Scribbling Theology:

Category: Scribbling Scripture

• Jesus Wept: A Short Theological Reflection on Grief

  Posted at 1:03 pm by Camaron G. W. Smith, on May 31, 2022

  

  The darker the night, the brighter the star. The deeper the grief, the closer is God!
  

  Apollon Maykov

  Jesus wept. John 11:35 is the shortest verse in the Bible and perhaps the most human. I love this verse because, as I’ve argued elsewhere, if you want to know what it means to be a human, look no further than Jesus. Here, we have permission to weep and lament over the brokenness around us. For Jesus, this was the death of Lazarus and the pain and anguish it caused those closest to him. Jesus didn’t stoically trust in God’s plan (despite knowing He would resurrect Lazarus shortly after). Still, neither did He lose all hope under the crushing weight of grief. Jesus responded as the perfect human should; He lamented with genuine tears without losing sight of the future hope. Like the Psalmist, Jesus cries out in distress as He trusts in God’s deliverance (Psalm 55:16-18).

  John 11:35 doesn’t just permit humans to grieve; it also shows us who God is. He is the kind of God who steps into our darkest moments. Yahweh weeps when we weep and feels just as burdened with the brokenness as we are (even more so). Despite some people’s tendency to pit the New Testament God against the Old Testament God, we shouldn’t be surprised to find the grieving God revealed in Christ in the Hebrew Scriptures.

  Perhaps the first time God explicitly grieves is during the flood account, where “the LORD regretted that he had made humanity on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart” (Genesis 6:6). Interestingly when I read this story earlier in my Christian journey, I always thought God was mad with everyone for being evil (which they were). So, he sends a flood to destroy the earth in a fit of rage. However, the passage suggests that the flood is in response to human sinfulness and God’s grief. Anger and grief aren’t mutually exclusive emotions. We can be highly irrational when we’re emotional, even when being emotional is the most rational response.

  Nevertheless, it is essential to note here that the passage highlights God’s grief as the emotional response, not anger. One can only speculate why. Some of my most grief-filled times have been because people I deeply loved not just broke my heart but went down a path I knew wasn’t good for them, and there was nothing I could do to stop it. Here I can imagine God breaking down over the choices of the world as they were dominated by sin and, in turn, perpetuated sin into the world. Now, there are a lot of ideas and interpretations of the flood account (Genesis 6-9). However, there is one place I can land on here, and that’s this story is a commentary on all of our lives. All of us have participated in the brokenness and evil that has dominated this world since Genesis 3. God grieves for each, and every one of us as the renewal of the world edges closer and closer.

  God’s grief in the flood account may come as a shock to some. The destruction of the world and everyone in it doesn’t seem like an appropriate response to grief. This is difficult to reconcile with God’s character elsewhere in the Bible. I have no easy answers. I know that the Bible portrays God as one who is intimately involved with His creation (Genesis 1-3), that He is merciful, kind, and slow to anger (Exodus 34:6-7), and that He loves the world so much that He sent Jesus to rescue it (John 3:16). Yet, God deals justly with the problem of sin, and I believe that Genesis 6-9 is a window into what will happen when Jesus returns and ushers in the New Heavens and Earth. As I’ve argued here, the flood isn’t just about removing sin and the destruction of the world; it is about renewal and God rescuing humanity.

  Another notable passage where grief is mentioned in the Bible is in Isaiah 53:3, where “the arm of the LORD” is said to be “a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief.” In the New Testament, this mystery person is revealed to be Jesus the Messiah (Matthew 8:14-17; John 12:37-41; Luke 22:35-38; 1 Peter 2:19-25; Acts 8:26-35; Romans 10:11-21). Even a cursory reading of the Gospels will demonstrate how Jesus was acquainted with grief. Perhaps we see this clearly in the garden of Gethsemane, where Jesus says, “my soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.” The author of Hebrews fleshes this out when he says, “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:15). Finally, we see in Revelation that the suffering servant is the one who wipes every tear from our eyes in the new creation (Revelation 21:4).

  There is much to grieve about in one’s life—the death of a loved one, the state of the world, divorce. I have heard that life is just a series of traumatic events we learn to manage and grieve. You could have everything and still be “a man of sorrows.” As I survey the Bible, I see how God justly deals with sin but is genuinely grieved over the state of the world. In particular, I see Jesus in the Gospels, where God is most human, and humanity is most in touch with God – I am comforted to know that the grief I experience, the depression, and the sorrow, is not overlooked. It is shared in by a God who could easily transcend the sufferings of this life. Those who mourn are blessed, for God is near them (Psalm 34; Matthew 5:4).

  Other related blogs:

  
  Existential Christianity

  When Doing Normal Christianity Just Doesn’t Work

  BoJack Horseman: Nihilism and How the Gospel Heals Our Deepest Despair Part I

  
  

  Posted in Posts, Scribbling Scripture | 0 Comments | Tagged Christ, Christianity, God, Grief, Jesus, Loss, Suffering, Theology

• Propitiation and Redemption in the Book of Romans

  Posted at 9:00 am by scribblingtheology, on July 9, 2021

  

  This was a recent essay I did in my Romans class at college. I’m proud of this because I got pretty good grades for it so I thought I’d share it with all of you. Enjoy 🙂

  The themes of redemption (ἀπολυτρώσεως) and propitiation (ἱλαστήριον) can be found throughout the entire storyline of the Bible. From Genesis 3, where God makes the promise that a seed will come to destroy the serpent (Gen 3:15), then God takes an animal, slays it, and covers Adam and Eve in animal skin (Gen 3:21), through to the sacrificial laws in Leviticus, all the way to Jesus in the Gospels, these themes are richly integrated into the very fabric and thrust of the Bible’s entire narrative. Paul, in particular, picks up on these essential themes and, in his epistle to the Romans, he masterfully espouses a rich theology in light of the Messiah and the entire Old Testament Scriptures. However, the themes of propitiation and redemption in Romans have not been without controversy.

  This essay will aim to trace Paul’s usage of both themes of propitiation and redemption throughout the book of Romans. This will be done by exploring critical passages in Romans where these themes occur, exploring the debate among scholars and the various interpretations of the terms, and finally exploring any implications that are applicable to the Christian life.

  • Redemption in Romans

  First, it is crucial to have some historical context behind the idea of redemption to better understand how Paul uses the word in Romans. In the Greco-Roman world, to redeem someone was to liberate a slave by purchasing (or ransoming) their freedom (Morris 1993, 784). This understanding of redemption was true for all of antiquity, going back as far as the Exodus story where God frees (redeems and ransoms) Israel from servitude to the Egyptians (Ex 12-24). For Paul and his audience, the theme of redemption would have evoked memories of the exodus stories of freedom from slavery, crossing the red sea, wilderness wanderings, Passover, promised land, and exile (Wright 2002, 470-471). 

  Twice we come across the word redemption explicitly being used. The first is in Romans 3:24 “and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,” and then again in Romans 8:23 “And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.” However, redemptive imagery can be found all over the letter such as in Romans 6, where Paul uses slavery language to demonstrate that those in Christ are now slaves to righteousness and God rather than sin and the flesh (Morris 1993, 785). 

  • Redemption in Romans 3:24

  As aforementioned, the first place we find the word redemption is in Romans 3:24 quoted above. In this passage, Paul is arguing that justification (the forensic declaration of being acquitted from sin) is a gift from God that comes via freedom from slavery (redemption) to sin (Hagner 2008, 70-71). Scholars debate whether redemption in this passage includes payment (or ransom) so that one can be set free. As already mentioned, the ancient world and secular Greek literature always assumed some payment would occur for the slave to be set free. However, when one considers both the Septuagint (LXX) and the New Testament, it is evident that a ransom is not always present in the idea of redemption (Schreiner 2018, 197-198). Nevertheless, most scholars agree that Paul most likely had both ransom and redemption in mind (Schreiner 2018, 198). Though, instead of the ransom being paid by God the Son to God the Father (Moo 1996, 230-231), it was paid by God in Christ to “the personified power of sin” mentioned in Romans 3:9 (Dunn 1988, 180).

