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It’s been a while since the Lost series finale – I’ve been busy with a new job and helping to start a new church service. But, since that time I’ve been ruminating on the subjects of inclusivism, universalism, heaven and hell. During the finale many of the Lost meet together in a building that looks very much like a Roman Catholic church building. Inside we catch a glimpse of a stained glass window, which features Christian, Jewish, Hindu, Taoist, and Muslim religious symbols. The message – all religions are pretty much the same; it doesn’t matter what you believe, or what you worship, all paths lead to heaven. This is a common belief in our culture today. Most Americans tend to think that all good people go to heaven – which we also tend to think is pretty much everyone.

As much as I’d like to believe that, I don’t. I believe that there are some people, some who I think are pretty good, who are headed towards hell. How can I believe such an offensive and primitive thought? I believe in freedom – I believe in choice. I would gladly believe that everyone ends up in heaven – I do believe that that is a real possibility. It is my hope. But, because freedom of choice means it must also be possible for people to reject God, there must be a hell. I’d like everyone to be included. God says he does not want “anyone to perish” (2 Pet 3:9) – but some people choose to exclude themselves, they choose death.

Hell is separation from God. I don’t believe that hell is literally a lake of fire. The Bible describes hell in many and various ways – the point is it’s not a place you want to go. It’s a place of isolation, darkness, death, destruction, because it is a place outside of fellowship with God. Jesus tells us that eternal life is to “know [the Father], the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom [he has] sent” (John 17:3).

I don’t want anyone, and I really do mean anyone to spend an eternity in hell. Sure, if I’m honest there’re some people I’d like to see get a good beat down, but not an eternity of everlasting torment. But hell has to be a real possibility, because God is love. Love demands justice. Justice isn’t just punishing those who do bad things; it’s fixing the damage that’s done. If there is no justice – no redemption of the Earth and Humanity – there can be no Kingdom of God that’s worth calling heaven. This Earth is broken, we are broken, and someone has to pay for the brokenness to be fixed. If God is going to forgive us for what we’ve done, if he’s going to write it off, then he has to pay for it. He did through the death of Jesus.

The Bible says Jesus took all the death and destruction in this world caused by human sin onto himself so that humans could be redeemed. All we have to do is put our trust in Jesus and follow him, because he is the way to the Father. He is the way to life. If we say, no thanks and reject God’s way, how can he forgive us? Rejection of Jesus is making the choice to pay the price for one’s own sins.

Well maybe the Bible really doesn’t tell us God’s way. Maybe Jesus was wrong. It’s a possibility. If he was wrong he was psychotic and Christianity would not only be worthless, it would be reprehensible. If Jesus did not rise from the dead our “faith is futile; [we] are still in [our] sins” (1 Cor. 15:17). If Christianity is wrong it’s wrong, it’s not just what might work for some people.

Many people would like to think that all religions are really just about following the same basic moral code. But the core teaching of Christianity is not a moral code. It’s not about being a good person so God will like you and you’ll get into heaven. Christianity’s core teaching is I’m not good enough, but God still loves me, so he, in the form of Jesus, died for my sins, and he rose from the dead to conquer death and give me life. The only way to enter into the Kingdom of God is through Jesus.

Some people believe that we can’t know anything about God; dogma doesn’t matter, just be a good person. It is terribly conceited to think this is the neutral position. This is a position which rejects the truth claims of others. Though most religions have a similar moral code, they cannot simply be reduced to their moral code. Religions differ greatly on their ideas about who God is, where we come from, where we are going, what heaven is, and how we get there. To tell the practitioners of the varying world religions that it doesn’t really matter who or how they worship, is to tell them they are wrong.

We can’t all be right; I’m perfectly willing to accept that I might be wrong. I do believe that the teachings of Jesus and his apostles are true and that they really do matter. The teachings of Jesus are offensive to our modern/postmodern sentiments. But, if they are true, we need to change, not Jesus. We also need to stop being so sensitive. I’m not bothered by people who disagree with me. I don’t think they’re evil. I won’t hate, or persecute anyone for believing differently than I do. I’m not offended by people thinking I’m wrong, or even people thinking I might be headed for hell. If a person is honest and has integrity I will respect them. But, I can’t change my beliefs just because some people, or even I, don’t like them.

