Making Insiders and Outsiders

A second counterfeit form of spiritual maturity is outward appearance.  In his commentary on Romans, James Dunn noted that first-century rabbinic writing focused on dietary law, circumcision, and Sabbath keeping.  Why would the rabbis spend so much time on these ancillary aspects of the faith?

Because all groups want to define who is in the group and who is out.  Groups tend to establish "boundary markers" to make this distinction.  Sociologists define these markers as highly visible, relatively superficial practices- like dietary laws and Sabbath customs.

Conforming to boundary markers too often substitutes for authentic transformation.

The church I grew up in had its boundary markers.  A prideful or resentful pastor could have kept his job, but if ever the pastor was caught smoking a cigarette, he would've been fired.  Not because anyone in the church actually thought smoking a worse sin than pride or resentment, but because smoking defined who was in our subculture and who wasn't- it was a boundary marker.

Boundary markers change from culture to culture, but the dynamic remains the same.  If people do not experience authentic transformation, then their faith will deteriorate into a search for the boundary markers that masquerade as evidence of a changed life.

John Ortberg, "True (and False) Transformation," Leadership Summer 2002, 102.

Amen and Amen.

John Ortberg hits the nail on the head with this article and this quote.  What is amazing is that groups often cannot see that they have created an artificial boundary marker.  It is assumed.  It is part of the culture.  It is the very air they breathe.

Yet, outsiders can feel it immediately.

This is one of the primary reasons that churches do not grow!  Only people who outwardly conform to our boundary markers- before arriving at our church- will feel welcome and loved when with us.

Notice that the cause of our boundary markers is rooted and established in unbelief.  Because of a lack of individual and corporate  transformation, we consciously and unconsciously establish secondary boundary markers to define "true life."  Unfortunately, they have nothing to do with a transformed heart by the grace of Jesus Christ!

How do we escape these tendencies?

I think there are two ways to escape.  First, we can attack the ugliness of our boundary markers directly.  Then, folks will repent of our these idols when confronted with them.  Unfortunately, this rarely works.  Why?  To confront our boundary markers is to attack our "spirituality."  Even if it is false spirituality, it feels like life to those who practice it.

Such confrontation of false spirituality is what got Jesus killed.

The second means of escape is like the first, but it is a bit more subtle.  Instead of directly dealing with the false boundary markers in others, we merely proclaim, model, live out, and believe the real gospel of repentant, dependent faith.  Such faith always leads to transformation and joy.  From this position of life change, we can invite folks to something deeper and better than false boundary marker spirituality.

I wish I could say this always works.  Yet, my experience tells me that it works sometimes but not always.  Why?  People hold on to their false spirituality even when it does not work to produce transformation and joy.

Such gospel living and proclaiming is what got Jesus killed.

Even with these potential pitfalls and possible rejection, gospel-living and gospel-believing is the call of the True Church and all true believers is Jesus.  Authentic spirituality removes the need for defining who is inside and who is outside (also who is right and who is wrong).  It puts us all in the same boat of needing grace to be transformed by faith in Jesus as our source of life.

Are you willing to take up your cross and follow Jesus to promote this true spirituality?  What steps can you take to begin or further this promotion of the gospel over false boundary marker spirituality?

Living an Authentic Life of Faith

Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, through the insincerity of liars whose consciences are seared, who forbid marriage and require abstinence from foods that God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth.  For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected it it is received with thanksgiving, for it is made holy by the word of God and prayer.

1 Timothy 4: 1-5

Recently I was talking with a new convert to the faith.  This man had lived a rough and hard life away from God.  In the past couple of months, the Lord pursued him and brought him to faith.  It is so encouraging to see God work the ultimate miracle of bringing folks from darkness to light!

As we talked, it became evident that he was searching for what to do next.  What does faith mean in the real world?  What about my love for having a beer, watching football, listening to country music, etc.?  Now that I am a believer, what should I do?

I find this is often the question that keeps people from growing in their faith.  It is a question that keeps them in fear and doubt.  On the one hand, they do not wish to be a hypocrite who now goes to church but is at a bar.  On the other hand, they hear the call for faith that brings life, but they do not wish to be miserable by having to give up all they love.  What should they do?

I think much of what passes for Christian counsel on this issue is well intended, but not helpful.  Here is what I heard as a new believer.  

