2013 Doctrine Series #6 – Incarnation

The first chapter of the Gospel of John says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God… And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father's only son, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:1-2, 14 NRSV)  This is John’s version of the Nativity; no Mary, no Joseph, no Manger, no shepherd, no wise men.
The reason for this is that one could come away from the Nativity stories of Matthew and Luke with the impression that Jesus is a very special but merely human baby.  John is trying to make sure that this does not happen.  John is trying to show the doctrine that lies behind the story, the doctrine of Incarnation.
Those with a minimal understanding of Spanish, or who have even spent enough time in Mexican restaurants, will recognize the word “carne” which means meat and which comes from the same word in Latin that means meat, flesh, or skin.  Incarnation, or to become incarnate, is to become, or take on, flesh, to become human.  In the Incarnation the Word, the Son of God, the Second Person of the Trinity, Jesus, took on flesh and became a human being.
Another important piece of the doctrine of Incarnation that John lifts up is what is called the pre-existence of Christ, the belief that Jesus has existed as the Son of God from the beginning of time prior to taking on flesh and being born in Bethlehem.  John says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”
It is here that we begin to see the doctrine of the Trinity, the doctrine that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are each fully and equally God, that they are unified, and yet they are distinct from one another.  We will say more about this in a future article.
So we see that the Word, Jesus, the Son, is God and is with God the Father (as is the Holy Spirit) before the creation of the universe in eternity past.  It is the Son who became incarnate, who took on flesh, who became a human being.  As John says, “The Word became flesh and lived among us.”  Jesus is God in the flesh.  God became a human being.  Jesus is fully God and fully human.
If you have a hard time getting your head around all of this, you are not alone.  It took the early church a long time to figure out what Jesus and the biblical author meant.  In fact many of the things we take for granted about what we believe about Jesus were not settled until the Council of Chalcedon in the year 451 which declared that Jesus had two natures, one human and one divine, "united with neither confusion nor division."  So that you can impress, or bore, your friends this is called the “hypostatic union.”
Another passage of Scripture that is very important to understanding incarnation is Philippians 2:5-8, “Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death— even death on a cross.”
In closing we need to ask why this is so important and what difference does it make to us?  I think the best passage to answer this question is Hebrews 4:14-16, “Since, then, we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast to our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin.  Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

2013 Doctrine Series #5 – Justification (Forgiveness)

In our last article we saw how we all have a sin problem.  Romans 3:23 says, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”  And that is bad news for us because as Romans 6:23 says, “The wages of sin is death.”  That is not only physical death but also spiritual death.  Yes, that means hell!  As I write these very words I am listening to coverage of the bombing at the Boston Marathon.  We live in an evil world!
Our sin is a problem because God is holy.  God is holy and God’s standard for us is holiness.  1 Peter 1:16 says, “It is written, ‘Be holy, because I am holy.’”  Jesus says in Matthew 5:48, “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”  Sinful people cannot be in a relationship with a holy God, at least not without help.  Isaiah 59:2 says, “But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear.”   Habakkuk 1:13 says, “Your [God’s] eyes are too pure to behold evil, and you cannot look on wrongdoing.”  God cannot even look at us in our sin.
That is where the doctrine of justification or atonement comes in.  Through justification God offers a way for our sin to be dealt with and for us to be forgiven and restored to a relationship with God.
In the Old Testament God instituted a system of animal sacrifices in order to atone for sin.  This was to prove the point that sin has deadly consequences.  Hebrews 9:22 says, “Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.”
This sets the stage for what God has done through his Son, Jesus Christ.  Jesus died on the cross, shed his blood, so that we could be forgiven for our sins and our relationship with God could be restored.  This happens when we accept Jesus as our Savior.
God forgives us for all of our past sins when we accept Christ.  God wants us to not sin but if we do sin, God is always ready and willing to forgive us if we confess and repent.  1 John 1:8-2:2 says, “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.  If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.  If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.  My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and he is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.”
In the next few months we will be talking in more depth about Jesus and who he is and what he has done.  Please check back.

