Category: Theology and Reflections

The Sin of Scepticism: Finding Wisdom in an Age of Criticism

scribblingtheology1 Comment

The Age of Reason gave birth to the sceptic in a way never before experienced by humanity. All of a sudden, everything we read and believed was to be grounded in evidence and reason. If it didn’t make sense then it didn’t exist. In a lot of ways, this was really great. We could call in to question once held to beliefs, challenge them, and we could see if they held ground. This paved the way to a lot of what we have today technologically and even what we’ve rediscovered historically. Unfortunately, scepticism has become the default position of our generation, it has become one of the greats gods of our era. Recently, a good friend of mine asked me “Why do you reckon we find it easier to be negative and sceptical than positive?”

Love is the quintessential epicentre of Christ and ergo, the Christian faith. We are seriously terrible at loving people because we’ve learnt to hate our entire lives. What I mean is this. Consider one of the great meta-narratives making its way throughout our time. “You’re special. You’re smart. Whatever you put your mind to, you can achieve. You’re important.” This narrative perpetuates the notion that the individual is the most important thing in existence. We’re taught to love ourselves, to think highly of ourselves, and to believe we can do anything if we just try… and even then we’re still utterly amazing if we don’t. However, in the never-ending quest of self-love, we actually end up seeing others as less important, less special, less intelligent, less capable, and less wise. One can see how steeped in pride this is, easily leading to hating your brother and thinking him a fool.

Let me be clear if you’re reading this: in and of yourself, you are extremely mundane.  This is hard for us to come to terms with because every movie we watch, or book we read, the world is telling us that we’re destined for greatness, that we’re the chosen one who’s going to bring balance to the Force, that we can destroy the Matrix, throw the ring into Mt. Doom, and save the princess. Reality sucks. People go their entire lives and die without ever finding love, purpose or meaning. It’s tragic but nonetheless real.

Second, is change and challenge. We automatically disagree with new or different positions because change is an incredibly hard thing to have us do. Why? Because realising that you have to change and grow is admitting to yourself and to the world around you that you’re not as perfect as you thought. It’s an immensely humbling and often painful process which is why it might take years for someone to even shift their perspective on a certain issue let alone change the way they live.

Third, positive reinforcement, and having an open disposition to others’ opinions rather than being immediately dismissive means believing that another might have more wisdom than you. This is a big struggle for a lot of us because we’ve lived our lives acting (never admitting) that we’re always right about anything and everything we hold to. All of a sudden, someone else might know better than you and that’s a huge kick in the backside – extremely deflating to one’s ego (especially mine).

Finally, let me say this. I think God holds Christians to a high standard. The Scriptures tell us that Christ has become the wisdom of God, and we’re in Him (1 Cor 1:26-30), and if the Fall was about us living by our own wisdom and not God’s (Gen 3), then we’re called to not be wise in our own sight (Rom 12:14-21), to uphold one another in honour (Rom 12:10), and to even consider others better then ourselves (Philip 2:3). Now we’re getting somewhere, no we’re displaying the love of God. So, instead of coming into a conversation or situation with an attitude of disbelief or with scepticism, we should be asking “what can God teach me through this person. Especially, if all things are worked out for my good (Rom 8:28), even this conversation?”

Learning from the Puritans: Communion with the Triune God by John Owen

scribblingtheologyLeave a comment

I remember reading J. I. Packer a few years ago and being struck when he said that the Puritans are like the Redwood trees of the Christian world (the Redwoods are the biggest trees in America). And I remember being even more struck when he said: “And John Owen is the greatest of the Redwoods”.

And just as the Redwood trees would be a momentous climb, so John Owen requires a momentous effort to read. He even laments his own writing style. But I firmly believe his writings and works are worth all the toil in the world.

This short blog on communion with God is really an attempt to make accessible what John Owen has to say about how we worship the Father and the Son in an intimate and particular way. The aim of this blog is to elicit deeper and richer worship.

So how do we worship the Father, and the Son?

The Father: Owen begins pastorally by helping us to see that we commune with the Father in love. Christians should see that the Father is full of love for us. I think it’s tempting for us to sometimes think that God the Father only loves us because Jesus died for us. But notice the order of John 3:16. It’s because God loved the world that he sent his Son to die for it. Because God set his affections upon us he paved the way back for us to commune with him through the sacrifice of his Son.

And there are two responses from us if we’re to have communion with God the Father. First, we must receive this love by faith, and through Christ. We need to see, behold, and hold on to the fact that as the light of the sun comes to us and warms us by its beams, so through Jesus, the beams of the Father’s love comes to us with delight. Second, we are to respond in love as we marvel at the fullness of the Father’s love towards us. A right understanding of God’s love to us must pass through the head and into the heart. And when the heart is warmed by the love of God we cannot help but love him back. Ephesians 1:4 begins with God’s love to us in Christ, and finishes with our love for him.

