How to Avoid Christless Christianty
Mon, Nov. 22 2010 09:16 AM EDT
Scripture is of no use to us if we read it merely as a handbook for daily living without recognizing that its principle purpose is to reveal Jesus Christ and his gospel for the salvation of sinners. All Scripture coalesces in Christ, anticipated in the OT and appearing in the flesh in the NT.
In Scripture, God issues commands and threatens judgment for transgressors as well as direction for the lives of his people. Yet the greatest treasure buried in the Scriptures is the good news of the promised Messiah.
Everything in the Bible that tells us what to do is “law”, and everything in the Bible that tells us what God has done in Christ to save us is “gospel.”
Much like medieval piety, the emphasis in much Christian teaching today is on what we are to do without adequate grounding in the good news of what God has done for us in Christ. “What would Jesus do?” becomes more important than “What has Jesus done?”
The gospel, however, is not just something we needed at conversion so we can spend the rest of our Christian life obsessed with performance; it is something we need every day – the only source of our sanctification as well as our justification.
The law guides, but only the gospel gives. We are declared righteous–justified – not by anything that happens within us or done by us, but solely by God’s act of crediting us with Christ’s perfect righteousness through faith alone.
Preachers, read that paragraph over and over.
As I’ve said here before, don’t make the mistake of assuming that people understand the radical nature of gospel indicatives, so that your ministry is focused primarily on the imperatives.
The commands in the Bible are like a set of railroad tracks. The tracks provide no power for the train but the train must stay on the tracks in order to function. The law, in other words, never gives any power to do what it commands. It shows us what a sanctified life looks like but it has no sanctifying power. Only the gospel has power, as it were, to move the train. This is why the Bible never tells us what to do before first soaking our hearts and minds in what God in Christ has already done.
The fact is, that any obedience not grounded in or motivated by the gospel is unsustainable. No matter how hard you try, how “radical” you get, any engine smaller than the gospel that you’re depending on for power to obey will conk out in due time.
Preach the gospel!
William Graham Tullian Tchividjian (pronounced cha-vi-jin) is a Florida native, the new pastor of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church in Fort Lauderdale, a visiting professor of theology at Reformed Theological Seminary, and a grandson of Billy and Ruth Graham. A graduate of Columbia International University (philosophy) and Reformed Theological Seminary in Orlando, Tullian is the author of Do I Know God? Finding Certainty in Life’s Most Important Relationship (Multnomah), Unfashionable: Making a Difference in the World by Being Different (Multnomah) and Surprised by Grace: God's Relentless Pursuit of Rebels (Crossway). Tullian is also a contributing editor to Leadership Journal. He speaks at conferences throughout the U.S. and his sermons are broadcast daily on the radio program Godward Living.
Showing posts with label legalism. Show all posts
Showing posts with label legalism. Show all posts
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Monday, November 22, 2010
The two enemies of the Gospel
Are You Holding Back?
By Colin Smith
"Through him and for his name's sake, we received grace and apostleship to call people from among all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith." Romans 1:5
God calls you to a life of obedience through faith in His Son, Jesus Christ. God calls you to find in Christ what you do not have, to receive from Christ what you cannot offer, to accomplish through Christ what you cannot do.
The two enemies of the Gospel
The Gospel always lives in the presence of two enemies-one is called "legalism," the other is called, "antinomianism." Legalism says, "Obey God's command, so that you may believe His promise." But if you have to clean up your life before you come to Christ, how will anyone ever be able to come?
Antinomianism says, "Believe God's promise, so that you can ignore God's command." There will be some in every church who, having made a decision for Christ, live carelessly and sin presumptuously. There are others who, falling many times by the same temptation, are overwhelmed by the sense of their own unworthiness.
The Gospel says something radically different, "Believe God's promise, so that you may obey His command." The gospel answer to antinomianism is that God calls you to a life of obedience. The gospel answer to legalism is that God calls you to a life of faith.
Are you holding back because you think you cannot change?
Come to Christ and you will find you begin to love what you used to hate, and you begin to hate what you used to love. The obedience that is beyond you by nature, is possible for you through a living union with Christ that the Bible calls "faith." Through this bond He will give you new desires, new strength and new life that you did not have before.
Are you holding back because you have problems and wounds?
Stop looking at yourself. You won't find the answer there. God is calling you to a faith in Christ and a life of obedience that flows from His life in you.
Are you holding back because you have doubts and questions?
Come to Christ with your doubts and questions, "Lord, I believe. Help me overcome my unbelief" (Mark 9:24).
Are you holding back because you do not think you need Christ?
