Asecular Truth - True Spirituality In Validity

Truth With Tears

2011-11-07T06:38:00.000-08:00

Truth With Tears
A Devotion by Dan Guinn

“Jesus wept.” (John 11:35 ESV) - Is the shortest verse in the English Bible and yet it is perhaps one of the most profoundly significant in scripture. Lets read of the event in it’s context:

“When the Jews who were with her in the house, consoling her, saw Mary rise quickly and go out, they followed her, supposing that she was going to the tomb to weep there. Now when Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet, saying to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled. And he said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.” Jesus wept. So the Jews said, “See how he loved him!” But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man also have kept this man from dying?”

Then Jesus, deeply moved again, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it.”

(John 11:31-38 ESV)

“Jesus wept” is profound in several ways.

First, that the creator of the universe has feelings, emotions. He greatly cares and has compassion. We see the compassion of Christ very often in His ministry. Jesus cared for people.

Second, in the context of the passage it says Christ was “deeply moved.” In the King James it uses the language of “growning in himself.” The Greek word here, embrimaomai, actually implies that Jesus literally had “indignant displeasure,” further still, the more literal interpretation of the word seems to imply, “a snorting indignant displeasure” We do not know the multiple emotions that might have passed through His mind, but we can tell that Jesus is compassionate toward Mary and Lazarus in the least, yet we also can tell that He is definitely angry.

Thirdly, Jesus is in control of his anger. Here he stands, the creator of the world and the entire universe, and yet all around him stand doubters saying … “if only He had been here.” He could have said or done many things, but he only said “Where have you laid him?”

- Jesus is able to do this perfectly, where we often fail. How easy it is for us to jump to accusations? How easy it is to react harshly.
- What would you do? If I were in Jesus’ shoes, with my sometimes carnal way of thinking, I might have done something miraculous and dramatic like cause an earthquake. In the very least I would have told them a thing or two.
- It is so strange how that “being right,” can be made to give license to so many ungodly things. It is possible to be completely right, and react in a way that is completely wrong. Here again, is the balance of truth and love. Consider this verse:

“I myself am satisfied about you, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge and able to instruct one another.” (Romans 15:14 ESV)

We must be filled with “all knowledge” (the truth) and yet be “full of goodness,” which is the demonstration of love.

Fouthly, I also find it very interesting that every time Jesus is described in scripture as weeping, it is always in relation in some way to the results of death and or blindness caused the fall. He did not bring the death caused by the fall, the author of sin did, and it angers Him. We should consider how this both angers Christ and yet also moves Him to tears.

- The writer of Hebrews describes that in Gathsemane, “In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears.” just before his arrest.
- Likewise, this “King of Salem, King of Peace, our Great High Priest” that is described in Hebrews, weeps over Jerusalem the “City of Peace,” with these words in scripture: “Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes.” (Luke 19:41-42 ESV)

As we return to the scene of Jesus weeping, we see Jesus reveal the truth to them in the midst of these tears.

Then Jesus, deeply moved again, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it. Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, “Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead four days.” Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?” So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this on account of the people standing around, that they may believe that you sent me.” When he had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out.” The man who had died came out, his hands and feet bound with linen strips, and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.” (John 11:38-44 ESV)

Jesus is not alone in speaking “truth with tears,” we may recall in the Old Testament the prophet Jeremiah, the “weeping prophet,” or the Apostle Paul who said,

“Therefore be alert, remembering that for three years I did not cease night or day to admonish every one with tears.” Acts. 20:31

The word here for admonish, is the word “noutheteo,” from the word, “nous” which means “mind or understanding” and. “tithemi” which means “to put or place.” So Paul is saying that he is correcting their thinking and putting it in it's proper place with tears.

As we look around and see so much error in the world, we should be both moved to stand for truth and yet be moved to humble tears. Will we be discouraged that people aren’t listening? Yes. Will we be moved by what we see? If our hearts are right, yes. Will we be overwhelmed at times? Yes! Consider this quote from Schaeffer:

“It is possible to be faithful to God, and yet to be overwhelmed with discouragement as we face the world. In fact, if we are never overwhelmed, I wonder if we are fighting the battle with compassion and reality, or whether we are jousting with paper swords against paper windmills.” Francis Schaeffer ~ Death In The City

“Indeed, as redeemed people we should know the joy of Christ, but as we look around us in much of the church and in our culture, can we fail to cry tears?” ~ Francis Schaeffer ~ The Church Before The Watching World.

The Abstraction Of Truth

2011-09-28T21:44:00.000-07:00

A Devotion By Dan Guinn

As we look around, we can see some good in the world. Yet if we are really watching and listening, there is also a whole lot of hurt. People are hurting and we can site anything from problems at home to the economy and much, much worse. Very often people are searching for answers, everyday answers, pragmatic answers, and they often can’t see beyond the boundaries of their latest frustration. So when one talks of “truth,” a topic I write quite often on in my blog post here, people think you are just speaking in the abstract. After all, maybe they can only think about how to get their kid to stop throwing things at the table. How do you bring something which people see as so abstract down to everyday life?

Well, the problem actually starts with our reasoning. We have so alienated the concept of truth from our everyday existence in our culture that we have forgotten how to even consider it. For most, it is like that special box of keep-sakes up in the top of one’s closet that is only brought out for sentimental times. It’s like grandma’s broach, a relic that only looks right when on public display as an antique. We have “abstracted” (removed) truth and made it “abstract” (theoretical).

Is truth really abstract? Consider these definitions of the word “abstract:”

* “Considered apart from concrete existence”
* “Not applied or practical; theoretical”
* “Impersonal, as in attitude or views”

If truth were really abstract, then how can one reason anyway? If truth is abstract, why do we need laws in our society? If truth is abstract, what does the word “good” mean? If we think as though truth is abstract and fail to reason, is it any wonder we are drowning in pragmatic concerns?

Whose Truth?
Well, I know what you are thinking... whose truth? Whose truth do I choose? Now here, if I say “God’s truth,” you will probably accuse me of talking in the abstract again. “Who is God?,” you say. I get that, maybe you don’t know Him, and if you don’t know Him you might think He is also abstract. So are we at an impasse then? Certainly not.

The Truth Life Map
Truth is rooted in real life, it is not some far off concept out of touch with reality. What if truth were a map, to make sense of your terrain, would truth be practical then? For the Christian, the Bible is a life-truth-map, a rule, given to us by God, to guide us in how to glorify (please Him) and enjoy (celebrate Him). Through this process, guess what? Since He made us, through following Him we find out about our purpose... and it’s not some ethereal day dream, He gives us purpose. When we look at it this way, we are in a much different area of discussion.

Maybe you don’t believe in the Christian God, yet how does your belief system answer the questions of life? Are they consistent answers? Let’s face it, if you are reading the wrong map, you are going to be lost in the course of life, what is more, you may end up over a cliff!

Since people are finite, we cannot truly understand truth as God sees it, but we can understand it substantially given what God has explained in the Bible and the truth that is visible in His creation. The Bible answers the questions of life and explains what is revealed in nature about God. Questions like: "Where did I come from? Where am I going? How do I explain man’s dilemma?"

God’s Truth Is Personal
Yet more than this, if God has given truth for life, then maybe He intends well for you, maybe He cares what is going on with mankind. Maybe He is personal and communicates. According to the Bible, God has a purpose in creating us. He also has a plan for each of us and since He made you, He made you personal, so that you could know Him.

Beginning Truthful Communication With God
One need merely start communicating with God by praying to begin truthful communication. Yet God requires something of you, that you accept His Son for your forgiveness. Why would you need forgiveness? We’ve actually been talking about it. Forgiveness for not following the truth about God and what He has made. Many people are confused about truth. On one hand people will say things like, “Man is basically good!,” and that they don't believe we need forgiveness. Yet on the other hand people will object to Christianity because they believe there is too much evil in the world. Saying, “Why would God allow that?” These two thoughts are contradictory.

The fact is, God has provided a solution for evil in the world, and man has proven himself not to be basically good. God decided that He would take care of it in His own way. He would send His Son for us to be a willing sacrifice, and His Son, Jesus, would by this act conquer over death and sin and gain a people for Himself. He would be our King and Redeemer. If you have never prayed, one simply needs to talk and God will hear you. Pray and ask him for forgiveness of abstracting the truth, and tell Him that you accept His Son. Then read the Bible and seek a Christian church that both teaches Biblical truth and practices genuine love.

Becoming A Truth Substantialist

2011-09-14T16:11:00.000-07:00

A Devotion By Dan Guinn

Throughout Francis Schaeffer’s works he uses an adjective that has come to be of great value to me. That word is “substantial.” To unpack this we need to understand that Schaeffer was a spiritual realist, in that he placed emphasis on the “reality” of both human pain, dilemma and sin in the world, and the “reality” of the supernatural nature of the universe. He came to this conclusion by simply understanding the creation story.

