Tim’s Blog
Willing to Die a Soldier
March 31, 2013
We often are reminded of Peter’s threefold denial of Christ in connection with his claim that he was ready to die for his Lord. Quite aptly, we see this as the failure to know his own heart. But it would perhaps be even more apt to see this as a failure to know the heart of his Lord.
For the first time today, it struck me that from one perspective, Peter was not wrong when he said that he was ready to die for Jesus. In truth, it could be said that the eleven disciples generally were ready to do so.
From what information do I derive this surprising claim? From the record of the Gospels we have read repeatedly: when the band of soldiers comes to arrest Jesus in the Garden, the badly outnumbered disciples do not flee. Rather, Peter immediately takes up one of the two swords available and begins to fight, striking off an ear with his first blow. It is only thereafter, when Jesus makes clear that He will not have them defend Him and themselves (outnumbered as they are) that they all flee.
The lesson to be learned from this, I think, is that the issue was not whether Jesus’ disciples were sufficiently courageous men. They were indeed so. They could countenance death if they must face it as possible casualties in a battle on behalf of their Messiah.
But that is not the death which Jesus had in mind, and if it were such a battle that He were about to enjoin, He would scarcely have needed them or their two swords. At the very authoritative power of His Word, after all, those who came to arrest Him fell backward to the ground (John 18:6).
Instead, however, Jesus tells His disciples to put up their swords, and goes as a lamb to the slaughter. This is as He had promised, but yet as they had not understood, and when He does so, they flee from Him.
The question Jesus puts to us is not whether we are ready to die for Him. The question with which He searches us is whether that death that we die will be the death of the cross, or the death of the soldier.
Slavery, Polygamy, and the Bible
March 30, 2013
Non-Christians (and increasingly, those who self-identify as “Christians”) frequently dismiss biblical ethical norms with a quick “Oh, but the Bible condones slavery and polygamy!”
With, of course, the obvious implication that the Bible’s morals are awfully unreliable. Because it “condoned” things that we find offensive, and that even Christians seem embarrassed about. (We Christians, after all, seem agreed by now that both polygamy and slavery are bad.)
And then, having cast aside the Bible as a reliable guide, we enlightened moderns can take on that role of deciding for ourselves what is right and wrong.
Now, there are several answers to that line of argument, one of which is that the Bible does not simply condone either slavery or polygamy; it regulates them, which is not the same thing.
Moreover, the slavery the Bible countenanced was never based on kidnapping, an offense which in fact carried with it the death penalty under the Mosaic law (Exodus 21:16). “Slavery” among fellow Israelites was a form of indentured servitude, and “perpetual slavery” was only countenanced in connection with prisoners of war. Even in their case, the Mosaic law did regulate things to avoid their mistreatment. If a slave ran away, other Israelites were forbidden from assisting in his return (Deuteronomy 23:15); and if a slave’s master seriously harmed him, the slave was automatically authorized to go free (Exodus 21:26). Even a slave wife (concubine) was to be granted freedom if her husband ever diminished her marital rights (Exodus 21:10-11).
But there is much more involved in understanding the Bible’s position regarding both slavery and polygamy than scouring the Mosaic law and ensuring a balanced and proper interpretation of these situations through its case laws—as important an exercise as that indeed is.
Metanarrative Passion Mini-Suite
March 29, 2013
In view of it being Good Friday, I previously posted “Abandoned and Unknown.” Here is the entire Passion section of Metanarrative. (Metanarrative is my incomplete musical journey through the story of the Bible. The MP3 downloadable below are “composition versions”—i.e. recordings of various roughness that I made while composing the pieces. The Metanarrative music project site is here.)
Abandoned and Unknown
March 29, 2013
all alone against the darkened sky
the Lord of life prepares to die
and we don’t know him
he came to his own unrecognized
just like coming home, no welcome sign
why didn’t we know him
my God, my God
we hear him cry
why have you forsaken me
this cup of wrath
these darkened skies
hell has overtaken me
is this you, blessed teacher
the one I loved, the one I knew
is this you, are these your features
flowing blood from open wounds
– “Abandoned and Unknown,” from my incomplete Metanarrative project, a musical journey through the big story of the Bible. A rough MP3 version is available here.