Your obedience is far from complete. God commands you to repent and obey the Gospel (1 Peter 4:17).
Are you holding back because your sins are many?
Look at the cross. The Savior is there for sinners. He is there for you. The blood of Christ has the power to cleanse you from every sin. This Savior is able to take you from a slimy pit and set your feet on the rock (Psalm 40:2). He is able to present you faultless and with great joy in the presence of Almighty God (Jude 1:24). Come to Him and find hope in Him today. Christ calls you to the obedience of faith.
By Colin Smith
"Through him and for his name's sake, we received grace and apostleship to call people from among all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith." Romans 1:5
God calls you to a life of obedience through faith in His Son, Jesus Christ. God calls you to find in Christ what you do not have, to receive from Christ what you cannot offer, to accomplish through Christ what you cannot do.
The two enemies of the Gospel
The Gospel always lives in the presence of two enemies-one is called "legalism," the other is called, "antinomianism." Legalism says, "Obey God's command, so that you may believe His promise." But if you have to clean up your life before you come to Christ, how will anyone ever be able to come?
Antinomianism says, "Believe God's promise, so that you can ignore God's command." There will be some in every church who, having made a decision for Christ, live carelessly and sin presumptuously. There are others who, falling many times by the same temptation, are overwhelmed by the sense of their own unworthiness.
The Gospel says something radically different, "Believe God's promise, so that you may obey His command." The gospel answer to antinomianism is that God calls you to a life of obedience. The gospel answer to legalism is that God calls you to a life of faith.
Are you holding back because you think you cannot change?
Come to Christ and you will find you begin to love what you used to hate, and you begin to hate what you used to love. The obedience that is beyond you by nature, is possible for you through a living union with Christ that the Bible calls "faith." Through this bond He will give you new desires, new strength and new life that you did not have before.
Are you holding back because you have problems and wounds?
Stop looking at yourself. You won't find the answer there. God is calling you to a faith in Christ and a life of obedience that flows from His life in you.
Are you holding back because you have doubts and questions?
Come to Christ with your doubts and questions, "Lord, I believe. Help me overcome my unbelief" (Mark 9:24).
Are you holding back because you do not think you need Christ?
Your obedience is far from complete. God commands you to repent and obey the Gospel (1 Peter 4:17).
Are you holding back because your sins are many?
Look at the cross. The Savior is there for sinners. He is there for you. The blood of Christ has the power to cleanse you from every sin. This Savior is able to take you from a slimy pit and set your feet on the rock (Psalm 40:2). He is able to present you faultless and with great joy in the presence of Almighty God (Jude 1:24). Come to Him and find hope in Him today. Christ calls you to the obedience of faith.
Friday, October 29, 2010
Completely Absurd
US woman faces fine for ‘Christian roommate’ ad
According to the Fair Housing Center of West Michigan, the woman's advert was illegal.
Wed, 27 Oct 2010
An American woman who advertised at her church for a Christian roommate is facing a legal case and massive fines after her action was branded “illegal”.
In a case which has been described as “completely absurd” by her legal backers, the 31-year-old single woman has been landed with a civil rights complaint accusing her of illegal housing discrimination.
She is being supported by a US religious liberty group, the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF), which says the woman’s actions are “obviously legal” and protected by the US Constitution.
Fines
The woman, whose name is being protected for her privacy, posted the notice at her church asking for a Christian roommate but an anonymous civil rights complaint was subsequently filed with the Fair Housing Center of West Michigan.
The Executive Director of the Fair Housing Center said depending on the outcome of the case, the 31-year-old woman could face several hundreds of dollars in fines and “fair housing training so it doesn’t happen again”.
Joel Oster, from ADF, said: “Clearly this woman has a right to pick and choose who she wants to live with”.
Legal
Mr Oster commented: “Christians shouldn’t live in fear of being punished by the government for being Christians.
“It is completely absurd to try to penalize a single Christian woman for privately seeking a Christian roommate at church – an obviously legal and constitutionally protected activity.”
According to the Fair Housing Center, the advert expressed “an illegal preference for a Christian roommate, thus excluding people of other faiths”.
People are free to choose a roommate based on religion, but they cannot publish an advert with that intent, Nancy Haynes, the Executive Director of the Center said.
Single
ADF said it had sent a letter to the Michigan Department of Civil Rights, who are now dealing with the complaint, but had received no reply.
ADF’s letter explains that the woman “is not a landlord. She does not own a management company. She does not run an apartment complex”.
It continues: “She is a single person seeking to have a roommate live with her in her house.
