Showing posts with label thinking. Show all posts
Showing posts with label thinking. Show all posts
Monday, 11 April 2011
Wednesday, 13 May 2009
What if....?
What would we do if the swine flu pandemic hit and all public assemblies of more than three people were banned indefinitely until the threat of further spread was contained?
How would it alter how we did Church?
How would it alter how we did Church?
Changing our thinking on Sin
What is sin? Is sin a cultural phenomenon? Does our understanding of what is sinful shift as popular culture changes its definitions of morality and right and wrong? Galatians 5 has some arresting and though provoking things the say. It starts of by calling believers not to live by your appetites
(19-21) Paul lists the acts of the sinful nature. And as you look at the list you notice a number of things, the first is the breadth of things covered in the list; there are sexual sins (sexual immorality), there is wrong worship (idolatry and witchcraft) which is worshipping anything other than God, and there are wrong relationships and attitudes towards others(rage, envy, jealousy, dissensions...). And how does he end this list? “and the like” It is not exhaustive, it is an exemplar list. These are not all the acts of the sinful nature but just a selection of them.
There is also, to our way of thinking, a range to these sins, we automatically put them on a sliding scale, with some at the more serious end others at the less serious end. I guess we’d say idolatry was serious, but what about sexual immorality? It covers any sexual impurity from pornography to adultery, is looking at a picture as bad as idolatry? In our day and age even adultery is not viewed as a particularly serious sin. And then there’s jealousy, envy, causing conflict, drunkenness, which I guess we put at the less serious end of the scale, in fact we may even be surprised to see them there.
But Paul says they are acts of the sinful nature, there is no sliding scale. Each one is contrary to living by the Spirit, contrary to loving and serving others. There is no such thing as a less serious sin, there are just the acts of the sinful nature.
But notice something else the sins on this list are all about me and my appetites. Worship how I want, sexual fulfilment how I want, relating how I want when I want and raging against it when the world isn’t how I want.
Your letter about Swine Flu tells you all about the symptoms, what to look out for and what to do if you have them. But actually the symptoms aren’t the problem; the problem is the virus that causes them. The actions Paul describes aren’t the problem our nature is. Jesus in Mark says it’s our hearts. You may have mild symptoms, you may even treat the symptoms, just as you can do with a cold or flu, but you still have the virus. And those symptoms show that we have a sinful nature.
The person who has trusted Jesus Christ has been transformed; they are freed from living in slavery to the law and the sinful nature. But we still have to do battle with it. We are in a war!
And we need to begin by changing our thinking. The world does not define these things as wrong. Getting drunk is just what you do, in fact for many it is what the weekend is for; sex is just another pass time another advertiser’s tool, and so on. Pornography is viewed as being harmless because it doesn't injure another person. But we need to change our thinking on what sin is so that we conform to the Bible’s definition not ours. How is your thinking on sin, it is never trivial.
(19-21) Paul lists the acts of the sinful nature. And as you look at the list you notice a number of things, the first is the breadth of things covered in the list; there are sexual sins (sexual immorality), there is wrong worship (idolatry and witchcraft) which is worshipping anything other than God, and there are wrong relationships and attitudes towards others(rage, envy, jealousy, dissensions...). And how does he end this list? “and the like” It is not exhaustive, it is an exemplar list. These are not all the acts of the sinful nature but just a selection of them.
There is also, to our way of thinking, a range to these sins, we automatically put them on a sliding scale, with some at the more serious end others at the less serious end. I guess we’d say idolatry was serious, but what about sexual immorality? It covers any sexual impurity from pornography to adultery, is looking at a picture as bad as idolatry? In our day and age even adultery is not viewed as a particularly serious sin. And then there’s jealousy, envy, causing conflict, drunkenness, which I guess we put at the less serious end of the scale, in fact we may even be surprised to see them there.
