How is Adam’s life representative of yours?
3. How do you react when you are reminded that you are a sinner?
4. Can you give examples of natural laws, known to all people through our consciences?
5. Can you give an example of how we sometimes justify the breaking of natural law?
6. What evidence do you see that there is something wrong – in the world of nature, in human society, in your own life?
7. What means do we use to reduce our feelings of alienation or guilt?
8. What do you say to those who say that guilt is an outmoded concept?
9. What would you say to a person who did not accept that ours is a broken world?
10. What hope is there that we can repair our relationship with the God whom we have offended?

Questions. Part 2. God's Remedy.

1. The Bible says that through Jesus Christ we are saved. From what are we saved?
2. The Bible says that through Jesus Christ we are redeemed. What does it mean to be redeemed? Where else do you use that word?
3. The Bible says that through Jesus Christ we are ransomed. What does it mean to be ransomed? Where else do we use that word?
4. Why is Jesus so important in the history of the world?
5. How do we know that Jesus lived a perfect life?
6. What does the Cross mean to you?
7. Why could God not just ‘forgive and forget’ our sins?
8. Whose sins put Jesus on the Cross?
9. In what sense is Jesus a representative man?
10. Do you know peace with God?


Questions. Part 3. Receiving Redemption.

1. What is faith? How do you get it?
2. What do you bring to the table in response to the Covenant of Grace?
3. How well do you know the Bible? What steps could you take to know it better?
4. How important is belonging to the Church to you?
5. What is the relationship between baptism and salvation?
6. How important is the mode of baptism?
7. How important is worship to you? Describe a worship experience that was particularly meaningful to you.
8. How important is the Lord’s Supper to you? Should it be celebrated frequently or infrequently?
9. How is your prayer life? What could we do, together, to improve it?
10. What changes would you like to see in your daily walk with Christ?

Questions. Part 4. Blessings Given.
1. What are some of the ways in which you expect your life to change?
2. What does it mean to you to say that you have been born again?
3. Describe what it feels like to know that you have been forgiven.
4. What is the difference between God-given and manufactured faith?
5. In what sense are you God’s friend?
6. What do you mean when you say that you are an adopted child of God?
7. How has your conscience been renewed?
8. Who is God to you, now that you know Him personally?
9. What difference does it make to the way you live, knowing that you have the hope of heaven?
10. When you stand before the Lord on judgment day, what will you say to Him?




The four foundations of the Christian faith, used in this brief exposition, are adapted from a short work entitled “The Sum of Saving Knowledge” written by David Dickson and James Durham, two seventeenth century Scottish pastors. For many years the ‘Sum’ was printed with editions of the Westminster Confession of Faith and was used for educating the young.

What Christians Believe Part V

4. Blessings Given

Paul wrote: “And those (God) predestined, He also called; those He called, He also justified; those He justified, He also glorified.” (Romans 8:30)

Becoming a Christian changes you in many ways. Some of them are visible, but many are not. It’s important that you should understand these changes. When God saved you from the fate your rebellion deserved, offering the perfect sacrifice of Christ on your behalf, He also prepared blessings for you. He didn’t need to do so. God doesn’t owe you anything; but the same love that rescued you also showers you with blessings. God’s power, now released in your life in the form of the Holy Spirit, grants you these gifts:

You are born again. Before, you were dead in sin. Now, you are new born. Your past is forgiven. You have a clean slate. You get the chance to live a totally new life in the service of God’s Kingdom.

You have the gift of faith. In the past, you wondered why others had faith and you did not. Wonder no more. By God’s gracious act, you now have the ability to trust Jesus for your salvation.

You have the gift of repentance. God’s Spirit, at work in you, enables you to both see how serious sin is, and to realize your need to repent. Before, your sins didn’t bother you. Now they sear your renewed conscience. You have come alive spiritually.

You have a much deeper love for God. Now that you can see how far you had fallen, and how low He had to stoop to rescue you, you have a much greater appreciation of what God has done. Fear is replaced by love. Your relationship with God becomes much closer. You begin to understand the depths to which love will go.

Along with these inner changes, God also blesses you with changes in your outer state. Specifically, you have been changed in the way in which you relate to God.

