Marketplace Ponderings – 5

Speaking of Christ, Isaiah writes, “He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever.” (Isaiah 9:7). The rule of Christ is rooted in righteousness and justice.

“By justice a king gives a country stability, but one who is greedy for bribes tears it down.” (Proverbs 29:4). When those in authority exercise justice and equity, those from whom they are responsible experience stability.

Christians are called to participate in the reign of Christ. Since His reign is one of justice and equity, we are called to extend justice and equity to others. This means that we apply standards uniformly. It means that everyone gets a fair shot at a job, a promotion, or a contract. It means that if we are going to be flexible on an issue, that we are flexible with everyone. It means that if we are going to show mercy that it is without regard to our personal likes and dislikes. When we are agents of equity we are agents of Christ. When we violate the principle of equity we violate the reign of Christ.

A friend assumed oversight of the payroll operations of her firm. She discovered that a number of employees were eligible to receive compensation for unused sick days they had taken over the past few years. The previous payroll supervisor had no intention of paying the employees because they were unaware of their eligibility to receive payment. The eligibility was going to expire at year-end. What was the equitable thing to do?

Tom and Frank have been with the company for the same length of time. They do the same job and their levels of performance are similar. Tom has been aggressive in salary negotiation over the years, Frank has not. There is now a wide gap between their salaries that can only be attributed to the fact that Tom is a better negotiator than Frank. Is that an equitable situation?

The person who exerts the most pressure is often the one who receives preferential treatment. We may use a number of rationales to justify our making exceptions to the rule, but the fact remains that when we apply different standards to people that we act in a way contrary to the reign of Christ. This is not to say that we should not show mercy, those in positions of authority are in those positions to (hopefully) show mercy as well as ensure accountability and to exercise their authority with wisdom and humility.

When those in authority manage and lead with justice and equity they promote stability within their organization. People know what to expect and they develop a sense of trust in the firm. As Christians in the marketplace we are stewards of God’s justice and equity. Even if our life of equity is an island in a sea of corporate capriciousness, we are called to be faithful to the character and rule of Jesus Christ. Such a life is worth more than giving out a thousand religious tracts to our coworkers, such a life provides credibility to our words of witness – we are agents of Christ in the marketplace. 

Reflections on Romans 4:1 – 5:11: (6)

“And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance proven character; and proven character hope; and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” Romans 5:1 – 5 (NASB).

Romans 3:21 – 5:11 is an upward trajectory that accelerates in 5:1 – 11. In chapters 1 – 3 God through Paul convicts the entire world, Jew and Gentile, of sin and rebellion – Paul looks at the jury in 3:10 and says, “Ladies and gentlemen, as the Scripture says, there is none righteous, no not one,” and then reinforces his point in 3:23 with, “For all have sinned and all short of the glory of God.”

But in the midst of his convicting words, as Paul wraps us his air-tight case against Adam’s Race, he introduces hope as he starts to talk about “the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ” (3:22), an image he introduced in 1:16 – 17 but which he held in abeyance until conviction of sin was argued and was secure, until there was seemingly no way out of mankind’s dilemma.

Just as Paul drove home in his downward trajectory that “all have sinned,” in his upward trajectory he emphasizes the “guarantee” (4:16) that we have that God justifies those who believe in Jesus Christ, and in 5:1 with his “therefore having been justified by faith” begins to show what this means in terms of a relationship with God and His purpose in our lives. This is not about getting some ticket punched for heaven, this about being in intimate relationship with the Trinity and with one another – this is about eternity present, past, and future.

The minor crescendo of 5:1 – 11 (minor compared to the major of 8:31 – 39) is one of exultation and rejoicing; we rejoice in hope of the glory of God (5:2), we rejoice in tribulations (5:3), and we rejoice in God through Jesus Christ through whom we have been reconciled (5:11).

In this upward acceleration Paul introduces the work that tribulation does in our lives (5:3), its work is such that we exult/rejoice in it. In the upward trajectory of Romans 8, in the setup leading to Romans 8:31ff, Paul returns to tribulation (8:18), “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed in us.” Then in the major crescendo we hear the words echoed through the cosmos, “But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

The maturation process in Christ that Paul describes in 5:3 – 5 is linked to 8:28 – 29 in that we are justified, sanctified, and adopted in order to be “conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren,” (8:29). As I have said many times, Romans 8:28 is perhaps quoted out of context more than any verse in the Bible, all things do not work together for a nebulous and indefinable good – which is the way 8:28 is normally quoted; but rather they work together for good so that we might be more like Jesus, that we might be transformed into His image.

In 5:1 – 11 justification and peace with God are linked to a journey that not only includes glory, but glory in the midst of tribulation. But notice how the image of tribulation is placed within a context of assurance; we are justified, we have peace with God, our hope does not disappoint, the love of God is poured within our hearts, Christ died for us while we were His enemies, God demonstrates His love for us, we are saved from wrath, we are reconciled, we are saved by the life of Christ. Our tribulations are experienced within the ocean of God’s love and peace and desire for us to know Him.

Without such assurance at least one of two things will happen when we experience hardship and tribulation; we will either fall away (Matthew 13:20 – 21) or we will think that God is angry with us and doubt the work of Christ on the Cross, we will doubt the surety of His Word, we may even doubt our salvation and whether we have ever really known Jesus Christ. When people preach and teach a salvation that is contingent on us, contingent on man, they set their people up for insecurity, anxiety, and preoccupation with themselves. One can hardly not be preoccupied with oneself if one’s salvation is always in doubt, when it is contingent – this is hardly the guarantee that Paul writes of in Romans Chapter 4. Often folks in this situation seek signs or experiences to reassure themselves that they are in a relationship with God, that they are special – my friends, God’s Word is enough – if we should never “feel” a thing God’s Word is sufficient. Of course our kind heavenly Father will reveal Himself to us in myriad ways to make Himself know, of course He will share our days with us…but let us trust Him first and then trust Him to draw us to Himself as He desires, not as we desire. And let us never think that having begun in the Spirit of God that we can reach perfection through our own means (Galatians 3:3).

We are called to mature in Jesus Christ, to be discharged from the hospital nursery. This is the clear teaching of the Bible; is this our clear teaching? Our expectation?