2013 Doctrine Series #4 – The Fall (Original Sin)

In our article on creation we said that God created everything and declared it “good.”  But, as we saw in our article on providence, sometimes things do not work out perhaps the way in which God had originally planned.  What happened?  The answer, in a word, is sin.
We see the story unfold in Genesis 3.  Adam and Eve were placed in paradise and were given only one commandment: Do not eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.  The serpent tempts Eve to eat from the Tree and then Eve gives the fruit to Adam and he eats.  God then throws Adam and Eve out of the Garden of Eden and they become subject to sickness and death.
All of us, as descendants of Adam have inherited this sinful nature and the physical, emotional, relational, and spiritual brokenness that comes along with it.  The Bible puts it this way in Romans 5:12, “Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death came through sin, and so death spread to all because all have sinned.”
It is not just people who are broken because of sin.  The whole world is out of whack as a result of sin as well.  Romans 8:20 says, “For the creation was subjected to futility.”
The doctrine of original sin says that, as a result of the Fall, Adam’s first sin, all human beings inherit a sinful nature and are broken and subject to sickness and death.  Also, as a result of the Fall, all of creation is broken and works in unpredictable and dangerous ways.  G. K. Chesterton, in his book Orthodoxy, writes that original sin “is the only part of Christian theology which can really be proved.”  Do you really need me, or anyone else to prove to you that there really is sin in the world and in your own life?  All we have to do is watch the news, or take a good long look at our own lives.
Besides the original sin that we all carry around, it does not take very long and we have actual sin, sin that we actually commit ourselves.  Romans 3:23 says, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”  Sin is sin; no sin is worse than another.  James 2:10 says, “Whoever breaks one commandment is guilty of breaking them all.” (Good News Translation)
We all have a sin problem.  In the next article we will see what God has done for us to solve that problem.

2013 Doctrines Series: #3 – Providence

“God is in control.”  We hear that all the time and, in a world that often seems out-of-control, these words are very comforting.  This is kind of a “bumper sticker” statement of a very complex facet of Christian doctrine called providence.  (From the root provide.)  And, like most “bumper sticker” summaries of doctrine, it requires a lot of explanation.
Providence, like revelation, which we talked about in the first article, can be divided into two types, general and special.
General providence is things like oxygen, fertile soil, and sunshine; plants and animals to eat; families and communities to which to belong.  These things are gifts of God’s providence.  We have done nothing to deserve these; God provides them to us out of his grace.  (In Wesleyan theology we talk about prevenient grace, the grace that goes before.  God provides for all his people and calls us all into relationship with him.)
Special providence is those very special, and perhaps rare, times when God seems to intervene directly in our lives.  We experience miraculous healing; we are running late only to find out that we just missed an accident ahead of us; we receive an unexpected check in the mail just when we needed it.  All of these things are providence.  We may call them coincidences, but there is an old saying that goes, “coincidence is when God chooses to remain anonymous.”
However, the questions arise when things do not happen that way; when tragedy strikes; when healing does not come; when God does not do what we expect.  These are the hard questions.
There are two very broad ways that Christians over the years have looked at the problem evil, the closed view and the open view.  The closed view says that God decides everything that happens and directly causes them to happen, including evil, and tragedy.  Of course God has a good reason for everything that happens although we do not always know what that is.  To be fair this way of thinking can provide a lot of comfort in the face of tragedy for many people.
The open view, which I hold, says that because of free will, which is also a gift of providence, God does not always get his way; things do not always happen according to God’s perfect plan.  The first thing we must realize, and which we will explore in greater detail in the next article, is that the world is broken.   This world, as it is, is not the way that God intended it to be.  This is due to the effects of human sin.
In this view God allows, rather than causes, evil as consequences of our own choices.  James 1:13-14 says, “No one, when tempted, should say, "I am being tempted by God"; for God cannot be tempted by evil and he himself tempts no one.  But one is tempted by one's own desire, being lured and enticed by it.”
However, God is still in control and is still taking care of us in all of this; and while God does not cause these things to happen, he can use them to help us to grow.   1 Corinthians 10:13 says, “No testing has overtaken you that is not common to everyone. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it.”  As another old saying goes, “God never gives us more than we can handle, I just wish he didn’t trust me so much.”  God believes in us more than we believe in ourselves.  We can get through anything if we use the grace God’s gives us.
God’s providence is all around us every day, in the air we breathe, in the water we drink, in the food we eat, and in the people we meet.  God’s providence is there in the natural resources we use and are called to protect.  God’s providence is there in the miracles that we can see every day if only we will look.  God’s providence is even there in the midst of tragedy, walking with us, getting us through, and helping us to grow.  However, providence, like any of God’s good gifts, can be neglected, misused, and taken for granted.  So, let us learn to recognize, appreciate, and enjoy God’s providence.

