2 posts tagged “church”
"When our Lord and Master, Jesus Christ, said "Repent", He called for the entire life of believers to be one of repentance."
-Martin Luther, first of the Ninety-Five Theses
The beginning of the Reformation was a call to repentance. This is hardly a realization that I came upon, but I want to take this to heart. Indeed, the very beginning of the teaching of Jesus, the first recorded word in Matthew as Jesus begins his ministry is "repent." (Matthew 4:17) Indeed, as Martin Luther teaches, our entire life needs to be one of repentance. Indeed, when Jesus said "repent," it was not a request. It was a command. In the KJV, it says, "repent ye," showing it clearly to be in the command (to be sure, the greek verb is in the active imperative, meaning that it is a command that should keep happening continually). With that in mind, I know that I cannot call others to repentance until I myself do, or else I am guilty of the plank-speck folly (Mt. 7:4-5).
I want to publicly repent of:
Pride: too often I turn my nose up at someone because they don't read as much as I do, or they don't know a certain theologian, or this or that. I rate myself compared to others in many ways, but always giving myself the vast benefit of the doubt. I repent. I ask you (the three people who read this) to hold me to it. I do not want to be arrogant. I know I have been in the past on this blog and in real life. I am truly sorry. I repent.
Lust: This is particularly painful, because there is the easy excuse that almost every guy suffers from it. But I know that Christ calls me to a higher standard, the standard of Job 31:1 ("I have made a covenant with my eyes not to look lustfully upon a woman") and the standard of Ephesians 5:3 (" among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality"). Also, I am hoping and praying to one day (by God's grace) be a husband and a father. And this sin especially is so often generational, I do not want my kids struggling as I do. And so I repent and walk away from this publicly. With God's help I can overcome this.
Hypocrisy: Because of the above two, I have sometimes been a hypocrite. I call others to account, knowing that I have crap in my life. I repent also of this. For this is the most vile, and has its root in pride. I have made my knowledge and my relative "goodness" my functional savior, which is also Idolatry, the most heinous of sins. I repent of this as well.
I stand (actually, I am sitting, but you know) before you a sinful man. Desperately in need of grace. If it just ended here, it would be a sad story. But it isn't. Because Jesus is the end of this story, and indeed the story of the whole universe. You see, Jesus of Nazareth lived the life I could not live, and died the death I should have died, so that I might be forgiven, and walk in the newness of life (Romans 6).
And now to HIM, who can do immeasurable more than we can ask, think, or even imagine, in his great and glorious name, the name by which men are saved, the powerful name of our Lord Jesus Christ, for from Him and through Him and to Him are all things, and to Him be the glory forever and ever. Amen. So help us. Amen.
This may sound like me ranting, but I am not. This is my true hope for Christianity in the future.
In Portland, there is this amazing church, that has been there for one hundred and ten years. It has a gorgeous steeple, and takes up an entire city block, half of which is a garden, half which is the cathedral. The inside is amazing too. An organ takes up the entire front of the church, there are gorgeous stained glass windows, and the designs in the rafters are amazing. It truly takes my breath away, and every time I get a chance, I go inside. I went to a service, not because I am a fan of traditional churches, but because I wanted to see a service go on in this amazing building. It is the home of First Presbyterian Church in Portland, and I have a deep respect for the church and the preacher, who is actually a very good speaker and teacher of the Word.
I tell this story to make a point: Christianity has lost its place in culture, particularly in art. Not saying the Christianity ought to be strictly cultural; indeed, many heresies have from immersing the church in culture. But the Church has forgotten how to inspire the awe of the Lord through art. Many of the churches I see now meet in warehouses and old supermarkets. Although it is very functional, so were cathedrals. I am not saying that we should return to cathedrals; instead, we need a new generation of Christian-led architecture. A great example is the chapel on Seattle University's campus, as seen below. It isn't old and stuffy, like old chapels. It is new. It redefines architecture
But this doesn't stop with art. It goes to science as well. Christian culture has created this rift with it and science, and so many Christians, even if they have the aptitude, turn their nose up to science, because it is a "godless study." But in history, it was Christians who defined science. Galileo was a devout Catholic. We hold him up as this victim of the Catholic Church, but it was the Catholic Church, and God, to which he bowed. Christians used to be at the forefront of almost every discipline. Great writers were produced, with insightful novels and theological works; now we have Your Best Life Now and Purpose-Driven Life, not exactly a Chesterton or Lewis or Tozer.
I ask, and admonish Christians, to push to the forefront of their disciplines. Glorify God in your work. In your church buildings. Help us soon forget when we built church malls instead of a new kind of cathedral. Let everything we do smell and appear of Christ. Let people stand in awe of churches, and then fall on their knees to the God being worshipped there.