In Genesis 1:26, it describes mankind as being created in God’s image, after His likeness. Due to this foundational maxim, mankind has dignity, meaning and worth. Yet, in Gen. 3, we know that mankind fell from this place of honor. Due to this, mankind obscures the likeness of God of which we are patterned after in a very real way, we are now trapped in the mire of sin. Yet thankfully, God sent His Son to free us, and return us to our former state, and display the true likeness for which we were intended, the likeness of Christ.

However, the problem for the Christian, in living in the likeness of Christ, is that although we are now free to do so, we still live in a fallen world. We still stand in the mud, so to speak. Moreover, living like Christ and helping others in this mud is a messy business. It is not always clean-cut, or easy. In fact the Christian finds that even our own person is struggling against us (the sin nature within).

So what do we do? How much healing is possible in this life?

There are two very poor roads that are often taken. One is just to accept that we are sinners and just realize that we are going to fall and give into temptation. Second is to get so rigid that we live by a set of list and mechanical rules in hopes of striving for some personal perfection.

Neither of these options are desirable!

If we simply give in, we are saying the Gospel is not true. If we live merely by a set of mechanical rules, we are striving in our own power, and are robbing our self of the joy of the Christian life.

Understanding and Applying Truth Substantially

For Schaeffer, the answer became obvious. If the Christian has the ultimate source of truth, the Bible, then one should be striving to apply it. While absolute victory cannot be achieved in this life until Christ returns and renews all things, there can be real and substantial healing and victory.

This is because the truth that we hold to is truth with a capitol T, or True Truth (the couplet that Schaeffer often used). It is absolute and infinite Truth. While we as finite people cannot understand God’s Truth absolutely, or exhaustively, we can understand it substantially. Likewise, this substantial Truth is practical and makes sense of our reality. It is not abstract, or void of Truth content, but it is real and actual Truth, given to us so that we may understand. Remember, revealed Truth is by God's design.

When Truth is applied to the Christian life, it can thus provide substantial healing. Not perfect, but substantial. It also gives us a glimpse of eternity, when all things will be restored by this Truth, as Scripture tells us that Christ will restore all things.

"He must remain in heaven until the time comes for God to restore everything, as he promised long ago through his holy prophets." Acts 3:21 NIV

So finally, to whatever area of life you turn, Christian, apply Truth and see what happens. Find out what God will do within your heart and mind!

Finally, Be Gracious With Truth!

Always, remember that real Truth is “Gracious Truth.” If we practice Truth without love or compassion, we are not being "Truth-ful" at all, but merely applying ugliness. Also, if we practice Love without Truth we are merely applying compromise. Finding the balance is key, and we as Christians need to wake up to the fact that the world is watching. How we demonstrate the Truth and Love of Christ are both cause for substantial victory, and yet the abuse of these are cause for the world around us to judge our Truth as invalid, and our Love as fake.

I urge you, Christian, be a TRUTH Substantialist!

LEARNING TO APPLY TRUTH
Meditation On Truth
The Heart's Response To Truth
Spirituality Engaging The Heart & Mind

FURTHER READING FROM SCHAEFFER
True Spirituality by Francis Schaeffer
No Little People by Francis Schaeffer, ch. 5 Walking Through The Mud)
The Mark Of A Christian by Francis Schaeffer

Meditation On Truth

2011-08-17T06:34:00.000-07:00

A Devotion By Dan Guinn

As a Christian, one hesitates to even use the word "meditation," as it has a long history of being hijacked to imply so many things contrary to the teachings of scripture. Moreover, in practice the mystic often uses the term to mean a form or religious escapism. They imagine meditation as a tool to escape this reality and enter some dark realm of otherness. In most Eastern religious practice meditation is a clearing of the mind, in order that one supposedly can be open to true realities. Yet the problem with clearing the mind is that once this is done, there is nothing there, or at least usually nothing of substance anyway. It is one thing to seek clarity, it is quite another to seem mental vacancy. This is something that Christ will never ask you to do. You will never be asked to empty your mind of content or escape the reality which He has made.

"Truth is content, truth has something to do with reason. Truth has something to do with the rational creature that God has made us. The dilemma here in the internal world is not just some sort of grey fog, it is in relationship to content" ~ Francis Schaeffer, True Spirituality pg 108

"Man[kind] lives in his head; this... is the uniqueness of man[kind]." ~ Francis Schaeffer, True Spirituality pg 112

Since mankind lives in his head, he needs real truth content. He needs to dwell on the things of God. Yet in many forms of teaching on meditation the intent is to free one’s mind to a point of openness to the universe. Yet, once the mind is in a state of “openness,” what shall we put in it? The musician Steve Taylor once wrote, in his song Whatcha Gonna Do When You’re Number’s Up, “You say humanist philosophy is what it’s all about? You’re so open minded that your brain leaked out.” Truthfully, the mentality of the world on this is simply insufficient. In many ways, it sees the path to truth as some sort of mental mind trick (not to be confused with a Jedi mind trick, that’s a whole other mistake). Those of you who grew up in the 60’s know that this went even further, based off of the teachings of men link Timothy Leary, a professor at Berkley. He and many other, otherwise brilliant men such as Aldrous Huxley, combined these Eastern mystic teachings with drug use. They advocated the use of LSD and other drugs for the purpose of expanding the mind in meditation. Huxley’s famous book, The Doors of Perception & Heaven & Hell borrowed from a quote from William Blake that says:

"If the doors of perception were cleansed everything would appear to man as it is, infinite. For man has closed himself up, till he sees all things through narrow chinks of his cavern." William Blake, The Marriage of Heaven and Hell

This was of course the inspiration for the psychedelic rock band, The Doors, who sought to live out this mode of thinking. Jim Morrison, the leader of the band literally destroyed himself and most every relationship around him with the abuses. This is really where we end up. Through these leaps of faith into a world of nothingness, through this mind tinkering and mental gymnastics in hopes of finding some Utopia, one merely finds tragedy.

“In Eastern mysticism—for which the West is searching so madly now, that it has lost the sense of history, of content, and the truth of Biblical facts—there is always finally a loss of personality" ~ Schaeffer, True Spirituality pg. 54 (1971), pg. 49 (2001)

This is so important to grasp! In this mode of thinking one loses their-self. It is tragic, it is ugly and it should invoke compassion on our part, to see the despair and pain that so many have inflicted on themselves.

As Christians we have answers! We have meaning that makes sense of reality.

"The experiential result [of Christianity] , however is not just an experience of 'bare' supernaturalism, without content, without our being able to describe or communicate with it. It is much more. It is a momemnt-by-moment, increasing, experiential relationship with the whole Trinity. The doors are open now: the intellectual doors, and also the doors to reality." ~ Francis Schaeffer, True Spirituality pg 70 (1970), pg. 62 (2001)

"We do not need a dark room; we do not need to be under the influence of a hallucinatory drug; we do not need to be listening to a certain kind of music; we can know the reality of the supernatural here and now." ~ Schaeffer, True Spirituality pg. 54 (1971), pg. 49 (2001)

So Christianity gives a profound approach that is exactly the opposite of these conceptions of meditation. We are to be contemplating, and pondering truth, a truth full of rich content that nourishes our souls. There is no hope in vacant, bankrupt, anemic, starving emptiness where others unfortunately have been seeking.

But why use the word meditation? Surely there are other words we can use? Well, one has to wonder as the world continues to further abuse pretty much everything in it’s grasps, if the Christian will eventually lose his entire vocabulary. That is, if we give up every word that is abused we might one day have nothing to say. In my opinion, there is a need to redeem the word “meditation” from the mystical death claws others have placed on it and put it back in it’s proper Biblical frame. Not out of pride, but for the fact that the concept of meditation was first a Biblical one and it looked nothing like what it has been made to be. The Bible uses the words without restriction, unmindful of it’s current cultural moorings. Truly our culture has been scarred by the false teaching of meditation, yet we need to give and answer back, and we are called to do so. As Paul states in 2 Cor. 10:5, we are to be about...

“Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ” ~ 2 Cor. 10:5.

Certainly “meditation” as it is defined today, falls into this category as a lofty imagination exalting itself against the knowledge of Christ. We should treat the word meditation in the same way we treat the word worship. Although we know that there are others in the world who worship in false ways and idolatry, this does not prevent right-worship and we have not stopped using the word. The principle is this: “abusus non tollit usum” or “abuse does not prevent right usage.”

