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When the Fullness of Time Had Come

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incarnation of JesusSome people wonder why Jesus came when He did. Why not earlier … or later? I have tackled this question in previous posts, but as I continue to research and write my book When God Pled Guilty, I came across an interesting observation and idea about the timing of Jesus’ incarnation.

I believe God’s timing in sending Jesus has something to do with God’s ultimate plan of redemption for the world.

Just as there is progressive revelation in history, so also, it seems that there is progressive redemption. In the beginning, God did not reveal everything there is to know about Himself or His plan for the world. With each successive generation, He revealed more and more of Himself, so that over time, a broader and more accurate understanding about God’s character and nature was revealed.

So also with God’s plan of redemption.

In fact, progressive revelation and God’s plan of redemption are intricately connected. Progressive revelation leads to a new stage in redemption, and once this stage of redemption had gained a foothold in the lives of mankind, this paved the way for further revelation. We can only believe that when Jesus came, it was because the timing was right, and the revelation of God was ready for a more perfect explanation of Who He was and what He was like.

The Old Testament saints knew very little (if anything) about how God planned to send His Son to die on a cross for the sins of the whole world, but when the right time had come, this further revelation and further act of redemption is exactly what God did in Jesus Christ.

Though it may be true that in times past God bore the violence of His people upon Himself, the fullness of time had come for God to reveal that this was not the ideal situation—either for Himself or for us. Though God is happy to bear our sin and shame, His ultimate goal is to deliver us from evil completely, and for that to happen, we must understand where the evil and violence comes from—not from God, but from our own hearts. “Without ever seeking to limit human freedom, and without ever allowing revelation to become constraining or coercive Christ guides humanity toward divine truth” (Girard, The One By Whom Scandal Comes, 44).

Jesus did not come to lay another plank on the deck of religion. No, Jesus came to do away with religion, and especially, the religion of violence which is at the core of all world religions.

Jesus is not there in order to stress once again in his own person the unified violence of the sacred; he is not there to ordain and govern like Moses; he is not there to unite a people around him, to forge its unity in the crucible of rites and prohibitions, but on the contrary, to turn the long page of human history once and for all (Girard, Things Hidden Since the Foundation of the World, 204).

When Christ is revealed in the flesh, it is because the fullness of time had come for Him to be revealed to the world, not just as true God, but also as true man. Jesus came, not just to reveal God to us, but also to reveal us to us. It is in the revelation of Jesus that we learn some critical truths about God and about ourselves.

So the timing of the incarnation of Jesus had something to do with the development of God’s plan of redemption, along with the development of humanity as a whole. The time was right for God to reveal more about Himself to us, and reveal more about us to us as well.

God of the Old Testament and JesusHow can a God who says "Love your enemies" (Matthew 5:44) be the same God who instructs His people in the Old Testament to kill their enemies?

These are the sorts of questions we discuss and (try to) answer in my online discipleship group. Members of the group can also take ALL of my online courses (Valued at over $1000) at no charge. Learn more here: Join the RedeemingGod.com Discipleship Group I can't wait to hear what you have to say, and how we can help you better understand God and learn to live like Him in this world!

The Dream of the Homeless

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homeless on easterWho are the homeless? What are they thinking as we walk by without looking them in the eye? What do they want from us as they hold their sign at the stoplight while we fiddle with the radio knobs on our car dashboard?

Do the homeless have dreams? Desires? Wishes? Hopes?

What circumstances in life led them to this spot on the cold, wet pavement under the bridge?

If we want to help the homeless, the very first step is seeking to understand who they are and how they think. The best way to do this is by listening to their stories.

Here are a few of the stories I have heard from homeless people in my town as I spent Easter Sunday among them:

The Innocents

“I have a dream,” said the homeless woman sitting on the sidewalk. “I have a dream that I will have a large house that I can fill with children, the unwanted, unloved, and abused children of the world.

“There’s a little five year old girl I know. She gets passed around and used by men.