You are justified. Your relationship with God is restored. You are acquitted, declared ‘not guilty.’ Christ’s perfect obedience, in life and in death, is reckoned as yours. Your sins have been atoned for through your Savior’s sacrifice. You are free. You are as God always intended you to be.

You are reconciled. The barrier that once separated you from God has been removed. Before, you were God’s enemy; now, you are His friend.

You are adopted. Once, like Adam, you lived in disobedience. You did not know God as your father. If you knew Him at all it was as a tyrant. So, you wandered far from Him, lonely, angry, and afraid. Now, you have come home, and God has welcomed you with open arms. You are no longer a child of darkness, you are numbered among the children of God.

Finally, you are blessed with a sure and certain hope, in these ways:

You have the hope of heaven. When your earthly body dies you will finally know the perfect holiness of those who rejoice in God in heaven.

You have the hope of resurrection. You are an heir of the promise that, when Christ returns, as He has said that He will, and God’s plan reaches its conclusion, your body and soul will be reunited.

You have the hope of eternity. When you face your Maker on judgment day you will be able to point to Christ as the source of your salvation. You will escape the fate of those who reject Him. You will enjoy the reward of an eternity of praise.

As you grow in the Christian life, you will learn that there is more to knowing Jesus Christ than I have explained in these, few lines. You will never tire of learning more about Him, and you will never regret the day you accepted the Savior as your own.

What Christians Believe Part IV

3. Receiving Redemption

Paul wrote: “Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.” (Romans 10:17)

It is wonderful news that Christ died for our sins, and that He has won our salvation. There is no better news in the world. But you also have to receive it. When you hear God’s call upon your life, your responsibility is to answer in faith.

Now, faith is not something that you can work up, like enthusiasm; and it’s certainly not something for which you can claim any credit, as though you did well to have it. Faith is simply trusting that what God says is true. To receive God’s gracious gift you must turn from your former ways, renounce evil, and decide to change – this is called repentance. Secondly, you must turn to Christ in faith, opening your empty hands, trusting that He is able to fill them. Really, this is nothing at all. It is simply the acknowledgement of God’s act in Christ. Nevertheless, it is important that you should respond to what God has done.

Why not do that now? Find a quiet place. Thank God, in these words or your own:

Lord God, I know that I am a sinner, that I have rebelled against Your will for my life, and I am sorry. I know that I can do nothing to repay the debt I owe. But I know that, by sending Christ to pay the penalty for my sin, You have opened up a way by which our relationship may be restored. On the basis, then, of His sacrifice, and claiming Christ as my Savior and Lord, I now vow to live as Your child, serving You alone. To You be the praise and the glory forever. Amen.

Not because of your prayer, but because of Christ’s death for your sins, you belong to God through the Covenant of Grace. You are a Christian. Well done! But this is only the beginning. You have spent so many years living in rebellion. Now you must learn to live in obedience to His will. By the way, it’s a foregone conclusion that you will fail, now and then. On these occasions you may be tempted to despair. Please don’t. Before, you sinned as an enemy of God; now, you do so as His child. That doesn’t mean that you should go looking for failure. You should not presume upon His mercy, thinking that, since your salvation is assured, you may wallow in sin. On the contrary, love for God should move you, increasingly, to live in ways that honor Him. As the years go by, your character and behavior should change. God has begun a new thing in you. By grace, you are a new creation.

And, you are not alone. God has provided four main means of grace that will help you to grow as a Christian. They are: the Bible, the Sacraments, the Church Community, and Prayer. Let’s look at them.

The Bible is the means by which God has chosen to reveal His nature and His plan. It was written by human hands, but we believe that the writers were inspired, and that in all matters pertaining to faith and life it is without error. It is a reliable witness to God’s acts in history, and to His will for us today. As a follower of Christ you will need to get to know the Bible. Read it faithfully. But get help. A simple daily devotional will lead you through its treasures. A good study group will help you with any questions you may have. Find a translation that you can understand. Read it regularly. Take it to Church with you. It will become a close and trusted friend.

