Author: Jimmy Day

It’s one of the most difficult Christian teachings to grasp – that God is a Trinity – that He is THREE but also ONE. This difficulty, added to the fact that it is one of the least understood Christian teachings, also makes it one of the most criticised.  Some groups, like the Jehovah’s Witnesses, The Latter Day Saints and Christian Scientists, say it’s simply not true.  But the Trinity is one of the most important Christian teachings and is foundational to all other major doctrines of the Christian faith.  For example, if God is not triune then Jesus is not God. If Jesus isn’t God then he wasn’t sinless.  If he weren’t sinless he would have had to die for his own sins and not ours.  If this were the case no one could be forgiven and reconciled to God.  And on it goes.

While the word “Trinity” is not found in the Bible, the concept is.  It comes from two words – “tris” meaning “three” and “unus” meaning “one.”  God is one but He is expressed in three distinct personalities – Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

In the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament) God revealed Himself as a plurality in the very first chapter of the Bible when He said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness…” Two chapters later, “the Lord God said, “The man has now become like one of us.”  We find God speaking in plural form all the way through Genesis (cf. 11:7; 18:1-2,10,13-14) and using plural names like Elohim and Adonai.

In the New Testament there are literally dozens of references to the Trinity.  Some of the more profound ones are:

  • The baptism of Jesus (Matthew 3:16-17)
  • The great commission (Matthew 28:19)
  • The promise of the Holy Spirit (John 14:16-17)
  • The gifts of the Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:4-6)
  • The benediction (2 Corinthians 13:14)
  • The plan of redemption (Hebrews 9:14)
  • The love of God (1 John 4:16)

This last point is very interesting when we consider that “God is love.”  By its very nature love needs an object in order to exist. In the eternity before God created, perfect love existed between the members of the Godhead (theotés): the personal and extremely relational God who is clearly seen in the person of Jesus (Colossians 2:9).

The teaching of the Trinity simply states that the Father, Son & Holy Spirit are three distinct persons who make up one God.  The Father is God (John 6:27); the Son is God (Matthew 1:23, “Emmanuel – which means, God with us.”) and the Holy Spirit is God (Acts 5:1-4).

I’ve heard a number of illustrations over the years that help us grasp the concept of the Trinity.  A family can consist of a mother, father and a child – three distinct persons but one family.  A musical chord is made up of three different notes – three sounds that make up one sound.  Water can exist as a liquid, a gas and a vapor but it’s all H20.  The sun gives us light, heat and radiation; three distinct aspects, but only one sun.  If we were to use maths, God would not be 1+1+1=3 but rather 1x1x1=1.

While any illustration ultimately falls short of fully describing the Trinity, all of these are helpful for us as limited human beings to grasp something of an infinite and eternal God.  And that’s important to remember. Would a god that I could fully explain to you be worth knowing?  How can a finite mind fully grasp an infinite God?  It would be easier to fit the Pacific Ocean into a teacup!

But there is one thing more important than knowing about God, and that’s knowing God.  And that’s why Jesus came.  God in human form – “with us” – that we might know Him.

I’ve always been aware that the Quran mentions Jesus a number of times, but it wasn’t until I had a fascinating conversation with a guy this week that I realised how much Jesus is revealed – and not just the quantity of references but their quality too.

Now I want to state upfront that I am not a scholar of the Quran. I don’t pretend to be an authority on Islam and neither is this blog written to be critical of another religion.  I never make light of other people’s beliefs even when they differ from mine.  To be genuinely Christian is to “Love your neighbour as yourself” and that includes loving and respecting those of other faiths including Islam.

The man I was chatting with pointed out to me that in the 114 chapters of the Quran, Mohammed is mentioned in 5 places, but Jesus (Isa) is mentioned directly and indirectly 187 times in 93 verses (ref: Jesus in Islam).  Now I’m not suggesting that the frequency of mention automatically makes one more important than the other, but it does interest me that the Muslim Holy Book honours Jesus in this way by making Him the most mentioned person.

The Quran teaches that Jesus is al-Masih (Messiah or Christ) who came to bring a new revelation (al-Injil, or Gospel).  He is referred to as the Son of Mary, the Spirit of God and the Word of God who went to Heaven, is still alive and will come again. The Quran, as well as most Hadith (reports describing the words, actions and habits of the prophet Muhammad) mention that Jesus was born without sin and performed many miracles.

Although most Muslims don’t believe in Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection there is an interesting verse in the Quran (19:33-34) which some have suggested refers to both events: “And peace is on me the day I was born and the day I will die and the day I am raised alive.  That is Jesus, the son of Mary – the word of truth about which they are in dispute.”  Other scholars disagree with this interpretation.

In the Quran (Surah 62:5) Allah does not think very highly of those who don’t read Holy Scripture such as the Tawrat (Torah or Hebrew Scriptures) and al-Injil (the Gospel).  The Quran also instructs Muslims on how they should treat those who study Holy Scripture: “So if you are in doubt, [O Muhammad], about that which we have revealed to you, then ask those who have been reading the Scripture before you. The truth has certainly come to you from your Lord, so never be among the doubters” (Surah 10:94).  Many scholars believe this verse encourages Muslims to read, know and apply truth by listening to the people of the Holy Scriptures, that is, the Jews and the Christians.  In fact, to learn more about Isa (Jesus) one is encouraged to read al-injil – the Gospel, the four books found at the beginning of the Christian New Testament.  Reading these amazing, ancient books will give you great insight into the Man Jesus, what He did and what He taught and, most importantly, what He can do in your life today because, as the Quran and the Bible declare, He is still alive!