“There’s also a baby. He can sit up, so someone sets him out on the front steps of the apartment building where he lives. Sometimes people give him something to eat or drink. He’s in the sun when it’s hot. Sometimes he falls over and falls down the steps and gets hurt and cries. If he’s lucky, someone sets him up again.”

“Where’s his mother?” I ask.

“I don’t know. I’ve asked people who she is and no one knows. They say he’s just out there when they come out the door and they never see anyone take care of him. I want to give him a home.

“The innocents. The Lord gave me the word innocents. I asked him who the innocents are. He told me they are the children no one wants. I pray for them. Will you pray for them?”

We assure her we will.

The Pink Cross

We walk around the corner to a group of homeless women sitting under tarps. “Melinda” was busy working on something on the sidewalk.

“I saw you coming down the street and I’m making this for you.” Somewhere Melinda had come up with a small pink foam cross and foam stickers in the shape of hearts, churches, and the words “Joy”, “Pray,” and “Love God.”

“Jesus rose up from the dead on Easter,” Melinda told us. “Here, this is for you to remind you of that. Would you like some tickets to a movie? It’s about a girl that got hurt, but God helped her in all her trouble. I have two extra tickets.”

We accept the tickets and thank her, and give her and her friends water, food, and shirts.

“Happy Easter!” they shout as we walk on to another group of homeless people.

Yes, the risen Lord walks among the homeless, not only on Easter, but also on every day of the week. He is there, among the beauty of those who know and love him, but also in the middle of incredible darkness.

homeless look away

Murder Walks These Streets

“Six homeless men have been murdered down here lately,” said our friend “Arthur”. We’ve known Arthur for several years. He dreams of starting a business and getting off the street.

So far it hasn’t happened.

“One night I was coming back to my cart and there was a dead man laying right there,” Arthur said, pointing to a small patch of ground planted with bushes. “Someone had bashed in his head and his brains were all over the place.”

“Are you afraid?” I ask.

“Sure, but this is all I got. So far I’ve been lucky, I guess.”

“Drug deal gone bad?” I ask.

“Maybe. I dunno. I was walkin’ around for a couple of hours. It was late and there he was when I came back.”

“Why doesn’t this stuff get in the paper, Arthur?”

“Nobody cares when one of us gets murdered. It’s bad publicity for the city.”

“We care, Arthur.”

“We know. You show it.”

Incredible beauty walks among the homeless, but incredible evil also is their constant companion.

Get the Cop

With my little pink cross held in my hand, we round the corner a couple of hundred feet from where the man had been murdered a few weeks before.

“Them damn cops won’t let us play football there in the street,” a couple of them tell me.

“Why not?” I ask.

“We don’t know, but they’re gonna pay for it.”

homeless neighborA group of about twenty angry homeless men are milling around. One police cruiser with one policeman inside backed into place in the middle of the street in front of them. The policeman rolled down his window, then opened his door, got out and stood there, facing off with the men.

“Friends, we have sweet grapes, water, and buffalo-wing flavored goldfish crackers for you” we announce as we purposely walk between the policeman and the group of angry men. “Who needs a fresh, clean shirt? I have a bag of them here. My wife even ironed them for you.”

Soon we are handing out food, water, and shirts and the mood of the crowd changes. Only one man continues to taunt and curse the policeman. The policeman tells him to calm down, then returns to the safety of his cruiser while the crowd sat, eating grapes and crackers. Some tried on their new shirts.

“This is Easter,” we proclaim. “Have a good Easter, guys.”

“Happy Easter!” several tell us.

None of these men mentioned Jesus rising from the dead and no one gave us an Easter cross. But no one jumped the policeman and no one got shot, either.

Jesus Walks These Streets

Jesus walks the streets. He’s on the corner with the prostitutes. He’s in the alley with the addicts. He walks the streets on Easter morning and on every other morning.

People are murdered there on the street, but others are safe. Jesus is with them both.

Some mothers set their babies on the front steps of their apartment buildings and leave them alone. Other mothers make plans to get off the streets and make a home for the unwanted and unloved children. Jesus cries with and comforts both.

The homeless have dreams … and Jesus dreams along with them.