The Sacraments are another means of grace. Through them, God gives you a visual confirmation of the Gospel. Reformed Christians have two sacraments.
Baptism symbolizes our death to the world of sin, and our rising to the community of salvation. By baptism, we say that we belong. If you have never been baptized than you should ask to receive this sacrament. It does not save you. Baptism is only a symbol of the saving act of God in Christ. Nevertheless, it is an important symbol. By it you declare your allegiance to Christ.
The Lord’s Supper, the second sacrament, reminds us of the sacrifice of the Cross. Through it, we participate in the act of remembering and are strengthened to live as Christians. There is no magic involved in either sacrament. Yet, as we take the symbolic meal and taste the bread and wine, Christ is present in our midst by His Spirit.

The third means of grace is the community of the Church. We may read the Bible alone, but we read it more profitably when we read it together. We may worship alone, but we benefit more when we worship together. With all its problems, the Church is still the main way by which God provides us with relationships that enable us to protect, encourage, and serve one another. It’s not just a matter of what you get out of study or worship, it’s also a matter of how much you give. We all have responsibilities within the body of Christ, the Church. When we ignore those responsibilities the rest of the body suffers. God can strengthen us, and others, through the community of the Gospel, which is the Church.

Fourth, Prayer is a means of grace. By it, God has provided a means by which we may speak with Him. Prayer is not really about techniques or formulas, it is simply conversation with God. Whether in worship with others, or in a quiet place alone, prayer explores the character of God revealed in the Scriptures, and it provides help and strength when we need it most.

Through these means, by faith, you receive the benefits of salvation. Through them, your relationship with God is renewed, then deepened. You cannot afford to ignore any of them, if you are to grow up in Christ.

A Call to Solemn Assembly

This is a notice for members of First Presbyterian Church, Lake Jackson, Texas.
You are asked, if at all possible to attend a Solemn Assembly, called for 7:30 p.m., July 27, 2008, in the sanctuary.

Solemn Assembly

“Return to Me with all your heart… [and] I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten” Joel 2:12, 25.

I. Purposes of the Assembly
a. to humble ourselves before God with prayer and fasting;
b. to seek God’s presence;
c. to listen to God’s Word;
d. to turn away from things that displease God;
e. to confess spiritual apathy and seek renewal;
f. to pledge a new commitment to our Covenant with God;
g. to dedicate ourselves to being God’s vessels in the world.

II. Prepare for the Assembly
a. expect to encounter God;
b. read appropriate Scripture;
c. pray, asking the Holy Spirit to prepare your heart;
d. fast, if you feel led to do so.

III. Elements of the Assembly
a. a formal assembly before God, seeking His face;
b. Scripture readings on the renewal of our relationship with God;
c. prayer;
d. time of confession, both personal and corporate;
e. time of commitment, presenting ourselves back to God;
f. celebration and praise;
g. renewal of our Covenant with God.

IV. What to expect from the Assembly
a. God to answer prayers for guidance;
b. God to reveal hidden sins;
c. God to move us to speak His truth in love;
d. God to send spiritual refreshment and healing.

Solemn Assemblies – Scripture Quotations
Please prepare your hearts for our assembly, during the coming week, by spending time in prayer. In particular, meditate upon these Scripture verses.

“Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save, nor His ear too dull to hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden His face from you.” Isaiah 59:1-2

“When I shut up the heavens so there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land, or send a plague among my people, if my people, who are called by My name, will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” II Chronicles 7:13-14

“Seek the Lord while He may be found; call on Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake His way and the evil man his thoughts. Let him turn to the Lord, and He will have mercy on him, and to our God, for He will freely pardon.” Isaiah 55:6-7

“For this is what the high and lofty One says – He who lives forever, whose name is holy: ‘I live in a high and holy place, but also with him who is contrite and lowly in spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite.’” Isaiah 57:15

“Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me. Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, and sinners will turn back to You. O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare Your praise.” Psalm 51:12-13, 15

“The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.” Psalm 51:17

First Presbyterian Church
102 Yaupon, Lake Jackson, TX 77566
fpc-lj.org

What Christians Believe Part III

2: God’s Remedy

Paul wrote: “If, by the trespass of one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.” (Romans 5:17)

When the Covenant of Works failed, God did not just give up on us. He looked for a way to rescue us from the alienation caused by our sin. It wouldn’t be easy. God couldn’t just ignore our rebellion. Neither could He just over-ride our choices, though they were foolish and misguided. Instead, God set about providing a means by which the price of our rebellion could be paid. He wanted the relationship to be restored. Enter Jesus.

