The Mystery of Perdition – Part 2

 

 

JN 17:12 While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled.

 

2TH 2:1 Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to him, we ask you, brothers, 2 not to become easily unsettled or alarmed by some prophecy, report or letter supposed to have come from us, saying that the day of the Lord has already come. 3 Don't let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction. 4 He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God's temple, proclaiming himself to be God.

 

               In John 17:12 Jesus refers to Judas with a specific term, in the NIV it is the one doomed to destruction. Other English versions translate this phrase the son of perdition or son of destruction – and indeed the word son is exactly what the Greek text says. So Jesus is referring to Judas as the son or child of perdition or destruction. What does this mean? A look at Paul’s passage in 2 Thessalonians may help us to understand this phrase.

 

               In 2 Thessalonians Chapter Two Paul is dealing with, in part, the personification of Satan and Satan’s opposition to the Church of Jesus Christ. In describing the man of lawlessness, or who the Apostle John refers to as the antichrist, Paul uses the very same term that Jesus uses with respect to Judas; the man doomed to destruction (NIV), the son of destruction, the son of perdition (other English versions).

 

               Once again we are confronted with the association of Judas Iscariot with the devil or Satan, and now also with the spirit and persona of the antichrist – to the point where Paul and Jesus use the same term to describe both Judas and the antichrist. Considering this clear association it is unlikely that the “remorse” we read about in the Gospel of Matthew is a remorse of true repentance, for the Biblical picture of Satan and the antichrist presents no such picture – see Revelation 19:20-21; 20:10. While we may not understand any of what really went on within Judas Iscariot, anymore than we can say that we understand what went on with Satan that led to his rebellion against God; we can say in both instances that the Biblical picture ends in perdition, in an abyss that defies our understanding and which is beyond our comprehension.

 

               Beyond the above there are at least three Old Testament prophecies of Judas Iscariot, Psalm 41:9, which Jesus quotes in John 13:18; Psalm 69:25 and 109:8 which are both quoted by the Apostles in Acts 1:20. And then we have the words of Jesus about Judas in Matthew 26:24, “…but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had not been born.” Perhaps all we need do in reading about the remorse of Judas in Matthew 27:3 is to look back to what Jesus said about Judas in Matthew 26:24 – perhaps Matthew did not intend to leave us with any question about the irrevocability of Judas’s betrayal?

 

               There are many mysteries in the Scriptures, things that we can dimly see but which we cannot fully understand; as much as we would like to engage in speculation, speculation is generally unprofitable and diverts our attention from the Biblical text with its focus on Jesus Christ, God’s love for humanity, and the offer of redemption that is extended to us through the Cross and Resurrection.

 

               What can we learn from Judas? The first thing is in the words of Jesus, “Therefore when he [Judas] had gone out, Jesus said, ‘Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in Him,’” John 13:31. God uses persecution and betrayal in our lives to transform us into His image and to be glorified in us. If we are going to know Christ in the fellowship of His sufferings (Phil. 3:10) it will likely mean that we experience betrayal. We are called to allow the most painful experiences in life to be the means by which we are transformed into the image of Christ and the means by which God is glorified within us.

 

               The second thing we can learn is the heinousness of sin and the consequences of alignment with Satan. We are not engaged in a religious game; the Gospel is a matter of eternal life versus eternal death. What we believe matters, how we live matters, and our faithfulness to Christ matters. There is a lot we may not know about Judas Iscariot; but we should give heed to what we do know.

 

 

The Mystery of Perdition – Part 1

 

 

“Not one of them perished but the son of perdition, so that the Scripture would be fulfilled” (John 17:12).

 

I want to consider this passage in two ways, first thinking about Judas and then pondering the idea of “perdition.”

 

In 2009 I was leading my congregation through the Upper Room on Sunday mornings, and when I came to John 17:12 and Judas Iscariot, I prepared what follows as a handout for folks to take home and study. I hope it is helpful.

 

Judas Iscariot

Staying Within the Biblical Text

By: Bob Withers

September 25, 2009

 

                    Our time in the Upper Room with Jesus in September and October can only scratch the surface of John Chapters 13 – 17. Due to time limitations, there are some threads of these chapters that we’ll be unable to touch on at all; one of which is Judas Iscariot.

               As we’ll see below, the Bible does not tell us a lot about Judas Iscariot (not to be confused with another Apostle named Judas), but that is the case with most of the Apostles, and in one sense this shouldn’t be a surprise because the Gospels are about Jesus Christ and not about us or anyone else. Of the twelve original Apostles we know more about Peter from the Gospels and the Book of Acts than anyone else, and next to Peter we know more about John than anyone else – but beyond those two Apostles our information is pretty scanty and in some instances nonexistent.

               Concerning Judas Iscariot, of the four Gospel writers John tells us more than Matthew, Mark and Luke; the Book of Acts (also written by Luke) also refers to Judas (in the first chapter) – but John is where we get more of a glimpse of Judas than anywhere else…and yet it is only a glimpse.

               The temptation with just getting a glimpse of something is to read more into it than we ought to and to build an image or teaching which may not be there at all; it is a temptation that most of us, including me, find hard to resist!

               The temptation with getting a glimpse of Judas is that we want to find some way to understand why he betrayed Jesus. Why did he do it? What was he thinking? What was he feeling? Perhaps he wanted the best for Jesus and just went about it the wrong way? Maybe he repented after he saw the consequences of his actions and asked for forgiveness? Isn’t there some way we can turn Judas into a sympathetic figure?

               The challenge in asking these questions is to stay within the Biblical text – a difficult challenge with almost any Biblical text; but perhaps a particular challenge with a tough subject like Judas Iscariot.

               Below are the key New Testament passages referring to Judas Iscariot, I have not included passages from Mark or Luke because they parallel those in Matthew and John – what do these passages teach us?

 

               JN 6:70 Then Jesus replied, "Have I not chosen you, the Twelve? Yet one of you is a devil!" 71 (He meant Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, who, though one of the Twelve, was later to betray him.)

