Category Archive
The following is a list of all entries from the General category.
The True Fundamentals…
Obviously the Christian faith is about a real and living relationship between an individual and God. However, Christianity is not an individualistic one, but requires both the development and nurturing of Community. We can’t live out the Christian faith in isolation from others – except for a shirt time or under exceptional circumstances.
It is overwhelmingly clear from Scripture that God is concerned with justice. Yet it is all too often something way down the list of priorities for evangelicals and the ‘orthodox’. Why is right thinking more important than right action and attitudes? Surely both are important and the dismissal of justice that has charactarised 20th Century evangelical priorities, condemning the “social gospel” of liberal Christianity.
Of course, many evangelicals have been at the forefront of justice issues. Tear Fund and Traidcraft are amazing organisations. Over the course of the next couple of months I want to look at projects by Traidcraft and see the biblical imperative for being strong voices of justice in the world.
First its the whole system of global trade. Of course, everyone wants a good deal. I want cheap food and clothes. There are millions of people in the Developed World who are on the breadline, who need cheeply priced commodities, who simply can’t afford expensive items.
This creates a difficult case – where the needs of the poor are pitted against the needs of the poor.
There is a simple moral case when luxury items sold for exorbitant prices to the wealthy and rich in the Developed (and in the Second and Third) Worlds are produced in the sweatshops of the planet, with workers earning a subsistence wage and causing other evil effects such as child labour and reinforcing gender inequalities.
Fair Trade is most often (naturally?) more expensive than non-Fair Trade. People who are struggling to get by simply can’t afford Fair Trade. Perhaps this requires a full rethink of the way we buy our food, clothes, and other commodities. Thats for another day!
On an equal footing, free markets can be a good thing. Protectionism between industrial nations? Hmmm not so sure. Allowing free trade between nations is good for both the consuming market and the producer (and I’m saying that as a Socialist!). However, when you are dealing with trade between the Developed and Developing world there is a different case, perhaps.
In 2001 the World Trade Organisation (WTO) ruled that the preferrential treatment of trade agreements between the EU and her former colonies was unfair and the extension given ended in 2007. With world trade talks deadlocked, the EU and her former colonies in Africa, the Carribean and the Pacific (ACP) have attempted to negotiate agreements outside the world trade talks. The Economic Partnership Agreement is the result. Some ACP nations have initialed (started the process of signing up but not done it yet) an EPA, while some are refusing to. The reason? They are simply unfair to the ACP.
The EPAs require that tarrifs are slashed – for ACP nations by around 80-90% without guaranteeing any increase in aid to compensate. This could devestate indigenous agriculture and industry etc.
Traidcraft has started a campaign to argue that the EU needs to renegotiate, listening to the poor instead of being self serving. Christians need to be at the forefront of calling for a just and fair society. Take some time to have a look on their website here and at least write to Secretary of State for International Development Douglas Alexander to get the EU to renegotiate.
Crisis or Kairos?
I have just come across a short but inciteful article by Rev Jane Barron and relates back to the current (lack of?) debate in the Church of Scotland. I highly recommend it – found here:
Crisis or Kairos
Would the Real Jesus Please Stand Up
(This is a work in progress, but I wanted to get it on the site just in its undressed form!)
I have just started reading ‘Imitating Jesus: An Inclusive Approach to New Testament Ethics’ by Richard A Burridge. Its published by Eerdmans which surprised me. Now, I confess to not having read any of Rev Burridge’s other books. As an Inclusive Evangelical I was drawn to the title, and I am excited to read what he has to say.
Of course, as Christians, Jesus is the centre; the start and finish of our faith. He is the God-Man Who revealed God to us in a way never before seen – either in Creation or in the Scriptures (OT) – indeed He is Himself the Word of God. It is a great thing to see an Ethics book look at Jesus as the start and finish of the exercise, as of course, as Christ’s disciples he is our guide, example and we are to be imitators of Christ in all aspects of our lives.
