The Wise say What?

'But where can wisdom be found? Where does understanding dwell? Man doesn't comprehend it's worth; it can't be found in the land of the living.

The deep says, "It's not in me";
the seas says, "It's not with me."

It can't be bought with the finest gold, nor can it's price be weighed in silver...nor in ophir or sapphires...nor can crystal or jewels compare with wisdom.

Where then does wisdom come from? Where does understanding dwell? God understands the way to it and he alone knows where it dwells, for he views the ends of the earth and sees everything under the heavens.

God even said to man, "The fear of the Lord - that is wisdom, and to shun evil understanding."'

I was reading the interaction between Jesus and Pilate the other day. Pilate attempts to figure out who Jesus is or at least claims to be, a king. In response Jesus says, 'You are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I am incarnate, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.'

Interesting that Jesus turns the conversation of power and right and authority on it's head and gets to the heart of the issue...Truth. 'What is truth?' is the famous response of Pilate and one that everyone must ask at some point in their journey through life.

Truth. Where can it be found? The very same place that wisdom and understanding are found. In fact Truth is the source of wisdom and wisdom is the overflow of truth in a persons life. Understanding is the bridge between truth and wisdom.

In the sinner it enlightens them to the truth of the Gospel and then displays itself in the life of the believer through orthopraxy, right living, according to the truth of God. It is the development of a truly orthodox disciple, one who desires and wisely understands the truth of the Gospel.

Where do these things come from: wisdom, understanding, truth? They come from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth...that is Christ. And they appear in the one who confirms this truth through a humbles confession of Christs kingship in their personal life and the universe at large.

Read Job 28 on finding wisdom. Read John 18 on Jesus' eternal claim and Pilate's ongoing question.

Processed Goodness (and all my subjective crap)

I remember trying to process 'goodness' as a teenager. Trying to define what it meant to be a good person and if I really wanted to be a good, kind, upright son and citizen.

I remember wrestling internally with those parts of me that wanted so desperately not to care about what good and evil meant. I remember wanting to be free to do as I pleased regardless the consequence, a subjective goodness I suppose. Yet I also recall wanting to be free from my careless selfish thoughts and actions. I fought internally to hold onto a definition of goodness as I understood it in my context without the knowledge of Christ.

'God's invisible qualities - his eternal power and divine nature - have been clearly seen...' - Paul noted this in Romans 1.

He goes on later to explain that the Law of God made sin apparent. The Law, in pointing out and defining some of the characteristics of God, His nature and His holy expectations, also pointed out sin and evil.

Even before I heard the Gospel story I was witness to it's power in all of creation (Romans 1). Having been made in God's image my spirit, my heart, soul and mind, longed for unity with a creator and yet also longed for selfish desires too, and were they different? The Law, by nature of God's presence in creation and obvious residue in all our aspects of American law, justice, love, peace, grace, truth, hurt, pain, equality, unity etc. - brought about a struggle within me that desired deeper connection with truth...while I was aware of truth thanks to Law and creation and culture, I wasn't yet able to define it.

'through Christ Jesus, the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death,' Paul goes on to say in Romans 8.

In being reconciled to my Creator, definable Truth brought about victory over my selfish desires, perfectly in an eternal sense and yet physically it remained in tension. The struggle has changed, I'm no longer confused about goodness and it's role in life, Truth demolishes absolute confusion (though maturing in Christ brings about clarity). Goodness is defined by Christ and victory comes physically, mentally, emotionally when I'm willingly obedient to Him, let me say again, eternally it never changes.

Wrestling with this stuff as a teen was crazy. Wrestling with this Truth as an adult in Christ is healthy. Truth is fact in Christ and conceptual in it's foundational principles in this culture. It illuminates and guides. It defines and causes one to question other 'truths.' It's universal and personal at the same time. Eternal and immediate, here and now.

Years later, I'm thankful that I can define goodness and sin. I am thankful I am not still foraging for definitions that sound, look and feel good in a particular moment in such an imperfect life. I'm free from the slavery of confusion and indecision and bound to unchanging truth.

'In the beginning was the Word...In him was life and that life was the light of men.' John 1:1,4

Wrestle with this stuff. Read John's story of Christ. See how the Spirit moved throughout the early church in Acts. Read Paul's letter to the Romans to wrestle alongside Paul with these concepts of goodness, evil, truth etc.

Ravaged & Redeemed: Guys, Games and Porn...

The other night I attempted to lead a discussion with PatrisMC, a young adult community I lead. I say attempted because it may very well have been the most chaotic 'discussion' I've ever experienced...and I've spent years leading elementary and junior high discussion groups.

Now, let me say that I genuinely love this group. I truly believe the Spirit has created and spear-headed this community launch and is working to shape a new generation of disciples. That said, in several folks there is, quite simply, an inability to focus on the word, on others, on one topic...on one fruitfully developed thought for more than 60 seconds at any given moment.

