Jesus’ obedience is mine

The pattern of my life is not pleasing to God.
But Jesus pleased him to the fullest extent possible. (Mark 1:11)

I don’t make much of an effort to spend time alone with God. I don’t think praying with God is a good use of my time.
But Jesus got up early and left everything to be with God. He was convinced that God would lend his limitless power to those who pray. (1:35; 9:29; 11:22–24)

I want people to think highly of me. I want to get them to do the things I want so that I will feel happy and fulfilled.
But Jesus put other people first and saw himself as their servant. (9:33–37; 10:35–45)

I like to supplement God’s law with a few of my own.
But Jesus refused to accept any manmade law that interfered with God’s will. (7:1–13)

I’d rather keep my life back for myself instead of giving it to God.
But Jesus gave up his life, submitting to the will of God. (8:34–38)

I like using my time and money in intelligent and practical ways.
But Jesus prefers inefficient and awkward displays of devotion to him. (14:3–9)

I only like to do God’s will if it’s easy.
Jesus was willing to do God’s will even if it meant being abused and forsaken by everyone he knew and loved. (14:36)

I tend to get focused on the daily grind, on projects and goals and minor details.
But Jesus cared about people and wanted to save them. (1:17)

I prefer simple, rigid rules and laws.
But Jesus understood that God’s law is all about giving people what is good for them. (2:23–28; 3:1–6)

I don’t want to allow suffering people to complicate my life.
But Jesus acted out of pity for them even if it inconvenienced him. (1:40–45)

I like being around attractive, well-mannered people who have their lives together.
But Jesus would much rather be around dirty, messed-up sinners. (2:13–17)

I don’t think about other people’s needs; I’m obsessed with my own needs.
Jesus was concerned about other people’s needs for food and rest. (6:31; 8:2)

I don’t worry much about people who have no spiritual leader.
Jesus longed to fill the void for people who didn’t know he was the Good Shepherd they should follow. (6:34)

I focus on physical problems more than the real problem of sin in my life. I don’t think it’s a big deal.
But Jesus knew that sin was the most fundamental problem that people have. He was horrified at the danger which sin posed to people and the judgment they would face for it. (2:4; 9:42–50)

I tend to think of myself as a pretty decent person who sometimes does bad things.
Jesus knew that people are rotten deep down and that bad things come from bad hearts. (7:14–23)

I keep thinking I can get eternal life by being a well-mannered, well-meaning person.
But Jesus knew that only humble, childlike, desperate people will enter the kingdom of God. (Mark 10:13–31)

I want to exclude people who don’t belong to my church or theological tradition.
But Jesus knew that God’s kingdom includes people who aren’t just like me. (9:38–41)

I don’t like it when people challenge my ideas about who God is and how he acts.
But Jesus loved to turn people’s beliefs about God upside down. (12:35–37)

Sometimes I get into arguments with stubborn people who refuse to change their minds.
But Jesus knew when it wasn’t worth the fight. (8:11–13)

I shy away from demanding change from people who need to change.
But Jesus was bold in proclaiming repentance and the gospel. (1:15)

I’d rather back down when confronted by spiritual forces that hate me and people who don’t want me around.
Jesus beat up the spiritual forces and rescued a suffering man. (5:1–20)

I often don’t know how to respond when people challenge my beliefs about God.
But Jesus knew exactly how to challenge the mindset of his accusers. (11:27–12:34)

I’m easily impressed by religious people and powerful institutions made by men.
But Jesus couldn’t stand religious people and declared that the kingdoms of man would be torn to the ground. (12:38–13:37)

I sometimes worry that the church will eventually be smothered by the world.
But Jesus was confident that he is stronger than Satan. (3:23–27)

I don’t get upset when people treat casually the things God says are holy.
But Jesus became incensed when he saw the temple treated as a marketplace. (11:15–17)

I treat marriage casually, as simply another important relationship in life.
But Jesus insisted that marriage was God’s special creation. (10:1–12)

I’m not so sure that God will always be there to rescue me.
Jesus wasn’t bothered by little things like life-threatening storms. (4:35–41; 6:45–52)

I doubt that God has much power to heal people who are sick or raise the dead to life.
Jesus himself has the power to heal chronic illness and raise the dead. (5:21–43)

What wondrous love, what mysteries
In this appointment shine:
My breaches of the law are his,
And his obedience mine!
—John Newton

Posted on February 5, 2011 by Dave 3

Shabernacle (or, The Shack and the Tabernacle)

How would you like to have your appendix removed with a rusty scalpel?

Sorry, that’s kind of a weird question. But it’s not random. In a sense, I think that something similar is going on among American Christians today, particularly those who are reading the ultra-popular book The Shack. Many people are raving about how this book has deepened their relationship with God. I don’t doubt that this is happening; this book has a lot of truth in it that is cutting out infection in people’s lives. However, it is also riddled through and through with severe errors, and I am afraid that these errors will be unconsciously absorbed by those who read it, until over time a newer and more severe problem will develop. A rusty scalpel may cure an immediate illness, but it will introduce a more severe infection that may ruin the whole body.

