Lord, your love is long-lasting.  It never ends.

Your faithfulness is ever-present.  It never quits.

That’s why I long for the day when all the world will worship you.

That’s why I dream of the day when all the  peoples will praise you.

My greatest wish is for the world-wide worship of the One who leaves me speechless.

[image]

Praise is contagious.

Like an epidemic, its location  spreads–from earth to heaven.

Like a pandemic, its motive spreads–from what the LORD has done to who the LORD is.

There’s not an instrument that remains unaffected–trumpet, harp, and cymbals are swept up in praise.

There’s not a human or creature who remains immune–everything that breathes catches the bug to sing “Hallelujah!”

May no cure ever be found for the contagion that is worship.

[image]

Bounded Sets and Centered Sets

A friend and I were recently talking about the Christian faith.  Her daughter, who lives in another city, had decided to start looking around for another church.  The daughter was dissatisfied with the church she was attending.  My friend, her mother, was worried that her daughter wasn’t going to seriously investigate what other churches taught and would end up making a decision about a new church home on factors that were somewhat superficial.  The discussion raised the whole issue of what makes a church really a church, and what makes a Christian really a Christian?  Are there beliefs and practices that are essential to what it means to be a Christian and a congregation of Christians?  In addition, that same friend had recently heard a Christian speaker talking about how good it was to see so many of the walls coming down that once divided different Christian groups from one another.  This led us into a discussion about the Christian faith in general.  What are the defining beliefs of Christianity?  What makes a Christian group truly a Christian group?

Some answer this question by talking about what is called a “Bounded Set.”  [PP picture of Bounded Set] A bounded set is one in which there is a hard boundary between those who belong and those who do not belong.  The boundary can be a certain set of beliefs, or a certain set of practices, or a list of other kinds of requirements.  The focus is on the boundary.  What is of utmost importance is the boundary.  Once a person has fulfilled the boundary requirements, he/she is in, no matter what else he/she does.  What matters most is fulfilling the boundary requirements.  Once you do that, you’re in, for good.  After that, not much else really matters.

Another way of addressing this issue is through what is called a “Centered Set.”  [PP image of centered set] In a centered set, the focus is not on just fulfilling some boundary requirements.  Instead, the focus is movement towards the center of the set.  People are seen as either closer to or farther from the center of the set.  What matters most is your direction and your movement.  You can’t just fulfill some boundary requirements and then rest on your laurels the rest of your life.  What matters is movement.  The central question is not Did you meet the entry requirements?  Instead the central question is Are you moving closer to the center or farther from the center?

John Ortberg writes this:[1] “A bounded set is one where all its members are determined by focusing on the boundary. For instance, ‘apples’ is a bounded set. Whether or not an item fits depends on whether it meets the criteria for apples—having skin and seeds and so on. Membership in a bounded set is static. Whether you’re a rotten apple or a ripe apple does not affect your appleness. The focus is not on movement but position.  A centered set, on the other hand, is determined by a focus on the center. For example, ‘bald-headed people’ would be a centered set. The paradigmatic member would be Mr. Clean, at the center of the set.   Centered sets are dynamic, in motion. A baby might be born with no hair, but hair is coming, so that baby may start near the center but moves away and eventually is out of the category. On the other hand, a 20-year-old might have hair, but it’s already starting to stay on the comb, so he’s on his way into the category.  With centered sets, the key question is whether I am oriented and moving toward the center or moving away from the center. I’m defined on where I am, and where I’m moving, in relation to the center….If we treat Christianity as a bounded set, there will always be a disconnect between the gospel and discipleship. The gospel will be presented as something to get you “inside the circle.” Once you’re inside, we don’t want to say you have to do anything to stay in (that would be salvation by works). But we don’t want to say you don’t have to do anything (the triumph of entropy, or, to use a biblical word, being lukewarm, or to use a theological word, antinomianism). So we don’t know what to say.  However, if we treat Christianity as a centered set, the relationship between the gospel and discipleship becomes much clearer. The gospel is the proclamation that life with and through Jesus is now available to ordinary people. It is a free gift of forgiveness and grace that cannot be earned. If I want it, the way that I enter into it is by becoming a follower of Jesus and orienting our lives with him at the center.”

In a  bounded set, you can be a rotten apple or a ripe apple.  It doesn’t matter.  Once you fulfill the minimum requirements you are in.  But in a centered set, the focus is on continual movment.  Are you moving closer toward the center?

One way to think of the Christian faith is to think of it as a centered set.  Jesus is at the very center.  What’s most important is the direction a person or organization is moving.  Are they moving toward the center?  Are they moving away from the center?

Deeds v. Creeds

However, this still leaves one question unanswered.  How does a person or an organization move toward the center?  In the terminology of this Sunday night series, the answer is twofold: deeds and creeds.  Most today would answer that certain deeds are critical in order to move closer to the center—close to Jesus.  They would suggest that deeds like caring for the poor, helping widows, and helping children move us closer to the center.  However, something else is also critical: creeds.  What a person believes is vital part of what direction that person is headed in.  Certain beliefs propel us closer to the center.  Certain beliefs cause us to veer away from the center.

The Bible is filled with creeds, short summary statements of the most important elements of biblical faith.  After the Bible was written, Christians took these summary statements and rewrote them.  One of the most important historical creeds was called the Nicene Creed: [PP text of the Nicene Creed  below][2]

We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen.

We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one Being with the Father.  Through him all things were made.  For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven: by the power of the Holy Spirit he became incarnate from the Virgin Mary, and was made man.

For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered death and was buried.  On the third day he rose again in accordance with the Scriptures; he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father.  He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end.

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son.  With the Father and the Son he is worshiped and glorified.  He has spoken through the Prophets.

We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church.  We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.  We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.

The early Christians would say that these beliefs are the ones most critical to moving toward the center of our set.  They are not merely boundary markers—defining the Christian faith.  They are the beliefs most critical for positive movement.  If you want to get as close as you can to Jesus, you have to embrace these beliefs.  Part of the way we draw near the center is by accepting these truths about God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, the church, baptism, resurrection, and the world to come.

The Centrality of Jesus

And notice what’s at the center of this creed.  The longest part of the creed is devoted to Jesus.  No one and no thing gets more attention in this creed than Jesus: [PP text below]

We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one Being with the Father.  Through him all things were made.  For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven: by the power of the Holy Spirit he became incarnate from the Virgin Mary, and was made man.

For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered death and was buried.  On the third day he rose again in accordance with the Scriptures; he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father.  He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end.

Part of the reason for the centrality of Jesus in the Nicene Creed has to do with the fact that in the period in which the creed was written, there were tremendous debates raging about who Jesus was.[3] Specifically these debates focused on the nature of Jesus’ humanity and divinity.  Was Jesus truly equal to God?  What Jesus truly God incarnate?  Or was Jesus somewhat lower than and lesser than God?

What the creed does, over and over, is to affirm the unique deity of Jesus.  The creed piles on phrase after phrase to prove that Jesus is truly God.  It says the same thing in several different ways: Jesus is God.  Jesus is Lord.  Let’s explore this phrase by phrase.