 

The most frequently asked question about the Christian faith goes something like this: “If God is real why do we see so much suffering and evil in the world?”  It’s a fair question and one that deserves some good answers.  I mean if God is really that powerful, really sovereign, really in control then why doesn’t He do something about the pain and suffering of people?

It needs to be realised that people cause the vast majority of suffering on planet Earth.  God took a risk and gave humans freewill.  We have the ability to make choices.  Some people choose well, others don’t.  The bad choices some people make invariably impact on others causing pain and suffering.

Ultimately God is sovereign and He is moving history in the right direction.  His plan will eventually be fulfilled and His goodness will cover the earth.  But in the meantime we are not exempt from the pain that is inflicted when people do the wrong thing or good people do nothing.  When it comes to the day-to-day happenings in this world it should be noted, “God is in charge but not in control.”  In fact He has delegated the control of this world to people.

Right at the beginning of time He gave the responsibility of governing and controlling creation to human beings (Genesis 1:28).  So are we doing a good job?  Sometimes “yes” and sometimes “no.”  For example, Bono writes, “Extreme poverty has been cut in half in the last 20 years, and the facts show that we can get it to virtually zero within a generation – but only if we act.”  That’s right, good people taking charge can end poverty in the next few decades.  So instead of blaming God for suffering what are YOU doing to make a difference?  The same can be said about other major issues of caring for the earth and its people: reducing pollution, caring for the environment, conservation, praying and work for peace and justice amongst people and nations, economic justice and equality between rich and poor, male and female; racial equality for people of marginalised races; protection for refugees and asylum seekers and so on.

These are not merely political issues, they are deeply important matters that should concern all of us who pray for God’s kingdom to come and His will to be done on earth as it is in heaven – for those of us who want to see things continue to improve on this planet as they have done for centuries.  That’s right, the world is actually becoming a better place, and if you don’t believe me then read history!

All of the above still doesn’t account for the suffering that is NOT caused by people.  For example, what about natural disasters such as earthquakes, floods, bush fires, volcanoes, tsunamis, avalanches and extreme weather events?  While I don’t pretend to have all the answers to these complex scientific occurrences, there’s one thing I’d like to put forward about such phenomena, that is, “every blessing has a shadow side”.  What I mean by that is the very things we enjoy on this planet also have the ability to harm us.

I love trees.  I appreciate their colour against a blue sky; I love their shade on warm days; and I breathe the oxygen they create.  Trees play a role in the formation of rain and wind.  Strong winds can cause large tree limbs to break.  Sometimes these fall on people and cause injury and death.

Earthquakes are caused when tectonic plates move.  If the earth were solid, rather than being made up of plates that move, life, as we know it could never have survived.  Earthquakes and volcanoes have been responsible for creating countries (such as Japan) and the stunning mountain ranges we enjoy.  People can ski on many of these mountains.  Sometimes avalanches happen causing injury and death.  Some people love climbing mountains.  Occasionally they die trying.

Volcanoes occur when magma erupts through a weakness in the earth’s crust (invariably as a result of an earthquake).  Volcanoes wouldn’t happen if the earth were cooler.  But if this were the case the cooling would remove the magnetic shield around earth that protects the planet from cosmic radiation.  The result would be out of control global warming, an increase in solar rays that are believed to cause cancer, and extensive solar winds that could dry out rivers, lakes and seas.  There goes your fishing, boating and surfing.

Floods cause havoc.  They destroy homes, livestock and people’s lives. They also create an explosion of new plant and animal life, rejuvenate river systems, fill dams to give us an abundant supply of fresh water, give agricultural land a complete soaking to prepare it for bumper crops, recharge groundwater systems, fill wetlands and increase fish production because of nutrients supplied by the land during flooding.  Likewise bushfires, as devastating as they are to human and animal life, are also necessary for the rejuvenation of vegetation.  In fact some plants actually need heat and smoke to release their seeds.

The gravity that keeps us on the planet also enables fatal falls; the fire that warms also burns; the water in which we swim can also drown.

Tragedies happen and the suffering of people should never be downplayed.  These are opportunities for humanity to come together, to help one another, to be our best selves.  A wonderful example of this was the devastating 2004 Asian Tsunami that claimed up to 280,000 lives.  It prompted a worldwide humanitarian response in which a number of countries gave more than $18 billion in aid and helped in rebuilding the worst effected nations.

Finally, if God were to remove all evil from the world where would He start and finish?  Should He just get rid of the big-ticket bad guys like Isis and Al-Qaida?  Or should he also deal with people who speed and cause accidents?  Have you ever exceeded the speed limit?  Should He get rid of you?

I’ve just concluded a six-week teaching series on The Lord’s Prayer at Bayside Church.  I’ve loved studying the world’s most well known prayer as well as teaching others its timeless truth.  The prayer ends, “… and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one” (or simply “from evil”)

It’s strange that Jesus would teach His people to ask God not to lead them into temptation when the Bible clearly teaches that He doesn’t tempt people?  Consider James 1:13-15, “When tempted, no one should say, ‘God is tempting me.’ For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.”  In these verses the Bible plainly states that temptation occurs because of our own evil desires that are to be resisted rather than indulged.  God does not lead people into temptation so why should we pray for him not to?

The answer is found in what I consider to be a better paraphrase of this verse: “do not permit us to go into temptation” or “let us not sin when we are tempted.”