We see Jesus walking these streets. Have you seen him there? We see him every week walking these streets. He’s not hard to find if you know how to look.

There is so much need in the world!

And YOU can help.

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Do you remember The Picture Bible? The Word for Word Bible Comic will be even better…

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word for word Bible comicAll three of my girls are currently reading The Picture Bible. When I was young, I think I read through that book 10 times or more. It was a great way to learn the Bible stories and become familiar with the basic structure of the Bible, and since it was written in comic-story format, it kept my interest.

When I got a little older, I also liked Crusader Comics. Looking back now, I cringe a little bit at the theology taught in those comic books, but I remember reading them over and over again. 

Back then, comic books were intended primarily for children, but as our society becomes more and more visually oriented, there are more and more comic books being put out for adults. They are actually called “Graphic Novels.”

I have often thought that it would be great if someone could do a graphic novel of the Bible, much like The Picture Bible, but without glossing over or cutting out the “difficult” portions of Scripture. What difficult potions? You know, the rapes, the murders, the sex, and the violence. 

The Picture Bible, as great as it is, does not give an accurate picture about God, God’s people, or the violent nature of the Bible itself. 

These violent events are in the Bible, and we do a great disservice to ourselves, to the church, to our witness in the world, and to future generations when we try to ignore such violence in Bible as if it never happened. 

If we want to be honest with ourselves and with others about the God we claim to follow, we can begin by being honest about the book which we claim tells us about this God. 

The Word for Word Bible Comic

So anyway, I was excited to learn about a new project currently underway to publish a Word for Word Bible Comic of the entire Bible. That’s right … the author plans to leave nothing out.

As the name suggests, the Word for Word Bible Comic will include every word of the Bible:

word for word Bible

As part of drawing the Word for Word Bible Comic, the author has painstakingly studied the history, culture, and geography of the text to make sure his drawings are as accurate as possible:

word for word bible geography

Philistines depicted colour

The Word for Word Bible Comic even includes the violence inherent within the biblical text. Here is a scene from Samson, which I wrote a post about yesterday. I am uncomfortable with the violence in these portions of Scripture, but we cannot deny their existence. 

samson word for word Bible comic

Oh, as a side note, if you look at the image above, I really like how the author made Samson relatively skinny. You see how he is smaller in size than the Philistines surrounding him? I think this is historically accurate. Samson likely was not a beast of a man, or else why would the Philistines want to know the secret of his strength? If he had huge muscles, the source of his strength would be obvious. 

Anyway, I am thrilled that Word for Word Bible Comic project is underway. 

But isn’t all this violence gratuitous? Isn’t it unnecessary to show all the blood and gore? It is only unnecessary if you do not realize that this is the way the Bible is! It can easily be shown that the Bible is one of the most gruesome, bloody, and violent religious books that has ever been written. 

If you don’t like to think about the violence in the biblical text, you might want to ask yourself why…

Although, I must say, I am a little curious to see how the Word for Word Bible Comic will handle the Song of Solomon. I don’t see how he can draw that book and not make it X-Rated …

On a similar note, I am quite curious to see how the Word for Word Bible Comic will deal with non-narrative texts such as the Pauline Epistles. There seems to be only so many images you can draw from these letters…

Introducing The Word for Word Bible Comic

Anyway, here is a bit more about this Word for Word Bible Comic project from the author/illustrator himself:

To learn more about Word for Word Bible Comic, check out the website here.

Also, if you want to help get this project off the ground, you can support the Word for Word Bible Comic Kickstarter project for the initial project goal of publishing the Book of Judges. 

I will consider how I will get involved in supporting this project, and invite you to do the same! Go here to learn more.

An Excellent Commentary on Judges and Ruth

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Chisholm Commentary on Judges and RuthKregel Publications recently sent me Robert Chisholm’s A Commentary on Judges and Ruth to read and review on this blog. Robert Chisholm is a professor at Dallas Theological Seminary, though I never had the privilege of sitting under him in any of my classes when I was there. After reading his commentary on Judges and Ruth, I really regret not being able to take any classes with him.