Biblical Meditation is brilliant and meaningful. The first accounts of which come to us in the oldest book in scripture, the book of Job, where Eliphaz speaks to Job describing the custom of meditation in his day as the “fear of God” that “teaches the mouth” (Job. 15:5-6). In Gen. 24:63, we find an early account that says “And Isaac went out to meditate in the field toward evening.” These are the oldest remarks in scripture, yet there are more. In closing I would like to briefly highlight the teachings of scripture on this subject, as it is not silent, and I think they will be edifying to you. I will preface this with Paul’s words on what our thoughts should dwell on, and as you can see there is no room for the distorted form of meditation.

“...the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” ~ Philipians 4:8

Meditation on Truth is Beautiful

“One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire [literally meditate] in his temple.” ~ Ps. 27:4

Meditation on Truth is Nourishing Component of Prayer & Worship

"My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food,and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips,when I remember you upon my bed,and meditate on you in the watches of the night; for you have been my help,and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy. My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me.” ~ Ps. 63:5-8

Meditation on Truth is Help In Struggle To Remember God’s Goodness

"I cry aloud to God, aloud to God, and he will hear me. In the day of my trouble I seek the Lord; in the night my hand is stretched out without wearying; my soul refuses to be comforted. When I remember God, I moan; when I meditate, my spirit faints. Selah You hold my eyelids open; I am so troubled that I cannot speak. I consider the days of old, the years long ago. I said, “Let me remember my song in the night; let me meditate in my heart.” Then my spirit made a diligent search:"
“"Even though princes sit plotting against me, your servant will meditate on your statutes." ~ Ps. 119:23
“Let the insolent be put to shame, because they have wronged me with falsehood; as for me, I will meditate on your precepts.” Ps. 119:78

Meditation on Truth brings humility and rejoices in God and His Provision and Promises to us.

“May my meditation be pleasing to him, for I rejoice in the Lord” ~ Ps. 104:3
“Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.” ~ Ps. 19:14
“I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your wonders of old. I will ponder all your work,and meditate on your mighty deeds. Your way, O God, is holy.What god is great like our God? You are the God who works wonders; you have made known your might among the peoples. You with your arm redeemed your people, the children of Jacob and Joseph. Selah” ~ Ps. 77:11-15

(Note here that the word Selah is literally a meditative prompt in scripture. Selah’s means to “stop and think on this” and the root word [calah] literally means to hang, and implies to measure. One might picture the hanging of a weight on a scale, as in “weigh this in your thoughts”.)

"My eyes are awake before the watches of the night, that I may meditate on your promise." ~ Ps. 119:148

"I remember the days of old; I meditate on all that you have done; I ponder the work of your hands" ~ Ps.143:5

"On the glorious splendor of your majesty, and on your wondrous works, I will meditate." ~ Ps. 145:5

Meditation on Truth rejoices in God’s laws and the wisdom it brings.

“This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. “ Joshua 1:8

“With my lips I declare all the rules of your mouth. In the way of your testimonies I delight as much as in all riches. I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways. I will delight in your statutes; I will not forget your word.” ~ Ps. 119: 13-16

"I will lift up my hands toward your commandments, which I love, and I will meditate on your statutes." Ps. 119:48

“Oh how I love your law! It is my meditation all the day. Your commandment makes me wiser than my enemies, for it is ever with me” ~ Ps. 119:97, 98

Meditation on Truth brings understanding.

“I have more understanding than all my teachers, for your testimonies are my meditation.” Ps. 119:99

Meditation on Truth brings wisdom and turns to testimony and evangelism.

“My mouth shall speak wisdom; the meditation of my heart shall be understanding.” ~ Ps. 49:3

So what can we conclude about meditation in Scripture? or Biblical meditation?

It is important to note that the Biblical description of meditation is not some dimly lit experience of self deprecating ritual. This is not the practice we get from scripture, rather from scripture we can imply that it is a regular, daily, moment-by-moment, practice of dwelling on the things of God and gaining understanding that turns to wisdom, worship, and testimony of God’s goodness. It is a natural component of Christian worship and payer which is the intentional reflection on the hope we have in Christ.

Depression & The Soul's Response to Truth

2011-07-18T13:37:00.000-07:00

A Devotion by Dan Guinn

Depression touches so many lives. In 2007 the Archives of General Psychiatry estimated that 10% of Americans (Approximately 27 million people) are on antidepressants. Furthermore, over one million of these people are treated each year with Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT) or electro-shoch therapy are cases of severe major depression. The problem has reached epidemic proportions.

Depression is not just a gloomy or melancholy feeling but a struggle that incapacitates the person suffering, and I do mean suffering. At many times the Christian church has failed to understand this problem, but we should be clear that from the statistics above we can see that the medical and psychiatry fields have had their own failures and difficulties with diagnosing and treating the problem, as the problem is truly epidemic and has definitely increased from these statistics in 2007.

The very first thing we should understand is that Christians are not immune to depression and that the issue should not be quickly dismissed. It is a real problem, requiring real answers. At different points in my life, myself and those around me have encountered what might be termed as depression. One very close member of my family was completely incapacitated for a good time. I myself, have had periods of deep hurt and incapacitation. I personally struggle with diabetes, which studies has shown can cause physical reasons that make you prone to lapses of depression. Yet those who know me, know that I have learned to constantly rely on my spiritual relationship with God to assist me in overcoming these battles.

Secondly we should understand as Christians that the struggle should not be quickly categorized as distinctly a spiritual issue, and yet it should not be assumed to be merely a physiological or medical issue either. We should remember that our bodies and minds, although physical, touch the spiritual realities as well. They operate in union, they are connected. When we experience physical events in the real world, they do have spiritual impact. Another way to explain this is to contemplate Christ incarnation. Why did Christ come in bodily form to teach us spiritual lessons? Why did Christ communicate to his people in audible language that we as persons can understand? Couldn’t God just speak from all eternity and we all just know all the lessons we need? He could have, but this would not fit His character. God is personal, humble and sacrificial, and He chose to send His Son to physically impart truth to mankind in physical form. Thus, we can see that there is a real body/soul connection that God is using for His purposes to teach us.

Thirdly to this discussion, we must also acknowledge that in fact, some of the most prominent persons in scripture probably suffered with depression. This is something that we should cherish about the Bible. It does not just tell us the soft warm and fuzzy story of God’s people, but instead portrays real people, with real struggles. We see the “Biblical heroes” with all of their warts, and none of it is hidden. No other book does this quite like the Bible!

As you might know, King David, the “man after God’s own heart,” was plagued with this sort of suffering. Here are some quick verses that depict David’s deep laments.

“My tears have been my food
day and night,
while they say to me all the day long,
“Where is your God?” Ps. 42:3

“Why are you cast down, O my soul,
and why are you in turmoil within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
my salvation and my God.” Ps. 42:5
(repeated again in 42:11, and 43:5)

There are many more verses that show us this, but we can also look at key points in David’s life, times when he was idle and seemingly paralyzed. Times that caused great destruction in his life due to inactivity. His sin with Bathsheba was facilitated by his not taking his place in war with his armies, instead he was idle at home (2 Sam 11:1). He was idle in responding to Amnon’s rape of Tamar (2 Sam 13), as well as Adonijah’s attempt to usurp his throne (1 Kings 1), late in his life. All these seem to point to symptoms of depression in David’s life, and these are just a few.

However, there is another side to the story, the side of Truth and it’s impact on David’s soul. Listen to his words!

“Send out your light and your truth;
let them lead me;
let them bring me to your holy hill
and to your dwelling!
Then I will go to the altar of God,
to God my exceeding joy,
and I will praise you with the lyre,
O God, my God.” Ps. 43: 3-4

It is the light of God’s Truth that overpowers the ailing soul. Even in the midst of physical struggles that are causing depression, the heart can respond to truth and build up a person from the inside out. I tell you this from personal experience (although my experience is not as extreme as some others I know who this has brought healing to), that as I have waited on the Lord to assist me in my state of mental incapacitation on more than one occasion. The answer seems almost too simple, and it is very profound, yet it is the answer none the less. The reading and teaching of the Word of God to one self is a way out of the darkness. It is the pinpoint of light in the distance. As the mind is directed to acknowledge the Truth, the soul is uplifted and the body can respond substantially. As I get to the top of the pit, my feet begin to move, I being to to run! This is what is happening spiritually so to speak, and physically I am working on eating right and being active, consulting the doctor, and providing for the needs of the body that in turn can assist my mind with clarity. Thus with that clarity, I further teach and preach to myself the Word of God all the more until I begin to break free! I am teaching it the Truth, I am teaching it with all of the strength I have at the time as David did, saying to my soul... "Hope In God!"

The Truth says:

“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Matt. 11:28.