We had our first service last Sunday night. We didn't really remind anyone about it, so it was only Jessi, Ian, Cosette and I. That was alright, because it gave us a chance to run through what for us is a very new way of doing a church service. It went great. Here is our order of service. 

• Opening Prayer: Asking for the Father’s blessing, the presence of the Spirit, and growth in maturity as followers of Jesus

• Call to Worship: Leader: 1 Chron 16: 29 ascribe to the LORD the glory due to his name. Bring an offering and come before him; worship the LORD in the splendour of his holiness. 30 Tremble before him, all the earth! The world is firmly established; it cannot be moved. 31 Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad; let them say among the nations, "The LORD reigns!" 32 Let the sea resound, and all that is in it; let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them! 33 Then the trees of the forest will sing, they will sing for joy before the LORD, for he comes to judge the earth. 34 Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.

• Song of Adoration: Oh How Marvelous

• Song of praise: Nothing But the Blood of Jesus

• Reading of Scripture: Psalm 23, John 10:11-18

• Response to reading - All: “Thanks be to God”

• Prayers of the people:  

Leader: Let us pray for Christ’s Church and the world.

• Affirmation of Belief – Apostles’ Creed:

All: I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of Heaven and Earth; And in Jesus Christ His only Son our Lord, Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, Born of the Virgin Mary, Suffered under Pontius Pilate, Was crucified, dead and buried; He descended into hell; The third day He rose again from the dead; He ascended into Heaven, and sits on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; From there He shall come to judge the quick and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy universal church, The communion of saints; the forgiveness of sins; The resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

• Song of praise: There is a Redeemer

• Sermon: 1 John 3:16-24

• Communion

o Confession of Sin

All: Gracious God, our sins are too heavy to carry, too real to hide, and too deep to undo. Forgive what our lips tremble to name, what our hearts can no longer bear, and what has become for us a consuming fire of judgment. Set us free from a past that we cannot change; open to us a future in which we can be changed; and grant us grace to grow more and more in your likeness and image; through Jesus Christ, the light of the world. (Silence for personal prayer and reflection.)

o Leader reads communion passage (The Book of Common Prayer)

o Lord’s Prayer:

Leader: And now, as our Savior Christ taught us, we are bold to say,

All: Our Father who art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, On earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, And forgive us our trespasses, As we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, But deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen.

o Breaking of the Bread (The Book of Common Prayer)

o Distribution of the elements (The Book of Common Prayer)

o Prayer of gratitude (The Book of Common Prayer)

o Assurance of Forgiveness:

Leader: Anyone who sins has an advocate with God: Jesus Christ, the righteous one. By his life, death, and resurrection, he has found the lost sheep and brings it back, rejoicing over one sinner that repents. In Jesus, we are never beyond the reach of God’s love. And so today, in the name of Jesus, I proclaim to all of you who believe the Gospel: In Jesus your sins are forgiven! Receive the Good News!

• Song of thanks: Amazing Grace

• Blessing:

Leader: In the Name of the Father, the Love of Jesus and the Power of the Holy Spirit, go forth into the world as people of hope and servants of the Gospel and all those who need it.

• Sending of the Community:

Leader: Go in peace to love and serve the Lord

All: Thanks be to God.

The Bible views Jesus’ death primarily as an act of substitutionary atonement. Jesus is the “lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29). He died in our place, taking on himself the curse of death due us because of our sin. In this he made it possible for us to be reconciled with God.

". . . [A]ll have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished –"  (Rom. 3:23-25)

Creation was broken. We were broken. Someone needed to bear the cost of this brokenness. We broke it; we should pay. God in his mercy made it possible for us to be forgiven by he himself bearing the cost of redeeming humanity along with the rest of creation.