Jesus, make us like you, individually and as brothers and sisters, as your Body, your Church. Let our marriages be like you. Our individual lives be like you. Our fellowships like you. Our friendships like you. Holy Father, conform us into the image of your Son, let your holy will be done, in our lives as in heaven. 

Reflections on Bonhoeffer’s Life Together – 106

“It is not experience with life but experience with the cross that makes one suited to hear confession.” Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together, Fortress Press, 2015 (Reader’s Edition), page 94.

I want to follow yesterday’s post up quickly before both I and you, the reader, lose the train of thought from yesterday, for there are other cautious considerations that one should ponder regarding confession one to another. Yet again I wish Bonhoeffer were here to discuss this with. Is he writing as a seminary professor to ministerial students? Is he writing as a pastor to a broad spectrum of Christians? What is in his mind as he writes about confession? What might this look like in a congregation? It may be easier to visualize what this looks like with seminary students than in a typical Christian congregation.

Bonhoeffer has more to say regarding confession, and I think you’ll see that he is hard-hitting as he crosses the finish line of Life Together, but before we cross the finish line with him I want to pause and think about what I’m styling “cautious considerations.”

Regarding the above quote, while it is true that to hear confession one should have “experience with the cross”, often experience with the Cross walks hand-in-hand with life experience – there was a reason men were to be thirty-years old before entering into the priesthood under the Levitical Law. There is a reason New Testament leaders are to be proved and tested and evaluated. The Bible recognizes the importance of experience, of seasoning, and certainly this idea is important within the priesthood of all believers – we are all (hopefully) in some stage of maturation; I am not sure that as a rule novices ought to be expected to bear the burden of hearing confession – nor am I sure that we want to risk having those making confession hurt by the immaturity of others. This is something that ought to be worked out – I am not working it out on a blog, it is to be worked out in life together. On an organic basis I can see that seasoning may not be critical, such as when all brothers are at roughly the same mile post marker on their journey, but I can also see the opposite.

Also, if you are reading this without having read Life Together, or without having read the preceding blog posts (over 100 now) – please do not read what Bonhoeffer is writing about confession in isolation from his entire book, and if you are tempted to introduce what he is writing about confession to a group of Christians please don’t do it…unless you have read the entire book and thought deeply about it. Confession, the way Bonhoeffer presents it, should not (cannot?) be practiced without a commitment to what goes before it. Bonhoeffer begins Life Together with submission to Christ and His Word, this must come before anything else. Without submission to Christ and His Word confession is reduced to some kind of group therapy and can become something self-centered, theatrical, and those engaged in it can open themselves and others up to confusion, manipulation, and narcissistic introspection. Life Together is about life in Christ together, not about a therapeutic methodology.

Perhaps there ought to be mentoring of sorts in all this, as in all of the Christian life. The older and seasoned mentoring the younger in hearing confession and speaking the Word of forgiveness. I also think that a seasoned brother or sister ought to practice circumspection in their confession to others – not to preserve a façade, but simply because we ought not to burden younger brothers and sisters with confessions that may not be helpful.  Here again Bonhoeffer is on point when he emphasizes that we need to realize that we are capable of any and all sin, we need to see our sin and our sins nailing Jesus Christ to the Cross, then and only then can we, I think, perform the sacred service of hearing the confession of another.

I am sure there are many other “cautious considerations”, the reader may have thought of them and may be far ahead of where I am in my thinking –  I am not very far. Bonhoeffer thought this so important that he concludes Life Together with this discussion, and he writes passionately about it. Whether we agree with him or not, I think we owe it to him and ourselves and those we love to ponder what he is saying – just maybe he has something we need. Yes, it is unfamiliar territory for most of us, and perhaps some of us have previously ventured into that territory and been hurt – but consider that Bonhoeffer is writing to guide the church through the darkness descending on Europe and the world, and that in doing so he concludes his book with the importance confessing our sins to one another…why? Why is he doing this? Why is he so passionate? What can we learn from him? What are we not seeing?

What are we seeing?

Reflections on Bonhoeffer’s Life Together – 105

“Luther himself was one of those for whom the Christian life was unthinkable without confession to one another, In The Large Catechism he said, ‘Therefore when I urge you to go to confession, I am urging you to be a Christian.’” Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together, Fortress Press, 2015 (Reader’s Edition), page 94.

Bonhoeffer discusses the question of whom we should confess to, and he answers that all believers in Christ can hear confession. That, of course, leads to more questions, some of which I’ve touched on in previous posts. On page 94 Bonhoeffer explains that those who live beneath the Cross of Jesus “will find that there is no sin that can ever be unfamiliar…Whoever has once been appalled by the horror of their own sin, which nailed Jesus to the cross, will no longer be appalled by even the most serious sin of another Christian…It is not experience with life but experience of the cross that makes one suited to hear confession.”

To those who may take issue with Bonhoeffer’s (and Luther’s) emphasis on confession by arguing that there is no such Biblical emphasis, I would ask them to consider the following: There are other doctrines that, in terms of specific verses, do not have “critical mass”. Consider how often Hebrews 9:27 is quoted to argue against second-chances after death – what other verses do people normally quote? Can you recall them? Are there any? On the one hand if we believe that Scripture is God-breathed and inspired, then a verse is a Word of God – understood of course in its context – for we must keep in mind that originally verses were not verses, as we think of verses, but words and thoughts connected to other words and thoughts – what we call “context”. So if we have a verse that tells us to confess our sins one to another and to pray for one another so that we might be healed we have a sure Word of God just as Hebrews 9:27 is a sure Word of God.

In addition to this, however, is what the Word of God tells us about the nature of the Church, the Cross, who we are in Christ, forgiveness of sins, and the nature of reality in general. What is the nature of Christian reality? Which is to say, what is the nature of reality? – for God’s reality should be our primary consideration so that we can learn to live in Him and relate to others, within and without His Kingdom, as we live and move and have our being in Him. What is the air we breathe, the water we drink, the food we eat, the clothes we wear? What country do we live in? What language do we speak? Whose thoughts do we think?