  • Redemption in Romans 8:23

  The second passage we find the word redemption is in Romans 8:23. Here we have Paul discussing the redemption of the created order in relationship with human redemption. Throughout the entire letter of Romans, Paul has an impressive theology of creation that culminates in this passage as he is concerned with the renewal of everything God has created, not just humans or His elect (Stenschke 2017, 261-289). Scholars agree that redemption is closely related to adoption as they are used almost interchangeably to demonstrate the now and not yet tensions in Paul’s argument. Paul argues that the Christian has already been redeemed (adopted), that they are being redeemed (spiritually), and that they will be redeemed (physically) at the eschatological end of the age (Moo 1996, 518-520). Mike Bird explains this well in his commentary when he says, “in the case of redemption, it is not just redemption from the penalty of sin, but the redemption of the body from the presence of sin that remains outstanding. The resurrection of the body will be the event that will consummate both adoption and redemption” (Bird 2016, 280).

  • Hilasterion in Romans

  Propitiation or the Greek word hilasterion (ἱλαστήριον) occurs only once in all of Paul’s letters in Romans 3:25, “whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins,” making Paul’s use of the word a hot topic for debate among scholars. C. H. Dodd famously argued that the word should be translated as expiation (the removal of sin) as opposed to the pagan idea of God’s anger needing to be satisfied through sacrifice (Hodd 1935, 82-95). Later, the reformed interpretation of propitiation (to satisfy God’s wrath) was championed by Leon L. Morris in his book “The Apostolic Preaching of the Cross” (Morris 1965, 144-213) as he called into question the validity of Dodd’s interpretation of the word (Moo 1996, 198-199). Additionally, others have argued that the hilasterion should be interpreted as “mercy seat” where atonement took place in Leviticus 16 (Gundry-Volf 1993, 279-284).

  • Propitiation

  Some scholars argue that hilasterion should be translated as “propitiation”, meaning “the removal or satisfaction of God’s wrath.” Interestingly, there is some debate among exponents of propitiation as to whether “sacrifice” exists in the passage. Scholars agree that a sacrifice is not found in the atonement, making it difficult to argue for a sacrifice in Romans 3:25. However, some would argue that Paul innovatively develops the idea of a present sacrifice in the propitiatory theme (Moo 1996, 236). On the other hand, scholars would reject the idea of a sacrifice being present that Paul’s expression means “to make atonement” not “to offer a sacrifice.” They argue that, at best, sacrifice is in the back of Paul’s mind, not in the forefront. Nevertheless, advocates all agree that “Christ adverted the divine wrath from sinners” (Morris 1988, 181).

  Scholars argue for propitiation in Romans 3:25 in two primary ways. First, scholars explain that the common use of the word in the ancient world was to either satisfy or remove wrath (Kidner 1982, 119-136). Second, proponents of propitiation argue that the biblical context of Romans 3:25 is that all of humanity are sinners under the wrath of God (Rom 1:18-3:20), insinuating that if hilasterion does not mean the removal of wrath, then humanity is still under it (Mounce 1995, 117). 

  • Expiation and Mercy Seat

  Other scholars argue that hilasterion should be translated as expiation meaning that Christ’s death “is how God does away with his people’s sin – not symbolically, as in the ritual of Leviticus 16 in which the material mercy-seat figured, but really” (Bruce 1985, 111). In other words, God removes sin or cleanses a person via Christ’s blood and His death. Scholars who advocate for this view recognise the Old Testament connections that Paul is making to Exodus 25 and Leviticus 16, where the lid of the ark or “the mercy seat” was the place where sin was dealt with. It is where the high priest during the Day of Atonement would sprinkle blood as a sacrifice to cleanse the temple and himself so that he would not die in the presence of God (Wright 2002, 474). Additionally, the priest would lay the sins of the people on the head of a goat and literally remove the sin by sending the goat away from the camp. All of this was in Paul’s mind in Romans 3:25 (Dunn 1988, 171). These same scholars point out that in these rituals there is no mention of judgement or wrath being vicariously satisfied through the animals on behalf of the people. In fact, the killing of the animals was never part of the atonement, they were slain elsewhere, and it was the blood that was used at the alter (Wright 2016, 295-355). Finally, these scholars are quick to point out that the word hilasterion nearly always means or refers “mercy seat” in the LXX (Bailey 2000, 155-158) and in it means mercy seat in its other New Testament occurrence in Hebrews 9:5 (Stott 2001, 114).

  • Satisfy or Cleanse?

  So out of the interpretations discussed in this essay, which are the most convincing? Both. When all the evidence is considered, there is no reason not to believe that Paul here has both in mind the secular use of the word hilasterion (propitiation) and the biblically canonical one (expiation and mercy seat). As N. T. Wright says in his commentary, “But that fact remains that in 1:18-3:20 Paul has declared that the wrath of God is revealed against all ungodliness and wickedness and that despite God’s forbearance this will this will finally be meted out; that in 5:8, and in the whole promise of 8:1-30, those who are Christ’s are rescued from wrath; and that the passage in which the reason for the change is stated is 3:25-26…” (Wright 2002, 476). In other words, the redemption of humanity comes via Christ’s hilasterion, that is, His expiating sacrifice as that removes sin and, in turn, wrath from those who are united to Him by faith (Bird 2016, 119).  

  • Implications for Christian Ministry and Living

  The themes of redemption and hilasterion are among some of the most important themes in all of Scripture as they relate to the death of Jesus and our salvation. These themes are central to the Gospel, and therefore, central to the Christian life and ministry. For some, the nuance and semantics might lead some to dismiss the question of there being any implications in these fleshed out themes. However, without a nuanced understanding of our salvation, the Christian is left deficient in their ability to espouse the Gospel that saved them. These themes affect Christians in two main ways, in our church ministries (i.e., pulpit ministry) and how we live out our vocation as image-bearers (Gen 1:26).

  •  Ministry

  Gospel-centred preaching is at the heart of our church services and ministries. Preaching God’s Word is how we teach, rebuke, correct, and instruct our members in righteousness so that they may be equipped to live out the Christian life (2 Tim 3:16-17). Therefore, having a nuanced and concise understanding of how we are saved shapes the way we live our lives. Is the emphasis of the Gospel on being saved from an angry God who hates humanity until we trust in Jesus, or is that we have been freed (redeemed), cleansed from sin (expiated) so that we can now live out our vocation as God intended? If it is only the former, then that simply solves God’s attitude towards humanity. The latter however, free’s humanity, in Christ to live as they were meant to, a kingdom of priests imaging God (1 Pet 2:9). This freeing and vocational calling needs to be the focus of our sermons.

  • Christian Life: Our Mission

  If we get the Gospel nuances right in our pulpits, then we can live biblically in our lives and mission. If we see that Jesus’ death has freed us, ransomed us, cleansed us from sin for a purpose, we are starting to get to the heart of the Gospel. God has always intended humanity to be a new creation in Christ that images him and lives as genuinely human. N. T. Wright sums this up well when he says, “through the cross of Jesus won the Passover Victory over the powers, that he did this precisely by dying under the weight of the world’s sin, and that Christian mission consists of putting this victory into practice using the same means” (Wright 2016, 408). Love your neighbour (Mk 12:30-31) and enemies (Matt 5:44), even to the point of death so that they may “taste and see that the Lord is good” (Ps 34:8). 

  • Conclusion

  In this essay, we explored the themes of redemption and propitiation in Paul’s epistle to the Romans. Paul’s use of the word redemption in Romans 3:24 indicates a clear theology of the individual being set free from sin, and 8:23 indicated Paul’s theology that the entire created order groans as it eagerly awaits to be set free (redeemed) from sin on the eschatological day of judgment when Jesus comes to make all things new. Furthermore, this essay explored Pauls use of the word hilasterion, which could either be translated as propitiation or expiation (and mercy seat taken from Leviticus 16). From all the evidence considered, it seems that Paul emphasises a theology of expiation with a propitiatory theme implicit in the text. This means that Jesus’ death cleanses the believer from sin, sets him free and then because of that expiation, God’s wrath is turned away from the believer (an implied consequence of Jesus’ death, not an explicit one). Finally, with that in mind, it is clear that this emphasis on expiation, when preached from our pulpits, results in a vocational calling for the Christian instead of simply an attitude shift from God’s behalf towards the person. 