If a person doesn’t believe in substitutionary atonement they aren’t orthodox. I’m not saying they can’t still be a Christian, or a follower of Jesus. I’m not saying they can’t still be forgiven and live in right relationship with God. I’m saying they are either denying or ignoring what the New Testament teaches. I’d just like people to be upfront about their beliefs. I know this substitutionary atonement is not a very attractive doctrine – it seems barbaric. If you don’t like it, be honest, not sneaky.

Now, I believe substitutionary atonement is a symbol, which helps us understand the nature of God’s holiness and justice, our sin, the curse we were under, and what Jesus accomplished through his death and resurrection. Can we really claim to fully understand what occurred on a transcendent level, or within God’s infinite Trinitarian relationship? I do not believe so. Jesus himself, let alone his death and resurrection, is a mystery. Substitutionary atonement is the primary metaphor we are given in order to understand what Jesus has done for us, but there are many other ways in which the Bible describes that strange event. If we push any of these metaphors to far, things can get ugly.

Since I’m near the subject I’d like to say something brief about Jesus’ resurrection. The Bible claims that Jesus rose from the dead. This is an objective historical claim. It is a claim subject to rational debate. If it is not true, Christianity is false. The Bible would still contain some good morals, some wise teaching, along with the ravings of some crazy (or possibly just misguided) people. The Christian religion would still, most likely, help many people live better, healthier, and happier lives. But that’s it – it would just be about pragmatism. Does it make you feel better? However, Christianity does not simply claim that it is useful, it claims that it is true.

"When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having cancelled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross." (Col. 2:13-14)

Very soon Jessi and I, with the help of others, will start a church gathering. This is something we’ve been working towards for many years. So, I’m going to share some of my current and developing ideas concerning church.

The Church is a universal body made up of Jesus’ disciples. This international community is the true house of God (1 Pet. 2:5), not the buildings in which Christians meet. The Church is manifested – made visible – in local, national and international – communities, denominations, and hierarchical structures. Theses institutions are churches – associated groups of Christians.

A church is a particular representative of the universal Church. However, it is very important to remember that these institutions are simply ways of organizing the Church, they do not encompass the Church.

The Church is the primary manifestation of the Kingdom of God in this age. With Jesus the Kingdom of God broke into this world in a new way. God and his Kingdom were incarnate (made flesh) in the person of Jesus. The Kingdom is now spreading throughout the world by way of the Church, Jesus’ body (1 Cor. 12:27).

Currently the Kingdom is present in grace and weakness. Its glory is veiled. It is not embodied in a nation, or institution. It does not conquer with force. It is not of this world. At present the Kingdom is concerned with proclaiming its good news. The Church acts as a prophetic foretaste of creation’s future redemption. As individuals in communities, through our social, political, vocational, and religious activities Christians act as representatives of the Kingdom of God in this world. Unfortunately God’s Kingdom is polluted; there are weeds amongst the wheat (Matt 13:24-43).

The Church does not encompass the entire Kingdom of God. I could be wrong about this, but I believe the Kingdom of God also includes the Jewish people (not necessarily the current nation of Israel), and others who have and will be part of God’s Kingdom without becoming members of Israel, or the Church – a few examples being Adam, Eve, Enoch, Noah, Jethro (Moses’ father-in-law), and those Jesus forgave during his life on Earth who may not have become part of the Church later, because they may not have heard about it, or they might have died.

Being missional is the responsibility of the people of the Church, not churches. Every Christian shares in the mission of God/Jesus. Jesus gave up his position of glory and power to come to this Earth in order that we might be redeemed. We were unable to reach up to God, so he came down to us. He did not wait for us to seek him, he came to seek and save us when we were lost. Like wise, as his followers we must leave our homes, families, and inheritances (sometimes literally) and follow the path of our Master. This is what it means to be missional: to be on mission as Jesus was.

