Sitting next to my computer keyboard is a round red thing about the size of a golf ball, that is soft and fuzzy. I got it from Brother David ,a Christian counselor who did a lot of work in prisions. I knew him quite well a number of years ago. Brother David called this thing a "warm fuzzy." He normally carried a few in his pocket, to hand out to in response to people's complaints. "Sounds like what you need is a warm fuzzy, here's one for you, now let us really talk about what is bothering you.
We all need some warm fuzzies from time to time. Most of the time however, it is just an emotional appeal to some sense of our own inadequacy, not something actually red and really fuzzy. Much of the time we treat our religious thought that way, and Christians are no different than people of other faiths. We want our religious experience to make us feel good.
For example, one line in a chorus we were singing last Sunday evening struck me in sort of a strange way. The chorus I think is entitled "Will I trust you Lord." Perhaps many of you know the chorus. The one line went something like "I know the doctrine and the theology." Which, in context, could not be trusted, but was contrasted with the appeal to "Will I trust you Lord."
The whole thing is that if you can't trust your doctrine and theology, but only your emotional feelings, then in your Christian walk two things must be true.
1. You have never really had a taste of the real Christian life, beyond the constraints of life circumstances which you manipulate and control.
2. Your doctrine and your theology are not really that good , so consequently you must struggle with coping with life by your own understanding of the circumstances.
If you sense either of these two statements are true, you are part of the vast majority of evangelical Christians in the twenty first century.
Romans 12:2 states: "And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God."
This verse is pretty much the antitheses of modern evangelical Christianity. We are conformed to this world, therefore our minds are not renewed and we therefore have no clue what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God. We hence are left with the nagging question which this chorus addresses. Will I trust you Lord? Will I trust you Lord? Will I trust you Lord?
It is a serious question, which a whole room full of red warm fuzzies, can't answer. The thought can be very fearful, because deep down in each and every human lies the truthful understanding that, when things get really, really bad, chances are you will trust in your own wisdom and knowledge and not even inquire of the Lord.
This brings us back to the question of doctrine and theology. Most of what passes for doctrine and theology in evangelical Christianity today is also not much more than a few warm fuzzies themselves. What good does all that technical religious stuff relate to, when I hate my job, my boss, I am not too sure about my mate, and I am struggling just to make it through the day.
Many of you prayed the sinners prayer to accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior. All are pretty much aware of the quotation of Romans 10:9,10: "that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation."
As is par for our course, virtually all the time this leaves out the contextual statements from the proceeding verses: "For Moses writes about the righteousness which is of the law, "The man who does those things shall live by them." But the righteousness of faith speaks in this way, "Do not say in your heart, 'Who will ascend into heaven?' " (that is, to bring Christ down from above) or, " 'Who will descend into the abyss?' " (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). But what does it say? "The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart" (that is, the word of faith which we preach): (Romans 10: 5-8)
In context, Paul is writing here about something much deeper than just a sinners prayer to ask Jesus into your heart, he is describing the requirement for a life of faith, contrasted with the life of personal understanding. So we respond, "Keep it simple pastor, I'm too stupid to care about anything but platitudes."
"Will I trust you Lord," is just another contemporary religious way of saying , "I will bring Christ down to a level that I can understand."
All that dead doctrine and theology stuff say, "I can fully understand, not only how Christ rose from the dead, but also all the other complex stuff the Bible has to say about a whole host of things, that were, that are, and are about to come."
So what happens? The essentials are made trivial and the non essentials become more important. We create a diverse religion based on the egalitarian understanding of diversity just as the world is so great at doing.
"This Easter Sunday, before worship service our church will have an Easter Egg hunt in the park. It is a great way to reach out to our community and show them that we are not all that different from them. Maybe some families will stay for church and at the altar call they can get saved. Then for Easter dinner we can have some fine spiral cut ham and celebrate the inquisition when many Jews were either forced to deny their religion or face exile, or even death."
On the first Sunday after the full moon of the vernal equinox, the Christian church in the western world celebrates Easter Sunday, when Jesus Christ rose from the dead. Or is it a festival to commemorate the goddess Eastre, when colored eggs, rabbits and other symbols of spring and fertility are celebrated?
This is really not a truth that will set you free! It is all sort of mixed up isn't it? Can I really trust in a God that rose from the dead on a pagan holiday and allowed thousands to be subject to inquisition in His name? What kind of doctrine and theology is that?
It simply shows that our plans
don't work, but God's do. This week like no other week of the
year it is time for all mankind and particularly those who answer
to the name Christian, to reflect on that gift to us in the form
of a strange sacrifice of Jesus Christ on a cross approximately
1970 years ago. It really doesn't make sense. If God would have
ask any of us, we each and everyone could have come up with a
better program. Propitiation, the lamb of God, justification,
imputed righteousness doctrines and theology can only be understood
by the renewing of your mind. But once apprehended, the question
of, "Will I trust you Lord?" loses its meaning.
You see, it all comes down to one fact. One resurrection, the
tomb was empty. Christ has risen. In that light, noting what we
have discussed this week, it is too difficult for us to comprehend
what happen during that short period of three days. Our minds
just have trouble grasping the magnitude of the situation. Sin
and death have been conquered. Man has been reconciled to a holy
God.
There are times in each of our lives when we really don't believe it. That is why we works so hard to try to raise ourselves to that holy level, or to sacrifice ourselves in His stead. Faith really doesn't see it all that well. But then again it is far superior to my trust -- and my doctrine and my theology. Except one, the theology of the cross.
One resurrection, one cross, opens a world of opportunity, of wonder, beyond the limits of this present existence. That future world, looks back to the cross, where our sins have been washed away in the blood of the lamb of God. They make the life of those in Christ, an adventure that must be experienced through God's terms, which are again through God's grace alone. Anything less and God would not have sent His son, anything more is an impossibility. This coming Sunday, Resurrection Sunday, it is the time to celebrate the one Resurrection, that forever changed the world and the world to come. Alleluia!
Have a blessed Resurrection celebration!
Amen.
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