Cultural Context

Context is everything.  Culture is not necessarily immoral, but it is also not necessarily amoral either, for instance, the goofy large sunglasses that girls are wearing now and the aviator glasses that the guys wear, these styles are culturally driven, and are completely amoral.  You would have to be a legalist of the worst sort to pronounce condemnation on someone for the type of sunglasses they wear.  This is a cultural fad with no moral implications.  At the same time, we must also recognize that not all cultural issues are amoral, for instance the cultural tendency to mock father figures in popular television shows is immoral.  The issue is not a mere issue of cultural preference but is an attack on God’s created order, and an undermining of the systems of authority He has set up.  So it is never safe to say that something is acceptable because culture accepts it, and at the same time it is never acceptable to condemn a cultural fad solely on the basis that it is a culture issue.  Acceptable practice must be determined by the word of God, and not culture.

The legalist screams ‘separate’ with regards to all culture... and if they decide to be completely consistent in their separation they will eventually be Amish (few dare to endeavor to be that consistent.)  At the same time those who try to contextualize everything to the culture will begin using material that is clearly immoral in their presentation of the Gospel, ie certain movie clips, tv shows, music... etc.  The point is that culture is merely the accepted practice of the populous, that’s it.  Sometimes it is perfectly legitimate, other times it is sin, and all of the time we must be wise in our discernment of culture.

 What is said above is pretty obvious, but there is a much more insidious danger caused by culture that goes largely unnoticed.  The effect of culture on the population whether it is immoral or amoral can and does cause deception beyond what we can imagine.  The effect that culture has on every one of us is beyond our own comprehension, and if we do not consider it while reading the scriptures we will misunderstand nearly everything we read.

For instance a common verse used in youth ministry is 1 Tim 4:12

Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity. (1 Timothy 4:12 ESV)

In our American ‘don’t tread on me’ thinking this verse takes on a meaning that has been accepted as orthodox by almost all of the professing church in America.  The verse is understood to mean that our youth should not let people look down on them, and that they are equal parts of the kingdom, and that they need to be empowered, and they have a say... etc.  Our culture of ‘nobody walks on me’ thinking has led us to see this verse as a youth empowerment verse.  However that is nearly the opposite of the actual meaning of the verse.  Paul is warning Timothy to give the Church no reason to despise His youthfulness.  He is commanding Timothy to so order His life that He would be an example of maturity that the older congregation would be able to pattern themselves after.  This verse is not an affirmation of the value of youthfulness, instead it is a command to leave youthfulness and to live as a mature man before the Church.  The actual meaning of this verse is the opposite of what is for the most part taught, and it is because we have viewed this passage through our context and not its original context.

The whole of John 3:1-21 we do the very same thing.  In America born-againism is a cultural norm.  We have preached ‘ye must be born again’ to the point where many Christians identify themselves as ‘born-again Christians’, as though ‘born-again Christian’ is the standard term for an orthodox believer.  This discourse of Jesus to Nicodemus in John 3:1-21 also includes the famed John 3:16 which in and of itself is a verse that is engrained in our culture.

But what is happening in this discourse?  Jesus is affirming that all people must come into the New Covenant in order to be saved, specifically that Nicodemus’ Jewish ancestry was not sufficient to save, but that He must be born of water and spirit... that is He must be born again because His first birth into Israel is not sufficient.  Do you see what is happening here?  This verse John 3:3 which says ‘you must be born again’ is specifically laid forth to establish that the Jew cannot rely on His lineage to save Him.  This was not some universal call out to the world, this was a midnight discourse between Jesus and a Pharisee.  Context is everything.  Now must everyone be born again to be saved?  Well what to do you mean?  It is a bad term to use with regard to “everybody”.   This discourse was not a blanket command to everybody.  We may also look at John 3:16.  What is the purpose of this verse... again it is Jesus saying that God’s love and salvation is not limited to the Jews, but that He so loved the world, that whosoever (Jew or Gentile) believed shall not perish.  The thrust of John 3:16 is similar to the thrust of John 3:3, and that is that the Gospel is effective and necessary for the Jew, and is also inclusive of the Gentiles.  Moreover in John 3:17-18 we see that Jesus is showing that not only gentiles, but Jews also will be condemned for unbelief.