The Scriptures of the Old and New Testament are the Word of God. The historic Reformed Confessions used the phrase “contained in”. This has been interpreted by many in modern times to say that while the Word of God is “contained in” the Scriptures of the OT and NT, not all of the Scriptures are in and of themselves the Word of God. Perhaps this view has been aided by Neo-Orthodoxy in attempting to understand how we discover where the Word of God lies in Scripture. I disagree with both Neo-Orthodoxy and the “contained in” argument. I think it is clear that “All Scripture is God breathed…” and we do damage to the Word of God to try and disect what is and isn’t God breathed. I do however believe that such a view has a lot to teach the Reformed school about the role of the Spirit in interpreting Scripture, and also the role of Jesus as the Word of God.
The danger is that some try to argue there is a difference between the Jesus of history, the Jesus of the Gospels and the Jesus of the rest of the NT writings (and perhaps also the Jesus of the OT). A lot of heat has been made by trying to distinguish between the teaching of Jesus and the teaching of Paul, as if these two are fundamentally at odds. I believe firmly, that we get a true and real picture of the Person and Work of Jesus Christ in all of the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments – all authors and all genres. I do not think we discover the historic Jesus (the real Jesus) by picking apart the accounts and setting them against each other – the so called “demythologising”.
The unveiling of the Lordship of Christ is not something imposed by later NT writers on Jesus. The revelation of the person and work of Christ was a particular unveiling until the Scriptures were finished. Of course on the Person and Work of Christ – as in all areas of theology – the Spirit continues to give us greater understanding today. As Calvin said (paraphrasing) “Even the midget may gain greater understanding than we today, as we undersand greater than those who came before us. That is how Standing on the shoulders of giants gives us greater views”.
The Beauty of Creation
“The heavens declare the glory of God…”
This weekend I’ve been bowled over by the beauty of creation. Of course, creation is evident all the time. I spent most of my childhood and teenage years in a semi rural setting. 2 minutes from the house was the Beauly Firth – part of the larger Moray Firth in the Highlands of Scotland. Dolphins jumping was a regular sight, along with game birds, deer, and assorted wildlife.
We spent a great weekend on the Black Isle – paddling in the Cromarty Firth, wandering along the beach at Rosemarkie and dolphin watching at Chanonry Point in Fortrose. We also took a great walk in one of my favourite places in the world – Fairy Glen in Rosemarkie. The beauty of the dappled light through the trees, the babbling of the burn, the thunder of the waterfalls and the dancing of two grey water wagtails were – literally – awesome.
Sitting on the beach with a bonfire watching the sunset speaks clearly and loudly – in the silence – of the Creative work of God. The whole Creation/Evolution debate has raged for 150 years – although in different forms it has lasted for centuries. I am no biologist – though paddling with the ducklings in the Cairngorms last night made me wish I had done marine biology! – but the fervency of the debate is somewhat baffling.
The Bible tells in a few verses in Genesis 1 and 2 the ‘how’ of the origin of the universe. Those spectacular words “And God said”, followed by the irresistable return “And it was so”… are fantastically summarised in the words of the Westminster Shorter Catechism (question 9):
“What is the work of Creation? The work of Creation is God’s making all things of nothing, by the word of his power, in the space of six days, and all very good.”
The debate surrounding Creation/Evolution has revolved around the mechanism of the origins of the universe and species. Of course guys like Richard Dawkins are fundamentalist atheists. This radical kind of atheism does not charictarise science however, and Christians who revel in the “fight” between ‘Science and Religion’ want to equate evolution etc with atheism. Science has nothing to say about the existence of God. Whenever a scientist takes a position on the subject they have left the realm of science – which is quite proper for them to do – and taken a faith stance. This can be a faith stance in affirmation of the existence of God – like tens of thousands of scientists – or against the existence of God.
