Zach’s Theological Musings

  A born again Christian knows that his attempts to do good works will never earn him right standing with God or a place in heaven. We also know that we never will and never can “pay God back” for what He has done for us, and that He doesn’t expect us to. So what is a Christian motivation for doing good works? An overflow of our thankfulness to God for what He has done for us? To demonstrate the reality of our faith? As a form of witness to unbelievers? To gain rewards in heaven? Yes OK, but I think there is a more basic answer. Brace yourself. Our motivation for doing good works is… because they’re GOOD!

  Jesus IS The Truth.

  One reason that I used to reject Christianity was that I assumed that any “universal truth” should be “universally accessible”. Let me explain by example. Even if a person never learned mathematics from another person they could, if they had a mind for mathematics and if they put some effort into it, potentially deduce mathematical properties on their own. Though ancient societies may have developed their mathematical understandings independently, once they came together they would agree on the results. Any absolute truth, I assumed, should be like this, only more so. Many people would find it difficult to discover mathematical properties on their own. But any absolute spiritual truth of any significant value should be something that any normal person can discover on their own if they are willing, so I assumed! In contrast, you have to read or hear the Bible it in order to know its message. You can’t discover the gospel through scientific inquiry in a lab or even through meditation under a tree. So I assumed it couldn’t be  universal truth.

  Although this reasoning seems to make sense when it comes to mathematical and scientific inquiry, there are problems. Perhaps the main problem is there is more to the universe, and more to truth than that which is accessible to the scientific method, logical deduction, and inward meditation. In particular, my former way of thinking begins to break down when we consider personalities and personal relationships. You cannot know a person by subjecting them to the scientific method. You can know some things about them by observing them, but you cannot know them except to the extent that you have a relationship with them and they choose to reveal themself to you.

  Someone could argue that what I am talking about now doesn’t deserve to be called “absolute truth”. People change: today I like peanut butter but tomorrow I might get tired of it (unlikely). But even if I do like peanut butter for the rest of my life, that fact is not “universal” in the sense that it is not part of any overarching pattern in the universe, it has no relevance to anything except for what kind of snack I’m likely to munch on.

  But when it comes to God, the situation is radically different. God’s personality is not a personal matter. God’s personality is a public, universal matter. Just as a person’s personality affects what they work on, how they work on it, etc., likewise God’s personality determines what kind of a universe He will make, what kind of laws will govern it, etc.

  Therefore, in a universe created by a personal God, a God with a particular character and nature, and especially a God who does all things for His own glory, “Truth” is not a collection of facts independent from God’s own personhood. But rather eternal, universal, absolute “Truth” is that which proceeds forth as a reflection of the True, Eternal, Universal, Absolute Being. If you want to know truth, you have to know Jesus. If you want to see truth, you have to see Jesus.

  Certainly Jesus does speak the truth (John 8:45, John 18:37). But you could listen to Jesus speak the truth for a million years and you still wouldn’t have all the truth. Jesus does not merely speak the truth, He is the embodiment of Truth because He is the very image of the invisible God (Col 1:15).

  Here are a couple of specific ways that demonstrate the dependency that truth has on God’s personhood:

1) Morality.

“For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God.” (John 3:20-21)

  Here “practicing the truth” is contrasted againg “doing evil”. The universe was created to tell a story about God, and in that story/parable/drama mankind is supposed to play the role of God (Gen 1:26ff).

  However, mankind rebelled against God, and chose to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, attempting to define those qualities for ourselves (relativism). Still, the truth remained that good is ultimately determined by what God is like and evil by what God is not like. The Day of Judgment will prove that there is a fixed absolute standard for good and evil in this universe, they are not a matter of personal opinion.

  When we do evil, we are not practicing the truth, we are proclaiming lies about the God in whose image our father Adam was originally made. The second Adam tells the true and full story about God in every aspect of His life, His character, His deeds, and His teachings. He IS the truth.

2) Science.

“The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters. Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light….” (Gen 1:2-3)

  God’s work in this world is, and always has been, the work of bringing order out of chaos and fullness out of void. That is His nature. He is a God of order not disorder, of peace not confusion, of abundance not emptiness. Therefore science, in which man tries to discover laws and overarching patterns that govern God’s creation, is ultimately the study of God’s character and nature itself.

“He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.” (Col 1:17) If not for Jesus’ integrity, particles could not hold together in the nucleus of an atom. The reason philosphers since ancient times have sensed a relationship between “the one and the many”, the reason physicists hope (or expect) to a find a grand unifying theory, the reason that mathematicians continuously discover deep relationships between topics that were formerly considered independent, is because all the vast diversity of the world was conceived in the mind of The One God for one ultimate purpose.