Instead of taking these texts in their original context, we have put them in our own and it has distorted the whole thing.  We think that John 3:3 is a universal call to all to be born again and we miss that it is more about the establishment of a new covenant between God and all people.  Moreover we misread John 3:16 when we take it to be God loving this whole world just waiting for people to believe in Him so that they may be saved.  This is not the case, what the text is saying is that salvation has gone out beyond the Jews only, but even into the world.  It is as though Jesus is saying “For God so loves the world, Nicodemus, not only the Jews that whoever believes will not perish but have everlasting life.”  Moreover Jesus goes on “And those who have not believed, well they are condemned already, whether you are Jew or not doesn’t matter”.

Can you see how our culture causes distortion?

The scriptures certainly speak to us today, but they speak to us from their original context.  The scriptures still communicate the same truth they always have and in order to understand the original truth they spoke you must be willing to look at the original context they were spoken in.

a great word from JC Ryle

Writing on John 1:29 from ‘Expository Thoughts on the Gospels’

“Let us take heed that in all our thoughts of Christ, we first think of Him as John the Baptist here represents Him.  Let us serve him faithfully as our Master.  Let us obey him loyally as our King.  Let us study His teaching as our Prophet.  Let us walk diligently after him as our Example.  Let us look anxiously for him as our coming Redeemer of body as well as soul.  But above all, let us prize him as our Sacrifice, and rest our whole weight on his death as an atonement for sin.” – JC Ryle

I am finding JC Ryle’s expository thoughts to be indispensible in sermon prep when preaching out of the Gospels.  What a blessing... plus you can get all 4 vols for under $40 on amazon.  Would recommend Ryle to anyone in ministry, from the 4^th grade Sunday school teacher to the nursing home chaplain, really a tremendous resource.

Jay

Posted via email from jmiklovic's posterous

This might be it for the tenth letter

I think the tenth letter may be finished...

I think this is my 206th post at this blog, which began a few years back at SermonAudio, and then migrated here, and I think it might be the last post as well.

I am currently serving as the Pastor of a rural Church outside of Fostoria, as well as being the Youth Pastor of a Church here in Maumee full time, of greater importance than those two vocations I am a husband (my primary ministry), a father (my secondary ministry).

Blogging has been a great outlet for me to work through things theologically in a public venue.  This has served its purpose but really is not the venue I feel called to work things out in anymore.  Underlying my blogging has been a desire to heard, and respected.  I'm done with that, and am seeking contentment in laboring in obscurity trusting the Father to illumine His Son through me outside of this, and other venues that could lead to self glorification.  I'll still tweet @yfmumc but that is as close to blogging as I plan on getting for awhile.  If the Lord impels me again to publicly blog I will.  I am grateful to faithful bloggers who provide me much encouragement.

What my wife needs is a husband who seeks hard after God to know him intimately even when the rest of the world thinks he is going to deep to be practical.  What my son and daughter need is a father who seeks hard after God to know him intimately.  What the youth ministry at Maumee UMC needs is leadership that seeks hard after God to know him intimately.  What the congregation at Rehoboth UMC needs is a Pastor who seeks hard after God to know him intimately.  Currently, blogging does not fit into the 'seeking to know Him more intimately' mission for me.  Someday blogging may again serve that purpose but not now.

Currently I am laboring over a number of classic books on the 'Attributes of God' (right now I am bouncing between Stephen Charnock and Pink) and will continue with others.  I also have a couple systematic theologies I desire to be looking at.  Of course underlying a lot of this is attempting to understand my direction in ministry (both family, and institution) which must be rooted in nothing less than the character of God.  (thus the study of attributes and systematic theology.)  Of course undergirding all of this is meditation upon the scriptures and reading and also listening through the entire cannon repeatedly on the iPod.

I guess what I am saying is... see ya it's been real.

So for anyone who happens to stop by, read the archives if you want... but you would do better to pick up some of the classics written by men and women far wiser than me.