"You must give up all that worldliness.  You should listen to Christian music.  You should come out and be separate from all the evil of the world.  Destroy the music CDs, clean off the iPod and get music that is godly.  Come hang out with only Christians because your worldly friends will lead you astray."

Have you ever heard this advice?  Have you given it?

I think some of this advice is solid.  Worldliness will kill your soul.  Yet, what is worldliness?  My definition is that it is anything that makes the truth of God look foolish and the foolish traditions of our age look like truth.  There is much of "hard living" that is marked by worldliness.  Yet, as I often have argued in this blog, there is also much of our "Christian community" that is also marked by a strange "religious" worldliness.

What do I mean?

What is the most important element of the truth of God?

We are saved, sustained, and grow by faith in the objective work of Christ on our behalf.  Through repenting of our unbelief and believing in Christ as our only hope, the Holy Spirit transforms our heart by grace so that we live more and more in light of God's presence and will.  This is a process that often moves in fits and starts.  Yet, by His grace we do grow!

In place of this truth, many sincere (and some not so sincere- see Paul above) believers emphasize the human law and tradition in place of an emphasis on repentance and faith.  They emphasize the human will and "making right choices" without understanding that our will and our choices are driven by our corrupt heart.  Why?  Because their understanding of life is more often marked by our corrupt cultural understanding of humanity (coming from the Enlightenment and through postmodernism) than by a Biblical perspective.  

So, these folks emphasize what you should and shouldn't do to "help" people grow.  They emphasize avoiding "worldly" activities and enforce total immersion in the Christian community.  Many of these folks use church and the Christian community as a totally separate world- I would call it a Christian bubble- to protect themselves from the evil outside their bubble.

Notice the above passage by Paul.  "The Spirit says that in the later times people will depart from the faith  by ... forbidding things that should not be forbidden."  Honestly, did you see that coming?  Does he not care about protecting folks from worldliness, sin and death?

Of course he does!  He just realizes that worldliness, sin, and death can take many forms.  From this passage, what would he say about today's world and to new convert who is struggling to apply the faith to everyday life?

First, the bar scene can easily be marked by worldliness.  If it leads one away from faith, it is best to avoid it.  If drinking leads you astray, stop it.  If surfing the web leads you to surfing the porn sites, don't surf the web or don't ever surf while alone.  Avoid those places and behaviors that lead to sin.  Protect your faith by remaining in a place of repenting for your unbelief and believing in Jesus by asking Him for grace to grow deeper and to tell others about Jesus.

Yet, as a new believer, you will never have more contacts with folks that need Jesus than you do right now.  Go tell folks about Jesus and what He has done in your life!  Some will reject this message and perhaps you.  Others will share in your journey of faith and join you!  Tell your friends about what God is doing.

This might well mean that you meet them in the bar.  Why?  This is where you met them for years.  What is different?  This time take Jesus and your faith with you.  Ask Him to open conversations.  If drinking is a problem, drink a coke instead.  Most folks will assume it is rum and coke anyway.  The bar is not necessarily evil.  It is what you do while there that determines if the place or activity is good or bad.

In terms of music, does becoming a believer mean your music choices have to change?  Perhaps.  Perhaps not.  What would Paul say?  "Everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, for it is made holy by the word of God and prayer."  As part of the created order, music has a profound impact on our soul.  It can point us and prepare our hearts to reflect goodness or evil.  Like all art, it is a doorway to the heart.

Does the music you listen to lead you to sin by leading you away from depending on Jesus in repentance and faith?  If it does, then stop listening to it.  Perhaps as you grow in grace, you will be able to pick it back up later when you can bring Jesus with you as you listen to music.  

I have to be honest here.  I find that listening to much of what passes for "Christian music" does not help me grow in faith.  I find the lyrics trite and the musical ability of the bands mediocre at best.  I also find that much of the "Christian radio teaching" is not helpful to my growth.  Thus, I avoid it!  I love music and I have been musician and hung out with good musicians for decades.  I prefer good music and real lyrics to some worldly version of the Christian faith.

So, where does this lead us?  "For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, for it is made holy by the word of God and prayer."  Bring Jesus with you in all you do- work, play, hobbies, relationships, sex, eating, worship, and hanging out.  When you do, He will use it all to help you grow deeper!