God knew that only a person who had not made the choice to rebel could ransom us from the consequences of sin. So, He sent His Son. More than that, in the body of Jesus, God took upon Himself the punishment that should have been ours. Of His own free will God decided to do this, not because He thought that we deserved a second chance, but simply because of His great love for us. That’s what ‘grace’ means. Grace is the love we did not earn or merit. It is God’s mercy overflowing to those who have rejected Him. That’s why this new covenant is called the ‘Covenant of Grace.’ It is an agreement between God and His Son, Jesus Christ. By this agreement the breech is healed, the relationship is restored, and we are saved from the power and the penalty of sin.

Let’s make it personal. God has been drawing you to Himself. You’ve felt that yearning, heard His call. We don’t know why some of us hear that call while others do not. All we know is that God has the right to call whomever He wills. I believe He is calling you.

As part of His perfect plan, God chose to give you to Jesus. For His part, Jesus had to humble Himself by becoming a man. He had to obey God’s will perfectly. He had to offer up His life, taking the punishment you deserved. By His sinless life and sacrificial death, Jesus ransomed you. He drew you out of the line that led to destruction and gave you a new start. Your relationship with the Father was made right, just as He had intended it to be. Although your human body would still age, grow old, and die, you would inherit the promise of an eternity with God. These are the benefits of your salvation. To receive this gift of grace is to know peace.

Although it sounds like the Covenant of Grace follows the Covenant of Works, that’s not really true. The amazing thing is that the God who stands outside time determined, before the creation of the world, that Christ should come for your sake. So, we believe that God had you in mind when Jesus was born, in Bethlehem. He had you in mind when His Son struggled against the temptations of the devil. He had you in mind when Christ offered up His life on Calvary, the sinless lamb slain for your sins. All this is yours through the Covenant of Grace.



Some people explain it like this: Jesus performed the work of a Prophet, a Priest, and a King. As a Prophet, Jesus revealed the nature of the Good News, and encouraged sinners to believe it. As a Priest, Jesus offered Himself as a sacrifice for their sins, standing in their place. As a King, Jesus claimed sinners as His own, bringing them under His provision and protection.

All of this may sound strange to you, but at heart it’s very simple. Despite your rejection of Him, God chose to bring you home. He didn’t just forget your rebellion, sweeping it under the carpet. Instead, He dealt with the consequences of your rebellion. He sent Jesus to pay a price you could never afford. That’s what the Cross is all about. On it, Jesus bore the penalty of sin, and as He did so, He won your salvation. You can have peace with God today because of what Christ did for you.

Is it any wonder that Jesus is the central figure in all of history for us? He is, quite simply, the most important person that ever lived. But He’s not just a person. The Bible bears witness that Jesus is more than a good man. In a way that is difficult for us to understand, Jesus is God. He is not just a representative man, undoing Adam’s fall; Jesus does what no human being ever could – He offers Himself as a perfect, sinless sacrifice. Only God can do that.

In summary, there’s something wrong with the world, but Jesus is the remedy that can make it right.

What Christians Believe Part II

1. Our Condition

Paul wrote: “…just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned.”
(Romans 5:12)

Before time began, God had a plan for the world, and for our place within it. It was a plan based upon His nature. He was not just playing with us. We are not experiments in a cosmic laboratory. God is still working on that plan. The world is moving, slowly but surely, towards the end He always intended. But there have been plenty of twists and turns along the way. You and I have chosen options that are not in line with God’s will so, yes, we have sinned. That’s what ‘sinning’ means. The result of our sin is that now there is a barrier between us. We are alienated from our Maker. Yet He longs for that barrier to be removed, and for us to be in a close, fulfilling relationship with Him.