2013 Doctrines Series: #2 – Creation

The opening words of the Bible in Genesis 1:1 are, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”  These words are echoed in the opening words of the Apostles’ Creed, “I believe in one God, the Father, Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth.
The belief that God created the universe is a common doctrine that should and does untie all Christians.  However, not all Christians agree about how God created the universe.
Genesis tells the story of God creating the universe in stages over six days.  Many Christian who wish to take the Bible literally believe that the universe was created in six literal 24 hour days.  I have nothing but the deepest respect for these folks and their high view of Scripture.
However, many other Christians would like to say that the six days of creation in Genesis are figurative of God creating in stages over time, perhaps even billions of years, rather the literal days.  The Hebrew word “yom” which is translated “day” in Genesis 1 can also be translated as “age,” or an unspecified period of time.  Many would even go so far as to say that God created through the process of evolution.  I also admire these Christians because they are trying to integrate their faith in God with the discoveries of science.
The point is that the belief that God created the universe is a basic tenant and doctrine of the Christian faith.  One simply cannot be a Christian without believing in creation.
However, the real meaning of the doctrine of creation does not have as much to do with stars and planets, rocks and trees, and birds, fish, and animals, as it does with human beings.  God created the whole universe just so he could create us.  Genesis 1:26-27 tells us that God created human beings in his imagine capable of love, wisdom, and creativity but also free to make our own choices.  (I will say more about this freedom of choice in a future article.)  And God does not stop with creating humanity in general; he creates each of us individually in his image.  Psalm 139:13 tells us that God knits us together in our mother’s womb.
God created us to be in a relationship with him, to love and worship him.  St. Augustine, who died in the year 430, said, “You have made us for yourself, O God, and our hearts are restless until they find rest in you.”
Also implied in the doctrine of creation is our responsibility to care for the creation.  In Genesis God creates Adam and Eve to care for the Garden of Eden.
In conclusion, God created the whole universe.  God especially created human beings in his image.  God created us to be in a relationship with him and to care for his creation.

