by Steve | Oct 9, 2020 | In the News, Perspective E-Newsletter
By Thomas Lambrecht –
Wesley Chapel in London (YouTube)
Traditionalist United Methodists have wrestled for several years with the question of what to call ourselves and what label to use. The need for a label became acute in 2016 when the General Conference authorized a commission to look at possible strategies to address the growing division within United Methodism. The commission came up with the One Church Plan, the Connectional Conference Plan, and the Traditional Plan. What to call that third plan, and the group whose values it espoused, became a complex conversation.
For decades, most of those in the various renewal groups (Good News, Confessing Movement, UMAction, and Wesleyan Covenant Association) were comfortable calling ourselves evangelical United Methodists. Our theology is both Wesleyan and evangelical, as distinguished from the more widespread Calvinist evangelical theology found in many Baptist and independent evangelical congregations. In concert with most evangelicals, we emphasize the primacy of Scripture, the atoning death of Christ on the cross for the sins of the world, the need for repentance and conversion, and a relationship with Jesus Christ as personal lord and savior for each believer. As Wesleyans, we emphasize personal and social holiness and the universal reach of the Gospel.
However, over the past couple decades, the term evangelical in America has become increasingly inextricably linked in the public mind with partisan conservative politics. The renewal groups within The United Methodist Church are not identified with any particular political group or party. Furthermore, it is deeply misleading to associate all renewalists with a particular politician.
For the same reason, the term conservative does not necessarily define all of us. We are theologically conservative, but not all of us are politically conservative. The church should not become so identified with one political party as to make those of other political parties think they could not belong to that church. As our Social Principles state, we believe that all “governments, no less than individuals, are subject to the judgment of God” (¶ 164.F). The same is true of political parties. As biblical Christians, we agree with some policies of each political party and disagree with other policies. No political party perfectly reflects biblical principles in all of its policies. And there is room for disagreement about political or governmental policies among conscientious Christians.
Another term might be orthodox. Renewalists are orthodox in their theology, holding to the truths of the historic creeds of the church. We understand those creeds as originally intended, not redefined to fit modern sensibilities. But the term orthodox is not well understood by the general public and may be confused with the Eastern Orthodox Churches. Some have objected that designating one group as orthodox might imply that others are not orthodox in their theology, which is not the intention.
What Does “Traditionalist” Mean?
So we have settled on the term traditionalist to describe who we are at this moment in time. It is not a perfect term and perhaps not even the best one, but it is what we have. It calls attention to the continuity we have with traditional Christianity harking back to the early church and with traditional Methodism as founded by John and Charles Wesley.
Unfortunately, one of the African bishops has accused traditionalists of wanting to return to traditional African religion, complete with animal sacrifices and polygamy. Of course, nothing could be further from the truth. We are not traditionalists in a general religious sense; we are traditional United Methodists, who espouse Christianity, not paganism.
We aim to continue in the tradition of what Methodism was when it was founded by John and Charles Wesley. As mentioned above, we believe in orthodox Christian doctrine as defined by the historic creeds of the church, as traditionally understood. We hold to the doctrines John Wesley espoused in his standard sermons, in the Articles of Religion and Confession of Faith, and in the practices outlined in our General Rules. We are not out to change or reinterpret Methodist doctrines, but to maintain them.
We support the long-standing moral standards of the church, as taught in the Bible. This includes a traditional understanding of marriage as between one man and one woman and the need for celibacy in singleness and fidelity in marriage. The Ten Commandments, the command to love God with all our being, and to love our neighbor as ourselves, are the bedrock of living a moral and upright life, pleasing to God and beneficial for humanity.
We uphold the traditional practices of the church: baptism as the sacrament of entry into God’s family, Holy Communion as a sharing in the atonement and resurrection of Christ, private and corporate prayer, corporate worship of God, personal and group Bible study, and fasting or abstinence. These spiritual disciplines have a long track record of helping people grow in their faith and commitment to Christ.
We believe in the traditional mission of Methodism, to “reform the nation and, in particular, the Church; to spread scriptural holiness over the land.” The United Methodist Church needs reforming. More than 50 years of constant decline in membership and participation is a symptom of deep-seated problems in how we “do” church. For that same length of time, Good News and others have attempted, mostly unsuccessfully, to facilitate reforms that would strengthen the church’s witness and enhance its effectiveness in ministry. If, as expected, separation occurs in 2021, we will have the opportunity to start fresh in designing a faithful and effective church for the 21st century. I would point you to the important work being done by the Wesleyan Covenant Association (of which I am a Global Council member) to propose new designs for a new denomination. Wesleyans have always been willing to change and adapt strategies of ministry to fit new circumstances, while keeping to the timeless message of the Gospel.