One fervent area of disagreement has been the age of the universe. In spite of what it would seem from certain quarters of the Church, the Church has never had a settled view on the subject. Men like Augustine believed that it was ancient. Others, like Usher, that it was a young universe – something between 6000-10,000 years. Today many would define a ‘Creationist’ as someone who believes in a young earth, and a literal 24 hour, six day creation. I think the term needs to be broadened out to the most important doctrine of Creation in the Bible.
Scripture starts with the words “In the beginning God created…” Scripture is not a science book. It does not tell us the mechanisms of Creation. What it does tell us is the crucial points from the view of faith – God is the Creator. The ‘how’ of Creation is “by the word of his power”.
I struggle with those who take a ‘theistic evolution’ line if they question the initiative of the origin of the universe is God’s. For all Christians the power of God is unquestionable. God is Almighty, he is the only ‘God/deity/Power’ in the universe. Of course, he is not some impersonal power ‘out there’ but has revealed his Attributes in Scripture but also in Creation.
The heart of the matter for me is –
Truth is truth. We believe in objective truth as Christians. Scientific truth is not different from Biblical truth. They are not competing. Of course, we can interpret Scripture wrongly, and we can interpret the evidence presented by science incorrectly. The question of the power of God is also central. If someone argues that they disagree with a literal 6 day 24 hour creation because it is impossible/unlikely/God is incapable of such etc. then I have a problem with that. God is all powerful – he could have created the universe in 6seconds. If they argue against a literal 6 day 24 hour creation because they believe the text is not meant to be interpreted in that way and scientific evidence is against such a view but God could have created it that way, then I respect that position.
I can’t stand in nature and not be blown away by the Creative work of God. I can’t understand looking at the beauty of the universe, a cell, a sunset, a dragon fly, my thumb print and say “this is all an accident”. God was deliberate in the Creation. Science is about discovering how things work. Theology is about discovering the Who behind what we see around us and what difference the Who makes in our lives.
I love that seeing the beauty around me drives me to worship God and reminding me that the One who created all this, became flesh and dwelt among us, because the Creation went awry and he came to recover it.
Rev Scott Rennie and the Traditionalists
General Assembly Hall
There has been some media attention for our position and we have been quoted in numerous papers pointing out that evangelicals are not all agreed on the matter.
In an earlier blog below I mentioned the outcome from the Assembly, so check that out for some detail.
I’ve had a look at a couple of blogs around the issue. I was impressed – as I often am – by the approach taken by Prof Carl Trueman of Westminster Seminary. Check it out for yourself here. Of course, Carl and I disagree totally on the gay issue and I suspect that he would view the position of gay-affirming evangelicals as an abberation at very best. However, he brings a real and troublesome challenge to the extremes of the traditional evangelical camp.
The leadership of the self termed “Fellowship of Confessing Churches” has called on congregations to stay within the Church of Scotland, while with-holding funds from the Church at large. This is nothing short of independency. It strikes at the heart of the traditionalists problem. They have displayed a total lack of awareness of Church history or the principles of ecclesiology. Either they are Presbyterian or they are not. Either for them the issue of openly gay ministers is crucial and definitive, or it is not. The consequences of their position on either of these questions are clear and consistent. However, they want to have their cake and eat it.
Another problem for the evangelicals within the Church of Scotland are historical. The debate regarding Scripture and the Confession in the 1920s (with the Declaratory Acts) and the 1960s regarding Scripture and Women’s Ordination are important for the debate today. Many are dismayed by the vehemence of the traditionalists’s position re. Scott’s induction. This is in large part due to the dishonesty of the traditionalists for the last 40 years. Evangelicals are regularly told to cover up their position and beliefs regarding women’s ordination in order to get through Selection School etc. They lie. They squirm. Early in the 2000s a candidate for the ministry was dropped in Glasgow Presbytery because he admitted his position was against women’s ordination. Numerous evangelicals (many of whom are at the heart of the debate now) sat in silence, while the Moderator of Presbytery offered them a chance to speak – 3 times. And 3 times silence.
