Maturity and the Christian Faith

This week I turn thirty and I thought it would be fun to look at the changes in my own belief system and the influences that have brought about such significant changes. I hope this can be educational to show that one's belief system should not grow stagnant and remain the same throughout a person's life, but that as a person matures so should their faith.

I was raised in a Christian home with a fundamentalist bent. I was taught to read the bible, to love Jesus, to pray, and to go to church every Sunday. I was taught that I was a sinner who needed forgiveness and that without Jesus I could not be saved. I went to a conservative church growing up that taught us to "witness" to people (a term that means proselytizing, or gaining converts). I was taught to feel guilty about my sins and to always ask Jesus for forgiveness when I sinned.

My first major crisis of faith came when I was a senior in high school. I was raised in a religious bubble where I just assumed that what I was taught was right and was never exposed to anything beyond my Christianity. Imagine my surprise when searching the internet one day I came across a website that "proved" the bible wrong. I felt like the earth was crumbling around me and I didn't know what to believe; my faith had never been challenged before. My bible teacher in high school (I went to a conservative Christian high school) introduced me to Josh McDowell, thus beginning a major shift in my belief system where I fell in love with Christian apologetics (defending one's faith) and desired to become something of a theologian.

During this period in my life, while in my early 20s, I was an outspoken fundamentalist college student, defending such doctrines as the trinity, the inerrancy of the bible, and the salvation only of Protestant Christians. When someone supported a belief I felt was unbiblical, I jumped on them with such an attack that I'd make Pat Robertson proud. I was outspoken against gay marriage, against abortion, and against any religion that was not remotely close to looking like orthodox Christianity. Then would come the most significant moment in my life.

In 2009 I became a hospice chaplain and would meet my mentor Dr. Lynn Euzenas. Both have had the biggest impact in my life. Ministering directly with the sick and dying has made me change my priorities in life. For the first time in my life I was in a position where my heart would be impacted even more so than my head. As I have worked with those who are sick and dying I have realized that many of the arguments for particular doctrines do not matter because what is important to God is not right teaching but right love. I Corinthians 13 teaches that love is the most important attribute of a Christian, and I finally understood what that meant. What is right doctrine without love of one's fellow human being? What kind of Christian are we if we would rather criticize a gay man for his orientation than love him for being a child of God? This is what I learned from my mentor and this is what I have learned from my ministry with those who are in the greatest need of love, those who are sick and hurting and fearful.

I no longer find it necessary to focus on sin, mine or another's. I still believe in the trinity but don't feel that God needs much defending. I think he's got a thick skin and can handle things himself. I no longer believe in the inerrancy of the bible because, frankly, it talks about the sun rotating around the earth which is scientifically incorrect. I no longer believe homosexuality is a sin and instead feel it important to show my love to my gay brothers and sisters in Christ because they are as much children of God as I am. I still believe abortion is wrong, but I will love those who have had and who have performed abortions as much as I love anyone else, because that is what Jesus says is right.

What I hope we can learn from this is that by sticking with a particular belief for the sake of being right we end up wrong in the end. By holding to a belief for one's entire life a person is so arrogant as to believe that he cannot possibly be wrong. We cannot grow stagnant in our beliefs but must constantly monitor for outmoded beliefs that especially hold us back from loving anyone. Our guideline for tossing out a doctrine should be this question: "is this doctrine preventing me from showing love to my fellow human being." If it is the case that a doctrine is causing love to be held back, we must toss it out and forget it, because it is not what Jesus would want us to believe. Let us therefore be mature believers and love one another as Jesus has loved us.

Blessings,

-Brandon

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Sin: It's Not What You Think It Is

During much of this past week I've been thinking a lot about the concept of sin. I understand that sin is a concept that is clearly addressed in the Bible, but I am wondering how much that concept has been misinterpreted and misused over the past two thousand years. Traditionally the term sin has denoted wrongs committed and has been used for the purpose of condemnation and has caused the alienation of many people because of the so-called sins they have committed. So how can we look at sin differently that might help clear things up and portray scripture in a more accurate light?