Though I probably have not read more than five commentaries on Judges and Ruth, I can safely say that this commentary is one of the better volumes available for Judges and Ruth. Combining top-notch exegetical skill, a clear and compelling writing style, and deep pastoral insights, Robert Chisholm has provided a commentary on Judges and Ruth which should be part of any Bible student or Pastor’s library who plans to teach or preach on the books of Judges and Ruth.

Not only does Robert Chisholm explain the biblical text in a way that makes sense and reveals the cultural, historical, and grammatical contexts of Judges and Ruth, he also deals with modern questions that the text address, such as the issues of female leadership, the consequences of spiritual compromise, and the often bewildering actions of God in relation to His people on earth.

I say “bewildering” because the author of the book of Judges seems conflicted about how to understand God’s apparent behavior toward His people. Sometimes in the book, sinners, idolaters, and murderers live long and healthy lives, apparently with God’s blessing, while at other times, one little mess-up causes God’s wrath to fall upon whole generations of people. The author of Judges tries to explain these events, but such explanations often fail. Then there are the times that God uses enemy nations to punish Israel, and others times that God uses enemy nations to deliver Israel (e.g., Shamgar and Jael). You can almost hear the author of Judges trying to make sense of this.

Then, although punishment often seems to follow idolatry and compromise, deliverance sometimes seems to come out of nowhere. The people have not repented, they have not returned to God, but God delivers them anyway. Again, the author seems to be asking why sin can lead to punishment, but restoration does not seem to require repentance. These sorts of dilemmas are everywhere in the book. Chisholm brings out these apparent inconsistencies, but does little to resolve them.

And that is my main criticism of this book. Never once, that I could found, does Chisholm challenge the apparent violence of God in the book of Judges. He says that the violence is “harsh” and “punitive” (p. 58) but says it is necessary to protect the Lord’s reputation. Really? What reputation? It seems that God’s violence toward others, and God’s violence toward his own people by others does an awful lot to damage His own reputation. But that is an interpretive and theological issue that is a current pet project of mine, so I will leave it alone. 

Aside from that one criticism, there are numerous other strengths to this commentary. I like how Chisholm provided good preaching tips for how to teach Judges and Ruth, and also provided a list of recommended commentaries. Overall, this is a fantastic commentary on Judges and Ruth, and everyone who teaches or preaches through these books should have a copy in their library. You can get it from Amazon by clicking here.

Where is Jesus in “The Bible”?

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My wife and I decided that as part of our Easter celebration this year, we would begin watching the History Channel TV miniseries “The Bible” with our three daughters. 

I am sure people have reviewed this miniseries to death on other blogs, so I will not say much about it. 

the Bible history channel

The only thing I want to bring up is something that should not have surprised me at all … namely, the violence. I must confess that although I am currently up to my eyeballs in studying and thinking about all the violent passages in Scripture, it is quite another thing to see some of them on the screen, especially when, right in the midst of the violence, many of the people committing the violence scream something like “In the name of God!” or “For the glory of the Lord!” 

And yes, I think the violence is gratuitous in this miniseries. There were numerous times where fight scenes were completely unnecessary, and other times where the fight scenes seems to drag on and on, but then, they delete entire portions out of the Bible (such as all of Jacob’s story, the 40 years of wilderness wanderings, etc.) Couldn’t they have cut out the fight scenes and included a scene or two from these other crucial events? 

I am not trying to sweep the violence of Scripture under the rug and ignore it, but when God’s angels start pulling out their swords to hack people to pieces (as in the scene with Sodom and Gomorrah), it’s a little too much. 

Anyway, as I was sitting there watching all the bloodshed while my wife tried to cover the eyes and ears of our three daughters at the especially gruesome parts (like when Samson slaughters Philistines), my youngest daughter blurted out, “Daddy, where is Jesus?” 

Yes. 

That is the question, isn’t it? 

Where is Jesus?