We hold to the traditional makeup of Methodism. In keeping with Wesleyan theology, the Gospel is for all people. Jesus died for the sins of the whole world, not just the sins of a certain elect few. Redemption is for every race, nation, tribe, and tongue. Traditional Methodists expect to be part of a global church, sending and receiving missionaries, pastors, and teachers to and from every nation. Our churches should be microcosms of our communities, welcoming people of every race, culture, and nationality.
Just as there were women leaders in the Bible and the early church, as well as in early Methodism, we embrace the full and equal ministry of women alongside men in traditional Methodism. Early Methodism empowered laity as the backbone of the church’s ministry. This tradition has set the stage for the full involvement of laity in ministry at all levels of the church.
We believe in influencing society (“reform the nation … spread scriptural holiness”). We do not believe that influence begins and ends with making political statements or lobbying governments. Rather, it begins in the heart and life of each person, as they are born again into a new relationship with God through Jesus Christ and transformed by his loving Spirit into a new person. Change happens one life at a time. United Methodism has neglected this dimension to its detriment. Such personal change happens as we engage in the traditional practices of the church (see above) and as we “watch over one another in love” as part of the community of faith. Traditional Methodists believe in accountable discipleship through participation in small groups (called “class meetings” by Wesley) that can support and encourage growth in personal holiness, becoming more and more like Jesus. Faith means nothing if it is not worked out and displayed in our everyday lives.
It is out of a changed life empowered by the Holy Spirit that we can serve the needs of the community: feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, housing the homeless, welcoming the stranger, visiting the lonely, and much more. Out of an attitude of humility and servanthood, we are then equipped to advocate changes in laws and policies in our government that will correct injustice and help those who are vulnerable. We recognize that we speak from an imperfect human perspective. We do not know all the answers, and there are different opinions about how to address the problems of the world. Rather than pontificating political platforms, we seek to apply biblical values and wisdom to the complex issues of today in dialog with others of varying perspectives. Together, we can strive for the most faithful way forward in putting our Christian values into practice for the sake of the world in which we live.
“Traditional Methodists” believe in preserving the heart of our Methodist heritage in doctrine, practice, and spirit. Our core identity ought to be unchanged over the decades. At the same time, we follow the example of our founders in adapting our structure and strategy to fit the changing circumstances in which we live. Only by doing so will our tradition truly live on in the church. The world does not need another museum of faith; it needs living, Spirit-filled practitioners of the faith that changes the world, as in the time of Jesus and Paul, as in the time of John and Charles Wesley. That is what traditional Methodists aspire to be.
Thomas Lambrecht is a United Methodist clergyperson and the vice president of Good News.
by Steve | Oct 5, 2020 | In the News, Perspective E-Newsletter
By Thomas Lambrecht –
Ecce homo by Antonio Ciseri.
“What is truth?” Pontius Pilate asked that compelling question during his interrogation of Jesus prior to condemning him to the cross (John 18:38). For Pilate, that question was a cry of despair — he had given up on ever finding the answer.
It appears that many Americans, including many American Christians, also despair of ever finding truth. A recent survey conducted by the Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University under the direction of Dr. George Barna found that a majority of Americans no longer subscribe to a historic understanding of what “truth” is.
The survey found that 58 percent of Americans agreed that “Identifying moral truth is up to each individual; there are no moral absolutes that apply to every person, all the time.”
Let that sink in a moment. Nearly six out of ten Americans think they can make up their own moral truth. That means the Ten Commandments (honor your father and mother, do not lie, do not steal, do not murder, do not commit adultery) are merely suggestions. That means that some people might be perfectly entitled to believe that theft, murder, rape, or racism is acceptable, according to their own personal truth.
According to the survey, the only group in society that did not have a majority holding this opinion was evangelical, born-again Christians. Yet a strong minority (46-48 percent) of these Christians agreed with the “personal truth” idea. Somewhat encouragingly, only 33 percent of committed Christian leaders agreed that there is no absolute moral truth.
Basis of Truth
When asked, “What is the basis of truth,” the most common answer was God. Yet only 42 percent of Americans referenced God as the basis of truth. Another 16 percent found truth in “inner certainty,” while 15 percent look to “scientific proof.” (One wonders how science could ever be a determining factor for moral truth. What scientific study could prove that lying or adultery or racism is morally wrong?) Smaller percentages rely on tradition (5 percent) or public consensus (4 percent) to determine moral truth.
Among Christians, seven out of ten evangelicals, Pentecostals, and born-again Christians picked God as the basis of truth. Again, 87 percent of committed Christian leaders chose God. But among Catholics, only 43 percent saw God as the basis of truth, and only 37 percent of Mainline Protestants did so.