One Lord, Jesus Christ

Here’s how the early Christians summarized their belief in Jesus: “We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father”  [PP We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father]

The name “Jesus” translates the Hebrew name “Joshua,” which in turn derives from “Yaheshua” (“Yahweh = the Lord saves”).  This is the name given to Mary’s child in Matt. 1:21.            The word Christ, meaning “anointed one,” is used in the Septuagint translation of the Old Testament to translate messiach (see 1 Sam 2:10; 24:7; 26:16; 2 Sam 19:21; Ps 2:2; 17:50; 19:6; 27:8; 83:9; 88:38; 104:15; 131:10). Jesus is God’s anointed.[4]

The designation of Jesus as Lord (kyrios)—the third term in this phrase of the creed—is used in the Septuagint to translate “Yahweh” the name of God (Exod 3:2—15).  The word “Lord” is also used frequently in the New Testament to mean “God” (e.g., Matt 1:20; 3:3; 22:37; Mark 13:20; Luke 1:6; 2:9; 3:4; 4:18—19; 19:38; John 1:23; 12:13, 38; Acts 2:34; 3:22; 4:26; 7:49; Rom 4:8; 9:28—29; 1 Cor 14:21; Heb 12:5; James 5:4, 21; 1 Pet 1:25; 3:12; Rev 1:8; 19:6).  Thus, in confessing Jesus as Lord the early Christians were confessing him to be God.[5]

This language about Jesus’ sonship was included in the creed as a way of emphasizing that Jesus was uniquely God’s Son.  Jesus was the object of the heavenly voice declaring at Jesus’ baptism, “you are my beloved son” (Matt 3:17; Mark 1:11; Luke 3:22).  The same voice spoke at Jesus’ Transfiguration calling him “beloved son” (Matt 17:5; Mark 9:7; Luke 9:35; see 2 Pet 1:17).[6] John writes about how “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth; we have beheld his glory, glory as of the only-begotten of the father.”(Jn. 1:14).  Later, John writes that “For God so loved the world that he gave his only [in Greek, “only-begotten”] son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” (Jn. 1:16).  The early Christians confessed Jesus as the one and only Son of God.

Nothing  communicated the early Christians’ belief in the deity of Jesus like this first phrase.  Who is Jesus?  He is the one Lord, the Christ, the only Son of God.

God From God

Further, Jesus was “God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one Being with the Father. Through him all things were made.”  [PP God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one Being with the Father.  Through him all things were made.] The first three phrases—God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God—are different ways of saying the same thing.  Each phrase highlights that Jesus is indeed God.[7]

The phrase “God from God” is self-explanatory.  God-Jesus came to earth from God-Father.  The one who came is the same as the one who sent.  Jesus is God.

The phrase “Light from Light” utilizes biblical imagery in which God is described as light.  For example, God’s presence was a light for the people of Israel during the plagues (Exod 10:3). In the Psalms, light is consistently associated with God: “The Lord is my light,” says Psalm 26:1, and “in your light we shall see light” says Psalm 35:9.  In the New Testament, light is also associated with the divine presence. John says of the Word that was with God and was God, “in him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it” (John 1:5).  Paul says that God “alone has immortality and dwells in unapproachable light” (1 Tim 6:16). Peter speaks of God calling the chosen “out of darkness into his marvelous light” (1 Pet 2:9). James says, “every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change” (James 1:17).[8]

The phrase “true God from true God” reflects language from John.  John writes in John 5:20 of  “the true God,” speaking of the Father.  In John 17:1, Jesus describes his Father as the “true God.”  Later in Revelation, Jesus is described as “the holy, the true” (Rev 3:7; 6:10).[9]

The final phrase—“Begotten, not made, of one Being with the Father.  Through him all things were made”—arose from a debate about whether Jesus was a created being or not.  Some, including an ancient scholar named Arius, argued that Jesus was among the very first of the Father’s creation and the agent through which the Father made everything else.  However, the early Christians confessed that Jesus was not made.  He is of the same substance as the Father.  Rather than using the word “homoiousios”—similar in being—to describe Jesus’ relation to God, they used the word “homoousios—one in being. God and Jesus are one.

One Lord or Many?

This part of the Nicene Creed is especially important given contemporary beliefs about Jesus and about religion in general.  The American Creed argues that Jesus is one of many lords, not a unique Lord.  It suggests that Jesus may be a way, but he is certainly not the way.  The American Creed states this: “We believe in many Lords.”  [PP American Creed: We believe in many Lords.]

In his book The Reason for God Timothy Keller illustrates.[10] Keller, who started a church in New York City, has been asking people for two decades: What is your biggest problem with Christianity?  What troubles you the most about its beliefs or how it is practiced.”  Keller says that one of the most frequent answers given is this: the biggest problem with Christianity is its exclusivism.  Keller tells of Blair, a twenty-four-year old woman living in Manhattan: “How could there be just one true faith?  It’s arrogant to say your religion is superior and try to convert everyone else to it.  Surely all the religious are equally good and valid for meeting the needs of their particular followers.”  Keller also writes of Geoff, a twentysomething living in New York City: “Religion has led to untold strife, division, and conflict.  It may be the greatest enemy of peace in the world.  If Christians continue to insist that they have ‘the truth’—and if other religious do this as well—the world will never know peace.”  Above all, the American Creed believes in many lords.  Jesus may be at the center of your faith.  But he is not the center.  He is one of many.

The Nicene Creed—and all of Christian Scripture—argue differently.  It says this: We believe in one Lord.  [PP add to previous slide: Christian Creed: We believe in one Lord.]

What Makes Jesus Special

The question is Why?  The early Christians lived in the midst of a culture which, like ours, argued that there were many gods and many lords.  Why did the Christians believe in Jesus as the God and the Lord?  Author Michael Green suggests there were three things that made Jesus special.[11] That is, there are three traits Jesus shares in common with other religious figures.  But those other religious figures do not share these traits to the same degree as Jesus.

First, Jesus’ teaching is special.  [PP One Lord Jesus Christ: His teaching is special.] Other religious leaders taught things.  Some taught some great things.  But none taught like Jesus.  Green writes, “Nobody ever taught like him.  Such was the conclusion of the soldiers sent to arrest him by priests who were jealous of his influence.  His teaching was profound, lucid, and memorable.  (Matt. 7:29).  Who else spoke with such power and attractiveness?  Who else invited all into His kingdom and likened God to a great king who offered men and women a marvelous banquet free of charge?  Read through the Sermon on the Mount and feel its power for yourself.  How do you account for the fact that there have been no moral advances on Jesus’ teaching from that day to this?  How did he get such matchless teaching without having been to college?  How is it that his teaching fits all people in every culture?”

Chris Webb is the President of Renovare, a Christian organization devoted to teaching spiritual disciplines.  He grew up in Wales in a broken home and outside any true exposure to the Christian faith.  In college he drank heavily.  One night in college he was invited to a gathering in a home.  There were several non Christians present as well as several Christians.  This weekly gathering would take up one major topic each week—suffering and evil, justice, theology, etc.  Each person had a chance to say what he/she believed about the topic for the night.  After several months Webb came to a conclusion: the only answers which made any sense to him were the answers given by the Christians.  The only teaching that really made sense was the teaching of Jesus.  Jesus’ teaching is special.

Second, Jesus’ character is special.  [PP add to previous slide: His character is special.] Michael Green writes, “Never has there been a character like his, so humble yet so strong, so prayerful yet so down to earth, so peaceful and yet so energetic, so loving without sentimentality, so dynamic without being hearty.  Jesus is the only fully balanced person who ever lived…Socrates, Moses, Confucius, Buddha, Muhammad-or in our own day Mother Teresa, Martin Luther King and Billy Graham—al taught wonderful things.  But never did any of them manage to carry out all they taught…His enemies could not make mud stick on him.  His closest friends knew of not failure of his.” There has never been a person of such great character as Jesus.

