Gregory of Nazianzus on the Mystery of the Incarnation

“He was tempted as man, but he conquered as God; yea, he bids us be of good cheer, for he has overcome the world. He hungered—but he fed thousands; yea, he is the bread that gives life, and that is of heaven. He thirsted—but he cried, ‘If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink.’ Yea, he promised that fountains should flow from them that believe. He was wearied, but he is the rest of them that are weary and heavy-laden. . . He prays, but he hears prayer. He weeps, but he causes tears to cease. He asks where Lazarus was laid, for he was man; but he raises Lazarus, for he was God. He is sold, and very cheap, for it is only for thirty pieces of silver; but he redeems the world, and that at a great price, for the price of his own blood. As a sheep he is led to the slaughter, but he is the shepherd of Israel, and now of the whole world also. . . He is lifted up and nailed to the tree, but by the tree of life he restores us; yea, he saves even the robber crucified with him; yea, he wrapped the visible world in darkness. . . He lays down his life, but he has power to take it again; and the veil is rent, for the mysterious doors of heaven are opened; the rocks are cleft, the dead arise.”
- Gregory of Nazianzus, Oration 29.10
Thanks to Dr. Swain for sharing this in class.

Modern Day Corinthians

"The problem with the Corinthian church was not so much that they were relapsing into paganism, as that their Christian faith, however sincere, had not yet transformed the worldview they had adopted from the surrounding culture. They had not grasped how the theology of the cross not only constitutes our basis for our salvation but also and inevitably teaches how to live and serve - and such teaching is in radical contradistinction to a world dominated by self-promotion and social climbing" - DA Carson & Doug Moo, Intro to the New Testament p. 427

Gotta Work on My Vocabulary

I'm taking a class that surveys the Biblical books of Judges through the Poets. One of the texts I am using is Bruce K. Waltke's An Old Testament Theology. It's a great book that outlines the themes and structures of the books of the Old Testament. Dr. Waltke (who is teaching my class) does have an amazing vocabulary. I mean, it's sick. Here's a list of words I had to look up just in the one chapter I read tonight:
regnal
fecund
peripeteia
irruption
onomastic
redivivus
nugatory
majordomo
surd
usufurcts
My dictionary didn't even have all these. I had to look some of them up on the internet. Crazy. I'll give bonus points to anyone who can define these without a dictionary.

A Little Bit of a Stretch

The other day I preached in my Preaching Lab on Judges 13. I spoke about the divine visitation that Samson's parents received heralding his birth. One of the interesting aspects of this divine visitation is that was totally undeserved. The Israelites not only were doing evil in the sight of the Lord (v. 1) but this is the first point in the book of Judges were that phrase is not followed by "And the people of Israel cried out to the Lord..." (see 10:10, 6:7, 4:3, etc...). The apostasy of Israel had spiraled down in such a way that they no longer even cared to repent. Sin was just a part of life. The sinfulness of sin had completely escaped their minds and hearts.
Consequently, the Israelites found themselves at the altars of Baal and Ashteroth, the local fertility gods, and worshipping by having sex with temple prostitutes. It's easy from our 21st Century perspective to look down on their gross immorality...but we're not that different, just more sophisticated.
Every day we are bombarded with the a gospel. It's a gospel message that says consume me and you will find happiness. The whole Marketing and Advertising profession is built on a gospel message that says, "Your life is deficient. This product bring fullness to your life." Check out the claim on the back of my Gobstoppers package:

"Inside this scrumdiddlyumptious package you will find mystic & marvelous surprises that will entrance, intrigue & delight you beyond measure."
That's pretty bold coming from a glob of dextrose, maltodextrin, and less than 2% corn syrup.
But, we fall for these false gospels everyday. Lord, would you give us the faith to repentant of our desires to find satisfaction apart from you and turn to you through Christ, who alone is our satisfaction.

