An Independence Day Message

One of the things I have been processing through lately is world views. When I say world view, i mean very simply, "the way in which one thinks about the world". I would say that almost all, if not all Americans are taught to view the world through an American Lens. As followers of Jesus, we are called to view the world as God sees it. I will call this view, a Biblical lens or World View. These two lens's are diametrically opposed to each other. Yet I find in my life and in the lives of many I know, there seems to have been a compromise between them. That compromise has been accepted as the normal way to be a Christian in America. Frankly, I am going to argue that this compromise is sin and detestable to God. I will now unlayer the two lenses, starting with the one we all share, the American World View.

American World View:

This view starts with the presupposition that we, as Americans are entitled to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness as stated in our Declaration of Independence. Everything we do, say, and believe flows from this core value. We believe that we are entitled to the best the world has to offer. We believe that if we work hard enough, we deserve what we get. We desire power, prestige, and popularity. This is essentially the American Dream. It is what inspired millions of men and women to flood into our country in the early 20th century, known as "the era of immigration." America is now not the only nation to view life this way, as much of the West has adopted this mentality, but we were the first. In conclusion, this world view starts and ends with us. As an individual, it starts and ends with me. The leading question an American will ask is, "How can I make my life better?" I admit, this view is very, very captivating.

The Biblical World View:

If you are a follower of Jesus, you must first and foremost acknowledge that you were dead in your transgressions and sins, separated from God and destined to an eternal punishment of God's wrath in hell. (Eph 2:1-7) All you deserve is death (Romans 3:23). But God, in His mercy and grace, has made you alive in Christ Jesus through his death and resurrection by tearing down the wall of sin that separates us from Him through the shed blood of God's perfect, holy, and righteous Son, Jesus Christ. (John 3:16, Eph 2:14-16, Romans 8:1, 1 Cor 15) Therefore, everything in our life is an undeserved gift from God. From our salvation, to our family, to our house, to our heartbeat, EVERYTHING is a gift (Eph 1:3, 1 Tim 6:17). We do not deserve any material or immaterial possession. Because God has called us from death to life, we have been given a new identity and purpose. We, the Church of God, are not citizens of this earth, for our true home is in heaven. We are aliens, foreigners, and sojourners. We are here temporarily as we eagerly await the coming of our Savior and King to establish his Throne on our new home, the new heaven and new earth (Eph 2:19, 2 Cor 5:1, Phil 3:20, Isaiah 65, 2 Peter 3:13, Rev 21:2-3). We are to be in the world, but not of it (1 John 2:15, Romans 12:1-3, John 17:14, 1 Cor 10:13. Eph 4:17). We are therefore God's Sons and Daughters, ambassadors for Christ, and our purpose in this life is to be ministers of God's reconciliation by making disciples of all nations by proclaiming the Gospel to every race, tribe, tongue on this planet. (Matthew 28:17-20, 2 Cor 5:18-20, 1 Cor 15:58, 2 Tim 4:1-5). This is who we are, and what God calls us to live for.

So What?

These world views are unequivocally in direct conflict with each other. We, the church of the west, have let man's ideologies infiltrate the gospel. More so than that, we have been living a lie as we have compromised our identity and purpose in this life. If we are followers of Christ, His Bride, we must view ourselves as God views us. We must live with a Biblical World view. The American Dream has no place in the life of a follower of Jesus Christ. The American Dream exalts man, and when combined with Christianity, makes God look like means to our end. He is not here for us, we are here for Him. It is not about us at all. It is about God delighting in His own glory, which is radiated in his Bride delighting in Him.

If you are a follower of Jesus and view your life with the American World View, you are sinning. This is why. God has called his Church to be His Bride. We are to delight in Him and Him alone. When we seek anything else above Him, we have just made an idol before the living God and worshiped it. It does not matter what it is, money, power, popularity, comfort, security, 401 K, retirement, leisure, vacation, family, friends, or relationships. As Paul says, we must consider all these things as nothing or more biblically, manure, compared to knowing Christ (Phil 3:7-9). When we lust after anything other than God we are also committing adultery. Our hearts are divided, and Jesus wants nothing to do with those who whore after other things. He says he will spit the lukewarm out of His mouth (Rev 3:15-16). A life of spiritual prostitution is detestable to God.

If you are reading this and have been swayed by American ideology you are not alone. So have I. It has permeated the gospel so much. We have so much to unlearn. But thanks be to God's grace. He is greater than all of this. There is still time to change. We must ask Him to change our hearts, illuminate His truth in our minds and open our eyes to see what He sees. WE NEED THE MIND OF CHRIST.

Would we walk in His footsteps and live a wholehearted life of devotion to Jesus as we worship Him holistically, with our hearts, minds souls, and strength.


JN

Theology is NOT optional

I have quite a few friends who groan and moan whenever they hear the word theology. Often times I hear comments like "theology is boring", or "i am a simple person and i don't think it's important to think that deep", or "I don't want to go to seminary, so what is the point of knowing about theology?". We have done a poor job in America of teaching what theology is. We have left thousands with a vague understanding, but even worse, we have given the impression that theology is optional.

So what is theology anyway? Theology simply means, the study of God, or thoughts about God. The English word theology has its roots in the Greek words, theo, meaning God, and logos, meaning word. So when I say I want to grow theologically, what I am saying is, I want to grow in my knowledge and understanding of who God is. Theology is just a big word to label the act of growing in our knowledge of God through His living Word.


Now, with this understanding of theology, I want to be very, very clear. Regardless of your occupation or how simple a thinker you think you are, if you profess to follow Jesus Christ, then theology is not optional. God's people are called to
"rightly handle the word of truth" 2 Timothy 2:15. We are to know God, who He is, who we are, what He has done, and what will be. This is theology.

Often times, when people talk about their dislike of theology, they mean systematic theology. What systematic theology does, is it condenses all the information in the Bible about a given topic into one section. For example, since the Bible does not spell out all there is to know about angels in one book, men have collected all the verses about angles and put them into a system called angelology.

Calling all "Simple Thinkers"
I can somewhat understand where you are coming from. I never used to care about theology, probably because I didn't know what it is. But what I want to submit to you is this: God calls us to love Him with all of our mind. That does not mean you need to go to seminary and attempt learn all that you can possibly learn in that setting. But what I think it does mean, is, you are a steward of your mind. God has enabled you to learn about Him, study Him, imitate Him, and KNOW Him. To love Him fully with your mind is to do those things to your fullest capacity. And that means asking hard questions that may make you feel uncomfortable. For if there is no struggle, there is no progress. FD If you have felt like you haven't grown spiritually in a while, I challenge you to seriously ask yourself if it is because you haven't grown in your understanding and knowledge of God. For "thinking is one of the most important ways we put the fuel of knowledge on the fires of worship and service to the world." John Piper in Think


In Conclusion
I implore you to ask the Lord to grow in your understanding and knowledge of Him. For I know the words of truth will fuel your love for Him and compel you to worship, filling you with joy in Him that will overflow in love to meet the needs of others. This is the ends of theology: to grow in our knowledge of Him so we are able to grow in our love for Him and others. Theology is for all Christians. Deep and simple thinkers alike.





JN