Creation is what it is because God is who He is. If you want to know the ultimate Truth behind why beautiful, grand, far reaching scientific theories hold together, you need look no further than Jesus. Truth is a person.

  There is a way to speak very strongly about God’s grace in such a way that the end result is a picture of grace that is actually much less than the Biblical picture. It might go something like this, “Our salvation is all about grace and has nothing to do with our good works or righteous acts whatsoever.”

  The true aspect of such a statement is what what we read in verses like Ephesians 2:8-9, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.” What is missing from the statement is the truth of passages like Ephesians 2:10, “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” God saved us completely by grace in order to fulfill His plan for doing good works through us.

  There is nothing good in man, left to Himself. But God does not leave His children (those who by grace trust in Him) in that condition. Ezekiel 36:22ff is a classic statement of God’s promise to us in the new covenant:

I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances.

Now if that’s not grace, then I don’t know what is. God says He will cause you to obey Him. I call that amazing grace, because I know that there is no way that I would have obeyed Him if He hadn’t caused it.

  God’s gift of free, unmerited grace to those who trust in Christ is not only that He sets us free from the penalty of sin, but also that He frees us from slavery to sin, frees us from the love of sin, writes the Law of God on our heart, puts the love of God in our hearts, and puts in us His Spirit who is eager to do His will!

  In other words, part of the gift of grace is a God-empowered desire and capacity to do good deeds and fulfill the law of God! It is true that man does no good works to contribute to God’s grace, but God’s grace does everything to contribute to man’s good works.

  If grace had “nothing whatsoever” to do with good works, then I would still be a slave to my sinful nature. Thankfully, grace is much more than that! We don’t maximize the glory of God’s amazing grace by totally disconnecting it from man’s good works. Rather, God’s grace is all the more glorious by virtue of the fact that it actually has the power to cause a (formerly) selfish, depraved, sinful man to do good deeds, and even enjoy them!

  Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” (John 14:6) It would have been easier to understand if He had said, “I can show you the way, teach you truth, and tell you how to have life (or even `I can give you life’),” and those would have already been some big claims. But Jesus’ claims are much greater. His actual words are an expression of His deity, so looking into them is no more of a simple matter than looking into the deep nature of God. Here are some thoughts about what it means that Jesus IS The Way, The Truth, and The Life.

  Jesus IS The Way. In order to see how Jesus is The Way, it helps to contrast Jesus with other people and other things which are not The Way.

  Moses, David, Peter, John, Paul, along with all the prophets, apostles, and preachers of the true gospel have pointed us in the right way, but they were not and are not the way. The Bible reveals to us the way, but it is not the way. All of the above sources exist to point us to Jesus. Jesus is The Way. Jesus doesn’t say to us, “Go here, go there,” He says, “Come to Me”, and “Follow Me.” Jesus is not just waiting for us up in heaven at the end of the road. He is the road that leads to… Him!
  The discussion between Jesus and His disciples which prompted this quote was

  “My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also. And you know the way where I am going.”
  Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, how do we know the way?”
  Jesus said to him, “I am the way… No one comes to the Father except through me.”

In reply to the sentiments of so-called agnostics, who claim to not be sure about God’s existence, but generally have a back up plan just in case, it needs to be noted that no one comes to the Father by saying, “At least I wasn’t a murderer, a bank robber, or a rapist.” You can’t approach God that way — not now, and not on the Day of Judgment. The only way to come to the before the Father and be accepted is through the Son, Jesus Christ.
  But for our sake as Christians it also needs to be noted that Jesus said this to His disciples in a very theistic environment. Virtually everyone around them believed in God. And in that context Jesus said to Thomas, “*I* and the Way, … no one comes to the Father except through *Me*.”
  So can I even dare to say that “belief in God” is not the Way? Yes, of course, because Muslims believe in God but they are not following The Way. The Pharisees believed in God but their way was contrary to The Way. Theism is not The Way.
  Passing alongside Jesus, walking next to Him, or even following His example are not The Way (Matt 7:22-23, Lk 13:25-27). “No one comes to the Father except through Me” (cf. John 10:9). The fact that Jesus is the Way means we must abide in Him (John 15).

Especially since I’m posting on the subject, this is a good opportunity to express how much I really love my parents from my heart and that I’m incredibly thankful to God for them. They are a living parable to me of the relationship between God and his children not only on the basis of the very fact that my existence (in this world) comes from them, but also particularly in their great love for me (and my sister, our spouses, and the grandkids). My father and my mother each played a crucial role (in different, complementary ways) in leading me to accept the gospel of Christ, and I have been very blessed to have their support and encouragement even when going to far away places and taking risks for the glory of God. Thanks mom and dad. I love you, and Steve and Elaine too!