These renditions recognise five facts:

  1. The fact that God does not tempt anyone
  2. The fact that Jesus was tempted in every way like we are
  3. The fact that we all have a natural predisposition to go astray
  4. The fact that we need to pray about this tendency every day!
  5. The fact that prayerlessness will lead us into temptation

These truths are well illustrated in the events surrounding Jesus’ arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane.  He had already told his disciples that they would all fall away.  Peter was adamant that, even if the others did, he wouldn’t.  To that Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, today—yes, tonight—before the rooster crows twice you yourself will disown me three times” (Matt 26:34 NIV). Peter emphatically insisted that Jesus was wrong and so did the other disciples.

In the next scene Jesus and his followers go to Gethsemane.  He takes Peter, James and John with him to another part of the garden and confides in them that he is deeply distressed, troubled and overwhelmed with sorrow to such an extent that he feels it will kill him.  Jesus asks the three men to stay awake and be vigilant.  Jesus then goes a short distance away, falls on the ground and prays that the upcoming torture and crucifixion would be taken away from him.  He then returns to his disciples and finds them sleeping.  He quizzes Peter asking him if he couldn’t even stay awake, be vigilant and prayerful for an hour, after which he speaks these immortal words, “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Matt 26:41 NIV).  This whole scene is repeated twice more until Judas betrays Jesus and the disciples flee.  Peter denies Jesus three times just as He predicted.

In this story Jesus teaches that attentive prayer is the best way to resist temptation.  That’s why he teaches, “do not permit us to go into temptation” or “let us not sin when we are tempted.”  Temptation is not sin, in fact Jesus faced all of the same temptations we do, yet he did not sin.  Our prayer in times of temptation should be for “Our Father” to give us the strength not to give into it and sin: “deliver us from evil” and also “deliver us from the evil one.” 

Luke’s account of this story gives insight into Satan’s part in temptation when Jesus warns Peter that Satan had asked to sift all of the disciples like wheat.  “But I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers” (Luke 22:32 NIV).

The evil one and evil often work together.  The answer is our alert and attentive prayer as well as Jesus’ constant prays for us.  Consider these two powerful verses from the Letter to the Hebrews:

Jesus is able, once and forever, to save those who come to God through him. He lives forever to intercede with God on their behalf. (Hebrews 7:25)

Let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most. (Hebrews 4:16)

A 1999 romantic comedy, The Runaway Bride brought back together the couple we fell in love with in Pretty Woman (1990) – Richard Gere and Julia Roberts.  In The Runaway Bride Julia Roberts plays Maggie Carpenter an attractive young woman who is nervous of being married and, as a result, has left three men waiting for her at the altar on their wedding day (all of which are caught on tape), receiving tabloid fame and the dubious nickname “The Runaway Bride.”[1]  Maggie is scared of commitment and conflict and consequently has become a consumer of relationships.

One of the metaphors for the church in the Bible is that of a “bride” with all of the beauty and depth of meaning that is reflected in such a relationship.  But over the past few years I’ve noticed an increasing amount of the same “qualities” in some parts of Christ’s bride as we see in the runaway bride – and it’s not a pretty sight.

Maggie Carpenter wants to be in a satisfying, happy marriage but she fears commitment and thus runs away at the last moment.  I’ve noticed this increasingly amongst some Christians, although I must say that right now at Bayside Church we’re reversing this trend.  I totally understand that some people have been overly committed to serving in their church and have become exhausted as a result.  Sometimes they’re fearful of committing again.  If that’s the case they need to be able to sit and soak in God’s presence for a season to be healed and restored.

There are others though who are just afraid to commit.  They’re happy to receive but not to give and they miss out on all the benefits that commitment brings.  The Dead Sea is dead because it only takes in water (from the Jordan River) but has no outflow.  The salt content is very high and so no plants or animals can live in the sea.  Apart from bacteria and a few microorganisms the Dead Sea is well … dead!  A person who fears commitment experiences the same deadness because they are good receivers but they have no flow out.  They don’t commit, they don’t connect and they eventually runaway often to repeat the same process in another part of Jesus’ Bride.

The second fear of the runaway bride is conflict.  There is no such thing as a committed relationship without conflict – just ask any couple who have been together for any length of time.  The way to a deeper and more fulfilling relationship is learning to work through conflict in a mature, rational and caring way.  Over the years at Bayside Church I’ve seen many people do this and the results have been wonderful.  Sadly I’ve watched others become part of the runaway bride.  Conflict happens and they run – either to another part of the bride (often to repeat the process) or they walk away from the bride completely.  Such people are on an endless search for the perfect church and they are constantly disappointed.

All of this leads to consumerism.  Julia Robert’s character became a consumer of relationships who ran from commitment and conflict and left a trail of broken hearts behind her.  Consumerism is a stain on the modern-day Bride of Christ – and it’s getting worse.  I am so grateful to the committed people at Bayside Church, many of whom have stood strong with us for one or two decades – some for 25 years.  But during this time I’ve also watched an increasing number of Christians driven by consumerism.  I know that the Holy Spirit strategically moves people to various parts of Christ’s Bride.  People move house, change jobs, shift to a different part of a city, a country or even overseas and they will find a new local church as a result.  But others are motivated by consumerism to make sure all “their” needs are met.  They often leave behind them bewildered friends.

Maggie finally meets Ike (Richard Gere) who she also initially runs away from.  “Maggie then explains that she had been running because every other guy she was engaged to was only engaged to the idea she had created for them rather than the real her, but with Ike she ran because, even though he truly understood her, she didn’t understand herself. She “turns in” her running shoes just before proposing to Ike.” [2]  Christians who are constantly “running away” need to face up to the reasons why they’re running.  Like Maggie they need to do some healthy introspection and learn to understand themselves.  Whether it’s consumerism or a fear of commitment and conflict, it’s time to stop being part of The Runaway Bride.  Put down roots, commit to serving and not just receiving, and make a decision to work through conflict.  You’ll be so glad you did – and so will everyone else!