Richard Beck, Professor and experimental psychologist at Abilene Christian University comments on the beautiful life of Jesus:[12] Two years ago I sat down for coffee with an ACU student who had immersed himself in the books of the New Atheists: Sam Harris, Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens. He was, unsurprisingly, strongly affected by their arguments and wanted to visit with me about my take on all this. Why, he wanted to know, did I believe in Christianity?  For the good part of an hour we talked about the criticisms of the New Atheists. But it soon became apparent to the student that Harris, Dawkins and Hitchens are not really attacking Christianity. They are, rather, attacking a particular brand of Christianity, fundamentalism. So if you aren’t a fundamentalist you don’t feel particularly critiqued by the New Atheists. True, the New Atheists do criticize “liberal” Christians for creating a culture, by broadly legitimizing religious belief, that allows fundamentalism to flourish. My counterargument is that, as a “liberal” Christian and an insider, I’m much more effective in pushing against the worst strains within the Christian faith than the New Atheists (who are largely just preaching to the choir to sell books).  When we got to this point in the conversation the student still seem frustrated with my epistemology. He wanted black and white answers, true or false. I refused those categories and tried one more time to communicate my point. This is the exchange we had: Me: “Do you want to live a beautiful life?”  Student: “Huh?”  Me: “Do you want to live a beautiful life?”  Student: “I think so. Yes, I’d like to live a beautiful life.”  Me: “Okay. So what kind of life to you think is beautiful? What is your aesthetic?”  Student: “What do you mean ‘my aesthetic’?”  Me: “Judgments of beauty require an aesthetic, some criterion which separates the ugly from the beautiful. So if you want to live a beautiful life you need some way of defining beauty. Here’s a way to find your aesthetic, ask yourself these questions. Who, living or dead, do you admire the most? What moves you to tears? What shakes your soul? When you get answers to these questions you’ll start to see the shape of your aesthetic, what you consider to be a beautiful life.”  Student: “Okay, but what does this have to do with Christianity?”  Me: “I’m a Christian because Jesus of Nazareth is my aesthetic. He’s how I define a beautiful life. I’ve noticed in my heart that every time a human action moved my soul or brought tears to my eyes that action reminded me of Jesus. And so, because I want to live a beautiful life, I follow Jesus.” Jesus’ character is special.

Third, Jesus’ influence is special.  [PP add to previous slide: Jesus’ influence is special.] Michael Green writes that “Today more than 1/3 of the world’s population professes to follow him.  No faith has as many worshippers as Jesus.  To be sure Muhammad had profound influence, but his lifestyle is not comparable to Jesus.  Muhammad’s religion was militaristic from the earliest days at Medina.  Jesus refused the way of force and embraced the way of love.  The cross is the supreme example of that self-sacrificing love even for his enemies.  Today his cause is growing at about 100,00 a day.  Lenin and Mao were influential.  But their appeal was generally to one nationality or class or people.  Jesus appealed to rich and poor, young and old.  The influence of Mao and Lenin was based on ruthlessness, hate and indifference to truth.  Jesus was a contrast.”

Others have had important teachings—none like Jesus, however.  Others have had inspiring character—none like Jesus, however.  Others have been influential—none like Jesus, however.  Though Jesus shares these traits with other religious figures, no one possesses them to the degree that Jesus does.  This is why the earliest Christians could confess Jesus as the very center of their faith and as the only true Lord in a religious landscape filled with many lords.

What Makes Jesus Unique

There are, however, some things which make Jesus absolutely unique.  There are some chapters of his story which can be found in no other story.[13]

The first unique aspect of Jesus is his incarnation.  [PP One Lord Jesus Christ: His incarnation is unique.] Michael Green writes this: “He was the only one in all history who actually chose to be born into this world.  Jesus is no witty rabbi, no wandering prophet, but God Almighty, voluntarily limiting Himself to share our humanity in order, among other things, to show human beings what He is like and how much He loves them.”[14] Green continues: “Such a claim could have never crossed the mind of the Buddha or Confucius because they offered systems of ethical behavior, not fellowship with God.  Muhammad was appalled by the idolatry around him in his early life, so the principal tenet of his creed is that Allah is one, and that principal sin is ascribing divinity to anyone else.  Muhammad would never have dreamed of claiming to share in God’s nature…Any fair appraisal of the evidence shows that alone of the great teachers, Jesus Christ claimed to share the nature of God almighty while being at the same time a loving and humble member of the human race.  This is utterly without parallel in any of the faiths of the world.”[15] There simply is no other significant world religion in which its central figure claimed to be fully human and fully divine.  The incarnation sets Jesus apart.

A second unique aspect of Jesus is his atonement.  [PP add to previous slide: His atonement is unique.] No other great teacher dealt radically with human wickedness in the way Jesus did.  Green comments: “God almighty loved us so much that He set out to win our obstinate and self-centered hearts.  So He chose a people, the Jews, on whom He lavished great pains to show them what He was like and how they should respond.  He had to work hard to prepare them for the day when He would come in person to this world…He embodied what it was to be truly human…and for those who had eyes to see, He was the man who was God.  He lived in humility and absolute obedience to His Heavenly Father and willingly shared in the sufferings of His fellows.  He was accounted illegitimate, was nearly murdered after His birth in a filthy stable, and became a refugee.  He lived in a poor working-class home, then as a teacher He had no home…He suffered unjust opposition, unfair trail and undeserved death through the most painful from of execution, crucifixion.  He drained the cup of human suffering to the dregs…And the most wonderful aspect of the death of Jesus is not only that He shared our sufferings but that He took personal responsibility for the entire filth, the trash can loads if you like, of human wickedness…The God-man willingly bore upon His shoulders all the guilt before God of a whole world that had gone wrong…No teacher, no guru in all history has been able to make an offer of complete forgiveness and an utterly new start like that.  Jesus is the only one who has dealt radically with human wickedness by taking its filth upon Himself so that we might never have to bear it…The Hindu doctrine of karma says, ‘You sin, you pay.’  The cross of Christ shows God saying, ‘You sin, I pay.’”[16]

A third unique aspect of Jesus is his resurrection.  [PP add to previous slide: His resurrection is unique.] No other great teacher broke the final barrier—death.  Michael Green writes, “Alone of the great teachers of the world’s religions, Jesus Christ rose from the icy grip of death.  The bones of Buddha have been divided up and are enshrined in several different countries.  The bones of Muhammad lie in Medina.  But the bones of Jesus Christ are nowhere to be seen and revered.” There is no other religious figure who defeated death and rose from the dead.  Jesus’ resurrection proves beyond all doubt that he is the Lord of Lords.

Finally, Jesus’ gift of the Holy Spirit sets him apart.  [PP add to previous slide: His indwelling spirit is uniqe.] No Other Great Teacher Offers to Live within His followers.  Michael Green writes this: “There is no point at which Christianity differs more radically from all other faiths in the globe than this.  Its founder offers to come and live in the hearts and lives of His followers!…That was and remains the heart of Christian morality.  Not keeping a rule book, but loving and pleasing a person, and in His power overcoming the base tendencies of human nature and pouring out the love of Christ to others.“[17] No other religion offers to deal with our radical internal brokenness by coming to dwell within us and fixing us from the inside out.

It is for these reasons that the earliest Christians could confess Jesus as the Lord.  They would not accept their culture’s belief that there are many lords and many gods and it doesn’t really matter which one you follow.  Their firmly believed that there was one Lord and one God and his name was Jesus.

It is crucial for us to reclaim this same confession in our time.  The American Creed says “We believe in many lords,” but the Christian Creed says, “We believe in one Lord.”  [PP American Creed: We believe in many lords.  Christian Creed: We believe in one Lord.] We cannot give in to the strong current in our culture which says that it’s intolerant to believe this and politically incorrect to confess this.  This confession is, simply, the truth.  Jesus alone stands at the very center of our faith.  He alone is the one toward whom all humanity must journey.  This is a defining belief of the Christian faith.  It is not something which can be jettisoned because it no longer fits the times.  Frankly, it has never fit the times.  This belief is fundamental to all that Christianity is.  Without this belief there is no Christianity.  Without this belief we begin to veer radically away from the center of our faith.  Jesus stands alone above all other religious figures.  In the words of Michael Green: “Christianity stands out from all other faiths.  It maintains that the living God has come to share our human situation, died an agonizing death in which He took responsibility for human wickedness and broke the last barrier, death, on the first Easter day, with incalculable consequences for His followers and the whole world.  No other faith claims anything like that.”[18]

[2] Gerald L. Bray, Editor Ancient Christian Doctrine Volume 1 (IVP, Academic, 2009), unnumbered page.