 

               The word “devil” means “slanderer” and whether or not Jesus means that Judas is a slanderer as opposed to being possessed or influenced by the devil at that particular time, the fact that Jesus uses this particular word forms an association with Judas and the evil one, known as the devil or Satan.

 

   JN 12:4 But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, 5 "Why wasn't this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year's wages." 6 He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it.

 

          Here is another glimpse. We are told that Judas was a thief and we are shown that Judas was also a liar and a deceiver. In John 10:10 Jesus teaches that the thief (referring to the devil) comes to steal, to kill and to destroy. In John 6:44 Jesus also teaches that the devil is a murderer, a liar, and in fact “the father of lies”. So once again we have association occurring with Judas and Satan.

 

               The following passage in John Chapter 13 occurs in the Upper Room:

 

  JN 13:2 The evening meal was being served, and the devil had already prompted Judas Iscariot, son of Simon, to betray Jesus.

 

   JN 13:26 Jesus answered, "It is the one to whom I will give this piece of bread when I have dipped it in the dish." Then, dipping the piece of bread, he gave it to Judas Iscariot, son of Simon. 27 As soon as Judas took the bread, Satan entered into him.

 

               In 13:2 we see that Judas had already moved to betray Jesus; see also Matthew 26:14; Mark 14:10; Luke 22:3.

               In 13:26 – 27 we see something akin to a consummation of relationship between Judas and Satan – though the exact nature of what we’re reading is hard to grasp. Without a doubt a line of demarcation is crossed with the words, “As soon as Judas took the bread, Satan entered into him”.

 

   MT 27:3 When Judas, who had betrayed him, saw that Jesus was condemned, he was seized with remorse and returned the thirty silver coins to the chief priests and the elders. 4 "I have sinned," he said, "for I have betrayed innocent blood." "What is that to us?" they replied. "That's your responsibility." 5 So Judas threw the money into the temple and left. Then he went away and hanged himself.

 

             Here is another glimpse of Judas, which without a full Biblical context could be open to different interpretations. Could this mean that Judas came to God in repentance, asked forgiveness, and was forgiven? This is a fair and reasonable question. Of course we all know that remorse can take many forms, from true repentance and confession and seeking forgiveness; to being sorry for being caught. Remorse coming from a recognition of sin, a recognition of wrongdoing, does not in and of itself mean that it is remorse leading to repentance. Are there other Biblical passages that might throw light on this question: Did Judas turn to God in repentance?

 

We will pick this up in the next post....

Bonhoeffer’s Discipleship Part II – Reflections (23)

 

 

“Paul addresses Christians rather than the authorities [Romans 13], but he does this certainly not because the way this world is ordered is so good, but because its good or bad qualities are irrelevant compared to the only thing that is truly important, namely, that the church-community submit and live according to God’s will. Paul does not intend to instruct the Christian community about the tasks of those in authority, but instead only deals with the tasks of the Christian community toward authority” (page 224).

 

Let’s remind ourselves that the chapter in Discipleship which we are considering is The Visible Church-Community. Bonhoeffer is writing about the “space” that the church-community occupies in the world and what we ought to look like, how we ought to live as God’s People.

 

The “we” is critical here because this is about “us” and not about “me.” Yes, of course it is about me in the sense that I am a member of the visible church-community but the operative issue, the critical testimony, is how we as the Body of Christ live and stand in the world, including in our posture toward worldly authority.

 

“The framework for all of what Paul has to say regarding authority is summed up in his introductory admonition: “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” (Rom. 12:21). The passage on authority does not deal with the question whether a given authority is good or evil; its concern is that Christians should overcome all evil” (page 225).

 

If Bonhoeffer’s understanding of Paul in Romans 13 is true, then we ought to take what he writes seriously, and if we take it seriously we ought to question the mindset of American Christians with regard to government and politics and so-called worldviews – for are we not (American Christians) engaged in a perpetual critique of and involvement in political activities?

 

When Bonhoeffer writes, “The passage on authority [Romans 13] does not deal with the question whether a given authority is good or evil,” we can restate his perspective by saying, “We ought not to be critiquing worldly authority, we ought to be evaluating ourselves, the church-community. Are we truly the City set on a hill? Are we distinct from the political, national, economic, and social movements of the surrounding culture? Are we overcoming evil with good?”

 

Bonhoeffer is not writing about what earthly government ought to look like, but what we, the People of God, ought to look like, for we are called to occupy a distinct space on earth, we do not share space with the governments and authorities of this present age, we represent a kingdom not of this world, not of this age; our citizenship is in heaven; we maintain our own space.

 

Do we take our cues from the news and the rulers (and want to be rulers) of this age, rather than from the Word of God and our Lord Jesus Christ?

 

Are we living in the community of Christ and affirming one another in Him as we wear the white robes of His righteousness, or do we live in communities of red, blue, and purple?

 

Are we affirming that we are a transcendent community without borders in Christ, or do we define ourselves in terms of national, economic, social, ethnic, and racial identity?

 

Let us again consider what Bonhoeffer says, “Its [government’s] good or bad qualities are irrelevant compared to the only thing that is truly important, namely, that the church-community submit and live according to God’s will… The passage on authority [Romans 13] does not deal with the question whether a given authority is good or evil; its concern is that Christians should overcome all evil.”

 

In a forthcoming reflection Bonhoeffer will speak to conflict between the governments of the world and the church-community, a conflict that occurs when we are faithful to Christ and which, I think, is inevitable. As I have written elsewhere, the Son of Man has no where to lay His Head in this world, this is true of the Only Begotten Son and it is true of the many-membered Son, it is true of the church-community. The lap of Delilah has many forms, it is clothed in many colors, she will do all she can to seduce us. O dear friends, let us not forget that Babylon deals in “the souls of men” (Rev. 18:13).

 

Please allow me to make two observations as we wrestle with Romans 13 and Bonhoeffer. The first is that it is quite difficult to be faithful to Christ, to be wedded to Him (2 Cor. 11:1 – 3), and live in the United States. (I focus on America because this is where I live and because most of my readers are American, however, this is also true for my international brothers and sisters – we all have this challenge.)