It is not enough to simply go to, or give money to a church that is involved in political action, community outreach, or social justice programs. Really, it’s not the job of churches to organize our political, social, or missional activity. The responsibility of a church is to proclaim the good news of the Kingdom of God, administer communion and baptism, and to equip Christians for service. Therefore, a missional church is a church in which its members are serving – loving their neighbors, spreading God’s Kingdom. Individuals do not have to be involved in a church’s programs in order to live missional lives. The mark of a missional church is not how many of its members participate in organized “missional” events. In everything a Christian does, during their normal daily routine, they are to embody the Kingdom and its’ values. We are a sign of the future restoration of heaven and earth. We will not fix society; we will not create a utopia. We can contribute to the building of a good, relatively just secular society, but this is not the Kingdom of God, they are the temporal kingdoms of mankind.

When the Kingdom of God was manifested in the national kingdom of Israel, Israel was set apart from other nations to represent God’s holiness, righteousness, judgment and transcendence. Israel agreed to place themselves under the covenant of the law. They set themselves under the blessings and the cursing of the law – they failed.

Fortunately, God was merciful to those Jews who trusted in him, justifying them through his grace – their salvation did not come through the law.

The Church represents God’s mercy and his presence amongst us. We are a people freed from the law. Jesus has taken our unrighteousness, and the curse of law upon himself. We have not been asked to climb Mt. Sinai to meet God in his severity; he has come down the mountain, appearing to us in modesty.

Understanding this should make a difference to churches concerning how they treat their members. We do not demand purity, we cannot withhold the presence of God, and we must extend mercy and grace to all people.

I have no desire to try and return to some sort of pure uncorrupted pre-Constantinian Church. There was no such Church – even the twelve disciples had problems.

There is no correct way of doing, or being a church. Methods and forms must change, while the invariable core remains intact. The Church is intended to adapt to the culture and people it engages, changing its language, customs, rituals, metaphors, worship style and so on. This is why the New Testament doesn’t give specifics, only generalities, on what a church is supposed to be like. We are not told how to perform communion, baptism, worship, prayer, preaching, teaching, evangelism, where to meet, when to meet, what size a congregation should be, how many elders, or deacons to have, what instruments to use in worship, and so on. We are free to shape each church community in a way that helps us as particular people love God and love our neighbors.

The Church does exist to meet the spiritual, emotional and physical needs of people. Many church leaders complain about Christians who they accuse of being consumers of religious goods and services. I understand the complaint, but it’s important to remember that people do have needs and church communities must serve individual needs. Christians weren’t made for church; church was made for Christians. Individuals do not exist for the community; the community exists for individuals. The challenge that churches face is that they must strive to meet the spiritual needs of their members, not necessarily their members’ desires.

As Christians we should be involved in a Christian community for a variety of reasons. Communities encourage, instruct, teach, guide, discipline, protect, provide for those with physical needs, and equip individuals to serve and love others.

We do not gather on Sundays to fulfill our religious duty. We gather, no matter the day, to worship God corporately, strengthen each other, participate in communion and hear the Word proclaimed.

The Church exists for sick, lost, hurt, corrupted people. Community is part of the healing/restoration process. Therefore, churches need to be places where people are allowed to be open and honest. People need to be able to doubt (Jude 22) and to question. This allows their faith and confidence to grow. As well, creating a safe environment where people are free to reveal their true self encourages them to be honest with God. It helps them see who they truly are. This helps promote integrity and guard against hypocrisy.

I like tradition. To paraphrase G.K. Chesterton: Tradition is generational democracy. By respecting tradition we give respect to those who came before us – in doing we are acknowledging the truth proclaimed in the Apostles’ Creed – the communion of the saints. Tradition is not the final authority, our forebears could have been wrong, but we must not assume we are right just because we live in a “more enlightened” era.

I don’t think new churches need to be cool, “relevant”, or focused upon a niche group. They don’t have to invent, or adopt new preaching or worship methods. They can be organized, and do things the same way other churches have been operating for years. They don’t need to meet in houses. They don’t need to be big or small. They don’t have to be particularly creative at anything. They can also have pastors, and other staff, that they actually pay.

I don’t believe in tithes and offerings. I do believe Christians should give their resources to support the operation of their church, to support their pastor (if they can), and to help the other members of their church. Christians should give their resources to help other Christians around the world, and to help non-Christians in need – these resources do not have to go through hands of their local church. I don’t consider these tithes and offerings – tithes and offerings were part of the Old Testament sacrificial system. No church is a temple to which I must bring a sacrifice.

