To too many the creeds are a dusty vestige of a happily distant past. They were written centuries ago, born out of abstract battles whose players we can’t even name. Isn’t it just better to love each other and not get caught up in all those silly questions?
We are indeed called to love each other. But let’s begin first by asking this question- are the questions wrestled over by the historic creeds silly? Is the deity of Christ an insignificant question? Is it a matter of indifference whether He was a man or not? Is the question of the future resurrection of moment to the Christian faith? Is the question of if Jesus really received the wrath of the Father due to us for our sins not a difference maker in our lives?
The reality is not only that there could not be any more important questions, but that in each case there are people and institutions who claim to be Christians, to be our brothers and sisters in Christ, who deny the deity of Christ, who deny His humanity, who deny the future resurrection, who deny the atonement of Christ for us. The creeds were born out of battles over denials of the faith that are not merely past but are with us now and will likely be with us to the end of the age. We cannot wish heresy away. Putting our head in the sand doesn’t mean it has left us.
Creeds are definitions of what it means to be a Christian. They are fences that, albeit imperfectly, seek to separate sheep from goats. Love too is a mark of the church. Jesus did say that the world would know we are His by our love for each other (John 13:35). But love as He defines it includes protecting sheep not just from goats but from wolves. Love among the brethren must necessarily include testing to see who is our brother.
Suppose there were a guard outside my house. Suppose Charles Manson shows up and demands entrance. When he’s asked for identification he insists, “Hey man, this is a family affair. I’m family, and it’s wrong of you to try to keep family out. Do you not have any sense of family? If you knew this family you’d know we’re all about love. So stop with all this interrogation and let me in.” The creeds would be a good guard. Firing them from the job doesn’t make Charles Manson a sheep. It makes him well fed upon the souls of the sheep.
But there is more. Even within the body creeds serve us in these ways. First, they remind us that we didn’t start the fire. They remind us that we have stepped into a stream that precedes us, that our fathers are at this table. It puts us in our context. Second, they teach us of His glory. They are tools by which we can enter into His character, and worship. They are delights, not burdens, radiant windows as well as effective gates. Maybe our fathers were on to something. And maybe we ought to get into them.
It is a wise quip, albeit one built on an urban legend, that April Fool’s Day is the national holiday for atheists. The Bible tells us that the fool says in his heart that there is no God (Psalm 14:1). The Bible is quite right, and we would do well to heed its wisdom. Too often we act as though these emperors of their own faux kingdoms actually have clothes, that their academic gowns cover their nakedness. Nope. They’re just fools and we have no reason to fear their academic prowess. Having a battle of wits with an atheist is fighting against a half-armed man.
That said, the Bible also describes another group of fools. These fools are theists, not atheists. In fact, they are not just theists, believers in the existence of a god, but Christians, professors of the one true God. Paul tells us in his first letter to the church at Corinth,
For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence (I Cor. 1:26-29).
We are called here to own what should be obvious to everyone, that we too are fools. We were not brought into the kingdom because of our wisdom, our strength, our nobility. We were brought into the kingdom because of our folly, our weakness and our ignobility. We don’t smart our way into the kingdom, nor strive our way into the kingdom, nor inherit our way into the kingdom. We are brought in in all our inglorious bastardy, by His grace, by His power, and for His glory.
The fool in us, however, is not easy to shake. We drag it along behind us. We’re fools enough to forget that we are fools. We’re fools enough to pridefully look down our noses at other fools. We’re fools enough to think we were chosen because of our virtues, rather than because of our utter lack of virtue, that our being chosen glorifies us, rather than Him.
When, however, our folly leads us to forget our folly, Wisdom calls us to repentance. Wisdom reminds us that we are but dust, that if God were to count iniquity, who could stand? This is a holy day, a holiday, because this is the day He has made, that it might be the day in which He remakes us into His glorious image. Let us own our inner fool, and in owning it, repent of it and disown it. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them (Ephesians 2:10). Happy Jesus’ Fools Day.
Thesis 19- We must stop being more pious than God.
If we understand piety as a devotion to God and to His Word, then naturally one could never over-do it. Indeed one of the great weaknesses of the modern American evangelical church is that we do not hold piety in high regard. That said, there is such a thing as false piety. False piety is where we have a great devotion, but it is not to God, nor to His Word. Rather, it is to our own conception of God, or to our own false understanding of His Word.