[3] Luke Timothy Johnson, The Creed: What Christians Believe and Why It Matters (Image, 2007)  Kindle location 1506.

[4] Johnson, 1658.

[5] Johson, 1681.

[6] Johnson, 1735.

[7] Johnson, 1801.

[8] Johnson, 1810, 1820.

[9] Johnson, 1870

[10] Timothy Keller, The Reason for God (Dutton, 2008), 3-21.

[11] Michael Green But Don’t All Religions Lead to God? Chapter 4.

[12] http://experimentaltheology.blogspot.com/2010/04/beautiful-life.html.

[13] Green, 35-74.

[14] Green, 36.

[15] Green, 38.

[16] Green, 49-51.

[17] Green, 65,71.

[18] Green, 18.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ebolasmallpox/2179047732/

 Lord, every person today has her own god.  Every nation has its own temple.  Everyone says it doesn’t matter who you worship–as long as you worship sincerely.

But Lord, there is no god like you.  In the match between you and those Egyptian gods, there was no contest.  The “W” went in your column, the “L” went in theirs.

And every chapter of history since then bears it out.  There is no god like you Lord.

Let all those whom you have made come to worship you as the one and only God.

While traveling recently to the Philippines, I was reminded of the human tendency to create boundaries.   

• For example, at the Memphis International Airport there is a clear boundary regarding where you can and cannot park.  You can park in long-term lots and short-term lots.  But you cannot park in the drop-off zone near the entrance to the airport.  Security guards at the drop-off zone ensure that you can barely get out of the car before they whistle for your loved one to move the vehicle.  You can park there (short-term and long-term lots), but you cannot park here (drop-off zone).  Thus, the morning of our trip, we bid a quick farewell to Beverly Ralston who deposited David and me at the drop off zone at the airport.
• While in Bangkok, we visited the royal palace of Thailand’s kings.  We even got to view the royal throne.  The royal throne had a very large white ornamental umbrella above it.  The king’s umbrella had 9 tiers or levels.  The queen’s had 7.  The umbrellas of princes and princesses had 5.  But common people could not even own an umbrella with more than 3 tiers.  And obviously, only one person could sit on that throne under that 9-tiered umbrella—the king.  If you were a commoner, you could sit there (among the crowds under their 3 tiered umbrellas) but you could not sit here (on the throne under the 9 tiered umbrella).
• While changing planes in Tokyo, we went through the most intense security I have ever seen.  Though all of us had been previously screened in Manila, once we got to Tokyo, we were re-screened.  Just to get into the gate area, every one of the 450 passengers had his/her carry-on luggage dumped onto a table and hand-searched, and each of us was subjected to a lengthy body search.  If you did not go through that security scrutiny, you could stand out there (in the other gates and shops), but you could not stand here (at the gate waiting to board).  We tend to create a lot of boundaries.

And so did those in the ancient world.  One place where boundaries always showed in the ancient world up was in religion.  There were two significant boundaries in ancient religion: the people whom the gods loved, and the places where the gods labored.  Most people believed that God or the gods had boundaries or limits when it came to the people whom they loved and the places where they labored.  For example, if you belonged to Group A, God or the gods valued you, loved you, and cared for you.  But if you did not belong to Group A, God or the gods did not value you, love you, or care for you.  And, if you were in Place B, God or the gods labored among you, ministered among you, performed great deeds among you.  But if you were not in Place B, God or the gods did not labor among you, minister among you, or perform great deeds among you.

We find hints of this two-fold boundary in Paul’s letter to the Ephesians.  In Eph. 1:21, Paul writes of “rule, authority, power, and dominion.”  This is probably a reference to other gods whom people in Ephesus worshipped.  And one thing was generally true about those gods who supposedly had rule, authority, power, and dominion—these gods had boundaries.  Most of the gods in the ancient world were attached to specific locations–cities, regions, and nations.  If you were in that specific location, you could probably count on that god working and laboring in that place.  But once you left that location, that god’s labor ceased.  There were limits to divine labor.

And, there were limits to divine love.  In chapter 2, Paul writes about the two ethnic groups of his day: Jews and Gentiles.  Generally in Paul’s day, if you belonged to one group, say, the Gentiles, you could count on a god’s love, concern, and care.  But if you didn’t belong to that group, the gods did not have as much love, care, and concern for you.  There were limits to divine love.

At a certain level, these two religious boundaries still exist.  Even modern religion has boundaries concerning the people whom God loves and the places where God labors.  Sometimes I hear statements among religious groups which suggest that Americans are recipients of a special kind of love from God and that America is a place of unique divine activity.  That is, if there’s anyone God loves, it’s Americans.  And if there’s any place God is working, it’s America.  I sometimes hear similar statements from people speaking of a particular religious group or denomination.  In almost every denomination or religious group, there is a tendency among the fundamentalists of the group to believe that their group or denomination has a special place in God’s heart and experiences unique levels of God’s labor.

These religious boundaries are summarized in two words: “us” and “here.”  There is sometimes an implicit belief among modern religious people that above all, God loves “us” and among all, God works “here.”  Not that we believe God doesn’t love “them” at all or that God doesn’t work “there” at all.  But sometimes we at least act as if God, above all, loves “us” and among all works “here.” 

All of this prepares us to hear one small but significant verse in chapter 4 of Ephesians.  The verse is part of a three verse section in which Paul describes the Trinity.  And here’s what Paul says about the Father: one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.  (Eph. 4:6 ESV). 

Some believe that this description of God is Paul’s attempt to mirror the theology of the Shema, the great confession of the Jewish faith found in Deut. 6:4: 4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. (Deut. 6:4 TNIV).[i]  Just as that was the great Jewish confession, some believe Eph. 4:6 is the great Christian confession: There is one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.  We find a similar confession in 1 Cor. 8: 5 For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as indeed there are many “gods” and many “lords”), 6 yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live (1 Cor. 8:5-6 TNIV). If the 1 Cor. 8 and Eph. 4 statements are reflections of the Shema, then they carry tremendous significance for us. This is intended to be one of the central things we confess in terms of what we believe about God.  Above all, we believe that God is the Father of all, that he is over all, through all, and in all.

In general the confession points to four things: First, God is transcendent (he is over all). Second, God is pervasive (he is through all). Third, God is immanent (he is in all).[ii] Fourth, God is creator (he is Father of all). God is the transcendent, pervasive, immanent creator of all.   In other words, this confession means that the Christian God has no boundaries or limits. He is over all—there are no limits to what he is over.  He is through all—there are no limits to what is through.  He is in all—there are no limits to what he is in.  And he is Father of all—there are no limits to his Fatherhood.  He has no boundaries, no limits.

A number of scholars take the “all” references as references only to people in the Church.  If so, the “alls” point to the fact that God is the Father of all people in the church (he is Father of all), that he is transcendent above each person in the church (above all), that he works through each person in the church (through all), and that he dwells in each of person in the church (in all).[iii]   

But while the “all’s” certainly include people in the church, they probably also include everyone else in creation.  Paul is ultimately saying that the Christian God has no boundaries: he is the Creator of all creation (Father of all), he is the Lord above all creation (above all), he is working through all creation (through all), and he is filling all creation (in all).  There are no boundaries to what God has created, what God rules over, where God is working, and where God may be found.