These are some general ideas about the Church. Much of what I have said is reactionary – I’m countering ideas that are prevalent in the Church. I’m sure there are some very important points that I have not addressed, because I don’t even realize they need to be addressed. There is also much that I assume goes without saying. At this moment this is what I'm thinking about.

Today I took Cosette to the Pear Blossom Baby Contest (Jessi was working). As I walked the full length of the Rogue Valley Mall to withdraw ten dollars from the ATM, so that I could pay the registration fee, I was conflicted about what I was doing. Why did I want to use up my Saturday morning, and pay ten dollars just to be told my baby’s not as cute as I think she is? I certainly hadn’t come there for Cosette’s enjoyment – though if she won it might give her a sense of pride when she gets older. But, that’s the other problem. Why was I so eager to have my baby judged to be cuter than other parents’ babies?

I entered her in the quickest smile contest – so at least it wasn’t just about being cute. She won. She blew the competition away; she was smiling already as I walked up to the judges. There was no need for a second round. As I walked off the stage I noticed that my whole body was shot through with adrenaline – I don’t think I have ever felt as nervous as I did at that moment. Next up there was the Baby Blossom contest. Now that is pretty much the cutest baby contest. The baby who wins that gets a tiara.

We had some time to kill, and I needed to get her away from all the commotion so I could feed her, so we went down to Starbucks. When we came back I went up to one of the contest helpers and asked what was going on. I was told they were doing the Baby Bud contest (that’s the boys). I ask if the girls had gone yet and was told that they hadn’t. So, I went with Cosette into a nearby store. Well, the Baby Blossom contest was going on as well. We missed it.

I was a bit irritated, quite a bit. At least I didn’t flip out and make a scene. The girl who won was cute. But, in my surely unbiased opinion I think Cosette could have given her a pretty good fight. On top of that the girl’s mom was pretty, skinny, had fancy hair, and was wearing boutique clothing – she looked like she was certainly on the wealthy side. That made me jealous and made me even more irritated that Cosette hadn’t had the chance to prove that she was cuter.

I could pretend that I didn’t have Cosette compete in the Baby Blossom contest because I’m just such a magnanimous guy and wanted to let another baby have a chance since Cosette had already won an award.

Of course I realize that my feelings of jealousy and anger are stupid. It’s a bit stupid that I care so much about my daughter winning some baby contest. And, it’s stupid that I’m not completely satisfied with what she did win. (She got a fifty-dollar bond for winning, so I could pretend I didn’t just do all this for my own pride.) No more pageants for me. At least the money raised through the registration fees goes towards helping mothers and children in our community.

First I would like to clarify my main point. Science is not as objective, nor religion as subjective, as some people would like to think. Scientific theory, though based on empirical evidence, requires interpretation, which is subjective. Science is rarely a mere statement of observable fact.

Furthermore, religion does not need to be irrational. Religion does involve logic and the interpretation of empirical evidence. All religions attempt to make coherent sense of reality.

There is certainly a difference between science and religion. I don’t wish to confuse the two.

My main reason for this amendment is to share another link. I remembered an article I had read a few months ago in the Wall Street Journal: Science, Spirituality, and Some Mismatched Socks.

Many scientific theories are no different than religious theories. Scientists look at the world around them, they gather empirical evidence – evidence gathered and verified through experience and observation – and they try to come up with a relatively coherent explanation of the evidence, theories which explain the past and predict the future. That is why this thing happened and what will happen if you do this. Two examples of just such scientific theories are black holes and dark matter. We cannot see either; we cannot empirically prove either. However, many scientists agree that the current theories concerning black holes and dark matter are reasonable explanations of the empirical evidence. Religious belief is the same – though it is sometimes concerned with a different subject matter.