And this comes to the heart of the problem for the traditionalists in the Church of Scotland. They scream about principles. They chastise their people, they froth everyone up into a great fervour, then they rant and rage. But they act in an unprincipled way. If they genuinely believe that a Church that openly ordains homosexuals is apostate they should leave. But they’ve made clear they won’t. Why? There are several denominations in Scotland that they could retreat too. The Free Church, the APC or the Free Presbyterians, or even the United Free. Or alternatively, since they claim to be so large, they could set up a new denomination.
They don’t and have no intention to. Carl Trueman mentions it, but John Mann, a CofS minister actually gives us the answer. In reaction to Rev David Meredith’s (Smithton Free Church) suggestion that the evangelicals leave the CofS, join the Free Church and create a new denomination of evangelical presbyterians in the UK. (More about that on another day – its been dreamt of in the Free Church for decades and is a worthy goal). John Mann replies thus “To be honest, I think that there are two issues which are bigger than the three you mention – or rather one issue – fear of the unknown – with two manifestations.
First, there is the enormous emotional attachment to the Church of Scotland, and the determination to stay in the national church.
It is not one for all Church of Scotland evangelicals – but for many, it is hugely significant.
Second, and closely related, there is, for many, the fear of going into the wilderness. Will there be congregations out there? Will there be money to support ministers?”
And there I think we have the heart of the matter. Fear. They are scared that if they leave they won’t have a ministry or enough income etc. As Trueman points out, the big congregations are fine, but the little ones would suffer. They claim to be in the spirit of the Disruption fathers – which is frankly a nonsense. The Disruption fathers left their buildings, their manses, their incomes and walked because of belief in principle. The traditionalists were more than happy of trying to strip Scott of his income, home and ministry for their principle and conscience. However they are not willing to risk it themselves.
Lastly, the calls of being “hurt”, “devestated”, “reeling” etc. doesn’t make any sense to me. Why are they upset? Is the induction of an openly gay miniter who has been in that circumstance for some years really that devestating? What about the ministers and elders who deny real, crucial and fundamental doctrines of the faith? What of those who deny the deity of Christ, the Virgin Birth, the atonement, the Resurrection, the Trinity?! Why is that not “devestating” “hurtful” and “crushing”?! If it was about principles, I would be looking for the traditionalists to be exerting the same effort, heat and discussion on those crucial subjects rather than at best a secondary issue which – for all their attempts to justify their raising it to primary concern, leaves the Church looking like homophobes rather than folks concerned with the Glory of God and the salvation of Scotland.
Dialogue and Historic Step Forward or Entrenching the Same Positions?
On Saturday 23 May, the General Assembly upheld the decision of the Presbytery of Aberdeen to sustain the Call of Rev Scott Rennie to the congregation of Queen’s Cross Parish Church, Aberdeen. Rev Rennie has been minister of Brechin Cathedral for 9 years. Rev Rennie has been openly living with his same sex partner for the last couple of years. He was open with the congregation before they called him and with the Presbytery. However, no objections or charges had been brought against Rev Rennie. Some ministers and elders in the Presbytery objected and complained to the General Assembly.
Obviously, this is a sensitive issue. As evangelicals, we understand the dismay felt by traditional evangelicals. For this, we feel pain. However, the pain felt by the traditional evangelicals is nothing to the pain, heartache and constant struggle felt by LGBT persons in the Church. The exclusion, mistrust and worthlessness that is thrust upon them by far too many traditional evangelicals is painful both to the LGBT community within (and outwith) the Church and to the wider Body of Christ.