Adults under age 30 were less likely to select God as the basis of truth – 31 percent, compared to 45 percent among older adults. Southern states gave God slightly more recognition (48 percent), compared to an average of 38 percent for other regions of the country.
Implications
The idea that there is no absolute truth is part of the philosophy known as post-modernism. Based on the survey results, it appears that a strong majority of Americans operate out of a post-modern mindset.
This highly individual approach makes agreement about anything much more difficult. Since there is no one agreed-upon standard for moral truth, we hold nothing in common, to which we can all appeal to settle disputes. I might point to a biblical teaching or to a particular secular law, but you could come back with, “That is your truth, but I don’t accept it as my truth.” The argument is at a stalemate. There is no way to resolve it. This is a contributing factor to the gridlock and endless conflict in our society and government today.
Just from a rational perspective, post-modernism gives us no basis upon which to critique another person’s moral beliefs or actions, since everyone has their own, self-made moral framework. It all boils down to self-interest. Something is wrong if it hurts me. But there is no objective standard by which society can judge what you did to be wrong. What a mess!
A Christian Understanding of Truth
Fortunately, Christians do have a moral framework that applies in all times and places, based on the reality of God and his teachings found in Scripture.
Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life” (John 14:6). “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth” and “the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ” (John 1:14, 17). Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:31-32). The Holy Spirit is called the “Spirit of truth” (John 16:13).
We are not only called to know the truth, but to live by the truth. “But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God” (John 3:21). “Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and truth” (John 4:23-24). Jesus prayed for us, “Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth” (John 17:17).
The psalmist prays, “Show me your ways, O Lord, teach me your paths; guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long” (Psalm 25:4-5). “Test me, O Lord, and try me, examine my heart and my mind; for your love is ever before me, and I walk continually in your truth” (Psalm 26:2-3). “‘These are the things you are to do: Speak the truth to each other and render true and sound judgement in your courts; do not plot evil against your neighbor, and do not love to swear falsely. I hate all this,’ declares the Lord” (Zechariah 8:16-17).
One of the signs of Israel’s downfall was its abandonment of truth. “So justice is driven back, and righteousness stands at a distance; truth has stumbled in the streets, honesty cannot enter. Truth is nowhere to be found, and whoever shuns evil becomes a prey” (Isaiah 59:14-15). “Go up and down the streets of Jerusalem, look around and consider, search through her squares. If you can find but one person who deals honestly and seeks the truth, I will forgive this city'” (Jeremiah 5:1).
God promises truth as one of the blessings of his presence. “This is what the Lord says: ‘I will return to Zion and dwell in Jerusalem. Then Jerusalem will be called the City of Truth'” (Zechariah 8:3).
We can try to ignore the truth, but that is like ignoring gravity — gravity (and truth) wins every time! We can pretend to make up our own moral truth, but that puts us in the place of God. Are we really prepared and equipped to be God, even just for our own lives? Trying to be our own god is the height of human hubris. When God sees us try to usurp his place, he laughs (sarcastically). It must be incredibly sad for God to see us puny creatures attempt the impossible and in the process ruin our lives and our world.
That is why God spoke the truth through his Word and sent Jesus, the living truth, into his world to teach us the truth. It is only through God’s truth being actualized in our lives that we can be the person God created us to be. Surrendering to his truth is the only way out of the darkness and into the light, the only way to true freedom.
Thomas Lambrecht is a United Methodist clergyperson and the vice president of Good News.
by Steve | Sep 28, 2020 | In the News, Perspective E-Newsletter
Making Moral Choices
By Thomas Lambrecht –
Over the last two weeks, we have looked at results from a recent survey conducted by the Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University under the direction of Dr. George Barna. We saw that many Americans are confused about who God is and what God is like. We also found that many Americans and even Christians believe in salvation through being or doing good.
But what does it mean to be good or to do the right thing? This enters the realm of making moral choices. These choices begin with a basic concept of what is a human being, and what is the value of human life.
The Value of Human Life
According to the survey report, 56 percent of Americans believes that human beings are created by God and made in his image, but are fallen and in need of redemption. At the same time, 69 percent believe that “people are basically good.” This is another example of confusion on the part of presumably 13 percent who believe that human beings are at the same time “fallen and in need of redemption” and “basically good.” (This is actually a decline from the 83 percent who thought “people are basically good” in 1990 — a testament to our more pessimistic current time.) I wish the survey report had separated the question of whether human beings are created by God and made in his image from the question of whether they are fallen and in need of redemption. That would give us a better understanding of how people value human life. Some may believe that humans are created by God in his image but are not fallen and in need of redemption.