I don’t know about you, but I find it impossible to take the Jesus I read about in the Gospels, and put Him back into almost any violence scene in the Old Testament. 

crucifixion of JesusThe Jesus I read about in the Gospels has compassion on the multitudes when they are hungry. Would this same Jesus give praise to God if He were on the boat with Noah while mothers and babies screamed on the outside as they were dragged to a drowning death? 

The Jesus I read about in the Gospels says “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,” not “Because you have not let my people go, I will go through all of Egypt and strike down every firstborn son.” 

Ultimately, then, it comes back around this question: Does Jesus fully reveal God to us or not? 

If He does, then how do you make sense of the bloody and violent texts of the Old Testament, and the complete lack of such violence from Jesus in the Gospels? 

This is why I am trying to forge an explanation with my “When God Pled Guilty” series. Frankly, I am quite excited about some recent developments in this series, but I know for a fact that when I am done, my proposal will not be fully satisfactory (even to me). 

So how do you read the Old Testament violent texts? When you read them, ask yourself the same question my daughter did: “Where is Jesus?” 

Results from Violence of God Survey

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Sinful employment for ChristiansI was going to continue my series on the Violence of God anyway… mainly because I need to study it for myself, and writing is one way I force myself to study.

But you may remember that a few weeks ago I ran a survey about whether you wanted me to continue writing about it on my blog or not. The survey was overwhelmingly positive. Here are the survey results:

Question 1:

While I am going to continue to study and write on this topic for my own sake, is this study on the violence of God in the Old Testament something you want me to keep publishing?

Yes: 96%
No: 4%

Question 2:

These recent posts have received hardly any interaction (which is fine … I don’t write posts just to get lots of comments) and I am trying to figure out why. If you like the posts on this topic but don’t comment on them, please share a reason why:

51% – I just don’t have anything to add. Keep writing though!

0% – I think you are way off base in your views on this, but don’t want to say so in the comments.

0% – I don’t really understand what you are writing about, so couldn’t leave a meaningful comment.

25% – I don’t know what to think about your view, and am waiting to learn more before I start leaving comments.

24% – Other

Here are some of the reasons people left for the “Other” category. I hope you don’t mind if I share them:

Jeremy, Thank you so much for all the posts .You are a great writer. You are open and direct in any topic you write. I have just read a few. Give me some more time to interact.

I’m keeping busy with my own projects at the moment. I’m enjoying reading your thoughts, but I just don’t have the extra time to hash them out with you right now. I’ll try to weigh in as I have time.

I only add when I have questions or when I think I have something to add to the conversation going on. If not I just read and enjoy. Sometimes I need to understand better what you mean by reading more posts.

actually I almost feel a little bit of a hit with each of your questions…..there are back posts on this I am still reviewing…..your thoughts are interesting but have caused some confusion as well…I want to give a fair hearing as I have been checking your blog for a few months now and read your books….

There is more to learn about God every day in ways you never suspect will happen. I always find out something new from your blog.I have found in my life (72 years) that most people will not comment on things they find is too hard to do. God be with you in all things you do and say.

This is a very difficult subject for many people. I think it is too early to form a cogent opinion. Keep on going.

You laid out wayyyy too much stuff to wade through to be able to intelligently interact. I think your basic premise is “Just as Jesus took sin upon Himself on the cross so that He might rescue and deliver all mankind from sin, so also God took violence upon Himself in the Old Testament so that He might rescue and deliver all mankind from violence.” which flows from your thought that Jesus is not violent while the God of the OT is violent. I don’t think your starting point is accurate. I don’t know that it’s possible to interact with you to sort that out. though. Commenting on your posts doesn’t seem fruitful. It looks like you just need to run through the process of sorting it out.

This a subject that has troubled me for sometime. I have basically given up trying to figure it but I am interested in reading your thoughts concerning it.

Please keep writing on this subject. I have not found a satisfying answer yet.

I love them! I also just found your blog a couple days ago, which I wholeheartedly feel is a God thing because I have been struggling with this issue but had no answers. I feel like I am learning so much but I probably won’t post often because I feel way inferior in my knowledge. Please keep posting!

I think you should write about whatever the Spirit moves you to write about. I think you’re somewhat off base because of your basic assumptions of infallibility and inspiration-as-dictation, but I want to finish reading it all before I comment further.

