I’ve been thinking a lot about God as King.  I feel like we’re repeating history and it’s not good.

There are few passages of Scripture that cut me to the core as this one (especially verses 7 and 22):

1 Samuel 8:1 When Samuel grew old, he appointed his sons as judges for Israel. 2 The name of his firstborn was Joel and the name of his second was Abijah, and they served at Beersheba. 3 But his sons did not walk in his ways. They turned aside after dishonest gain and accepted bribes and perverted justice. 4 So all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah. 5 They said to him, “You are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways; now appoint a king to lead us, such as all the other nations have.” 6 But when they said, “Give us a king to lead us,” this displeased Samuel; so he prayed to the LORD. 7 And the LORD told him: “Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king. 8 As they have done from the day I brought them up out of Egypt until this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are doing to you. 9 Now listen to them; but warn them solemnly and let them know what the king who will reign over them will do.” 10 Samuel told all the words of the LORD to the people who were asking him for a king. 11 He said, “This is what the king who will reign over you will do: He will take your sons and make them serve with his chariots and horses, and they will run in front of his chariots. 12 Some he will assign to be commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and others to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and still others to make weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. 13 He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. 14 He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive groves and give them to his attendants. 15 He will take a tenth of your grain and of your vintage and give it to his officials and attendants. 16 Your menservants and maidservants and the best of your cattle and donkeys he will take for his own use. 17 He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his slaves. 18 When that day comes, you will cry out for relief from the king you have chosen, and the LORD will not answer you in that day.” 19 But the people refused to listen to Samuel. “No!” they said. “We want a king over us. 20 Then we will be like all the other nations, with a king to lead us and to go out before us and fight our battles.” 21 When Samuel heard all that the people said, he repeated it before the LORD. 22 The LORD answered, “Listen to them and give them a king.”

How incredibly sad!  

Yet, how many of us want God to give us what we want instead of what is best for us?

Do we covet earthly power, forgetting that the sovereign power of God is far greater?  

The Israelites then and we, today, reject God all the time!

• We reject Him every time we are not thankful for what abundance He has given us or envy what He’s given someone else.
• We reject Him every time we do not live the way Scripture calls us to live,  passing judgment on His Word as outdated, irrelevant, old fashioned, or passé.
• We reject Him every time we want to be lords over our own lives and do what we want, when we want.
• We reject Him every time we hate another person who has been made in God’s image.
• We reject Him every time we refuse to forgive other people.
• We reject Him every time we succumb to greed or refuse to care for those whom we know we can (and ought to) help.
• We reject Him every time we think we can outsmart God.
• We reject Him every time we want our government to do for us what God wants to do for us when we come to Him in faith.
• We reject Him every holiday season (whether that holiday is Christmas or Easter) by minimizing the religious significance and the holiness of that holy day, totally missing the etymology of the word itself is from the Old English haligdæg “holy day.”  Commercializing this holy time turns God into nothing more than an excuse to spend money and worship material things.

If Jesus were to return today…as King of Kings and Lord of Lords…would we know Him?  

He was rejected in His humanity in a way He will never be rejected when the last trumpet sounds at His return.  He will not be rejected when He returns in sovereign power with all authority.  

He will be King, Lord, and Judge.  There will be no more excuses to hold water on earth.  There will be no more rationalizations.  There will only be judgment for those of us who persisted in rejecting the King of glory while we had the opportunity in our lives to know Him as King.

1 John 3:16 This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. 17 If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? 18 Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.

We’ve talked so far about the Christian Left as distinct from the Political Left and the same applied to the Christian and Political Right.  There is a reason I’ve been using a train track analogy and today, we’ll explore a particular reason why train tracks accurately depict the interaction between people, God, and the culture.

In a speech to the Temple Israel of Hollywood, Dr. King is quoted as saying,

Oh, I know that there are still dark and difficult days ahead. Before we get there some more of us will have to get scarred up a bit. Before we reach that majestic land some more will be called bad names. Some will be called reds and communists simply because they believe in the brotherhood of man.