That question of the value of human life is answered rather starkly in another question, where only 39 percent of Americans said “human life is sacred.” Even for evangelical Christians and political conservatives, only 57 to 60 percent agreed with the sacred value of human life. Other views on life included the 37 percent who believe “life is what you make it, but it has no absolute value” and the 11 percent who believe “life does not attain its full value until we reach our highest point of evolution and expression.” This contingent view on the value of human life could help explain the travesty of more than two-thirds of Down syndrome babies being aborted before birth. If human life has no absolute value or is not valuable until it has reached some developmental maturity point, then such abortions can be morally justified, as can many other actions that demean or threaten human life and dignity.
Moving more specifically to the question of abortion, 37 percent of Americans say the Bible is ambiguous on abortion and an additional 22 percent say they do not know. This means only 41 percent believe the Bible is clear in teaching the sacred value of human life in the womb.
One’s concept of the value of human life is the grounding point from which many other ethical decisions flow. Hatred, the culture of insult, discrimination, violence, racism, and many other harmful attitudes stem from our unwillingness to value the other person as created in the image of God and of sacred worth. One of the greatest contributions of Christianity to Western civilization over the centuries has been the concept that even the most disregarded or poorest human being was of infinite value to God. While not always practiced, this understanding of human life has led to many advances, compared to the brutality evident in many pre-Christian civilizations. Yet today we are in danger of losing this foundational understanding.
Source of Moral Guidance
Where do we turn for guidance in making moral decisions? The survey reported that only one-third of Americans turn to a religious source for moral guidance. Twenty-three percent turn to the Bible, six percent look to direct divine intervention, and three percent rely on the input of religious leaders. Encouragingly, about two-thirds of evangelical Christians turn to these religious sources.
Another third (31 percent) of Americans looks to themselves when making moral decisions. A third group (27 percent) relies on trusted people for help, mainly family, friends, and peers.
This heavy reliance on self and other people to guide moral decision-making may account for why so often Christians act just like the society in which they live. It is the Bible and the historic teachings of our church that help us live by a value system that often contradicts that of our society. Our most valuable testimony is that we live differently from those who do not follow Jesus. That testimony is lost when we fail to use the resources of our faith in making moral decisions. At the same time, the Christian veneer that has generally sustained Christian values in secular American society in the past is swiftly eroding.
Practical Morality
The survey set forth several scenarios and asked respondents to register their moral opinion. Six out of ten Americans (and 83 percent of committed Christians) stated that the intentional failure to repay a loan to a relative is morally unacceptable.
Less than half of Americans (47 percent), and in contrast, 75 percent of committed Christians, thought that telling a minor lie to protect one’s personal best interests or reputation is morally unacceptable.
As might be expected, abortion was the most divisive issue in the survey. Forty-four percent of all Americans thought that having an abortion because the woman’s partner has left and the woman cannot reasonably take care of the child is morally unacceptable. Twenty-two percent believe it is morally acceptable and eleven percent think it is not a moral issue. (One-quarter do not have an opinion.) As expected, 83 percent of committed Christians believe such an abortion is morally unacceptable.
Only one-fourth (27 percent) of all Americans think having sexual relations with someone that they love and expect to marry in the future is morally unacceptable. In contrast, 71 percent of committed Christians believe it is morally unacceptable. This result was the widest gap between Christian moral decisions and those of the general population.
Implications
The practical questions actually give mildly encouraging results, in that they showed committed Christians maintained a dramatically more traditionally Christian value system. (The survey defined committed Christians as those who were spiritually active and involved in church leadership.) Regular members were often less affirming of traditional Christian values in their decisions.
This survey shows that it will be important for Christian pastors and leaders to teach the foundations of Christian moral reasoning, starting with a solid understanding of the sacredness of human life and its implications for how we are to treat one another. This understanding can transform the way our society functions, especially in such a time of polarization and division.
It will also be important to teach our people how to look to the teachings of Scripture and the historic teachings of the church to find moral guidance for everyday life. We need to make these teachings understandable and accessible to all Christians in a way that will influence their everyday lives. Teaching on particular moral issues helps, but it is more important to teach our people how to think Christianly about moral issues and enable them to make good decisions without necessarily being told what to do in every situation. While teaching on abortion and human sexuality is important, we need to broaden our teaching to other moral arenas, such as human relationships and financial integrity.
The old song says, “They will know we are Christians by our love.” When people observe how Christians live, they should see a distinctive difference from the self-centered values of the world. The survey results show we have room for improvement in learning how to live as Christians in an alien world.