  List of References

  Bailey, Daniel P. 2000. “Jesus as the Mercy Seat: The Semantics and Theology of Paul’s Use of Hilasterion in Romans 3:25.” Tyndale Bulletin, no. 51.1: 155-158.

  Bird, Michael F. 2016. Romans. 2^nd ed.The Story of God Bible Commentary. Edited by Tremper Longman III and Scot McKnight. Grand Rapids: Zondervan.

  Dunn, J. D. G. 1988. Romans 1–8, Vol. 38A. World Bible Commentary. Dallas: Word Incorporated.

  Bruce, F. F. 1985. Romans an Introduction and a Commentary. Tyndale New Testament Commentary. Downers Grove: Inter-Varsity Press.

  Gundry-Volf, J, M. 1993. “Expiation, Propitiation, Mercy Seat” in The Dictionary of Paul and his Letters, edited by Gerald F. Hawthorn, Ralph P. Martin, and Daniel G. Reid, 279-284. Downers Grove: Inter-Varsity Press.

  Hagner, Donald A. 2008. “Romans” in The Expositors Bible Commentary, Vol. 11, edited by Tremper Longman III and David E, 19-238. Grand Rapids: Zondervan.

  Hodd, C. D. 1935. The Bible and the Greek. London: Hodder and Stoughton.

  Kidner, Derek. 1982. “Sacrifice – Metaphors and Meaning.” Tyndale Bulletin no. 33: 119-136.

  Moo, Douglas J. 1996. The Epistle to the Romans. The New International Commentary on the New Testament. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans Publishing Company.

  Morris, L. 1955. The Apostolic Preaching of the Cross. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdman Publishing Co.

  Morris, L. 1988. The Epistle to the Romans. The Pillar New Testament Commentary. Grand Rapids, MI; Leicester, England: W.B. Eerdmans; Inter-Varsity Press.

  Morris, L. 1993. “Redemption” in The Dictionary of Paul and His Letters, edited by Gerald F. Hawthorn, Ralph P. Martin, and Daniel G. Reid, 784-786. Downers Grove: Inter-Varsity Press.

  Mounce, R. H. 1995. Romans, Vol. 27. The New American Commentary. Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.

  Schreiner, Thomas R. 2018. Romans. 2^nd ed. Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic.

  Stenschke, Christoph. 2017. “Human and Non-Human Creation and Its Redemption in Paul’s Letter to the Romans.” Neotestamentica, no. 51:2. 261-289, 

  Stott, John. 1994. The Message of Romans: God’s Good News for the World. The Bible Speaks Today. London: Inter-Varsity Press.

  Wright, N. T. 2002. “Romans” in The New Interpreters Bible, Volume X. 393-770. Nashville: Abingdon Press.

  Wright, N. T. 2016. The Day the Revolution Began. New York: Harper Collins Publishers.

  Posted in Scribbling Scripture | 1 Comment | Tagged Christ, Christianity, doctrine, God, Jesus, Theology

• Thoughts on the Sacraments

  Posted at 1:58 pm by scribblingtheology, on April 9, 2021

  

  Hey guys. I’ve written elsewhere on church here and here and this is sorta in that same vein with a focus on the sacraments. Enjoy 🙂

  Church. It is vitally essential for the life of a Christian. A church is a place where people from all tribes, tongues, and nations can come together to worship their King Jesus as one body; one family unified to one another in Christ. Churches look different all over the world from place to place, from context to context. However, there should be fundamental biblical principles that guide every church in how it looks. Why? Because Jesus is the head of the Church, and it’s up to him, not us, in how it is ultimately governed, in how it runs. Where do we turn to then to discover what a biblically healthy church is? Well, of course, the Bible. 

  As good Christians, we believe that “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness so that the man of God may be complete, fully equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17). Notice the implications of this passage. Scripture (the Bible) is:

  1. “God-breathed.” This means the Bible comes from God Himself and therefore carries a certain weight of authority that no other text does. 
  2. “Useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness so that the person of God may be complete, fully equipped for every good work.” This means that the authoritative scriptures have everything we need in them to live the Christian life. Or in other words, if you want to know how to build a healthy church, read the Bible (especially the New Testament). 

  Of course, that doesn’t mean it’s always as simple as picking up the Bible and knowing exactly what God wants for the church. The Bible is by no means an exhaustive treatise on building a church, but the New Testament does give the standard for one. Here are some of those principles now: 

  1. The Word. God speaks in different ways (through nature, people, and other sources). However, the most straightforward and most authoritative way God has spoken is through the Scriptures. Therefore, coupled with the idea of 2 Timothy 3, it makes complete sense then to have faithful teaching as the centrepiece of church.
  2. The Sacraments.

  •  The Lord’s Supper: the sacraments have had various use throughout church history and have all been interpreted differently. Yet, one thing in common remains; among nearly every major Christian tradition, these two sacraments have been observed regularly in one way or another. Why? Because it’s thoroughly biblical. Every Gospel mentions Jesus having Passover (the Lord’s Supper) with his disciples (Mt. 26:17–30, Mk. 14:12–26, Lk. 22:7–39 and Jn. 13:1–17:26). The early church carried on this tradition (Acts 2: 42, 46; 20:7), where they did it regularly in remembrance of Jesus (1 Cor 11:24-25). The Lord Supper took on three principal dimensions. 1. The remembrance of Jesus’ death and resurrection (the new covenant) and the churches unity to Christ. 2. the unity believers had with one another. 3. The covenant’s performance or drama. As the local church takes up the elements (the bread and wine), they are acting out the establishment of the new covenant as the Spirit draws them closer into the presence of Christ and one another.  
  • Baptism: The occurrences of baptism in the Bible are numerous. First, we see Baptism in the New Testament performed by John the Baptist (Matt 3) and subsequently, Jesus being baptised (Matt 3:13-17). As He was being baptised, Jesus said, “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfil all righteousness.” Whatever this means, it at least proposes that baptism is extremely important, so much so that Jesus expected us to baptise people as part of the great commission (Matt 28:19). The early church took up this sacrament as it was an integral part of their life and ministry (Acts 2:38). It was an important part of the salvation process (Acts 2:38, “repent and be baptized”) and was accomplished via confession and prayer “in the name of Jesus Christ” (Acts 2:38; 8:16; 10:48; 19:5). Like the Lord’s Supper, Baptism took on three principles dimensions. 1. The symbolism of a new believers passage from death in the world to life in Christ (Rom 6:1-11). 2. The unity they now had with Christ (Gal 3:27). 3. the unity they had with other believers (1 Cor 12) hence the need for it before one becomes a member of a local church in some traditions (i.e. reformed traditions). As a local church baptises a new believer into the faith, they are publicly declaring their identification and unity to Christ and that new believer as the Spirit works through the drama of passing from death to life. What about Spirit baptism? Both baptisms are taught in the Bible and typically are inseparable (Jhn 3:5). No one denies that Spirit baptism is a thing, but to be baptised by the Spirit without water would have been an unthought of practice in the early church and vice versa. 

  As I’ve explained, these sacraments are essential to any church for three main reasons. 1. The Bible and, in turn, God expects a church to practice them (this in itself should be reason enough). 2. They’re transformative in that the Spirit works through the practice of them to sanctify the participant in a similar way that He works through the Word. 3. They supplement good preaching and demonstrate the Good News to new believers and people we invite to church. 

  Finally, all this presupposes the assembly of a local church which consists of members (1 Cor 12:21-26), elders and deacons (1 Tim 3:1-13; Tit 1), and discipline (Matt 18:13-17). 

  With all these elements in place, a local church can image God and fulfil the great commission. Without them, a local church will become deficient and simply unbiblical. We should never trade a biblical principle for a pragmatic one, no matter how much it seems to work. If something is working, it might be cause for us to re-evaluate our theology, but never to compromise on it. God’s standards are there for a reason, and it’s our job to simply obey even if droves of people aren’t coming through the doors. 