If we consider this issue of Biblical reality in Jesus Christ then perhaps we will see not only what Luther and Bonhoeffer saw, perhaps we will enlarge their vision and experience, perhaps we will journey farther down the road and explore new expanses – I think they would like that, I doubt that either one of them desired that those who came after them would stop where they were when they transitioned into the Presence of God.

Bonhoeffer points out that self-justification is toxic to the church, an enemy of life together. Just as hypocrisy and self-justification, in the form of the religious establishment, crucified Jesus Christ; just as self-justification in the form of legalists opposed the Gospel in the Early Church; so these same elements temp us today and threaten our relationships with one another. Confession one to another keeps us honest (we hope), it is a preventive against hypocrisy, and it reminds us of who we are outside Christ and who we are inside Christ. Confession dismantles our pretension and leads us to assurance in Christ.

If the nature of the Church is the nature of God, if we are indwelt by the Trinity, if we are joined to our Bridegroom, then confession is sacramental – we receive the grace of God through one another as we hear the Word of forgiveness from others who form the priesthood of all believers. Confession is sacred and holy, it is one believer trusting another believer as we trust Jesus Christ – for we are both in Jesus Christ. This is the enduring reality of God, the only true sustainable reality…are we living in what is Real or are we living in what is passing away?

If “verses” are not part of the fabric and tapestry of life…then what are they? If we cannot see the pattern which they weave…then what are they? A thread is not a tapestry, a thread is not a garment, we cannot clothe ourselves with individually hanging threads, threads that are not woven together. Are we naked or are we wearing the garment of God and His Word? This is to say that we ought not to reject Bonhoeffer out of hand simply because we may have prejudices against confessing to another Christian, or because we have not been raised this way, or because we don’t immediately see the Biblical context within which he is working…or because we are afraid. We are called to a life of holistic integration in Christ and this includes seeing the Scriptures as a unity, as a way of life in Christ. To be sure there are considerations of prudence and wisdom and understanding and maturity that ought to be considered when we approach confession and we will consider those in a future post.

Marketplace Ponderings - 4

I was giving a breakfast talk at a local church, after which we formed small groups to further discuss the material that I had presented. Much of my focus had been on our responsibility to serve our coworkers. One of the participants in the small group said, "My daily goal is to get to work, do my job, and get home without having interaction with coworkers. Interaction can lead to problems, and I don't need problems." While I have to admit that I was taken aback by the comment, I appreciated the person's honesty.

Considering the hectic pace of life, it isn't unusual for us to have days, or perhaps weeks, where we feel that we have accomplished something by simply making it through another day, or to another paycheck. Some of us may feel that we've done well just to have finished another year with some semblance of sanity or equilibrium.

Yet, our heavenly Father has called us to be sensitive to others, even in the midst of personal turmoil and uncertainty. One of the characteristics of our Father that Jesus shares with us is that, "He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous." Matthew 5:45. The context of this verse is Christ's instruction that we should love and bless those who treat us badly. His point is that if our Father sends his sun and rain upon all people without discrimination, that we should also bless all people without discrimination. This includes our coworkers.

How can we be a blessing to our coworkers?

Prayer is a good place to start. Just as the sun and rain of our Father nourishes our planet, so our prayers can nourish the lives of our coworkers. As women and men whom have been called by God to a corporate priesthood, prayer for others is an integral part of our calling. Consider the fact that it is possible that you might be the only person who ever prays for a coworker, and that if you don't pray for her, then nobody will.

I have some friends who use an organizational chart as a prayer tool. I mentally walk through my firm's offices and stop at each desk and pray for the individual.

What should we pray for? Well, certainly that they will know Christ, and that if they already know him that they will grow in relationship with him. However, I also think that we ought to pray for other specific issues. Has there been a loss in the family? Is there a new baby? Is there unemployment or sickness in the family? Perhaps the person is going through a tough emotional time. Maybe there is loneliness.

Do we know our coworkers well enough to know how to pray specifically for them?

Praying for specifics helps us to be open to relational opportunities with others. When our hearts and minds are focused on others in prayer, the Holy Spirit can communicate to us concerning our relationships.

Thanksgiving for our coworkers is also important. The Scriptures teach us that we are to give thanks for all people, 1 Timothy 2:1. I have heard many a Christian share how giving thanks for a coworker has served to reduce tension and break down unseen barriers between individuals.

In Matthew 5:13-16, Jesus teaches that we are the salt of the earth and the light of the world. We have a responsibility to live as salt and light in the marketplace. While our opportunities for expression will be different, depending on our gifts and environments, we can trust our Father that there will be opportunities, for we have a purpose and destiny in Him.

Reflections on Romans 4:1 - 5:11 (5)

“Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ…” Romans 5:1.

Peace. What shall we make of this idea? Do we relate to moral peace? Spiritual peace? Do we fall into the trap of thinking that spiritual peace is a state of consciousness, or unconsciousness; of thinking that it is something that we can develop within ourselves? And what of moral peace? Do we look to ourselves to set our own moral standards? Do we numb ourselves with diversion or pleasure or drugs or with moral denial or with descending greater and greater immorality until we have lost all sense of moral righteousness?

Who needs peace with God if there is no God with whom to have peace, to whom to be reconciled? If all guilt is false guilt then the only one we need make peace with is ourselves.

When the church wants to make everyone feel better it does everyone a disservice, it masks sin the way narcotics can mask the pain of cancer; when the church wants everyone to feel good about themselves it blocks the way of repentance, the way of faith in Christ, the way of justification by faith, the way to peace with God.

At least in an immoral world there may still be a sense of immorality, but in our amoral world there is no sense of right or wrong, good or evil, sin or righteousness.

For those who have been convicted of their sin there is not only hope in Christ Jesus, there is assurance in Christ Jesus. When we believe as Abraham and David believed (Romans Chapter 4) we are justified by faith in Jesus Christ and we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Our lives become a story not about us, but about Jesus.

In Christ, when we look back at our sin with remorse and sorrow, we need not fear the wrath and judgement of God for we have peace with God - we have been reconciled to Him (2 Corinthians 5:17 - 21). This peace comes with the glory of God as a present experience and a future expectation (John 17:22; Romans 8:18); it is a glory that shines brighter and brighter as we journey toward that Great Day in Christ. There is a glory in justification that surpasses understanding, how can it be that God not only sees me as if I have never sinned, but also as if I have always kept His holy Law? I do not understand this, I do not understand the Cross, I do not understand the great Divine Transaction that took place on Calvary...but I have experienced it - it is true...and I exult in hope of the glory of God.

