Hebrews: Jesus is Supreme

 Who is Jesus?

The book of Hebrews answers this question. Apparently, in an attempt to make Christianity more appealing, people were downplaying the identity of Jesus. The author of this book/sermon wanted to correct people’s incorrect theology about Jesus.

This is why the Hebrews begins with an argument for the supremacy of Jesus Christ as the Son of God.

Hebrews 1:1-4 (CSB)

Long ago God spoke to our ancestors by the prophets at different times and in different ways. In these last days, he has spoken to us by his Son. God has appointed him heir of all things and made the universe through him. The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact expression of his nature, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high. So he became superior to the angels, just as the name he inherited is more excellent than theirs.

The author of Hebrews started by stating that in the past, God spoke to his people through the prophets. But in these last days, he has spoken to us through his Son. This alone tells us that

Jesus is not just another prophet, but he is the Son of God, sent to us to reveal God's plan for creation.

The author then goes on to describe Jesus as "the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being." In other words, Jesus is the perfect image of God the Father. He is not just a messenger, but he is the embodiment of God's love and grace for us. Through Jesus, we can see the very nature of God, his character, and his will for us.

Furthermore, the author of Hebrews emphasizes that Jesus is the one who sustains all things by his powerful word. It is through Jesus that everything was created, and he holds everything together. This means that Jesus is not only the revelation of God, but he is also the one who upholds the universe and keeps everything in order.

Finally, the author tells us that Jesus has become superior to the angels, who were also messengers of God in the Old Testament. This is because Jesus is not just a messenger, but he is the Son of God, and he has been given a name that is above all names. He is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.

So, what does this mean for us? It means that we have a Savior who is not only powerful but also personal. He is not only the Creator of the universe but also the Redeemer of our souls. Through him, we can experience the forgiveness of our sins, the healing of our brokenness, and the restoration of our relationship with God.

As we reflect on these words from Hebrews, let us be reminded of the greatness of our God and the depth of his love for us. Let us also be encouraged to put our faith in Jesus, who is the only way to the Father. May we surrender our lives to him, and may we live every day in the light of his grace and truth.

Is That the Real Reason for Deconstruction?

Ever since Donald Trump’s election as president, and especially since the pandemic, deconstruction has been a topic of conversation within Christian circles.

Deconstruction, according to the Merriam Webster Dictionary, “is the analytic examination of something (such as a theory) often in order to reveal its inadequacy.” 

Deconstruction, for the Christian, is the process of breaking down the beliefs and doctrines held by a church, denomination, or theological framework because the teachings and practices don’t seem to line up. 

When done in pursuit of truth deconstruction can be an admirable work. 

In fact, I went through a period of deconstruction in the years of 2007-2009 (though that wasn’t the term being used then), as I questioned many of the things I believed both religiously and politically. The one truth I held on to in this process is the resurrection of Jesus. I knew it was not possible to have answers to all my questions, but since I was confident about the resurrection, I trusted that to be my anchor point to help guide my life in pursuit of what is true.

Deconstruction, when done to reveal the inadequacies of your former belief system, is less about discovering what is true than it is creating justification for why you changed. This is why, even though I believe deconstruction can be a healthy part of our journey of faith, I am skeptical about all the deconstruction that is happening across the different faith traditions in the United States.

Take this tweet by Zach Lambert:

Because we are tribal creatures we want to be part of a group. If we feel like outsiders with our current group we are going to find a new one and we are going to adopt the practices of that new group. That is partially what is behind the deconstruction movement. People have found a new group to belong and they are joining in on this thing everyone else is doing. In this sense it is the “sexy” thing to do.

I would agree with Zack that people aren’t deconstructing to have an excuse to sin. This is a weak argument given by morality police to make it seem like deconstruction is all about emotions and feelings rather than real intellectual questions that need to be thought through.

My main problem with the tweet Zach's proclamation that people are deconstructing because the Christianity and Christians that they know are unlike Jesus. It is a subtle jab towards conservative Christians because he doesn't like their politics or their belief about Jesus.

What Zach is saying is that people are deconstructing from the Donald Trump supporting, LGBTQ+ hating, racist, and Christian nationalist Christianity of the political right, because that is not the Christianity of Jesus.