  Posted in Scribbling Scripture | 0 Comments | Tagged Baptism, Christ, Christianity, church, communion, Jesus, Theology

• Social Justice Part I – Environmentalism: A Theology of Creation Care

  Posted at 9:45 pm by scribblingtheology, on November 19, 2020

  

  I’m almost 30 years old, and it has only been within the last 12 months of my life that I’ve begun the journey of being self-aware and reflective. I’m flawed and sinful. I’m more racist and sexist then I’d like to admit. I care less about our earth than I think I should. I don’t love my neighbours (Mark 12:30-30) as I ought, I don’t bless those who persecute me (Matthew 5:11-12, 44), I’m not a peacemaker (Matthew 5:9) or pure in heart (Matthew 5:8). Nevertheless, I ask you, dear reader, to evaluate yourself as I invite you to consider some of the most significant social justice issues of our time and whether or not you’re working towards the love of others and the glory of God, or against them. In this series, together, we will explore:

  1. Environmentalism: A theology of caring for creation
  2. Racism: A theology of race and inclusivism
  3. Gender: A theology of biblical manhood and womanhood
  4. Poverty: A theology of the outcast and marginalised

  I desire that together we prayerfully consider our place in these issues and act in a way that images God and loves others more then we have before. In this post, we will be discussing environmentalism: a theology of land and creation.

   Right now, we are facing a human-made disaster of global scale, our greatest threat in thousands of years: climate change. If we don’t take action, the collapse of our civilisation and the extinction of much of the natural world is on the horizon.

  Sir David Attenborough 

  That is a scary quote. Environmental experts estimate that at least 95% of the current global warming trend is human contributed. According to the journal of nature, in 2015, the global number of trees has fallen by approximately 45.8% since the onset of human civilisation as we know it. The Royal Society estimates that since preindustrial times, greenhouse gases such as CO2 emissions have increased 40% with more than half of those emissions increasing from the ’70s. Coupled with a 150% increase in methane gases and a 20% increase in nitrous oxide (and the above data), this has lead to increase in the earth’s average surface temperature, rising oceans, and the extinction of wildlife. If we are to take this evidence seriously, then we are destroying the planet. Corporations, governments, and consumers have taken advantage of the world that we live in, and have profited off it without remorse. We have been given Eden, and instead of guarding and keeping it (Gen 2:15), we have used and abused it. What though, does the Scriptures have to say about our earth and the role we play in looking after it as Christians?

  “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). As we read the Bible, if we can be sure of anything, it’s that creation finds itself in the hands of Yahweh, the God of the Bible. “For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible” (Colossians 1:16 c.f. Romans 11:36). Because all of creation finds its very being in the hands of Yahweh, Christians everywhere can have a certain sense of peace knowing that God is sovereign over history and creation itself (Job 42:2; Proverbs 16:33; Isaiah 45:7-9; Matthew 10:29-31; Romans 8:28; Ephesians 1:11). However, it would be unwise to believe that God is sovereign and to make the illogical conclusion that we’re then to do nothing. For whatever reason, Yahweh has decided to partner with humanity in the looking after of His good created order. From Adam and Eve (Genesis 1-2), Cain and Abel (Genesis 5), Noah (Genesis 6-9), Abraham (Genesis 15), Moses (Exodus 4:16; 7:1), Israel (Exodus 19:6), then finally to Christ and the Church (1 Peter 2:9; Revelation 1:26), God has chosen to partner with humanity in the ruling and care of the earth, and its inhabitants (Genesis 1:28).

  God, it seems, didn’t make a good investment. Humanity ruined their chance and couldn’t keep up their end of the bargain (Genesis 3). Instead of ruling over creation by guarding and keeping it, they let evil enter into creation and rule over them. As a consequence, humanity and creation are cursed (Genesis 3:14-19), humanity is exiled from the presence of God (Genesis 3:22-24), and sinful creation groans for redemption and new life (Romans 8:19-23). We pollute the land through bloodshed and war (Numbers 35:33-34). We defile the earth by transgressing God’s law (Isaiah 24:4-6). God gives us guidelines on how to farm that we reject (Exodus 23:10-11). All of this is still true today. Creation coughs and spits as it absorbs the consequences of our polluted behaviour.

  It doesn’t matter if you believe in the statistics quoted above. If you are a Christian, it should bother you how we take care of the Garden God has given us. If the Bible calls us to look after the earth, and I believe it does, then we should be doing our part. We should be eating less meat, which leads to less farm land, and it turn, less deforestation. We should be making wise investments in renewable energy. We should be protecting our wild life and biodiversity. We should be thinking of ways we can better distribute resources so everyone has clean water, food, and education. However, the issue goes deeper than merely recycling and buying LED lights for the house (though that’s a great start).

  True creation care happens at the very core of the issue, the human heart. Unless people change inwardly, we can’t hope to have an outward effect on the world. The Gospel, the Good News of Jesus Christ, the new covenant supernaturally changes the hearts and minds of the people (Ezekiel 36:26; Jeremiah 31:33). If we want to combat climate change, if we’re going to guard and keep our Garden, we need people transformed by God’s Holy Spirit. Then, we will love others by lifting them out of poverty, fight gender inequality and racism, and partner with God in saving people from their sins. This is simply obeying the command to love others as ourselves. As we love others better, as our hearts are changed, the environment is naturally cared for. Real change starts with the people, not with the policy. The political policy will reflect the people as they are conformed to the image of God’s son (Rom 8:29).

  As a longtime professor of biblical studies, a professional exegete, an author, a theologian, and – most importantly – a committed Christian, my objective in this little book [Stewards of Eden] is to demonstrate via the most authoritative voice in the church’s life, that of Scripture, that the stewardship of this planet is not alien or peripheral to the message of the gospel. Rather, our rule of faith and praxis has a great deal to say about this subject. And what the Bible has to say is that the responsible stewardship of creation is not only an expression of the character of our God; it is the role he entrusted to those made in his image.

  Sandra L. Richter

  Posted in Scribbling Scripture | 3 Comments | Tagged Christianity, Climate change, Creation, Jesus, Theology

• Biblical Themes: Messiah

  Posted at 11:00 am by scribblingtheology, on September 17, 2020

  

  Recently, I got asked to trace the development of the theme of Messiah throughout the Old Testament for a college essay. I’ve got to say it was a lot of fun. So, I thought that I would share the main parts of it with all of you and, edited it for a blog, and turn it into a bit of a series. I’ve written on biblical themes here and here. In the mean time, enjoy!

  In the Old Testament, the term messiah means “anointed one” and refers to someone who is given a specific task or duty (e.g., Lev 4:3, 16; 1 Kgs 19:16; 1 Chr 16:22; Isa 45:1). Specifically, we see the word messiah most often used to refer to the anointed kings of Israel (e.g., 1 Sam 2:10, 35; 12:3; 2 Sam 1:14, 16). Therefore, the title of the messiah (anointed one) was given to specific people (by God) to rule over the nation of Israel.

  Like with most biblical themes, you can find the developing concept of the messiah on the first few pages of Genesis. Even though explicitly the idea of the anointed one does not start appearing until Leviticus. In some of the earliest Christian and Judaic traditions, the theme of the messiah is closely tied in with the apparent messianic promises in Genesis 3:15, and Genesis 49:8-12. Even further back in the story, a careful reading of Genesis 1:26-28 (God’s mandate to humanity to rule over creation as God’s vice-regents), and 2:15 (God’s command to humanity to cultivate and keep the Garden) can lead one to draw clear parallels between Adam and Eve (humanity) being priestly rulers (a messiah you could say) in the Garden and the Levitical priesthood in Leviticus 11:1-11.