No matter how much guilt we may sense or may have sensed, no matter how desperately we may have sought peace with God, no matter how much we may have longed for forgiveness and cleansing, no matter how deeply we may have yearned for a relationship with God - there is One who desires these things far more than we can think or imagine, who desires them so deeply that He gave His Only Begotten Son so that we might experience, in that Son Jesus Christ, all of these things in an intimate relationship with Him. God desires us more than we desire Him. He desires forgiveness for us more than we desire forgiveness. He desires that we have peace with Him far more than we have desired peace with Him. Let us remember daily, let us remember throughout the day...how great and wide and deep and high and wide the love of God for us is...how much God loves us, how much he loves me, how much He loves you.

Can you imagine the depths of the Pacific ocean? Can you imagine is vastness? It is as a drop of water compared to the love that God has for you. Can you stretch yourself to imagine the solar system? A galaxy? Galaxies upon galaxies upon galaxies upon galaxies? They are as your own backyard compared to the love of God for you.

Yes indeed we can exult in the expectation and hope of the glory of God, for His glory, the glory of His love, the glory of His grace, the glory of God justifying sinners, of God sanctifying those who were once His enemies (and we all either are or were His enemies - make no mistake about this), this multifaceted glory He now shares with us as His sons and daughters in Jesus Christ - the Prince of Peace.

Are you living in the peace of God today? Is Romans 5:1-2 your story too? It can be, God wants it to be.

If it is your story then tell someone today so that it can be their story too.

The Church – Reflections: 7

The more I ponder “the church” the more I keep coming back to the question, “What is the nature of the Church?” I am reminded that in theology, or at least in theology as I know it, we begin with God and the nature of God. If in thinking about God we begin with His nature, does it not make sense that when thinking about the Church that we begin with its nature? To add emphasis to this, if God dwells within the Church, then the nature of God becomes necessarily the incarnational and transcendent nature of the Church. Of course, while the life of God in Jesus Christ was perfectly expressed, the life of God in Christ in the Church is a mystery in the tension of the “already-not yet.” The Church is the fullness of Him who fills all in all (Ephesians 1:23) and yet this fullness is developmentally and organically being manifested (Ephesians 4:1 – 16). To me, at least, this is a mystery.

I have a little book by John Jefferson Davis titled, Handbook of Basic Bible Texts. As I recall this was a required purchase for my Systematic Theology courses at Gordon-Conwell. In retrospect I find it refreshing that we were required to purchase a book of Bible verses grouped around key doctrines – after all, if we weren’t going to base our thinking on the Bible what was the point of theology? (A question a number of seminaries and pastors might ponder).

At the beginning of the chapter on the Church Davis has this quote from Martin Luther, “I believe that there is on earth, through the whole wide world, no more than one holy, common, Christian Church, which is nothing else than the congregation, or assembly of the saints, i.e., the pious, believing men on earth, which is gathered, preserved, and ruled by the Holy Spirit, and daily increased by means of the sacraments and the Word of God.”

I wonder if we functionally believe what Luther wrote?

My Systematic Theology textbook was (and is!) Millard J. Erickson’s Christian Theology. His treatment of the Church begins with…The Nature of the Church. Erickson's leading section heading is, Confusion Regarding the Church, and in discussing the confusion he writes:

“In addition to the confusion generated by the multiple usages of [the term] church, there is evidence of confusion at a more profound level – a lack of understanding of the basic nature of the church.”

“Among the reasons of this lack of understanding is the fact that at no point in the history of Christian thought has the doctrine of the church received the direct and complete attention which other doctrines have received.”

Erickson quotes John Macquarrie:

“Probably more gets written on the Church nowadays than on any other single theological theme. Most of this writing has a practical orientation. We hear about the Church in relation to rapid social change, the Church in a secular society, the Church and reunion, the Church in missions. But however valuable some of the insights gained in these various fields may be, they need to be guided and correlated by a theological understanding of the Church.” [Italics mine].

If we don’t know the nature of the Church how can we know who we are? How can we know how the life within us is supposed to express itself? How can we know our identity? How can we relate to one another? To the world? To the flow of history? How can we stand against temporal pressure to conform to society and to be successful as the surrounding culture defines success?

We are a people who ought to transcend the temporal and in transcending the temporal to be a blessing to those around us. And yet, we are a people driven by the pragmatic and our thinking is utilitarian. Instead of being the timeless and timely people of God we are captives to popular currents and demands and engage in marketplace thinking just as Amazon or Walmart or Apple. We are competitors for customers – either customers who have yet to enter the church world or those patronizing competitors in the church world. Our functional nature is less that of God and more of Wall Street, Madison Avenue, and Hollywood.

Who has the courage to ask fellow pastors to talk about the nature of the Church and how that nature informs pastoral ministry? To ask seminary administrators, professors, and “development” departments? To ask congregations? The language we will hear will be pragmatic and organizational – it will not be Biblical and rooted in the nature of the Biblical Church.

We don’t know who we are.

What is the nature of the Church?

Reflections on Bonhoeffer’s Life Together – 104

“In confession there occurs a breakthrough to assurance. Why is it often easier for us to acknowledge our sins before God than before another believer?” Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together, Fortress Press, 2015 (Reader’s Edition), page 92.

Bonhoeffer reasons that because God is holy and without sin, and another believer knows sin from personal experience, that we ought to find it easier to confess our sins to another believer. Then he argues that if this is not the case that we ought to ask whether we are deluding ourselves about our confession to God, “whether we have not instead been confessing our sins to ourselves and also forgiving ourselves.” He observes that, “Self-forgiveness can never lead to the break with sin. This can only be accomplished by God’s own judging and pardoning Word.”

The other believer is a guard against “self-deception.” Confessing to another believer brings our sin to light; Bonhoeffer makes a point of writing that he is not talking about a general confession, but rather confession of specific sins, and that God gives us assurance of forgiveness through the other believer “so that we may be assured of divine forgiveness” (page 93).