But is that true? Are people leaving conservative Christian circles to discover the real Jesus?

I pastor a church that is made up of conservative Christians who for the most part supported Donald Trump for president, hold to a traditional sexual ethic, and are very patriotic. There are certainly issues that we don't see eye to eye on, especially in areas surrounding politics and patriotism, but I don't question their love for Jesus or their sincere desire to faithfully follow Him.

The real issue isn't that conservative Christians are so unlike Christ, rather, it is a difference of opinion about who Jesus is.

We live in a culture where virtually everyone wants to claim Jesus their own. Jesus gets distorted as a result. If Zach is going to claim that people are deconstructing because the Christians they know and the Christianity that they have been handed are unlike Christ, then we need to know what he means by Christ.

From my perspective it seems that progressive politics may have influenced his understanding about Christianity and Jesus as much as conservative politics have influenced much of evangelicalism or libertarianism has influenced my perception of Jesus and his teaching.

The reason behind much of the current trend of deconstruction is the influence of progressivism into American Christian. This influence gives them a different lens to see Jesus, interpret Scripture, and evaluate the traditions of Christianity. Rather than deconstructing to a truer version of Christianity and Christ, they are adopting a Christianity that is more in line with the progressive thought they have adopted.

With the support of a new tribe they feel supported and safe to lob accusations and mischaracterizations towards those who hold their former way of thinking.

I understand the need to critique the current state of Evangelicalism, and other branches of conservative Christianity, in the United States. We need to talk about the unhealthy alliance of Christianity and politics, the lack of true discipleship, and admitting the flaws of those who came before us. 

What is not helpful in that discussion is the accusation that Christians who are loving, helpful, generous, and faithful are unlike Christ because they see the world through a conservative lens rather than a progressive lens.

Deconstruction has less to do with truly finding Jesus and more to do with finding alignment between faith and a new worldview.

The Bible is not an Answer Book

 I love the Bible. 

In fact, I believe that people who follow Jesus should be readers and students of the Bible. In the Bible we discover God, His character, and His will. 

Without the Bible we would not be able to follow Jesus or be the people God created us to be.

Last year I lead Bethlehem Church through The Story to give us a good overview of what the Bible is about. One of the things I constantly talked about through that series is that the Bible is gift from God. In all the 30 sermons I preached, I said, “We need to read, study, meditate on, and pray the Bible to be good stewards of the gift God has given to us.”

Even though I have a high view of Scripture, I also understand that it has limitations.

As modern readers of the Bible, we often approach it as if it has the answer to all of life’s questions. That is a primary reason why we  read and study the Bible: to have all the right answers.

Instead of viewing the Bible as an answer book, we need to see the Bible  as a tool to help create a worldview. It may not provide the answers to all the questions asked in our culture, but it does provide a framework that helps us create a Christian worldview.

I have been pondering how we use the Bible the past few days for a couple of reasons.

1. BibleProject has a podcast series that looks at ancient cosmology. One of the key points in the series is looking at how the Biblical account of creation is in dialogue and debate with the other ancient creation myths. 

Many Western Christians, for the past 120 years or so, have used the Bible to provide facts and answers about the beginning of the universe. The problem is that the Bible was not written to answer modern scientific questions. It was written to give God’s people a particular view of the world and to combat the pagan religious views of their neighbors.

Therefore, we shouldn’t expect the Bible to give us definitive answers about the how and when of creation, but we should expect it to give us an understanding about who God is and why He created the world.

2. Preston Sprinkle wrote:

If someone experiences and congruent between their biological sex and their gender, which one determines who they are—and why? What does the Bible say about this question?

That’s the problem. The Bible doesn’t directly ask and answer this question. There’s no verse in, say, Leviticus 28 that says, “If thy gender identity does not match thy biological sex, then thine body is who you really are.” Or whatever. (There is no Leviticus 28, in case you are flipping pages to check.) But the Bible does say quite a few relevant things about human nature and the importance of our biological sex which will position us to cultivate a theologically informed and biblically rooted answer to our question. (Embodied, p. 63)

After doing lots of research, Sprinkle admits that the Bible doesn’t contain the answers to the questions surrounding the transgender conversation. You can’t compile a list of verses that deal specifically with these issues. 