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Runaway_Bride_(film)

[2] Ibid.

It’s a question I thought I should get some feedback on before taking things any further.  It all came about when I recently received an email from The Order of Illuminati’s League of Billionaires (I presume they are the billionaires because I’m certainly not).  According to this email I am “now amongst the privileged few to belong to the one percent that controls the other ninety nine percent.”  Because of this my “destiny to wealth and greatness has today been fulfilled by The Great Owl.”  It goes on …

“You have been cleansed and picked amongst the struggling billions of humans and have today been set aside for greatness, fame and unending gratification.  You are amongst the chosen ones and will someday rule your country.  The Owl welcomes you to the Table of the Privileged.  Welcome to The Order Of Illuminati.”

The invitation was sent by Prof. Sylvie Letreux (Zone HQ Rec, The Order of Illuminati) and gives an email address in the USA.  As soon as I respond I will be initiated into the Secret Order and then I “will immediately be assigned a Sponsor. A Sponsor is an Older Member that will invest in your Business, Organization, and Projects in Millions to bring you up to sudden Fame and Limelight. Your Sponsor can also wish to give you a famous job in a Globally recognized Organization upto the Level of a Director. The Baseline is to bring you up to Fame and Peace.”  All I need to do is send my C.V. to the Illuminati email address.  So, should I join the Illuminati?  I’m thinking “no” for three reasons:

Firstly, the email is obviously a scam.  The spelling and grammar is terrible and most certainly not written by an educated or wealthy person.  I didn’t click on the email address because it probably contains a virus.  At the very least it smacks of a scam from somewhere in Eastern Europe or North Africa.  This may sound obvious but Australians lost $229 million to scams in 2015.

Secondly, the promises of “sudden” wealth, greatness, power, fame and unending gratification appeal to our base human nature that is at war with the spiritual nature we receive in Christ (Galatians 5:17).  While God is certainly not against these things (there are plenty of godly people who are famous, wealthy and powerful) they should not be things we seek in and of themselves.  As the Bible warns, “Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.  For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced (Lit. crucified) themselves with many griefs.”   Wealth, greatness, power and fame are huge responsibilities and unless you have the character to undergird them, they can ruin you and others.

My third reason for not joining the Illuminati is that it simply doesn’t exist – at least not any more.  The Bavarian Illuminati was an Enlightenment-era secret society founded in 1776 to oppose superstition, the restriction of information, religious influence over public life and abuses of government power.  It took the Owl of Minerva (The Great Owl) as its symbol, according to Greek and Roman mythology, was a mark of knowledge and wisdom.  At its peak the Illuminati had about 650 members (although some in the group claimed it was more like 2,500).  The Bavarian Illuminati was plagued by internal power struggles, indiscretions and divisions and eventually declined in the late 1700s.

In the centuries since that time the existence of the Illuminati has been written and spoken about by a number of people, not least some Christian ministers and ministries.  But there is little or no evidence of it being a large, secret organisation that controls banks, businesses and governments all working behind the scenes to bring about a New World Order.  Christians who believe and teach this have a very unorthodox view of Scripture and Bible prophecy that is based more upon novels like The Left Behind and The Last Jihad series rather than the Bible.  While these may be a good read they do very little (other than entertain the reader and make the author very rich) to increase one’s knowledge and understanding of God’s Word.

Today there are some small groups that claim to be descended from the Bavarian Illuminati but they are anything but secret.  In fact they publicise this in order to gain more members.

The email from the “Illuminati” finished as follows:

“This is your Destiny. You had a strange dream recently. It was the Owl that visited you.”  Indeed I often have strange dreams but they usually follow a late dinner of a pizza with too much cheese!  As for what The Great Owl thinks?  I couldn’t give two hoots!

I’m currently teaching a series on The Lord’s Prayer at Bayside Church and one of the questions that arose early in the series concerned the masculinity of God: “Because God reveals Himself to us as Our Father does that mean that God is a man?”  I addressed this with our church last weekend because I understand that some people struggle with the fatherhood or maleness of God because they’ve had negative experiences with their own father (being unkind, absent or distant) or with men.  It’s then easy to bring these negative feelings into – and hinder – our relationship with God.  So how can we best navigate through these challenges?

Firstly it needs to be understood that the Bible uses something limited (words, languages, symbols, metaphors) to attempt to describe a divine person who is limitless.  Any description of God in Scripture automatically falls short of who God really is and what He is really like.

Secondly Scripture reveals that God is NOT a man but rather a Spirit (Numbers 23:19a; John 4:24) but that does not mean that God is genderless.  Going back to the Creation story in Genesis reveals the truth of this, “Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have … So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them” (Genesis 1:26-27 NKJV).  A simple reading of these verses infers that God is both male AND female and basically divided those two distinctions into men and women when they were created.  That means the coming together of a man and a woman in marriage actually completes the nature of God in a relationship like no other bond can do.  That’s why the husband and wife become “one flesh”.

In the Bible God uses both masculine and feminine terms and attributes when describing “His” nature.  God seems quite comfortable equating Himself to a great warrior and a husband, but also as a child bearer (1 John 3:9), a seamstress, as well as cooking and cleaning a house.  God is pictured as the female figure of Wisdom: creating, ordering, and saving the world (Proverbs 1:20-21).  Jesus is even called “the Wisdom of God” in the New Testament and the Holy Spirit is often presented in female metaphors including the birthing process, consoling, comforting, and travailing in childbirth, emotional warmth and inspiration.  The Syriac church actually used the feminine pronoun for the Holy Spirit until 400 AD.

