God-stuff Without Jesus?

In Romans 1, Paul surprisingly states that all people can know God. He doesn’t mention knowing God because of Jesus, the gospel, missionaries, or the church.  Is he advocating a universal acceptance by God of all people? Do people really need Jesus or Christians to know God?

Roman god: Saturn

Rom. 1:19 since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them.  20 For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse. 

In Romans 2:15, Paul believes that the human conscience is more evidence pointing to people’s knowledge about God stuff without Jesus, the gospel, missionaries, or the church.

He says,

…since they show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts now accusing, now even defending them.

Finally, Paul states that those who disobey God know inherently that their disobedience brings death. Nobody needs to explain a word.

1:32 Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them. 

Paul is saying that people think about God all the time.God leaves his “fingerprints” everywhere. God has his “fingerprints” in creation (“his eternal power and divine nature”). People live by rules; societies have unwritten rules of behavior; and governments codify morals and ethics. How do people know these rules? Paul says: God’s universal law is stamped on our brains and soul. Even the punishment code is evidence of God. How? God is life. He is the opposite of these actions that bring death (decay, chaos, and damage included).

Atheists are constantly worrying about God. They write about how God couldn’t be this or that. Yet, an atheist seems to know more about what God can or cannot be than most Christians! Deep down within an atheist feels the need to secretly see God’s fingerprints, but by trumping those secrets they can hold power over those who do. He/she trumps the God thoughts by denying any personal confirmation. A smug interior grin spreads out to feel like he/she is not duped by the simplistic ploys of naive Christians and life can go on in his/her own chosen path.

What can be known about God is plain to people, Paul writes. The Romans got a lot right about God. They believed in the gods of order, beauty, power, and control. Yet, the way they lived their lives they promoted the god of self and personal glory. Every culture, tribe, or society gets some things right about God. His fingerprints are everywhere. His right and wrong thinking is stamped into our souls and minds. I think Paul is right when he says that people suppress the knowledge of God  by their ungodliness and unrighteousness.

[The NIV translates the second word, "wickedness." The Greek word is athikia, or unrighteousness, which means "off the path behavior" or "injustice to others". How hard it is to admit that one is wrong, on the wrong path, or selfishly smug? Thus, God has placed at least three witnesses in human existence to point to the need for suppression of the God-stuff seen or felt.]

Compare this LA TIMES article (click here) which says over and over that “religion” was stamped in our DNA by evolution. How many times does it repeat the mantra, “evolution created, wanted, or selected?” I hear Paul’s words ringing in the background…

Romans 1:19 since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 

What do you think?

Milepost 010210

I’m linking my blog in Feedburner so that when I publish a blog post, it will tweet a link to that blog post. Here’s how to do it:
1. Log in to http://feedburner.google.com/ and click on your blog’s feed.
2. Click on the “Publicize” tab and then the “Socialize” service on the left.
3. Add your Twitter account and select the options you want.

Steve Reeths, one of my best friends from Middle School and High School, recently reconnected with me on Facebook after 34 years apart. He’s a musician and has had a band with his wife for years. He’s coming to Johnson City this summer, June 22, to play for the city. Check out their site here.

Theology is often made up for the wrong reasons or regurgitated. The study of scripture alone to know God and to be freed from the need to be imprisoned by our desires and pride is rare. I’ve contended that the gospel is at the core of all theology or the theology is skewed. Yet, most people cannot explain the gospel with confidence, both believers and unbelievers. Believe, me unbelievers have a theology. Just ask someone what God can or cannot do! Thus, we get a ton of very bad theology or at best, theology that is confusing. Why is it confusing? People who “theologize” make statements apart from the center of the Christian message in order to be puffed up or to part ways. What is the center of the gospel? If you have to click here you probably don’t know, but click here anyway to check yourself.

Big Chicken Witnessing

Why did the rooster cross the road? Because he wasn’t chicken.

What do we say when we witness? Three times this week in our cell groups this topic was discussed. I’m going to try to flesh out what happens in witnessing.

In a word, witnessing is discernment. Some people don’t want to talk to us about religious things so we must be discerning and gracious. We don’t know what another person believes so we have to ask and ask and ask. Many Christians can’t articulate what the gospel is, and all of us must continually probe the depths of all that the gospel brings. Thus, the gospel must be discerned.
Discernment also takes place during the conversation. Unfortunately, most of us are more concerned with being heard! Most Christian witnessing tools emphasize what we must say. Thus, Christians are afraid to witness because “I don’t know very much!” What we are afraid of is the fact that other people might find holes in our beliefs or knowledge, but don’t we want to get stronger in faith? Don’t we want our holes to be filled? Don’t we want more of the power of the gospel at work in our lives?
Most people are not good discerners or listeners in conversation! We match story for story, belief for belief, and sickness for sickness. More excitingly and more satisfying is the listening and asking questions approach. Unfortunately, we have to suspend our own stories and beliefs, deny our egocentrism and our need to be loved and heard. People have so many interesting life events and faith histories when I actually listen for them. I’m fascinated by the assumptions people make about Christianity so I ask people how they came to these assumptions.