On page 93 Bonhoeffer is clear that confession to one another is not a “divine law,” but he does think it is “a help” – and he obviously thinks it is a significant help. “Confession stands in the realm of the freedom of the Christian” (page 94).

If we hold to the priesthood of the believer, and if we understand that a role of a priest is to cover and not expose, to mediate and not build barriers, to represent God to man and man to God; then I think we ought to pause and consider what Bonhoeffer is saying. If we strongly react against what Bonhoeffer is teaching then we might want to ask ourselves why we are so opposed to the idea of confessing one to another. Could it be because of prejudice against other traditions? Prejudice can blind us, it will blind us. On the other hand, those in traditions that practice some form of confession may well not appreciate the sacramental element of what they practice, taking it for granted and therein not encountering the Word of assurance. We all have our difficulties.

I know from experience the release and closure inherent in specific confession of sin and hearing the Word of the Cross and its forgiveness spoken to me by another brother. Also, as I have previously written, I know the victory over temptation when I tell another Christian about the temptation I am facing. When darkness is exposed to the light of the Gospel the darkness loses its power, its footing, its position.

So why don’t we confess our sins one to another? Beyond the question of whether we see the sacramental aspect of the practice, beyond the idea that this is an element of koinonia, of life together, lies the simple fact that we just don’t trust each other. We don’t trust others to view us in light of the Cross and we don’t trust others to keep our confession in confidence.

Regarding the former, if we don’t trust another Christian to view us in light of the Cross it means that we, as a people, have yet to fully encounter and understand the justification and sanctification that we have in Christ and His Cross. We have yet to view life from the eternal reality of the Cross. We have yet to learn to see with the eyes of God and speak with the Word of God and love with the heart of God. It means that we continue to compare ourselves with others, measuring one another by our own standards, ranking sin, exalting ourselves – we have yet to learn that we are called to be agents of reconciliation in Christ, through Christ, and to Christ. The evil of news headlines is not about others, it is about me and until it is about me I will not come close to knowing the fullness of assurance of justification and sanctification. Self-justification and pretension must be utterly destroyed – only then can I hear the confession of another and not flinch; the Cross of Christ must be magnified above all self-justification and self-righteousness, putting to death the hypocrisy of the “old man.”

Inherent in the priesthood of the believer is a recognition of the Sacrifice that has been made, a vision of the holy Lamb of God offering Himself on the altar of the Cross, bearing our sins, bearing ourselves – the holy Lamb dying for unholy humanity, bearing all the evil and wickedness of mankind so that we might be reconciled to God through the death of His Son. A priest is bound to fellowship with the Sacrifice, the fellowship of His suffering. As the Sacrifice gave Himself for others, so the priest of Christ gives himself or herself for others. The nation of priests is by its nature sacrificial, it is called to lay down its life for others.

The second question is one of trust, can we trust one another not to betray our confession? If we live as mere men (1 Corinthians 3:3) then we cannot trust one another for we will betray confidences, we will use our knowledge for manipulation, we will make ourselves look good at the expense of others. Again, if we know who we are in Christ, if we see our lives as the lives of priests, of saints, as those who have been justified, sanctified, and glorified (Romans 8:29 – 30), then we would learn that our relationships with others are sacred trusts, and that to violate those trusts is to violate the Atonement, the Cross, the Nature of God. Who would dare to pollute the Trinity? Who would bring defilement into the Presence of God? If God lives within His people, then to pollute the sanctity of confession, to betray a brother or sister, to defile a relationship – is to profane the Temple of God. We are not a civic organization, or a business organization, or a recreational organization…we are not even a religious organization…God’s people are God’s Temple and His Presence lives within them…who are we to desecrate His Temple? Our awareness of the Presence of God within us is seen in how we treat one another – by that measure an observer may be forgiven for wondering if we really think God lives within His people.

Bonhoeffer’s approach to confession presents us with a path to assurance and a way out of self-justification. Are we mature enough to take it, or shall we remain children playing hide and seek?

Reflections on Romans 4:1 – 5:11: (4)

“For this reason it is by faith, in order that it may be in accordance with grace, so that the promise will be guaranteed…” (Romans 4:16a).

“Without becoming weak in faith he contemplated his own body, now as good as dead since he was about a hundred years old, and the deadness of Sarah’s womb; yet, with respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully assured that what God had promised, He was able also to perform. Therefore it was also credited to him as righteousness.” (Romans 4:19 – 22).

In times past when I’ve thought of the birth of Isaac I have primarily thought of it in terms of God bringing life out of the dead bodies (reproductively speaking) of Abraham and Sarah. This is a prophetic motif echoed in Isaiah 53:2, “For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of parched ground…” Again and again God brings life out of death, or preserves hidden life when all around is death and dryness and drought. And of course in Abraham’s offering of Isaac we see a shadow and type of God the Father offering our Lord Jesus on the Cross, and in Abraham receiving Isaac back we see a shadow of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ – keeping in mind that the ram in the thicket and the son Abraham was offering were one and the same – ah what mystery is the Gospel.

But there is another element, a raw basic element, that I have not thought much about but which now stares me in the eye – truly Abraham could do nothing but believe or disbelieve – he could do one or the other but there was no third option. He did not have the option of procreation with Sarah because their bodies were reproductively dead. Abraham and Sarah could not make something happen in and of themselves for they were past that season of life. This couple were well past the season that they could reproduce children, it wasn’t even close so that there could be no question about the source of the life as the term “the deadness of Sarah’s womb” clearly testifies.

Not only did Abraham not become “weak in faith” but he “grew strong in faith” and was “fully assured that what God had promised, He was able to perform.” Abraham knew there was nothing he could do but he also knew that God would do what He promised. Abraham knew that having a child was biologically impossible, but he also knew that God would keep His promise. There is a difference in saying, “I know God can do whatever He wants,” and in saying, “I believe God will keep His promise.”