Not only is this true for the transgender conversation, but it is true for many of the questions we have today. Our culture is significantly different from the cultures that the Bible was originally written for. We shouldn’t expect to to have answers to our modern questions.

Since the Bible is God’s gift to His people, we can expect that it will give us a proper perspective to see the world.

It is important to make this shift away from seeing the Bible as an answer book to one that helps us create a Christian worldview.

God did not give us the Bible so we can have all the right answers. 

Rather, He gave us the Bible so we can become the right type of people. 

If we primarily use the Bible to have the right answers, to win arguments, and to point out other people’s sin then we are using the Bible wrong.

The Bible should help form us into the people God created us to be. One of the ways it does that is to create a proper perspective for us to see the world.

Let the Bible form your worldview.

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Seek to Discover Jesus

Reading through the book of John it becomes evident that there were great disagreements about Jesus' identity.  This is even seen in the Pharisees. Here is a group that we generally talk about opposing Jesus, but the reality was that there was a disagreement about Jesus among them (John 9:16).

In John 10:19 we again see that people had a disagreement about Jesus: When he said these things, the people were again divided in their opinions about him (NLT). 

 

There was this disagreement, or division, because Jesus provided a paradox for them. 

On the one hand Jesus taught with great authority and insight. 

On the other hand Jesus did not obey the culture expectations of the day. He was not always a "good" Jew.

All these centuries later, people still have disagreements about who Jesus is. 

• Some want to classify him as a good teacher who was able to give profound spiritual insight. 
• Some may elevate him to the position of prophet, a man of God giving people a word from God. 
• Some label Jesus as a liar who led people astray. 
• Some call him a myth who never existed. 

People are still divided about who Jesus is.

Since I claim to follow Jesus, it is important that I understand who Jesus is to the best of my ability. 

Now, I admit, it is easy, even by looking at the biblical account, to create Jesus in my image. To make a Jesus I am comfortable with, who will support my agendas, and promote my worldview. 

 

Even within the Church there are many different ideas of who Jesus is, how he lived, and what he taught.

This means we need make an effort to discover who Jesus is. 

• We need understand the culture in which Jesus lived which provide much needed context to his teaching. 
• We need to seek to hear his teaching through the ears of his intended audience.
• We need to learn why see his miracles and ministry through these first century eyes.

 It is easier to engage the Gospels, as well as the whole of Scripture, at just the surface level, as we look for those eternal truths to apply to our lives. But, I have come to believe that we miss much of the truth God has for us by not digging deeper into the text. 

People will always be divided over who Jesus is, but that shouldn’t keep us from the responsibility of doing what we can to discover the Jesus of history. 

I believe that when we commit ourselves to such a study we will be blessed with the gift of getting to know who Jesus is and all that he has done for us.

We Need to Discuss Truth

 

This tweet from Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is true. 

Lies are contrary to the truth and are not just mere opinions.

As a Christian I want to seek, believe, and even defend the truth.

Here is the thing, it isn’t always easy to tell what the truth is.

For example, I like to say that love is the central command of Christianity and the resurrection is the central truth of Christianity. 

I believe the resurrection of Jesus is true and not a lie. There are different pieces of evidences that I use to support that belief. 

Yet, there are very smart people who will offer their evidence on why the resurrection never happened.

In other words, there is a difference of opinion when it comes to how we arrive at something being truth or a lie.

I bring this example up because I think many things within the realm of politics fall into this same sort of category. When trying to arriving at what is true, we have to discuss our perspective about why we believe something is true or not. 

It is not good enough to simply declare something to be true or false. We need to be wiling to share our thoughts and listen to why someone else believes what they do.

To simply declare something to be true or false causes dialogue to end and division between people to increase.

Here is another example.

On Wednesday, January 6, 2021 a violent mob stormed the Capitol Building in Washington D. C.

That is a statement that virtually everyone would agree to be true.