Now, some thoughts on an important commandment that I can’t recall having heard too much talk about in my Christian experience these last 10 years or so.

First, some Biblical observations:

• At least eight out of the Ten Commandments are prohibitions: “do not…”. The two (possible) exceptions are commandments 4 and 5: “remember the Sabbath Day” and “honor your father and your mother”. But even commandment 4 is stated largely as a prohibition: “you shall NOT do any work”. So the 5th commandment is the only one stated in a purely affirmative form. It doesn’t say “do not dishonor your parents.” It says honor them.
• The commandment “honor your parents” is not directed to children or young people alone, but to everyone. Jesus addressed the commandment to adults in Matt 15:4-6, and it has massive implications, for example, in how adults should treat their aging parents (e.g. 1 Tim 5:8).
• “Honor your father and your mother” is the first commandment that ends with a promise. Specifically the promise is, “that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth” (Eph 6:3).
• Cursing father or mother brought the death penalty in Israel (Ex 21:17, Lev 20:9), and Jesus Himself reaffirmed the validity of this punishment (Matt 15:4, Mk 7:10). If society neglected to carry it out, then God would see to it Himself (Prov 20:20).
• Mocking and scorning are expressions of dishonor toward parents. Hear what God has to say about such disrespect: “The eye that mocks a father And scorns a mother, The ravens of the valley will pick it out, And the young eagles will eat it” (Prov 30:17).
• Part of God’s covenant with the Jews was that dishonoring their parents was one thing that would bring a curse upon them (Deut 27:16). Such curses are described in Deut 28:15ff. Whereas the PROMISE to those who honor their parents was that they would “enjoy long life on the earth”, the CONSEQUENCES of the curse that God threatens to those who dishonor their parents is just the opposite: “Among those nations you shall find no rest, and there will be no resting place for the sole of your foot; but there the LORD will give you a trembling heart, failing of eyes, and despair of soul. So your life shall hang in doubt before you; and you will be in dread night and day, and shall have no assurance of your life. In the morning you shall say, “Would that it were evening!’ And at evening you shall say, “Would that it were morning!’ because of the dread of your heart which you dread, and for the sight of your eyes which you will see” (Deut 28:65-67). Enjoy long life versus live in the despair of your life hanging in doubt, that is the difference between living under God’s blessing versus His curse.
• In Lev 19:3 the word is “reverence” (elsewhere translated “fear”) your mother and father. Of course, this does not mean we should worship them or pray to them (as in some cultures such as China) since the very next verse says, “do not turn to idols” (along with a multitude of similar Biblical commands, including the first two of the ten commandments). Nevertheless, it is noteworthy that the same word which is applied to parents is also used many times in commanding us to “fear/reverence the Lord”.
• Interestingly, the root of the word honor/glorify is related to heaviness/weightiness, and the word for treating with contempt is related to lightness. The world’s rebellion against God is characterized not so much by actively, openly spewing words of hatred towards God, nor even so much by overt atheism. Rather, the world’s rebellion against God is characterized largely by simply treating Him lightly; we live our lives as if God was not important. “Maybe there is a God”, we say, “but what does it matter to me?” In treating Him lightly we not only fail to GLORIFY Him by acknowledging His “weightiness”, but in fact we treat Him with contempt, because to act as if our Creator is “not so important” is contemptous to the utmost.
    Likewise, “They have treated father and mother lightly” (Ez 22:7) can also be translated “treated father and mother with contempt”. To treat someone so important lightly is akin to treating them with contempt. To treat parents with contempt is to dishonor them (Mic 7:6, compare NIV with NASB, for example).
• Honoring parents includes listening to them and not despising them (Prov 23:22).
• If they never did another thing for you in their entire life, they at least “gave you life” (Pr 23:22), and that is huge. (Even more so when you consider that so many parents are killing their babies in wicked age.)
• “Honor” is very closely related, if not synonomous with “respect” (Mal 1:6).
• The command to “honor” our parents includes actions such as providing for their needs, especially in their older age (Matt 15:4-6, 1 Tim 5:4-8). But actions alone are not enough, because outward acts of “honor” that do not involve the heart have almost no value to God (Matt 15:8).
• God made everything in creation for a purpose. It appears that one of the big reasons God created the parent/child relationship was to make a platform on which to teach us about our relationship to Him (e.g. John 1:12-13, Rom 8:5, I John 3:1, Jer 3:19, Ex 4:22, Mal 1:6, Isa 1:2). We are commanded to honor them not because everything about them is perfectly honorable and respectable (it could never be so in sinful man), but because everything about GOD is perfectly honorable and respectable and He has given them a role in our lives which was designed for the very purpose of typifying Him. Even if they fail in many ways to reflect the loving and righteous Heavenly Father, the very fact that our life comes from them is a big enough parable of God as Creator to warrant our honor.
    One thing I would reply to an agnostic who says, “Maybe there is a God, but it doesn’t matter to me”, is, “Even if God was responsible for nothing more than the very fact of your existence (though He is much greater than that), then you would already be obliged to have the greatest respect for Him, far beyond anything in this world that you consider to be important or glorious.” If I genuinely feel that my parents, solely on the basis of being my parents, deserve at least my respect and honor, even if there are unpleasant things about them, then I can use this argument with an agnostic. But if I think lightly of my parents, or put forth any of my own requirements on what they must do to earn my respect, then I have no recourse to earthly analogies when the agnostic does the same thing to God.
• “Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness” (Heb 12:10 [emphasis added]). This looks to me like a clear (though implicit) acknowledgement that the way our parents disciplined us was likely not the best. They were not perfect, perhaps very far from perfect. But once we understand that all parents, even those who disciplined us foolishly, deserve respect, then we can grasp the greater spiritual lesson, “Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live!” Take away respect for parents and this argument loses its force. This, I believe is ultimately the reason why God promised to bless people for honoring their parents and punish them strictly for dishonoring them (see above). Because the commandment is ultimately about the Father of our spirits, not the father and mother of our bodies.