Also, those new to the faith have an opportunity to witness that will never come again in the same way. Tell your friends.  You do not have to have it all together (trust me you never will), but you can point to the only one who does- the Lord Jesus Christ.

A Second Counterfeit: The Judgmentless Gospel

What is the gospel?  In my post on August 14, I provided a template for understanding the gospel borrowed from Trevin Wax's The Counterfeit Gospels.  He argues that the gospel is like a three legged stool in that it has three distinct elements and if any of the elements is missing the stool will fall.

As he presents it, these three gospel legs include the gospel story, the gospel announcement, and the gospel community.  Each of these elements are vital for maintaining the truth of the gospel.  Each of these elements are often forgotten, lost, or ignored by segments of the "Christian community."  I think one of the most helpful elements of Wax's book is his take on how these gospel legs are ignored and forgotten.

For example, on August 19, I posted briefly about Wax's first gospel counterfeit, which he calls the therapeutic gospel.  The therapeutic gospel denies the beginning of the gospel story by rejecting the biblical truth of the fall of humanity.  It makes our happiness the goal of Christianity instead of God's glory.  In the process, the therapeutic gospel denies our very real need to repent and confess the very real sin that inhabits each of our hearts in this fallen world.  Such a practical theological move diminishes the need for Christ and God's grace.

Today we will briefly look at the Wax's second counterfeit gospel, the judgmentless gospel.  This fake is becoming increasingly popular in the evangelical world, and it matches perfectly with the tolerance movement driven by the popular culture of the day.  It takes many forms, but at its heart it denies the reality that God's judgment will be given on all.  As Wax states,

The Temptation in our day and age is to let the last part of the Apostle's Creed slip by unnoticed.  Many evangelicals talk a lot about justice and very little about judgment.  Justice here and now is a popular subject.  Judgment there and then?  Not so much.

But justice and judgment are two sides to the same coin.  You cannot have perfect justice without judgment.  God cannot make things right without declaring certain things wrong.  It's the judgment of God that leads to a perfectly just world.  Try to take one without the other and you lose the good news.

The judgmentless gospel distorts a major part of the gospel story- the end.  And if you've ever heard a good story, you know that once you change the ending, you alter everything. (The Counterfeit Gospels, 68)

So what does this look like in real life?

There are several popular forms of this counterfeit.  Today, as with every age of the Church, some professing believers claim that everyone is going to heaven.  This belief is nothing more than the old Protestant heresy of universalism.  Wax writes to warn us that this belief is still alive and well. 

Another form of the judgmentless gospel is a bit more pernicious.  This form argues that social action is the real goal of Christianity.  In other words, what is really important is not the afterlife, but our mission in life.  This point is somewhat true (James does say that faith without works in dead!), and it might be a corrective to those churches which teach the sole goal of believers is to get people into heaven.  The problem is when people go to the other extreme of believing and teaching that the real goal of Christianity is social justice.  

Honestly, Wax does not do a great job of fleshing out the expressions of this false gospel.  I am not sure why he did not go into more detail.  For many of the points he makes, he could just point out that old school Protestant liberalism has maintained many of these perspectives for 200 years!  

In fact, as I see it, the judgmentless gospel is Protestant liberalism.  The problem is that in recent years, many evangelical leaders and churches have suddenly become infatuated with these ideas.  They believe they have uncovered something new; but when they forget the holiness of God and the reality of God's justice, they branch unto well-worn paths that have led to the demise and contraction of most mainline denominations.

How do they get on these well-worn paths?

In the name of tolerance and love, folks stop speaking of God's holiness and the reality of sin.  In so doing, they reject the need for Jesus to be a savior for very real sinners.  He becomes a good moral teacher or an example.  He is not a savior.  What often follows is a rejection of substitutionary atonement as important.  From this we lose justification and instead focus on our works as what proves our righteousness.  From this, we have a mix of Christianity, Buddhism, self-help messages, and other moralistic religions.  In one generation, the Christian part transforms into something sub-Christian at best.

A better book to deal with this judgmentless gospel is Tim Keller's, Generous Justice: How God's Grace Makes Us Just.  It is simply not true that one either has to be concerned with someone's salvation or working toward a just society.  The real gospel allows and encourages both!  

In other words, if we give up the message of the gospel story, we lose our entire message.  Christianity is founded upon a revolutionary message that includes the gospel story, the gospel announcement, and the gospel community.  We must keep all three in balance to maintain "the faith handed down once for all."

