It's fairly ironic that this post is coming on Reformation Day, as I've been marinating on the foregoing subject for several months. The subject of the Christian faith, our beliefs, and reality.
We watched the American Gospel: Christ Crucified with our group a while back, and something that stuck out to me is that many worldviews, including postmodernism, deconstructionism, and the various "progressive Christianity" tracks, share a common foundation: The inability to accept or embrace all facets of Biblical Christianity because they don't fit how the the world or God "should be." They may ask questions such as: "a loving God couldn't also send people to hell, could He?" or "A loving and all-powerful God wouldn't kill his Son to pay the penalty for the world's sin (cosmic child abuse, some say), would He? Couldn't He just accept us without any bloodshed? He is God, after all." These concepts (of hell, Christ's death for our justification, etc.) are not all pretty or easy to grasp, and worldviews such as postmodernism (which says truth is subjective) and deconstructionism (which says the Bible is fallible), change God and Christianity to fit into a more comfortable box.
While considering the above (which is a small picture of both the movie and my thought process; putting thoughts into words is hard sometimes), however, my heart was also nudged on a more personal level. How many " givens" do I have about Christianity, Jesus, my faith, and the Gospel that are not actually "givens" in the Bible? Is my idea of Jesus actually in accord with how He is portrayed in the gospels or the rest of Scripture? Over the last few years, I've been challenged to really examine ideas I've taken for granted as fact. Aside from ideas about the character and person of God, ideas that may veer toward both legalism/works and Christian liberty/faith. Examples might include simple statements ranging anywhere from "Tattoos are sinful" to "It's okay to read lots of romance novels as long as they aren't dirty," or presuppositions that certain denominations, forms of worship, or churches are automatically "wrong" and not Biblically "Christian." (Note that many answers to such ideas are actually based more on the heart and conscience than external "right" and "wrong")
In short, while those who do not claim to be Biblical Christians have, in part at least, done so because they cannot accept accountability for their sins or the reality of God's justice, election, and human responsibility (and thus created their own version of "religion" or lack thereof), I would suggest that many Biblical Christians today have also put God into a box and made presuppositions about who God is and how we are to live.
During the Reformation, the Roman Catholic church banned the ownership of Bibles in common language. Many Christians were killed for even owning a Bible and yet were willing to pay that price. Today, we have the Scriptures at our fingertips and so often fail to appreciate the incredible gift we have. We may, like the Bereans in Acts chapter 17, search the Scriptures to see if what we hear -- and even have believed -- is true. There is so much to be learned about Christ and His Word! I know I am rebuked by this.
"For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart." Hebrews 4:12 (English Standard).
All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work." 2 Timothy 3:16-17 (English Standard).
Reality says that God's Word is true (2 Timothy 3:16-17). Reality says we are accountable to God for our sins and that we have all sinned (Romans 6:23). Reality says God is just (Deuteronomy 32:4) and merciful (Psalm 103:8). Reality says that Jesus was killed for our sins (John 3:16). Reality says that all who call upon His Name will be saved (Romans 10:13). Reality says we can't fully comprehend God (Isaiah 55:8-9). And reality says He will give us mercy for each day (see, e.g. Lamentations 3:23).
Is my standard truly based on Scripture or have I, as the postmodernists have done, "changed" certain aspects of God and Scripture interpretation to fit my understanding? Scripture is a real standard, and while I believe the realities of the Gospel and Jesus as God, have I allowed discrepancies with Scripture to creep into the every day?
Hold fast to Jesus!
Sonia