The Church of Scotland voted overwhelmingly to set up a Special Commission to review openly gay folks and ordination over the next 2 years, and in that time for no such ordinations or inductions to take place – excepting Rev Rennie’s which had been decided on Saturday night. While many are disappointed, I think it is to be welcomed. There is a strong caveat to that welcome. The two year Commission will only be worthwhile if people are willing to sit down and talk, listen to people of different opinions. The extremes of the traditional wing seem totally unwilling to do this. They believe they have the truth, the only valid interpretation, that they are the only ones concerned with Scripture and the historic orthodoxy and those of us who disagree are agents of the Enemy. They have even gone so far as to say that anyone in a same sex relationship is “excluded from the Kingdom of Heaven”. We totally disagree, believing that we are made right with God, not through our works, understanding or ability to attain some moral position, but through the finished Work of Jesus and faith in Him.
The Assembly has called on all sections of the Church to talk. Those who are inclucivist evangelicals should extend the hand to traditional evangelicals as brothers with the same view of Scripture as ourselves and hopefully they will be able to dialogue with us, listening to us and we’ll listen to them. We may not agree, but surely as brothers and sisters in Christ we will learn to respect each other more.
Open Letter from Evangelical Organisations
Open Letter To the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland From Evangelical Organisations
As you meet this week, you are faced with a difficult subject – that of homosexuality in the Church. We want to assure you of our prayers. We are evangelicals who believe that Scripture does not condemn homosexual relationships. We are made up of heterosexual and homosexual Christians. These are of course deeply personal questions. As a result of the traditional view on homosexuality, it has been our experience that many gay and lesbian Christians have been forced down a path of self hatred, which all too often leads to loss of faith, breakdown or even suicide. After much wrestling, prayer and heartache both individually and corporately we have come to understand that God affirms loving faithful same sex relationships.
As evangelicals, we believe in the Authority and Supremacy of Scripture, and wholeheartedly affirm “The holy scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are the word of God, the only rule of faith and obedience” (Westminster Larger Catechism 3) without question. We understand the various positions within the Church and believe it is a difference of interpretation not biblical Authority that characterises our debate. We support and affirm our brothers and sisters who have had the same struggle with sexuality as we have and yet who feel called to singleness, as we feel called to affirm relationships.
We stand with the historic orthodox Christian teaching of ‘justification through faith alone’ – that a person is made right with God because of the Work of Jesus Christ and it is faith in Him that brings us into relationship with God – without any additional requirements, no matter who makes them. This is the heart of the Good News that Scotland – and the rest of the world, whether gay or straight – needs to hear from the Church. No one is excluded from relationship with God (or service for him) because they are in relationship with someone of the same gender.
We affirm the teaching of the Lord Jesus Christ and the Apostle Paul that all the Law is summed up in love for God and love for our neighbour (Mark 12; Romans 14). We can see nothing in Scripture or our calling as God’s People – both gay and straight – where a loving monogamous same sex relationship is inconsistent with this summary of the requirements to live a holy life. We pray that the General Assembly will follow the example of her Head, King Jesus, who reached out to the marginalised, the suffering, the oppressed and those on the fringes and who continues to do so today.
Finally, we are not just ‘out there’. There are thousands of faithful people sitting in pews, standing in pulpits, working in your Kirk Sessions who are gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered. We urge the Assembly to embrace the message of transformational grace and, inclusion, to stand for justice and mercy and signal the openness of God’s compassionate love to his children – straight and gay. You will be in common with a vast and growing number of evangelicals and others across the world who do not exclude homosexuals but understand that the Church has erred in its rejection of them. The question you are facing is, will you send a clear message of God’s love and welcome, or one of rejection and fear. We urge the General Assembly to take this opportunity to act biblically, in the spirit of the inclusivity, holiness and love of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and to be pastorally sensitively to the LGBT community within the Church of Scotland.