What isn’t agreed about, and the areas of opinion that should be discussed are: 

1. Whether that mob was incited by President Trump? 
2. Was it an insurrection or coup attempt?
3. What defines someone as a domestic terrorist?

Here is my point: Our different perspectives give us a different understanding of truth. If we are truly committed to truth then we should be willing to hear those different perspectives.

This is precisely why freedom of speech is such an important part of life. It allows us to dialogue with one another. It helps us refine our arguments and beliefs. It gives us a chance to demonstrate why certain things are lies.

A major problem we are facing in the United States is the inability to really participate in the process of free speech. We want to be able to say what we believe the truth to be, but we don’t other people to respond with their perspective. We would much rather stay within our own little echo chamber, having our world view confirmed, than stepping outside that bubble and having it challenged.

We need to be brave enough to have civil conversation with people, seeking to understand why they believe what they believe, rather than just declaring the other side is lying and walking away. 

The true benefit found in the freedom of speech is the opportunity to point out the inconstancies, errors, and false beliefs the other side has. It gives you the ability to answer those who promote a different ideology than you do and make the case for why your beliefs are true.

This is such an important freedom, and skill, to have.

War for Truth

 I recently saw the following on Facebook:

"We're losing the war for truth. There's no bigger crisis for media, politics and society than the growing number of people who don't believe facts and verifiable figures. If we don't collectively solve this, we are all screwed."

Truth is important. 

People, and I think Christians especially, should strive to be on the side of truth.

Yet, that goal is not always as easy as we make it out to be. I believe we need to think about how we come to know truth. 

Ask yourself the question: “How do I know my beliefs are true?”

For most of us, what we believe to be true we have received second hand, from a source that we trust. The problem really isn’t a “war for truth,” but a disagreement on what sources can be trusted. 

Let me also say I dislike the use of the word “war.” We tend to use this word to show there are two distinct sides that are at conflict with one another. So we have things like the drug war, the war on poverty, the war on Christmas, and the war on Terror. On the one side you have the “good guys” and on the other side you have the “bad guys.” 

Do you see the problem with this belief?

Consider this tweet:

No seriously, when you think you need to “deprogram” friends and neighbors because they don’t think like you, you have lost the chance to have a civil conversation. 

You can’t take the moral high ground if you want to cast other people (people who are often friends and family) as your enemy. No meaningful conversation is going to come from that.

After all, who gets to decide what is true and what is not true? Why should I accept your version of truth?

Everyone believes they know what the truth is, but their versions of truth differ because they have chosen to trust different sources for the information that makes up that truth.

Again, this is the key issue: “What sources can I trust to provide me with true information?”

While you may trust what is printed in the newspaper or is on the evening news, not everyone does.There is a significant percentage of people in the United States who believe they cannot trust what comes out of the corporate press. 

Last month Michael Malice tweeted:

If you don’t understand that the corporate press, the source of information many Americans trust, has lost the trust of many other Americans, then you are going to see this as a “war for truth.” 

It is not. 

Therefore, rather than treating it like a war, we need to have a discussion about why we trust the sources of information that we do.

Why would some Americans not trust the information offered by the government and the corporate press?

Thaddeus Russell tweeted this:

This is just one example of why many people don’t trust the same sources of information that you do.

The problem isn’t that there are Americans who are ignoring “facts and verifiable figures,” rather the issue is that they don’t think those facts and figures can be trusted. In other words, it is less about the information, and more about the source of that information.

So Michael Malice’s question is a good one: “What can the corporate press do to regain the trust of the public?”

Rather than starting a war, maybe you should ask that simple question first.

Perception and Truth

In our search for truth it is important to recognize that most of our beliefs that we hold on to as truth are just our interpretation of the data that we have. 

I am not saying that truth doesn’t exist or that it is impossible to discover truth, but I am saying that truth isn’t as objective as we sometimes would like it to be. 

We realize that two people looking at the exact same data can come to two different conclusions. 

Some of that is based on first principles, for example, believing in God is going to shape our interpretation of the data about the origins of the universe.

Some of that is based on our experiences, for example, whether you have a positive or negative experience with church growing up is going to shape your opinion on the importance of being part of church family as you grow older.