Both pictures of God are put together in two adjacent verses in Isaiah 42, “The Lord will march forth like a mighty hero; he will come out like a warrior, full of fury.  He will shout his battle cry and crush all his enemies.   He will say, “I have long been silent; yes, I have restrained myself. But now, like a woman in labor, I will cry and groan and pant” (Vs. 13-14 NLT).

Jesus emphasizes the feminine when He laments over Jerusalem, “How often would I have gathered your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing” (Matt. 23:37b NKJV).

One of the most frequently used names for God in the Hebrew Scriptures, El-Shaddai, encompasses both male and female genders.  El means God and “Shaddai” (a name borrowed from one of the pagan goddesses of the Canaanites) is usually translated (I believe wrongly) as “Almighty”.  It is more likely that “Shaddai” was an attribute of a Semitic goddess linking the name to the Hebrew word for breast.  Thus El-Shaddai could just as easily be translated “the god of the breast” (or “the womb”).  This was God’s revelation to Abram who would become “Father of many nations” and Sarai who would become “Princess of a multitude”.  God’s revelation in this name is of all sufficiency to nurture the nation of Israel to fruitfulness like a nursing mother would do for her children.  God used this name for 500 years from Abraham to Moses at which time He started using the Name YHWH (Yahweh, Jehovah) a prophetic name promising who God will be from that time on, “I am He who will be …”

But the first thing God said by way of self-revelation to Moses was that He is “compassionate” a word based on the Hebrew root for “womb”.  God’s love and compassion for us is like that which a mother has for her child.  God has a mother’s kind of love for “His” own.  Throughout the Bible, God progressively reveals more and more of His nature and character until the ultimate revelation of the Name that Jesus taught us to hallow, “Our Father”.

Author Aaron Armstrong says, “God is quite comfortable referring to Himself using or inspiring the use of both feminine and masculine characteristics, even if it makes some of us uncomfortable.” (Article Ref: Is there anything wrong with calling God she?).

It’s true that God is presented in the Bible as “He,” but this word does not demand precisely the same thing it does when used of human beings.  Some people have suggested we ought to change the biblical references to God as Father from masculine to a designation that is non-gender specific like parent or to refer to God as He and She.  While I understand where they are coming from I disagree.  To play around with different pronouns can become cumbersome semantics.  God has chosen to reveal Himself in the Bible with masculine pronouns, but uses both male and female metaphors to enrich our understanding of His nature.  All of these words, names and descriptions are helpful, but ultimately inadequate in aiding us to fully understand an eternal, limitless, all-powerful being.  When it comes to God, we need to learn to live with mystery, awe and wonder and not get caught up in word games.

One of the things I love about the Bible is its honesty.  It doesn’t shy away from people’s faults and failures – or successes.  It reports the good, the bad and the ugly.  I can imagine many of the Bible’s characters, if they were alive today, cringing at what God allowed to be written about them.  I mean we only want people to know the good stuff right?  There’s Noah saying, “Really God, did we have to mention the drunk and naked in the tent incident?”  Abraham would be concerned about reports of him lying – twice!  David would be mortified over the adultery with Bathsheba.  And I could go on about Moses the murderer, Paul the persecutor and Thomas the cynic but I’m sure you get the picture.

In its honesty, the Bible never shies away from the conflicts that happen between people – even good people, Christian people.  In fact, most of the New Testament letters were written to help people work through conflict situations in local churches.   One of the most helpful stories is the reported conflict between Paul and Barnabas (Acts 15:36-41) because it helps us address the question: “Who’s right, who’s wrong?”  Whenever there’s a conflict the temptation is for people to take sides (and sometimes one person is totally in the right and the other completely wrong).  But more often than not we need to sift through details, personalities, points of view, previous experiences and a host of other variables in order to get clarity on the truth.

These two great men – Paul and Barnabas – had been on a missionary trip together, teaching the Gospel and starting local churches.  They’d taken Barnabas’ cousin Mark with them but things had got too tough for the young man and “he had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not continued with them in the work” (Acts 15:38).

Sometime later Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us go back and visit the believers in all the towns where we preached the word of the Lord and see how they are doing” (Acts 15:36).  Barnabas wanted to take Mark with them, but Paul didn’t think it wise to take him, because of his fickleness on the previous trip.  The result?  “They had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company. Barnabas took Mark and sailed for Cyprus, but Paul chose Silas and left, commended by the believers to the grace of the Lord. He went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches” (Acts 15:39-41).

On the surface, it looks like the Bible sides with Paul, and Barnabas seems to fade from the picture.  But is that the case?  Who’s right, who’s wrong?  Paul was right in that Mark was young and inexperienced and had left them in the lurch on the first trip.  I understand his reticence to take him again so soon.  But Paul was also wrong because – as we will see – he failed to recognise the potential in this young man.  Barnabas was right because he did see the potential in Mark, but he was also wrong in that he most likely allowed the family relationship to cloud his judgment.  Remember that “Barnabas” is just a nickname.  His real name was Joseph but the apostles called him Barnabas, which means “Son of Encouragement.”  That’s the sort of guy he was.  You’d love to be around him because he always looked for the good in others – their potential rather than their problems.

The Bible eventually shows that both men were wrong and both were right.  God blessed Paul and Silas’ work of strengthening and planting local churches, while He also blessed the work of Barnabas who is recognised in Scripture as an apostle, a good man, a prophet and teacher and one through whom God worked miracles.  He faced persecution and risked his life for Jesus.  He was the one who saw Paul’s potential and sought him out to help at the Antioch Church.  And his ability to spot potential paid off when it came to Mark.