Some atheists are believers and don’t know it! They speak more about God than some believers. They know what God isn’t like because they believe that their God wouldn’t act in certain ways or make them do certain things. Some atheists know more about the Bible and the gospel than church people. I’m almost always amazed at how much thought and study some of my unbelieving friends have put into their beliefs.

But don’t be intimidated. Ask more questions. We might be afraid of looking foolish because we don’t know what the other person knows, but that’s a little like not going to the doctor because he might give us bad news. Witnessing is going to help us to know what we are supposed to know. Witnessing helps us discern what we know and what we don’t. Thank people for their honesty, their study and thought and their discussion. You’ve been helped by it.

Discernment about the gospel means we must discern and believe in our deepest self that the evidence is true. The gospel must be discerned in a nutshell. What are we believing and asking people to believe? Paul does a nutshell presentation for the Corinthians (and for us!) in 1 Cor. 15:1-7. The core of the good news (the gospel) is that “Christ died according to the scripture, he was buried and he was raised from the dead on the third day according to the scriptures.” Every word of that phrase has to be unpacked. All the projections into life must be discerned. Before we can so boldly say religious sounding phrases to people, we must have discerned the power of this core message of the gospel. Paul is so sure of this he says, “This is the gospel!” We must know and say this to people! Several pastors in my life in the last few months have confirmed that without an excitement about this gospel there is no witnessing. It’s simple isn’t it? the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus? That’s it. That’s the gospel. This is what we believe or reject!

Discernment means we move from the known to the unknown to know, i.e. to discern. Witnessing is starting where we are, jumping into unknown territory so that because we are on a mission of discernment, we have more confirmation of what we have believed. Paul says to Philemon, “I want you to be active in sharing your faith so that you may know every good thing you have in Christ Jesus.”

God Does Not Judge External Appearance

God does not judge by external appearance. Gal. 2:6

The marks of an apostle were obvious.

2 Corinthians12:12 The things that mark an apostle—signs, wonders and miracles—were done among you with great perseverance.

But Satan, also can masquerade as an angel of light and do counterfeit miracles.

2 Thessalonians 2:9 The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders.

When we who believe in God’s grace through the gospel (i.e. the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus and all that historic event means!) the question of “Who are you?” or implied “Are you legitimate?” rises in people. Why should someone listen? What makes us legitimate?

Jesus used the analogy of a shepherd in John 10. The hired hand runs away when trouble comes. The good shepherd lies down in front of the gate and gives up his life. To Jesus, legitimacy was serving, sacrifice and perseverance. (See the parable of the four soils in Luke 8:15)

The Corinthian church was dismissing Paul’s legitimacy. Paul uses evidence that puts many of us Christians to shame to show his legitimacy.

1 Cor. 1:17 For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel — not with words of human wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power….23 but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles…

He told them the fact of gospel history over and over again.

1Cor. 2:1   When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God.  2 For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.  3 I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling.  4 My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power,  5 so that your faith might not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power.

He knows there is only one foundation to build on to promote legitimacy.

1 Cor. 3:11 For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.

Paul knew that the Corinthian church people were distancing themselves from him because he seemed so simple. He said that they were saying he was a fool (i.e. simpleton) and that his words were not wise (Gk: sophia from which we get the word sophisticated)

1 Cor. 4:10 We are fools for Christ, but you are so wise in Christ! We are weak, but you are strong! You are honored, we are dishonored!

1 Cor. 1:25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength.

External appearances can be deceiving. What we consider successful or sophisticated includes large monuments, big buildings, beautiful steeples, respectful peers, large crowds and the spectacular “excellence” in worship. The external signs of a successful ministry can masquerade around for years and dupe people as Satan does. It can make people think they are making a difference in the world, but are really just “hired hands.”

Throughout his ministry, Paul was perplexed by what is a legitimate church. His final comments from his final letter in prison at the end of his life goes like this:

Phil. 1:15 It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill.  16 The latter do so in love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel.  17 The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains.  18 But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice.

The goal wasn’t external success. If that was the case, he failed. Success is Christ and the gospel, plain and simple. Preach Christ. Tell the gospel (his death, burial and resurrection). Preach Jesus. Unpack the way, the truth and the life. Knowing the truth sets us free. His death proves his love and grace can be unharnessed in our lives. Knowing the truth, that is, a belief in the historical facts of Christ’s death and resurrection is the greatest mark of the church. Separate this from The Journey or any church and we are duped and de-legit!