  The idea of messiah (priestly ruling) can be found in the story of Cain and Abel. The two brothers are seen offering up sacrifices to God (something only priests do), then Abel finds favour in God’s sight for his sacrifice where God passes over Cain’s. Cain becomes angry and God, knowing His heart, warns him the sin crouches at the door and that he must rule over it (Gen 4:1-7). Why are Cain and Abel here to begin with? Some ancient Jewish traditions have Adam and Eve in the gate of the Garden offering up sacrifices in an attempt to re-enter the Garden. Nevertheless, here we have clear echoes back to the Garden where Adam and Eve were supposed to be priestly and rule over creation, yet like their parents, Cain allows sin (the serpent) to rule over him instead. As a result, Cain murders his brother, and is further exiled east (Gen 4:8-16).

  Noah is very messianic. In a world of evil, he is the only one to find favour in God’s sight as he is called to build an ark and save any who would heed his call and enter into it (Gen 6). Towards the end of the flood narrative we find Noah leaving the ark after the waters subside and he offers up sacrifices to God. God gives Noah the mandate to go forth and multiply and Noah plants a vineyard (a garden). Unfortunately, Noah gets drunk and naked and sin enters the world yet again (Gen 9).

  Furthermore, we see the idea of a messiah hinted at in the story of Abraham in the person of Melchizedek, the king of Salem (Gen 14; Ps 110; Heb 7:10). Abraham himself sets the archetypal tone for the future messianic promise from when God promises him that he will be a father of many descendants and is promised the land of Canaan (Gen 12:1-3; 15; 17). Throughout the narrative, he is even presented as having a similar status as that of other monarchs and kings (Gen 14:1-24; 21:22-34; 23:6), and Yahweh Himself promises Abraham that “kings will come from you” (Gen 17:6, 16) a clear connection to the future anointed kingly lineage (Saul, David, and Solomon).

  Elsewhere in the Old Testament, we see that the king (David) is unambiguously referred to the “son of God,” another reference (though not explicitly) to divinely appointed rulers and kings (Ps 2; 89; 2 Sam 7). Here there seems to be a clear connection to Exodus 4:22-24 where God called Israel “His son” and later in Exodus 19:6 a royal priesthood (cf. Isa 61:6; 1 Pet 2:9; Rev 1:6) and in Psalms 45 and 110 the king seems to be given a sense of divinity. Also, another passage worth mentioning is Isaiah 61:1, where God Himself does the anointing on the servant who has been given the spirit. Here we have reference to a future person who will bring good tidings to the afflicted, set captives free, bind up the broken-hearted, who will proclaim the year of the LORD’s favour and the day of His judgement. Though the figure is not explicitly given the title of a future king, he is anointed and seems fit the definition we earlier explored of an expected king.

  Though Israel has returned to the land, and the temple rebuilt, there is a sense of despair. Israel and the temple have not returned to their former glory, and it leaves the reader wondering what will happen next? The Old Testament ends with Malachi prophesying that a day is still to come where God will judge, and the sun of righteousness will come with healing in its wings. Yet God will send another Elijah before that day to prepare the hearts of the people (Mal 4). He will pour out His Spirit on to all flesh (Joel 2:28), establish a new covenant (Jer 31), establish a new temple (Ezek 40-48) and a new messiah whose reign will last forever (Mic 5). Next, let us consider the theme of the messiah in 1 and 2 Kings specifically.

  The entire Old Testament is looking forward to a messiah that can crush the serpent (Gen 3:15), fulfil the promises given to Abraham (Gen 15; 17), and finally liberate the Israelite’s (and the entire world) from their ongoing exile from God’s presence. Chris Wright says it well when he writes “the messiah was the promised one who would embody in his own person the identity and mission of Israel, their representative, king, leader and saviour… the eschatological redemption and restoration of Israel would issue in the in-gathering of the nations”. Many Jews in the first century were looking to passages like Daniel 7-9 in anticipation of their inevitable liberation from Roman oppression. They eagerly awaited the messiah to overturn their rulers and reinstall the kingdom that their forefathers experienced under the rule of David and Solomon.

  As New Testament Christians, we find that fulfilment in the person of Jesus Christ. A cursory reading of the Gospels makes it evident that the authors thought of Jesus as the messiah fulfilled (see Mk 1:1) despite Jesus often neglecting to claim the title for Himself. This was due to the political climate of the day where Jesus would have been almost certainly killed for having come out as messiah. In all three of the synoptic Gospels, the baptism of Jesus occurs with God the Father saying “this is my son” (Matt 3:13-17; Mk 1:9-11; Lk 3:21-22), an apparent reference to the son-ship of the kings in Israel. Jesus took His messianic mission a step further with not only the salvation of Israel but all nations tribes and tongues (Matt 28:16-20; Lk 24:44-49; Acts 1:8; Rev 7:9). Jesus turned the messianic expectations on their heads. He both shared in our pains, sufferings, and experiences now as the messianic king, and anticipated a future fulfilment of his work.

  In Revelation, Jesus brings about new creation as the King of kings and Lord of lords (Rev 1:5; 17:14; 19:12-13, 16). Jesus is the second or better Adam, the second Abraham, the second and better David, the better Solomon, and the everlasting Hezekiah as Jesus brings all things together in the newly created order. The Kingdom will no longer be divided, and God will dwell among them with Jesus as their eternal king.

  Posted in Scribbling Scripture | 0 Comments

• Salvation Is: Recapitulation Part IV

  Posted at 11:08 pm by scribblingtheology, on August 7, 2020

  

  Christians are obsessed with the idea of salvation. Fair enough, salvation is essential. The problem, however, is that everyone has different opinions on what salvation actually is. Different traditions tend to emphasise and even make exclusive claims to their own definition of salvation at the expense of others. So in this series, I aim to explore the different facets of salvation so that we may better understand what it really is. Here are the salvific themes we’re going to explore:

  1. Liberation and Exile
  2. Sin and Judgement
  3. Substitution and Sacrifice
  4. Recapitulation
  5. Vocation
  6. New Creation

  Each motif plays a pivotal role in demonstrating what salvation is, how it is achieved and received, and how it is lived out by the believer. In this post, we will be exploring recapitulation.

  The doctrine of recapitulation is just a fancy term to describe the idea that Jesus reenacted the drama of humanity. That is, humanity in the person of Adam was supposed to not “eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil,” but in Genesis 3, they failed the test. Jesus, on the other hand, did pass the test, and every test subsequent perfectly. Joshua M. McNall explains recapitulation to be the foundation in which every other atonement theory makes sense.

  Like every biblical theme, we see the origins of recapitulation on the first few pages of the Bible. In Genesis 1:26, we find that God created humanity in His image (the imago Dei). In previous posts, I’ve already explored what the image of God is, in short, it is a two-fold reality. First, the image is something ontological. In other words, the image is something that is part and parcel of human nature. Second, the image is expressed functionally through the command to “be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth” and to work and keep the Garden (Genesis 1:28, 2:13). The problem?

  In Adam, all of humanity has now become a corrupted version of what God had intended. We’ve failed to have dominion and to keep and work the Earth. This failure becomes apparent in Genesis 3, where sin in the form of the serpent rules over humanity instead of humanity ruling over it. Also, instead of guarding and keeping the Garden (Gen 2:15), Adam and Eve allow it to be invaded by the serpent to tempt them into idolatry. Mainly, Adam and Eve failed at being human and imaging God. In Adam, we have all failed the test, and we’ve all failed to be human. However, God doesn’t just give up on humanity. Instead, God is about restoring and renewing humankind back to its original purposes, and in fact, a more excellent state (complete unity with God). So then, let us trace recapitulation through the rest of the Bible: 