Back from the Summer

Kim and I just got back from our summer at Camp Vesper Point. It was a tremendous summer, full of great ministry. There were many opportunities to explain the Gospel to kids who had never heard or understood it. There were also many opportunities to explain the Gospel to the counselors. The Gospel isn't just the message that we preach to unbelievers, so that they can know Christ. The Gospel is also the message we preach to believers, so that they can be changed by Christ. The message of repentance and faith is for our sanctification as much as it is for our justification.
We are glad to be home and gearing up for another semester of school. We got back to Orlando the day before Summer Greek I started. I had the privilege of being the Teaching Assistant for Greek I, and that was also a great experience. It was, however, my first real "classroom" teaching experience. Personality-wise, I am much more of a "feeler" than a "thinker." It really pained me to mark off on quizzes and tests...especially when many of those guys are my close friends. But, we must be faithful to teach well, which includes grading honestly...even when I just want to put happy face stickers on everyone's tests! (not really, but you get the picture).

Donatists and Rascal Flatts

The Donatist Controversy was a church crisis during and after the reign of the Emperor Diocletian (302-305AD). The controversy centered around priests and bishops who renounced their faith under the persecution of Diocletian and how to re-admit penitent priests back into the church. One of the central issues was whether on not the baptisms performed by these priests were valid since they became apostate. Should people who received baptism from one of these priests be re-baptized? Is the efficacy of the baptism dependent upon the faith of the one who administers it?
The Donatists answered these questions by saying the baptisms were not valid because they were invalid due to the faultiness of the priest's faith. The majority of the church said the baptisms were valid because the faithfulness of Christ gurantees the efficicacy.
I give this history lesson because of a song I heard on Christian radio the other day. It was "God Bless the Broken Road." This song was originally performed by the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and made hugely popular by Rascal Flatts. The song was re-recorded by a Christian artist and has received wide air-time on Christian radio. The original and the "Christian" versions of the song are the same. Yet the superior recording (done by the non-Christian band) is not played while the other version (performed by the Christian band) is. What makes one acceptable for Christian radio and the other one not? Do we tie the efficacy of a song to the faith of the one performing it? What if a popular Christian recording artist abandoned the faith? Is the spiritual connection you may have had through that person's music now invalid?
I think we can take a lesson from the Donatists controversy and recognize that art is not good because it is "Christian." There are Christians who make good art, but let's be honest, there are lots of non-Christians who make better art (and while we're being honest, there are lots of Christians who make terrible art...don't get me started about the front half of every Christian bookstore. Retailers: Please note, "bad art + bible verse = Christian art" is not a valid equation). The value of art is not tied to the faith of the artist. We should be wise in understanding art. We should understand the message that the work of art (be it song, painting, sculpture, film, etc.) is communicating. That message and the aesthetic of the work must be evaluated and judged against the rule of Scripture, but don't make the life of the artist the point of measurement. There isn't a one of us who hasn't been radically affected by the presence and power of sin.

Which is Clearer?

I've come across two different interviews of famous (or sorta famous) people who are attempting to articulate their understanding of the Gospel. One of the interviewees is well-known pastor. The other is the lead singer of one of the most popular rock bands of all time (and probably the only person whose picture actually does appear in the dictionary under the definition of "cool."). Who do you think more clearly articulates the essence of the Gospel of Jesus Christ?

Interview #1
"I often put it this way: If there is a God, some sort of Divine Being, Mind, Spirit, and all of this is not just some random chance thing, and history has some sort of movement to it, and you have a connection with Whatever—that is awesome. Hard and awesome and creative and challenging and provoking.

And there is this group of people who say that whoever that being is came up among us and took on flesh and blood—Andrew Sullivan talks about this immense occasion the world could not bear. So a church would be this odd blend of swagger—an open tomb, come on—and humility and mystery. The Resurrection accounts are jumbled and don't really line up with each other—I really relate to that. Yet something momentous has burst forth in the middle of history. You just have to have faith, and you get caught up in something."

Interview #2

"But I love the idea of the Sacrificial Lamb. I love the idea that God says: Look, you cretins, there are certain results to the way we are, to selfishness, and there’s a mortality as part of your very sinful nature, and, let’s face it, you’re not living a very good life, are you? There are consequences to actions. The point of the death of Christ is that Christ took on the sins of the world, so that what we put out did not come back to us, and that our sinful nature does not reap the obvious death. That’s the point. It should keep us humbled … It’s not our own good works that get us through the gates of heaven."

You can click here for the full Interview #1 and here for Interview #2 and to find out who is who.