The Truth says:

“But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. 2 Cor 4:7-10

This is a precious promise! Our sufferings are for His purposes, to make us like Him... and we will not be destroyed! Hereby we preach to ourselves the victory and the soul will in turn respond if we continue to wait, read, teach ourselves and pray! As we find more strength we then respond with our whole body to move forward and break free as much as is possible. Remember what God said to Cain in the garden?

“The Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted (or in the Hebrew will there not be a lifting up [of your face])? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for [against] you, but you must rule over it.” Gen 4:6-7

Perhaps this is where you are. Perhaps you are in the pit right now looking up. All of the natural things are telling you it’s hopeless. Yet, we all must remember that there is substantial help in this life before Christ returns. God’s Truth is real and His Truth is applied by His Holy Spirit. Pray to Him for assistance, ask Him to work on your behalf like He did for David over and over in his life. Ask and act as He instructs, read and pray, and then you will witness your soul’s response to Truth!

[A special thanks to my pastors Tony and Nathan for their teachings on this subject that have inspired and edified me. redeemer-pca.org]

The Heart's Response To Truth

2011-05-29T17:18:00.000-07:00

The Heart's Response To Truth
A Devotion By Dan Guinn

In my last devotion, Spirituality Engaging the Heart & Mind, I discussed the role of the mind in our spiritual life. We learned that the mind is very active in our spirituality. We learned that we do not need just “heart-felt” spirituality, but also “mind-felt” spirituality. Here are a few verses that were used, that will now serve as a base moving forward in an understanding of the heart’s response to truth.

"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind." - Matthew 22:37

"You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. "

"For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace." Rom 8:6

"Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect." Rom 12:2

Each of these verses speak of setting our mind on the things of God. We must always remember that it is not only about “thinking," but thinking and pondering truth with a capital T, or as Schaeffer said, “True Truth.” The way this begins always starts with the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Remember the promise of the Lord to the disciples.

“I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.” John 16:12-15

This Holy Spirit is at work to guide us into all Truth! This is cause for rejoicing. We ought to Celebrate! You no longer walk in pitch-black darkness, groping in the night trying to find your way. You no longer stumble in blindness, fending for yourself and falling into continual tragedy. You no longer dwell in confusion, but you have real answers that defy all the obstacles of life before you. There is substantial victory!

Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” John 8:12

I think sometimes we as Christian’s get used to hearing certain phrases and they no longer hold the strength of meaning that they truly deserve. This is not just some random evangelistic phrase we are hearing from the Lord. He is the light of the world and we will not walk in darkness! This should overwhelm us like the healing hand of Christ’s touch on the blind man. “One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.” (John 9:25b) We ought to be shouting this from the rooftops! “I now have understanding! Now I am free!”

So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:31-32

With truth comes substantial freedom, and freedom from bondage is always cause for rejoicing!

The phrase I quoted, “One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see,” was from the story of the man born blind at birth found in John chapter 9. In this chapter Jesus finds the man and there are questions as to who was responsible for his blindness. Was it the sins of his parents? Jesus indicates that it is not their sin, but that this illness is for God’s purposes, as Jesus says, “that the works of God might be displayed in him.”

Now what Jesus is saying here is that this message is for the confirmation of His prophetic message as a sign. In just the chapter before the Pharisees were arguing with Jesus about his “witness,” questioning His credibility. Jesus now is solidifying His authenticity by following the will of His father and performing miracles at the appropriate time. This miracle is in fact confirming the actual canon of Scripture and bringing the light of truth to the dark world. Listen to what Jesus said next.

“We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” John 9:4-5

Immediately after this Jesus makes mud with his saliva, and places this on the blind man’s eyes. How weird is that? Well, it has important meaning in the context we are speaking. He purposely is breaking the Pharisee view of the Sabbath. According to them, He just did work, He made mud. Jesus is actively educating by highlighting a gray area of their strict and ungracious view of the Mosiac Law and pushing on it. This action is all about bringing light on their darkness. Yet since He is healing, there is tension between their idea of the Law and their understanding of the witness to His prophetic authority. He is either a law-breaker or a prophet, He cannot be both. A law breaker, by healing on the Sabbath, or a prophet evidenced by his healing the blind man.

So a huge controversy erupted, witnesses where called, the man’s blindness was questioned and verified. Finally, the man is put out of the church. Note that this is no small thing. This is a disciplinary action, he is to be considered an apostate from the Law of Moses. He is being put out of the church, and for what reason?

There seems to me to be at least four reasons, of which are hinged on the man’s newly found understanding and light.

Calling the man who healed him a prophet.

+ Confession of Faith - Consider the impact of this event on the formerly blind man’s life. It was transformational, it was confessional.
+ So they said again to the blind man, “What do you say about him, since he has opened your eyes?” He said, “He is a prophet.”

For blatantly provoking the priest.

# Boldness & Innocence - Now that he had attained sight and understanding, he was willing to risk all to keep it. This made him bold to the point of being willing to even provoke the priest who absurdly where attacking him, yet he was innocent as a dove in this remark.
# Can you image this? You have been blind all of your life and a man heals you and now that you see the priest are badgering you over politics? Seriously?

They said to him, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?” He answered them, “I have told you already, and you would not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become his disciples?” And they reviled him... John 9:26-28a

Calvin says something quite wonderful in his commentary on this passage:

“It is an astonishing display of freedom, when a man of mean and low condition, and especially liable to be reproached on account of his poverty, fearlessly provokes the rage of all the priest against himself. If that which was nothing more than a small preparation for faith gave him so much boldness, when he came to the struggle...This question is likewise ironical; for he means by this that they are prompted by malice, and not by sincere desire for truth, to press him so earnestly to reply to this fact.” John Calvin, Calvin’s Commentaries, Vol XVII, pg 384

Because he now sees

+ Truth to stand on - Consider that the priest did not know where Jesus came from, but the blind man knew He came from God.
+ “Why, this is an amazing thing! You do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes...” John 9:30b

Because he now worships Jesus

+ Truth that brings one to his knees.
+ Finally, after this trial of sorts is adjourned, Jesus meets the man again after hearing that he had been excommunicated. Jesus ask him right away if he believed, and after explanation the former blind man confesses, “Lord, I believe!” and worships Him in the presence of the all. His expression of joy and thankfulness are no doubt implied.

Ultimately, the heart’s response to Truth in the life of the believer should always be this way. Truth transforms like light into a dark room. When you truly see, you can’t help but respond with confession. You have to tell others. You have to help others see. You have answers for others. You become bold in resting in those answers and the one who gave them because you can truly see like never before! You realize you can stand on it. You realize that it’s real, and that it makes sense. Finally, Truth ultimately brings joy, thankfulness and worship for the one who gave it. Truth ignites passion and sets the heart on fire. It brings about action.

I am reminded of the verse that describes the two disciples that walked with Jesus after His resurrection.

“They said to each other, “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?”

Real Truth is in Jesus Christ alone, He is Truth, He should be the passion of our heart.

What is your heart’s response to Truth?

Spirituality Engaging The Heart & Mind

2011-03-12T17:27:00.000-08:00

A Devotion By Dan Guinn

There is some confusion in our day about spirituality and reason. In our day there is a heavy emphasis on heart-felt spirituality, and while this is a good thing, there is unfortunately often a de-emphasis on the “mind-felt” aspect of our spirituality. You might even question yourself, as to what role the mind even has in our spirituality, as there are some schools of thought that actually teach that mental pursuits and faith are not compatible.

So what role does the mind have to do with our faith?

This is a question that we ought to think about. Notice I said think? We’ll have to think about how to process and discern if these things are spiritual truth. We’ll have to use our mind for spiritual purposes. So just how does that work? To answer this question we will have to hear what God’s word says about the mind.

The Mind is Active In Our Relationship With Christ:

“Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” - Matthew 11:29

The Mind is Active In Repentance With The Heart (Seat of Emotions):

1 Kings 8:48 "if they repent with all their mind and with all their heart..."

“Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;”

~ 2 Cor. 10:5, KJV

“We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ” ~ 2 Cor. 10:5, ESV

How We Display Love For God

"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind." - Matthew 22:37

Jesus emphasizes the whole being, un-separated!

The Mind is to be Set on God:

"You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. " - Isaiah 26:3

"Now set your mind and heart to seek the Lord your God. Arise and build the sanctuary of the Lord God ” - 1 Chron 22:19 a, b

Our Mind Set on God Corporately (As The Church):

“Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel” Phil 1:27

Note this is not an arrogant use of the mind, but a use of the mind that is a demonstration of love!

“So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, 2 complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. 3 Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. 5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus...” - Phil 2:1-5

If Our Mind is Not Set:

"For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot." Rom 8:7

"But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.” Matthew 16:23

"And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done." Rom 1:28

Peace or Death (Covenant Blessing or Curse):

"For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace." Rom 8:6

"Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect." Rom 12:2

God Knows the Mind of the Spirit:
Also, we need to understand that there is something “mental” going on with the Trinity!