CourageSCOTLAND http://www.couragescotland.org – Rev Ruairidh MacRae
Evangelicals Concerned http://www.ecinc.org – Dr Ralph Blair
Scottish Region of Evangelical Fellowship for Lesbian and Gay Christians – http://www.eflgc.org.uk
Changing Attitude Nigeria http://www.changingattitude.org.uk –
Davis Mac-Iyalla
Baptist Network Affirming Lesbian and Gay Christians http://www.affirmingbaptists.org.uk – Martin Stears-Handscomb and Sarah Hill
Changing Attitude England http://www.changingattitude.org.uk –
Rev Colin Coward
Accepting Evangelicals http://www.acceptingevangelicals.org –
Rev Benny Hazlehurst
Christian Lesbians UK http://www.chrisitanlesbians.co.uk – Cindy Mccarron
Courage UK – http://www.courage.org.uk Jeremy Marks
Ekklesia http://www.ekklesia.co.uk – Simon Barrow
Inclusive Church http://www.inclusivechurch2.net – Canon Giles Goddard
Evangelical Fellowship for Lesbian and Gay Christians http://www.eflgc.org.uk
Scripture and Slavery…?
Hey, I know there has been no activity on the blog in the last couple of weeks. Ministers tend to have one thing in common – verbosity. I start working on something and it develops as new questions are raised. Let me just quickly run through one of them.
When was the last time you reviewed the Biblical literature on slavery? Strange question isn’t it? I must confess I’ve never studied it I just know its wrong. Sure, in seminary we looked at the slavery as an aside in OT Israel and NT Roman Empire. But we never questioned the prevailing idea that slavery is immoral and has no place in Christian theology. Its a difficult question. I believe the Bible is the infallible, inerrant and inspired Word of God – the Old and New Testaments. That surely means that if the Bible is in favour of slavery that I have no right to be against it. If I just accept the prevailing culture in society and the church without studying the Biblical texts then that can’t be right can it? And if I go to the text of Scripture with my presupposition that slavery cannot be right in any circumstance, then surely I am telling the text what to say rather than listening to God’s voice.
Its interesting that for 1800-1900 years the Bible was used to defend the institution of slavery. But virtually no Christians of any description would accept that interpretation today. The change was a gradual one. Those who came to understand slavery as an immoral and unjust system existed both within and outwith the Church. In some areas, the prevailing attitude in society was for abolition, while in the Church it was still pro-slavery. Now re-read the above paragraph and replace ‘slavery’ with ‘homosexuality’.
For the traditional evangelical argument I believe there is a parallel between the issue of slavery and homosexuality. So I am looking at what Scripture teaches about slavery and the arguments in favour of slavery in Scripture and theology (along with the side issues such as racial segregation) and then the biblical arguments against it. This may sound kind of pointless. The arguments happened 150 years ago. But I think its relevant. The traditional arguments against homosexuality are taken on the basis of the texts that say same sex acts are wrong. This seems pretty straight forward. The arguments for slavery depend on the texts that regulate slavery and that Scripture never condemns slavery. They are both literalist arguments. Yet the conservative evangelical movement ditched the pro-slavery interpretation – how was that reconciled with Scripture? Is there a key or parallel for the homosexual debate? Both were fiercely political in their own day and both have a massive dramatic impact on real people’s lives, not just an abstract idea.
It promises to be an interesting journey – feel free to send me any links or thoughts you have!
Dead Body or Empty Tomb?
You don’t have to go far to hear someone heralding the death and destruction of Christianity in the Western World. That the influence of the Church in Europe has been waning for decades is obvious. Statisticians and trend watchers herald that, for example, the Church of Scotland will cease to exist in 2050 if the decline continues apace. Similarly dire conclusions are drawn for other denominations. In England the Church of England has been overtaken by the Roman Catholic Church in Sunday morning Church attendance for the first time since the Reformation – this because of immigration from RC Eastern Europe rather than a revival in native Catholicism; and all a sign that Church attendance has dropped massively since World War 2.
Looking more closely, ministers, pastors, priests and so on are more and more beset by depression, stress and sickness. While there are notable examples of optimism and growth, the general picture for the Church in the UK at least is a dark one.