But Paul says they are acts of the sinful nature, there is no sliding scale. Each one is contrary to living by the Spirit, contrary to loving and serving others. There is no such thing as a less serious sin, there are just the acts of the sinful nature.
But notice something else the sins on this list are all about me and my appetites. Worship how I want, sexual fulfilment how I want, relating how I want when I want and raging against it when the world isn’t how I want.
Your letter about Swine Flu tells you all about the symptoms, what to look out for and what to do if you have them. But actually the symptoms aren’t the problem; the problem is the virus that causes them. The actions Paul describes aren’t the problem our nature is. Jesus in Mark says it’s our hearts. You may have mild symptoms, you may even treat the symptoms, just as you can do with a cold or flu, but you still have the virus. And those symptoms show that we have a sinful nature.
The person who has trusted Jesus Christ has been transformed; they are freed from living in slavery to the law and the sinful nature. But we still have to do battle with it. We are in a war!
And we need to begin by changing our thinking. The world does not define these things as wrong. Getting drunk is just what you do, in fact for many it is what the weekend is for; sex is just another pass time another advertiser’s tool, and so on. Pornography is viewed as being harmless because it doesn't injure another person. But we need to change our thinking on what sin is so that we conform to the Bible’s definition not ours. How is your thinking on sin, it is never trivial.
Tuesday, 2 September 2008
Thinking Christianly
Despite my best attempts I have been unable to escape news about The American Marathon that is their election process. However, despite my cynicism there is one thing I always find I enjoy about the elections, it is that politicians in America will tell you where they stand on moral issues. It is even acceptable (politically beneficial???) to state your conviction in terms of Biblical precedent. And the issue of Abortion is a live one.
From time to time I sit on Question Time Panels in secondary schools and invariable - just as in the American election - this issue comes up. What are Christians to say about abortion? How should we think Christianly? What does grace have to say about it? How does the Bible call us to act?
The abortion statistics that were released a couple of weeks ago were staggering, over a quarter of a million abortions in the UK in a year. Rightly there was much hand wringing and concern. But what should a Christian say?
1. Abortion is not part of living in God's plan but the result of living in a fallen world.
The Bible opens with a picture of the perfect world, with Adam and Eve told to multiply and content to live under God's rule. Sex was in its correct and best context between a man and a woman in a life long monogamous relationship, in which it could fulfil its potential as designed and called good by God.
However, after Genesis 3 that all changed, with mankind's rebellion we threw out God's good order and have been doing so ever since. In stead of wanting the best as the creator designed it we settle for a quick fix of casual and disconnected sex. The consequences the Bible is open and honest about. The resultant mess breaks God's heart.
2. The enduring pattern
Having laid that foundation we need to teach people that it is an enduring pattern. Marriage between a man and a woman is still the only context in which sex is at its best as designed by God. To take anything else is to settle for second best.
3. Thinking Christianly about abortion
However, we live in a world where rejection of God is all around us not just in this area. So how should a Christian respond to abortion? We need to say that the Bible clearly says no one has the right to take a life apart from God alone (Ex 20:13). Abortion is therefore wrong. But that cannot be where our Christian thinking ends. I can't help thinking that would be where the Pharisee stopped.
How does grace change our thinking? I think in two ways. Firstly it means that we care love and support the person who has had an abortion, be it recently or a long time ago. It is not the unforgiveable sin and is often a traumatic experience and one which causes deep seated guilt for years afterwards. Grace liberates, if they will confess and repent God will forgive.
Secondly, we need to offer a viable alternative, and that alternative is to adopt children who would otherwise have been aborted. Theologically it is what God does to us, we are his adopted sons. But it is also what grace calls us to do. Christian thinking cannot simply call on someone to do as we say without lovingly providing an answer to a need. Thinking Christianly on abortion leads us to return to the cross where we are adopted as God's children and causes us to say how would God have me love others in this dreadful situation as he loved me. It leads to love for those who have gone through this traumatic experience and adoption of the children of those who have decided not to.