  • Cain and Abel are offering up sacrifices to God (traditionally interpreted as an attempt to get back into the Garden). However, one fails at being human as Cain let’s sin rule over him (as it crouches at the door and wants to rule over him – creature language). Cain murders his brother and is sent eastward (Genesis 4).
  • Noah comes across as a good human. He builds an ark and preaches righteousness and judgement. Noah is faithful. The flood occurs. Then he gets off the ark and offers up sacrifices and plants a garden/vineyard, and God reestablishes the Adamic covenant with Noah (new Adam imagery). However, Noah gets drunks, lays around naked, and something suss happens. He fails at being human (Genesis 8-9).
  • God calls Abraham out of Babylon to be a blessing to the nations and a father of many. God wants to use Abraham to start a people that would be Yahweh’s own (Genesis 12). Yet immediately Abraham goes to Canaan with his family (though God said not to) to leave them behind). He doesn’t trust in God’s promises and has sex with a Hagar (Genesis 16). He fails at being genuinely human.
  • Moses is promising. He is called by God to deliver Yahweh’s people from bondage to Egypt (Exodus 2-3). On multiple occasions, Moses approaches Pharaoh and demands his people to be set free so that they can worship God. He sends plagues on Egypt (Exodus 7-11) until finally, Moses parts the Red Sea and leads them into the wilderness (Exodus 14). Moses goes up Mount Sinai and gets the law to give to Yahweh’s people (Exodus 19-24). The people love and trust Moses to be their representative to God. Moses might be this new human we’re looking for (Genesis 3:15). However, Moses loses faith in Yahweh and is subsequently barred from the Promise Land (Numbers 20:2-12).
  • David, the chosen the warrior king, and a man after God’s own heart ( 1 Samuel 13:14) faithfully ruled over Israel and with his son Solomon after him. Essentially they established the golden age of Israel for many years. However, David sees beautiful Bathsheba, kills her husband and takes her for his own. There’s so much blood on his hands that God won’t even let him build the temple (2 Samuel 7).
  • Solomon, the wisest king to ever rule (1 Kings 3) continued to raise Israel to a glorious standard. Solomon built the temple where God came to dwell (1 Kings 8), and was loved by all. Yet all the wisdom in the world failed to remind him that he wasn’t to accumulate much wealth, women or and army (Deuteronomy 17:14-20). Every one of these laws Solomon broke which ended up leading Israel into mass idolatry.
  • Jesus Christ, is the true prophet, priest and king (think Abraham, Moses and David). The true Israel, the new Adam, i.e. the new human. In a sense, Jesus reenacts all of Israels and humanities failed history in His own life and fulfils all of that in his own life, death and resurrection. That’s recapitulation.

  My final thoughts. As we read the Scriptures, we’re supposed to see something of ourselves in them. We aren’t the heroes of the story. Far from it. We are, however, like Abraham, Moses and David. We’re all in some way or another, failures at being genuinely human. We all fail at loving others as ourselves and God with our entire beings. You could be a king like David, or a nobody like Abraham in a God-forsaken city, or a priest like Moses who talks to God like you would a friend, none of us are who we are meant to be. We all suck at imaging God. That’s ok. There is one who’s greater than us who is truly human. Who in His life took up the entire history of humanity, laid it upon Himself, and died for it. Now Jesus can make you human again, but it isn’t easy, and it doesn’t happen overnight.  

  The essence of being human isn’t seeking perfection, but now, it’s seeking Christ.

  Posted in Scribbling Scripture | 3 Comments | Tagged Christianity, church, doctrine, Jesus, Theology

• Living Water John 4:1-42

  Posted at 11:41 am by scribblingtheology, on February 25, 2020

  

  Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” – John 4:10

  The story of the women at the well (John 4) is a famous one, and its narrative elements are as old as time. A wise sage (Jesus) meets a broken person (the woman at the well) and offers her insight about God, life, and herself. As a result, the person and the village are changed, rejoice, and the sage goes on His way to the next group of people who needs His wisdom. Every movie ever. Except this isn’t just a story, Jesus isn’t just a sage, and He gives the broken woman not only sound insight but hope and life. Here’s the scene. It’s a hot afternoon, Jesus, a pure-blooded Jewish rabbi, sits alone by the side of a well. A Samaritan woman (typically hated by the Jews), also alone, comes to draw water from the well when Jesus asks her for a simple drink. This simple request, scandalous for its time, ended up showing the woman that her need was more than just a cup of water, instead, she needed living water from which she’d never thirst.

  The theme of living waters is splashed (pun intended) all over the Scriptures. Like most themes, we find it on the first few pages of the Bible in Genesis 1. The first time water is even mentioned is in Genesis 1:2 “The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.” Coupled with the term without form and void (wild and waste), the imagery here is an earth that is a chaotic watery wasteland with God’s Spirit sovereignly hovering over it ready to order and shape. In the rest of the chapter, waters or seas are mentioned for a total of 16 times. We see from the beginning of the chapter that waters are chaotic, but God eventually turns it into something ordered, good, and life-giving. The theme continues:

  • In Genesis 2 after God rests in His cosmic temple, God places the Garden in Eden, and with the tree of life at the centre of the Garden, rivers flow forth to water and give life to the entire world (Genesis 2:10-14).
  • In Genesis 6-9, the world has become exceedingly wicked. Everyone has turned away from Yahweh and follows after their own rebellious desires. As an act of judgement and restoration, God floods the world both destroying it with chaotic waters but also renewing with those same waters. The flood is giving life to a sort of newly created order in which God will start again with His new Adam Noah.
  • In Exodus 14 after Israel has been freed from the oppressive rule of Pharoah in Egypt, they come to the beach of the Red Sea that separates them from the promised land. God, through Moses, parts the waters to allow His people to safely travel through eventually closing the sea behind them, destroying the pursuing Egyptians.
  • God is depicted as being living water in opposition to idols and other gods (Jeremiah 2:13, 17:13).
  • Like the Garden of Eden, the temple is depicted as having water flowing out of it (Ezekiel 47:1-12) giving life to the surrounding area.
  • Zechariah 14:8 talks about living waters flowing out of Jerusalem (also analogues for sacred space) watering the whole earth in the new creation.
  • As we come back to the woman at the well, we see Jesus obviously identifying Himself as the waters of life. Jesus is the temple that houses the presence of God, that gives life to those around Him (John 4:10-11). In fact, John depicts water flowing from the side of Jesus on the cross (John 19:34).
  • Those who are united to Jesus in faith will also have living waters flowing from their hearts (John 7:38) as part of the new temple and the new creation.
  • Finally, in the new heavens and earth, we see Jesus, the Lamb of God leading people to rivers of living water (Revelation 7:17) to drink from (Revelation 21:6) that flow from the throne of God and the lamb with the tree of life on each side of the river (Revelation 22:1-2).

  These are just a few examples of what living waters throughout the Bible. Whether or not the woman at the well was clued into even most of these ideas is uncertain. However, what we do know is that after the conversation she had with Jesus she believed, she was transformed, and as a result, many others believed in Jesus as the Messiah as well. At the end of the day, two things can be taken away from this. 1. That real-life comes from Jesus the Messiah. You will never thirst. 2. If you’re a Christian, your job is to go about watering the earth and giving life to it with the Gospel and by loving others. If salvation is anything, it is giving life to those who don’t have it.

  Posted in Scribbling Scripture | 2 Comments

• Salvation Is: Substitution and Sacrifice Part III

  Posted at 5:26 pm by scribblingtheology, on February 20, 2020

  

  Christians are obsessed with the idea of salvation. Fair enough, salvation is essential. The problem, however, is that everyone has different opinions on what salvation actually is. Different traditions tend to emphasise and even make exclusive claims to their own definition of salvation at the expense of others. So in this series, I aim to explore the different facets of salvation so that we may better understand what it really is. Here are the salvific themes we’re going to explore:

  1. Liberation and Exile
  2. Sin and Judgement
  3. Substitution and Sacrifice
  4. Recapitulation
  5. Vocation
  6. New Creation

  Each motif plays a pivotal role in demonstrating what salvation is, how it is achieved and received, and how it is lived out by the believer. In this post, we will be exploring substitution and sacrifice.

  So far, we’ve explored some essential themes. However, substitution and sacrifice sit right at the centre of all these themes as it is how exile and liberation, sin and judgement are dealt with. Without sacrifice and substitution, there would be no forgiveness of sin, there would be no freedom from guilt, death and the satan, and there would be no new creation.