Thomas Lambrecht is a United Methodist clergyperson and the vice president of Good News.
by Steve | Sep 21, 2020 | In the News, Perspective E-Newsletter
Michelangelo (God creating Adam)
By Thomas Lambrecht –
What is God like? That seems to be the most fundamental question any religion has to answer. Each religion has their own answer to that question, which in turn makes each religion distinctive.
Christianity has a particular answer to that question that has been taught and believed for over 3,000 years of Judeo-Christian faith. We believe in a personal God who is the “all-powerful, all-knowing, perfect and just creator of the universe who still rules the world today.” That description is from the recent survey conducted by the Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University under the direction of Dr. George Barna.
Strikingly, the survey found that only 51 percent of Americans believe the Christian definition of God. This is down from 73 percent in 1991. The result points to the steady erosion of the Christian worldview from American society over the past 30 years.
Twenty-six percent are either agnostic (“a higher power may exist, but nobody knows for certain”) or simply don’t know what to think about the notion of God. Ten percent hold a “New Age” view, claiming that “God refers to the total realization of personal, human potential or a state of higher consciousness that a person may reach.” Seven percent hold a polytheistic (“there are many gods”) or pantheistic (“everyone is god”) view. Amazingly, only six percent claim to be atheists (“there is no such thing as God”).
The good news is that 94 percent of Americans believe in some sort of god, or at least the possibility that God exists. The downside is that opinions about God are all over the map and quite confused. Even as many as 20-30 percent of those claiming to be Christians are either not sure whether God exists or have a non-Christian view of God.
The survey found that 71 percent of Americans say they “have no doubt that God loves you unconditionally.” That means that 20 percent who are either unsure about God’s existence or have a non-Christian understanding of God nevertheless believe God loves them.
Only one-third of the public believe that it is possible to be certain about the existence of God, while 57 percent feel “it is impossible to be certain about the existence of God; it is solely a matter of faith.” In a further example of inconsistency, 66 percent believe “God has a reason for everything that happens” to them. And of the 51 percent who hold a Christian view of God, only one-third believe that God is involved in their lives.
Combining a number of questions about God, only ten percent of the American public have a robustly Christian view of God. They believe he is all-powerful, all-knowing, perfect, the just creator of the universe, that he still rules it today, that he loves the person unconditionally, that he has a reason for everything that happens in a person’s life, and that he is involved in the person’s life. Yet that is what the Bible teaches us about God. Apparently, most do not completely accept those teachings.
Who Is Jesus? Satan? The Holy Spirit?
Christians believe that Jesus is God, the second person of the Trinity, while at the same time human. Fully 85 percent of Americans get that Jesus is fully divine and at the same time fully human. However, 44 percent believe that Jesus “committed sins, like other people.” Only 41 percent accept the biblical testimony that Jesus was without sin. Hebrews reminds us, “Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are — yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need” (4:14-16). Paul affirms, “God made him [Jesus] who had no sin to be sin [or a sin offering] for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21). It was Jesus’ very sinlessness that qualified him to be the “lamb without blemish,” the perfect offering for the forgiveness of our sins.
Meanwhile, Americans appear more confident in the existence of Satan than they are in the existence of God. While only 51 percent believe in the existence of a God who is at work in the world today, 56 percent believe that “Satan is not merely a symbol of evil but is a real spiritual being and influences human lives.”
Christians believe that the Holy Spirit is a spiritual being who is God, the third person of the Trinity. Only one-third of Americans agree. Over half (52 percent) contend that “the Holy Spirit is not a living entity but is a symbol of God’s power, presence, or purity.” Yet, on the night before he died, Jesus promised his disciples, “It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor [Holy Spirit] will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. … But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. … All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will take from what is mine and make it known to you” (John 16: 7, 13, 15). It certainly sounds like the Holy Spirit is a real, personal being. And that has been the verdict of Christian theology for 2,000 years.
Implications
As I mentioned in last week’s blog, “Losing the Gospel,” we cannot assume that Americans in general or even the people sitting in our pews (or watching on Zoom) understand the very basics of the Christian faith. As a lifelong Christian who has read the Bible and studied in seminary, these basics often seem like they are “old hat” to me. But for many people, the basics are “new news” that they are unfamiliar with.
The most pressing need is to address those who are uncertain about God. The fastest-growing group in the survey is those who say “a higher power may exist, but nobody really knows for certain.” That group “has exploded from 1 percent of the public thirty years ago to 20 percent today.”
We are on our way back to ancient Athens. Paul addressed the Athenians this way, “I see that in every way you are very religious. For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. Now what you worship as something unknown, I am going to proclaim to you” (Acts 17:22-23). Paul then proceeded to teach them a biblical view of God. That is precisely what we need to do for the increasingly many who have no real idea who God is or what he is like. We have a great opportunity here for evangelism to people who are confused, but who are open to the idea of God.