From time to time I sit on Question Time Panels in secondary schools and invariable - just as in the American election - this issue comes up. What are Christians to say about abortion? How should we think Christianly? What does grace have to say about it? How does the Bible call us to act?
The abortion statistics that were released a couple of weeks ago were staggering, over a quarter of a million abortions in the UK in a year. Rightly there was much hand wringing and concern. But what should a Christian say?
1. Abortion is not part of living in God's plan but the result of living in a fallen world.
The Bible opens with a picture of the perfect world, with Adam and Eve told to multiply and content to live under God's rule. Sex was in its correct and best context between a man and a woman in a life long monogamous relationship, in which it could fulfil its potential as designed and called good by God.
However, after Genesis 3 that all changed, with mankind's rebellion we threw out God's good order and have been doing so ever since. In stead of wanting the best as the creator designed it we settle for a quick fix of casual and disconnected sex. The consequences the Bible is open and honest about. The resultant mess breaks God's heart.
2. The enduring pattern
Having laid that foundation we need to teach people that it is an enduring pattern. Marriage between a man and a woman is still the only context in which sex is at its best as designed by God. To take anything else is to settle for second best.
3. Thinking Christianly about abortion
However, we live in a world where rejection of God is all around us not just in this area. So how should a Christian respond to abortion? We need to say that the Bible clearly says no one has the right to take a life apart from God alone (Ex 20:13). Abortion is therefore wrong. But that cannot be where our Christian thinking ends. I can't help thinking that would be where the Pharisee stopped.
How does grace change our thinking? I think in two ways. Firstly it means that we care love and support the person who has had an abortion, be it recently or a long time ago. It is not the unforgiveable sin and is often a traumatic experience and one which causes deep seated guilt for years afterwards. Grace liberates, if they will confess and repent God will forgive.
Secondly, we need to offer a viable alternative, and that alternative is to adopt children who would otherwise have been aborted. Theologically it is what God does to us, we are his adopted sons. But it is also what grace calls us to do. Christian thinking cannot simply call on someone to do as we say without lovingly providing an answer to a need. Thinking Christianly on abortion leads us to return to the cross where we are adopted as God's children and causes us to say how would God have me love others in this dreadful situation as he loved me. It leads to love for those who have gone through this traumatic experience and adoption of the children of those who have decided not to.
Friday, 15 June 2007
Fear
I've been looking at Luke 5:1-11 for Sunday morning, its the calling of the disciples. What has struck me as I have done so is that Simon's response to Jesus revealing himself via the miraculous catch of fish is fear. We are told that they were "astonished" and Jesus first words to them are "Do not be afraid". Why were they so terrified?
Because of what the miracle revealed about who Jesus was and what they feared it meant for them. They knew they were not right with God and Jesus found them out! The natural response is to be afraid, judgement should follow.
But we don't really do fear, even when it comes to God. So somewhere there is a fundamental difference in our thinking about God and the disciples. I think there are two areas where we fail to appreciate reality here: we have a wrong image of God and a wrong view of sin.
The Bible reveals a God who hates sin, who can't even look on it, who finds it utterly abhorrent. Sadly that is not how we think. The challenge is to bring my thinking in line with the Bibles especially on these two issues and to tell others the truth.
Because of what the miracle revealed about who Jesus was and what they feared it meant for them. They knew they were not right with God and Jesus found them out! The natural response is to be afraid, judgement should follow.
But we don't really do fear, even when it comes to God. So somewhere there is a fundamental difference in our thinking about God and the disciples. I think there are two areas where we fail to appreciate reality here: we have a wrong image of God and a wrong view of sin.
The Bible reveals a God who hates sin, who can't even look on it, who finds it utterly abhorrent. Sadly that is not how we think. The challenge is to bring my thinking in line with the Bibles especially on these two issues and to tell others the truth.
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