There is a sense in which we must come to the end of ourselves if we are to trust God as Abraham trusted God. As long as we think that we have the capacity to achieve righteousness in and of ourselves, by our own efforts, by our own understanding – then we will hold back just enough of ourselves not to trust God as Abraham trusted God, then we will preserve our pride, our ego, our vanity, our self-righteousness – then somewhere, hidden within us, will be a locked room in which we preserve our religious “works” and hypocrisy and rebellious independence from God. To be sure this is a pilgrimage and we cannot truly understand our own hearts, but we can pursue increasing trust in Christ as He draws us to Himself by grace. We can, by grace mediated by the Holy Spirit, say, “Lord I believe, help my unbelief” (Mark 9:25).

I do not pretend to understand this, I really don’t; I do not understand the mystery of faith in God, I do not understand in the least how trusting in God through Christ results in salvation, how can a child understand these things? Perhaps it is easier for a natural child to understand these things than an adult – a child has less baggage to get in the way, an adult has a lifetime of trash (at least some of us do). But this I do know, I can do nothing in and of myself to achieve righteousness, nothing to make God accept me or love me or give me new life in Christ. However, by the mystery of God’s mercy and grace in Jesus Christ I can, by His grace, respond to Him and trust Him and believe in Him and I can learn to be “fully assured” that what He has promised He will perform. I can look to Jesus and not myself, and in looking to Jesus I can know that the promise is guaranteed once and for all.

God’s promise of salvation is also a promise to see us through to the end of life, through our struggles, through our seasons of doubt – for salvation is so much more than having a ticket punched for heaven, that is not the Gospel; Gospel salvation is holistic and it is complete in Christ – it is about what Jesus Christ has done, is doing, and will do – both in our individual lives and in the cosmos. There is great assurance in this because it does not depend on me for initiation or sustaining or completion – I can trust my heavenly Father and Jesus to love me and lead me in relationship, I can trust them to help me trust them more and more. As the old hymn says, “O for grace to trust Him more.”

We can no more produce eternal life in ourselves than Abraham and Sarah could produce biological life. We were “dead in trespasses and sins” (Ephesians 2:1), we were helpless. But thank God that, “…while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly” (Romans 5:6).

I find this amazing. I take great comfort in it. What about you? 

The Church – Reflections: 6

Ephesians 4:14 – 16 has long been embedded in my vision of the church. “…from whom [Christ] the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love” (4:16).

The image of the church in this passage is one of growth into Christ and of mutual and reciprocal edification in Christ, from Christ, and to Christ. This passage portrays a dynamic church, a church growing into the image of Christ, of us collectively becoming like Christ – and of us all participating in the process as we give and receive from one another, as we are animated by the Holy Spirit.

The apostles, prophets, evangelists, and pastors and teachers of verse 11 are called to equip the saints for the work of ministry; they are not called to equip “sinners” nor are they called to monopolize the work of ministry – they are called to equip others to function in ministry as the body lives in Christ. The term “status quo” cannot describe this passage and yet in practice we do not encourage the people of God to live as the priests of God, as people who all have something to give, something critically necessary for the building up of the Body of Christ.

In the natural when we see a baby or a child not developing, not progressing along the path to mental, emotional, and physical maturity, we become concerned, we think something is wrong. Yet with the church we think nothing of it if we are frozen in time, if the status quo prevails year after year, decade after decade, century after century. We think little of it, if anything at all, if brother Joe who grew up in the church and who is now 75 years old cannot share the Gospel with others, cannot mentor younger men, cannot stand in the congregation and share a thought from God’s Word, cannot contribute the Word of God in a small group. This is simply wrong and is an indictment against both those who stand in front of congregations and of those who sit in congregations. The church is developmentally disabled and those who lead it do little to foster functional change and maturity.

It is ironic that we are approaching the 500^th anniversary of Luther’s nailing the 95 Theses to the door of the Wittenberg church, an act many mark as the beginning of the Reformation, and that instead of asking; “How far have we come since then? How has the church grown into the image of Jesus Christ? How has the doctrine of justification, and the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers, affected the growth of the church into the image of Jesus Christ?” that we will tend to think uncritically of ourselves and may even congratulate ourselves in preserving the status quo of Reformation thinking and practice.

Reformation thinking and practice (and let’s remember that it was diverse and not monolithic) was hardly perfect any more than our thinking and practice is perfect – do we strive to be frozen in imperfection – whether our own or others? Whether our generation’s or a prior generation’s? And for those of us who are not Roman Catholic or Eastern Orthodox, let’s not forget that there are rich treasures to be found in those traditions as well as in our own.

To have not moved on from the Reformation is akin to laying the foundation of a house and never building upon it. Building on a foundation affirms the value of the foundation, it does not repudiate it – the foundational teachings mentioned in Hebrews 6:1 – 2 are teachings to be with us forever, but they are elementary, they are basic, they are Christianity 101; and yet not only have we not moved on, not only have we not built upon them – they are what we hear week after week, year after year – no wonder our congregations have no muscle mass, they are fed baby food and not allowed out of the playpen.

Cannot we see the tragic irony in Luther risking his life to translate the Bible into German, of Tyndale being burned alive for translating the Bible into English, when we, their heirs, take the freedom of knowing Christ and the Bible away from the people of God through our practices that relegate most Christians into second or third class status – the unwashed masses incapable of reading, interpreting, and living out the Word of God? The Latin Bibles may just as well have remained chained in the churches, inaccessible to the people. How have we convinced otherwise intelligent men and women that they need an “expert” to understand the Bible? Have we committed insurrection against the Holy Spirit? Are we seeking to form the church into our image as opposed to the image of Jesus Christ?

When people within congregations commit ungodly actions perhaps it is because they have been shielded from the Bible? Perhaps it is because their relationship with the Word of God is secondhand, mediated through the experts – whether the experts are scholastic and intellectual and practice subdued decorum, or whether they are religious entertainers out to blatantly foster dependence on themselves. Dear reader, when God’s people are unable to gather and open the Word of God and interact with one another without a study guide or a video series or some other “tool” (and don’t get me wrong, these all can have their place) something is grossly wrong in the church.

The Church is the Bride of Christ, it does not belong to man. Christ, the Bridegroom, left His Home, He left His Father, and in and through the Incarnation He was joined to His Wife (Ephesians 5:22 – 33).