Survey Results on Sinful Employment for Christians

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Sinful employment for ChristiansA couple weeks ago I ran a survey on what my readers thought about sinful employment for Christians. The results are below.

Sinful Employment for Christians

The first survey was about what forms of employment would be sinful for a Christian. I received well over 100 responses to this survey, but the survey company I used only allows me to see the first 100 responses for free. I didn’t want to pay to see the rest. I have made the result public, and you can go see them yourself here: Sinful Employment for Christians

Here are the questions and their responses:

  1. Is it wrong for Christians to serve in the military?
    Yes: 11%
    No: 89%
  2. Is it wrong for Christians to work at (or own) a casino?
    Yes: 44%
    No: 56%
  3. Is it wrong for Christians to work at (or own) a buffet restaurant (because it encourages gluttony)?
    Yes: 5%
    No: 95%
  4. Is it wrong for a Christian to work at (or own) a bank or investment firm (because they sometimes promote greed)?
    Yes: 5%
    No: 95%
  5. Is it wrong for a Christian to work at (or own) a television or cable company when one of the channel packages includes pornographic material?
    Yes: 37%
    No: 63%
  6. Is it wrong for a Christian to work at (or own) a secular publishing company when one of the arms of that company publishes pornographic material?
    Yes: 48%
    No: 52%
  7. Is it wrong for a Christian to work at (or own) a bar or liquor store?
    Yes: 34%
    No: 66%
  8. Is it wrong for a Christian to work at (or own) a medical marijuana dispensary?
    Yes: 31%
    No: 69% – (By the way, check this out… a Christian Pot Shop!!!
  9. Is it wrong for a Christian to work at (or own) an abortion clinic?
    Yes: 84%
    No: 16%
  10. Is it wrong for a Christian to work at (or own) a strip club?
    Yes: 84%
    No: 16%

Analyzing the Survey Results

One of the drawbacks to that “free” version of the survey site I used is that they only allowed 10 questions. When I initially wrote this survey, I had about 20 questions, and also had room for people to leave feedback and explanations for why they answered as they did. On the one hand, I am glad that I was limited to only 10 questions, because it made the survey easier to complete, but on the other hand, I am super curious to know why people answered the way they did. Thankfully, some people left comments on the original post which helped explain their answers. If you took the survey and want to add further explanation in the comment section below, feel free!

Christian employmentAlso, some people pointed out that the questions were not well asked. Very true. For example, rather than ask, “Is it wrong for Christians…” I should have asked “Would it be wrong for you…” Though many Christians try to state universal rules for all Christians everywhere about these sorts of topics, many Christians realize that what is wrong for one Christian may be perfectly okay for someone else.

As you look over the results above, are there any surprises for you? What are they?

I think what would be most interesting is if we could have First Century Christians take this same survey. From my own reading of what early Christians believed, I think most of them would have said it would be wrong for a Christian to serve in the military and in the banking industry. Also, many of the biblical prophets come down pretty hard on greed and gluttony, and even Paul has some harsh words for those who overeat (1 Cor 11). Yet our society sees nothing wrong with these sorts of things. I am not saying we are wrong… We live in different times in a culture with different values.

I personally work in a job that many people would find quite compromising. I regularly have discussions with Christians who think that I am sinning by working where I work. Early Christians might agree. Some days, I agree too!

Yet I think that part of following Jesus in this world means taking the light of the Gospel to places that otherwise might have no Christian witness at all. If we are not lights in the darkness, there would be only darkness. As I have written elsewhere, when we seek to follow Jesus, we must not be surprised when we follow Him to the gates of hell.

Besides, if we tried to have a place of employment that was completely free of all sin, we would not be able to work anywhere! All businesses, companies, and organizations (even churches) have sinful habits and behaviors which compromise various aspects of Christian values and ethics. Thankfully, the grace and forgiveness of God is without limit!