#77 – What the Gospels Teach – The Disciples Sent – Matthew 10:1-8

Jesus summoned His twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every kind of disease and every kind of sickness. Now the names of the twelve apostles are these: The first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; and James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; Simon the Zealot, and Judas Iscariot, the one who betrayed Him. These twelve Jesus sent out after instructing them: "Do not go in the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter any city of the Samaritans; but rather go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. "And as you go, preach, saying, 'The kingdom of heaven is at hand.' "Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. Freely you received, freely give. (Matthew 10:1-8 NASB)

Jesus gathers the twelve, gives them authority, and sends them.  First realize that they are not sent to perform miracles because of some level of piety or faith that they have acquired.  They are given authority by Christ, because Christ chose to give them (the twelve) authority.  This may seem trivial, but it’s not.  This text must never be used to promote healings, recitations of the dead, and casting out of demons, on the basis of faith and righteousness.  It was not by the working of the twelve that any of these things happened, it was merely by the authority Christ gave. Again these things only happen by the authority given by God, and in the case of this passage it was unique to twelve individuals (who might I add did not yet realize that Christ was even the Son of God.)  The other thing interesting about this passage is that Christ did not send the Disciples to the gentiles.  Now if this is the normal Christian life, raising the dead, casting out demons, healing every kind of sickness, then is the normal Christian life also only to go the lost sheep of Israel?  Of course not!  The point is that this sending is unique... it is not the Christian standard.

This is a short post, but it is important when you read a text like this to take it at face value.  First, this was authority given by Christ to twelve men, and not universally to all the disciples who followed Him around.  Second it was authority given by Christ not on the basis of merit, prayer life, piety, faith, or anything else other than the will of Christ.  Finally this mission was only to the lost sheep of Israel.

There is a lot more to say in the upcoming posts, but I did not want to bite off more than 8 verses for 1 post.

#76 – What the Gospels Teach – The Compassion of Christ – Matthew 9:35-38

Jesus was going through all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness. Seeing the people, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dispirited like sheep without a shepherd. Then He *said to His disciples, "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. "Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest." (Matthew 9:35-38 NASB)

This is an important text to consider and a simple reading of it may reveal some areas of failure in American Christianity, especially within the Church growth movement, and prosperity movement.  Jesus is traveling as an itinerate preacher from synagogue to synagogue preaching the gospel of the kingdom (repentance and faith).  Moreover He is healing sickness and disease.  I have labored much over this on this blog, but it is critical to see the balance of Christ’s ministry, teaching and preaching the Gospel and service to the sick and in need.  It is always both and.  If you neglect proclaiming the gospel you are a humanist service org, and if you neglect service you are a resounding gong.  We read that Jesus sees the people and has compassion on them... what people?  The distressed and dispirited... In response to what He sees He tells the disciples that the harvest is plentiful and to seek God to send out workers.  Who is the harvest?  The distressed and the dispirited.

The reason I say this text has serious implications to American Christendom and particularly the Church Growth movement is that in most Growth focused ministries it is not the distressed and dispirited that are harvested.  People take surveys, find the growing areas, look at financial statistics, and so on, then they plant a church where it is most likely to grow.  Look!  The Church is not about growing, it is about harvesting.  Jesus did not say look there is fertile soil, go plant... He says there is a harvest go pluck.  Again, in our strategizing we look for people who will be able to financially support growth, once that is shored up we will go to the distressed and dispirited, and we end up harvesting the wrong crop into our barn.

Does God desire that those who are affluent be redeemed?  Well He certainly does not take pleasure in the death of the wicked, but if He desires the affluent, spirited, and non-distressed to be redeemed, He will redeem them thru the witness of the Church going to the distressed!  Our job is to seek conformity to Christ in all things, and that includes serving and seeking those whom He commanded us to serve and seek.  I could ramble on forever on this.  For instance, we go all seeker sensitive, should we be the seekers of the lost.  We know from scripture that no one seeks God, but instead that God seeks them, and He sends us into the harvest for that.

I have to end here due to time.

#75 – What the Gospels Teach – The Accusation Against Christ – Matthew 9:32-34

As they were going out, a mute, demon-possessed man was brought to Him. After the demon was cast out, the mute man spoke; and the crowds were amazed, and were saying, "Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel." But the Pharisees were saying, "He casts out the demons by the ruler of the demons." (Matthew 9:32-34 NASB)

This passage gives us a little bit of insight into how Jesus was received, and we would do well to understand this little bit.  First, when the crowds saw what He did they were amazed, seeing that one who was possessed was exorcised and could speak again.  The initial reaction of the people was positive to Christ’s ministry.  At the same time the Pharisees injected doubt into their minds, saying that it is by the ruler of the demons that Jesus cast out demons.  Notice that the Pharisees cannot deny what Christ has done, but they can deny how and why He has done it.  Ultimately the Pharisees stance on Christ will gain more adherents than the truth about Christ will gain, and He will be nailed to a cross in light of that.  There is a lot to be considered here.