We know the “alls” refer to all creation and not just all in the church because throughout Ephesians Paul has been writing of God’s activity in all creation:

• 1:10 – 10 to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ,
• 1:22-23 – 22 And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way,
• 3:9 – 9 and to make plain to everyone the administration of this mystery, which for ages past was kept hidden in God, who created all things
• 3:14-15 – 14 For this reason I kneel before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name.
• and 4:10 – 10 He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.[iv]  Thus, while this confession in 4:6 may begin as a reference to the Church, it quickly extends far beyond the Church. Paul paints a portrait in which God is the Creator of all creation (God and Father of all), God is Lord of all creation (above all), God is working through all creation (through all), and God is filling all creation (in all).

For our purposes this morning, I want to draw special attention to the description of God being “of all” and God being “through all.” As I’ve mentioned already, God being “of all” means that he is the creator of each and every thing in heaven and earth. Regarding humanity, it means he is the creator of each and every individual. We in the church thus share something significant with every other human being. Everyone one of us in church and out of church share the same Creator. We all have the same fingerprints on us. We all have the same “Made in ….” label on us.  And thus, we all have the same value, the same worth, the same significance.

And, as I alluded to a moment ago, God being “through all” means that there is nowhere in this creation where God is not already at work. One scholar writes that “Through all” means that God’s activity “permeates the church and the entire universe.”[v] 

Thus, here’s what this ultimately means: God’s limitless love and labor have no boundaries.  When it comes to the people whom God loves and the places where God works, there are no boundaries.  Specifically, “us” and “here” are no longer accurate labels for God’s love and God’s labor.  God’s limitless love and labor extend far beyond “us” and “here.”  That’s what it means for God to be “Father of all” and “through all.”

This makes possible a boundary-breaking community.  This fact about God suddenly makes it possible for this congregation to be a community for every race, every income, every background, each gender, every age, and all nationalities.  Eph. 4:6 and its great confession makes possible the only community on earth that has no boundaries, where every wall of race, age, gender, income, and nationality is erased.

But there is a second area of application regarding God being “of all” and “through all.”  God’s limitless love and labor extend far beyond “us” and “here.”  This makes possible boundary- breaking ministry.  Because we are a people who believe that God is laboring in places beyond our little group (through all), and because we believe God’s in love with others outside our little group (Father of all), that compels us to extend the boundaries of our ministry.  Why?  Because we want to labor where God is laboring.  And we want to love those whom God is loving.  Because we confess a God who loves all (is Father of all) and labors among all (is through all), we want to become a people who also love all and labor among all.

Let me get more specific.  Because God’s limitless love and labor extend far beyond “us” and “here,” I believe God has called us to labor among and love those from Enclave to Exchange. 

• Just east of our new location is a large suburban neighborhood called The Enclave at Sparkle Creek.  Within its gated community you’ll find some of the largest homes in the Mid-South.  We can easily assume that some of the wealthiest in the Mid-South live in the Enclave.  Lots are very large, there are horses running in open fields and three and four cars fill the garages.  I believe God has called Highland to labor among those in the Enclave and love those in the Enclave—because that’s where God’s laboring and that’s who God’s loving.  If we confess that God is Father of all and that he is through all, we confess that he is Father of those in the Enclave and he is working in the Enclave.
• But many miles west of our new location is a large urban neighborhood located near Exchange Street downtown.  That’s where Memphis Urban Ministry is prayerfully striving to establish a new headquarters called the Center for Peace.  Earlier last week MUM began due diligence on that facility.  It lies within the poorest Zip code in Shelby County.  When several of us went to tour that building on Exchange Street, there were homeless people living in it.  Cups from convenience stories were filled with human waste.  Old and dirty clothes were lying around.  We can easily assume that some of the worst living conditions exist in and around Exchange Street.  And I believe God has called Highland to labor among those on Exchange and love those on Exchange—because that’s where God’s laboring and that’s who God’s loving.  If we confess that God is Father of all and that he is through all, we confess that he is Father of those on Exchange and that he is working on Exchange.
• And in between the Enclave and Exchange are the neighborhoods of many of you, schools, apartments, condominiums, and thousands and thousands of people.  And I believe God has called Highland to labor among them and love them – because that’s where God is laboring and that’s who God is loving. 

I believe God is calling Highland to do what few congregations are willing or able to do.  I believe God is calling us to embrace both the Enclave and Exchange.  How?  The handout this morning shows some of the ways we served in the general area of Exchange last year and some of the ways we anticipate serving in the Houston Levee area and Exchange area this year.  But as we move to a new location many miles away from downtown Memphis, there will be a great temptation to forget the urban poor and to just focus on “us” and “here.”   And, as we move into a new building and once again face the unsettling feeling of a new place, a new schedule, and a new routine, there will be a great temptation to even forget our new neighbors and to focus only on “us” and “here.”  Frankly, I’ve already seen this happening as people at Highland have been debating what our worship schedule should or should not be at Houston Levee.  Time and time again the debate comes back to concerns about “us” and “here.”  But I believe God’s vision is this: Enclave to Exchange.  Who is the Highland church going to labor among?  Those from Enclave to Exchange.  Who is the Highland church going to love and serve and lay down our lives for?  Those from Enclave to Exchange.  Why?  Because that’s what God is already doing.  God’s already active in those two areas and every area in between.  He is “through all.”  And he’s already in love with the people in those two areas and every area in between.  He is “of all.”  I believe God’s made us for so much more than just “us” and “here.”  I believe he’s made us to labor and love everywhere he is.

Let’s close by standing and making this confession together:  We believe in the one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

[ii] F. F. Bruce The Epistles to the Colossians, to Philemon, and to the Ephesians The New International Commentary on the New Testament (Eerdmans, 1984), 337.

[iii] Bruce, 338.

[iv] Lincoln, 240.

[v] Liefeld.

Lucado’s categories raise the larger question: How should we view Jesus?  Just who is that infant in the manger?  As add as it may seem to us, early Christians answered these questions with the image and Greek word for “fish.”  The Greek word for “fish” was “ixthus.”  Say that out loud with me: “ixthus,” “ixthus.”  Each letter or pair of letters in the Greek word “ixthus” stood for one important view of Jesus. 

• The “i” in “ixthus” stood for “iesous,” the Greek word for Jesus. 
• The “x” in “ixthus” stood for “xristos,” the Greek word for Christ. 
• The “th” in “ixthus” stood for “theou,” the Greek word meaning “of God” or “God’s.”
• The “u” in “ixthus” stood for “huios,” the Greek word for Son. 
• And the “s” in “ixthus” stood for “soter,” the Greek word for Savior. 

Together the image of the fish and the word for fish stood for “Jesus Christ God’s Son Savior.”  That was one way early Christians summarized how they viewed Jesus.  To them, Jesus was Christ, God’s Son, and Savior.

We find this last view, “Savior,” appearing prominently in Luke’s account of Jesus’ birth: 1In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. 2This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria. 3And all went to be registered, each to his own town. 4And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, 5to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. 6And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. 7And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.   8And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear. 10And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” 13And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, 14 “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!” (Lk. 2:1-14 ESV).

Listen once more for the word “Savior:  11For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. (Lk. 2:11 ESV).  The angel gives three titles to the infant Jesus: Lord, Christ, and Savior.  We’re reflecting this morning and next Sunday morning on the title “Savior.”  The Christmas angel wants us to view the infant Jesus as “Savior.”  And over these two Sundays we’ll examine three components of Jesus as “Savior.” 

If we lived in the time of Jesus’ birth, the word “Savior” would have been quite familiar.  And the word wouldn’t have necessarily just have been a word we heard in a Jewish or Christian worship service.  Today, we almost only hear “Savior” when it’s used in a Judeo-Christian worship service.  But in Jesus’ day, the word “Savior” was used in many contexts.  In fact, in Jesus’ day there were many Saviors.  You could find politicians described as “Saviors.”  You could find philosophers described as “Saviors.”  Kings were often described with this word.  Emperors were generally described with this word.  And pagan gods were certainly described as “Savior.”[2]  In Jesus’ day there were many Saviors. 