Some may argue that science is rational and religion is irrational. Some religious thought is irrational, as are many religious people. However, this is not the nature of religion. It is the unfortunate reality of the times we live in. It is also evidence of the fact that there are many incompetent theologians, just as there are many incompetent scientists. Each religion is an explanation of reality. It attempts to explain the unseen by making sense of what can be seen. Note, I am not saying that science and religion require blind irrational faith. I’m saying they both require belief in the unseen, and the unverifiable. Such belief is not irrational, it is based upon empirical evidence. I believe in Christianity because I believe in the teachings of Jesus (and not just the moral ones). I believe his teachings are verified by his actions, specifically his resurrection from the dead, of which there is ample historical evidence. Proof? No – but evidence, just as there is evidence for the existence of black holes. I believe in Christianity because I believe it offers the best interpretation of reality.

Now, I have a couple of thoughts about rationality and the interpretation of empirical evidence. First, just because a theory makes coherent sense of all known facts, doesn’t mean it’s true. Children exercise sound logic every day and come to what we know are ridiculously wrong conclusions, because they do not have all the facts. We must always be aware, in science and religion, that we do not possess all the facts. Therefore, our theories, though rational, may be completely wrong. Second, the simplest answer is not always correct. The philosophical principal known as Occam’s razor states: “Entities must not be multiplied beyond necessity”. In other words: “When competing hypotheses are equal in other respects, the principle recommends selection of the hypothesis that introduces the fewest assumptions and postulates the fewest entities while still sufficiently answering the question.” (Wikipedia) Occam’s razor is a helpful principle, but it is itself an assumption about reality. And, this assumption applied blindly can lead to erroneous conclusions.

A rational human using rational thought will always be aware of the limits of rationality. They will understand the difference between the empirical evidence they gather and the interpretations they make about said evidence. A rational human has no reason to fear questions, or new evidence. A rational human should be humble – unfortunately none of us is really all that rational.

Some further reading I recommend –

Accept Defeat: The Neuroscience of Screwing up 

This is an article from Wired magazine about how science is actually done, and how scientific theories are developed.

Father Brown Mysteries, by G.K. Chesterton. You can never go wrong with Chesterton. His Father Brown mysteries are short stories about a Catholic priest who solves crimes. What is particularly interesting about them is that they are very un-Sherlock Holmes. They demonstrate how the truth is often quite complex and cannot be determined through mere logical deduction.

Today is Fat Tuesday, better known as Mardi Gras – the festival of flesh. For the last couple of years my wife and I have celebrated the somewhat tamer Australian version, Pancake Tuesday. What is the reason for all this revelry? Ash Wednesday follows, marking the start of Lent – forty days of fasting, going without as a religious exercise. So, Tuesday is the last opportunity for excess. Up until this year Jessi and I have only observed the excess. This year, for the first time ever, we have decided to actually observe the going without as well.

Lent is a period of prayer, penitence, almsgiving, and self-denial. However, I don’t really believe in fasting. It seems many people believe fasting is a spiritual discipline that lets God know we’re serious. People seem to think God really likes those who abstain from pleasure, and will reward ascetics with enlightenment. But, I don’t believe there is virtue in self-denial. God tells us: “I desire mercy, not sacrifice . . .” (Hos 6:6). Finally, I do not believe in any form of penance – we do not acquire grace, approval, or reward in such a manner. A penance can lead us to believe we have earned, and therefore deserve, God’s love. So, why would I want to celebrate Lent?

I do believe there is value in partaking in the traditions of the Church. They help maintain our awareness of the communion of the saints. They help put us in our place. Fasting may help me gain compassion for the millions of humans who are living in poverty. A couple of weeks ago I forgot my lunch and I barely survived not having my mid-morning snack. But, it did get me thinking about the needs of others. It actually got my focus off myself. And, that to me is the point of sacrifice – to bless others.

I am giving up meat (which is traditionally given up for Lent) because meat production is a very inefficient use of grain. More people can be fed off the grain than off the meat produced by the same amount of grain. My giving up meat won’t save the world, and I will eat meat again. But, maybe I can help one person. Which leads me to my next reason – the money I don’t spend on myself, I can spend to help others.