But while the doomsayers reign supreme the Church itself should be heartened. Not of course that the Church (visible) is in a rosey position in the Northern hemisphere. There is much work of reformation to do; those of us now on the edges of the Church (visible), who have ourselves been opressed, discouraged and even rejected have good reason for feeling down too.
2000 years ago Mary and the other women went to honour the dead and rotting body of their friend and master. That first Easter morning they went to honour him. They went with the low expectation of finding a dead Jesus. The period from the crucifixion to the morning of the first day of the week was the darkest, most depressing in the history of the Church (and indeed Creation). All hope was dead. Death had won; so had the enemies of Truth. Fear was the master now of the disciples and the wider Church.
The band of broken, weak and fearful men and women didn’t stay that way for long however. Within a few weeks they were out and about across Judea and Galillee speaking boldly about Jesus as the Saviour and Messiah. The difference? They met the Risen Jesus. The women and indeed the disciples expected the dead body in the tomb and yet were confronted with an empty tomb; instead of a dead Jesus they found a Risen Lord. Instead of decay they found lifegiving life – for them and the millions that have come to faith in the Prince of Peace and Suffering Servant over the last 2000 years throughout the world. From fear to boldness, weeping to joy, death to life, the end of all things to hope eternal.
When we think of the Church we all too often think of a dead, dying, frail and decrepit organisation that has failed and persecuted us; ignored us and ignores the needs of the world. Of course, thats sadly true of much of the visible Church. But the real Church – which of course is seen in the visible; encompasses the visible but is so much more vibrant under that surface, crosses denominations and traditions – the Body of Christ on earth today is alive, growing, dynamic and will be ultimately triumphant.
The Church’s head is Christ. While it is made up of a union of flawed humans it of course messes up. However, it is the most cosmopolitan, diverse and inclusive community on the face of the earth. Even that doesn’t contain it for the Church stretches through time and eternity. When the Church worships in a locality it meets with the Risen Jesus as well as those Christians who have died and gone to heaven already.
So, while we are downtrodden, oppressed and disappointed – all too often expecting a dead body – remember that there is hope. That broken small band was transformed into a glorious body of flawed, sinners who have met and been impacted – no, saved – by meeting the One who was crucified, but who rose again. We’ll never be as broken, depressed or fearful as the disciples in the period between crucifixion and resurrection. We’ll never know the despair of a dead Christ for now we have a Risen Lord.
A Weekly Easter
The Korean War Memorial, Arlington Cemetery, DC
Its Good Friday, at least in the Western Church (its next week in the Eastern Calendar). Now, as a Reformed Christian I’ve never gone in for the Church calendar. The Liturgical/Sacred Calender was definately a feature of worship in the Old Testament Church and was fulfilled by the Work of Christ. (But I’m sure there’ll be time to discuss such things on another blog!)However, if there is room for a religious celebration in the Christian Calender apart from the weekly celebration of worship and community commanded every Lord’s Day, then Easter would be it. Its appropriate to just take the time out to notice what its all about.
The death of Jesus is the most terrible, awesome and relevant event in history. What did it achieve? Nothing less than the reconcilliation between God and Man; tearing down the great wall, bridging the chasm between the holy and perfect God and sinful depraved mankind. He did what no one else could, he was the perfect and only choice. Set apart by the Father, willing to give himself. He fulfilled, without failing or faltering, the Law of God – every last jot and tittle. Christ’s act of sacrifice bought the freedom of his people. Freedom is not free – it cost God dearly; it cost us nothing. Amazingly, its free for us! But of course the cost to Christ was awesome and terrible. The freedom from the guilt and punishment of sin; the freedom from sin’s power; the sonship to the Father; the everlasting life of a renewed relationship with God. Sure, there is a cost of discipleship. But there is no cost to become a disciple. That was paid in full by Jesus.
“There are three things the believer desires regarding sin: Justification that sin may not condemn, Sanctification that sin may not reign and Glorification that sin may not be”
He tabernacled among us too 
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