But this word was especially used for people like kings and emperors.  The Rosetta Stone, that multi-lingual stone which aided archeologists in translating ancient words, called the Egyptian ruler Ptolemy V Epiphanes “savior and god.”  An inscription found in Ephesus called the Roman Emperor Julius Caesar “god manifest and common savior of human life.”[3]  The Roman Emperor Nero would be called “savior and benefactor of the inhabited world.”[4]  In Jesus’ day there were many Saviors.  Kings and emperor were especially considered to be Saviors.

And in some ways even we look at political leaders as Saviors.  The Internet is filled with references to top politicians as Saviors.  One website asks of Sarah Palin, “Is This Really America?  Can Sarah Palin Save it For Us?”  There are numerous sites asking, “Can Barak Obama Save the Economy?”  One site asks if John McCain can “Save” his party?  We still tend to look at our nation’s highest leaders as Saviors.

Given this tendency, especially in Jesus’ day, it is no coincidence that Luke begins the story of Jesus’ birth with words about an emperor, the emperor, Caesar Augustus: 1In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered.  Prior to this time, Augustus was one of three leaders empowered to rule Rome.  Mark Antony and Markus Lepidus ruled the empire alongside Augustus.  But soon Augustus became the sole ruler.  His given name was Gaius Octavius.  “Augustus” was a title bestowed upon him by the Roman senate.[5]  Augustus was a particularly noteworthy Caesar because he had managed to put an end to civil strife in the Roman world.  He brought peace to the empire.  Because of this, during Augustus’ reign, the Roman senate ordered that the doors to the Shrine of the god Janus, which normally stood open in times of war, be closed.  The Senate erected an altar to Augustus which still stands in Rome today.  And in the eastern Mediteranean, Augustus was hailed as “savior of the whole world.”  His birthday, Sept. 23, was celebrated with this inscription: “[the birthday] of the god has marked the beginning of the good news through him for the world.”[6]  There were many Saviors in Jesus’ day.  But none were as exalted, respected, and revered as Caesar Augustus.  There was no higher Savior.

Yet notice what’s said in Luke’s account.  People said that the birthday of Augustus was “the beginning of the good news…for the world.”  But the angel says it is the birth of Jesus that is good news of great joy that will be for all the people.  The culture said Augustus was Savior.  But notice whom the angel calls Savior.  Not a politician.  Not a philosopher.  Not a king.  Not a pagan god.  Not even Augustus.  In this narrative, the only one proclaimed as Savior is the infant Jesus: 11For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. (Lk. 2:11 ESV).  There may have been many Saviors in Jesus’ day.  Augustus may have been proclaimed as Savior of the world.  But Luke presents infant Jesus as the one true Savior.  Luke tells of Jesus’ birth in the context of Augustus’ reign, and the angel uses the word “Savior,” all to make one critical point: Jesus is Savior above all.  There may be many so-called Saviors.  But there is no Savior like Jesus.  The one whose birth we celebrate on Christmas is a Savior above all.

Immediately we may cringe, or at least those in our society may cringe.  Aren’t the holidays supposed to be about love and tolerance and finding common ground?  Why this line about “Savior” and the implication that Jesus is Savior and others are not?  We’re not going to find this line written on a Hallmark card or sung in an public elementary school Christmas program .  It’s too intolerant.  Jesus is Savior above all?  How can you be so closed-minded, especially at Christmas? 

A report by the Pew Forum analyzed the religious practices of more than 35,000 U.S. adults.[7]  It found that more than half of the Christians in this country believe that many religions can lead to eternal life.  That is, one of every two who go to congregations like Bellevue Baptist or Hope Presbyterian or Highland believes Jesus is not Savior “above all.”  Rather, half of us believe that Jesus is Savior “with” all.  Along with all the other gods or religious leaders who can save, Jesus can also save.  One sociologist said: “I think it really underscores the sense that the issue with religion in America is not that Americans don’t believe in anything, it’s that they believe in everything.”  We’re willing to embrace almost anything as Savior.  We might amend that to say, “Americans believe in everything—except the possibility that there can be one Savior above all.”  But Christmas calls us to believe this once again.  Jesus is Savior above all.  There simply is no other religion, no other spiritual leader, no other way of life, and no other politician, philosopher, or poet who can save in the way Jesus saves. 

And that is good news, because it means we finally have an object of hope that’s not going to disappoint.  You can bet that the Roman Emperors disappointed those who looked to them as Saviors.  You can bet that any President, any governor, any mayor, and any board member will eventually disappoint you if you look to them for saving.  No social network, no civic group, and no circle of friends can bear the burden of our hope and need for salvation.  But there is one who can: the infant Jesus.  No sibling, no spouse, no child, no parent, no job, no school, no career, and no sport can hold the weight of our hopes and needs.  But the good news of Christmas is that there is one who can, above all, save—Jesus Christ.  He is Savior above all.

But there’s more Luke wishes to communicate regarding Jesus as Savior.  Notice what kind of people are at the beginning of the story and what kind of people are at the end of the story.  At the story’s beginning we find Emperor Augustus: 1In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. (Lk. 2:1 ESV).  The story begins with a person who is at the highest possible position in that culture.  Emperors like Augustus were so exalted that they were actually worshipped.  It was one of those practices which drew together the varied peoples across the vast Roman Empire.  They were required to worship the Emperor.  You simply couldn’t find a human with greater fame, celebrity, renown, respect, and notoriety than Augustus.  That’s how the story begins.   

But notice what kind of people show up near the end of the story: 8And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. (Lk. 2:8 ESV).  Near the middle and end of the story, we introduced to “shepherds.”  We’re not given their names.  They’re just described as “shepherds.”  We’re given the name of the Emperor.  But not the names of the shepherds.  They are nameless and faceless.  Even more significant, as shepherds, they are near the bottom of that society’s social ladder.  You didn’t get much lower than shepherds.[8]  They were dirty, grimy, and low-esteemed laborers.  It was generally held that shepherds couldn’t testify in court—they could be a disreputable lot. 

Thus, the story moves from a person with the highest credentials and esteem to people with the lowest credentials and esteem.  Yet, we are told by the angel, this infant Jesus is Savior for them all: 10And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.  Who is this great news for?  Who will rejoice that Jesus is Savior?  All!  This good news of great joy is for “all” the people.  That means it’s for Augustus, and the shepherds, and everyone in-between.  Not only does Luke focus on Jesus as the Savior above all.  But Luke shows that Jesus is Savior for all.  There is no one excluded from the salvation of this tiny baby.  There is no one designated out of bounds.  This good news is for “all” the people.  Jesus is Savior for all. 

And as if to put a exclamation point on this fact, God has infant Jesus born to two unmarried and homeless people and placed in a manger.  You’ve got to wonder what kind of bed Caesar Augustus laid down in that night somewhere in the Roman Empire.  It must have been a large bed, a soft bed, a luxurious bed, a quiet bed, a warm bed, a safe bed—a bed fit for a king.  But what kind of bed did the Savior lie down in?  It was a manger – a feeding trough for animals.  His parents had no home here, and they could find no bed.  This seems to be part of God’s way of saying there was no one too low for Jesus.  You couldn’t sink below Jesus, because he’s already sunk as low as you can go.  Jesus is Savior for all—no  matter how low they are.

Think of the remarkable diversity on the globe today.[9]  If we could shrink the Earth’s population to a village of 100 people, there would be 57 Asians, 21 Europeans, 14 from the Western hemisphere (North and South), and 8 Africans.   51 would be female; 49 would be male.   70 would be non-white; 30 white.  70 would be non-Christian; 30 Christian.   50% of the entire world’s wealth would be in the hands of 6 people and all 6 would be citizens of the United States.  80 would live in substandard housing.  70 would be unable to read.  50 would suffer from malnutrition.  1 would be near death.  1 would have just been born.  Only 1 would have a college education.  Remarkable diversity!  Yet there’s not a single person in that 100 Jesus is not willing to save.  The infant in the manger came to save the 6 who have 50% of all the wealth.  And he came to save the rest.  He came to save the 80 in substandard housing.  He saves the 70 non Christians.  He saves the 30 Christians.  He saves the 30 whites.  He saves the 70 non whites.  He saves the 1 near death.  He saves the 1 just born.  Jesus is Savior for all.