An emphasis of our Wesleyan understanding of the faith is that we can have certainty about God. We call this the doctrine of assurance. We can be certain that God exists. We can be certain that he loves us and has sent his Son Jesus to die for us. We can be certain that we have been saved by his grace from sin and death to receive eternal life, if we have put our faith and trust in him.
Our faith is not a “hope so” kind of faith. We do not just hope that we have it right about God, we are certain, because he has revealed himself to us through his Son Jesus Christ, through the words of Scripture, and through the presence and power of the Holy Spirit. “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. … And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him” (Hebrews 11:1, 6).
We do not need to buy into the uncertainty of our time. Instead, “we have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where Jesus, who went before us, has entered on our behalf” (Hebrews 6:19-20). As the old hymn puts it, “the anchor holds.” We have a firm and secure hope in a “God who is there, and who is not silent” (in the words of Francis Schaeffer). He has revealed himself to us and invites us to earnestly seek him.
In a time when the world seems to be falling apart, we can find security and hope in the God who made us, who loves us, and who gave himself for us. “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened” (Matthew 7:7-8).
Thomas Lambrecht is a United Methodist clergyperson and the vice president of Good News.
by Steve | Sep 14, 2020 | In the News, Perspective E-Newsletter
“I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit,” Jesus told Nicodemus. (John 3:5) Art: Henry Ossawa Tanner (1859-1937) Wikipedia Commons.
By Thomas Lambrecht –
What does it mean to be saved? How is one saved? These questions are at the heart of the Gospel.
John Wesley famously wrote, “I am a spirit come from God and returning to God; just hovering over the great gulf, till a few moments hence I am no more seen — I drop into an unchangeable eternity! I want to know one thing, the way to heaven — how to land safe on that happy shore. God himself has condescended to teach the way: for this very end he came from heaven” (Preface to Sermons on Several Occasions).
According to a recent survey, many Americans are no longer concerned about finding the way to heaven. Only 54 percent of Americans believe they will experience heaven after they die. (Take a moment to absorb that stunning statistic.) The rest do not know what happens after they die, believe there is no life after death, expect to be reincarnated, or believe they will go to a place of purification prior to entering heaven. Just 2 percent believe they will go to hell. The survey is the American Worldview Inventory 2020, conducted by the Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University under the direction of Dr. George Barna.
Only 56 percent of Americans “consciously and consistently try to avoid sinning because [they] know [their] sins break God’s heart.” The percentage is higher among evangelicals (more than three-fourths). Still, the result seems to indicate that many people are not concerned that sinning will keep them out of heaven or that sin alienates them from a God who loves them.
Paradoxically, if sin does not keep one out of heaven, half of Americans (48 percent) believe that “a person who is generally good, or does enough good things for others, will earn a place in heaven.” Even 41 percent of evangelicals and a whopping 70 percent of Catholics subscribe to this position.
Only 33 percent of Americans “consider [themselves] to be a Christian; and when [they] die [they] will go to heaven only because [they] have confessed [their] sins and have accepted Jesus Christ as [their] savior.” Among evangelicals, there seems to be some confusion. While 72 percent believe they will go to heaven only by confessing sin and accepting Jesus Christ as savior, 41 percent believe they can earn a place in heaven through good deeds. At least 13 percent of evangelicals apparently believe both at the same time!
According to the survey, mainline Protestants, which would include United Methodists, hold beliefs very similar to the general American public, in most cases only a couple percentage points different. That sends the message that mainline Protestants have thoroughly assimilated into the American cultural understanding and do not stand out as distinctively Christian in their beliefs.
Biblical Teaching on Salvation
The Bible teaches that sin leads to destruction. “All who sin apart from the law will also perish apart from the law, and all who sin under the law will be judged by the law” (Romans 2:12). “The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). There is no one who has not sinned. “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). So all have sinned and are under the judgment of God, leading to our destruction.
How do we get out from under God’s judgment and avoid destruction? Many Americans apparently believe that they can overcome God’s judgment by doing good. In earlier times, many believed they could make up for sin by doing what John Wesley called “works of piety.” They could engage in religious rituals to get right with God. This would include baptism, confirmation, attending church, and receiving Holy Communion. They believed that if they did these rituals, it would make up for the sins they committed during the week. Their lives were unchanged, but they participated in church activities to alleviate their guilt.
Today, most people do not rely on church rituals to get right with God. Instead, they do what John Wesley called “works of mercy” — helping others and doing good for other people. They believe that if they do enough good, they will counterbalance any bad they have done, and they will end up in heaven.
