What About Sin?

Some time back a member of one of my former congregations submitted a number of questions to me and asked that I respond. This person said that these are the kinds of questions that they are regularly asked about the Christian faith. My assumption is that all of us hear these kinds of questions from time to time, so I want to share both the questions and my brief answers with you. The answers are not entirely complete because the issues that were raised are complicated and require a certain amount of background in Biblical/Christian concepts that not everyone has. Let’s just say that it’s a start.

What about sin?  Are there differences in the level of sin, mild, moderate, severe?  If I am no better than anyone else, are you trying to say that as a good solid humble, Christian, that I am no better than a murderer, in God’s eyes?

   The word “sin” has caused some confusion in the Christian community because the word itself is applied in two different ways.

   The word “sin” in the Greek New Testament is “harmartia” which is a word that originally came from the practice of archery and meant “to miss the mark.”

   So, when we fail to live up to a standard (whether that standard has been set by God or by people) we could refer to that as “missing the mark” or “sinful.”

   The deeper question has to do with “why” we miss the mark? Social science has posited all kinds of theories about biological and behavioral influences that shape the way we act and react in society and I don’t disagree with all of what has been proposed. However, the Bible suggests that our fundamental problem is a spiritual brokenness that moves us to act out in painful and inappropriate ways. The word we use for this fundamental brokenness is also “sin.”

   So, sinful behavior is a symptom of a more pervasive disease and when we talk about Jesus coming into the world we say that he came to wash away the spiritual “stain” of sin in our lives but also to heal the brokenness that moves us to sin in the first place.

   For years I have been telling confirmation classes (and congregations) that “we are not sinners because we sin; we sin because we are sinners.” The root problem is not our behavior; the root problem is our brokenness. Once the brokenness is healed then the symptoms of that brokenness should tend to go away.

   So it isn’t a question of “mild”, “moderate” or “severe” sin. The symptoms of our brokenness might be as severe as murder or they might be simple as self-centeredness or greed or lying and cheating on your taxes. The “good, solid, humble Christian” and the “murderer” start out with the same problem.

   It is the “nature” of our lives that keeps us separated from God and it is the nature of our lives that Jesus came to heal. He came to carry both our brokenness and our disobedience to the cross.

   The healing begins when we are willing to place our lives in Jesus’ care.

Feeling Guilty (Question #3)

Some time back a member of one of my former congregations submitted a number of questions to me and asked that I respond. This person said that these are the kinds of questions that they are regularly asked about the Christian faith. My assumption is that all of us hear these kinds of questions from time to time, so I want to share both the questions and my brief answers with you. The answers are not entirely complete because the issues that were raised are complicated and require a certain amount of background in Biblical/Christian concepts that not everyone has. Let’s just say that it’s a start.

Question 3. Religion is just a guilt trip, and I don’t want to feel guilty.  Life is too hard a struggle as it is to be feeling that way all the time.  I am not perfect like Christians are supposed to be…like they make you feel they are, and are better than me.

            The irony here is that Christianity is about freedom from guilt. Jesus came to lift this burden from our lives but I understand why people come to the conclusion that it is about guilt and I have two reasons for saying that.

            First, Jesus came with a message of new life but he also affirmed some expectations about how we should live our lives. The most general of these expectations is that we should love our God with everything we have and then love our “neighbors” (the people around us) to the same degree. We are called to live out these two general principles in hundreds of specific ways.

            Living up to Jesus’ standard isn’t easy (even with his help) but there are many people who claim to be followers of Jesus who aren’t even trying that hard. So, when you are aware of Jesus’ expectations and you intentionally ignore them you shouldn’t be surprised if you feel a bit of guilt. The more you are reminded of your failure the more guilt you will feel.

            Christianity doesn’t hand out guilt; it just reminds people of the guilt that they already carry. Freedom from guilt comes when we are willing to trust in Jesus and allow Him to show us how to live. That means we have to be willing to admit and confess our sin, repent (turn away from) our sin and let Jesus be in charge of our lives. You can’t be a follower of Jesus without being willing to follow. But, for those who are willing to surrender their lives, Jesus offers forgiveness, freedom from guilt, peace in our hearts and strength for our journey.

            In a related way, there are some who claim to be Christians who use their “faith” as a way of criticizing other peoples’ lives. I believe that most of them are acting superior in the hope that they will be superior. I’m afraid they’ve missed the point.

            The second reason people might feel like the faith is all about guilt is that religious leaders (priests, pastors and even Sunday school teachers) have recognized that guilt can be a powerful manipulative tool if you are trying to get people to “tow the line.”

            I personally don’t believe you can guilt people into heaven (or for that matter scare people into heaven either) and so I think using guilt in that way is counter productive.

