Copyright © 2005-2007 Collin Park
This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.Notes for reading of July 14
Good evangelicals "know" that the answer to that question is "No." We are saved by grace alone by faith alone through Christ alone, right? Of course right!
But somebody had better tell the Apostle Paul about it, because he writes: To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life. But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger. There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile; but glory, honor and peace for everyone who does good: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. For God does not show favoritism. Romans 2.7-11
So what's the deal? Both the Old Testament and the New Testament have words like that. How can we reconcile that with other passages, even other passages by Paul -- yes, even other passages in this same letter to the Romans, that talk about faith alone?
Well, as the great theologian Topol (playing Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof) said, "I'll tell you. I don't know."
The time-honored answer to this conundrum is, well, it's them as have faith, them's the ones as do good with perseverance. Yeah, that's a nice theory, but think Gandhi to see why I still say, "I don't know."
Some friends of a different faith asked me if there's a bigger reward for those who do good on this earth -- particularly for those who tell others about Jesus. I think they were trying to decide if I was telling them about Jesus in order to get a better reward in the bye and bye.
Was I using them, in other words.
Well, I hope not! I was talking to them about these issues because of my affection and concern for them. But since they asked, I had to tell them about this passage.
Here's something else, though. When I think about people who have never heard a credible testimony about Jesus, this passage gives me hope.
Because a few weeks ago, an international friend asked me about the eternal destiny of his countrymen, 98% of whom do not believe in Jesus. I gave him, not only the quote from Fiddler on the Roof, but also the last verse I quoted above: For God does not show favoritism. In another version, that verse is translated, For there is no partiality with God.
Because what we're asking when we ask about all those who haven't heard, or at least what I'm asking, is this: "Is God fair, really?" And although Paul's explanations of exactly what happens to whom don't seem completely clear to me, Paul is crystal clear on the point that God is absolutely fair. The entire Bible is crystal clear on this point, now that I think of it.
And that's good news.
posted 7/15
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A couple of weeks ago, a former pastor came back and gave the sermon. He made the point there that "God did not call the world to come to church; he called the church to go out into the world."
So today a bunch of us -- maybe a couple dozen -- went out to clear weeds and junk from a vacant lot in a less-wealthy part of town, in cooperation with a church in that neighborhood. Gas-powered string trimmers and human-powered pruning shears were in evidence, as well as spades, and rakes to make "small" piles of the stuff. Monday some sort of machinery will be out there to remove said piles and make the lot less of a fire hazard and also less of an eyesore.
That was great, but what is our church's primary plan to get the good news into the world? We have a celebrity preacher who explains the good news very convincingly. There's a reason he's a celebrity preacher: he's a brilliant speaker. It doesn't hurt that he's a brilliant guy either. We plan to "scale" this thing by having the sermon piped to two other locations with live worship leaders, etc.
So what am I worried about? A few things. In 1 Corinthians 2, Paul says he doesn't speak elegantly or eloquently or persuasively; he wants their faith to be based upon the power of God rather than on the wisdom of men. If people come to a worship-and-teaching service and meet God there, then faith will be based upon the eloquence/whatever of the preacher. How is the power of God demonstrated? I'm about to exaggerate to make a point, but I think it's in, as Scott (our former pastor) said, it's by Christians serving our friends and neighbors and families in the name of Jesus -- much more so than by brilliant (truly brilliant) presentations in a worship service.
A corollary of that "worry" is that the strategy depends upon one or a few key individuals.
The other thing, and I've got to stop right about now, is that the model of having people come to a gathering of hundreds on a Sunday morning -- that seems to be a 20th-century model for how people appropriate truth. Can it work now, on the San Francisco peninsula?
I guess we'll see.
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