“She is not prohibited by either federal law or state law from seeking a Christian roommate”.
According to the Fair Housing Center of West Michigan, the woman's advert was illegal.
Wed, 27 Oct 2010
An American woman who advertised at her church for a Christian roommate is facing a legal case and massive fines after her action was branded “illegal”.
In a case which has been described as “completely absurd” by her legal backers, the 31-year-old single woman has been landed with a civil rights complaint accusing her of illegal housing discrimination.
She is being supported by a US religious liberty group, the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF), which says the woman’s actions are “obviously legal” and protected by the US Constitution.
Fines
The woman, whose name is being protected for her privacy, posted the notice at her church asking for a Christian roommate but an anonymous civil rights complaint was subsequently filed with the Fair Housing Center of West Michigan.
The Executive Director of the Fair Housing Center said depending on the outcome of the case, the 31-year-old woman could face several hundreds of dollars in fines and “fair housing training so it doesn’t happen again”.
Joel Oster, from ADF, said: “Clearly this woman has a right to pick and choose who she wants to live with”.
Legal
Mr Oster commented: “Christians shouldn’t live in fear of being punished by the government for being Christians.
“It is completely absurd to try to penalize a single Christian woman for privately seeking a Christian roommate at church – an obviously legal and constitutionally protected activity.”
According to the Fair Housing Center, the advert expressed “an illegal preference for a Christian roommate, thus excluding people of other faiths”.
People are free to choose a roommate based on religion, but they cannot publish an advert with that intent, Nancy Haynes, the Executive Director of the Center said.
Single
ADF said it had sent a letter to the Michigan Department of Civil Rights, who are now dealing with the complaint, but had received no reply.
ADF’s letter explains that the woman “is not a landlord. She does not own a management company. She does not run an apartment complex”.
It continues: “She is a single person seeking to have a roommate live with her in her house.
“She is not prohibited by either federal law or state law from seeking a Christian roommate”.
Sunday, August 2, 2009
If the Syariah Criminal Offences laws are implemented in full, Malaysia’s prisons would collapse!
SHARING THE NATION WITH ZAINAH ANWAR
Sunday August 2, 2009
Brothers, be just to your sisters
Islam itself means submission to the will of God, but the submission of the self to faith and belief must be attained through conviction and reason, not through coercion and duress.
SO, Malaysia makes international news again. And for the wrong reason again. This time for the Kuantan Syariah Court’s decision to flog Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno with six strokes of the rotan for drinking a glass of beer with her husband in a hotel in Cherating two years ago.
Sudan is in the news too with the arrest of a journalist, Lubna Ahmad Hussein, and 12 other women for wearing trousers, deemed to be “inappropriate dress and conduct” under that country’s Islamic criminal law. Ten of the women were already found guilty and flogged with 10 lashes each.
Then there is the news from the Maldives that almost 150 women face public flogging after being convicted for indulging in extramarital sex. Interestingly, only 50 men face the same punishment.
What is it about men who want to implement Islamic law that they pick on women to shame and defame?
As Kartika surrenders herself to her fate, I wonder how the Pahang religious authorities are planning to execute the six lashes. Will the Prime Minister who comes from Pahang and the Cabinet yet again intervene in the enforcement of the draconian Syariah Criminal Offences law in this country?
There is much public debate now along the usual divide. Islamists who support the punishment in the name of Islam and others who are outraged on several different grounds:
> That the punishment does not reflect the gravity of the offence;
> That as a first-time offender who also pleaded guilty as charged, Kartika should not have been punished with the maximum sentence;
> Flogging is a violation of human rights as it constitutes a cruel, degrading and inhuman treatment;
> Flogging women under Syariah law constitutes yet another form of discrimination against Muslim women in this country as women are exempted from flogging under civil law;
> Neither the Qur’an nor the Hadith prescribes any form of punishment for drinking alcohol;
> There is no consensus on flogging of women or for alcohol consumption. Only three states –Pahang, Perlis and Kelantan – provide for such punishment;
> Islamic teachings emphasise forgiveness, compassion and positive personal transformation. So why punish in the first instance?
What is distressing about all these stories of women being flogged for alleged transgressions of Islamic teachings is the seeming determination of those who rule in the name of Islam to project a misogynistic, punitive and vindictive God.
And yet, more than any other religion, Muslims invoke the name of God, the compassionate and the merciful, numerous times a day as we say our daily prayers, read verses of the Quran, and before we start any action. Alas, all too often, this invocation of God’s name has become meaningless and has no relation to how we live our lives and treat others in the name of religion.