  “With the other New Testament writers, Paul always points to the death of Jesus as the atoning event, and explains the atonement in terms of representative substitution – the innocent taking the place of the guilty, in the name and for the sake of the guilty, under the axe of God’s judicial retribution”
  – J. I. Packer

  Like every other theme, substitution and sacrifice first appear on the first few pages on the Bible. In Genesis 3, Adam and Eve are presented with a choice to either eat from the Tree of Life or to eat from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Bad. In the form of the serpent (Genesis 3:1), temptation draws humanity to eat from the Tree of Knowledge which they were told to not eat from (Genesis 2:17) and as a result, they’re cursed, the earth is cursed, and they are exiled from the Garden of Eden (God’s presence). Now sin has entered the world (Romans 5:12; 1 Corinthians 15:21) and corrupts all things (Romans 8:19-23). However, instead of leaving humanity to its own devices God promises that there will be a seed from the woman that will crush the head of the serpent while the seed is wounded by the serpent (Genesis 3:15). Before throwing them out, God clothed them in animal skins (an apparent reference to substitution and covering) and then drives them eastward (Genesis 3:20-24).

  Next, we find Cain and Abel offering up gifts and sacrifices to God (Genesis 4:1-7). Strangely, at this point in the narrative, God hasn’t required any sacrifice to be made. Yet Cain is offering fruit and grain (a clear connection to Leviticus 2), and Abel offers up the firstborn of his flock. The idea of offering and sacrifice is a recurring theme throughout the biblical narrative, where we next see it with Noah:

  • The earth is increasingly sinful and wicked, God destroys the planet with a flood (Genesis 6-9) yet saves humanity through one family and an ark. After the flood, Noah sets up an altar and offers up sacrifices of clean animals which leads God to make a covenant with humanity to never destroy the earth again (Genesis 8:20-22).
  • God promises that through Abrahams seed all the nations will be blessed (Genesis 12:3, 18:18, 22:18), yet as a test of faith, God asks Abraham to offer up his firstborn son as a sacrifice to Him (Genesis 22:1-2). However, instead of Isaac dying, God provides a substitution (Genesis 22:10-14).
  • Through Moses, God sets free His people by sending plagues on the Egyptians finally culminating in the Passover (Exodus 12). Because of the lamb’s blood being painted on the doorpost of Israelites God’s people are identified, their firstborns are spared, God’s people are literally passed over by the angel of destruction, and eventually, they’re lead into the wilderness to worship God.
  • We also see examples of substitution in Numbers 3:12-13; 1 Samuel 17:9; 1 Kings 20:42; Ezekiel 4:4 and of course famously in Isaiah 53. Here we have one of the most prominent passages of substitution and sacrifice foreshadowing the Messiah.

  Surely he has borne our griefs
  and carried our sorrows;
  yet we esteemed him stricken,
  smitten by God, and afflicted.
  But he was pierced for our transgressions;
  he was crushed for our iniquities;
  upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
  and with his wounds we are healed.
  All we like sheep have gone astray;
  we have turned—every one—to his own way;
  and the LORD has laid on him
  the iniquity of us all.

  He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,
  yet he opened not his mouth;
  like a lamb that is led to the slaughter,
  and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent,
  so he opened not his mouth.
  By oppression and judgment he was taken away;
  and as for his generation, who considered
  that he was cut off out of the land of the living,
  stricken for the transgression of my people?
  And they made his grave with the wicked
  and with a rich man in his death,
  although he had done no violence,
  and there was no deceit in his mouth.

  Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him;
  he has put him to grief;
  when his soul makes an offering for guilt,
  he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days;
  the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.
  Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied;
  by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant,
  make many to be accounted righteous,
  and he shall bear their iniquities.

  – Isaiah 53:4–11

  Moving words. This passage prophetically sheds light on the meaning of the coming Messiah’s mission. In light of Jesus, it becomes clearer that even the New Testament authors considered Jesus to be the lamb of God that was to take away the sins of the world (John 1:29, 3:17; Acts 2:23–24; Romans 6:9; 1 Corinthians 15:4; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Ephesians 1:5, 9; 2 Thessalonians 1:11). As one author explains:

  The old-covenant-era hearers would have understood what this meant, for guilt offerings were sacrificed to God as substitutes in place of those who had sinned against him, so that the sinners themselves would not bear God’s righteous anger. And the old covenant foreshadowed the new covenant (Jeremiah 31:31; Luke 22:20; Hebrews 12:24), where the great Servant, the great Propitiator, would offer himself as the final once-for-all substitutionary sacrifice in the place of sinners (Hebrews 9:26).

  – Jon Bloom

  • Finally, we see the Lamb of God, Jesus, who was our substitute and sacrifice being worshipped and praised (Revelation 5:6-12, 7:9-17, 15:3, 17:14, 22:1-3).

  Every other theme in the Bible hangs off the idea of sacrifice and substitution for it is how every other facet of salvation is achieved. Our King gave up His life willingly so we wouldn’t have to. He died to forgive sins, to set us free from our exile, to lead us into our new humanity, vocation, and new creation.

  Posted in Scribbling Scripture | 3 Comments

• Salvation is: Sin and Judgement Part II

  Posted at 2:44 pm by scribblingtheology, on February 18, 2020

  

  Christians are obsessed with the idea of salvation. Fair enough, salvation is essential. The problem, however, is that everyone has different opinions on what salvation actually is. Different traditions tend to emphasise and even make exclusive claims to their own definition of salvation at the expense of others. So in this series, I aim to explore the different facets of salvation so that we may better understand what it really is. Here are the salvific themes we’re going to explore:

  1. Liberation and Exile
  2. Sin and Judgement
  3. Substitution and Sacrifice
  4. Recapitulation
  5. Vocation
  6. New Creation

  Each motif plays a pivotal role in demonstrating what salvation is, how it is achieved and received, and how it is lived out by the believer. In this post, we will be exploring sin and judgement.

  Sin is often understood in a few different ways. Sin is breaking the rules and rebellion (1Jn 3:4 See also 1Sa 13:13-14; 1Ch 10:13; Ne 9:29; Mic 1:5; 7:18; Ro 2:23; 4:15; 5:14-17; Jas 2:10-11). It can be understood as falling short or missing the mark (Rom 3:23 – this is the most common use of the word in both the OT and NT). Fundamentally, however, sin is idolatry. What is idolatry? G. K. Beale writes that:

  Martin Luther’s larger catechism discussion of the first commandement (“You shall have no other gods before Me” [Ex 20:3]) included “whatever your heart clings to and relies upon, that is your God; trust and faith of the heart alone make both God and idol.” I might add here, “whatever your heart clings to or relies on for ultimate security.” “The idol is whatever claims the loyalty that belongs to God alone.”

  One New Testament professor of mine always used to say that idolatry is the root where sin is the fruit. In other words, the reason why we do bad things like commit adultery, tell lies, cheat and steal is because of the things we either wittingly or unwittingly worship. For all of us, there are little gods in our lives that lay claim to our hearts and turn us away from wholly giving ourselves to Yahweh. This was essentially the primordial sin of Adam and Eve in Genesis 3 they trusted in the serpent and in themselves over and above Yahweh, which is a picture of us all. Each day, perhaps in each moment we’re faced with a test to trust in God or to trust in idols. To allow Yahweh to rule over us or the things of this world to rule. Yet even if we passed 99/100 of the tests, sin can not be overlooked.

  What we worship matters because we become what we worship. Consider Psalm 115:4-8

  Their idols are silver and gold,
  the work of human hands.
  They have mouths, but do not speak;
  eyes, but do not see.
  They have ears, but do not hear;
  noses, but do not smell.
  They have hands, but do not feel;
  feet, but do not walk;
  and they do not make a sound in their throat.
  Those who make them become like them;
  so do all who trust in them.

  In other words, if we worship money, we become greedy if we worship popularity, we become arrogant if we worship darkness we become dark, lost and broken. However, if we worship God who is love (1 John 4:7), holy (Is 6:3; 1 Peter 1:6), patient (Num 14:18; Ex 34:6), and merciful (Ex 34:6-7; Eph 2:4-5) we will become like that as well. Therefore, whoever it is we worship deeply affects the world and the people around us. Sin perpetuates sin, and idols flourish among one another. Sin corrupts the world and destroys lives, it offends God as it disrupts His established order – His Kingdom in which He desires humanity to be a part of.