So why am I writing about this book again? Didn’t I already cover it a few months ago?

True, I wrote a three-part series of posts on The Shack. To be honest, though, I never really felt like I had a total grasp on what I liked and didn’t like about the book. That changed earlier this year after I finished studying the tabernacle for seminary (my two earlier posts on the tabernacle can be found here and here). I found that the tabernacle was a helpful lens through which to view The Shack. This is because The Shack is, in effect, a sort of tabernacle; the book is all about our relationship with God. So let’s line The Shack and the tabernacle up next to each other and see what they tell us about God. Where do they agree (the good points of the back) and where do they disagree (the bad points of the book)? We’ll do this by asking several key questions.

1. Does God love people?

The Tabernacle: Yes! The tabernacle was the means by which a holy God could dwell with the people whom he loved. After being delivered from Egypt, as they prepared to meet this God, Moses wrote a song with these lines: “You have led in your steadfast love the people whom you have redeemed; you have guided them by your strength to your holy abode” (Exod 15:13). God loves people—and in particular, the people whom he has chosen for his own!

The Shack: Yes! This is a point that is beaten to death, and that’s a good thing. Papa (the Father) tells Mack that he is “smack dab in the center of my love” (p. 98). However, there is a question as to what William Young thinks love is. For example, he claims that the people who know God are “the ones who are free to live and love without any agenda” (p. 181). Love without an agenda is no love at all! Love always has an agenda—to see others conformed to the image of Jesus Christ.

2. Does God want to be in relationship with people?

The Tabernacle: Yes! The whole point of the tabernacle is that it is the dwelling place of God among his people. God could have remained aloof, observing the world from afar. Instead, he chose to be closely involved, meeting and talking with his people in the tabernacle (Exodus 25:22).

The Shack: Yes! In fact, the book is focused on the idea of relationships—between God and man as well as between man and his fellow man. Papa tells Mack, “I desire to be in relationship with every human being” (p. 100). Now, there are strong indications that Young’s idea of relationship is markedly different from the biblical idea of relationship (that is, God’s idea of relationship). But we’ll get to that later.

3. Is God holy?

The Tabernacle: Yes! You can’t miss this theme; it’s the single reason for the entire book of Leviticus. Throughout Exodus 26–31, God insists that the place where he dwells and the people to whom he ministers be holy as well. Holiness means “set apart”—particularly in a moral sense, in which God command us to be holy as well (Leviticus 11:44–45).

The Shack: Yes. Papa tells Mack, “I am what some would say ‘holy, and wholly other than you'” (p. 98). However, beyond this concept of being something other, there is hardly any mention of holiness in the book. There seems to be almost no concept of holiness as moral purity, and Mack is never told that he must be holy. While The Shack focuses on the love of God, it almost totally ignores his holiness.

4. Is there any obstacle between man and God (i.e. sin)?

The Tabernacle: Yes! The unholiness of man due to his sin is what separates man from God. Leviticus emphasizes the defilement of sin that hinders the close communion that God wants with his people. In Exodus 32, the people build a golden calf as an alternative worship system; God nearly wipes them out in his wrath because they have “sinned a great sin” (Exodus 32:30). Sin in the Bible damages our relationship with God; it is identified as breaking his law, as failing to love him, as being morally twisted and corrupted, and ultimately as rebelling against his authority.

The Shack: Yes. The Shack emphasizes many things that stand between us and God; essentially, Young views “sin” as anything that hinders our relationship with God. Throughout the book, he places particular emphasis on fear, a lack of trust in him, and independence from him. All well and good! However, he also adds hierarchy and institutions to the list. In other words, authority and institutions (whatever he means by that) are inherently sinful. This flies in the face of what God really teaches in the Bible; the authority of God is a great thing, and he gives authority to people as well. He also institutes marriage, human government, and the church, among other examples. Young’s idea of relationship has more in common with hippie communes than with the love relationship that the true God wants us to have with him.

5. How does God handle sin?

The Tabernacle: Ultimately, there are two ways that God handles sin. One is to punish the sinner. In the Second Commandment, forbidding idolatry, he declares, “I the LORD your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments” (Exodus 20:5–6). That God punishes evildoers is an inescapable theme of both the Old and New Testaments. Yet there is hope for us in a second way! In the Old Testament, the Lord offered atonement for sins through a ritual known as the Day of Atonement, in which the people’s sins were paid for by the death of an animal as a substitute (Leviticus 16). Ultimately, this prefigured the atonement offered by Jesus Christ (Hebrews 9–10).

The Shack: The Shack has two things to say about sin. One is that sin must be forgiven by God (p. 225). The second is that God does not intend to punish sin. Papa tells Mack, “I don’t need to punish people for sin. Sin is its own punishment, devouring you from the inside. It’s not my purpose to punish it; it’s my joy to cure it.” This is only a half-truth. It is true that sin itself can be a punishment (Romans 1:24–31). However, the Bible is crystal clear that God actually does punish sin, both in this life and (more importantly and finally) in the next.