The Pharisees misused and misunderstood the law of God in two distinct directions. On the one hand they diminished the scope of the law of God. Their narrow understanding of the ten commandments, for instance, allowed them to believe that they actually kept the law. On the other hand, however, while the Pharisees were making the law less stringent than God, they often made the law more stringent than God. If God said, “Do not touch” they affirmed their “piety” by saying, “Don’t go near…” This is called “fencing the law.”
A few examples may make the point more clear. How many evangelical Christians hold the view that while Jesus did turn water into wine, while the moderate enjoyment of alcohol isn’t a sin, it is still “unwise” to partake? How many evangelicals recognize that Jesus clearly allows a spouse who is the victim of adultery to divorce, but would suggest that the “better” option is to forgive? Assuming that God’s law does permit the use of alcohol and divorce of adulterous spouses, what are objections that abstaining from either is wiser or better option than adding to the law of God? If God says “You may…” and we say, “You’d better not…” are we not claiming to be more pious than God?
The issue, however, isn’t the issue. That is, our problem isn’t that we misunderstand alcohol or adultery. Our problem is that we misunderstand our relationship to God’s law. We are neither His co-counselors nor His parents. We do not get to give Him advice on His law, far less are we free to supersede His law. The appropriate response to the law of God is “Yea and amen.”
The same is true with respect to His grace. The Bible says that if we confess our sins He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (I John 1:9). How often do we confess our sins, and then try to demonstrate the depths of our piety by refusing His forgiveness? “Please forgive me O Lord” we cry out. God says, “I forgive you.” And we think we’re showing how good we are when our response is, “No, you can’t forgive me. My sin is too great. My heart is too black. I don’t deserve to have my sins forgiven.” Of course we don’t deserve to have our sins forgiven. That’s why it’s called grace. Our Father calls for the fatted calf, and we think ourselves pious for slinking our way down to the servants’ quarters. The appropriate response to the grace of God is “Yea, amen, and thank you dear Lord.”
If we were wise, if we were truly pious, we would cease to add to His law, and we would cease to take away from His grace. Our piety would seek to obey all that He commands, and to rejoice that He forgives us though we do not obey all that He commands. Indeed our adding to His law is against His law, and our taking away from His grace may mean we have not received His grace.
We start, it seems to me, by asking the question. The shakeup that comes from this pandemic and the economic issues that tag along is good for waking us up. It is so easy to go through our normal days without giving much thought to why we do what we do. Are we busy about our King’s business? Are we intentional about the work that we do, and the way that we do it? Am I raising my family, or am I just watching it grow? Take the time, while you have the time, to ask these kinds of questions.
Second, spend some time doing what you can do to make things better. If you can’t go to work, such doesn’t mean you shouldn’t work. It just means you can’t go. Work not just at home, but perhaps on home. Those projects that never seem to get done? Now is our chance to do them. I’m not suggesting you need to finish the room above the garage or build your own potting shed. But maybe tighten up that wobbly door nob, or clean out the clutter in the attic.
Third, start reading through the Bible with your spouse. You know how you always say, “I know I ought to do this, but things have just been so hectic”? Well, if Covid-19 is keeping you away from your normal appointed rounds, maybe things are less hectic for you. You will find, if you start, that it is a great blessing to you, your spouse and your home. More Bible has never been a bad idea.
Fourth, have some old-school fun. It seemed, back when I was growing up in western Pennsylvania that power outages were common, especially in winter. What I remember was the fun of it, not the inconvenience. You likely have power, but now would be a great time to break out a deck of cards, or a board game, to play chess with your children, and remember a time of more simple pleasures. Games, once upon a time, were designed to allow room for conversation, and for quiet, thoughtful strategy. Most games today, like video games, are just Red Bull with rules. Greater intensity isn’t what troubled times call for but greater calm.
Fifth, find a way to encourage someone. You could do that with a phone call, an email, or go utterly retro and send an actual letter, written in your own hand. It doesn’t have to be maudlin or over the top. Just a “I appreciate you because…” I’ve been personally blessed in including in my Jesus Changes Everything podcast a segment each week called Heroes You Never Heard Of, in which I take a few moments to remember the people that I have admired who aren’t well known. It feeds my soul to remember God’s grace through others.
Finally, find a way to serve those who serve. I’ve enjoyed seeing stories like the person who would buy a gift card at the grocery store only to hand it to the cashier, or the person who left out toilet paper and hand sanitizer for any delivery men who came by the house. There’s a great deal of tension and fear out there. Saying thank you to those living in risk to make sure we have what we need is good for everyone.
And pray. Pray for the world, for the country, your state, town and neighborhood. Then pray for you, that God would cause you to grow in grace and wisdom and that He would bear the fruit of His Spirit in you.