Finally Lent is wonderful time for reflection. For us in the northern hemisphere Lent marks the end of winter’s sleep and the rebirth of spring. It culminates in the celebration of our savior Jesus’ resurrection from the dead. Because of the time of year during which Lent occurs it is a natural time to spend extra time in contemplation. It is a good time of year to spend extra time in preparation. It is the time of year in which the gardener begins the arduous process of preparing their garden. They break up the soil, cut out death and decay, pull up weeds, prune what was left unchecked in the fall, and plant seeds. All this hard work is part of the process that brings forth the future flowers and fruit. (I am indebted to the Armenian Orthodox scholar Vigen Guroian for this metaphor.)

In my last post I said that I was the prodigal son’s brother. In this post I will explain what I meant by that. First, for those who are unfamiliar with the story of the prodigal son let me briefly sum up. There was a rich man who had two sons. One of the sons told his dad to give him his inheritance. That son took his money and spent it recklessly on food, booze and women. (That’s the prodigal part; prodigal means to spend money recklessly/wastefully.) He quickly blew through his cash and had to take a menial job feeding pigs. One day he concluded that his life would be better if he went back to his dad and begged for a job as a servant. His dad welcomed him back with open arms – restored him to his former place of honor as a son, and threw a huge party to celebrate his return. The prodigal son’s brother was pissed. He hadn’t dishonored his father, lived a life of debauchery, or wasted his inheritance. He wanted to know why his dad hadn’t thrown him a party? The father told the son that he had always had access to everything he owned. (You can find Jesus’ version of the story in Luke 15:11-32.)

Jessi and I are part of a church where many of the members are recovering alcoholics and drug addicts. Many of these people have thrown away their money, jobs, health, and family by making wasteful and reckless choices. Now they’ve come to God, many of them are coming back to him, and they hope he’ll forgive them. They hope he might have some place in his family for them. They probably don’t expect to ever receive the same reward and honor as others, most would be happy just to get some scraps – just to be servants in God’s house.

The other day I was at a meeting listening to some of the members of my church tell their stories and it dawned on me that if these people were the prodigals then I was the other brother. I was born into a Christian home. I’ve always accepted Christianity as true. I considered my options and thoroughly committed myself to the Christian faith as a teenager. From a very young age I have strived to serve God and obey his commands. I have never walked away from God and wallowed in some wickedness for any significant period of time. Sure I’ve sinned, but I’ve always been a pretty good guy and have never let myself get too far off the path. Those sins I struggle with, I don’t revel in, but shamefully hide from view.

Now, the problem with being a “good” son is one never gets to test and see – to experience – the forgiveness of one’s father. You can languish in the belief that your father only loves you because you follow his rules. As the “good” son you actually might start thinking you’ve earned your father’s love. Those of us who are able to do a pretty good job, comparatively, at keeping God’s commands can develop the idea that God owes us something. In trying to earn that something we miss out on the free love God wants to give us. We miss out on the blessings God, our father, wants to lavish on us, because our relationship is dysfunctional.

The problem with the prodigal’s brother, the problem many religious people have – the problem I’ve had at times – we don’t realize that our relationship with God is dysfunctional, because our lives aren’t as blatantly screwed up as the terrible “sinners” of this world. Our relationship with the father isn’t what it’s supposed to be, but we don’t realize it. We think we’re doing just fine, because we aren’t like our brothers who spend all their money on sex, drugs, and booze. Just like our brother we think our father doesn’t forgive failure, we think our relationship with him is based on our ability to keep his law. And, just like our brother we are spiritually lost. We are all desperately trying to find purpose and worth in this life.

We all put our trust in something hoping it will give us meaning, make us happy, make us feel like we are worthwhile and good. Some of us look to sensual pleasures; some of us look to rules and regulations. But, the only way to fulfill our purpose for existence, the only way to be good, the only way to life is to be in right relationship with God our father. We religious types need to put our trust in him, not our ability to live up to some moral standard. We need to realize that our father is waiting for us to come home too.