6. Why did Jesus Christ have to die?

The Tabernacle: As we just saw—prefigured by the tabernacle—Jesus Christ had to die to bear the penalty of our sin, satisfying the absolutely just wrath of God against our sin by serving as a substitute for us. And that is just one aspect of the crucifixion! It is because of his sacrifice that we are forgiven of our sins. And it is because of his righteousness that is made ours that we can now boldly come before the God who loves us, in relationship with him (Hebrews 10:19–22).

The Shack: First, Jesus provided the example of a servant who gave up his rights (p. 137); this agrees with the Bible (Philippians 2:5–8). Second, in some sense, what Jesus did allows God to forgive people of their sins (pp. 224–225); obviously, this is true as well. Third, Jesus accomplished the reconciliation of the entire world—meaning every last person on earth—to God (p. 192). Here’s where we run into problems, because first of all, this is nonsense; reconciliation is not possible between a willing party and an unwilling party. In fact, those who do not believe in Jesus Christ “walk as enemies of the cross of Christ” (Philippians 3:18). Fourth, and even more troubling, Jesus did not die to bear the penalty of our sins as a substitute for us. On p. 96, Young (using God the Father as his mouthpiece) insists that God did not forsake his Son at the cross (Jesus was just really whiny in Matthew 27:46, I guess). If he was not forsaken, then we who should be forsaken for our sins have no confidence that Jesus Christ has received this affliction in our place (Isaiah 53). If you think I am reading too much into this, Young himself has explicitly denied that Jesus Christ died as a substitute for us, bearing the penalty for our sins.

Bottom line? It would appear that the God of The Shack is a God of love (sort of), but he/she is not particularly holy. This is not the true God that we are called to worship! I encourage you, if you plan to read this book (or already have), read it with exceptional discernment and caution. Be careful about surgery done with a rusty scalpel.

Posted on March 21, 2009March 21, 2009 by Dave 1

His Dwelling Among Us (Part 2 of 2)

Although the description of the tabernacle is one of those sections of the Old Testament that we’re tempted to skip over when we’re reading through the Bible, this was a part of Israel’s history that is critical to understanding and relating to God and to his Son, Jesus Christ. In the last post, we saw that the tabernacle was inconvenient and dangerous for the children of Israel, but that it was the only way to God. The reason that the Lord had them build the tabernacle was so that there could be a place where a holy God could dwell with a sinful people whom he loved. The tabernacle simultaneously affirms that the Lord is holy and that the Lord is loving; he is both transcendent and immanent.

Eventually, the tabernacle—a royal tent, but a tent nonetheless—was replaced by a far grander temple constructed by King Solomon. Solomon made sure to replicate many of the features of the tabernacle; even the proportions were kept the same, with the Holy of Holies remaining a perfect cubic shape, just as in the tabernacle. The Jerusalem temple was one of the most glorious buildings ever constructed, and when it was finished, “the glory of the LORD filled the house of the LORD” (1 Kings 8:11).

Eventually, this temple was destroyed, but it was merely a shadow of what was to come. God sent his only son, Jesus Christ, who “became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14). Jesus became the ultimate tabernacle or temple; in fact, he referred to his own body as a temple (John 2:21). Finally, Immanuel had come—”God with us”!

Lion door knocker However, the great problem remained—how could we approach an infinitely holy God through this new tabernacle? The answer was given when Jesus Christ died on the cross. The book of Hebrews reminds us of the Old Testament’s “Day of Atonement,” a yearly event in the Israelite calendar (Leviticus 16). On this day, the high priest would open a curtain within the tabernacle and bring the blood of a bull and a goat into the Holy of Holies and sprinkle it onto the golden mercy seat, the throne of God. So when Christ died, he entered into heaven bearing his own blood, making atonement once for all with a far superior sacrifice (Hebrews 9).

Don’t lose sight of how remarkable it is that we can now stand in the presence of the Almighty! Hebrews 10:19–22 reads:

Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.

This was the sort of thing that would get you killed under the old covenant! But under the new covenant inaugurated through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, we can now boldly enter into the holy presence of God, confident that our sins have been atoned for by the blood of Jesus. What an unimaginable blessing—and at what great cost! “See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are” (1 John 3:1)! Through faith in Christ we can enter into the presence of a God who loves us and welcomes us home.

Someday, this era of world history will come to an end. “The heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn!” (2 Peter 3:12). But there will be a re-creation, a new heaven and a new earth. In the book of Revelation, John saw a vision of a city descending from heaven—New Jerusalem. And this city appeared as nothing less than an enormous cube, 1380 miles on each side, made of pure gold (Revelation 21:15–21). The shape and material of this city recalls the shape and material of the tabernacle. At long last God has come to dwell with man! There is no temple in the city, “for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb” (v. 22). There is no longer anything separating you and me from God; he has come to be with us, and we have been made holy, just as he is.

Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. (Revelation 21:3)

If you have placed your faith in Jesus Christ as the only way by which you can stand before God, through his blood shed for your sins, then this is the future that awaits you! The Lord is eagerly waiting for the day when you will be presented holy and glorious in his presence. Even now, he loves you dearly and has given everything he has to make you his own. He longs to be with you.

Posted on March 14, 2009 by Dave 1

Banannery Public

Part of this complete breakfast.