“And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.” Rom 8:27

Isn't this strange? What a strange way to talk about God and the spirit working. What this verse is saying is that God knows what the Spirit is thinking and the Spirit is praying for the saints because He knows the will of God (what the Father is thinking, and what His wishes are).

Let's read on, because these next statements are connected.

So Why Is God Doing This?:

“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” Rom 8:28

God is thinking about us! He is working His good through us for our ultimate good.

Now we heard about God and the Spirit in the previous passage. But did you notice there is a no mention of the last person of the Trinity yet? Well he's next.

Conformed to the Image of His Son:

“For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.” Rom 8:29-30:

The real emphasis of the passage here is on Christ, that God planned for us "to be conformed to the image of his Son." It is by a transformation in our mind and our heart that we are being re-created into Christ likeness! With this we can also see that the entire trinity is interacting around, in and through us. God is mindful of us in every way. Moreover, this is exactly as Christ promised!

“I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. 14 He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. 15 All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.” John 16:12-15

Removing Spiritual Dualism
We must remember that God uses both natural and super-natural means to do His work. We might equate the heart-felt experience that we feel as Christians to the mystical concept of the “moving of the Holy Spirit,” which is indeed super-natural. Yet likewise in the natural observance of natural things, such as a simple flower growing, there is a natural testimony of the spiritual things of God. God has given us a mind to understand both of these concepts.

Schaeffer taught something very important that might be helpful to this discussion. When describing spirituality once he put forth his hand and said:

"True Spirituality is right here!" ~ Schaeffer.

What Schaeffer meant by this is that if we truly believe scripture and it’s representation of spirituality, the concepts of spirituality are not some far-removed principles, but rather they make sense in real life. God is right here, we can have substantial understanding!

The reality of our faith happens in time and space. At an appointed time, Christ came, at a certain time he died, in history. He did these things in real time. At a certain point in time He worked in your heart and mind and convinced you of himself! Our spirituality is not some aloof mystical concept that has nothing to do with our lives. Unlike all of the other religions of the world, Christianity teaches a faith that makes sense of reality.

Evangelism
Now, if we hope to speak to others of our faith we cannot separate the role of the mind from our spirituality as scripture teaches us to train our minds.

“but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect” 1 Peter 3:15

In order to do this we are required to think, to set our hearts as well as our minds on the things of God, to learn His ways. True, it is not the mind alone, as knowledge for knowledge sake gets us nowhere. However, the mind set on the things of God ought to go beyond knowledge to get wisdom and understanding. Consider the words of Christ.

“Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.” Matt. 10:16

ARTICLE: DISCOVERING VALIDITY

2011-01-25T17:09:00.001-08:00

I KEEP SAYING VALIDITY!

I keep using the term "validity" because, I want people to understand that spirituality comes with proof test. It is not some ethereal trip, out-of-body experience, or mind trick as some propose. It is real, connected with reality, and makes sense of our world.

HOW CAN YOU REALLY VERIFY WHAT YOU CAN'T SEE?

This always seems to come up when I explain that spirituality needs verification. Understand that seeing is never the absolute for proving that something exist. Think of the air you breath, you can't see it without some special equipment, but you know it's there by how your body responds to it. You also know what happens when your body is without it. The same is true of spirituality. You can read a verse about it, if you like here.

SO, WHAT PROOF TEST?

You might have missed it from before. Have you every thought about the term "world-view?" If you are not living a spiritual life that makes sense of your world, you will find yourself living in contradiction, plain and simple. The proof test for spirituality is simply, can my view be verified as valid by giving answers to all of the primary questions of life without contradiction?

FOUR EASY QUESTIONS:

Here are four easy questions to test your world view.

Where did I come from?
What is the purpose?
What is right and wrong?
Where am I going?

Christianity is the only system that I have found that adequately and reasonably answers these four questions of origin, meaning, morality, and destiny. These questions make sense of my world. Other systems invariably conflict or deny the questions altogether. Think about it, how does your view hold up? I would love to hear about it, whether you agree with me or not.

ANNOUNCEMENT: NEW FORMAT! (RETURN TO OLD FORMAT)

2011-01-15T11:12:00.001-08:00

In the past I have been posting primarily the True Spirituality studies here as the new web site to hold them, and other Francis Schaeffer studies, has been in development. We officially rolled out http://francisschaefferstudies.org on January 1st, 2011 (01-01-11), so the format of this blog will return to posting on various subject and news about where I will be speaking, FSS work, etc.

If you are looking for the True Spirituality Book Studies they are now located here.

I am still working on No Little People studies, but they will be located here.

Thanks everyone!

Dan

True Spirituality - Substantial Healing In The Church

2010-07-17T19:51:00.000-07:00

True Spirituality - Substantial Healing In The Church
Comments on Francis Schaeffer's Book True Spirituality
A Book Study By Dan Guinn

Chapter 13 - In this, our final chapter we cannot emphasize enough that the Church is not immune to the results of the bonds of sin. While we acknowledge the work of the Church in time and space, through the supernatural aid of the Holy Spirit, we must never elevate the Church to the status of infallibility. The Church is made up of people, and people are imperfect. The great hymn written by Samuel J. Stone, The Church’s One Foundation speaks so well to this.

While we affirm the first verse...

“The Church’s one foundation
Is Jesus Christ her Lord,
She is His new creation
By water and the Word.
From heaven He came and sought her
To be His holy bride;
With His own blood He bought her
And for her life He died.”

...we must also be mindful of the fourth:

“Though with a scornful wonder
Men see her sore oppressed,
By schisms rent asunder,
By heresies distressed:
Yet saints their watch are keeping,
Their cry goes up, “How long?”
And soon the night of weeping
Shall be the morn of song!”

The Church is in battle and is distressed on every side with schism, heresies and all manner of brokenness and sin in her very midst. We must not deny this. While the fourth verse might lead us to believe that the only hope of the Church is to endure, this is not the message of the hymn’s author. We should also read verse six.

“Yet she on earth hath union
With God the Three in One,
And mystic sweet communion
With those whose rest is won,
With all her sons and daughters
Who, by the Master’s hand
Led through the deathly waters,
Repose in Eden land.”

While Schaeffer does not mention this hymn in True Spirituality, this song is in harmony with his message. He intends for us to know that the Church can have substantial healing in this life. It can embrace the strengths; it’s union with the Triune God and each other. Even through distress, human failure, and imperfection we can apply the gospel to the Church and achieve substantial victory. The Church must acknowledge it’s supernatural union with the Triune God, as well as the mystical union that binds us to both God and fellow believer. We must continue to grasp the Master’s hand through deathly waters, to find repose (rest) in him now as citizens of the new Eden; The kingdom of the ever-living God.

A True Resurrection

Dr. Schaeffer begins the chapter first with the resurrection of Christ. He does so in order to combat the position of some in liberalism which take the phrase used in scripture, “the body of Christ” and mis-characterize it as the real meaning of any talk of resurrection in the New Testament. Simply put, according to these persons when Jesus indicated He would rise from the dead he really only meant that he would build his church. A lot of this comes from a blatant misuse of John 2:19 - “Jesus answered them, ‘Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.’”), and an ignorance of the rest of scripture. Their interpretation is founded on the intent to “de-mythologize” the text, but in actuality this is simply unbelief. If Holy Scripture is now lowered to the state of “mythology” in their eyes, then there is really nothing different from it and other text. What prevents us from abandoning it altogether, or replacing it with something else of our liking?

To Schaeffer’s point, the Church cannot hope to have real healing without a proper view of the resurrection of Christ. A de-spiritualized concept of resurrection is a very poor substitute for a risen savior. If Christ is not raised then we are still in our sin. If Christ is raised then we ought to live to exhibit a risen savior to the world.

The Body Of Christ Resurrected

On a personal level we need to realize our role in the body of Christ. We are each different and endowed with different gifts to give toward the growth of His kingdom.

“4 For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, 5 so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.” Romans 12:4-5

12 For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. 13 For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.
14 For the body does not consist of one member but of many. 1 Cor 12:12-14

“As His body, the Church should exhibit him to the world, until he returns. Just as our bodies are our means of communication to the external world, so the Church as the body of Christ should be Christ’s means of communication to the external world. We think our thoughts and then we convey our thoughts to the external world through our bodies; our physical body is the point of communication with the external world and this is the way we affect the the world.” Francis Schaeffer, True Spirituality pg 164

One might wonder why Schaeffer labors at this explanation, taking time to give such a specific illustration of the way that our bodies are like the body of Christ and then how we are connected to the external world. However, what Schaeffer hopes for us to grasp is the “organic” aspect as well as the spiritual aspect. We were created in the image of God, yet corrupted by sin. We are being re-created in the image of Christ. Thus now, we ought to “naturally” (organically) and honestly exhibit this change through our bodies before the watching world. Together as the Church, we are the point of communication between God and His creation. We exhibit the communication of re-creation in this life.