This is what Erwin McManus wrote in his book Soul Cravings:

In other words, for something to make sense to us, it cannot remain outside of us. We do not simply study information and then come to a conclusion; we absorb it and come to a personal interpretation of what is real.

I was listening to a lecture in which the speaker referred to studies in neuroscience that describe the process from which the human brain gathers and holds information. He explained that when the human brain absorbs information, that information is one part data and six parts emotion. Now that’s a fascinating thought--that everything we remember is wrapped around everything we experience. When you reflect on this, it makes perfect sense. (Meaning; Entry #12: It’s All in How You Look At It)*

What Erwin talks about here explains why, for most people, their relationships with the fathers affect their view of God. 

It also accounts for people who leave Christianity after a personal tragedy in their lives. Their view of God and the Church affected by their experience.

In the United States there is a significant amount of people who are not buying the version of truth being offered from the corporate press and politicians.

Why are they skeptical?

They are skeptical because they believe they have been lied to, overlooked, and stabbed in the back by these people who now say, "Just trust us." 

When we remember that perception is reality for people, it should not surprise us that there people who do not hold to your version of what is real. Their experience is leading them to a different conclusion.

It really doesn't matter how many experts, studies, and facts we believe back up our point-of-view because another person will put all of that through their filter of experience and emotion. This is why facts are weak persuasion. 

All of us like to believe that we rational and that the beliefs that we hold we arrived at through following the facts. The reality is that the majority of the time we arrive at our beliefs for emotional reasons and we use facts to justify our positions afterwards. This is why these facts seem so obvious to us.

If we want to change someone's mind the best thing to do is not to throw a bunch of facts and figures at them, but to offer a listening ear and show that you understand what they are saying. Without listening and seeking to understand other people there will be an ever growing divide between people who hold different points-of-view.

* Soul Cravings is a book without page numbers. For reference I provided the title of the section and the entry number and title. I believe the McManus discussion on truth is worth the price of the book.

Be Humble and Pursue Truth

This tweet has been with me all the way through this year. Those closest to me know that Tom Woods has been a big influence in my life for the last decade (I discovered him sometime during Ron Paul’s 2008 Presidential run), mainly through his daily podcast.

As a person who strives to be a life-long learner, what Tom encourages people to do has been a goal of mine. I realize that the knowledge that I have is only a tiny drop compared to the vast amount of information that is in the world. It would be arrogant of me to approach life with the assumption that all my beliefs are correct. 

Over the years as I have read books and listened to lectures, sermons, and podcasts my beliefs have shifted and changed. Sometimes the change has been drastic such as going from conservative Republican to a Ron Paul Republican to a libertarian and finally to a anarcho-capitalist/Christian anarchist. Some changes have been more subtle like moving form a staunch young earth creationist view to being open to other possibilities. 

The apostle Paul in Romans wrote: “ Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.” (Romans 12:2, NLT)

God transforms us through the renewal and change of our thinking (see also Philippians 4:8 and Colossians 3:1-4). The thoughts and beliefs that are rolling around in our heads and hearts effect everything else about us. They form the structure of our worldview and they guide our actions and emotions. This is why God needs to change our thinking before transformation occurs in our lives.

Followers of Jesus also need to be confident that all truth is God’s truth. This means we want to be on the side of truth, whatever that looks like, because we know all truth comes from God. This gives us the freedom to admit that we might be wrong about things and to re-examine what we believe.

I will offer one bit of advice here: In our pursuit of truth we need a bedrock truth that is able anchor us in faith. Otherwise we are in danger of believing whatever sounds good to us.

For me, and I think for any follower of Jesus, that bedrock belief needs to be the resurrection of Jesus. Paul in 1 Corinthians 15 wrote (1 Corinthians 15:14, NLT), “And if Christ has not been raised, then all our preaching is useless, and your faith is useless.”

Because I think there is credible evidence to believe in the resurrection of Jesus, I secure my hope there, and let that be the foundation of my worldview.

As we enter the last month and half of 2020 may we set our faith in Jesus and allow God to guide our thinking, so our lives can be transformed.