With acknowledgment that Dr. King was a man of God whose heart was in the right place and his own eyes were straight ahead, on track as a Christian with God Himself as the goal, the truth is that some in his company were called reds and communists…because they were. They proudly admitted they were.  Their preferences shouldn’t have rubbed off on Dr. King, but it is evidence of how easily Christians can be seen as getting off-track.  Perception–in the eyes of many people–becomes reality.

In a strange little discourse hidden in 1 Corinthians, the Apostle Paul describes what happens when Christians get off track.

1 Corinthians 15:30 And as for us, why do we endanger ourselves every hour? 31 I die every day– I mean that, brothers– just as surely as I glory over you in Christ Jesus our Lord. 32 If I fought wild beasts in Ephesus for merely human reasons, what have I gained? If the dead are not raised, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.” 33 Do not be misled: “Bad company corrupts good character.” 34 Come back to your senses as you ought, and stop sinning; for there are some who are ignorant of God– I say this to your shame.

You see, it’s really easy to find oneself so focused on the Christian Left rail or the Christian Right rail that we are completely unaware that those with totally different goals have swooped in alongside and thrown the switch on our train tracks until we are no longer headed toward God as a destination.

When the switch is thrown, we may not know this right away, but eventually we discover we have abandoned God in favor of different goals altogether.  Indeed, “Bad company corrupts good character.”

Follow the notion of Community—off the mainstream Christian ideal of community as the Church—and become so focused on the left rail instead of on God and where does it lead us?  It leads us aside to the Political Left for whom social justice, environmental stewardship, sexual freedom, and loving humanity, etc. become goals in themselves—apart from God.  It’s a human-centered idolatry that removes God from the center and corrupts good character.   Dr. Martin Luther King may have kept his own eyes on God at the end of the track, but those with whom he partnered carried a movement God was initially “in”—so far off-track—that civil rights and issues of fairness became the primary drivers instead of the God of Christianity.  The means had become the end and his partners had left Dr. King behind though he remained the figurehead.  It’s really sad on many different levels.

To all of us in the Christian mainstream, I implore you to keep your eyes on God Himself. 

Take stock of the track you’re following.  Keep careful guard over the company you’re keeping and who you allow to take the reins of the ministry work you do. 

Consider seriously this fact about confusing the ends with the means:

Take the Spirit of Life—Jesus Himself—out of an issue and frankly, it’s dead.

Yes, it applies to the Christian Left but it equally does to the Christian Right.  Follow the notion of Individual—off the Christian ideal of each member of the Body of Christ—and become so focused on the right rail instead of on God and where does this lead us?  Someone pulls the switch and it leads us to the Political Right for whom a human-centered selfish idolatry takes over.  Rugged individualism apart from God leads us way too easily to an “Am I my brother’s keeper?” mentality.  Individualism plus money minus God leads to greed.  It’s serving Mammon instead of God because you can’t serve both.  It leads us to not caring what happens to others so long as it doesn’t impact us.  Looking out for Number One was never Jesus’ motto.  Looking out for the interests of others is more like it.

When we get off-track, though, we can err on either side.  Sacrificing the community for the sake of the individual is every bit as wrong as caring so much about community that we sacrifice individuals for the sake of the many.

We must endeavor–as the Christian mainstream–not to get sidetracked onto other tracks with goals other than God.  It is not easy, particularly the better known and more effective the ministry or church gets.  But by keeping our eyes on the goal of God instead of on the rail, we won’t get carried off-track which happens easily because Bad Company Corrupts Good Character.

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This series included

http://seminarygal.com/understanding-the-christian-left/

http://seminarygal.com/understanding-the-christian-right/

http://seminarygal.com/bad-company-corrupts-good-character/

Last week we were using a train track analogy to look at the priorities of the Christian Left and the Christian Right.  Both priorities are completely Christian and valid.  Both are necessary for the Body of Christ to do the work God has called us to do.  We cannot look at the rail opposite our own and believe those who follow it are unnecessary.  We cannot believe they are unbiblical simply because they are not like us.