“So the Church, as the body of Christ, is called to be the means whereby He may be exhibited and whereby He acts in the external world until He comes again. Since the fall of man there have been two humanities, and not just one. There are those who are still in revolution against God, and there are those who by God’s grace have returned to Him on the basis of Christ’s work. The Church should be the reality and the exhibition of this distinction, in each generation.” Francis Schaeffer, True Spirituality pg 164

The Called Out
Dr. Schaeffer reminds us that the word for Church, in the Greek is Ecclesia, which means “that which is called out”. But what are we called out from and why? Dr. Schaeffer explains:

“In our generation in the arts, in music, in philosophy, in drama, everywhere you turn, man is coming to see that man is less that he knows he should be. Our generation sees this, but the problem is not new in our time. Ever since the fall rebellious man has been this way. And the Church is called out of this humanity, in order to be humanity before a lost humanity.” Francis Schaeffer, True Spirituality pg 166

What Schaeffer is stating here is significant. We are a walking apologetic! A life lived in true spirituality is a defence of the faith by it’s mere existence. A life changed testifies of the truth of the gospel and it’s power to awaken mankind to new life.

Our Source of Unity

There are groups today that teach unity at all cost. It is surprising that so many would sacrifice principle in order to join people together in organizational unity. Looking at things from the outside, this might seem like a worthwhile cause. Yet inside, people are still sinful people at the end of the day, without principle and a Christ-centered union, there will be further infighting and all sorts of error propagated. At the end of the day, this is not true unity, but merely a facade of human invention. What separates a “non-doctrinal” church without beliefs from a mere social gathering?

Now let’s be clear, it is not that we are to reject others who do not believe as we do, but rather it is that we are to stand and teach the principles entrusted to the Church. Wherefore we cannot form a “non-doctrinal” church for the purpose of unity, as the Church must be the Church. We have the curious role of both opening our doors to the world and showing them love as well as standing for the Truth.

“The unity of the Church is basically the unity of the Head controlling each of the parts. If I as an individual, or if groups of Christians, are not under the leadership of the Head, the Church of Jesus Christ will be functioning like hands that cannot find each other; the whole thing will be broken and a ‘spastic’ situation will exist in which the Church functions in a most disjointed way” Francis Schaeffer, True Spirituality pg 166

Sitting In The Right Chair Together
Dr. Schaeffer ask us to recall the “two chairs” illustration. If we are, by the power of the Holy Spirit, sitting in the right chair, then we have victory. When others are doing this as well, we have victory together.

“Remember the ‘two chairs.’ As I am living individually in the supernatural, moment-by-moment there will be individual results, and an individual exhibition. But equally, as we are living as a corporate body in the light of the supernatural, there will be corporate results and an exhibition. It is not only that the individual should so think and live, but the whole group as a group should be attuned to living consciously, moment-by-moment, in the reality of the supernatural. Then there is exhibition; then there is the result there should be.” Francis Schaeffer, True Spirituality pg 166, 167, 168

A Balanced Exhibition
Schaeffer is well known for teaching the concept of the balance of truth and love in our discussion with the watching world. Here he extends that concept though slightly different language. The proper balance must be struck between the “legal aspect” (truth) and the personal aspect (love) of our exhibition of God to our generation.

“The proper legal aspects of the Church will deal first with doctrine, because otherwise the body is telling lies about its head. The Church is not a body that thinks up ideas; the Church is a declarative statement of what God has revealed concerning himself in Scripture. So the legal aspects are fixed by God himself. The Church should represent the supernaturally restored human race in reality...” Francis Schaeffer, True Spirituality pg 167

“Only God is infinite and finite man cannot exhibit that. But as we are made in his image, individually and together we are called upon to exhibit the fact that he is personal. This we can do; it is our calling.” Francis Schaeffer, True Spirituality pg 168

We must stand firm however, on the premise of mankind’s need for redemption in our exhibition rather than merely put forward a blind inclusivism:

“As orthodox Christians we reject the present emphasis that destroys the distinction between saved men and lost men.” Francis Schaeffer, True Spirituality pg 164

As quoted earlier:

“Since the fall of man there have been two humanities, and not just one. There are those who are still in revolution against God, and there are those who by God’s grace have returned to Him on the basis of Christ’s work. The Church should be the reality and the exhibition of this distinction, in each generation.” Francis Schaeffer, True Spirituality pg 164

The Conscious Church
Schaeffer further emphasises the need for the Church to be ever conscious and vigilant to be who it is called to be. By doing so the Church can have substantial victory in this life.

“What should the Church consciously be then? The Church consciously (and my emphasis is very strongly on the word consciously) should be that which encourages its members in the true Christian life, in true spirituality—in that which we have set forth in this book. It should encourage them in freedom in the present life from the bonds of sin, and in freedom in this present life from the results of the bonds of sin. It should encourage substantial healing in their separation from themselves and a substantial healing in their separation from their fellowmen, especially fellow Christians.

No matter how legally right a church is, if it does not provide an environment conducive to these things, it is not what it should be. First the Church should teach the truth and secondly the Church should teach a practice of the existence of God, and a practice of the reality of and the exhibition of God’s character and holiness and love. The Church cannot merely teach these things in words; we must see the practice of these things in the Church as a corporate body.” Francis Schaeffer, True Spirituality pg 169

A Church of Faith
Dr. Schaeffer ponders the question, “Can faith be taught?” His answer is, “Yes, faith can be taught, but only through exhibition.” (Francis Schaeffer, True Spirituality pg 169, 170). The value of living out faith before others is substantial in the Church’s calling. Not only to it’s members but to the watching world. It cannot be that only the holy people are those who are in her pulpit or else the Church has failed.

“The church or other Christian group that does not function as a unit of faith can never be a school of faith. There is only one way to be a school of faith and that is consciously to function by faith.” Francis Schaeffer, True Spirituality pg 170

“...the Church’s or Christian group’s methods are as important as its message. It is to deal consciously with the reality of the supernatural. Anything that exhibits unfaith is a mistake, or may even be a corporate sin.” Francis Schaeffer, True Spirituality pg 171

Dr. Schaeffer further pushes us to the natural end of thinking in unfaith:

“If I [we] woke up tomorrow morning and found that all that the Bible teaches concerning prayer and the Holy Spirit were removed (not as a liberal would remove it, by misinterpretation, but really removed) what difference would it make in practice from the way we are functioning today?” Francis Schaeffer, True Spirituality pg 171

Consider this question, what would your practice be like? What would your Christianity look like? Would it look like the Christianity of the Bible?

“The tragic fact is that in much of the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ—the evangelical Church—there would be no difference whatsoever. We function as though the supernatural is not there.” Francis Schaeffer, True Spirituality pg 171

The Church Led By The Holy Spirit
Schaeffer ask us to remember the promises in scripture to the Church regarding the Holy Spirit. These are absolutes in our faith and not to be taken lightly.

“you shall receive power” (Acts. 1:8).
The fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22).
Christ will be with us, through the agency of the Holy Spirit our comforter (John 14:16-18).

He will be with us; “I will not leave you orphans, I will come to you.”

Since we have the power, aid, and fruits of the Holy Spirit working in us what should the world see when they are watching?

“There are things that the world should see when they look upon the Church—something that they cannot possibly explain away. The Church should be committed to the practical reality of these things, not merely assenting to them.” Francis Schaeffer, True Spirituality pg 172

“Organizational and financial matters should not be allowed to get in the way if the personal and group leading of the Holy Spirit.”

Yet the challenge to being led by the Holy Spirit is when our faith is challenged.

“Throughout Church history , one is aware that the danger always comes at a time of emergency. An emergency arises which causes us to cut off the exhibition of faith, and discount the possibility of God guiding through financial matters. There always seems to be a legitimate reason for reaching out and touching the ark.[1]” Francis Schaeffer, True Spirituality pg 173

Moment-By-Moment
“There is to be a moment-by-moment supernatural reality, for the group as well as the individual.” Francis Schaeffer, True Spirituality pg 173

Schaeffer again brings us back to warnings that hint of the mechanical and non-personal. We cannot live moment-by-moment in the Spirit as a church and simply operate as an impersonal business.