Last week I discussed sin as being a symptom of a problem rather than the problem itself. What if we look at sin this week as a hurt or a pain that one experiences? One of the definitions for the Greek word typically translated as sin is "to miss the mark," or "to be without a share in." These are both things that cause a great deal of distress and pain in the person who misses the mark and is without a share in. So it is reasonable that "sin" refers to a hurt of some kind which may result in bad behavior.

I think this is a better definition because it doesn't allow for the exclusion of someone because of a sin, but instead welcomes greater love and compassion toward sinners. Defined the traditional way, sin tends to bring about criticism by people for the way a sinner might live his or her life. If you are gay you are seen as a sinner by many in the church who will then shun you. If you have had an abortion, you will be excluded from certain church groups. The pastor gets up to the pulpit on Sundays and preaches against sin, bringing about a feeling of condemnation in those who are in the pews.

Defined in this new way, sin breeds a sense of empathy from those who sense the pain of the "sinner". Instead of creating an atmosphere of exclusion, sin now brings people together because people want to help those who are in pain. When we view sin not as a wrong committed but a pain felt, it lends itself to a more loving church body that wants to bring in sinners instead of keeping them away.

This interpretation also changes how we interpret the saving act of Jesus's crucifixion. Instead of Jesus being punished for our sins, an interpretation which breeds more guilt in me than relief, Jesus bears our burdens and our pain, making what we bear a little less burdensome. This accords with the words of Scripture where Jesus tells us that his yoke is easy and his burden light, easing our burdens. It also is in tune with Isaiah 53:4, a prophetic passage about the Messiah, which reads, "Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.". Not only does this prophetic passage interpret sin in the new way we have interpreted it here, but it also predicts that we would interpret sin in the traditional way in which we have by calling the crucifixion a punishment from God for our sins. It seems to me this newer way of interpreting sin is more biblical than the traditional way.

But what about those passages in the Bible where Jesus and John the Baptist are telling people to repent and turn away from their sin? Here is how that comes to be translated. The term "repent" means to turn away from one thing and towards another. What these men are saying is that I can turn away from my pain and face Jesus where I will receive comfort. When repentance is called upon by us, it is repentance from our hurts toward a man of compassion, Jesus Christ, from whom we can be healed and comforted from all of the pain that we experience in this life. Won't you repent with me and turn away from what is causing you pain, to receiving the ultimate healing from Jesus?
Blessings,
-Brandon

What is Sin, a Marginal Belief: A Series on Christianity's Core Beliefs

As I have been listening to Christian conversations and browsing through the Christian forums, I have realized that one of the most prevalent, and most volatile marginal doctrines that Christians fight over today, is the doctrine of sin. Before I go any further let me make clear that I believe sin itself, in its general form, is a core doctrine. If sin did not exist, there would be no need for a savior. Sin is therefore a very important and necessary doctrine for Christianity. What I count as marginal, and unnecessary for us to fight over, is what counts as sin.

I have a feeling this is going to be a much more controversial idea than I discussed about end times theology in my previous post, End Times, a Marginal Belief: A Series on Christianity's Core Beliefs, so let me be as clear as possible. Some of the areas most heavily debated as regards to their status as sins are the issues of abortion, homosexuality, and premarital sex. These are not the only areas, but the ones I would consider the hottest topics in current sin debate. Each side has Scripture to back up their argument. There are those who can "prove" abortion is a sin, and those who can "prove" it is not. There are those who can show conclusively that homosexuality is a sin, and those can show that it is not. There are plenty of parents who can show in Scripture where premarital sex is a sin, and plenty of teenagers who can show their parents from the Bible that it is not.

We spend countless hours arguing that certain actions are or are not sins. But here is the question we must ask ourselves: how does "proving" an action to be a sin or not effect our salvation? If I prove to a gay man that homosexuality is a sin, does that somehow nullify his status as "saved" until he overcomes that sin? Absolutely not, because the promise and the good news of the Bible is that Jesus forgives us our sins even if we are still committing them. But if that same gay man is shown that homosexuality is not a sin, does that in any way change his relationship with Jesus Christ? Absolutely not. His status as a Christ-follower remains the same whether homosexuality is shown to be a sin or not.