  So then, this idolatry and sin cannot be overlooked. God might be love, but God is just (Is 61:8 ), and He will not let sin go unpunished (Is 13:11; 2 Thess 1:9). He will judge the world and give each one what they deserve according to their deeds (Rom 2:6; 2 Cor 5:10; Rev 20:12), He will punish and destroy the wicked (2 Peter 3:7). We see this pattern starting Genesis 3 where God curses humanity and the earth and removes them from the Garden of Eden, however, notice that God judges to restore not to simply pour out His wrath:

  • God curses humanity and the earth, then He exiles them from Eden. Yet God makes a sacrifice, covers Adam and Eve in animal skin and as an act of mercy so evil cannot live eternally denies them access to the tree of life. Finally, God promises that through the seed of Eve, one will come who will crush the serpent (sin) and restore everything to the Edenic ideal (Genesis 3).
  • Cain murders Abel, and God curses Cain as a result. Yet God protects Cain from ongoing murder. It was through Cains seed that “people began to call upon the name of the LORD” (Genesis 4).
  • God floods and destroys the earth because of their great wickedness (Genesis 6:1-7). Yet He chooses Noah and his family to build an ark, to save the animals and as many people who’d hear the call of repentance. God judges and renews the earth with chaotic waters and starts over with Noah (a new type of Adam) as God gives him the command to be fruitful and multiply (Genesis 9:1).
  • God judges and destroys Sodom, and Gomorrah yet saves Lot and his family (Genesis 19).
  • God sends plagues on Egypt and kills the firstborns, yet saves His people out of slavery so that they may worship Him (Exodus 4-15).
  • God sends Israel into exile under the Babylonian rule as judgement, but also to be a light to the nations and flourish (Jer 29).
  • Jesus is judged in place of humanity. He takes on the full justice of God yet only to save humanity from God’s just judgement (Jhn 3:36; Rom 5:9; 1 Thess 1:10).
  • God will judge the wicked and the righteous only to restore everything in the new creation (Rev 20-22).

  Finally, sin is grave. God takes it seriously, and so should His Church. As my friend Alan Stanley explains:

  Judgement is the natural outcome of idolatry. For example, Adam and Eve’s sin leads to an experiential separation from God before God removes them from the garden. In Romans 2, God’s wrath is described as his eschatological judgment. But in Romans 1 people experience judgment/wrath now by God handing them over to their desires. The more one becomes enslaved by their desires, the more one experiences death now because they do not know life. John 3:18 says that those who do not believe in Jesus stand judged already, and God’s wrath remains on him (3:36). In other words, those who worship idols do become like them: they become blind, etc., and are unable to experience the reality of God. This is judgment, in the present. The final judgment then is not so much God whacking his stick over his naughty and disobedient children, but it is punishment nevertheless; a punishment that people have chosen for themselves during this life.

  Let us consider God’s judgement on sin and the ramifications of our idolatry on the world around us.

  Posted in Scribbling Scripture | 3 Comments

• Salvation is Liberation: Part I

  Posted at 6:29 pm by scribblingtheology, on February 12, 2020

  

  Christians are obsessed with the idea of salvation. Fair enough, salvation is essential. However, the problem is that everyone has different opinions on what salvation is. Different traditions tend to emphasise and even make exclusive claims to their own definition of salvation at the expense of others. So in this series, I aim to explore the different facets of salvation so that we may better understand what it really is. Here are the salvific themes we’re going to explore:

  1. Liberation and Exile
  2. Judgement and Sin
  3. Substitution and Sacrifice
  4. Recapitulation
  5. Vocation
  6. New Creation

  Each motif plays a pivotal role in demonstrating what salvation is, how it is achieved and received, and how it is lived out by the believer. In this post, we will be exploring liberation and exile.

  In Australia, refugees, asylum seekers and displacement are huge issues. People are fleeing their homes in search of a safer place to live and to flourish because of war, famine and hunger. A recent study suggests that as many as 70.8 million people worldwide have been displaced as they desperately seek to find greener pastures. However, this isn’t anything new. Being forcibly removed from one’s country by foreign powers has been a recurring theme throughout the history of the people of Israel, starting on just the first few pages of the Bible.

  Exile begins with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:24). Humanity sins by eating from the tree of knowledge of good and bad; they’re expelled from the presence of God as a consequence. They’re driven eastward, and as the archetypal figures of Israel and indeed of all humanity, they represent the state of us all, separated and exiled from our true home with God. Throughout the rest of the Bible, we see this theme recurring to highlight the consequence of sin, rebellion, and even God using exile for restoration.

  • God calls Abraham out from his own land into another (Genesis 12).
  • Abraham and his descendants are in the promised land, yet they trust in Egypt and are enslaved (Exodus 1).
  • Moses is driven from Egypt into the wilderness only to come back and set free God’s people (Exodus 2:11-22).
  • Israel is liberated from Egypt (Exodus 12-15) only to wander the wilderness before finally settling in the promised land, but not before they have to take it by force (Joshua).
  • The nation of Israel is formed, but because of their sin and idolatry, they are retaken into exile under the oppression of foreign countries (2 Kings 17:6; Jeremiah 52:28-30).
  • Eventually, Israel was allowed to return to their homeland, but it never was the same (Ezra and Nehemiah).
  • Israel was later taken over by Alexander the Great and became a part of the Greco-Roman empire (332 B.C.). Israel still dwells in the land, yet they feel like exiles in their own homes. This is not the perfect life the Old Testament Scripture seemed to promise.

  As N. T. Wright says

  Most Jews of this period, it seems, would have answered the question of ‘where are we?’ in language which, reduced to its simplest form, meant: we are still in exile. They believed that, in all the senses which mattered, Israel’s exile was still in progress. Although she had come back from Babylon, the glorious message of the prophets remained unfulfilled. Israel still remained in thrall to foreigners; worse, Israel’s god had not returned to Zion.

  • However, Jesus, God incarnate, arrives and preaches the coming of the Kingdom of God (Mark 1:14-15). He fulfils (Matthew 5:17) and rightly interprets (Luke 24:27; John 5:39) the Old Testament, claiming that, in a sense, everyone is separated from the Kingdom because of their sin and is exiled regardless of where they live.
  • Jesus lives, dies and rises again to set us free from the greatest powers that truly keep us enslaved in exile from God’s Kingdom, sin (Romans 6:22), satan (1 John 3:8) and death (Romans 8:2; Galatians 5:1-15).
  • The Kingdom has come, the Spirit has been poured out onto God’s people (Acts2), and we’ve been brought out of the Kingdom of darkness and into the Kingdom of light (Colossians 1:13). Yet a strange tension remains. We await our King to return to bring history to completion (1 Corinthians 15). The Church wanders as exiles in the now and not yet (1 Peter 1:1, 2:11) in hopeful anticipation of a new creation where not only the penalty and power of darkness have been removed but its presence as well (2 Corinthians 5:17; Revelation 21-22).

  We desperately yearn for our real home, that Garden that tugs at our heartstrings. Christian or not, every one of us has this deep sense of displacement. We know things aren’t what they’re supposed to be; we’re never truly settled. There is a constant lack of contentment, and the road beckons us, calls to us with glints of answers for our restless hearts. There’s a reason why the open road seems so compelling. Travelling and experiencing what the world offers are more popular today than ever. However, more often than not, we end up back where we started, perhaps with more questions and more discontentment than ever before. As the preacher in Ecclesiastes says, “I have seen everything that is done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and a striving after wind” (Ecclesiastes 1:14). Behold salvation. Salvation is liberation. It is liberation from our exile, from that which enslaves us (the powers of this world – satan, sin, and death), from that which unsettles us. It brings us into the light and gives us a grand hope for a settled and whole world with God dwelling in our midst.

  Sins… were the chains by which the dark powers had enslaved the humans who had worshipped them. Once sins were forgiven on the cross, the chains were snapped; victory was won. – N. T. Wright

  Posted in Scribbling Scripture | 6 Comments

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