But the Bible teaches us that we cannot save ourselves from the judgment of sin, either by church rituals (piety) or good deeds (mercy). “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith — and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God — not by works, so that no one can boast” (Ephesians 2:9).
Instead, “this righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe … and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement through faith in his blood” (Romans 3:22-25). “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).
Implications
There are two ways of salvation being presented here. The biblical way of salvation is through faith in Jesus Christ, obtaining forgiveness of our sins and the gift of eternal life. The way believed by half of Americans, including 52 percent of all Christians, is through works — doing enough good so that God will grant us entry into heaven based on what we have earned. The biblical way of salvation is the Gospel, the good news that has been proclaimed by apostles, prophets, and teachers since the time of Jesus. To adopt the way of salvation through works is to abandon the Gospel and the teachings of the Christian faith, whether one calls oneself a Christian or not.
The non-biblical way breaks down around two important points. One, it is impossible for either religious rituals or our good works to expunge the stain of sin from our lives. “It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats [religious rituals] to take away sins” (Hebrews 10:4). They are instead a “reminder of sins” (vs. 3). It is only through the perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross, and our receiving the benefits of that sacrifice through faith, that our sins can be forgiven and taken away. “This is my blood of the new covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins” (Matthew 26:28). “In [Christ] we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins” (Ephesians 1:7).
The second point that scuttles the non-biblical way is that we are incapable of living completely good lives. We cannot do enough good to overbalance the bad that we do. In fact, any violation of God’s commandments places us under judgment. “For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. … If you do not commit adultery but do commit murder, you have become a lawbreaker” (James 2:10, 11). “We have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under sin. As it is written: ‘There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away … there is no one who does good, not even one.’ … Therefore no one will be declared righteous in [God’s] sight by observing the law; rather through the law we become conscious of sin” (Romans 3:9-12, 20).
If religious rituals or good deeds could gain us eternal life, there would have been no need for Jesus Christ to give his life on the cross in the most torturous and heinous death imaginable for our sins. That is in fact what some liberal theologians teach — that Jesus’ death was not an atoning sacrifice for our sins, but a political execution by a jealous religious establishment and an oppressive world empire. They would say that our task is to imitate Jesus in giving ourselves for the cause of liberation from political and religious oppression.
These approaches of works righteousness or a political reading of Jesus’ life miss the Gospel entirely. They may be a form of religion, but they are not the Christian faith.
The survey results drive home in dramatic fashion the challenge that lies before us in the church. We must teach our own people the Gospel, starting once again from the basics of sin and salvation. As many as half our members do not understand the Gospel or how to be saved from sin and eternal death.
Just as importantly, we must reach out to an unbelieving world, helping them understand their alienation from God and from their true purpose. We need to show them that the only way to overcome that alienation is through giving one’s life in faith to Jesus Christ. We cannot earn God’s approval or forgiveness. We can only cast ourselves upon his mercy and grace. Yes, a changed life of good works follows our self-surrender to Christ, but without the Holy Spirit’s presence in our lives, our attempts to live for God fall woefully short.
Too many pastors today preach to their people the message that they should “do good” in various ways, assuming they are all Christians. Unfortunately, the survey shows that a high percentage of church members or attendees is not truly Christian, but is striving to earn their way into God’s favor. While encouraging people to live good lives, we must emphasize the need for faith in Jesus Christ and reliance upon his presence and power. Otherwise, we will continue to see a society and a church that dilutes the Gospel and eventually loses it entirely.
Thomas Lambrecht is a United Methodist clergyperson and the vice president of Good News.
by Steve | Sep 3, 2020 | In the News, Perspective E-Newsletter
By Thomas Lambrecht –
Art by Terre du Milieu
As a young adult, I became fascinated by the story told by J.R.R. Tolkien in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogy. I was inspired by the extraordinary adventures on behalf of human goodness undertaken by ordinary folk.
Through my wife’s recommendation, I recently became acquainted with a devotional book called Walking with Bilbo (Tyndale, 2005), by Sarah Arthur. It draws spiritual lessons from the various happenings in the Tolkien story (which is in keeping with Tolkien’s deep Christian faith). Fortunately for my wife and others, you do not need to have read The Hobbit to benefit from the devotions. They are biblically-centered and practical in their daily application.
One chapter recalls an episode in The Hobbit when the hobbit Bilbo Baggins and his dwarf comrades need to pass through a broad, dark forest called Mirkwood. Their mentor, the wizard Gandalf, warns them that the only safe way through the forest is to stick to the main path through the center. In Gandalf’s absence, however, the group becomes bored. Day after day, mile after mile, there is nothing but trees! To compound the problem, the dwarves and their hobbit comrade are running out of food. Who knows how much longer this forest will last? Is it not time to disregard Gandalf’s advice and leave the path, just for a short while, to break the monotony and find something to satisfy their need for food? In the story, of course, the decision to do so leads to bad things happening — what Arthur calls “misadventures.”