Later in the New Testament, we find out that Mark eventually became part of Paul’s apostolic team whom he sent to help the Colossian church writing to them to “welcome him.”  Sometime later Mark helped the apostle Peter who refers to Mark as “my son.”  It’s likely that Mark was with Peter working as a scribe for the Gospel that bears his name.  Mark’s Gospel is widely believed to be Peter’s recollection of the events of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection.

At the end of Paul’s life, he wrote to Timothy, “Get Mark and bring him with you, because he is helpful to me in my ministry.”  Why was he helpful? Because Barnabas saw and developed Mark’s potential.  So who’s right, who’s wrong?  The answer is simple – both of them were.  The wise person will learn this lesson.

Part of the Christmas story tells us the reason why Jesus came: “you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”

To us this seems like a pretty awesome message and yet, to the original hearers, it would have been like rubbing salt into their wounds.

Consider the nature of the society and times into which Jesus was born.  The nation of Israel had been conquered and oppressed by a succession of foreign powers for almost 600 years, starting with the Babylonian Empire in 586 BC.  This was followed by the Persians in 536 BC; the Greeks, led by Alexander the Great, in 332 BC; and the Romans in 63 BC. Israel continued to be dominated and oppressed by Rome until 313 AD.  It was into this tyranny that Jesus was born.

Kenneth Bailey in his book, Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes, states, “At the time of Jesus much of the land was owned by foreigners who controlled huge estates. Local farmers were obliged to rent land and were often treated unfairly” (P. 48).

Jesus was born into an economically and politically oppressed people who were looking for a Saviour to deliver them and to rejoice in the pain and destruction of their tormentors.  The last thing you want when you’re oppressed is for someone to point out “your” sins, faults and failures.  Sin is what “those” people are doing to “us”. “Our” sins are not worth noting compared to “their” sins against us.  Salvation is what “we”need – to be set free from “them”.

But Jesus didn’t speak about the oppressors or the political life of Israel and Rome, and so His message and ministry disappointed many because He hadn’t come to set people free from Roman oppression, He came to set them free from their own sins. 

Jesus faced opposition and was ultimately crucified because He challenged the sins of His own people, rather than the sins of the oppressors.  On one occasion some people came to Jesus to inform Him of the Galileans Pontius Pilate had slaughtered while they were worshipping God and making sacrifices to Him (Luke 13:1-3).  No doubt the people were expecting Jesus’ response to be one of outrage, but once again His message was disappointing: “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.”  In other words, don’t worry about the sins of others, what about your sins?  Instead of outrage, Jesus gave this message: “You are all sinners; you all need to repent and receive God’s forgiveness and grace. You need salvation from your own sins and I am here to provide it for you.”  That is the Christmas story and that is why Jesus was born!

No doubt Jesus’ message is still disappointing to some people today.  Awful things still happen in the world and we want to be outraged and blame others for all the pain and suffering.  Some people even use this as an excuse to blame God, get angry with Him or choose not to believe at all.  After all, “If there is a loving God why is there so much suffering in the world?”  You might find Jesus’ message to be as disappointing as those in first century Israel, but the message hasn’t changed in 2,000 years.  God asks us to look within and deal with the sin in our own life.  Imagine if everyone did that.  We’d have heaven on earth and experience another aspect of the Christmas story, “Glory to God in highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.”

Unfortunately, the belief in and celebration of Santa has been a somewhat divisive issue over the years in the church. 

While I totally respect people’s right to make their own choice on this for their family, it should, in my opinion, never be something we argue about. And certainly not contradict other people’s choices; like the Christian grandparents who told their grandchildren that Santa wasn’t real, infuriating the children’s parents (who were not Christians) and driving them further away from Jesus. 

It seems the “bah humbug” spirit is still alive and well amongst spiritual scrooges!

Reasons for Santa

Christie and I made a decision many years ago that Santa would be part of our Christmas celebrations.  We made this decision for two reasons:

Firstly, Santa IS a real person – or at least WAS.  Santa Claus is Saint Nicholas, born in 270AD to a very wealthy family.  He was a committed Christian who eventually became Bishop of Myra – part of modern-day Turkey.  Due to the many miracles attributed to his ministry, he was also known as Nicholas the Wonderworker!  He had a reputation for secret gift-giving; in fact, he eventually gave most of his family fortune away to those in need and thus became the model of generosity for the modern-day Santa Claus. 

Over the centuries fact and fiction have woven together (as often happens with historical figures) to create the picture of Santa Claus we have today.  While it’s likely that, as a Second Century Middle Eastern Christian Bishop, Saint Nicholas would have had a beard and worn a red cassock, today’s Santa has morphed from a poem written by Clement Clark Moore in 1822 called “A Visit from St. Nicholas” which we still love today:

“Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house,

Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse …”

In the poem, Moore describes St. Nicholas as arriving on housetops in a miniature sleigh drawn by eight tiny reindeer.  The sleigh is full of toys that St. Nick brings down the chimney in a bundle on his back.  He goes on to describe the Santa we know and love – dressed in fur, sporting a beard as white as the snow, a broad face and a little round belly, “That shook when he laughed, like a bowlful of jelly. He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf …” Once his work of filling stockings with gifts was completed he rose up the chimney and went on his merry way with the exclamation of “Happy Christmas to all, and to all a goodnight.”

Since this delightful poem was published, various illustrators have drawn St. Nicholas according to Moore’s description.  The most famous of these was used in a 1931 Coca-Cola commercial to encourage Americans to drink it in the winter months (when it was less popular).  The advertising campaign was a great success, but Coca-Cola did not invent the modern-day Santa.