You might ask, “How did human beings learn to disobey God?” That’s a good question. It is answered in Genesis, the first book of the Bible. There we are told about creation. Now, we don’t know all of the details, but we are told that God made the world out of nothing, and that everything He made was good. God made the angels and He made them holy, that is, they were in a perfect relationship with their Maker. So were our first ancestors, whom the Bible calls Adam and Eve. As representatives of God’s good creation, Adam and Eve were also in a holy state. They spoke freely to God, but they also looked up to Him, simply because they knew that He had made them. They obeyed God because they knew themselves to be creatures obeying the will of their creator. All was well.

God entered into an agreement with Adam and Eve. We call it a covenant because it was based upon God’s promise. In this covenant, Adam stood as a representative for all humanity. If he obeyed God perfectly, living according to His will, then Adam would live forever. On the other hand, if he did not obey, Adam’s sinful disobedience would lead to his death. This covenant, then, was based upon God’s promise and Adam’s faithfulness. We sometimes call this the Covenant of Works.

You and I know that we have failed to keep this Covenant. We have made wrong choices. We have broken our promises. We may try to blame our environment or our education; we may even try to blame God; but if we are honest we must admit that we have made our own bed. Now we must lie in it. Adam had the ability to decide whether or not to sin, that is, to disobey God. So did the angels. Some fell, through pride, and became enemies of God. One was even responsible for enticing Adam and Eve to eat the forbidden fruit. By this act of rebellion the Covenant with God was broken. Humanity lost its special relationship with the Creator. Sin came into the world, and with it came death. Through disobedience, humanity was stained with sin. We could no longer be called holy. We lost our ability to please God. Even our motives became suspect. We were lost. Instead of the promise of an eternity with God, in fellowship with the One who loves us, our prospects took a turn for the worse. Not only would our bodies die, we faced the hell of an eternity without Him.

What I’ve just described is the condition known to theologians as original sin. It is the human condition – yours and mine. I want you to notice that this is not how God intended things to be. God’s desire for His creation was good. We are the ones who spoiled it by our rebellion. Adam represents us all. We have all chosen to disobey God. The result is plain to see. We spend our lives looking for something that is missing. We know that there is a void in our hearts, but we don’t know how to fill it. We try ignoring it, but the ache won’t go away. We try to substitute other things – material wealth or bodily pleasures, you name it, we’ve tried it – but nothing takes the place of a broken relationship with God. We are hungry for peace with our Maker, our Heavenly Father, but it always seems just out of reach.

All of the self-serving, destructive and violent behaviors for which the human race is known find their origin in our alienation from God. Whenever justice is perverted, goodness is abused, or loveliness is trampled down, sin has its way. This is what can make our world such a miserable place. We are not as we were intended to be. There is clearly something wrong.

So, the Christian Gospel (the Good News) begins with bad news. Our condition is not what it should be. There’s something wrong. Fortunately, this is not the last word.

What Christians Believe Part 1

Can we talk? Let’s sit down for a while. We’ve spoken enough about things on the surface of life. If you are willing, I’d like to begin to dig a little deeper.

You tell me that you have seen something in our fellowship that attracts you. I’m glad to hear it. Of course we’re not perfect. We don’t claim to be. But, you know, there should be something different about Christians. If we look too much like everyone else then we’re not doing a very good job. I hope that you have seen that we try to live with integrity. We value honesty and hard work. We have ideals – we want to be faithful people, people who keep their promises. And, if it doesn’t sound too sentimental, we want to be known as loving people. We care deeply for our families and our friends, but not only for them. We believe that we are called to love even those who do not like us, who might consider themselves to be our enemies. We’re serious about spending our lives in the service of others. At heart we are simple people. We’re not interested in the rat race. Living principled, peaceful lives is much more important to us. Of course we fail, but we still strive to live according to our ideals and our values.

It’s good to step back, now and then, to take stock of life. We know how short our days can be. Shouldn’t we live them well? So, I want to share with you some of the building blocks of my life, and I want to commend them to you. I’d like to ask you to think seriously about what I’m going to say. These things are the foundations of my life. They make me who I am.