I can really relate! This coronavirus pandemic has been going on for six months. No in-person church or small group. No concerts or movie theaters. No fun trips. For many, no eating in restaurants. No getting together with friends or even family. For some, not even the ability to work, since they have been furloughed or let go from their jobs. When you have watched everything good on Netflix, you know you are in trouble! Worst of all, we have no concrete idea when it will all be over.
The stay at home routine can become mind numbing. In some places, when things began to open up again, people went wild. Beach parties. Packed bars and nightclubs. Family get-togethers. Forgetting to wear masks or practice physical distancing. The predictable consequences of going “off the path” were a dramatic spike in Covid19 cases and a surge in deaths and hospitalizations.
As Arthur points out in her devotional, these situations illustrate the fact that sometimes, the Christian life can become routine and even tedious. The daily Bible reading and prayer times can become stale. Staying faithful in our marriage or celibate in singleness can seem unexciting. Weekly or monthly tithing can crimp our ability to have fun or buy something we really want. The daily effort to be kind to others in the face of insult and selfishness can become wearying.
As Arthur puts it:
Sometimes you wake up in the morning and — unless there’s a cataclysmic disaster or even just the slightest deviation from the norm — the day’s events will go exactly as predicted with no change from the everyday tasks God has called you to do. Homework is still homework, laundry is still laundry, and dinner must be prepared before the end of the day. … The truth is, if we stick to the path God has chosen for us, we’re not guaranteed eye-popping, jaw-dropping, heart-racing adventures all the time. In fact, we may be asked to do the mundane, the banal, the mind-numbingly boring.
And that’s exactly when we’re tempted to stray. We begin to starve for change, for something to break the tedium of our days, to get the heart rate up again. So we contemplate taking the slightest jog off the track, just to see what’s out there. Those are the times when the misadventures of our lost and wandering peers look almost tempting. … We begin to wonder if there’s perhaps some other path. …
Other times, we’re tempted to stray because we have genuine needs that must be met, like the starving dwarves in Bilbo’s tale. Perhaps we’re simply exhausted at the end of the day and need to relax. Why not with a six-pack? Or maybe we feel the pain of poor self-esteem. Why not pick on someone else in an attempt to feel good at another’s expense? If we’re not careful, our genuine needs can lead us to justify all sorts of unhealthy behavior. (pages 110-111)
It is in those times that we need to remember that God’s way for us is always best. Going off the path can lead to spiritual and even physical danger.
The Bible has a lot to say about staying on God’s path.
- “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it” (Matthew 7:13-14).
- “You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord himself, is the rock eternal. … The path of the righteous is level; you, the Upright One, make the way of the righteous smooth. Yes, Lord, walking in the way of your laws, we wait for you” (Isaiah 26: 3-4, 7-8, emphasis added).
- “Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, ‘This is the way, walk in it'” (Isaiah 30:21).
- “I instruct you in the way of wisdom and lead you along straight paths. When you walk, your steps will not be hampered; when you run, you will not stumble. … Do not set foot on the path of the wicked or walk in the way of evildoers. Avoid it, do not travel on it; turn from it and go your way. … The path of the righteous is like the morning sun, shining ever brighter until the full light of day. But the way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know what makes them stumble” (Proverbs 4:11-12, 14-15, 18-19).
- “There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end it leads to death” (Proverbs 16:25).
- “This is what the Lord says, ‘Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls'” (Jeremiah 6:16).
- “Many peoples will come and say, ‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the temple of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths.’ … Come, descendants of Jacob, let us walk in the light of the Lord” (Isaiah 2:3, 5).
The good news is that we have the resources to keep us on God’s path for our lives. We have the Holy Spirit to guide us, if we will listen, and to give us strength for the journey. We have the Lord Jesus as our companion on the journey, who as a man went through times such as we are experiencing, who can sympathize with our weakness and encourage us by his presence. We have the Word of God, which is the “light for our path,” showing us the way to go. We have brothers and sisters in Christ who can help and encourage us along the way. When we are feeling hemmed in by the routine, it helps to be transparent with the Lord and with our human companions on the journey. Sharing our struggles takes the power out of them and enables us to receive encouragement and strength.
We are called to persevere in faithfulness to God’s path, whether that path be exciting or mundane. We find life, peace, and rest for our souls on that path. “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up” (Galatians 6:9). Or in the words of Gandalf, “Stick to the path!”
Thomas Lambrecht is a United Methodist clergyperson and the vice president of Good News.