I need movement. I enjoy technology. I track well with many transitions and rabbit trails - things movies and video games provide - and yet there's no replacement for genuine, respectful, honest exegesis and whole-hearted, whole-minded wrestling with the Scriptures in a group setting. Many voices. Many thoughts. Many experiences. One Word.

Jeremiah 17:5-10 was the focus of the discussion. A descriptive contrast between the person who trusts in mans strength, the flesh, the material world and worldly wisdom - and the person who confidently trusts in YHVH through Christ, the Word.

The cursed and The blessed. The ravaged and The redeemed.

I've been pondering that chaotic discussion in light of this passage all day. And in the mean time I stumbled across this article titled The Demise of Guys.

It's rare to meet a young dude (and more and more young ladies) who isn't or hasn't been addicted to some form of fast paced, insatiable, ever expanding, always renewed and yet extravagantly-destructive and life-depressing drug: video games, vulgar movies, social media, porn, ______.

To Jeremiah, God described what a truly free and purpose filled life is founded on and the fruit that comes of it. The Lord also terrifyingly described the cursed man, his foundation and the blindingly-depressed life that is his reward.

I felt this tension in the room the other night. In the midst of that discussion on Gods words to Jeremiah I could feel the spirit of the cursed pressing in on the Spirit of the blessed. I couldn't focus. I became  frustrated and many times quietly asked the Lord to bring focus and freedom to those in the room enslaved by the idea that 'whatever I want to do, whenever I want to do it is good and right and healthy.'

That false mindset founded on the quick fix and immediate gratification of self-pleasure and fulfillment has enslaved so many in the coming generation. It hasn't brought freedom, growth and maturity but only a perverted sense of empowerment and an atrophied and, if existent, faith to those who claim to believe in the very Christ who actually is life and who actually teaches against the temporary lusts of man.

The article above only reinforces what Jesus and the Apostles taught. That there is a path that leads to destruction, and as intense as that statement is, our bodies and the perverted abuse we put them through preach this to those who know us best and beyond.

It's quite the focused statement isn't it, to say that trusting in the Jesus of the Scriptures is the way to eternal life, purpose, freedom and fulfillment. And yet it takes so much faith, so much awareness of the correlation between the spiritual, philosophical, scientific life around and within us. It's such a simple truth loaded with all the complexities life offers...

Needless to say. It was a chaotic discussion the other night and yet I get it. There are supernatural forces vying for the hearts and minds and souls of each person during each hour, of each day.

Read Jeremiah 17:5-10 and Read The Demise of Guys. Cursed? Blessed? Ravaged? Redeemed?

Guts Falter...

'How long has your gut been around?' I once heard a pastor ask this question in regard to decision making. Particularly those decisions that butt against Truth.

Those heart-felt, gut-confirmed decisions that seem oh so right in the heat of the moment with current information, understanding, knowledge...and yet in acting upon them we in some way, shape or form deny Christ's Truth.

Our guts lead in many areas. From believing we're called to one particular college (seemingly innocent) to claiming that the moral nature of God found in Scripture is outdated. We may become emotionally connected to someone who lives contrary to His Divine Nature (innocent). Yet in our emotion, our empathy, our limited understanding of True Love we follow our gut in place of Truth - we trade Truth for gut. Holy Spirit guidance for gut instinct.

How long has your gut been around? 30 years. My gut has been around a little over 30 years.

...Yet the wisdom of God has guided men and women from the first breath in the Garden, wanderings in the deserts, wars and factions and reunification's, tribes and languages and cultures diverse, centuries and millenia, writings in stone on through digital fingerprints...

My gut may have another 30 years. His Truth has already outlived my gut. The Truth of God never ends or changes or falters. My gut has faltered numerous times. My gut has changed (spiritually and physically). My gut will end. And so will yours.

Our gut, our heart, our seat of emotion and response. It's wickedly selfish one day and compassionate the next. It's overflow may build up or tear down. It allows peace within our inner being and it twists us up with immense anxiety.

Are you following the moral standard formed by your gut? How long has your gut been around.

Or is your gut bowing down to unchanging Truth, the standard of God? It's His 'divine power [that] has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of Him' (2 Peter 1:3-11). Though imperfectly I truly desire to lay my gut before His throne. It's His divine power that gives life's purpose, direction, knowledge and godliness...not my gut which moves depending on meals, news articles, inspiring songs, confrontational documentaries, abuses in the church, favorite speakers or emotional responses to friends.

In other words, 'Does your Gut Win or does Christ Win out in your decisions and discernment?' What's your gut telling you right this moment? Maybe you need to do the opposite in response.

Actual, Genuine...Belief

Does genuine belief in Christ actually play a major role in salvation? Do we actually have to believe in this guy?