The Son: We commune with Jesus Christ in grace. Grace is everywhere described to Jesus Christ. Grace and truth came through Christ (John. 1:16-17). We commune with Christ in grace in three ways.

  1. Grace as personal beauty. We commune with Christ in his beauty because we are desperately needy. As Christians, we can assume that when we first come to saving faith we are needy and Christ meets our need. But then we eventually move on and lose our neediness. But this isn’t the case, we never become not needy. But the good news is that Christ never becomes not sufficient to meet our needs. The Father was pleased for the fullness to dwell in Christ (Col. 1:19). Because of his fullness, Christ meets our every need. Are you dead? Christ is your life. Are you weak? Christ is your strength. Are you ignorant? Christ is your wisdom. Are you guilty? Christ is your righteousness. As we see Christ’s sufficiency for our every need we commune with him in the grace of his beauty.
  2. Grace as acceptance. Paul in the book of Ephesians reminds us that we’ve been saved by grace through faith (Eph. 2:8-9). This grace is the free undeserving acceptance of God the Father through the blood of Christ. This grace is extended to us because of the perfect life, death and resurrection of Jesus. And so we get to commune with him as the blood brought bride.
  3. Grace as renewal, and the enabling to walk in the holiness of a new life. This is an organic grace that we receive from Christ. It’s a grace that Jesus works in us by the power of the Holy Spirit. In John 15, Jesus says he is the vine, and we are the branches. When we are united to Christ by faith he will produce good fruit in us. This is a work of his grace.

So next time you drop to your knees in prayer, consider the unique ways you can pray to God the Father in love, and God the Son in grace. Consider how you relate to each member in particular. And may your walk with God become richer, deeper, and more meaningful in the years ahead.

Part II on the Spirit still to come…

Written by

Daniel Barden

Love is More Complicated Than You Think

scribblingtheologyLeave a comment

So I had this thought while driving to work this morning, “love is more complicated than you think.” On the one hand, it’s really simple, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” Simple yes, the problem is though love gets a seriously bad wrap in the 21st century so the idea of loving your neighbour can be often misunderstood to mean a few things:

  1. Love is often misunderstood to mean that you should just lay down and die. Love does not mean that you’re a welcome matt for everyone to walk over. Love means service and sacrifice, but it doesn’t need to mean abused slave (persecution is an exception). I can’t even count the number of times I’ve seen Christians roll over and die for the sake of “loving your enemy or neighbour” (Mark 12:30-31). All I’m saying is this, Christian, be careful you’re not using love as an excuse to justice a passivism of idolatry. Be careful you’re not using love as a way to get out of confrontation because you’re afraid of what people might think of you or do to you. God uses the weak, yes (1 Corinthians 1:7). But sometimes He needs fearless warriors as well (Ephesians 6:13-18). This sorta leads into my next point.
  2. Perhaps it’s my sinful self but nothing frustrates me more than Christians allowing someone to do something in the name of love but at the expense of justice. Alright guys, let’s get real here. God hates injustice and iniquity (Psalm 5:5; Proverbs 6:16-19; Isaiah 59; Luke 12:45-46). He hates the oppression of the poor, the widowed and marginalised of the world (Psalms 68:5; 1 Timothy 5; James 1:27). Time and time again I see Christians use loving people as an excuse to not boldly call out when there’s something wrong happening in our communities because there’s a belief that being a meek and mild passive Christian seems to be more loving then stopping someone from doing something bad. Oh and that reminds me.
  3. Stop using love as an excuse for sin. This is the real fundamental issue. Time and time again Christians use love as an excuse to let people off the hook for their sin. “Don’t judge” they say, or “just love them, dude.” Let me be absolutely clear there is nothing more unloving, more ungodly, more unchristlike then allowing a person or persons, in the name of love, to perpetuate sin, injustice and chaos in a world where God wants to make all things new and free from these very things (Proverbs 17:15; Matthew 18:15-17).

All this tends to fly in the face of the modern concept of love. Allowing people to do what they want, acceptance and endorsement. This couldn’t be more unbiblical and, dare I say, abhorrent to the God of the Bible.