Growing Compassion

 

One of the marks of Christian maturity is an increased capacity for compassion.  The longer we follow Jesus, the more compassion we have for people. This compassion even extends to people who are in bad circumstances caused by their own choices.

When I was younger it was easy for me to judge people who were enduring bad circumstances in their lives. 

“After all,” I reasoned; “if they would make better choices they wouldn’t find themselves in that circumstance.” 

Compassion was absent from my heart. 

Over the last several years God has transformed my heart. Rather than blaming people for their difficult circumstances my heart breaks for them. I realize most of the time they are in those circumstances, not because they want a difficult life, but because they don’t know there is a better way to live.

As Matthew put it: they are “confused and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.

I don’t want to diminish the responsibility each of us has for the choices that we make. I do want to point out that the choices we make are hardly ever black and white. Most of the time our choices are the result of a complex mixture of experiences, emotions, and environment. 

The reality is that all of us make decisions based on the information that we have.

1 Peter 1:18 (NLT)

For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And it was not paid with mere gold or silver, which lose their value. 

This has been a key verse in understanding the choices people make and one of the reasons I have more compassion for them.

People live the way they were taught to live. The choices that they make sense to them in the light of what they know.

 Imagine how your life would be different if you were raised differently. Things that seem to be “common sense” may not even be known to you. 

Peter tells us that much of the world, instead of inheriting a life of faith in Jesus, they inherited a life given to them by their ancestors, a life that is empty. It is not their fault, it is simply the hand that they were dealt.

On top of inheriting an empty way of life, many people struggle with habits and addictions that are difficult to break free from. Again, it isn’t necessarily their fault. They may want to get out, but they are trapped in a prison of their own creation.

In a real sense people are victims of outside forces. 

When we read the gospels it appears that when Jesus looked at a crowd of people he didn’t see dirty rotten sinners; instead he saw people who were being victimized. Rather than condemning them for their choices and sins, Jesus showed them compassion and understanding. That is not to say that Jesus accepted their sin or acted like it wasn’t a big deal, but it does show that Jesus, the one person who could sit in judgment, chose to extend help to them.

There is a shift in our thinking that we need to make.

With the Bible in our hands it is tempting judge people with God’s truth, rather than to help them out of love. 

Jesus condemned the Pharisees for doing this very thing. They focused on people’s sin and did nothing to help them overcome it. 

This is a danger we need to avoid.

To have a knowledge of God’s will can lead us to believe that taking a stand for God’s truth is the same as doing God’s work. 

In Revelation 2:1-7 Jesus told the church in Ephesus that they were in danger of being shut out of the Kingdom because of their lack of love. The Ephesians were known for standing up for the truth, but somewhere along the line they had lost their love.

We have to be on our guard so that doesn’t happen to us. Truth shouldn’t overshadow our love.

Compassion, which is a form of love, needs to be mixed with truth. It is the mixture of  truth and love which gives us the ability to influence the people in our lives. Our care and compassion opens up people’s hearts to receive the the truth. 

 The example of Jesus is that he led with compassion. Jesus loved people through healing and helping them. Not only did he demonstrate compassion, he always told them the truth. 

Truth is a lot easier to take when you know it comes from a person who cares for you.

Jesus looked at the crowds of people and He saw people who were lost and with no way to find their way home. What these people needed was a person to show them the right direction, not lecture on how terrible it is to be lost.

As we look around us we realize that the number of people who need help are more than we can help by ourselves. What can we do? 

If we are going to show compassion to the world we have to pray. Prayer gives us a  proper perspective on life and the world around us. It also helps us to align our hearts with God’s heart. 

In our prayers we need make a request: workers for the harvest. There is a shortage of leaders who are able to show the lost the way home.

Compassion is not just reserved for our prayer life. Compassion needs to be a key characteristic of our lives. Jesus lived in such a way to show the people around him that he knew the Way they were to travel. 

As Jesus’ followers we have that same responsibility of living our lives in such a way that it demonstrates a better way to live.

To live like Jesus means we need a change of perspective. Instead of seeing the people as dirty rotten sinners we need to see them as lost travelers trying desperately to get home.

Or better yet, a field ready to be harvested and brought home.