The Importance of Good Theology

I struggled to name this post - wasn't sure whether to use 'theology' or 'doctrine'. Both are probably important, but I digress. What I mean is - the importance of a) knowing what is True and b) having a firm foundation built upon what is True. It strikes me that if Yeshua is coming back in our lifetimes, and I believe that He is, that things are going to get much, much tougher before that happens. I have Matthew 24 on my brain today:

"Whoever is on the housetop must not go down to get the things out that are in his house. Whoever is in the field must not turn back to get his cloak. But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! But pray that your flight will not be in the winter, or on a Sabbath. For then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will again. Unless those days had been cut short, no life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short." (Matthew 24:17-22, NASB)

You might say, "that's silly, He is not coming back in our lifetimes..." I would reply, "The Disciples all thought Yeshua was coming back in their lifetimes and they lived accordingly." I believe that the vagueness of the timing of His return was intentional, to keep everyone who would follow Him focused on what is to come. When we have a theology that is motivated by what is coming, we have a unique ability to cut through all of the noise and remained focused on what is important. There are many things happening in the World today that suggest His return is not that far off. Satan knows what is going to happen as well - and my personal sense is that the Great Tribulation, spoke of in the verses above, is Satan's last gasp at getting people to give up on God and His promises.

I think about what is coming - more craziness and government oppression...you know it's coming... Will I lose myself in fighting against it, or will I realize that suffering is THE hallmark of this present Age and keep my eyes focused on the promises of God? Will Western Christians keep the faith when our livelihoods, way of life, and perhaps even our lives, are threatened? Yeshua, in the Sermon on the Mount, talks about two kids of houses - one built on sand and the other built on rock. I believe He was talking about how fully we are committed to God and to His promises. Everyone is building a house, and everyone will face a storm, whether that be something on a personal level, or the certain trouble at the end of this Age. What will our house be standing on and how will we respond to the storm? These are the questions we need to ask ourselves as a matter of self-examination. The heat is just now starting to rise, let's all take advantage of this moment to really consider where our faith is, while the temperature is still bearable.

The Body and Soul

Saw this today and wanted to share it because I found it to be profound.

The story is called the Two Watchmen, it comes from the Talmud, a Rabbinic Midrash of Rabbi Judah HaNassi (Talmud Sanhedrin 91 a-b):

"Antoninus said to Rabbi Judah HaNassi: The body and the soul can each absolve themselves from judgement. The body can say: "It is the soul who has sinned. Why, from the day it left me, I lie like a dumb stone in the grave!" And the soul can say: "It's the body who transgressed. From the day I departed it, I fly about in the air like a bird!"

Said Rabbi Judah: I will tell you a parable.

Once there was a king who had a beautiful orchard with splendid figs. He appointed two watchmen for his orchard. One watchman was lame, and the other one blind.

One day the lame man said to the blind man: "I see beautiful figs in the orchard. Come, I will ride on your shoulders, and we'll take them and eat them." So the lame man rode on the shoulders of the blind man, and they took the fruits and ate them.

Some time after, the owner of the orchard came and inquired of them, "Where are those beautiful figs?" The lame man replied, "Have I feet to walk with?" The blind me replied, "Have I eyes to see with?"

What did the king do? He placed the lame watchman on the shoulders of the blind watchman, and judged them together."

I found this to be such a beautiful picture of the body and soul. It reminds me of two things - the first is the story of Adam and Eve and the whole scene of them eating the forbidden fruit. Both of them utter an excuse (Eve: the serpent tricked me, Adam: the woman gave it to me and I ate it). After that thought was how much of a dancer God is. There is seemingly always this dance at play, on a number of levels; (some of the things that come to mind) between the flesh and the spirit, between the chosen-ness of Israel and the provocation of Gentile faith, or between a narrow path or a broad road, between building on sand versus building on rock...

A Gospel Presentation - Part 5 (Charismatic Witness)

Previous Posts in this Series:
A Gospel Presentation: Part 1 (Two-Age Worldview)
A Gospel Presentation: Part 2 (Creation/Curse)
A Gospel Presentation: Part 3 (Covenant/Commitment)
A Gospel Presentation: Part 4 (Confirmation)

“By all reason and logic, there is no reason that Christianity should have gone forward. It was a marginal Jewish sect that proclaimed a crucified Messiah and everything about it is contrary to the ways of the World; it has no power, no power base, it contradicts having a lot of money and storing up wealth…it contradicts all of the things that make a movement happen, historically speaking. The cross itself contradicts it all. And so it should have faded into oblivion long, long ago, rather quickly. Yet, it’s the Holy Spirit that continues to bring it forth and bring it to the forefront, in the midst of every way in which the spirit of the world contradicts it.” – John Harrigan

 

"We gave you very strict orders not to continue teaching in this name," he said. "But look! You have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are set on making us responsible for this man's blood!" "It is God whom we must obey, rather than mere men," Peter and the other apostles replied. "The God of our ancestors 'raised up' Jesus, whom you murdered by having him 'hanged on a tree.' This man God has exalted to his own right hand as Ruler, yes, and Savior, to give Israel opportunity to repent and receive forgiveness for her sins. We are witnesses to these things, as is the Holy Spirit, who is God's gift to those who obey him." (Acts 5:28-32, BHT)

The Spirit Present at Creation

In many ways, the Holy Spirit is the glue that holds everything in this Gospel presentation together. If you read Christian theology, you will get a lot of different takes on the Holy Spirit, but what I present here is fairly simple. At the beginning of the Gospel of John, there is the famous passage, “In the Beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was fully God. The Word was with God in the beginning. All things were created by him, and apart from him not one thing was created that has been created.” Looking back at Genesis, we see that this is true. Genesis 1:2, “Now the earth was without shape and empty, and darkness was over the surface of the watery deep, but the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the water.” Job 26:13 and Isaiah 32:15 also speak of the Holy Spirit’s presence and activity at Creation.

‘Spirit’ in Hebrew is ‘ruach’ which could be translated as ‘breath’, ‘wind’ or even ‘mind of’. In my mind, a straight-forward understanding of the Holy Spirit is that of the ‘voice’ or ‘proclaimed will’ of God. I’ll leave it to the theologians to debate the essence of that voice and will.