Pharisees and Homosexual Advocacy
March 28, 2013
It is frequently suggested that the clash between religious people and homosexual culture is Pharisaic in nature. The Pharisees were always judging others, after all.
There is indeed truth in the notion that this is about Pharisaism, but not in the way usually thought. While it is true that far too many Christians have acted self-righteously and mercilessly toward homosexuals (which is deplorable and casts a black shadow upon the name of Christ), at the center of the public debate is the Pharisaic nature of homosexual advocates themselves.
Impending Farewell
March 26, 2013
Tonight I participated in my final council meeting for Christ Covenant Church of Grande Prairie. God willing, next week I will travel to Tennessee to commence my life there with my beloved wife and family.
Since May 2006, I have been granted the privilege of serving with a group of better men and better pastors than I am.
Men who are true leaders, who are truly visionary and forward-looking without being revolutionary or fixated upon novelty.
Men who honour the Spirit’s work in the ages of the Church, without succumbing to moribund traditionalism.
Men who have learned to bow before the Word of God.
Men who seek Christ’s kingdom rather than their own.
Men who know how to shed tears for God’s flock.
Together, we have made mistakes and we have been gifted with successes not our own.
Together, we have learned lessons in shepherding, both through somber reflection and hard knocks, how to apply the gospel both through sweet medicines and tough love.
And together, through thrills and trials, we have watched God give the increase.
Truly, brothers, I have known seven years of plenty. You have enriched me more than you can ever know.
Jesus and Paul on the Fall of the Blameless
March 22, 2013
In Romans, Paul says that Israel is under judgment, not because of some general failure to live up to the demands of an impossibly perfect law, but because they stumbled over the Messiah, the holy stumbling stone (Rom 9:32-33).
This insight is not new to Paul. Indeed, Jesus Himself identifies Himself as the occasion for Israel’s fall (cf Rom 11:11-12), as well. “If I had not done among them the works that no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin, but now they have seen and hated both Me and My Father” (John 15:24). It is their rejection of Christ which is their decisive sin, which is why Jesus goes on to say that the Spirit’s role will be to convict “the world” (kosmos) concerning sin, righteousness and judgment (John 16:8).
Why Does God Love Us?
March 21, 2013
The familiar verse says that God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son (John 3:16). In the same Gospel, Jesus says something to the disciples that perhaps sounds very different: “The Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me, and have believed that I came forth from God” (John 16:27).
To hear some people’s view of God, these two verses virtually contradict one another. But it must be remembered how John 3:16 continues: He gave His only begotten Son, so that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
Jesus teaches neither an easy-believism that says, “God loves you; do whatever you feel like, and it’s all fine,” nor some religion based in our own good works that suggests that the only way God will love us is if we’re good enough.
Both notions are false religions that portray God as a false God.
The biblical God is the living and loving God, whose love comes from within, and whose love is so great that He gave up His own Son for us—indeed, He did so while we were still His enemies, as Paul puts it so poignantly in Romans 5.
And our God is the holy God, who requires that we go through that one door that He has, with such great cost to Himself, provided for us in His love: the door of His Son’s precious sacrifice. If you are a parent, you will know that that sacrifice was as great and difficult for the Father as it was for the Son. To refuse to believe on the Son and to love the Son is to make light of the great sacrifice God has made.
Anyone who thinks that is insignificant, and that a loving God would just overlook that, is an utter fool.
A Translation of John 16:16-33
March 21, 2013
A fresh translation of John 16:16-33 for my next sermon.
Sabbath: Import vs. Ethos
March 11, 2013
In Galatians 4:8-10, Paul calls the Galatians to task. Why? Because they had formerly been enslaved by idols, but now, having come to know God, they have returned to the weak and beggarly stoicheia (elements) of the world, becoming enslaved again. This is seen in the fact that they “observe days and months and seasons and years,” i.e. the Sabbath-oriented calendar of the Mosaic law.
At first glance, this line of argument seems mystifying. How can Paul suggest that observing the Sabbath and the new moons and Mosaic festivals is like returning to paganism? After all, God Himself gave the law, including the Sabbatical calendar.
The answer to this lies in (1) understanding Paul’s old creation-new creation contrast, as well as (2) making a distinction between import and ethos.