 

We have allowed politics, current events, culture wars, worldviews, economics, and nationalism to mold our souls…not to mention what Francis Schaffer termed “personal peace and affluence.” This is what we talk about, it is what we think about, it is what rules our emotions, it defines what we love and hate, it colors relationships, and it has invaded congregational life.

 

We have exchanged the Head of the Body for the talking heads of media and politics, and rather than be conformed to the image of Jesus Christ we are now conformed to the image of worldly “leaders.”

 

Bonhoeffer’s teaching on Romans 13 is nearly impossible for us to accept, we have reason after reason why it does not apply to us, why Bonhoeffer and Scripture must be wrong.

 

Let us remember dear friends, that the early Christians were not so much persecuted because they worshipped Jesus, but rather because they would not also worship the Emperor, they would not participate in the Imperial Cult.  Christians who belonged to guilds in order to practice their trades and earn a living for their families, were not expelled because they worshipped Jesus, but rather because they would not also worship the patron idols of the guilds. Economic and social hardship was not an excuse for disobedience in the Early Church.  

 

I have been in churches and small groups which were so politicized that anyone with an alternate political viewpoint, including the perspective that we ought to follow Jesus Christ and Him alone as citizens of heaven, was not welcome…and I have observed worse than I have experienced.

 

To follow what the Bible teaches can be very hard and it can be quite lonely. The way is straight, the gate is narrow…there is only One Way, one color of robe in Christ. For sure when we have encouragement from other brothers and sisters we are strengthened, even to know just a few others in the koinonia of the Trinity makes a significant difference; but there are times, such as with Nehemiah, when there are few building the wall of the City – if so, we must accept that and remain faithful to Christ and His Temple, His Kingdom, His Church.

 

The second observation is that in order to see the full import of Romans 13 that we should consider its context. Romans 13 is placed within a portrayal of the visible church-community. This portrayal begins in Romans 12 and extends into Romans 16 (or we might say that it begins in Romans 9, but for our purposes it is simpler to begin in Romans 12).

 

There is a sense in which Paul speaks to us as individuals in chapters 1 – 8, writing of justification, sanctification, sonship, and reconciliation. Then in chapters 12 – 16 (or 9 – 16) he speaks about the Body that is a result of chapters 1 – 8. In other words, in light of our redemption as set forth in chapters 1 – 8, how should we live together in Christ? The answer is in the second part of the letter to the Romans.

 

Chapter 12 begins with us offering ourselves as living sacrifices, and then we see the result of that in the balance of the chapter – living as the visible church-community.

 

Why then the shift from the visible church-community in Chapter 12, to our relationship to worldly authority in 13:1 – 7? Why this seeming interruption?

 

I think a facet of the answer is that there are two kingdoms on the earth, God’s kingdom and man’s kingdom. Since Paul is writing about the visible Kingdom of God, he will acknowledge the other kingdom in time and space, the kingdom of man (which nevertheless operates under the ultimate authority and control of God – a mystery indeed!). Just as government and power politics and military might permeate our lives today, so it was in ancient times under Rome – and this was especially true in the city of Rome where the recipients of Paul’s letter lived.

 

No doubt living in the city of power, near the center of gravity, had the same temptations in Rome 2,000 years ago as living in America has today, as living in a state capital has, as living in proximity to Washington, D.C. has – the closer one is to the center of power the greater the potential seduction and intoxication (this is true of national government, and it is true of a local PTA). There is a temptation to “play the game” that everyone else is playing who are enmeshed in the world’s system.

 

In other words, Paul is saying, “As you live as the visible church-community under the authority of Jesus Christ, be aware of another entity on earth. Here is how you should view that other entity, here is how you should critique yourselves in relation to that other entity, the governments of this world. You live in the seat of international power, the city of Rome, don’t get caught up in what Rome does, focus on how you are to live in Christ.”

 

We would do well to recall what Paul writes at the beginning of his letter, “I am a debtor both to Greeks and barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish. So, for my part, I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome. For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek” (Romans 1:14 – 16).  

 

This, my friends, is our Great Commission (Matthew 28:16 – 20; 2 Timothy 4:1 – 5). Paul desires to go to Rome to preach Jesus Christ and Him crucified (1 Cor. 2:1 – 5); this was Paul’s mission; it is our mission. The visible church-community that Paul writes to is “in the world but not of the world” (John 17:13 – 18).

 

This was true of Jesus, it was true of Paul, it is true of you, and it is true of me…it is true of “us” in Christ.

Guarding And Keeping In The Name

 

“Keep them in Your name, the name which You have given Me…I was keeping them in Your name which You have given Me; and I guarded them” (John 17:11 – 12).

 

Jesus keeps us in the Name which He has manifested to us (17:6). We see this manifestation in John 1:14, “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.” There is a sense in which this glory is the Name, for the Name is the essence, the Nature, and in His Name is His glory.

 

How is Jesus keeping us in the Name that the Father has given Him? There are many facets to this, many dimensions of glory, who can see it all? What do you think, what do you see?

 

His mercy, His grace, His patience, His forgiveness, His sacrificial and self-giving love. His kindness. His justice and holiness. His defeat of the enemy of our souls. The Cross, for does not the Cross radiate the Name, the Nature of God?

 

Jesus clothes us in our Father’s Name, He calls us into the Father’s Nature. To abide in the Vine is to abide in the Nature and Name of God, to draw our life from Him, to know His blood flowing through our veins, to eat of His flesh and drink of His blood (John 6:53).

 

O friends, we can say the name “Jesus,” we can repeat, “In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit,” but this does not mean we know the Name Jesus, it does not mean we know the Name of God, for to know the Name is to know the Nature, to taste and eat and drink and partake of our Father (2 Peter 1:4). To declare the Name to others means to be as Jesus Christ, to live and act and speak and think and feel as Jesus toward others, to love others, to care for them; to allow the Father to give us to others as He has given His only begotten Son to the world.