            Sincere Christians should be the first to admit that they are not perfect (never have been and never will be) and understand that we are all “sinners saved by grace” (the free gift of God).

Question #2...

Some time back a member of one of my former congregations submitted the following questions to me and asked that I respond. This person said that these are the kinds of questions that they are regularly asked about the Christian faith. My assumption is that all of us hear these kinds of questions from time to time, so I want to share both the questions and my brief answers with you. The answers are not entirely complete because the issues that were raised are complicated and require a certain amount of background in Biblical/Christian concepts that not everyone has. Let’s just say that it’s a start.

Question 2: Do I have to give so much money?  Seems the Church just wants money.  I’ve watched TV ministries and they always turn to asking for money.

We don’t actually have to give any money but we would hope that you would want to.

We are being asked to love God for what he has done for us, trust God with our lives and then learn to care about the people who live with us in the world.  

We are supposed to give because we are thankful for what God has done for us. If we know that Jesus died for us and purchased our salvation (salvation that he offers to us as a gift) then we respond to his love for us by giving back to him. Giving of our time, talents and money is supposed to be something we do willingly and gratefully but, of course, if we don't believe that God has done anything for us then we won't be highly motivated to give anything. It's a faith issue.

The church is really an extension of this conversation. It is meant to be more than just a religious club. The church is a gathering of people who have been called by God to tell everyone about the new life that is available through trusting in Jesus. Consequently, we give to support the work of the church because we want other people to experience the joy and peace that we have experienced. If we are unwilling to support the work of the church it suggests that there is something deficient about our relationship to God. It's a faith issue.

The simplest way to explain it is to say that Jesus gave his life for us and we are trying to gratefully give our lives back to him. Giving is good for us and our sacrifices are supposed to make a difference in the world. It is a faith issue.

Television ministries are hugely expensive to produce and broadcast and so they need a huge influx of cash just to keep their programs on the air.  Many of them have carried such a large financial burden that they end up spending too much time asking for money.  Many churches are in a similar spot. They have large buildings and large capital expenses and feel pressured to encourage their membership to remember to give.  I think we could say that most of these ministries are well intentioned but each ministry should be evaluated by how much they are doing to make a difference in the world. Think about it.

The Conversation Continues...

Some time back a member of one of my former congregations submitted the following questions to me and asked that I respond. This person said that these are the kinds of questions that they are regularly asked about the Christian faith. My assumption is that all of us hear these kinds of questions from time to time, so I want to share both the questions and my brief answers with you. The answers are not entirely complete because the issues that were raised are complicated and require a certain amount of background in Biblical/Christian concepts that not everyone has. Let’s just say that it’s a start.

1. Why are there bad things in this world if God is such a caring, loving God?

We live in a broken world…nothing is the way God created it (or intended it to be) including the people who populate the world.  There are things that we call “bad” (like natural disasters) that are really “neutral” (not bad or good.)  They are a consequence of what we know as “natural law.”  There are rules that govern the way the world works and sometimes we can be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Why would God let us be in the wrong place at the wrong time?  Because He loves us enough to give us a free will.  If we are being asked to choose to love God then we must have the freedom to choose to not love God.  If we are being called to trust God then we must have the freedom to not trust God.  If God were to step in every time we made a poor decision then he would (in effect) take away our right to choose.

In the same way, our freedom to choose to do right means that we have the freedom to do wrong and much of the suffering that we see in the world is a direct result of people choosing to do the wrong thing.  Our greed and our hatred create indescribable suffering in the world.  It is our fault.  God came to the world (in the presence of Jesus) to change us and consequently change the world.

The conversation continues...

The End of the World As We Know It

I was driving home from La Crosse this afternoon and listening to the radio as I rode along. The news of the day appeared to be a prediction that the Rapture will take place tomorrow and the world “as we know it” will come to an end.

When I got home I opened up my Facebook page to see what was happening in my very limited social network and I found my page spattered with more satirical comments about this same end-of-the-world event.

Now, let me state right up front that I don’t believe the Rapture will take place tomorrow at 6:00 p.m. It wouldn’t bother me if it did, but I don’t honestly think that this is going to be that moment.

What bothered me were all of the comments being made by people who had no idea what they were talking about and how quickly and easily they seem to transfer these “rapture” people into the world of the mentally deranged. Let me say again, I don’t believe that tomorrow you will have to worry about people being swept away into heaven but you will have to live in a world where there are people who believe in things that you might think are crazy. These people (just like the rest of us) deserve a bit of sympathy and a little bit of understanding.