So then, what is love? This is where it becomes a touch more complicated because the Bible only gives us hints and clues but really leaves the practice up to wisdom and discernment. Love is servanthood and sacrifice (Romans 5:8; 1 John 4:10), it’s patient and kind (1 Corinthians 13:4-8), humble but also fierce, it’s human flourishing at its finest (Genesis 1-2). Love is the main game but it’s the sort of love we find in Jesus’ whole life and ministry. Jesus was, by today’s standards fairly judgemental, corrective of sin, stood out against the oppressed and marginalised, but loved the world so much that He died for it (John 3:16). He was the ultimate servant of humanity (Philippians 2). We need a complete and holistic perspective on Jesus’ character if we are to imitate Him. 

The Local Church: A Slice of the New Earth

scribblingtheology6 Comments

This is a big one. Get a hot coffee (from my cafe), get a Bible, sit down and take your time. Here…we…go…

There are just a few things I especially love in life, coffee, church planting, and biblical theology and of course, blogging is definitely up there. I would actually love to church plant soon, the world can’t do with enough healthy churches. So as I was pondering what my next post should be about I thought “why not write a biblical theology of church!” Wow, amazing. A few things we should note.

First, there is a difference between biblical theology, systematic theology, and theology that’s fundamentally biblical. Biblical theology is the official term used when one traces a theme or a topic throughout the entire biblical narrative. Systematic theology draws from biblical theology as well as history, exegesis and other disciplines in order to present a certain perspective or perspectives on certain topics (the Trinity as an example). Theology that’s biblical is just good theology grounded in the Bible. Anyone can do theology but in order to be a good theologian, it has to be fundamentally grounded in the Scriptures.

Second, there is a difference between the Church universal, and the church local. The Church universal is the term we use to describe the Church invisible across space and time. It includes every Christian who has ever lived, lives and will live across the world with Christ as its head. The church local is simply the local, physical, and visible expression on the Church universal. While there is some overlap, this post will be focusing on the local church. Finally, we shall begin our study where every good biblical theology should start, in Revelation (didn’t see that one coming did ya).

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” – Revelation 21:1-4

Spoiler alert – at the end of the Bible Jesus wins, the heavens and the earth are renewed, humanity is saved and all is well. Awesome. The problem is we’re not there yet. We live in what is known as the now but not yet stage of history. That means that, yes Jesus has died and has risen for the sins of the world, for the restoration of creation, and the defeat of darkness, but this has all fulfilled only in part. Jesus has taken away the power of sin but not it’s presence. Jesus has brought heaven and earth together but He didn’t restore it. Jesus was victorious over the satan, the principalities and powers of this world, but He didn’t remove them. It’s an awkward tension where Jesus has done some great things but we’re yet to see it come to completion. Why hasn’t Jesus just fixed everything already? Mainly because He has a plan, and a major part of that plan is that God chooses to partner with humanity in the restoration of the world, the same humanity that broke the world and introduced sin into it. This started all the way back in Genesis 1-3.

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth and then He created the garden of Eden. God fills the Garden with trees, rivers, fruit, animals and finally humans. Why is this the first thing God makes? Because the Garden functions as space where God and His creation comes together in the midst of the chaotic and dark world of Genesis 1:1-2. This space is where humanity lives in unity with God and with the rest of creation as they’re tasked to subdue the earth, rule over it, to be fruitful and multiply. In the ancient world and throughout the rest of the Bible these spaces where humanity and the gods meet are known as temples. They are a unique spot where humanity can engage with who they worship away from the corruption and chaos of the world around them.

This theme of the temple and sacred spaces, where humanity, creation, and God come together in harmony can be tracked throughout the entire biblical narrative:

Eden (Genesis 1-3)

In the beginning, God created heaven and earth to overlap, but because of humanities decision to do what was right in their own eyes, they were exiled from the sacred space and into chaos and outer darkness.

Noah’s Ark (Genesis 6-10)

Noah’s Ark is a picture of sacred space in that, within the midst of a chaotic world, humanity (Noah and his family), creation (animals), and God come together to start new earth.

The Tower of Babel (Genesis 11-12)

Babel or Babylon is a picture of an anti-temple. It’s where humanity, creation and the gods and idols of this world come together to meet and perpetuate sin and darkness.

Mount Sinai (Exodus 19)

Here at Sinai, God gives Israel (and all of humanity who worship Yahweh) identity and a vocation. First, they’re His own people, He is their God, and second, they are to be a kingdom of priests – a holy nation. It’s difficult to not see the temple theme here as God Himself is establishing an entire nation full of priests. The mountain itself was a holy space if anyone touched it that God didn’t allow they were to be stoned, yet God asked all of Israel to come to Him in that space.

The Tabernacle (Exodus 26-31)

A proto-temple. While Israel was going through the wilderness God wanted to make sure there would always be a sacred space where He could meet with His people.