 

To pray in the name of Jesus means so much more than saying, “In the name of Jesus.” Many people say these words but do not actually pray in His Name. How can we pray in His Name when our hearts are filled with hate and vitriol and unforgiveness and animosity? This is impossible. For sure there is an authority in the name of Jesus, but it is an authority given to those living in His Name, in Sonship, in familial relationship. Conversely, there are those who may speak a prayer but who may not conclude it with the words, “In the name of Jesus,” for whatever reason, but they may be truly praying in His Name, in His Nature…they may truly be praying in unity with the Trinity.

 

Praying in the Name is not a verbal formula, it is a holy way of life. Being kept and guarded in the Name which the Father has given means that we have been called into the koinonia of the Trinity, into the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, into the depths of eternity in Christ, as the Body of Christ, as the many-membered Son.

 

Being kept and guarded in the Name means, “That they may be one even as We are” (John 17:11). This anticipates 17:21 – 26, the depths of the Holy of Holies, our unity with the Trinity and with one another in the Trinity. Note the conclusion of Jesus’ prayer: “I have made Your Name known to them, and will make it known, so that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them” (17:26).

 

Living in the Name of Jesus means that we care “for the least of these” (Matthew 25:40), it means that we seek unity in the Body of Christ (Ephesians 4:1 – 16), it means that we avoid the poison of the world-system (1 John 2:15 – 17; 2 Corinthians 6:14 – 7:1), it means that we love the unlovable and touch the untouchable.

 

Knowing the Name of Jesus, being kept in the Name of Jesus, means that we are people of the Beatitudes; poor in spirit, mourning for the brokenness of both ourselves and those around us – and comforting others. It means that we hunger and thirst for righteousness, on behalf of ourselves and others. Living in the Name of Jesus means that we live lives of mercy, and that we seek purity of heart in order to love God and others.

 

Living in the Name of Jesus certainly means that we seek to fulfill our calling as peacemakers in a world of political, economic, social, cultural, and national warfare. If the result of this is ostracization and persecution, then living in the Name means that we rejoice with gladness, for our reward is great in heaven. Since the Prince of Peace was crucified, let us rejoice in our fellowship in His sufferings (Phil. 3:10).

 

Living in the Name of Jesus means that we give our lives for one another (John 15:12 – 13; 1 John 3:16) and that we give our lives for the world (John 3:16).

 

The name Jesus is our calling, our destiny – to live in Name and to know the Name living within us (Galatians 2:20).

 

Even as Jesus keeps us in His Name, the Name which the Father has given Him, we can learn in Him to keep others, to guard others – for Jesus has given His Name to us, and as the Body of Christ, with His Name upon us and within us, we guard one another and we call the world to know Him.

 

As we overcome, Jesus says that He will write the Name of His God on us, and the Name of the City of His God, and His own Name (Revelation 3:12). When we follow the Lamb wherever He goes, the Name of the Father and of the Lamb is written within us (Rev. 14:1).

 

O yes, we are indeed kept and guarded in the Name of God, Jesus…kept from eternity past into eternity present and forward into eternity future.

 

“The LORD is your keeper; the LORD is your shade on your right hand. The sun will not smite you by day, nor the moon by night. The LORD will keep you from all evil; He will keep your soul. The LORD will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forever” (Psalm 121:5 – 8).

 

As our Father keeps in us Christ, we are called to keep others in Him as His Body. We do this by manifesting His Name, by being the Presence of Christ to one another and the world, by being broken bread and poured out wine.

 

Shall we live in the Name of Jesus today?

Bonhoeffer’s Discipleship Part II – Reflections (22)

 

 

Beginning on page 222, Bonhoeffer turns our attention to Romans 13 and the church-community’s relation to worldly authority. I will highlight some passages, hoping that you will read Bonhoeffer’s full treatment. As we’ve seen by now, Bonhoeffer’s density can only be fully appreciated by direct interaction with him. As with the Bible, my job is to point us to the text, to seek Jesus in the text, and to seek the text in Jesus.

 

“Christians must not be drawn upward, toward those who hold power and authority. Instead, their calling is to remain below” (page 222).

 

Forgive me, but I must ask the obvious question, What do we see today in the professing church in the United States? Do we see elements of the church, leaders of the church, gravitating upward to the centers of power? Political, economic, social, marketing, power? Religious power? (What some have termed the Christian – Industrial Complex, but I think there must be a better term than “industrial”.)

 

Do we see “Christian” leaders and their followers aligning themselves with worldly powers to the point where they are virtually indistinguishable from those powers and movements and agendas?

 

Have we forgotten that those who ride the Beast will be devoured by the Beast (Revelation 17:3, 16)?

 

Have we forgotten that Jesus said to Pilate, who was an extension of Rome’s authority, “My kingdom is not of this world” (John 19:36)?

 

Have our hearts and minds lost sight of the great Biblical principle that the Kingdom of God and its servants are on a different trajectory than the kingdoms of this world and that the servant-leaders of God’s Kingdom are called to serve the church-community, to be ambassadors of Christ, and to be juxtaposed to the leaders of the world, rather than identified with them? (See Psalm 2, Daniel 2, Hebrews 11 – 12, Revelation).

 

Let me share a little secret, the world has been able to do with us what it could not do with Jesus. In John 2:23 – 25 many were superficially believing in Jesus and wanted Him to trust them, but He would not do it for He knew what was in the heart of mankind (appearances can be deceiving!). Then in John 6:15, after a miracle of loaves and fishes, the people wanted to make Jesus king; His response was to withdraw Himself from them.

 

Later, when Jesus is before Pilate, Pilate says to Him, “You do not speak to me? Do you not know that I have authority to release You, and I have authority to crucify You?”  In other words, Pilate was attempting to use his authority over life and death to force Jesus to do what he, the power of Rome, wanted Him to do – in this instance answer Rome’s questions.