The second reason we include Santa in our Christmas celebrations is that children LOVE fantasy! 

Ever watched a child’s eyes light up as you tell them a wonderful story, or read a stunning poem like the one I’ve mentioned above? 

Fantasy and role-play are vital to a child’s healthy development.  It allows children to use their creativity while developing their imagination, dexterity and physical, intellectual and emotional strength. It is vital to healthy brain development as well as helping them engage and interact in the world around them. It allows children to create and explore a world they can master and conquer their fears.

Faith as a Catalyst for Creativity

The Christian faith has been the catalyst for so much creativity over the centuries including great inventions and discoveries, music, painting and writing.  Incredible creativity that has come out the God-given imaginations of men and women created in the image of God.

Fantasy has been used over the years as a powerful tool to communicate Christian truth.  Authors like JRR Tolkien and CS Lewis expressed their Christian faith through fantasy and have given us works like The Lord of the Rings and The Chronicles of Narnia that millions around the world are still enjoying and learning from today.

The Bible itself uses lots of imagery in an attempt to communicate spiritual truth to human beings.

Since the beginning of time, God has chosen to speak to people in dreams and visions, pictures, poems, songs, stories and imagery.  

Jesus taught in parables.  God could have given us a two-page document: things to do and things not do but rather, He chose to weave truth into creative writing so that our imaginations would be stirred.

For these two reasons, we have embraced Santa into our Christmas celebrations. 

While our two older children are now well aware of the mythical nature of the modern Santa, our eight-year-old is so excited by this tradition. She leaves Santa and the reindeer snacks and drinks on Christmas Eve.  Santa leaves her a note and gifts – and makes a terrible mess in the process!  She loves it – it’s a wonderful part of Christmas.

Of course, our children also understand that Christmas is the celebration of Jesus’ birthday.  They love the Lord and are growing in their faith.  Jesus is central to Christmas but that doesn’t mean that Santa has to be excluded.

Over the years I’ve heard many discussions about law and grace.  Those who focus on God’s law can invariably be heard expressing concerns about extreme grace (although I believe that grace, by its very nature, is extreme).  Others focus on grace to the exclusion of law and accuse those that emphasise the importance of the law of being legalistic.  So where should we land between what appears to be two polar opposites?

The answer is well illustrated in the life of Joseph, Mary’s husband and Jesus’ earthly father.  When he found out that Mary, the woman he was betrothed to be married to, was pregnant the Bible records, “Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly” (Matthew 1:19 NIV).

At this time Joseph didn’t know about the miraculous conception (that information came later from an angel in a dream) and so, faced by his wife-to-be’s unfaithfulness and resulting pregnancy, how did Joseph act?  “Joseph … was faithful to the law.”  These words mean that Joseph was a person who obeyed God’s law and applied its rules fairly and without favouritism.  So, what did the law proscribe for Joseph to do?  The answer is found in Deuteronomy 22:23:

“If a man happens to meet in a town a virgin pledged to be married and he sleeps with her, you shall take both of them to the gate of that town and stone them to death.”

According to the law Joseph was within his rights to have Mary stoned to death (as well as the man she committed adultery with).  But “Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet …” What two marvellous words they are, “and yet”.  If there was no “and yet” Mary could have been stoned to death thus killing the baby Jesus inside her womb – no messiah, no salvation!  Or Mary could have been ridiculed with a public divorce that would mean she’d be an unmarried mother and unlikely to ever be married.  When her parents died she’d have no means of support and it’s likely that her and Jesus’ lives would be cut short – no messiah, no salvation!

Joseph was faithful to the law and yet he chose to express grace – and so should we.

We see this sort of justice beautifully illustrated by the prophet Isaiah in Scripture on which Joseph had no doubt meditated many times.  In Isaiah 42:1-4 the prophet foresees the coming Messiah and what He would be like: a man filled with God’s Spirit and bringing justice to the nations.  But this justice would not be about retribution, punishment, judgment or the application of the law.  Isaiah used a metaphor to describe the justice Messiah would bring: “A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out. In faithfulness he will bring forth justice.”  Justice in this context means “Compassion for the weak and exhausted.”  Reeds were used to make pens but damaged reeds were broken and thrown on the fire.  Smouldering wicks would fall into a bowl of water on the floor under the lamp and be extinguished.  But the servant of God spoken of in Isaiah 42 (and fulfilled in Jesus, Matt. 12:18-21) would not break a bruised reed or snuff out a smouldering wick.  He would be compassionate to the weak and exhausted, to the bruised and burnt out.

This is the sort of father Jesus grew up with and no doubt observed for many years as he operated in grace rather than the legalistic application of the law.  And this is the sort of man Jesus became, as we see all through the Gospels, as He met battered and bruised people with love, tenderness, compassion and grace.  Like father, like son – and we’re called to be like Jesus!

Jesus didn’t come to abolish the Law or the Prophets but to fulfill them.  Paul the apostle taught, “Love is the fulfillment of the Law” because, “Love does no wrong to a neighbour” (Romans 13:10 NIV).  The most-often quoted verse in the New Testament from the Law is, “Love your neighbour as yourself.”

In your dealings with people you will sometimes feel tempted to quote or execute the Law but remember the character of Joseph – and Jesus – who were faithful to the Law, and yet …

Every time there’s a natural disaster we’ll always find at least one preacher who’ll attribute it to a minority group or a company of sinners who are considered to be worse than others.  This was the case with the Victorian Bush fires in 2009, the Haiti earthquake, Hurricane Katrina and most recently, the earthquake in New Zealand, where the pastor in question was giving a “biblical perspective” as he referred to natural disasters being linked to the “degradation of sexual sin” and “iniquities of mankind destroying our earth.”  To defend his view he quoted from the Book of Leviticus.