As Karen Armstrong said in her public lecture here two years ago, we have become so obsessed about being right in our doctrine, instead of being just in our practice.
No amount of explaining – that Syariah caning is not supposed to cause injury, it is moderate, the caning officer is not supposed to lift his arm above his shoulder – is going to take away the pain and humiliation of such a cruel and degrading treatment.
In many Muslim countries, this flogging is done in public. The Indonesian National Commission on Violence Against Women submitted a report to the UN Committee Against Torture listing the abuses that occurred in Aceh and other districts in Indonesia which implement Syariah law where women were arrested and flogged for their dressing, for being out at night, for being with men not related to them.
The victimisation of women and the absence of rule of law are common trends in countries that implement moral policing laws.
That the prisons in the Maldives hold more women than men waiting to be flogged is no surprise. Men get away simply by denying they had sex with the women. But women could get pregnant and this is used as evidence of illicit sex, or the patriarchs in their family would have turned them in; while boys get away by just being boys.
The situation is similar in Pakistan, too, when the hudud law on zina was enforced. Over a thousand women are in prison for illicit sex and hardly any men. Even women who reported rape were detained as their police report was seen as confession of illicit sex because they were not able to produce four pious males who witnessed the rape.
Women’s groups in Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore are jointly mobilising against Kartika’s sentencing, fearful of a precedent set that will have wide impact not just on Malaysian Muslim women, but also on the hundreds of thousands of Muslim women from neighbouring countries who travel, work or reside in Malaysia.
Once again, the questions arise. What kind of Malaysia do we want to live in, and project to the rest of the world? What kind of Islam do we want to practise? What kind of God do we want to envision? A God of kindness, compassion, beauty and goodness or a cruel, punitive and misogynistic God?
Does 1Malaysia include equality between men and women and equality between Muslim women and women of other faith?
The ever-so-often public outcry over arrests and abuses under the Syariah Criminal Offences laws show a clear disconnect between how the state views its role in controlling the lives of Muslims and how the citizens perceive their entitlements to privacy and personal choices.
If the Syariah Criminal Offences laws are implemented in full, Malaysia’s prisons would collapse. The vast list of crimes range from holding an opinion contrary to a fatwa, to possessing a book contrary to Hukum Syarak, and behaving in an indecent manner in a public place.
As religion is a state matter, different states have also added different offences. In Selangor, smoking is a crime. In Terengganu, it is a crime for a woman to reveal any part of her aurat that arouses passion in the public space or for a virgin woman to abscond from the guardianship of her parents without a reasonable justification valid under Hukum Syarak.
Is it the duty of the state – in order to bring about a moral society – to turn all “sins” into “crimes against the state”? Should the state extend the long arm of the law to what should be best left to the religious conscience of the individual?
We all know that faith comes from the heart. Islam itself means submission to the will of God, but the submission of the self to faith and belief must be attained through conviction and reason, not through coercion and duress.
Compelling obedience to God in this manner could suggest a failure in the way Islam is taught in this country. Is the solution then to turn to politicians to legislate on our lives and compel our obedience? Or is it for us to search for more effective ways to teach Islam, to imbibe Islamic values so that obedience to God comes from a genuine act of faith, belief and submission? Is it beyond our ability to lead the ummah to God’s way by love, beauty, kindness and compassion rather than through fear, coercion and punishment?
Sunday August 2, 2009
Brothers, be just to your sisters
Islam itself means submission to the will of God, but the submission of the self to faith and belief must be attained through conviction and reason, not through coercion and duress.
SO, Malaysia makes international news again. And for the wrong reason again. This time for the Kuantan Syariah Court’s decision to flog Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno with six strokes of the rotan for drinking a glass of beer with her husband in a hotel in Cherating two years ago.
Sudan is in the news too with the arrest of a journalist, Lubna Ahmad Hussein, and 12 other women for wearing trousers, deemed to be “inappropriate dress and conduct” under that country’s Islamic criminal law. Ten of the women were already found guilty and flogged with 10 lashes each.
Then there is the news from the Maldives that almost 150 women face public flogging after being convicted for indulging in extramarital sex. Interestingly, only 50 men face the same punishment.
What is it about men who want to implement Islamic law that they pick on women to shame and defame?
As Kartika surrenders herself to her fate, I wonder how the Pahang religious authorities are planning to execute the six lashes. Will the Prime Minister who comes from Pahang and the Cabinet yet again intervene in the enforcement of the draconian Syariah Criminal Offences law in this country?