If a woman who has had an abortion is shown that her act was a sin, how does that effect her? It makes her feel terrible and places a great deal of guilt on her that Jesus himself does not place on her. She cannot go back and undo the abortion. And just the same as the gay man, if she is shown that her action is not a sin, it does nothing to effect her relationship with Jesus. She remains saved and in Jesus' care whether her abortion is proven to be a sin or not.

Proving something to be a sin and proving something to not be a sin do absolutely nothing for a fellow Christian's salvation. All proving something to be a sin does is to place a heavy burden on someone that we are not willing to carry ourselves (Matthew 23:4). And proving something not to be a sin, does nothing at all, except at the very worst to lead into a belief that there is no such thing as sin, which clearly contradicts Scripture, which leads to my next point.

I am not saying that we should preach a "no sin" theology. Scripture is clear that humankind needs salvation from sins. What the Bible is not always clear about, however, is what constitutes sin. Yes we have the commandments in the Old Testament, but not all of them apply today. The trick is trying to decipher which commandments apply under the new covenant and which do not, and there is not agreement on which ones apply and which do not. And certainly Jesus and Paul give certain sin lists, which I think we would do well to abide by to the best of our ability. For those sin areas that are clear, I think it is our responsibility as Christians to do our best, with the help of Jesus, to overcome them and live upright lives. But it is not our responsibility to tell other people how they need to live their lives as is clear from Matthew 7:3 ""Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?" It is condemning upon ourselves to point out the sin in others, unless it directly affects us. Matthew 18 certainly indicates that if someone has sinned against us, we need to point it out to them; but anything else it outside of our scope.

Back to my main point, the Bible is not always clear about sin. Paul himself explains in 1 Corinthians 10:23-30,

23 All things are lawful, but not all things are profitable All things are lawful, but not all things edify.

24 Let no one seek his own good, but that of his neighbor.

25 Eat anything that is sold in the meat market without asking questions for conscience' sake;

26 FOR THE EARTH IS THE LORD'S, AND ALL IT CONTAINS.

27 If one of the unbelievers invites you and you want to go, eat anything that is set before you without asking questions for conscience' sake.

28 But if anyone says to you, "This is meat sacrificed to idols," do not eat it, for the sake of the one who informed you, and for conscience' sake;

29 I mean not your own conscience, but the other man's; for why is my freedom judged by another's conscience?

30 If I partake with thankfulness, (AU)why am I slandered concerning that for which I give thanks?"

Paul went on to say to act in a way that glorifies God. The best way we can do that is to love one another and not to focus on what is or what is not sin in another person's life. There are so many things in our culture today that are not clearly reflected in Scripture as sin or not. And as I have shown, if these things are sins, we can be confident that Jesus forgives them. If they are not sins, then we have nothing to worry about.
Blessings,
-Brandon

Now Go and Sin No More

Recently I was involved in a debate with some other Christians regarding how to address the problem of sin. An acquaintance of ours was struggling with a particular sin and explained that he was discouraged because he has done everything his Christian friends have told him to do and nothing seems to be helping; he is enslaved to this sin. The advice he received was classic. He was told numerous times by numerous people that he just needed to try harder and give it up to Jesus and that he would overcome his sin. When the other Christians whom I was debating with heard this, their response was as classic: they said that sin is bad and that he needs to keep trying and to have self-discipline in order for him to overcome it. I agree that sin is bad, but telling someone to keep trying harder when they have tried as hard as they can and are at their wit’s end is like telling someone who is falling out of a tall building to not to get so close to the windows; it may be true but that is not what they need to hear right now. As the saying goes, Christians too often shoot their wounded. David Kinnaman relates this story in his book, UnChristian: He tells of a woman, Lisa, who went to a Christian event and was sitting with some of her Christian friends at a table discussing the topic of pregnancy. At one point Lisa brought up that she had a friend who was pregnant and really going through a rough time. Her boyfriend left her and there were some other things going on in her life. When Lisa told them that her friend was contemplating abortion and that she, herself, could empathize with her, Lisa’s friends turned on her. They condemned the friend for wanting an abortion and condemned Lisa for her empathy. Lisa was left out of the conversation for the rest of the event. Lisa had not even told them that she had an abortion earlier in life (Kinnaman, 2009, 181f). Instead of showing compassion to Lisa and her friend, the women immediately jumped on her saying that it is a sin even to empathize with a woman wanting an abortion. There are other situations in churches where a person reveals a sin of theirs, already feeling bad about it, and then is immediately jumped for being such a sinner.