 

In light of the above, consider that Christians in the United States seek the approval of the world, and think it great success when we are embraced and applauded by the world. The more popular we are, especially among those in power, the more we rejoice in our “witness,” foolishly trusting ourselves to a system which is determined to destroy us. Do we forget that Balaam taught Moab that the way to destroy Israel was seduction, both sexual and religious? Promiscuity has many forms, including economic and political.

 

We foolishly think that the Pilates of this world have something good to give us, having been seduced by promises, photo ops, the intoxication of proximity to power – we no longer have the fortitude or love for Jesus and His Cross to say, “My kingdom is not of this world. I belong to the King of kings and Lord of lords, Jesus Christ.”

 

As I think about this, it seems to me that we have been setup for this by our cultivation of celebrity Christianity. We have exchanged knowing the Bible and cultivating a deep relationship with Jesus Christ for celebrity worship. The celebrities can be Christian sports and entertainment figures (including within the “Christian” music industry…and it certainly is an industry), they can be in business, and they can especially be in the church world; pastors, authors (Christian publishing creates, hypes, and anoints its own celebrities $$$); radio, television, and social media “stars,” and make no mistake, they are stars. Our center of gravity has shifted from Jesus and the Bible to a many-headed beast such as we see in Revelation.

 

I am reminded of a “church plant” in a town we used to live. The “pastor,” if he can be termed that, advertised his church (I cannot call it Christ’s church) with two-page centerfold ads in the newspaper. These ads had four prominent features. The first feature was this person touted the fact that he had belonged to the same church, prior to arriving in our town, as a nationally known Christian leader who had a long-running radio program and who was also a best-selling author.

 

He didn’t say that he knew this leader. He didn’t say that he and this leader served together. All that this pastor advertised was that he and this leader attended the same church. What the advertising was supposed to accomplish was to associate the pastor and his church plant with the name of the nationally – know leader. This association was advertised again and again and again, the fact that it really didn’t mean anything substantive didn’t matter, its sole purpose was to associate the church plant with the national leader.

 

Well, I should retract the statement that it didn’t mean anything substantive, of course it did. It meant that the reader of the advertising ought to beware of attending this church for it was being built on deception.

 

The second prominent element of this pastor’s advertising was a steady stream of regional sports celebrities who would give their testimony during Sunday services. Now don’t get me wrong, I am all for people giving their testimonies for the glory of Christ. I am all for well – known folks giving their testimony in outreach. However, the context of these testimonies and advertising was that of a self-promoting “pastor” who was building a “church” with himself as the celebrity head.

 

I am hesitant to mention elements three and four of the advertising because it is not my intention to identify this pastor or his church – and to be clear, this advertising was ongoing, week after week, month after month. While it is unlikely anyone reading this will know to whom I am referring, some readers may figure it out, especially with elements three and four, though I have seen photos of other churches with these items – they must be great marketing images.

 

Three mammoth crosses were erected on the church grounds which could be seen for miles, yes miles. These crosses were referred to in the advertising. The crosses were the largest and highest crosses I suppose I’ve ever seen.

 

Adjacent to the crosses were American flags, while they were not as tall as the crosses, they were also oversized and prominent.

 

Now consider the composite message. Come to this church with this pastor who once attended the same church as a nationally known leader with a leading radio program and who is the author of dozens of books, come and see a Christian sports celebrity give his testimony, come to the church in the region that has the huge crosses and flags and participate as a Christian patriot. As we all know, the bigger the crosses the better the church, the bigger the national flags the better the church. Better yet, when a church has both big crosses and big flags you’ve hit the religious jackpot – you have arrived at the City of God!

 

This was an advertising campaign whose message was, “You’ve been to the rest, now come to the best.” There was nothing about Jesus Christ in the relentless message, nothing about the humble Man from Galilee. The advertising worked, and I suppose it kept on working. We do not really want to associate with the humble…yes?

 

“Christians must not be drawn upward, toward those who hold power and authority. Instead, their calling is to remain below” (page 222).

 

What was true of the above example, is true of us today on a national scale, we are drawn upward, toward the center of celebrity gravity, not downward, as servants of Christ who wash the feet of others, who love our neighbors, who bless our enemies, who touch the untouchable and love the unlovable, who go “outside the camp bearing His reproach.”

 

Bonhoeffer lived in a vortex of nationalism which was engulfing the professing church. To stand against it was to invite, to guarantee, marginalization, persecution, and possible execution. There is nothing quite as intoxicating as being in proximity to power; religious, political, economic, entertainment, sports; you can fill in the blank. However there is one thing that will dwarf this intoxication, one thing that will protect us, one thing that will keep us in our senses, and that is the Christ of the Cross and the Cross of Christ, so that we may say with Paul:

 

“I am crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me” (Galatians 2:20).

 

“But may it never be that I would boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, though which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world” (Galatians 6:14).

What the world could not do with Jesus, what the political and religious world could not do to Jesus, it is doing to us. 

 

The Lord willing, we’ll return to Bonhoeffer and Romans 13 in our next reflection.  

 

 

A Divine Mystery

 

 

“I ask on their behalf; I do not ask on behalf of the world, but of those whom You have given Me; for they are Yours; and all things that are Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine; and I have been glorified in them” (John 17:9 – 10).

 

“All things that the Father has are Mine” (16:15).

 

As we saw when contemplating John 16:12 – 15, all that the Father has, Jesus has, and all that Jesus has, we have. There is a unity of possession in the Trinity, a unity of Nature, a unity of Person. God is indivisible. This, of course, is a mystery. In the Incarnation, we see a unity of God and Man in the Person of Jesus Christ, yet another Divine mystery. In the Body of Christ there is a further unity, it is the unity of the Head and the Body, of the Bridegroom and His Bride, once again, a mystery into which we can only see so far; we can experience more than we can see and understand, but this is nearly always the case (if not always) in our life in Christ and with one another in Him.