We are not to take the place of the Bridegroom. We are not to attempt to woo affection from Him to us. We are not to be so presumptuous as to think that we know better than Christ. We are to point the Bride to her Groom. We are to say over and over again, “Look at Jesus. Go to Jesus. Behold Jesus. Allow Jesus to speak to you, to love you, to draw you to Himself.”

I suppose we can do the best we can wherever we are. If we must live in prison the least we can do is to help the other inmates.

Reflections on Bonhoeffer’s Life Together – 103

“In confession there occurs a breakthrough to the cross. The root of all sin is pride, superbia [Latin for pride]. I want to be for myself; I have a right to be myself, a right to my hatred and my desires, my life and my death…Confession in the presence of another believer is the most profound kind of humiliation.” Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together, Fortress Press, 2015 (Reader’s Edition), page 90.

Bonhoeffer argues that Jesus Christ suffered shame for us, being crucified as an evildoer, and that when we confess our sins to one another that we are forced to abandon our pride and selfishness and experience humiliation and shame, and in so doing share in the Cross. “The cross of Jesus Christ shatters all pride (page 91).” There is also a breakthrough to community in confession for we lay down our masks, our pretentions, our religiosity, and stand together at the Cross of Christ – all of us in need of the forgiveness of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Crucifixion was a humiliating death, we are called to the fellowship of that death – the last vestiges of our pride must go, and must go again, and must go again. “Now we share in the resurrection of Christ and eternal life (page 91).”

Contrast the shame inherent in Biblical confession with the therapeutic disclosure of struggles and wrong doing and “mistakes” that society encourages us to engage in today – both within and without the church. There is no closure in such practices, no forgiveness, no peace – without the confession found in Biblical repentance there is no Cross and no forgiveness. Therapeutic deism avoids the Cross and its shame, it avoids admission and confession of sin; rather than insisting on the death of the old humanity and its sin nature it seeks to reform it into respectability, to administer palliatives, to clothe it in psychology and extra-Biblical images and thinking.

Bonhoeffer writes that in confession we find “a breakthrough to new life.” The break with the past is made when sin is hated, confessed, and forgiven (page 91).” He quotes Proverbs 28:13, “No one who conceals transgressions will prosper, but one who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.”

“What happened to us in baptism is given to us anew in confession. We are delivered from darkness into the rule of Jesus Christ (page 91).”

Why has Bonhoeffer chosen to emphasize confession to one another at the end of this book? Why is he taking so much time with it (for there is more to come)? Why does he see so many breakthroughs inherent in confession one to another? Why is this so important to him? What do you think about all of this?

I cannot pretend to know all of the answers to the above questions. I do know that as long as we hide behind our self-righteousness that we are playing a religious game, and that simply saying, “I am a sinner,” or “I have sinned,” or joining in public congregational general confession and not naming our sin in confession one to another allows us to continue our hypocrisy and façade, it allows us to continue to play the game. We need not humble ourselves when we avoid naming specific sin in confession, we need not confront the shame that Christ endured on the Cross, we need not participate in His shame and humiliation.

Not naming sin in confession one to another allows us to live in isolation and it allows sin to continue its hold on us, we are prisoners of that which we hide and do not confess – sin thrives in darkness, but when it is exposed in confessional repentance then it flees. Again, this is not some voyeuristic therapeutic exercise in which we parade our sin and evil before an audience seeking sympathy and applause, this is Biblical confession and repentance acknowledging not just that we have sinned against other men and women, but that we have sinned against a holy God and desperately need His forgiveness.

Perhaps we have become powerless to minister to others mired in deep sin and seeking deliverance because we no longer see sin for what it is in our own lives. If we look for therapy for ourselves we will default to therapy for others; only the Cross of Christ and the Christ of the Cross can deliver from sin, can heal from its effects, and can restore us to fellowship with God and with one another. Perhaps we have been so therapeutically smart that we are spiritually stupid.

There can be no real life together if we pretend to be something we aren’t. 

Marketplace Ponderings - 3

Gracious Business:

C.S. Lewis was walking through an academic hall in which a discussion concerning Christianity was taking place. The issue at hand perplexing the participants was, “What sets Christianity apart from other religions?”

Lewis picked up on the debate while walking, stopped and said, “That’s easy. Grace.”

Grace is indeed a distinctive feature of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. What Biblically literate Christian does not know Paul’s truism that “by grace you are saved through faith”? The word grace appears approximately 115 times in the New Testament. Grace is a hallmark of Jesus. Is grace a hallmark of our lives? Is grace a hallmark of our business practices?

I know that in my own life, especially in my business life, there are times when I am “grace-less” in my dealings with others.

Paul instructs us in Colossians 4:6, “Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one.”

The context of this passage is relational, Paul is writing about marriage, children, and the workplace, certainly three of life’s most intimate settings. The apostle is exhorting us to be gracious in our words, to allow our communications with others to have a certain seasoning about them that allows others to partake of them. Words can be bitter, they can be sweet, they can be well seasoned.

It is possible to deal with hard issues with gracious words. It is possible to communicate unpleasant decisions or positions graciously. When Christians fail to do so, when we adopt the communication patterns of the world, we caricature the image of Christ within us, transforming Him from one who would not destroy a bruised reed or quench smoking flax to one who would call down fire on the inhospitable.

We are called to be good stewards of our business relationships, to exercise gracious stewardship.

Michael Green points out in his book, Evangelism in the Early Church, that early Christian evangelism “was supremely a lay movement.” Christian business people were significant conduits of the Gospel in the ancient world. The avenues of commerce were the avenues of the Gospel. People engaged in commerce saw something different in the Christians with whom they did business, and one of those elements was no doubt graciousness.

While I have no doubt that Paul’s use of the word “salt” in the above Colossian passage was to emphasize seasoning, let us not forget the preservative property of salt. With that in mind, let us consider that relationships are often nurtured, preserved or destroyed by communication.  Is our communication graciously seasoned so as to preserve relationships?

When I do communicate in a grace-less fashion, I then have the opportunity to apologize, ask forgiveness and make amends. This is an opportunity to share God’s grace that I would perhaps not otherwise have had.  If I have not initially been a good steward of gracious communication, I can then, (by God’s grace!), be a good steward of my grace-less communication by humbly apologizing and thus restoring grace to the relationship.