Unity vs Uniformity in the Church

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unity vs uniformityThere has been a huge push toward unity in the church over the past 40 years or so. People are tired of the numerous divisions and splits that seem to occur with increasing frequency within the church. And while some of our divisions involve important issues, such as whether or not Jesus was truly divine (He is) and whether or not God loves gays (He does, of course), a lot of church division seems to occur over stupid stuff, like what kind of music to play on Sunday morning, whether or not there should be donuts in the foyer, and what color the new carpet should be.

Personally, I don’t think all church splits are a bad thing. I don’t think that deciding to leave one group of people so that you can join with a different group is always bad. To some degree, this is just the way life is, and sometimes, these sorts of reorganizations are simply one way of keeping the peace. When we view all different denominations and types of churches as parts of the universal Body of Christ, we begin to see that we are not in competition with one another, but are simply different parts of the same Body working in unison toward a common goal. I’ve written about this before in my post: The Church is Broken? Nope.

Of course, there does not always seem to be a whole lot “unison toward a common goal.” Instead, there is a lot of name calling, finger pointing, back stabbing, and heretic burning. I fully admit that I have engaged in a fair bit of this myself over the years. And I sometimes still do. I’m guilty too.

But here is what I am trying to come to recognize: Unity is not the same thing as uniformity.

I believe we can have unity within the church without uniformity. In fact, since there can never be true uniformity in all things, the only way to achieve unity is to recognize, accept, and celebrate our diversity.

Maybe some quick definitions are in order.

Unity vs Uniformity

Unity is when we are one. We are of one mind, spirit, purpose, mission, and goal.

Uniformity is when we all believe the same thing and practice the same thing. We are uniform in our beliefs and behaviors.

I think that in general, all Christians everywhere are in unity. We have one Spirit, the Spirit of God. We have one purpose, to glorify God. We have one mission, to spread the good news about Jesus Christ. We have one goal, to lift up the name of Jesus and live like Him in this world.

Yet despite this unity, there is no uniformity whatsoever on how to do these things, what it looks like, or where and when to do these things.

Just take the “gospel” we are supposedly in unity about. Regarding the gospel, we cannot agree on the the definition and message of the gospel we are to proclaim! We cannot agree on who gets to proclaim it, or to whom it should be proclaimed, or what should happen after we proclaim it. There is even disagreement in some circles on what we should wear when we proclaim the gospel and what Bible translation we should use. Let’s be honest: It gets quite ridiculous.

Unity Without Uniformity

I think it is possible — even desirable — to have unity without uniformity. 

It is possible to have unity within the church only if we give up on uniformity. Unity is a Godly goal; uniformity is not. 

unity of the Body of ChristI can be happy that that certain members of my Christian family like Southern Gospel music even though it makes me want to cut my ears off. I don’t think that they should like my kind of music (which is pretty much no music at all) to be real Christians, and I hope they can extend the same grace toward me despite our lack of uniformity.

Similarly, though I am not a big fan of sitting in a pew on Sunday morning and calling that “church,” I know that for many people, this is an important part of the way they follow Jesus. Since this used to be essential for me as well, I understand where they are coming from, and can be in unity with them regardless of our differences in how we try our best to follow Jesus. I hope they can extend the same grace toward me despite our lack of uniformity.

I could go on and talk about my Calvinist friends, or those who think women should be silent in church, or those who vote democrat. I may disagree with these perspectives quite passionately, but in the end, I choose to put aside my differences and love others for the sake of unity in Christ, not expecting them to become a clone of me, and hoping that they do not expect me to fall into step behind them.

It is exactly this unity without diversity which best expressed the love of Jesus, and which paves the way for us to invite the world into our midst. The world, I believe, wants to follow Jesus, but they are not sure they want to become “Christians.” If we can open up our arms and say, “No problem! There is room among Jesus followers for all kinds of Christians,” this sort of loving unity would go a long way in glorifying God, spreading the good news about Jesus Christ, and living like Him in this world.

So do you want Christian unity? Begin by recognizing, encouraging, and celebrating our immense diversity.

This post was part of the April Synchroblog, where various bloggers all write on the same topic. Below is a list of the other contributors this month:

 

 

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