We Are All Orphans (Ephesians 2:1-10)

1 Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins. 2 You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil—the commander of the powers in the unseen world. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God. 3 All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature we were subject to God’s anger, just like everyone else.

4 But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, 5 that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!) 6 For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus. 7 So God can point to us in all future ages as examples of the incredible wealth of his grace and kindness toward us, as shown in all he has done for us who are united with Christ Jesus.

8 God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. 9 Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. 10 For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.

This week we will hear reports from our January trip to the Village of Hope in B., so I will keep my comments brief.  These beautiful children are a metaphor for us.  They are living parables explaining our passage today, and explaining our relationship with God.

These children, who are now so full of hope and joy, were once undernourished, homeless, and hopeless.  In many ways, they were dead - even though they had breath and blood.  They had no chance in life.  They had no dreams or hopes other than a full stomach.  Even if they were able to imagine some dreams of future careers, they had no ability to go anywhere or to do anything other than to scratch for daily survival.  Their only future was a life of hard work for little pay, giving all their efforts for survival until even that wasn’t enough.  In the great injustice of this broken world, the sins and failings of others had stripped them of the very resources necessary for living.  They had no life and nothing to live for.

In a very real sense, when Nazarenes in B. welcomed them into the Village of Hope, they were raised from the dead.  With nutritious meals, good education, and heaps of TLC (tender loving care), these kids have blossomed like desert flowers after the rain.  Their joyful faces and warm affection have captured the hearts of every person from our church who has visited.  

We Will Rejoice - Isaiah 25:6-9

One of our texts for Easter Sunday is Isaiah 25:6-9.

⁶ In Jerusalem, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies
    will spread a wonderful feast
    for all the people of the world.
It will be a delicious banquet
    with clear, well-aged wine and choice meat.
⁷ There he will remove the cloud of gloom,
    the shadow of death that hangs over the earth.
⁸ He will swallow up death forever!
    The Sovereign Lord will wipe away all tears.
He will remove forever all insults and mockery
    against his land and people.
    The Lord has spoken!

⁹ In that day the people will proclaim,
“This is our God!
    We trusted in him, and he saved us!
This is the Lord, in whom we trusted.
    Let us rejoice in the salvation he brings!”

We might use this video to help proclaim this passage.




What do you think?

Love Wins - Review

I read Rob Bell's controversial Love Wins yesterday - as in I started at 8:30 and was done by 3:30.  Granted, I'm preaching on heaven and hell this week, so I figured I should at least read the most debated book on the topic in recent memory.
If you missed the controversy, let me just say it was messy and ugly, and I was only viewing the remnants and echos from the other side of the world.  For a not-so-brief summary of the controversy, check out this article.  For a beautiful interview with Rob Bell about how he has handled all this controversy, click here.  For a look at what this conversation means for the current state of North American Christianity - especially evangelicalism, read this excellent article by theologian Scott McKnight. 
Essentially, the controversy is all about two long debated points within Christian theology.
1. What does it take to be saved (to go to heaven and to avoid hell)?  (Specifically, can people who have never heard about Jesus be saved?)
2. Is hell a place of eternal, conscious punishment from which there is no escape - ever?
Both of these questions have been asked by theologians almost since the time of Christ, and for almost that long, our best Christian thinkers have come up with a variety of answers.  There is no Christian consensus on these two points.  Neither of these two points are critical questions of Christian orthodoxy.  Therefore, throughout history, most Christians have afforded each other the freedom to disagree.  Rob Bell's answers to both questions fall well within the scope of the varied Christian opinion throughout history.
So what does Bell actually say?  Although he says it very well, in his wonderful way of putting very complex ideas in simple and beautiful words, he actually only makes a few specific points.

Regarding heaven, Bell clarifies the use of the word heaven in the Bible.  In the New Testament, the word "heaven" is used in three different ways: (a) as a reference to God (e.g. "Kingdom of Heaven"), (b) the place/time of total restoration in the future, (c) the invasion of that future reality into our present reality ("Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven" - type of thinking).  Basically, heaven is something we can experience in part now. (Remember all your pastors talking about starting the "eternal life" now.  This is what Bell is talking about.)  But one day, this foretaste will become the real deal, explosively joyful, unfiltered presence of God among the loving community of God's people.  So far, Bell is right in line with all good theologians.

Regarding hell, Bell unpacks almost every Biblical reference to hell.  And then he slowly works to prove that it is at least possible that a person's experience of hell might not be forever.  The fires of hell might be for the sake of purification rather than eternal punishment.  There might be a second (or third) opportunity to repent and to return to God's grace even after death.  It is possible that God might eventually empty hell and reclaim every lost child.  This may sound strange to people who have grown up with the concept of hell as a place of eternal, conscious, permanent punishment.  However, as Bell points out, good Christian theologians ranging from Justin Martyr to Origen to Luther have said exactly this.

Regarding salvation, Bell makes three basic points.  (1) God is everywhere.  (2) God is always trying to woo people to him and his ways of love.  (3) We will be judged on how we respond to God's wooing - however or wherever we find it.  Although he puts the argument in more beautiful and more controversial tones, this is the essential point, and this is nothing new to Christianity.  Everywhere there have been Christian missionaries and thinkers, people have wondered about this, and many of them have said exactly the same thing.

So here's my conclusion.  Rob Bell didn't say anything new or unorthodox or unChristian, but he said it really, really well.  Honestly, I'm not sure he's right, but I think it's possible.  And I think it's important that we talk about hell and who may or may not go there with a little more humility and uncertainty.  (The Bible seems to be intentionally unclear on that point.)  And I am sure that Bell (or anyone else) can believe everything in this book and be authentically Christian.

The Josh rating: JJJJ.

(Coming soon, my sermon on Heaven and Hell.)