 

There is a sense in which, while the Father gave us to Jesus, that we already belonged to Jesus, because all that the Father has, Jesus has; and all that Jesus has, the Father has. Perhaps this is akin to a husband and wife who have a beautiful flower garden. The flowers belong to both wife and husband; they both have full possession of the land and the flowers. Can you see the husband in the flower garden, carefully choosing and picking flowers for his wife? Can you then see the husband giving the bouquet of carefully picked and arranged flowers to his beloved? Can we hear the wife say, “Thank you dear husband for giving me these beautiful flowers. Thank you for your love and thoughtfulness”?

 

The flowers always belonged to both husband and wife. Yet, in a true sense the husband also gave the flowers to his beloved spouse and she accepted them.

 

When we acknowledge that all that the Father has, the Son also has; and that all that the Son has, the Father also has (and that this unity is also true of the Holy Spirit), it can strengthen our vision of the Holy One and enable us to more clearly “see” the invisible, having deepening faith in Him. It will also hopefully give us an assurance of our salvation in our Rock, Jesus Christ. After all, if we have belonged to the Father, and if the Father has given us to the Son, there is nothing, there is no one, there is no thing, that can separate us from the love of God in Jesus Christ our Lord (Romans 8:31 – 39).

 

Yesterday in Paris, thieves broke into the Louvre in the daytime and stole some of France’s precious crown jewels. The theft took about four minutes. Do we really suppose that the Father would allow an enemy to steal His treasures? To break into His heavenly domain, His Temple, into His Family Home, and steal those who are precious to Him, those who have been purchased by the life blood of His Son?

 

Do we think that the Son does not protect those whom the Father has given to Him in holy trust (John 17:11 – 12)? Do we dare to think that the Bridegroom allows His Bride to be violated? O dear friends, while we may not understand all that goes on around us, while we may not have much understanding and vision amid the present chaos, let us never doubt our God, let us never cease to behold and receive His love for us in Christ, let us never give place to the enemy for a moment – for frankly all of life, all of our lives, comes down to this – the Nature and Character of God. Can we, do we, trust Him?

 

When Jesus says, “I have been glorified in them,” we are taken back to a previous meditation in which we asked, “How can this be?” This can be because we belong to God. This can be because of the love and work of Jesus Christ. This can be because what Jesus begins His completes. This can be because we belong to Jesus Christ, we are no longer our own, we have been bought with a price.

 

O the blessed assurance to know that the Father has given us to Jesus, to know that we belong to Jesus and that we are no longer our own – we have been bought by the blood of the Lamb and sealed by the Holy Spirit of Promise.

Bonhoeffer’s Discipleship Part II – Reflections (21)

 

 

“All who belong to the body of Christ have been freed from and called out of the world. They must become visible to the world not only through the communal bond evident in the church-community’s order and worship, but also through the new communal life among brothers and sisters in Christ” (page 219).

 

Bonhoeffer then writes that when members of the Body are despised, that we will serve them; if they are the objects of violence, we will help them; if they are subjected to insult that we will sacrifice our honor for them. We will renounce gain for the sake of others, we will protect from exploitation, we will show compassion, we will speak the truth and not lie, we will raise our voice for those who cannot speak for themselves.

 

“For the sake of brothers and sisters…Christians will renounce all community with the world, for they serve the community of the body of Jesus Christ…They have been called out of the world and follow Christ” (page 219).

 

What do we make of Bonhoeffer’s approach, which is grounded in Scripture?

 

How do we, as individuals, families, churches, and institutions measure up?

 

Do we forget that the very term “church,” means those who are “called out”? Do we ignore the statements of Jesus concerning us that, “They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world” (John 17:13 – 16; see also John 15:18 – 16:4)?

 

Are we living as those who have been called out of the world to live in community with one another in Jesus Christ? Do our bonds in Christ define us, rather than our economic, political, national, racial, ethnic, and social identities? Do we see one another in Christ, and only in Christ?

 

Since I live in the United States, I will address those of us who live in my earthly country, but its application is worldwide. We, the professing church, have a shameful history of failing to renounce the world and failing to live in Christian community; to ignore that history is to likely ignore our present shame. In fact, we have often gone beyond shame and employed the disgusting practice of using the Bible to justify our ungodly actions.

 

Right now, I am thinking of the Bible school I briefly attended in the 1960s that used the Bible to justify segregation – thank God the school expelled me. I am also thinking of theologians and pastors who employ their gifts to justify economic hedonism, foreign policies that result in the wholesale destruction of life, the terrible treatment of strangers seeking refuge which clearly is a violation of Biblical commands and standards, and the continued marginalization of those who cannot speak for themselves.

 

Yes, for sure there is a minority of faithful brothers and sisters that live counter to our American Christian self-centered culture, but we marginalize them and dare not give them a voice, lest our entire way of life change and we exchange the “good life” for the Cross of Jesus Christ. In essence, we live with blinders on, sealing ourselves off from those who need us, stopping our ears, covering our eyes, hardening our hearts.

 

Consider the monolithic character of most of our churches. Congregations tend to be the same economically, racially, politically, socially, and culturally. There is little, if anything, supernatural about the nature of our local congregations. While this may be understandable in rural areas due to the lack of local diversity, it is inexcusable in areas with a varied population. Yes, again there are exceptions, but they are few. Jesus Christ does not attract us to one another, our worldly sameness attracts us, it provides us with the apparent safety of the world’s status quo, it seals us off from one another, and it allows us to practice our self-centered, non-sacrificial, American brand of syncretistic religion.

 

Let’s remind ourselves that Bonhoeffer writes from a position of privilege. He was raised in an environment of economic security, academic and professional accomplishment, and high culture. The Bonhoeffer family moved in the upper echelons of German society. Yet, Bonhoeffer saw that something was wrong, and as German Nationalism consumed the hearts and souls of German society and the professing church in Germany, Bonhoeffer stood virtually alone and spoke the truth in Christ. The drama of the truth is greater than any fiction, few stood with Bonhoeffer, very few. Bonhoeffer saw that there must be a Biblical break with the world in order to live in church-community in Christ.  

 

It is disgusting that some American Christians distort Bonhoeffer’s life and teaching to justify American nationalism, the ill treatment of others, and violence against others – native born and the stranger.