Jesus, teaching a crowd of Jews being riled up by the Pharisees, said this to the few who believed and put their faith in Him, 'If you hold to my teaching, you really are my disciples. Then you'll know the truth, and the truth with set you free.' John 8:30-32

Considering Jesus claimed to be the Light of the world in the midst of this discussion and the heated resistance to His testimony - I would say actual, legitimate, personal, rational belief intersects with salvation in a direct way.

The author of Hebrews follows up on this topic by noting that all those under Moses who disobeyed, rebelled and sinned ultimately died in the desert physically and spiritually 'because of their unbelief.' Hebrews 3:16-19.

To those who read, hear or see the message of Christ, Jesus is saying, 'Today...do not harden your hearts.'

Salvation is a vital gift. You and I don't have to accept it, but if we do...we have to believe it's real.

God-Man-Morality

'I am the Lord your God; consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am holy.' (Leviticus 11:44)

The breath of God in His creation of man imparted the Holiness of God into His new creation. Paul confirms that the moral law of God truly is written on our hearts. This is wild! Knowledge and experience of holiness is within each of us and has been all along.

All of nature speaks of Gods revelation of Himself, His will, His kingdom and His holiness...everyone is left without an excuse. Regardless of culture, time period, race, gender...there are clearly acts that are good and those that aren't, period. On that note Peter, the trustworthy and imperfect disciple of Christ, speaks to the church:

'As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do...' (1 Peter 1:14-15)

And so that no one can brag saying they've become holy due to their own efforts, we know that, 'we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all' (Hebrews 10:10).

God is the standard that never changes. This isn't legalism, you and I are welcome to do as we please, we're free to conform to the worlds standard. However, what pleases us doesn't become the standard. God is holy and holiness doesn't change. Our standards are to be transformed into His.

The Truth of the moral freedom within each of us didn't develop through time via monkey-men, although it's reality has been slowly revealed by the Spirit and set in Scripture. It was instilled in us from the beginning of time, before time began. It was revealed to man as man moved about.

In Christ truth was codified eternally through his sacrifice on our behalf and our breathing in and out of this reality awakens our hearts, souls and minds to Truth as it was, is and will be.

The Mind-blowing Hypernymity...

More non/thoughts on the un/knowable (G)od as seen through the eyes of the author of 'How (Not) to Speak of God'.

YHVH is mysterious.
He has not revealed every bit of who He is.
There is more to the Father than we'll ever comprehend.
Yet He has given us everything we need to know regarding truth, orthodox living, faith, salvation...(2 Peter 1:3-4 - is it possible that God would personally 'call/choose/elect' us only to confuse us?)
He has spoken, He has revealed Himself in thousands of situations throughout Scripture and as John the Apostle notes, 'Jesus did many other things as well.' (John 21:25 - if what he did was too much to comprehend or worse, not worth knowing, why even make note of this?)

Anonymity: not easily distinguished, too little info to understand

Hypernymity: too much information to understand, overwhelming sensory overload

According to Rollins, Gods revelation of Himself is so powerful, so sensory blinding that no one is capable of getting a good look at or understanding who He actually is. God is not anonymous, He is hypernonomous. He has now revealed so much of Himself that we will never decipher what has been revealed. (I'm surprised anyone managed to coherently write anything down after meeting the resurrected Jesus...)

Yes, Moses' hair turned white upon meeting the Lord.
Yes, the Lord refused to show His face when passing by Elijah.
Yes, Paul the super-apostle was blind for 3 days after meeting Jesus in all His glory.
Yet God has wanted nothing more than to connect with His people. He has repeatedly revealed Himself in ways we can grasp, comprehend, hope and believe in.

If ever there were to be a blinding reaction in the face of meeting Deity, Jesus would have blinded all. Yet even He taught the opposite. That those with open heart and open eyes would see Him for who He is. And those with a darkened heart would remain deaf - it wasn't the overwhelming Glory of Jesus that blinded people, it was their callous and cynical hearts and minds. The light of Jesus brings life, truth, understanding, faith and ultimately the Kingdom of God.

Rollins seems to ignore every shred of Scripture in order to pass off his incomprehensible un/theology of (G)od.

'To those who believed Jesus said, 'if you truly are my disciples you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.' Truth was/is objective, truth was/is factual, truth was tangible at that moment (Jesus), orthopraxy is not only possible but necessary to truly know what it is to be like Christ. Action and Faith. Paul and James.

Without reading his (Rollins) book it may be hard to gather that he knows little about Scripture and clearly shies away from hermeneutics.

I imagine Rollins heart is in the right place at times, unfortunately he seems to proclaim his 'truth' without the approval of Jesus and the Apostles, without the Holy Spirit and without the support of the Father - all of which come to us through Scripture but only to he who is Wise in the Spirit.