Solomon’s Temple (1 Kings 5-6)

Finally, in the promised land and the kingdom set up, God established a sacred space where people and come and meet with Him whenever they please. Take note of how both the tabernacle and the temple are recast as Eden type spaced. There was gold and fruit trees as well as all the bells and whistles a temple was expected to have.

Second Temple (Ezra and Nehemiah)

After the temple was destroyed and after Israel returns from exile from Babylon, there is an attempt to rebuild the temple. Unfortunately, it did not return to its former glory. Because of Israel’s sin, God’s presence was not there. It was a vain attempt at restoring a once sacred space.

Jesus (John 2)

Jesus, however, makes all things new. Instead of there being a physical temple with four walls, Jesus Himself is the new temple where God’s space and our space overlap. Where Heaven and Earth meet.

The Church (Ephesians 2:19-22; 1 Peter 2:5-7; 1 Corinthians 3:16-19).

Thus so is the Church. In Christ, we the Church collectively are the space where Heaven and Earth meet. Visibly and locally we become little pockets of sacred temple space where people come to meet with God.

New Earth (Revelation 21:1-4)

Finally, at the end of the age, every single inch of creation will be sacred. No division, no sin.

The local church then needs to borrow from this sacred space – temple imagery and ask the question, “how does this play out in our role in the local church?”

  1. The local church needs to be a community of priests (1 Peter 2:9). For this to happen we need to be a people who know God’s Word and a people of prayer. There’s no point in doing anything else unless we get this right. There’s no temple without priests working in it.
  2. The local church needs to be missional. The local church needs to be a light to the world displaying God’s glory and love in deed and through the preaching of the Gospel. There’s no temple without people to reconcile to God (Matthew 5:14-16, 28:16-20; Romans 1:16, 10:14-15).
  3. The local church needs not to be so dull. When you step into a temple you should feel as though you’re in God’s presence and about to meet with the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. We’ve lost a little bit of the magic in our churches that made temples and the old cathedral so grand. Plant a garden or some trees around your church (Subdue and cultivate the earth). Hang some art and play great music (Ephesians 5:19). We should get creative in how we decorate and build our sacred spaces to inspire worship and awe.

At the end of the day, how different might church on a Sunday morning be if we treated it a bit more like a sacred space instead of a club we go to or a chore. I think if pastors, planters and Christians in general thought of their Sunday experience more in this theological vein perhaps our affections would be more stirred and we’d be just a bit more pumped to meet with our Father and invite people into that sacred space.

Conservative Christians – Let’s Get Better at Love

scribblingtheologyLeave a comment

“What did He say that got everyone so upset?” asked Crowley the demon

“Be kind to each other” replied Aziraphale the angel

“That’ll do it” said Crowley.

– Good Omens

The other day I was talking to someone about a controversial local pastor. He’s controversial because he holds to some doctrine and theology that some, if not many, would consider heresy. As I was listening to what this person had to say, something within me jumped and I just said to him “theologically conservative Christians need to do a better job at loving the more theologically progressive or liberal.“

Now, I’ve thought a lot about this over the last few days. I was eager to write about it but reluctant to post it. I think it’s going to rub against a few of that tend to fall more into my camp. It’s difficult because what is love? What does it mean to love those who completely disagree with you or who might even fall outside of the Faith? It’s difficult because the Bible by and large just says to love people and then leaves the details up to the reader. I can think of a few things that love is not.

1. Love is not an endorsement. If I love a heretic, a murderer or just someone I disagree with, this doesn’t mean I endorse what they represent or what they’re doing. I love them because Jesus commands us to love people and because I know who they can be in Christ – a new creation.

2. Love doesn’t automatically assume that I have to join hands with the person in worship. There are some people out there who simply worship a different God, this even includes professing Christians. There’s, I think, some fair warnings and guidelines around how we should fellowship in worship with the kind of people that teach a false Gospel and who deliberately lead the sheep into false pastures (Matthew 7:15-20; 1 Timothy 4:1-2; 2 John 1). This, however, should never be at the cost of being able to pray for them, being able to have them out for a coffee or being able to engage with them in such a way that allows you to love (1 Timothy 2:1-3; Romans 5:8; Mark 12:30-31). Put it this way if they’re wrong and maybe not apart of the Faith, then they probably need more love and kindness then ever, mixed with truth, in order to see the grace of God (Romans 2:4, Ephesians 4:15).

I guess, at the end of the day, we should all take Jesus’ words seriously when He says to love and treat each other as we would want to be treated (Luke 6:31). If I had something to say, would I want to be heard? If I believed in something different compared to others, would I want to still have friends and people who loved me? Lets put our selves in the context of the other and ask ourselves, “would I want to be treated the way I treat them?”