 

Yes, yes, this is a hard subject to think about, and it comes with a price, for the Cross is an offense, obedience to Jesus Christ offends people, including religious people. We want nothing to impinge on our “right” to get what we can and keep what we can and to ignore the suffering and needs of those around us.

 

But I think that if we could only see the glory of Jesus Christ in His Body, His People, our neighbors in Christ, that we would gladly surrender what we have and who we are to Jesus and open our hearts to others. O friends, this life will soon be over and what fools we are to live as if it won’t, what fools not to realize that we have a calling and opportunity to live for Jesus and others, to live in the Kingdom and not in the world-system.

 

If we would only attempt to know others the scales would fall from our eyes and, I think, we would behold Jesus as never before; behold Him in our brothers and sisters.

 

Well, we can’t control what others do, but we can each decide to follow Jesus and lay down our lives for Him and others. If our families go with us – wonderful! If our congregations go with us – let us be encouraged! If we have one or two friends who we can walk with – let us rejoice! And if…if it must be that we walk alone, let us be comforted, for in Jesus Christ we are never alone, for He will never leave us or forsake us – and we know that He awaits us, at the right hand of the Father, to say, "Well done, good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of your Lord!”

 

“To the extent that you did it to one of the least of these brothers of Mine, you did it to Me” (Matthew 25:40).

 

“No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God” (Luke 9:62).

Asking on Our Behalf

 

“I ask on their behalf; I do not ask on behalf of the world, but of those whom You have given Me; for they are Yours” (John 17:9).

 

Jesus desires that we receive His words as they are given to us, that we allow them to be implanted within our souls (James 1:21) and that through them we partake of the Divine Nature (2 Peter 1:4). When we receive the Word of Jesus, when we receive Jesus Christ the Word, we partake of the Lord’s Table in sacred communion, we eat His flesh and drink His blood (John 6:53). We can live in the assurance that the Eucharist is indeed sacramental – of course it is – we need not fear to partake of Christ in all the ways He comes to us – O we need not fear!

 

There is a distinction between those whom the Father has given to Jesus and the world in the Upper Room. We saw this in John 15:18 – 16:4, and we see it again in the Holy of Holies of Chapter 17. “They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world” (17:16). See the echo of 15:18-16:4 in 17:14, "I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.”

 

However, we must not misread this distinction, to do so is to imperil our calling in Christ and our mission to the world. If we would learn to receive the Word as the Word is spoken and written, the possibility of misunderstanding would be lessened, but we have a proclivity to speculate rather than submit to the Word of Jesus in obedience. In other words, we would rather speculate than obey. Seldom does understanding dawn without obedience. Faith is less about understanding so that we may obey; it is not even obeying so that we may understand; it is obeying that we may please our Lord Jesus. If, in our obeying, we are given a measure of understanding, let us be thankful.

 

Jesus is praying for us in the Upper Room and we ought to be attentive and obedient to what He is praying – there are treasures beyond measure in John 17, this is a portal into eternity, it is where the ages meet, it is beyond time and space, and yet it invades time and space. The Son of Man ascends and descends in the Holy of Holies of John 17.

 

So that we do not misunderstand Jesus asking on our behalf, and not on behalf of the world, let us consider the following:

 

The very next day, in the midst of the agony of His sacrificial death offering, Jesus will pray for the world, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”

 

The central verse of the Gospel is found in John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”

 

Paul writes, “God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation” (2 Cor. 5:19).

 

Why then does Jesus pray for us in John 17 and not for the world?

 

There is more than one reason, it seems to me, but the particular reason that I call our attention to now is this, Jesus prays for those whom the Father has given Him so that those whom the Father has given Him may give themselves to the world, for God so loves the world.

 

On the one hand Jesus distinguishes Himself and us from the world (17:13 – 16), but on the other hand Jesus sends us into the world just as the Father sent Him into the world. “As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world” (17:18).

 

While we will, the Lord willing, reflect more deeply on our mission to the world and church in forthcoming meditations on 17:13 – 23, for now let us be clear that Jesus prays for us so that we may pray for others; that Jesus gives Himself for us so that we may give ourselves for others; that Jesus desires us to know our Father so that we may bring others to know our Father; that Jesus sanctifies Himself for us and desires our sanctification, so that we may invite others into the sanctification of the Trinity.

 

Jesus prays for us and not for the world, so that we may be His offerings to the world, not that we might view ourselves as a privileged people better than others. Yes, we are indeed privileged, but the privilege is that of a lamb selected from a flock to be an offering. We must always, always, always, remember and affirm that Jesus sends us as the Father sent Him. This is our birthright, our inheritance, our calling, and the only privilege that matters in eternity. How glorious are the words of Joseph:

 

“You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive. So therefore, do not be afraid; I will provide for you and your little ones.” So he comforted them and spoke kindly to them” (Genesis 50:20 – 21).

 

John 17 encompasses a holy charge given to those whom the Father has given to Jesus, Jesus prays for those given this charge. The Father gives us to Jesus, and Jesus gives us to the world and to one another.

 

The glory of John 17 may be euphoric, but it is also weighty, it is the glory of the Cross, the Lamb…found in the vortex of eternity pressing into time and space. There is Divine thunder in the words, “I ask on their behalf.”

Only One City

 This is the third of three pieces written in October 2016.

 

How foolish for those who profess to follow Jesus Christ to think that there is more than one city we should be seeking – what fools we make of ourselves.

 

“These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For those who say such things declare plainly that they seek a homeland. And truly if they had called to mind that country from which they had come out, they would have had opportunity to return. But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their god, for He has prepared a city for them,” Hebrews 11:13 – 16.

 

That heavenly country invaded this world some 2,000 years ago, first in the person of Jesus Christ, then in the person of His body, His church. Yet we ignore the commandment that we shall have no other gods before the true and living God; we go so far as to claim that an earthly nation can be a “city set on a hill” – the church functionally says that it can have more than one husband. Paul wrote to the church in the Roman city of Philippi that “our citizenship is in heaven.”