 We need each other.  In the words of a few of my seminary professors, “We are better together.”

Yes, indeed, we are!  Furthermore, we need to be together in order to be better.

So, going back to our train track analogy, if there’s a left rail (Community) and a right rail (Individual), what holds the track together?  Jesus Christ, the Living Word.

In actual train tracks, what keeps the rails attached together?  The ties and the spikes.

But they must be secure upon a good foundation.  It needs to be solid as a rock. The rock foundation can withstand the weight of the freight.  Think about it: Rails secured to a foundation of shifting sand would never be able to keep the train from derailing.

The stability of the tracks depends on the foundation. 

What is our foundation?  The Word of God.

Building on a solid foundation, there are railroad ties that span the width of the tracks, in order to keep the rails parallel, heading toward the very same goal.  Railroad ties are like planks in our theology.  Like sound doctrine.

Tied together and working in parallel, we head toward the same goal of God Himself.  The Church makes progress toward doing God’s will—together!

With a solid foundation and precision ties that span the breadth, the rails are then secured to the ties-that-bind with spikes. Think of the spikes as the nails through Jesus’ hands.  If this is what it took on the Cross to secure the rails…onto the ties… built on the same foundation for the Christian Left and the Christian Right, shouldn’t we be willing to work together for His glory’s sake?

Jesus died for both the community of believers known as the Church, but also for the individual person who repents and confesses the Name of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

Solid foundation of the Word of God. Ties of sound doctrine binding Christian to Christian.  Spikes securing us in the Body of Christ as community and as individuals.  This is how Christians can avoid derailing our faith.  We can be staying on track, all the way to the salvation of our souls.

1 Peter 1:8 Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, 9 for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

Most people don’t have a hard time acknowledging the existence of the Christian Right even if they find it irksome.  The Christian Right ranks in popularity along with Brussels sprouts and Lima beans among a wide swath of American culture.  If you stop to analyze it with civility—as we did with the Christian Left—we will find that this annoyance is really unfounded.

Just as we said regarding the Christian Left, the Christian Right should not be confused with the Political Right. 

To be fair in my exposition, the Political Right is comprised of those called right-wingers, conservatives, Tea Party activists, capitalists, nationalists, and yes, even fascists (which I personally don’t see, but on a traditional left-right spectrum of political ideology it’s shown as the far right and I’m trying to stay honest here).

Though the Political Right and the Christian Right are distinct, they too have certain things in common.  There is a notable exception: The Christian Right believes in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.

Therefore, no matter how annoyed the Political Left gets with the Political Right, the Christian Left should do more than tolerate–they should embrace the Christian Right as the valued corrective to a view of the Christian faith that exalts community at the expense of the individual.

Going back to our train track analogy from yesterday, if the left rail could be labeled Community, the right rail could be labeled Individual.  To the Christian Right, the world isn’t divided into classes (e.g. rich, poor, Jew, Greek, slave, free), the world is comprised of individuals, each of whom matter to God.

Whereas the Christian Left is enamored with community, the Christian Right (populated significantly by Protestants) prioritizes individual decisions and each being born again into the family of Christ.  While Jesus is returning for a community of disciples, He is also returning for you and for me within that body called the Church.  It is significant that our names are listed individually in the Lamb’s Book of Life.

Because the right rail lifts the individual along the path to our common destination, God Himself, the Christian Right is deeply concerned with evangelization and the truth of the Gospel as the best way of growing the community, one soul at a time.  The Christian Right sees teaching, preaching, and evangelism as the best means to bring the individual to knowledge of Christ and a personal saving relationship.

The Christian Left needs the Christian Right to remind themselves that we’re not dealing with masses of people in a huddle to be fed with earthly food and that’s where compassion ends.  Rather, we minister to a mass of individuals who need spiritual sustenance as a valid priority.  Let’s face it: With or without salvation, death happens to everyone.  Whether one dies from starvation at age 12 or from diabetes at age 102, what the individual did with Jesus Christ makes an eternal difference.

Romans 2:6 God “will give to each person according to what he has done.” 7 To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life.