I believe I can sum up these foundations in four simple statements. Think of them as the legs of a chair. Put together, they support me. By the way, this is not just what I believe. These ideas have been handed down for hundreds of years. They are the four pillars of Christianity. They don’t answer every question, but they do give me a useful outline of what it means to be a follower of Jesus Christ.

Now, don’t get defensive. Being a Christian is not weird, despite what some people will tell you. I know that you’ve talked to the “I’m not religious but I’m spiritual” brigade. Perhaps they have poisoned your opinions about the Church. You may be deeply suspicious of our motives. You may question our integrity. Well, go on questioning. That’s alright. We need to be held accountable. But please give us the benefit of an open mind. You’ve already encountered plenty of other groups that have ended up disappointing you. Give us a chance. See, the thing is, you can’t really be a Christian unless you are in community. The Church may be flawed, it’s certainly not as perfect as we would like, but it is still the community of those who follow Christ. Bear with us. Be generous with our faults. And when we fail, try to see beyond our failures to the God who has called us to be His own.

No, I’m not going to apologize for using religious language. Our community, here, is not just based upon shared human values. Our relationships are not just horizontal, they are also vertical. We believe that it is important that we should be in relationship with God. We are who we are because we believe we know what it takes to be at peace with our Maker. If you want to understand what makes us tick, then you will have to let me talk about God.

You won’t understand much about us unless you grasp that God is an absolutely essential part of our identity. And I don’t mean an impersonal force or power. God’s not like that for us. He is one. He is personal. And, He is interested in who we are and how we live. He is a good God; His nature is defined by love. But He’s more than that. He’s also a God of power and order and justice. We believe that we can know a great deal about God. He has revealed His nature to us. In the story of the people of Israel, told in the Bible, God has made Himself known. We believe that the Bible is a trustworthy account of God’s nature, and of how we might be at peace with Him. We don’t pretend to know everything about God, but I think we can say that we know enough. We know enough to be able to trust Him – even if we still have questions.

With all that said, what are the four foundations upon which we build our lives together? They are an understanding of:
1. Our Condition
2. God’s Remedy
3. Receiving Redemption
4. Blessings Given.

In my next post I'll begin to work through these four foundations.

New Wineskins Response to General Assembly

Responses are emerging from the various renewal organizations. Here's the one from the folks at New Wineskins.

The New Wineskins Association of Churches Leadership Team Response to the 218th General Assembly

The New Wineskins Association of Churches
Leadership Team Response to the 218th General Assembly

Theologically unhinged - The 218th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA) has become theologically unhinged from our Biblical and Reformation foundation. The actions of this Assembly are schismatic. They foster division within our denomination and threaten the sundering of the denomination from the world Church of Jesus Christ.

Specifically,

• The Assembly recommends re-writing the historic Heidelberg Catechism by truncating a quotation from Scripture (1 Cor. 6:9) in order to remove reference to homosexual behavior as sinful.

• The Assembly has asked the church once again to overturn historic, Biblical standards of sexual holiness for those being ordained. Previous authoritative interpretations about sexuality and ordination standards have been rendered void. Presbyteries will be asked to delete the “fidelity in marriage, chastity in singleness” clause of G-6.0106b.

• The Assembly has authorized creating a special fund to battle in civil courts congregations which cannot in good conscience continue their voluntary affiliation with the PC(USA). Such legal actions include not only disputes over property but, as in the Londonderry case, litigation against individual elders. Donations will be sought. However, we are hopeful that the General Assembly’s strong approval of a resolution encouraging presbyteries to initiate and communicate a gracious process for dismissal will decrease a rush to civil court on all sides.

• The Assembly has misunderstood and disrespected all three religions in its resolutions about Judaism, Islam and Christianity. The Assembly calls upon adherents to these various faith systems to celebrate religious holidays together: as if a good Muslim could celebrate the incarnation of God in Jesus Christ at Christmas, as if a good Jew could look to the crucifixion on Good Friday for atonement, as if a good Christian could consecrate himself or herself during Ramadan to a Unitarian God who is not the gracious Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of the Triune God.