What is wrong with this way of approaching people? Aren’t we to help out other people if they are sinning and point them in the right direction? Isn’t that one of the jobs of a Christian? Absolutely not. That does not mean I believe we ought to go on sinning because, hey, we are saved by faith not by works, right? I believe as a Christian it should be our goal to overcome our sins. Notice I said “our sins,” not “other people’s sins.” As Christians, we are so ready to point to other people’s sins and tell them they need to try harder so they can stop sinning, while at the same time we continue on with our sins, as hard as we are trying to give it to Jesus and overcome it. I think Matthew 7:3-5 is helpful here: “Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘let me take the speck out of your eye,’ and behold, the log is in your eye? You hypocrite, first take the log our of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.” But people most often interpret this passage to mean that once you no longer have a log in your eye, you can help another person take the speck out of theirs. This assumes, however that we can remove the log from our eye. I believe, however, that we are intended to understand that as long as we are alive, we will have a log in our eye. Therefore, we will never be in a position to tell another person that they need to stop sinning or to try harder, because we will always have a log in our eye until we leave this earthly life.

Romans is particularly relevant here. Reading through Romans 7, Paul is clear that while we live, there will be a constant struggle between the spirit and the flesh. He was honest about his own struggles, saying, “I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate” (v 15). Paul could not overcome sin in his own life. It is this statement he uses to build up to the conclusion of his argument where he says in Romans 8:1 “there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” We will always have sin in our life. There will be times when we are doing better; there will be times when we are doing worse. What will help us get through the difficult times is the knowledge that my sin in no way affects the amount of love God has for us. God love and accepts us just for who we are, and no sin can limit in any way God’s love for us. If we have sin in our lives, all our lives, we have the confidence to know that there is no condemnation.

But what about when Jesus tells a person to “go and sin no more?” Shouldn’t we follow that as our example? This is one situation where I would say no. Jesus taught us not to judge another person or to point out their sins (unless it directly relates to you, and you need to speak to that person as directed in Matt 18). Jesus could deal with people’s sins because he was perfect and sinless. But notice how Jesus did deal with people’ sins: he dealt with people and their sins in a very gentle and loving way. He did not push anyone to try harder or to have a stronger faith. Jesus simply told people to “go and sin no more.” But this was after he showed them no condemnation. The best example of this is found in John with the adulteress woman who was brought to Jesus by the religious leaders. Jesus stated, “let he who is without sin, cast the first stone.” When they had all walked away and Jesus had asked the woman, “has no one condemned you?” She responded, “no” to which Jesus replied, “then I do not condemn you either.” Let us no longer condemn people for their sins, as if they separate a person from God. If they are stuck in sin, the best way to help them out is not to tell them to try harder, or to give up completely to Jesus; the best thing we can do is give them an environment of grace where they are loved despite their sin. A person cannot overcome sin in the midst of pressure to overcome it. A person overcomes sin only when they are shown the love and grace that Jesus himself showed to people.
Blessings,
-Brandon

Related Links
http://whatjesusdiddo.blogspot.com/2011/03/church-and-society-to-judge-or-not-to.html
http://whatjesusdiddo.blogspot.com/2011/03/charlie-sheen-grace-of-god-and.html
http://whatjesusdiddo.blogspot.com/2011/03/threat-of-punishment-or-promise-of-love.html
http://whatjesusdiddo.blogspot.com/2011/03/rob-bell-love-wins-and-universalist.html
http://whatjesusdiddo.blogspot.com/2010/11/christians-voting-without-judging.html