To close my ramblings I want to note a thought of Rollins that almost sounds authentic and worth considering...Rollins believes a follower of Christ is only a true follower of Christ once he has (if even for a moment of clarity) lost all hope of heaven and eternal life, thus resting fully in the despair of Jesus' death on the cross. To Rollins this act proves that ones faith is freely given to Christ if they expect nothing in return...such as life with the Creator for eternity. In other words - A person cannot fully experience faith until he expects nothing in return. I would almost agree...just not with Rollins reasoning.

It's interesting then that Jesus preached the coming of the Kingdom of Heaven, the Kingdom of God. His message was for all to repent, follow Him (the way, truth and life) and live forever in the Kingdom which is His. If Jesus never intended us to faithfully hope in eternal salvation, if He never wanted us to run the race and fight the good fight to receive our crown...then why continuously preach eternal life as a gift to be received?

Rollins - I agree with him to some degree - the disciple ought to wrestle with the weight of the cross, and not just the cross, but the sin that Jesus carried on it and the Life that is lost because of our sin. Vital.
Though we serve a loving God of redemption, which is the narrative of the Bible...so resting and hoping and having faith in Resurrection can't be that bad can it?

There it is. I'd like to think I'm not so defensive all the time in the face of gross error - but I suppose it hit the right nerve - not that my knowledge of God is the end all...but if Rollins is right...then Jesus was wrong.

The Unknowable-Untheology...

Let me start by saying that I love to rethink. I love the discovery process of finding God in anything and everything. The catch is that I believe God is discoverable and has revealed Himself for that purpose.

In 'How (Not) to Speak of God' Rollins lays the foundation of his view of God and the Word by stating first and foremost that:

'[R]evelation [of God throughout Scripture is merely] the overpowering light that renders God known as unknown.' (Rollins, 17) (John 1:1-34, Jesus did want to be known right?)

To help explain his point he uses the 'parable' as an example. Now in my last post I used one from Luke and pointed out that clearly Jesus isn't praising the unethical behavior of the dirty manager, Jesus used that character to shed light on a greater, specific point, which He states clearly.

Rollins, however, believes we have it wrong, that these parables - stories, these allegories, fables have an infinite number of interpretations and that all of them draw us closer to God, all of them transform us into...Christ-likeness?

According to Rollins, orthodox interpretation and theology may be eloquent and well versed but it does not transform - what transforms a person is not knowing who God really is, or better yet, that we can't really know for sure what we think we know. (2 Tim. 3:10-4:2, Paul tells us to correct false teachings with truth found in Scripture - if Rollins is right, then Paul is wrong, because we can't correct if we don't know what should be)

I agree though, we can't know the mind of God entirely, He is mysterious and no one is capable of being identical to Him. That said, we're called to be like Christ, to have His attitude, to carry our cross like Him, to be forgiven and redeemed by God, to personally be His body and worship Him as He has revealed Himself to us.

Rollins uses various stories from Scripture to show us who God really is, or isn't...though, I don't know if I can trust the theology of a person who in one breath denies we can know anything about God as revealed to us in Scripture while simultaneously using that very Scripture as His foundation for understanding this God as presented to us.

What a shame, Jesus wasted his life:

ushering in the Kingdom,

teaching truth,

travelling to open hearts and minds,

connecting personally with His creation,
healing those he loves,

dying for those he knows,

rising again for our personal salvation,
sending the Counselor to guide us in all of Gods revealed truth,
Truth that has been prophesied throughout Scripture and quoted by Jesus Himself...Jesus did all this and apparently it doesn't have to mean what He intended it to. Shhh...don't tell Jesus.

I suppose the Law wasn't really meant to guide, steer and correct.
I suppose 'command' could be interpreted, 'if it sounds good to you'.
I suppose 'I am the way, the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father but through Me' could be a way of saying, 'relax, I'm not here to say anything in particular, what do you think I'm saying anyways?'
I also suppose that when John closed his gospel noting that Jesus did so much more than we could ever imagine, what he was really saying was, 'Jesus did stuff, doesn't really matter, what do you make of it...tell me what it all means cause I don't know what Jesus was talkin' about but I'm willing to die for it.'

Nah.

I'm curious to see where this un-theology, this non-understandable-understanding leads. As open as I think I am to new ideas...the idea that we can't know anything about YHVH just because He is omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient and mysterious doesn't line up with the heart of that very same God as found in Scripture.

He reveals because He desires a relationship, a relationship more in-depth than that of an infant who only knows she has a mother but not really who the mother is. Jesus wants His followers to be mature, knowledgeable believers, faithfully following after Him...the Him He showed us - and yes, He did show us many definite attributes.

Hmm...I suppose I'll have to keep reading.

(I apologize for the sarcasm...it doesn't help in the ongoing conversation...I know)