A few weeks ago the staff took a big home-cooked lunch down to the students at HopeWorks, served it, and ate with the students.  While there, I met Mickey.  Mickey was born and raised in Binghampton.  As a teen and young adult, Mickey sold drugs, abused drugs, shot several people and narrowly escaped life-sentences in prison.  Several of his best friends from the streets are now serving 1-2 life sentences in federal prisons.  Many of his close friends are dead—having been shot in drug deals gone bad or in altercations with police.  On top of a life riddled with terrible choices, Mickey struggled with schizophrenia and depression.  His twin brother died at birth.  His mother died at ten.  And Mickey ultimately wound up in a group home, troubled, lonely, and without hope.  But as he talked to me, Mickey shared how he met Ron Wade and Antonio and Mr. V. at HopeWorks.  He started studying the Bible and praying.  He started believing that God believed in him.  He quit the drugs.  He left the streets.  He found community.  And he said, “Someone told me the other day, ‘The good Lord has blessed me because of his grace and mercy, and because I’ve tried to be good.’  But I told her, ‘You don’t know what you’re talking about.  You were right until you said, ‘…because I’ve tried to be good.’  You should have just stopped with ‘The good Lord has blessed me because of his grace and mercy…’  If there’s anything I’ve learned, it’s that.  I ain’t never been good.  But God has blessed me, just because of his grace and mercy.’”  That’s the good news for all people.  So many of us ain’t never been good.  At times we feel about as low as you can go.  But the good news of Christmas is that Jesus is Savior for all.  Even for someone like Mickey.  Even for someone like you.  Even for me.

[2] Joseph A. Fitzmyer, The Gospel According to Luke (I-IX), The Anchor Bible (Doubleday, 1970), 204.

[3] Fitzmyer, 204.

[4] Fitzmyer, 400.

[5] Fitzmyer, 399.

[6] Fitzmyer, 394.

[7] Adelle M. Banks, “Pew Report Shows Americans Are Religious in Unpredictable Ways,” Religion News Service, posted on www.christianitytoday.com (6/23/08).

[8] I. Howard Marshall, The Gospel of Luke The New International Greek Testament Commentary (Paternoster Press, 1978), 96.

[9] Internet, Christian Reader, Vol. 34.

Can you imagine what it would be like to wake up and not know who you are? Can you imagine forgetting your identity? Perhaps you have experienced this, although not in a Jason Bourne way. For example, one Sunday in my Sunday School class we were sharing stories. One of our class members said, “When I was young, every time I left our house, Mom would say to me, ‘Don’t forget who you!’” Was Mom afraid that Susie was going to get to the neighbor’s house and suffer retrograde amnesia? No. She was afraid that Susie might get into a situation with friends and not act herself, not act like the little lady she is. Mom was afraid that Susie would forget that she is a responsible Christian young woman and ought to act as such.

Have you ever done or said something and then later exclaimed to yourself, “I can’t believe I just did that?! I can’t believe I just said that?!”? Why do we have that response? It’s because what we just did or said is not consistent with who we are. We momentarily forgot who we are and acted or spoke like someone we aren’t.  Last September I spoke for the 50^th anniversary of the church I used to preach at in New Mexico. As I prepared my speeches the campus minister from the church contacted me and told me that a leader in the church had just confessed to having an affair. When he told me the leader’s name, I couldn’t believe it. That’s just not who this guy was. I served with him for four and half years. He was a loving father, devoted husband, and tireless servant. All I could conclude is that for a brief moment, he just forgot—he forgot who he was. He acted like someone he isn’t.

This morning we begin a series which explores that kind of amnesia. In fact, it is a series which suggests that one of the greatest challenges we face in the spiritual life is amnesia. We leave the house and forget who we are. This is a series on baptism. But it’s not a series on why we get baptized. It’s a series on who we become when we are baptized. The majority of texts on baptism in the New Testament are written to Christians who have forgotten who they are and thus need a reminder of the identity given to them in baptism. It is my hope that this series will help us remember who we became in our baptism and equip us to live out that identity.

We begin with two letters from Paul that we might entitle, “Paul’s Letter to the Insecure Colossians” and “Paul’s Letter to the Insecure Galatians.”  Let’s begin with Paul’s Letter to the Insecure Colossians. Paul is writing to a group among whom insecurity has been growing. The insecurity is summarized by Paul in Col. 2:8:  See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ. (Col. 2:8 TNIV). The key phrase is translated “elemental spiritual forces.” The phrase refers to the polytheism of ancient Colossae, the city in which Paul’s readers live. Like a lot of cities in Paul’s day, Colossae was filled with people who believed there were many gods–polytheism. [2] There were local gods and national gods. There was a god for this and a god for that. Some of these gods were more powerful. Some were less powerful. When we think of the spiritual beliefs in Colossae, we might think of a ladder. A ladder has many rungs. Similarly, those in Colossae believed in many gods. Each rung represents a different god. A ladder has some rungs higher than others. Similarly, those in Colossae believed some gods were higher or better than others.

And it seems that someone’s been telling the Christians in Colossae that the Jesus they follow is fine, but there are some other gods higher up on the ladder to whom they also need to express devotion. If they want the full spiritual life, they need not only Jesus but some of the other gods who are on higher rungs. And this was creating uncertainty in the minds of the Christians. Here’s the uncertainty of Colossians: am I really at the top of the ladder? When I decided to follow Jesus, did I end up following the god at the top? Out of all the gods I could have followed, did I make the right choice?

In his book The Reason for God Timothy Keller shows just how contemporary this uncertainty is.[3] Keller, who started a church in New York City, has been asking people for two decades: “What is your biggest problem with Christianity?” Keller says that one of the most frequent answers given is this: the biggest problem with Christianity is its exclusivism. Keller tells of Blair, a twenty-four-year old woman living in Manhattan: “How could there be just one true faith? It’s arrogant to say your religion is superior and try to convert everyone else to it. Surely all the religious are equally good and valid for meeting the needs of their particular followers.” There is a strong opinion in American culture which takes the Colossian spiritual worldview one step further. In American culture, not only are there many rungs, that is, many gods. But, no rung is better than another. And if Christians claim that Jesus is better other gods, they are intolerant and closed-minded.

And in that kind of climate, we Christians wrestle with uncertainty. I’ve chosen the Jesus-rung. But was that the best choice? Was that the only choice? Are there better rungs? Are all these rungs just the same?

And to resolve the uncertainty in Colossae Paul points to baptism—not to argue they should be baptized again but to remind them that what happened in their baptism has a bearing on their current uncertainty. Paul changes their uncertainty into certainty by pointing to their baptism. Here’s what Paul says happened when the Colossians were baptized: 8 See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ. 9 For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, 10 and in Christ you have been brought to fullness. He is the head over every power and authority. 11 In him you also were circumcised with a circumcision not performed by human hands. Your sinful nature was put off when you were circumcised by Christ, 12 having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through your faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead. (Col. 2:8-12 TNIV). Paul associates baptism with circumcision. In baptism Jesus “cuts off” that part of us which has separated us from the top God of this ladder. Jesus removes it. Paul goes on to describe that “cutting off” as a “burial.” Through our baptism that sin-filled part of us is buried. It dies.[4] Finally, Paul says that through this baptism, Jesus resurrects us. Jesus raises us to live a new kind of spiritual life. And all of this was done by Christ, the fullness of the deity. Our only role in it was “faith”: through your faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead.