• Although, the Assembly declined asking the presbyteries of the PC(USA) to redefine marriage as between one man and one woman (Mt. 19: 4-5), a civil marriage between 2 men was performed by a PC(USA) minister at the More Light Presbyterians gathering at the General Assembly. Those charged with defending our constitution have remained silent on this breach of ordination vows.

We find these actions repugnant and call upon the denomination to reject them heartily.

Meanwhile, the New Wineskins Association of Churches continues to hold to a vision of a church grounded in:

• shared, clear essential theological tenets based on historic Biblical faith
• shared ethical imperatives derived from Scripture\
• relationships of mutual accountability and support
• a polity designed for missional service.

Come Talk to Us in Atlanta on August 6 & 7th!

We invite pastors and elders serving PCUSA congregations to participate in conversations and voice concerns raised by the 218th General Assembly and to hear afresh the New Wineskins’ vision for the church.

The NWAC leadership will host this meeting for pastors and elders who share our commitment to the New Wineskins’ Essentials of the Reformed Faith, and are grieved by the actions of the General Assembly. This meeting will begin at noon, on Wednesday August 6 and conclude at noon on Thursday, August 7. It will be held near the Atlanta airport with complimentary shuttle service. For more information and to register, please contact executive director Renee Guth at rguth@newwineskinsassociation.org. A free-will offering will be collected in lieu of a registration fee. There will be NO registrations at the door. We suggest no more than 3 representatives from any one congregation because space is limited.

At this meeting we seek to encourage those

• congregations feeling called to continue to bear witness within the PC(USA) to become resistive communities collaboratively living out a vision of shared tenets, ethics, and mission.
• congregations feeling called to pursue realignment in another Reformed denomination.

In addition, our fifth New Wineskins Association convocation will be held at First Baton Rouge Presbyterian Church on Sunday, November 9 to Tuesday, November 11th. Our convocation will further the New Wineskins Association’s missional vision for Presbyterians in the 21st century!

Come consider a better way. Join us in prayer, discussion and visioning.

Grace and Peace in Christ,

Leadership Team
New Wineskins Association of Churches

What is an Evangelical?

OK, so I forgot to append this to my previous post. Shoot me. It must be PGATSS (Post General Assembly Traumatic Stress Syndrome), or it could just be AD (Anno Domini). By the way, I'm trying not to post about GA just yet. My inbox is filling up, daily, with emails from concerned Evangelicals. I suppose this is not a bad time to remind ourselves what it is that Evangelical Christians believe (and yes, it is possible to be both Evangelical and Presbyterian, I just don't know whether that option will remain for very long for Evangelicals within the PCUSA).

What Does It Mean to Be “Evangelical”?
The destinctive beliefs of the Reformation are the theological foundations of Evangelicalism. These are:

Sola Scriptura - by Scripture alone;

Sola Gratia - by grace alone;

Sola Fide - by faith alone.

In addition, we might say that Evangelicalism is:

Bible-Centered – The Bible is given the highest place in our understanding of how God has made known His nature and His purposes to the world. Through the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, the God who is objectively there has revealed universal and eternal truth to humankind in such a way that all can grasp it.

Christ-Centered – Evangelicals tend to speak a great deal about Jesus, whose coming revealed the Father’s great love for a fallen world. God's eternal Word took on human flesh in the historical man Jesus of Nazareth. He suffered and died for us, was raised from the dead, and will come again, one day, in power, to reign.

Cross-Centered - The Good News of God's revelation in Christ is seen supremely in the cross, where atonement was made for people of every race, tribe and tongue. The sacrifice of the Cross is understood as the watershed event in the history of the world. The Christian faith cannot be understood apart from this event.

Conversion-Centered - The truth of the eternal Gospel must be appropriated in personal faith, which comes through repentance - that is, a discernible reorientation of the sinner's mind and heart towards God. Ultimately, Christianity requires a response. Evangelicals see the need for conversion, and teach that, without a turning away from evil there will be no turn to God.

Action-Centered - Gospel truth must be demonstrated in evangelism and social witness. Throughout history, Evangelicals have sought to make a difference in the world by standing against such evils as slavery. Evangelicals believe that, since God loved the world, so should we, by using our lives by trying to make a difference for good.

These are the marks of an Evangelical church.