 

It is not the infidelities of our political “leaders” that we ought to focus on – it is the infidelity of the church, it is our own infidelity. Do we think that when John wrote that we are not to “love the world or the things in the world” that he was giving throwaway esoteric advice? We are the woman at the well engaged in serial relationships, we are the woman caught in adultery, we are ancient Israel and Judah thinking that we can form alliances with surrounding kingdoms and that we can adopt their gods with impunity.

 

O that we would learn to be faithful to Jesus; knowing that He alone loves us, He alone died for us, He alone cleanses us, and that He alone has made a home for us. O that we would come home to Jesus – that His church would be faithful to Him.

Which Kingdom? What Voice?

 This is the second of three pieces written in October 2016. 

“Jesus answered, ‘My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, then my servants would be fighting so that I would not be handed over to the Jews; but as it is, my kingdom is not of this realm,’ ” (John 18:36).

 

What would have happened had the followers of Jesus Christ stirred up the populace and attacked the Jewish and Roman leaders? Could they have freed Jesus? Could they have freed Jerusalem and Judea from Roman domination? Would the church have been born on the Day of Pentecost? Would there have been a Gospel? Would we be yet in our sins? Would Jesus, the Prince of Peace, today be associated not with a cross but rather with a bloody sword due to the actions of His followers?

 

One of His followers did indeed use a sword in Gethsemane and was rebuked by Jesus. Prior to arriving in Jerusalem on Palm Sunday this same follower sought to convince Jesus that Jesus should save Himself from rejection and death and was not only rebuked by Jesus but told that he was playing the role of Satan and not setting his mind on the things of God but the things of man (Matthew 16:21 – 23). Jesus followed this rebuke by stating that to follow Him meant taking up the cross, denying self, and losing one’s life for His sake and the Gospel’s. This remains the call of Jesus Christ, it remains the requirement of Jesus Christ – as Bonhoeffer wrote, “When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die.”

 

Do we desire the Kingdom of God or the kingdom of man? Are we seeking to preserve the Gospel by loving Christ and others and peacefully articulating, in word and deed, the message of Jesus Christ? Or, are our hearts and minds engaged in self-preservation – desiring the kingdoms of this world, the American “dream”, and agendas which draw our souls away from the Kingdom of God?

 

At a time in our nation when our nation needs (as it always does) the church to be the church, the voice of Jesus Christ, articulating the hope of the Gospel and the coming Kingdom of God; our shallow theology and thinking, our tenuous confession of Christ, and lack of identity as the People of God, has shown us to be a confused and manipulated people – without unity, without the confession of Jesus Christ, and without moral courage – for it takes courage to say in word and deed, “I will stand with Christ and with Him alone. His kingdom is not of this world and I am in His kingdom.”

 

We can only have one God and we can only serve one master and we can only desire one kingdom…and we can only look to one savior. Our nation or political or economic agenda must not be the god of the Christian nor can these things be our savior. To be sure we must pray for our leaders and be good citizens, but no earthly citizenship should take precedence over our heavenly citizenship, and no interest should take precedence over the interest of Jesus Christ and His kingdom and His Gospel.

 

Where is the clear articulation of the church in America that we are the people of God and that we will live within a nation in chaos loving people, serving people, and clearly sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the peril of our own well-being? Where is our willingness to suffer and be marginalized for the sake of Jesus Christ? Where is our voice for the defenseless, for the stranger, for the politically and economically and socially disenfranchised?

 

Are we able to say that we will love and minister to people of all political agendas? Or are we so embedded in the political and economic life of this nation that we can no longer live as citizens of God’s kingdom? Have our actions and words renounced our heavenly citizenship?

 

Two of my historical mentors are François Fenelon and Andrew Murray; the former a French Roman Catholic archbishop and the latter a Dutch Reformed pastor in Africa. During wars between the English and French, Fenelon ministered to soldiers on both sides – yes, he was a subject of Louis XIV but he was first and foremost a subject of Jesus Christ.

 

During the Boer War Murray also ministered to combatants on both sides. In Fenelon’s case both sides respected him for his ministry; in Murray’s case many on both sides disdained him for they thought he should choose sides. Sometimes people will understand us and accept us, other times they will not – that should not be our consideration. Both of these men were citizens of the Kingdom of God first and foremost – there could be little confusion about their testimony.

 

Dietrich Bonhoeffer is often quoted by religious people with political agendas, using him as an argument to vote one way or another. What these people miss is that Bonhoeffer came to the place early on, during Hitler’s rise to absolute power, when he realized that the church must stand as the church and speak from the Kingdom of God into the world as a distinct voice, the voice of Jesus Christ. Bonhoeffer realized that the politicization of the church would be the death of its testimony to Jesus Christ.

 

Bonhoeffer became increasingly isolated, he was considered too radical, he was not taking political and economic realities into consideration, those who had once stood with him separated themselves. Yes, there were others like Bonhoeffer, but they were few. Pragmatism and self-preservation caused many pastors, theologians, and the church to capitulate to evil – foolishly thinking that things would get better, stupidly arguing that they could moderate evil. They used the “lesser of two evils” as an argument and found that the lesser of two evils is still not only evil…it is absolute evil – for evil is evil and when we baptize an agenda as the lesser of two evils we anoint it as the authority in our lives – we subject our hearts and minds to it – we pollute ourselves and those around us. The lesser of two evils becomes the evil in our hearts and minds.

 

The choice of the church is not a choice to vote one way or the other – the choice before the church is whether we will live in the Kingdom of God and speak from that kingdom and live as citizens of that kingdom – serving all around us in love and charity and grace and seeking to bring them to Jesus Christ. If we must vote, then let us vote with our lives and not with our ballots – the world does not need our ballots, it needs our lives – it needs to hear and see the clear articulation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

 

We have lost our voice for Christ for we have not used our voice for Christ; let us recapture an awareness of who we are in Jesus Christ – let us return to our first love – perhaps the light of our candlestick will be rekindled.