What testimony would my employees, competitors, and suppliers give? Is there enough evidence to convict me of being a gracious Christian in the workplace?

In addition to introducing grace into my business communications, I must also extend grace into my actions. Stewardship of position, whether of executive or otherwise, entails stewardship of grace. Many believers have bought into the ungodly rationale that the “bottom line” justifies virtually anything. Oh, perhaps we’d rephrase it to indicate that the bottom-line justifies virtually anything not morally or ethically wrong or illegal. That might perhaps allow us to sleep a little better at night, but can a follower of Jesus Christ live with that maxim?

What about grace? We seem to conveniently forget that grace and mercy are often used in a forensic Biblical context, while at other times they are used in an accounting-financial context. This is especially true in Paul’s letter to the Romans. In fact, an amazing thing about Gospel grace is that it is presented in the New Testament in both a legal and accounting context.

Therefore, if God deals with us in grace within legal and accounting contexts do we really think we have a warrant for doing otherwise in our business relationships? After all, if God is simply looking at the bottom-line when viewing us outside of Christ, then the fact is that we all belong in debtors’ prison for eternity.

How can we acknowledge this Gospel reality on the one hand and on the other behave in an ungracious fashion towards others? And let’s remember that it isn’t an issue of whether others deserve such treatment – unless of course we have come to believe that we deserve God’s gracious treatment apart from Jesus Christ!

As soon as we make merit an issue of whether or not we’ll treat this or that person graciously or mercifully we cut the ground out from under our own relationship with Jesus Christ – and we caricature the witness of Christ.

And as soon as we think, “Well, Gospel grace and mercy are for spiritual matters, matters that don’t have anything to do with the material life,” we then relegate Gospel grace and mercy to a fairyland, for what could be more material, more substantive, than eternity?

If, therefore, Gospel grace and mercy are relevant for eternity, they are relevant for the present in business, for grace and mercy in Christ is the business of eternity.

If we cannot transpose Gospel grace and mercy into our business communication, practice and decision-making, if Gospel grace and mercy are not magnetic north, then what does this indicate concerning our experience of and commitment to the saving grace and mercy of Jesus Christ?

Has grace penetrated the core of our character or is it a religious play word we use on Sundays? Are we known as people of grace within the business community?

Do we really think that on that day when we stand before our Lord Jesus that He will accept our excuse, “But Lord, the financial bottom-line is what mattered.”

What testimony would my employees, competitors, and suppliers give? Is there enough evidence to convict me of being a gracious Christian in the workplace?

Reflections on Romans 4:1 - 5:11 (3)

“Does this blessedness then come upon the circumcised only, or upon the uncircumcised also? For we say that faith was accounted to Abraham for righteousness. How then was it accounted? While we was circumcised or uncircumcised? Not while circumcised, but while uncircumcised.” Romans 4:9-10. (See Genesis Chapter 15 for background).

“Then they [the people] said to Him, ‘What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?’ Jesus answered and said to them, ‘This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.’ ” John 6:28 - 29.

It is an enigma; on the one hand I want to do something to measure up to God’s commandments and to be accepted by Him, but on the other hand I’m glad I can’t do anything to measure up because it forces me to trust Him and believe in Jesus Christ - I can’t stand before God on my own, I must stand before God in Jesus Christ. I want to go back in my life and make things right, to undo the harm and evil I’ve done - but I can’t do it; I can, however, believe in Jesus and trust God for forgiveness and acceptance - and pray that somehow He will bless those whom I have hurt, that He will heal, that He will draw them to Himself.

In John Chapter 6 Jesus fed the crowd, their bellies were filled, and apparently they wanted more (John 6:26 - 27). The people were more interested in filling their stomachs than their souls, they were focused on physical food rather than spiritual. Whatever the crowd’s motive may have been in the question, “What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?,” Jesus’ answer was probably not what they were expecting, “Believe in Me.”

We want to do something, anything, we want to be able to look at ourselves and say, “See what I have done! I have done this and now God has forgiven my sins and accepted me.” Oh what a trap, when we walk into that trap and eat the bait the door is sprung and we are prisoners of the self-righteous self, and unless God delivers us from the trap we are prisoners and we cannot escape from ourselves. Surely the self is the most difficult prison from which to escape.

But Jesus says, “Believe in Me.” The Word to the crowd was the same Word to Abraham - believe in Me, trust in Me, throw yourself on Me - leave yourself and come to Me. Yahweh showed Abraham his future and the future of Abraham’s people, and Abraham believed God and God considered him righteous, God bestowed His own righteousness upon Abraham - Abraham exchanged the raiment of self for the raiment of God. We do not need a better self-image, we need to be restored to the image of God. A better self-image is a prison just as much as a poor self-image, they are both traps, both prisons. (See 2 Corinthians 5:17 - 21).

And so I read Romans Chapter 4 and I think, “I can’t do anything to make it better, to merit forgiveness, to undo the past; but I can, by God’s grace, believe in Christ, trust in Christ, utterly depend on Christ.” One of the many amazing things about believing in Christ is that God guarantees our forgiveness and acceptance and the fulfillment of His promises to us through Abraham (verse 16) and through Abraham’s Descendant, Jesus Christ (Galatians 3:5 - 9; 3:26 - 29).

If you are struggling with guilt and remorse, I want you to know that God loves you passionately, so passionately that He sent His Son Jesus Christ for you, to die for you, to rise from the dead for you. I don’t understand it all, but that doesn’t mean that I can’t experience it - the same is true for you, you may not understand it all, but God wants you to experience Him, to know Him, and to know His amazing love and grace. If you have yet to come into a relationship with Jesus, today is the day for you to talk to Him and to turn from your ways and follow Him and His ways (see Mark 8:34 - 38); today is the day for you to allow God to fulfill His purpose in your life, for you indeed have a purpose, you are not an accident (Psalm 139), God knows you and He knows all about you - now He wants you to know Him.

If you are already in a relationship with Jesus and are struggling with guilt and remorse, be assured that God has made you one with Himself in Jesus Christ, that God has forgiven your sins, and that He desires for you to live in this reality, the only reality that matters - and that He desires you to be a blessing to others. We can believe how we feel or we can believe what God says...which will it be?

Yes, I find great comfort in Romans Chapter 4.