Unbinding the Gospel

I was asked by Presbytery to consider participating in a study of Martha Grace Reese's Unbinding the Gospel, published by Chalice (2007). The book is part of a series with the admirable aim of galvanizing the mainline church to engage in evangelism. So, I thought I'd better read it.

Presbytery's idea is that pastors and leaders from a number of churches would covenant together to read the book, and apply findings. It's quite a big undertaking, not unlike Stan Ott's Acts 16:5 Initiative that some of us went through a few years ago. We would examine our structure and practices, then hold one another accountable as we implemented change. Good idea, if we had a common theological understanding of the nature of the Gospel.

Here's my review.

I would like to address a couple of theological issues that make me hesitate to support the idea.
First, the book is obviously written for liberal churches. Reese can say as often as she likes that her findings cut across the theological spectrum, but that doesn't affect the fact that her audience does not really include me. How do I know this? For a start, her research specifically excluded the South, and churches that she considered to be Evangelical (p.28). (At least she maintains the distinction between Evangelical and evangelistic). On page 63, she has a telling summary of what she thinks an Evangelical is, when she comments that many mainline pastors aren't all that sure what they believe, except they know that they "aren't evangelical" (meaning "not biblical literalists"). That is, I'm afraid, a pathetically inadequate definition of an Evangelical. A better one can be found in the rationale of the Evangelical Alliance (see below). There are several places where Reese falls into the trap of patronising those who disagree with her, theologically. She assumes that mainline Christians are "clear, logical thinkers" (p.19), and quotes, approvingly, a person who equates intellectual Christians with those who are intelligent and liberal (p.82). On several occasions she talks about avoiding naivete in prayer (e.g. p.42), which I can only take to mean the childlike prayer of someone who actually regards the Bible to be true. She quotes a mainline pastor who had been raised in what she describes as a fundamentalist church, who hadn't believed or preached that people are going to hell for thirty years, who speaks condescendingly of looking where a seminarian interested in evangelism had parked his tractor (p.17). Whether or not you agree with her, it's impossible not to suspect that at least some people in our Presbytery will find such comments offensive. If, as she assumes, thinking Christians don't believe in hell (by the way, I do), surely someone is bound to ask why we say every week, in the Apostles' Creed, that Jesus went there. In brief, the book could end up opening a theological can of worms.
Secondly, I find that Reese has very little to say about the atonement. Right at the end of the book, she finally gets around to asking what it is that Jesus saves us from. She has three alternatives: sin, death, and distorted human community (p.144). Occasionally she mentions the possibility of heaven (eg. p.119) but I have no idea what she means by this. At the beginning of the book she points out that some pastors and churches avoid evangelism because they don't want to give the impression that there are not other, valid ways to God, beside the Christian way. ""I don't think we should do evangelism - it implies other religions are wrong." (p.11). Admittedly this is a quotation, but if she wants people like me to work with those who hold such opinions, then she will have to explain what we have in common. 'Precious little' would be my best guess. Reese even says that "Evangelism has no theological bounds" (p.6). But it must have some foundation. Without at least a minimal understanding of the cross, we will be sharing techniques, not faith.
Having said all this, I appreciate many of the other things she has to say. I like her emphasis on sharing the joy of the Christian life through relationships, and her insistence upon the importance of community; I have rarely seen a book on evangelism that takes prayer so seriously; she is helpful when she expalins the bandwidths of evangelism, encouraging us to grasp the opportunities that are close at hand; I also really appreciate her insistence that God is our North Star, our fixed point of reference, not the church (p.125). She makes a number of excellent, practical suggestions. But the fact is that she also comes out with comments like this: "You do not need to subscribe wholeheartedly to someone's theology to ask them to pray with you and for your ministry. If you get advice that seems strange, remember that learning about new areas of the faith is like eating fish. Eat what is good and spit out the bones." (p.53). I want to ask, "What are the bones that you want to spit out?" They may be everything that I hold most dear.
Of course, the real question is, what will we do about evangelism if we don't do this? That is a question that will keep me awake, if we decide not to participate in the programme. I just hope that churches and pastors will not find, in this book, yet another reason to avoid the E word.