“How many times do we find that in doing the business of the Lord Jesus Christ, there is a rapid opening prayer, a rapid closing prayer after half the people have left, but in between there is no difference between doing the Lord’s business and the business of some well organized business enterprise.?” Francis Schaeffer, True Spirituality pg 173

Through Total War in Prayer
There are consequences in living this way as a Church, although there is glorious healing in this life, there are obstacles to this faith.

“This [the Church living by faith] places the Church in supernatural battle, extending into the heavenlies, and not just a natural battle...a real battle of the Church in total war, including the unseed war in the unseen portion of reality. This makes the Church the Church and short of this, the Church is less than the Church.” Francis Schaeffer, True Spirituality pg 174

Knowing that we are the Church, building the kingdom of Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit, in moment-by-moment in faith is significant. Yet knowing that we are in a battle, a total war, yet we are not alone, though we may be under seige, should greatly impact the nature of prayer in our lives.

“Prayer now becomes something more than merely an abstract religious, devotional act.” Francis Schaeffer, True Spirituality pg 174

Knowing Our Loyalties
At this point Dr. Schaeffer takes a moment to clarify the important of loyalties. When we see the Church not properly exhibiting Christ as it should, we need to remember the order in which our loyalties rest.

1. Loyalty to the person of the living God.
2. Loyalty to the principles in revealed Christianity.
3. Loyalty to organizations.
4. Loyalty to human leadership.

He ends by pointing our that when we love Christ properly, then the natural result is to love all those in Christ. This sort of charity goes a long way toward advancing the Church as a whole.

In True Community
Defining The Environment Of This Community

We should aspire to meet together and help each other.

“God commands that we should assemble ourselves together, until Jesus comes (Hebrews 10:25). We are commanded not only to meet together, but to help each other (verse 24). Christianity is an individual thing, but it is not only an individual thing. There is to be true community, offering true spiritual and material help to each other.” Francis Schaeffer, True Spirituality pg 176

Our relationship should be practical and organic in relation to each other.

“You will remember that we have previously seen that true spirituality has meaning in all the practical relationships of life; husband-wife, parent-child, employer-employee. These things must be taught in the church as an aspect of the conscious side of sanctification, to be understood and then acted upon by choice. The environment of the local church or other Christian group must be conducive for these things to grow. ” Francis Schaeffer, True Spirituality pg 178

It should be moment-by-moment in instruction and example.

“There must be moment-by-moment teaching, there must be moment-by-moment example, of the present meaning of the work of Christ, and a conscious choice of the individual and the group to lay hold of these things. There must be faith, moment by moment, in God’s promises, to lay hold on these things—first in instruction, and then in example.” Francis Schaeffer, True Spirituality pg 178

It should not be based on doctrine alone but on God as a person.

“This is not a matter of just hanging everything on doctrines about the infinite and personal God, but upon him as a person—because he is there, and he knows the local group by name, and the individuals in the group my name.” Francis Schaeffer, True Spirituality pg 178

Into the Total Culture
“And having come this far, true spirituality—the Christian life—flows on into the total culture.” Francis Schaeffer, True Spirituality pg 180

Dr. Schaeffer ends on a note that is quite telling. It tells us where these thoughts lead. It tells us the basis upon which all of the rest of his work was based. It tells us the nature of the work of L’Abri and it’s calling before the Church and the watching world.

This notion might seem romantic to some, and yet simplistic to others. However, his point is clear; when the Church lives as the Church, it naturally touches the world around it. It cares about people and it cares about the consequences of ideas. It laments over broken lives, separated from God and themselves. It is passionate about the re-creation of mankind and the renewal of the soul. It touches every area of life. If the individual man lives the gospel, his whole world is transformed, if the church lives the gospel the entire world and total culture is transformed. It is a simple equation, with unbelievable impact for us, our lives, and the watching world. “And having come this far, true spirituality—” Truthfully, Changes Everything!

[1]See 2 Sam. 16:6,7 for information on the story of Uzza, who disobeyed God and touched the ark of the covenant and died. Interestingly enough, some liberal theologians now teach that the Ark of the Covenant was electrically charged.

True Spirituality - Substantial Healing In Personal Relationships

2010-07-05T12:27:00.001-07:00

True Spirituality - Substantial Healing In Personal Relationships
Comments on Francis Schaeffer's Book True Spirituality
A Book Study By Dan Guinn

Note: This particular chapter was very important to Schaeffer and the foundations of L'Abri and although it is full of many wonderful insights, it is also quite lengthy. Due to the length of this chapter this study will generally need to be broken into segments. The study has been divided into suggested segments of part 1 and 2. Please use your discretion on how best to divide this section for your group.

- Part 1

Chapter 12 - At the center of the discussion on healing of personal relationships is what Dr. Schaeffer calls "the problem of personality." What Dr. Schaeffer means by this phrase is wrapped up in the dehumanizing effects of living below our circle of existence. At every level when living this way there is a loss of personality.

Let's review for a moment what we have learned. When mankind tries to act as God and fails, he is left in a state of despair and often hopelessness, whether it is obvious to him or not.

Review - Two Forms of Dehumanization

Man as the Animal/Machine (A lower story response.)
From the state of hopelessness man often responds by dehumanizing himself to avoid further hurt and pain. The result is a person who lives in contradiction to how he was made. A person without heart, impersonal, in many ways mechanical and machine-like. By missing the spiritual dynamic, the consequence becomes cyclical and the person is eventually given over to hidden or overt passions bring self destruction.

Man the Mystic (An Upper Story Response)
Of course a second option is possible in which the person responds by rejecting his despair and taking a "leap of faith" into some form of mysticism. So rather than wallow in the failures of the idol of self, the person replaces himself as god with something else. The idol of self is still here, as the person chooses the replacement. However ultimately the belief in some other form of deity is an abstraction. For those who delight in this new-found "synthetic faith", have usually minimalized it to various mere bare principals without depth. So we will often see that these people are optimistic without any real content to what they believe. Some, such as those involved in nature religions for example, may have a somewhat systematized belief system but it is still shallow and does not provide the "upper story" relationship that is needed for fulfillment. Ultimately they are living in contradiction, as God made us to be containers of a truth with real and practical Truth content.

The Problem of Personality

Communication With the Animal Machine
So with these problems a loss of personality occurs and this touches communication. When man communicates as a machine he is often cold and uncaring, impersonal. When he communicates as an animal he in an area of nature alone. Nature is both cruel and non-cruel, it does not care for you. Furthermore, if man communicates out of some form of leap of faith he speaks in an area of non-reason.

A friend of mine recently changed positions from a ministry setting to a secular work environment. She was overwhelmed by the change of communication in the workplace. Having worked with Christians for sometime she was used to greeting people with friendly smiles and experiencing genuine concern from others. However, she repeatedly found that people were surprised by her smile or responded to it with coldness in her new environment. She shared this moving story with me.

"It’s been a while since I’ve spent much time in a secular workplace. I’m amazed at the impact a simple smile or saying hello has on some people. Some have smiled back; several have thanked me; still others have ignored me completely.

One day, I smiled and said hello as three women (who were talking with each other) got on the elevator with me. They acted as though I wasn’t there at all, didn’t even look at me. (That was surreal, but I kept on smiling.) An hour later…and I’m sure it was the Lord who timed it this way…I got back just in time to hold the door as they returned from lunch. I smiled again and said something like we couldn’t have timed this more perfectly if we’d tried…and they completely ignored me again! The four of us were by ourselves in the elevator, and again it was as though I didn’t exist. The doors opened, they marched out, and I was alone.

You might think I was angry. Not at all; I was more fascinated than anything. It was like being in high school again, where the popular girls ignore the untouchables. When I was young, I would have been devastated by this treatment. Now I think…wow, those women are broken inside.

I can tell I’ve been out of the world too long. My simple smile is needed out here!"

As we think about this story we should consider the dehumanization that occurred. It was blatant and cold. Mankind living in this way continues to do harm and violence to one another.

The Problem of Love

This becomes more complex when we consider the problem of love. Man, from this perspective, does not understand how to communicate love. Since the concept of love itself is skewed when viewed from a mere mechanical or animal perspective, man cannot even hope to communicate it rightly. A machine does not seek love but pursues task for pragmatic reasons. It is not real love, but it sees love as a concept only for what benefit it can bring to itself. Likewise the animal seeks love for the fulfillment of passions, it desires and lust. It too is only concerned with what personal satisfaction can be achieved for itself. Neither of these solutions are ultimately fulfilling. Whether loving out of a pragmatic or lustful mindset, man is left desiring more. When people do not fulfill their concept of love because they are seeking their own interest, mankind is left hurt and further broken. This cycle continues to heap more and more damage on the human heart.

We should be mindful that we are not immune to this. It is us, but for the grace of God that would be living this way. We ourselves often lapse into these mindsets of the carnal nature. If my friend had not been previously inoculated, she also would have been left hurt and unfulfilled by the events she experienced.