What’s worse: legalism or antinomianism? Antinomianism is the belief that God’s grace frees Christians from the obligation of following his moral law. Legalism is the belief that we merit at least some part of our salvation through adherence to God’s moral law – and maybe a few of our own rules too. (Check out my glossary of terms page for definitions of such words as salvation and sin.) Though many Christians these days may lean towards antinomianism in practice, I think most would say that God probably likes legalists better than libertines. We humans are comfortable with legalism – it is intuitive. We’re used to giving and getting love based upon performance. And, though we usually will justify our own shortcomings, we easily condemn others for those heinous offenses we know God just can’t forgive.

For years I thought I was a pretty good person; I was only a few hang-ups away from not really having any serious bad habits. I thought I was better than most people. If only I could stop doing this and that thing I would be practically perfect in every way. Then God would really like me, and of course the blessings would start to flow. Fortunately for me, I kept on sinning and through my failures I began to understand my real problems. I had been focused on outward appearances, but my heart was corrupt. For one thing, I was a legalist. I was trying to prove my worth to God and myself by my ability to perform. I was trying to earn a good standing before God through my good works. I was the prodigal son’s jerky brother (more on that in a future post).

I am hopelessly incapable of keeping God’s law through my own self-will; I need grace. I can only love God because he first loved me. I can only truly love others – not just pursue my own self-interest – because my relationships do not earn me rewards. I can love without an agenda. I am made right with God and subsequently others through grace, not works. This is a wonderful gift from God, because if I did need to perform to earn God’s love, I would fail.

So, which is worse? Both are sins, but the problem is we rarely identify legalism as sin. That’s why it’s so dangerous. This insidious belief corrupts our relationship with God. We humans have a hard time accepting the fact that there is nothing good in us – nothing good we can do - apart from God. We just can’t accept the fact that we can’t be like God, despite what the serpent promised. Most Christians affirm that we are saved by grace, but also believe (or at least act like) we have to maintain our salvation through works. At the very least we think it must be up to us to purify ourselves before we are allowed into heaven.

Most legalists accept grace as part of the equation, they just want to also add something to it. God gives us a boost with grace, and then we have to get ourselves the rest of the way by accomplishing this or that. In the end, God’s acceptance of us is based upon our performance the legalist would claim. This is not the good news proclaimed by Jesus and his apostles. “. . . [I]t is by grace [we] have been saved, through faith--and this not from [our]selves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no-one can boast. (Eph 2:8-9)

We don’t do anything to earn our salvation; we don’t do anything to sanctify ourselves. We are made right with God through Jesus, not our works. We are sanctified by the Spirit, not by our effort. We are declared good, through Jesus, and made good, through the Spirit. Antinomianism, though incorrect, is preferable to legalism. This can be observed in the writings of Paul. He disciplines and corrects the Corinthians – many of the congregants were having sex with prostitutes. Paul questions the very faith of the Galatians who were being carried away by legalism. He says in Gal 1:6-7: “I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel – which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ.” In the book of Galatians Paul lays out a forceful argument against legalism. It is clear that we are saved and purified by grace – no fulfillment of any law is required for us to be made right with God.

Does this mean we can now sin as we like and it doesn’t matter? Certainly not; sin hurts others, it hurts ourselves, it wastes our lives, it does not allow the nature God to be demonstrated in us, it does not allow us to demonstrate the nature of God’s kingdom in this world. We do not need to perform to enter into a relationship with God, but a relationship with God will change us. If it is true, as the Bible teaches, that the Spirit of God lives in us as Jesus’ followers, then we should be in the process of transformation. We should be bearing fruit of goodness.

How are we changed? Not by focusing upon rules and regulations. Not through self-will and self-discipline. We are changed through love and gratitude. We are changed as we grow in our relationship with God. We are changed as we allow the Spirit to transform our desires. We are changed by focusing upon God and the love he has demonstrated through Jesus. We will mature into grown sons and daughters of God as we follow Jesus – as we take up our crosses, as we eat his flesh and drink his blood (those are his words, and many of his disciples deserted him when he said them, John 6:53).

If you want to listen to a longer discussion concerning book of  Galatians  check out The White Horse Inn