2013 Doctrines Series: #1 – Revelation

During 2013 I will be using my newsletter articles to address core Christian doctrines.  I am going to be using and defining the technical terms that are used by pastors and theologians.  So this will be a kind of brief twelve part systematic theology.  This month I will be discussing the doctrine of revelation.
The doctrine of revelation does not refer to the Book of Revelation or to the End Times, but rather it is the doctrine that says that God has revealed himself, has made himself known, has disclosed himself and his will, to us.
The doctrine of revelation assumes the existence of God but teaches us that, on our own, apart from God’s revelation, we cannot know that God exists or know anything about him.  Fortunately for us, God has made revelation available to each and every human being, if only we will pay attention.  Ecclesiastes 3:11 says that God has, “set eternity in the heart of every person.”
The doctrine of revelation is divided into two main types of revelation: general revelation and special revelation.  There is also a third type that is often called private or personal revelation.
General revelation is how God is revealed in nature through creation.  Romans 1:19-20 says, “For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them.  Ever since the creation of the world his eternal power and divine nature, invisible though they are, have been understood and seen through the things he has made. So they are without excuse.”  The doctrine of general revelation says that God reveals himself to all of us through nature, so no one can claim ignorance.  If we respond to general revelation and begin to seek to know more about God, God will reveal himself to us more and more.  Hebrews 11:6 says, “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,” and in Jeremiah 29:13 God says, “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”
But we have to be careful; general revelation will only take us so far.  If we do not take the next step and seek God in special revelation, we will end up with an empty “Man Upstairs” kind of faith which the Bible warns against in James 2:19, “You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that--and shudder.”  Even Jesus said in Matthew 7:21, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.”  We must move beyond general revelation to special revelation.
Special revelation is a fancy way of referring to God’s revelation in the Bible.  2 Timothy 3:16-17 says, “All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that everyone who belongs to God may be proficient, equipped for every good work.”  (Inspiration is also a theological term that is used to describe the way in which the Holy Spirit inspired the human authors of the Bible to write, and the way the Holy Spirit has inspired the Church to collect, translate, and interpret the Scripture right down to today.)  The only way we can really know who God is and what God wants is through the Bible.
While it is up to us to interpret and apply the Bible to our lives, and while those interpretations can and will vary from person to person, from place to place, and from time to time, we cannot simply pick and choose which parts of the Bible to believe and obey and which ones not to.  If we do that the Bible falls apart.
The main thing to remember in order to help us understand the Bible is that the Bible, from beginning to end, is about Jesus.  From Genesis all the way through the Old Testament we are told about the Messiah who was to come.  In the New Testament we are told that Jesus is that Messiah and that he came to earth, died, rose again, ascended into heaven, and will return to earth one day to establish his Kingdom.  Perhaps John does the best job of describing the purpose, not only his Gospel, but the whole Bible in John 20:30-31, “Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book.  But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.”
As United Methodists we have a tool that has come to be known as the Wesleyan Quadrilateral.  It has four sides: Scripture, Tradition, Reason, and Experience.  Of these Scripture is primary and the other three are used to help interpret, understand, and apply Scripture.
Finally, there is also a doctrine of personal or private revelation.  These are revelations that God makes to us by the Holy Spirit as individuals.  Usually these come in the form of strong impressions, feelings, and insights that we get from prayer or Bible study.   God may help us understand something better, or call us to do something specific.  However, some people in history have reported having dreams, seeing visions, or even hearing an audible voice.
John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist movement, described an experience in which his heart was “strangely warmed” during a meeting on Aldersgate Street in London.  This moment of personal revelation would become a new beginning for Wesley and would result in the United Methodist Church we know today.
We must use EXTREME CAUTION here to make sure that it is God who is speaking and not our own imaginations, or worse.  A personal revelation will never ever contradict the Bible.  If we feel that we have had a personal revelation we need to check it against the Bible and consult with other Christians in the Church to make sure we are not getting off track.
The whole point of the doctrine of Revelation is that God wants us to know him, and that we can know him and have a relationship with him, because he has revealed himself to us.        

“The UMC and the Issues 2012: Church and State”

This is my last article in my “UMC and the Issues” series and this month we will be finishing up with the issue of the relationship between the church and the state.

In the U.S. we have a strong commitment to keeping the church and the government separate.  This was born out of what our founders saw in Europe where the church exercised power through the government and vice-versa and where religious wars were fought between the European powers.

The first amendment of the United States Constitution says, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.”  This means that the government cannot establish, favor, or support any religion as an official religion and that the government cannot interfere with any individual in the practice of their own religion.

The Social Principles of the United Methodist Church state, “The United Methodist Church has for many years supported the separation of church and state. In some parts of the world this separation has guaranteed the diversity of religious expressions and the freedom to worship God according to each person's conscience. Separation of church and state means no organic union of the two, but it does permit interaction. The state should not use its authority to promote particular religious beliefs (including atheism), nor should it require prayer or worship in the public schools, but it should leave students free to practice their own religious convictions. We believe that the state should not attempt to control the church, nor should the church seek to dominate the state. The rightful and vital separation of church and state, which has served the cause of religious liberty, should not be misconstrued as the abolition of all religious expression from public life.”  (Discipline paragraph 164C)

The places where this issue comes up the most in our time are in public prayer, especially in schools, and in public religious displays like a Nativity scene or the Ten Commandments.  These are the places among others where “establishment” and “free exercise” come head to head.  For instance, students praying by themselves, or as a group, is free exercise; a teacher praying while a class is forced to listen, or to recite, is establishment.  A Nativity scene or a Ten Commandments monument on a courthouse lawn, as long as it is paid for with private money, in my opinion, would be free exercise, not establishment.  However, not everyone would agree with me.

What distresses me about this issue is that so often “Christians” can become difficult and disrespectful about it.  While we do need to exercise our rights and we do need to speak out and share our faith, we need to remember that our mission is to share the Good News and we can never do that by being disrespectful.