I am so fed up with this sort of pronouncement as it repels people from the Christian faith and doesn’t reflect a Christian attitude.  During and after natural disasters people lose their lives and loved ones, people are injured, property damaged and lives are ruined.  The message people need to hear from the church at times like this is one of compassion and empathy, not just in words but also in actions – the church rolling up its sleeves to help.

And so I posted this status on my Facebook page: “Dear Christian Preachers. Unless you are personally going to live by the entire Levitical Law, please stop cherry-picking odd verses from that book and using them to condemn certain minority groups.”  It prompted a lot of discussion as well as this blog.

The favourite verse for some Christians to quote is Leviticus 18:22 – one of the verses used to condemn gay people.  I’ve never heard a sermon on Leviticus 18:19 though, “Do not approach a woman to have sexual relations during the uncleanness of her monthly period.”  Maybe that one’s a bit too close to home for heterosexual preachers.  Although, based on this verse, should I not be standing at the door of Bayside Church each weekend making sure we’re not letting any unclean couples in?  Church has changed, chuck them out. 🙂

The same goes for women who have just given birth to a baby. According to Leviticus they are unclean and not allowed to gather with God’s people.  Thank God for livestream!  If it’s a boy the penalty is one week followed by 33 days.  In the case of a girl it’s two weeks plus 66 days.  Obviously boys are twice as good as girls right?  Mixing fabrics in clothes is wrong, so are tattoos (although we see a lot of those on famous preachers and worship leaders), cutting your hair at the sides and trimming beards – both wrong!

The New Zealand pastor, Brian Tamaki from Destiny Church, was preaching on Sunday 13 November, the day before the latest earthquake.  He quoted from Leviticus 18 that lists all sorts of sexual sins.  God then says to His people, “Do not defile yourselves in any of these ways, because this is how the nations that I am going to drive out before you became defiled. Even the land was defiled; so I punished it for its sin, and the land vomited out its inhabitants…for all these things were done by the people who lived in the land before you, and the land became defiled. And if you defile the land, it will vomit you out as it vomited out the nations that were before you” (Lev 18:24-28). Pastor Tamaki linked these verses to earthquakes and other natural disasters surmising that the verb “to vomit” must refer to earthquakes.

Now it needs to be said that prophesying an earthquake in New Zealand is on par with saying the sun will rise this morning and set tonight.  New Zealand was formed by volcanoes (the last eruption was about 600 years ago) and is built right on the edge of two tectonic plates.  Earthquakes are caused when underground rock breaks away from the edge of a tectonic plate causing the plate to move.  They are not caused by people’s sin.

I refer you to a blog I posted a few months ago called, Should the Bible be taken literally?. In this blog I suggest, “When you’re reading and studying the Bible one of the first things you need to ask yourself is, what type of literature am I reading?”  So what type of literature is being used in the verses quoted above from Leviticus 18?  It’s a metaphor, that is, a figure of speech that is not to be taken literally.  The earth doesn’t vomit!  This metaphor isn’t talking about earthquakes and other natural disasters; it’s talking about what will happen to the people if they don’t live holy lives.  Living in the land was a privilege that carried certain responsibilities.  If they didn’t live up to the responsibilities they would lose the privilege.

So how can Leviticus best be understood?  The name means, “relating to the Levites” who had religious and political responsibilities amongst the people of Israel.  The book can be divided into two parts: The way to the Holy One (1-10) and the way of holiness (11-27).  The first part outlines sacrifices and offerings that were to be used in approaching God.  This was revolutionary 3,500 years ago as it was the first time a deity had clearly communicated to people (and had it written down) how He was to be approached and worshipped.  Until then the nations used a lot of guesswork to deduce what a deity did and did not want.  This led to a lot of superstition and bizarre practices like temple prostitution and child sacrifice that are both condemned in Leviticus, and rightly so.

The second part deals with sanitation (purity of body) – an essential for thousands of people living in a desert region – and sanctification (purity of soul).  Again, this was radical teaching in its day.  Leviticus gives detail on cleanliness, health, diet, social interaction, worship and conversation.  God also recognised that people would fail in these areas on a regular basis and so Leviticus concludes with three provisions of grace including the Year of Jubilee, the year that Jesus came to proclaim for all people of all time (Leviticus 25:10; Luke 4:19).

Much of Leviticus does not apply to people today.  For example, Jesus declared all foods to be clean essentially freeing people from all the Levitical food rules (Mark 7:19).  Jesus corrects other statements from Leviticus in His Sermon on the Mount, “You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, but I tell you …”  (Matt 5:21; 27; 33; 38, 43).  The New Testament quotes Leviticus a number of times and two statements are repeatedly quoted: “You shall be holy, for I am holy” and “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”  Sadly Leviticus seems to be most-often used today in an unloving way towards our neighbour.

The most important thing we can learn from Leviticus is that the book points towards the Messiah.  The New Testament teaches that all the types and symbols, the sacrificial system and priestly mediation, are all fulfilled in Jesus (read Hebrews chapter 8).  Jesus didn’t come to abolish the law He came to fulfill it.  This He did through His life, death and resurrection and declaring a New Covenant with all people not just one nation: “By calling this covenant “new,” he has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and outdated will soon disappear” (Hebrews 8:13).  The Old Covenant, with all its sacrifice and ritual, disappeared in 70AD with the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem.

And so let’s stop cherry-picking from Leviticus to bring guilt and condemnation on others.  Let’s embrace its themes of holy living and loving, and enjoy and share the wonderful salvation Jesus makes available to all.