First, we need to have a biblical understanding of persecution.  Christ clearly was being persecuted by the Pharisees for the entirety of His ministry on earth, but notice how the persecution came.  Jesus was not persecuted overtly for righteousness sake, instead the Pharisees conjured up doubt in the minds of the people around Him.  It was not at all that they were opposed to the works of Christ, they were opposed to the person of Christ, and more than that the Father who gave Him the authority to perform those works.  If we are to be persecuted we will not be persecuted as ‘Christians’, or ‘for our good deeds’.  We will not be persecuted on the basis of truth, but on the basis of lies.  Jesus did not cast out demons by the ruler of demons, but that was accusation.  Unfortunately Christians have a very false sense in these days of what persecution is really going to be like.  We have a thin skinned view that somehow taking ‘In God We Trust’ off money, or removing the pledge of allegiance from the schools somehow amounts to persecution.  We are too busy fighting the wrong battles.

Real persecution when it comes will come more in the form of lies.  Maybe we will be accused of being pedophiles, or murders, or homophobes or whatever.  When you see people talking about how Christians are out shooting up abortion clinics, even though the death of Dr. Tiller was the first clinic shooting in nearly 10 years, that is a form of the persecution that is to come.  When everything said by the secular and unbelieving religious community about genuine Christians becomes lies then we know real persecution has arrived.  We need to shed this romantic view of persecution that we have, because it is not the biblical view.  When we are persecuted it will not be some glorious suffering in the eyes of the world, or even our brethren, no it will be embarrassing lies, half-truths, and misconceptions that are spread about us.

Jesus was not criticized for what He did, instead He was lied about.  We ought to expect the same.

#74 – What the Gospels Teach – Jesus not Stopping - Matthew 9:27-31

As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed Him, crying out, "Have mercy on us, Son of David!" When He entered the house, the blind men came up to Him, and Jesus *said to them, "Do you believe that I am able to do this?" They *said to Him, "Yes, Lord." Then He touched their eyes, saying, "It shall be done to you according to your faith." And their eyes were opened. And Jesus sternly warned them: "See that no one knows about this!" But they went out and spread the news about Him throughout all that land. (Matthew 9:27-31 NASB)

This text brings forth a couple interesting points.  First, notice that the blind men were following Jesus, and followed Him all the way to a house.  The chronology of this, can be missed if we read it too quickly.  We have this assumption that Jesus sees these two blind men has mercy on them and heals them, but the passage says something altogether different than that.  Two blind men were following Jesus and crying out “Have mercy on us, Son of David!”  We have no indication of how long they followed, or how far this house was away, but we do see that at the house they caught up to Him, and then He healed them.  It is important to notice the unique nature of all of these healings.  In one case we have a woman touching the garment of Christ, another where a man calls Christ to His home to raise His daughter, some healing of the unclean, and other miracles performed for Roman leaders, the healings are all very unique.  In the case of this healing the blind men had to pursue Jesus crying out, and eventually had to catch up to Him.  This is not the typical image we get of Jesus, normally we think of Him stopping to serve all and not walking on to His next stop while people in need are crying out.  You cannot call this healing the ‘normal’ method, but at the same time you cannot call it abnormal either.  The point is that there is no standard protocol for healing.  God is not going to be manipulated or convinced to heal based on your 12 steps, or your specific program.  Healing is unique and not bound to a system.

The second point is Jesus’ stern warning. “See that no one knows about this!”  Why was Jesus stern?  Was He avoiding these people for a reason, and then giving in and healing them, but not without issuing a stern warning?  Why would He give a command He knew they wouldn’t keep?  Was it sin when they went and spread the news?  The sternness of Jesus’ warning should at least give us a clue that He meant business, this was not a trite, “let this be our little secret” type thing, but instead it was a forceful command.  This healing is enigmatic to me, the only compassion Jesus’ offers is the healing itself, but the time leading up to the healing He is walking away from them, and the time after the healing He is issuing a stern warning.  There is no forgiveness of sin mentioned, no looking upon them with compassion, it was more of a cold healing.  Did these men ‘use’ Jesus?  Did Jesus know that these men were yet unregenerate and did not want them proclaiming Christ so as to cause His name to be blasphemed?  Obviously these are questions I have no answers to, but I do think this healing deserves more than a cursory look, as its uniqueness is important to the Gospel narrative.