There is much public debate now along the usual divide. Islamists who support the punishment in the name of Islam and others who are outraged on several different grounds:
> That the punishment does not reflect the gravity of the offence;
> That as a first-time offender who also pleaded guilty as charged, Kartika should not have been punished with the maximum sentence;
> Flogging is a violation of human rights as it constitutes a cruel, degrading and inhuman treatment;
> Flogging women under Syariah law constitutes yet another form of discrimination against Muslim women in this country as women are exempted from flogging under civil law;
> Neither the Qur’an nor the Hadith prescribes any form of punishment for drinking alcohol;
> There is no consensus on flogging of women or for alcohol consumption. Only three states –Pahang, Perlis and Kelantan – provide for such punishment;
> Islamic teachings emphasise forgiveness, compassion and positive personal transformation. So why punish in the first instance?
What is distressing about all these stories of women being flogged for alleged transgressions of Islamic teachings is the seeming determination of those who rule in the name of Islam to project a misogynistic, punitive and vindictive God.
And yet, more than any other religion, Muslims invoke the name of God, the compassionate and the merciful, numerous times a day as we say our daily prayers, read verses of the Quran, and before we start any action. Alas, all too often, this invocation of God’s name has become meaningless and has no relation to how we live our lives and treat others in the name of religion.
As Karen Armstrong said in her public lecture here two years ago, we have become so obsessed about being right in our doctrine, instead of being just in our practice.
No amount of explaining – that Syariah caning is not supposed to cause injury, it is moderate, the caning officer is not supposed to lift his arm above his shoulder – is going to take away the pain and humiliation of such a cruel and degrading treatment.
In many Muslim countries, this flogging is done in public. The Indonesian National Commission on Violence Against Women submitted a report to the UN Committee Against Torture listing the abuses that occurred in Aceh and other districts in Indonesia which implement Syariah law where women were arrested and flogged for their dressing, for being out at night, for being with men not related to them.
The victimisation of women and the absence of rule of law are common trends in countries that implement moral policing laws.
That the prisons in the Maldives hold more women than men waiting to be flogged is no surprise. Men get away simply by denying they had sex with the women. But women could get pregnant and this is used as evidence of illicit sex, or the patriarchs in their family would have turned them in; while boys get away by just being boys.
The situation is similar in Pakistan, too, when the hudud law on zina was enforced. Over a thousand women are in prison for illicit sex and hardly any men. Even women who reported rape were detained as their police report was seen as confession of illicit sex because they were not able to produce four pious males who witnessed the rape.
Women’s groups in Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore are jointly mobilising against Kartika’s sentencing, fearful of a precedent set that will have wide impact not just on Malaysian Muslim women, but also on the hundreds of thousands of Muslim women from neighbouring countries who travel, work or reside in Malaysia.
Once again, the questions arise. What kind of Malaysia do we want to live in, and project to the rest of the world? What kind of Islam do we want to practise? What kind of God do we want to envision? A God of kindness, compassion, beauty and goodness or a cruel, punitive and misogynistic God?
Does 1Malaysia include equality between men and women and equality between Muslim women and women of other faith?
The ever-so-often public outcry over arrests and abuses under the Syariah Criminal Offences laws show a clear disconnect between how the state views its role in controlling the lives of Muslims and how the citizens perceive their entitlements to privacy and personal choices.
If the Syariah Criminal Offences laws are implemented in full, Malaysia’s prisons would collapse. The vast list of crimes range from holding an opinion contrary to a fatwa, to possessing a book contrary to Hukum Syarak, and behaving in an indecent manner in a public place.
As religion is a state matter, different states have also added different offences. In Selangor, smoking is a crime. In Terengganu, it is a crime for a woman to reveal any part of her aurat that arouses passion in the public space or for a virgin woman to abscond from the guardianship of her parents without a reasonable justification valid under Hukum Syarak.
Is it the duty of the state – in order to bring about a moral society – to turn all “sins” into “crimes against the state”? Should the state extend the long arm of the law to what should be best left to the religious conscience of the individual?
We all know that faith comes from the heart. Islam itself means submission to the will of God, but the submission of the self to faith and belief must be attained through conviction and reason, not through coercion and duress.
Compelling obedience to God in this manner could suggest a failure in the way Islam is taught in this country. Is the solution then to turn to politicians to legislate on our lives and compel our obedience? Or is it for us to search for more effective ways to teach Islam, to imbibe Islamic values so that obedience to God comes from a genuine act of faith, belief and submission? Is it beyond our ability to lead the ummah to God’s way by love, beauty, kindness and compassion rather than through fear, coercion and punishment?
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