Paul wants to remind us of this truth: If my relationship with God is like the ultimate ladder, I reached the top through trust. This is what happened when you were baptized. First, you were brought into relationship with the One who is at the top of the ladder. There is no one higher than Jesus. He alone is the fullness of the deity. There is no need for any other rung. Jesus alone is the gateway to a new way of life. And when you were baptized, you came into relationship with that One at the top rung. Second, the only thing required of you to enter that relationship was trust or faith—trust or faith that Jesus was the top rung. Everything that happened in baptism was Jesus’ work, not yours.[5] This whole relationship was brought about because of his work, not yours. All you had to do was trust. Thus, if my relationship with God is like the ultimate ladder, I reached the top through trust.

Paul is saying, “You have forgotten who you became in your baptism. You have lost your identity.” And what is our identity? Simply this: I have become a person secure in my relationship with God. Say that out loud with me: I have become a person secure in my relationship with God. I don’t have to worry any more about whether or not I’ve chosen the right God. I don’t have to worry any more about whether or not there are spiritual paths better than the Christian path. If my relationship with God is like a ladder, I’m at the top. There is no higher rung. There is no better rung. I expressed my trust in that when I was baptized. And nothing has changed. There have been no new gods to arrive on the scene since you were baptized. Jesus hasn’t lost any fullness of the deity since your baptism. That day you were baptized, you reached the top rung. You expressed your trust that Jesus, and Jesus alone, was Lord. And that day you became a person secure in your relationship with God.

Let’s move now to “Paul’s Letter to the Insecure Galatians.” The insecurity of these Christians is summarized by Paul in Gal. 2:16: So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified. (Gal. 2:16 TNIV) There are preachers in the Galatian church telling people that if they want to have a compete relationship with God they need to observe the Jewish law.  Their sermons go something like this, “You’ve come to faith in Jesus. But if you really want to belong to God, you also need to be circumcised, observe our food laws, and observe these special Jewish holidays.” And these preachers were framing the issue in terms of family. We see a hint of this in Gal. 3:7: Understand then, that those who have faith are children of Abraham. (Gal. 3:7 TNIV) Abraham was the revered father-of-faith in the Old Testament. God appeared to Abraham and promised to make him into a great nation. And it was Abraham’s descendants who eventually became the twelve tribes of Israel. In Jewish thought, the ultimate spiritual badge was to belong to Abraham’s descendants, to belong to Abraham’s family. What you needed most in your spiritual life was to belong to Abraham’s family. And these preachers in Galatia were sowing seeds of uncertainty. “Just because you have faith in Jesus doesn’t mean you are a part of Abraham’s family,” they were preaching. “If you really want to belong to Abraham’s family, you need to undergo circumcision.”

Here’s the uncertainty of Galatians: am I really in the family? If the spiritual life in Colossae can be represented by a ladder, the spiritual life in Galatia can be represented by a kitchen table and chairs. This is the family table. This is where the family boundary is defined. If you have a chair at this table, you are in. If you don’t have a chair at this table, you are out. And the preachers in Galatia were saying, “Your faith in Jesus doesn’t give you a place at this table. If you really want a chair, you need to also keep the Jewish law.” They were causing Christians to wonder: am I really in the family?

We don’t face temptation today to start practicing Jewish laws. But we do still wrestle with the uncertainty found in this question: am I really in the family? Have I done enough, have I been obedient enough, to deserve a chair at God’s table? Garrison Keillor tells imaginary stories of the folks of Lake Wobegon in his books and on the weekly radio program “Prairie Home Companion.”[6] The stories often feature the Lutheran church in Lake Wobegon. Keillor once told of Larry the Sad Boy. “Larry the Sad Boy…was saved 12 times in the Lutheran church, an all time record. Between 1953 and 1961 he threw himself weeping and contrite on God’s throne of grace on 12 separate occasions—and this in a Lutheran church that wasn’t evangelical, had no altar call, no organist playing “Just as I Am Without One Plea” while a choir hummed and a guy with shiny hair took hold of your heartstrings and played you like a cheap guitar. This is the Lutheran church, not a bunch of hillbillies. These are Scandinavians, and they repent in the same way that they sin: discreetly, tastefully, at the proper time…Twelve times! Even we fundamentalists got tired of him…God did not mean for us to feel guilt all our lives. There comes a point when you should dry your tears and join the building committee and start grappling with the problems of the church furnace and…make church coffee and be of use, but Larry kept on repenting and repenting.” There are some of us for whom our life is just like Larry the Sad Boy. We live with a constant sense of guilt and uncertainty. We’re never really able to take our chair at God’s family table because we’re always afraid we’ve never done enough, we’ve sinned too much, we haven’t demonstrated our worth to sit at this table. We live with uncertainty.

And just as he did in Colossians, Paul addresses uncertainty by pointing the Galatians back to their baptism. Paul changes their uncertainty into certainty by pointing to their baptism. Here’s what Paul says happened when the Galatians were baptized: 26 So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, 27 for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, neither male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise. (Gal. 3:26-29 TNIV). The first and last verses are the most important: in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith..you are Abraham’s seed. To be “children of God” is to be in God’s family—to have a chair at this table. To be “Abraham’s seed” is to be in Abraham’s family—it’s to have a chair at this table. Paul is reminding the Galatians what happened in their baptism: they came into relationship with Jesus and Jesus made them children of God; Jesus made them Abraham’s seed; Jesus gave them a chair at this table. Here’s what Paul wants them to realize: If my relationship with God is like the ultimate family, I became family through faith. Paul writes, So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith. The only things we had to “do” was to have faith that Jesus could invite us to this table. That’s it. That’s the only “work” required. Jesus did everything else. We didn’t have to go through circumcision. We didn’t have to obey Jewish food laws. All we had to do was have faith in Jesus.

And when we expressed that faith through baptism, we became clothed with Christ. To be clothed with Christ is to belong to Christ. Everything of his is now ours. And since he has a chair at this table, he is able to give us a chair. We are no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male or female. That is we are no longer just defined by our race, our gender, or our occupation or income. We are now defined by one thing: we are in the family. That’s all that matters now. If my relationship with God is like the ultimate family, I became family through faith.

Paul is saying, “You have forgotten who you became in your baptism. You have lost your identity.” And what is our identity? Simply this: I have become a person secure in my relationship with God. God does not want us to live in a constant state of anxiety and worry that our spot at the table is in danger. The Christian way is not a way that says, “You’re place at this table will be reviewed each and every day. And if on Monday you read the Bible, you serve the poor, you tell the truth at school, and you pray for thirty minutes, you will still have a place at this table. But if on Tuesday, you don’t read the Bible, you don’t serve the poor, you entertain some unholy thoughts, and you lie to someone, your chair will be given to someone else.” Isn’t that how we sometimes feel? And Paul is saying, “You’ve forgotten who you became through your baptism.” When you expressed your faith in Jesus in baptism, Jesus made you a member of his family. And it had nothing to do with how good you were and how obedient you might be. It was all Jesus’ work. Paul is saying in language that is the strongest in the New Testament: “Don’t ever think that your place at this table has anything to do with what you do or don’t do. You got here by faith. And you stay here by faith. Remember who you’ve become in your baptism. You’ve become a person secure in your relationship with God.”

Each week in this series, I want us to make a confession and a pledge together.

Let’s say it together: I struggle with amnesia, but this week I will remember who I’ve become through my baptism. Remember that you reached the top through trust. Remember that you became family through faith. You’ve become a person secure in your relationship with God. Go and live out that identity.

And for those of you who may have never been baptized, I invite you to take that step today or this week. Enter into a new life with the God who is at the top of this ladder. And take your chair at God’s table. It’s all waiting for you. Just express your trust and your faith through baptism.