On a side note, I have been posting much less lately and I really miss it.  Writing has kinda fallen out of my routine as I have begun pursuing Greek.  At the same time Greek has fallen out temporarily too, and I have been wasting time laying in bed until 7 or later.  Lack of discipline leads to all sorts of malady and lack of joy so I resolve by the grace of God to shed this temporary apathy.  Not promising more posts, but hopefully that will be a result of this resolve.

#73 – What the Gospel Teaches - A healing within a healing – Matthew 9:18-26

While he was saying these things to them, behold, a ruler came in and knelt before him, saying, "My daughter has just died, but come and lay your hand on her, and she will live." And Jesus rose and followed him, with his disciples. And behold, a woman who had suffered from a discharge of blood for twelve years came up behind him and touched the fringe of his garment, for she said to herself, "If I only touch his garment, I will be made well." Jesus turned, and seeing her he said, "Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well." And instantly the woman was made well. And when Jesus came to the ruler's house and saw the flute players and the crowd making a commotion, he said, "Go away, for the girl is not dead but sleeping." And they laughed at him. But when the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took her by the hand, and the girl arose. And the report of this went through all that district. (Matthew 9:18-26 ESV)

There are so many facets to this narrative it is hard to handle in one post.  At the same time the resurrection of the dead girl cannot be separated from the healing of the woman who touched His garment considering the touching of the garment is a narrative within the narrative.  Let’s take the two miracles together; the resurrection miracle was precipitated by a ruler addressing Christ face to face.  The curing of the hemorrhage was precipitate by a woman secretly touching the garment of Christ.  The resurrection miracle was a miracle requested on behalf of a daughter, the hemorrhage miracle was requested by the one being healed.  These two miracles are very different in many ways, and yet they exist right here within each other, and in the divine plan of God we presume it is this way for a reason.

People’s propensity towards Pharisaic thinking was known by God.  God is immutable, and yet humanity at large, as well as on a personal level are constantly in a state of flux.  Our tendency is to swing from complete and utter immorality as an unbeliever into a gracious appreciation for Christ as a new believer, and then often we swing past gracious appreciation in order to create rules and regulations to impose upon people beyond what the bible imposes.  What does this have to do with this text?  Everything!  Had Christ performed these miracles in separate contexts one could be led to believe that it is either the faith of someone else that must heal you, or that it is the faith of yourself that brings you healing.  Had Christ performed these miracles in separate contexts someone could assert that Christ has a preference towards rulers and people who can stand face to face with Him, or on the flip side that He only regards the poor who are afraid to be seen by Him.  Throughout the scriptures we find instances like these where the Lord is working in two or more very different ways simultaneously with two different types of people.  Certainly I do not want to get all post-modern here and say there are not absolutes regarding how God acts, God forbid that I would give that idea.  However, texts like this remind us that it is He who defines those absolutes in His word, not us.  Many in the emergent movement would (though not vocally) have preferred that Christ would not have responded to the ruler’s faith but only responded to woman, this could justify their ‘social justice is everything’ mentality.  On the flip side many fundamentalists struggle with the idea of this woman being made whole coming in through the back door and then facing Jesus.  (See Luke 8:44-48 for a more in depth narrative.)  The beauty of this passage is that the one healing is encapsulated in the other making them forever inseparable even though they are very much different from each other.

Of course there are many other important truths that can be gleaned from this passage.  For instance, Christ is about bigger things than healing a hemorrhage that could obviously be lived with right?  I mean it is more important to raise the dead?  No, not at all, Jesus stops for the ‘lesser’ healing.  Personal application here is pretty obvious, just because God is about dealing with bigger things in this world than your life, does not mean He is not about dealing with your life.  Or what about the laughter of the people in the midst of the death of this girl, and their utter brazenness and lack of compassion, and yet the desperation that led the ruler to believe on Christ for the miracle.  Of course what about how foolish they must have felt when she walked in on her own funeral... alive.  There is a lot of good stuff here, but I will stop right here and move on to the next passage in the next post.

It has been difficult posting lately.  I hope to ramp it back up a bit, as I have found that writing through this gospel has been a great help to me, cannot promise to be daily though.