A Third Counterfeit Gospel- Moralism

Today we will look at a third popular counterfeit to the true gospel called the moralistic gospel.  Wax describes this counterfeit as a misapplication of how one is made right with God.  The first two counterfeits we investigated dealt with the gospel story.  This counterfeit and the tomorrow's counterfeit regard the second leg of the three legged gospel stool called the gospel announcement.  As Wax describes it,

"Graeme Goldsworthy has defined the announcement this way: 'The gospel is the word about Jesus Christ and what He did for us in order to restore us to a right relationship with God.'  We need the gospel story in order to know why we need a right relationship with God.  We need the gospel announcement in order to know how to escape the storm of God's wrath.  You can't tell the gospel story without making the announcement of good news; neither can you properly make the announcement without telling the story." (89)

The point of Wax's treatment of the gospel announcement is that unwittingly many have forgotten that the gospel announcement is all about what Jesus has done.  Instead of the emphasis on Jesus, many have made the gospel announcement about what God has done for me.  This change to personal testimony instead of the announcement of Jesus, the savior of sinners, has truncated authentic Christianity.

So what is the moralistic gospel?  Wax lists a host of counterfeits.  He describes how the evangelical church can often be guilty of proclaiming good advice instead of the good news.  He also describes how many begin the Christian journey with Grace, but then turn back to the law.  I believe this counterfeit is the primary moralistic presentation in my area.  Unfortunately such thinking leads to great frustration, shallow expressions of spirituality, and communities that do not attract the lost to Christ.  

Are you captured by this counterfeit?  Wax gives a great description of this version of the gospel:

"To many times we think, Of course we are saved by grace, but ... That 'but' is deadly.  It indicates that we think something other than grace will bring life transformation.  It doesn't matter what good activity you put after that 'but' (now you need to tithe, now you need to give up this or that, now you need to evangelize).  The 'but' bogs the operating system down in upgrades.

Life transformation doesn't follow 'but'; it follows 'so now'.  You are saved by grace so now you are free to live for God in this way or that.  Life change is grounded in the gospel alone, not in the law's updates.

The Christian life will never run the way it is supposed to if the law is the fuel.  The gospel alone has to be the engine.  All our good works must flow from sheer gratitude, not an updates-based system that keeps tell me to reboot and start again." (113)

So why would we be attracted to this counterfeit?  Wax explains that the moralistic gospel is safe.  It helps us develop sin lists that are easy to manage so we stay in control.  

He also explains that the moralistic gospel appeals to our longing for universal morality.  Unfortunately, in our fallen state our ideas of universal morality often include only that which is important to us!  It is ironic how we will ignore the true Law for a law that we can live by and enforce on others.

This counterfeit also emphasizes the need for transformed character.  It is so true that many profess Christ, but their lives are not marked by holy living.  Thus, what we need to do is teach how to live.  This is so seductive, but it ends in frustration, shallow forms of spirituality, and Christian communities that do not attract the lost!

So what can we do?  How about emphasize the true gospel!  Authentic spirituality is about repentance and faith.  Mortification of sin is found with a changed heart.  Such change only occurs through the grace of God transforming us.  Unfortunately, most character change found in Christian circles today is from religious self-effort instead of dependence upon Grace.  

The true law will point out our sin.  When we see it, we need to confess, repent, and believe God's love for us even as law breakers.  We do not need to minimize the Law.  We need to see it for what it was meant to be: a tutor pointing us to our need for Christ. (Gal. 3:24)  In response to very real sin that inhabits our hearts, we should look to Christ for mercy and grace.  Lord help me a sinner!  

As we relish in His love and mercy, our heart is changed by grace.  I can only speak for myself, but I find that the fleshly sins and thoughts I struggled with years ago are not so dominate in my life today.  My struggles with pride and arrogance have changed considerably!  I praise God for this.  God has changed my heart, which has changed by actions.

Yet, I am not now free from sin's entanglements.  In fact, I now see other areas of pride and self-righteousness that are even more pernicious than what I struggled with before.  I cry out for mercy.  I bask in His love as He give it!  I look forward to seeing how God changes my heart.  I give Him all the glory for this change, because I surely cannot do it on my own. 

May the true gospel dominate your thoughts and prayers this day!