The other thing that was running through my head was the larger context of my travels to and from La Crosse. This past week my father-in-law (one of those people whom we should all aspire to be like) struggled and died in a hospital bed surrounded by his family. The rest of this week has been tied up in preparing for and participating in a celebration of his life. As I was on the road today it came to me, that tomorrow may not be the end of this world for everyone but it will surely be the end of this world for someone and maybe instead of spending our time making fun of people who are apparently prepared to leave this world maybe we should think about making those same kinds of preparations in our own lives.

Like I said, I don’t expect to be swept up into the clouds to meet Jesus tomorrow, but I am ready to meet Jesus tomorrow and there is a significant part of me that is looking forward to that event whenever or however it happens. Maybe tomorrow at 6:00 p.m. we should pause and say a little prayer for that person whose life in this world is ending at 6:00 p.m. tomorrow. It wouldn't hurt.

Knowing The God I Love

I have lots of friends from my childhood who share a very special spot in my heart. Some of them I haven’t seen for years (or even decades) and yet I still consider them friends.

What’s ironic about this is that if you asked me about what they’ve done or where they’ve been or about what excites them about life I would have to say, “I don’t really know.” If we got together today we would spend most of our time talking and laughing about things we did forty years ago.

These are people that I am more comfortable talking about in the past tense. I still think fondly of them but I can’t really say that I know them anymore. We have spent too much time apart.

There are many people who would have to describe their relationship with God in a similar way. They know about God and they have memories of events or celebrations that focused on God but if you asked them to talk about what God is like or what God desires they would be lost. For many people Easter is one of those moments that is more about memories of celebrations past than it is about a present, living savior.

This is a critical discussion for those of us who claim to be followers of Jesus because we are called to be His witnesses. It is our job to share with the world what God is like and share what we know to be the Good News of forgiveness and eternal life. But, in order for this to happen we need to know the God we represent. This means we need to be serious about all of those ancient Christian disciplines like Bible study, prayer, meditation and worship.

Many people have been raised believing that these holy practices are akin to spiritual caster oil; unpleasant concoctions that are somehow supposed to be good for us but we want to keep at arms length.

What people need to understand (believers and the simply curious) is that these Christian practices are actually more like bridges that bring us closer to the God who came close to us in order to draw us close to Him.

This image is built into the messages of all of our special days. At Christmas God became a human being. He got close. At Easter Jesus invited us to share in His death so that we could share in His life. He invited us close. At Pentecost the Holy Spirit came to fill us with His presence and to write God’s laws on our hearts. He came even closer.

Worship is the thankful celebration of this ongoing relationship. This is what being Christian is all about.

What's A Congregation Worth?

A recent Christianity Today article attempted to answer the question, “What’s a congregation worth?” The underlying question was, “Does a church’s tax exempt status outweigh the economic value it adds to its community?”

The researcher, a man by the name of Ram Cnaan, who describes himself as “nonreligious”, estimated the monetary value of an urban congregation at $476,663.24 annually. Included in that number are things like money spent in the community for goods and services, time spent helping to keep families together, educational services, volunteer time, employment services and even crime prevention.

For a number of years, there has been a growing perception that churches have become irrelevant, that we have nothing meaningful to say and that we have become a drain on society. It is encouraging to me that someone is taking time to try to put a value on what churches do.

But, from my perspective churches have (or I should say “should have”) a lot more value that ends up going unnoticed simply because it can’t be quantified in dollars and cents.

How many people can be touched by one person who takes their eyes off of personal gain and begins to try to love their neighbor as they love themselves? How many kind words will one person speak in a lifetime? How many times will that person pat someone on the back or treat someone like they really matter and how will the person who has been touched find their life changed? How is the world a better place because one person understood what Jesus did for them and then tried to live their life sacrificially?

Think of the impact of one faithful person and then multiply that one person by twenty or a hundred. What is the impact of a congregation on the community in which they live? This may be the place where the word “priceless” truly applies.

People who see the church as simply a building or as a social gathering are missing the point. In New Testament Greek the word for church is “ecclesia” which means “those who are called.” We are supposed to be those who have been called out of the world to represent and serve Jesus every day. I think the question that the churched and the un-churched alike should be asking is, “How much impact does the ecclesia have on the community in which they live?”

If we, the followers of Jesus, aren’t making our new life in Christ real every day then there is something radically wrong with our relationship to Jesus. If we, who claim the name of Jesus, aren’t continually thinking about how we might love the Lord our God and how we might love our neighbors as ourselves (and then doing all we can to make that real) then we might want to think again about claiming to represent Jesus.

Asking what a congregation is worth is an interesting sociological study, but the question that might have more meaning is the one we ask ourselves. What difference does it make that I am a follower of Jesus?