...the Creed's opening words, "I believe in God," render a Greek phrase coined by the writers of the New Testament, meaning literally: "I am believing into God." That is to say, over and above believing certain truths about God, I am living in a relation of commitment to God in trust and union.
This is a brief quote from J. I. Packer’s fantastic book “Affirming the Apostle’s Creed”. I’ve been meditating on this idea and thought it worth a share.
“believing into God”. I like that because it forces the idea of belief beyond simple intellectual agreement and into having unity and relationship with God. It mixes understanding with faith in a way that joins us to God instead of puffing us up with pride (distancing us from God).
I used this video in a recent sermon on the covenant love of God. One of the great examples of this is found in the prophetic marriage between Hosea and Gomer.
What I find challenging about Hosea is that clearly we are Hosea’s wife. We are the unfaithful spouse. Yet, with our dagger of betrayal still in His heart, He loves us and asks us to stay.
Micah 7:18-20 works well as our response:
[18] Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression for the remnant of his inheritance? He does not retain his anger forever, because he delights in steadfast love. [19] He will again have compassion on us; he will tread our iniquities underfoot. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea. [20] You will show faithfulness to Jacob and steadfast love to Abraham, as you have sworn to our fathers from the days of old.
What sort of God is this that is faithful even when His faithfulness is met with betrayal? And don’t we severely violate this love when we refuse to love others with this kind of reckless forgiveness?
I’ve been thinking through a sermon series on Discipleship that simply asks the question, “What is a disciple?” and “How do we become one?”. As I look at examples of what a disciple is in Scripture and how they are made, it actually seems to be far simpler than we have made it out to be. I don’t think that the Church’s lack of disciples has happened because it’s too hard or too complicated. I think it may be something else entirely.
I think it comes down to the fact that we don’t actually believe that people can change. More accurately, we believe the gospel is effective in yanking us from the clutches of Hell, but not much more. We don’t believe that a person can move from brokenness to wholeness. We think people can make improvements to their existing set of abilities, but we do NOT believe in transformation.
We talk about the process of sanctification like it’s a kitchen renovation. Slap some paint on the cabinets, new counter tops and tile the floor. If you’re really special, get some new appliances. Underneath it’s the same nasty kitchen, but at least it looks better on the outside. But I don’t think this is the Biblical perspective. I think God is a God of transformation. The gospel transforms us into something completely new. A new creation. Not a caterpillar to a butterfly, but rather a whole new species. New DNA altogether.
God doesn’t renovate. He guts the kitchen. Rips it all out and builds it back the way He wants it. Brand new.
Do you know what this means? This means that there is no limit to what God can do. God can take the most broken, most flawed, least talented person and transform them into a hero, a leader, a disciple.
Moses from cowardice and speech impediment to rescuer of Israel. David from runt shepherd boy to King and friend of God. Peter from fisherman and denier of Christ to rock of the Church. Paul from murderer and persecutor of Christians to great apostle of the early Church.
None of them had a lick of potential before Jesus got to them.
Until we get this one simple truth rooted into our thinking, discipleship will remain elitist and ineffective. We’ll either avoid discipleship altogether or only disciple those that exhibit the most visible potential.
“There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal.” – CS Lewis
I found this video compelling (and clever).  It also brings up a subject that I think about a lot: the oversimplification of the gospel.  I wonder if the Church, in an effort to reach more people, have presented a “plastic Jesus” to potential converts.  A Jesus that is a caricature of the real thing.  Jesus get misrepresented as either unconcerned about sin, hell and rebellion or as loveless, angry and breathing fire out of his nostrils at all sinners of the world.
By the way I hear some preachers talk, you’d think Jesus is disinterested completely in the fate of the world that He came to save as though He’s a petulant child.   Still others make Him seem powerless and worried.  All of them 2-dimensional.
How many times have we reduced Him to a sound-bite at the end of a meeting or only displayed a 2-dimensional version of Him to our friends? Â Perhaps that’s, at least in part, the reason why so many people simply fizzle out into mediocrity. Â And maybe that’s why we so often find it impossible to trust Him.
Toss your plastic Jesus in the trash can and seek out the real one. Â See Him healing the sick, touching the leaper, calling the Pharisees dogs, displaying His glory at the Mount of Transfiguration, dying in humility and victory at the cross. Â Imagine Him returning for His spotless Bride at the end of days. Â See Him as the hero of this great story of the gospel.
This is a snippet of a message from Matt Chandler. Let it rock you. It did me. This should be our message!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-zR3h2UsR4