Therefore, let’s not judge the Christian Right harshly for having each individual as a priority.  Charity alone isn’t the final measure of compassion.  Giving one person the Gospel truth can change that soul’s eternal destination in a way that a bowl of rice—while helpful in the moment of the flesh—cannot.

The Christian Left needs the Christian Right for this reason.  Arm in arm and shoulder-to-shoulder we can stay on track to our eternal goal: God’s presence.  We can help one another to stay focused on the author and perfecter of our faith—Jesus—as we build a community of individuals, ministering to their physical needs and giving them spiritual food that comes by way of teaching them eternal Truth.

Romans 10:12 For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile– the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, 13 for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” 14 How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? 15 And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”

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This series included

http://seminarygal.com/understanding-the-christian-right/

http://seminarygal.com/understanding-the-christian-left/

http://seminarygal.com/bad-company-corrupts-good-character/

Does the Christian Left actually exist, or is it an oxymoron like “wise fool” or “jumbo shrimp”?

The Christian Left surely exists—it is no oxymoron—and today, I’d like to suggest that it’s a matter of Christian priorities.  Understanding the Christian Left benefits the Body of Christ as we embrace a wider theological perspective.

Let’s start with an important distinction: The Christian Left is not the same as the Political Left which frequently doesn’t like Christianity and the Bible a whole lot, in general. 

For the Political Left (often known as Liberals, Progressives, Greens, Lefties, Leftists, Socialists, Communists, etc) there is a priority of political power concerns in a world regardless of any involvement of any god.  They are characterized by their belief in the power of government to make the human condition better.

The Christian Left has some characteristics in common with the Political Left, with one important exception:  The Christian Left, being Christian, believes in Jesus as the Son of God.

In a separate post, I’ll elaborate on the problems we get when we conflate the Christian Left with the Political Left and do the same thing with the Christian Right and the Political Right.  We will also look at how politics and religion are lenses through which we see the world and how the priority and ordering of these lenses makes a significant difference.  Conflating politics and religion is poor policy and brings out the worst in people.  For now, I’d like to bring the discussion through the route of civility.

Let’s consider train tracks as an analogy:

There are two steel rails for most track trains (for our purposes, we won’t consider monorails).  There is a left rail and a right rail, both of which acting in parallel, head toward the same goal.  For the Christian, our Christian roundhouse is God Himself.  He is our goal; His presence is our destination; He owns the tracks; and He maintains the tracks in accordance with His best practices to ensure that no derailments occur.

For the Christian fellowship of believers, the left rail can be labeled “Community.”  The left rail cares deeply about the entire community of believers and those who will become believers.  The left rail is moved with great empathy and compassion for the poor and disenfranchised, desiring to bring them into community and to minister to their needs.  They are drawn to social causes and want to do good to the brotherhood of man.

In his book, Five Great Catholic Ideas, Edward Wm. Clark outlines one of the central tenets of the Christian movement, embraced particularly by Roman Catholics (and I would add the Christian Left):

“We are saved in community.”

I say it is a Christian tenet because when Jesus returns, He’s not coming for a bunch of brides, but A Bride: His Church. 

He’s returning to gather a Community and bring us to be with Him forever.  Yes, the community has individuals and we’ll talk about that in another post, but for now, let’s just all agree that He’s not returning for one or many individuals acting in solo effort, but for one community of unified disciples known as the Body of Christ, or alternatively, the Church.

The Christian Left gets this. 

We’re a Community. We will be saved as a Community of followers. 

We should care about Community and about brothers and sisters, no matter where in the world they reside. 

It matters what happens to other people because it’s both our witness and an expression of our love.  The Christian Right needs the Christian Left’s heightened emphasis on community as a great reminder, holding the train on the track as together, we head toward the goal of Christlikeness.

Christian Left and Christian Right–we are one body.  And we are called to peace.

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This series included

http://seminarygal.com/understanding-the-christian-left/

http://seminarygal.com/understanding-the-christian-right/

http://seminarygal.com/bad-company-corrupts-good-character/