Support for the claim that the verb “to honor” should be understood as including the ideas of “bring honor to”, “treat as honorable”, “display the honorability of”, “hold in honor”, etc.:

• The word is often translated “glorify” when God is the object. The meaning of “glorify” God includes “bring glory to” God, “treat [God] as glorious”, and “display the glory of” God.
• Exodus 4:4, Ex 4:17,18: “I will gain honor/glory for myself through Pharaoh…”
• 1 Sam 15:30: After Saul’s sin, Saul says to Samuel, “I have sinned; yet honor me now, please, before the elders of my people and before Israel, and return with me, that I may worship the LORD your God.”
  Here, “honor me… before the elders of my people” means “cause me to look honorable, rather than dishonorable, in the eyes of the people.”
• 2 Sam 6:22: Here, for David to be “honored” means he is “held in honor”.
• New Testament word means “to prize, i.e. fix a valuation upon; by implication, to revere; to esteem”.
• John 5:23, “so that all will honor the Son even as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.”
• Of course, we may treat someone with Christian honor, and if they despise Christian honor they will say that we are dishonoring them. But we should ask ourselves (and ask God in prayer), “As God sees it, do I bring honor on my parents, or do I bring dishonor on them?”

And also some lesser authoritative observations from my personal experience:

• The darkest times in my life (in terms of depression to some extent, but even more so in terms of sin) correspond to the times when I had the most disrespectful attitude towards my own parents, or to when I did not respect parental authority in other people’s lives. I repent of that; it is purely and indication of sin in me,
  not in them.
• A common characterization of modern pop psychology is that it traces all of our problems back to our childhood and how our parents treated us. Well, indeed, I wouldn’t be surprised if there is a very large degree of underlying correlation there, but perhaps some of the dynamics involved are just the OPPOSITE of what is commonly presumed. What I mean to say is that pop psychology encourages us to air out our parents’ dirty laundry by talking openly about their faults and failures with friends, counselors, or even with strangers. But if we do that, then the grudge that we hold in our hearts and which is overflows from our lips (Matt 12:34) against our parents is not merely the EFFECT, but in fact the CAUSE of many of our ongoing maladays (see notes above). It is true that all parents have failed to live up to the model of God’s perfect wisdom and love in caring for His children, some parents to a much worse degree than others. But even abuse and neglect, as tragic as they are, do not free us from the command to honor our parents. Some parents need to go to jail for abuses they have done, but as I understand God’s word, a son or daughter should honor even a parent who is, or legally should be, behind bars. Peter taught Christians to “honor the king” (I Peter 2:17). That’s the same king under whom they were being persecuted (I Peter 1:6, I Pet 4:12).
• The teenage years are a time of great emotional turmoil, depression, and darkness for many youth. Not coincidentally, these years are also a time when many of us begin to distance ourselves from our parents, and to think lightly/contemptuously of their wisdom and their role in our lives. I think that teenagers/young adults need to hear that a lack of Eph 6:3 in their lives may very well be a consequence of a lack of Eph 6:2 in their lives. (But also note the observation above that the command is equally valid and important for all ages.)