This is the background the current chapter speaks to, now we can move on to the subject of healing this starts by learning from God himself.

God's Dealing with Man
Think about how God communicates with us in His Word.

On the Basis Of Existence
"Throughout the Word of God it is made very plain that God deals with us first of all on the basis of what He himself is; and secondly on the basis of what He has made us. He will not violate that which he himself is, nor will he violate that which He has made us to be." Francis Schaeffer, True Spirituality pg 148

This is important, since so many false religions get this wrong. God deals with us as God, not as an arbitrary force. He remains God in heaven authoritatively at all times, yet He communicates with man distinctly in a way that is mindful of man's perspective.

In a Personal Manner
God is personal and we have been made as personal creatures. He deals with us in a personal manner.

"It is always a person-to-person relationship. More than this, because God is infinite He can deal with each one of us personally as though each one was the only man who existed." Francis Schaeffer, True Spirituality pg 148

Not Mechanical Or Primarily Legal

"We also find that God's dealings with men is never mechanical. There are no mechanical elements to it it. His dealing with man is also not primarily legal, though there are proper legal aspects to it which are founded and rooted in God's character. The God of the Bible differs from the gods that man makes. He is a God who has a character, and that character is the law of the universe, total and complete." Francis Schaeffer, True Spirituality pg 148

It is important to understand what Schaeffer is saying in that last portion quoted. God, while unchangeable deals with mankind creatively and in so many ways. His dealings with mankind are not done blindly in some sort of blind justice, but in real tangible, caring, intelligent and truthful ways. God shows patience, and love, He is long-suffering. Yet at times He displays justified righteous anger. Finally, most of all we should never forget; He shows grace! While His righteous Law condemns us all, thankfully He has shown the greatest sign of mercy in history, in that He gave His Son rather than destroy humanity for their sins. Legally, He has the right and authority to exercise judgment on mankind, nevertheless He he did not, but rather placed the judgment sentence upon His Son.

It must be further clarified that God is legal first only by the nature of His divine character, yet His love and compassion for us superseded that enough to motivate a sacrifice on the part of the Divine Trinity. As I say quite often, "God cared for us enough to inflict himself from all eternity on our behalf." By doing so He both satisfied His Law and stayed true to His heart which was full of steadfast love for us.

Following His Example
Knowing what we have just discussed insist that we ought to deal with God in kind. It is a creature-to-Creator relationship, however, we ought not to be impersonal with God, nor mechanical, or think of Him in terms of just our legal status with Him, but we ought to worship and adore Him personally as He is a personal God. We ought to desire to love God with all our heart, mind, and soul.

Separation From Our Fellowman
By all accounts Francis Schaeffer truly had a deep compassion for people. There seemed to be no one he would not talk to. As we may remember from previous chapters the story of Schaeffer even attending a rock concert in the 60s at Berkley to talk with young people. Udo Middelmann, comments in the forward of No Little People, on Schaeffer's character.

"It was not a gimmick, a model, or a method but a deep conviction. He was not slick, he revolted against false appearances of leadership, growth statistics, and any show, in which he saw dangers pretense, performance and praise of men. "

I believe that much of Schaeffer's motivation for his type of open interaction with people was wrapped up in what we have just covered. Understanding the dilemma of man, and the proper relationship that man should have with God drew him into deep compassion for the Christian as well as broken and hurting people.

When we analyze Schaeffer's view of our separation from our fellowman, it is essentially two-fold. On one level there is a separation in that they are separated from God, both legally and personally, and secondly on the basis that they are broken as we have already described. They are broken by the results of the bonds of sin. Now, granted some are broken worse than others but the simple brokenness of their personal disconnect from their creator is enough. Nevertheless, we should be guarded not to assume ourselves greater. But for the Grace of God we also would be in various states of brokenness. Furthermore, we all deal with resolving brokenness on some level in the process of sanctification, we just have the assistance of the Holy Spirit.

Love Thy Neighbor

"And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth." Acts 17:26a

"You shall love your neighbor as yourself" Matt 19:19b

Schaeffer further elaborates that there is no distinction in the word "neighbor" between Christian and non-Christian.

Mankind-to-mankind or equal-to-equal - We should deal with man as one of man and not as something lower. Even if man behaves as an animal or machine at times we ought not treat him without dignity. It is by showing dignity to man that he may see the worth and value that he truly is.
Mankind-to-Creator-to-Mankind - We must recognize that the connection between ourselves and our fellow man goes through God. When we address on our fellow man we address God's creation.

"Every time we act in a machine-like way toward another man we deny the central teaching of the Word of God-that there is a personal God who has created man in His own image." Francis Schaeffer, True Spirituality pg 150

Evangelism
Obviously, these precepts carry over to our interaction with man in evangelism.
While there is a legal relationship that must be communicated to mankind;

"The church has always recognized "..."This is an ordinance to to all men" Francis Schaeffer, True Spirituality pg 151 (In context Schaeffer is commenting on the legal aspect of marriage and an ordinance to all men.)

We ought not to be cold salesmen, but show empathy, concern and compassion toward men.

"We are not to stop with a proper legal relationship for example, to think of a man as legally lost, which he is, in the sight of a holy God - without thinking of him as a person. Saying this, we can suddenly see that much evangelism is not only sub-Christian, but subhuman-legalistic and impersonal" Francis Schaeffer, True Spirituality pg 151

A Right Demonstration of The Truth Within Us

The demonstration of truth in the life of the believer is an apologetic to the non-believer.

"The Christian is to be a demonstration of the existence of God. But if we as individual Christians, and as the Church, act on less than a personal relationship to other men, where is the demonstration that God the Creator is personal? If there is no demonstration in our attitude toward other men that we really take seriously the person-to-person relationship, we might as well keep quiet. There must be a demonstration; that is our calling: to show that there is a reality in personal relationship, and not just words about it." Francis Schaeffer, True Spirituality pg 153

Living out lovelessness on the other hand is not only un-godly it obscures the truth about out existence.

"Lovelessness is a sea which knows no shore, for it is what God is not." Francis Schaeffer, True Spirituality pg 153

In demonstrating the truth we must also not forsake doctrine, otherwise we are not in the truth at all.

"As Christians, we are not to be in fellowship with false doctrine. But in the very midst of the battle against false teaching, we must not forget the proper personal relationships." Francis Schaeffer, True Spirituality pg 153

L'Abri, The Shelter
It is the opinion of the writer that one cannot fully experience the scope of what this section implies without visiting L'Abri. There are many locations around the world. As Dr. Schaeffer says at the beginning of this book, "Without the material in this book, there would be no L'Abri. Much of what has been described in this section spells out the concepts lived out at L'Abri on a daily basis. For more on L'Abri visit http://www.labri.org

Part 2

Dethroning Self In the Midst of Truth
"Every time I see something right in another man, it tends to minimize me, and it makes it easier for me to have a proper creature-creature relationship. But each time I see something wrong in others, it is dangerous, for it can exalt self, and when this happens. my open fellowship with God falls to the ground. So when I am right, I can be wrong. In the midst of being right, if self is exalted, my fellowship with God can be destroyed. It is not wrong to be right, but it is wrong to have the wrong attitude in being right." Francis Schaeffer, True Spirituality pg 153

The Use of Knowledge
Schaeffer brings out something here that is so very important, both in our daily lives and especially in our study of Schaeffer. It is so easy, once one builds a body of knowledge of how things should be, to then turn and use that knowledge on others. If this knowledge is not filtered through the grace of God we can take on a self-righteous attitude that is abusive to others. We can be completely right, and yet completely evil in how we wield that knowledge. It is not wrong to judge, if by judge we mean to judge rightly (John 7:24). However, when we judge and then degrade others and elevate ourselves we have judged in error.

The Example of the Family

"The next practical question must be, If I am to see myself as equal to all other men, and I live in a fallen world in which there has to be order imposed, where is this order to come from?" Francis Schaeffer, True Spirituality pg 154

Parent-to-Child & Child-to-Parent
Schaeffer of course answers this, clarifying that order comes from the Bible. Yet he places an important emphasis on the fifth commandment, "Honor Thy Father and Mother." He hopes to point out that the family is the model. For while there is a legal relationship between the parent and child, there is also a personal aspect. In order for there to be harmony these must be balanced.

"The children are to love the parents, and the parents are to love the children on a personal level, within the legal framework." Francis Schaeffer, True Spirituality pg 154

Thus likewise, as has been stated in the earlier parts of this chapter our relationships must be balanced. We do not deal with others legally and constantly calling them on their sinfulness, but with personal compassion in a balance of truth and love.

Husband & Wife
Dr. Schaeffer spends a good deal of time in Ephesian 5. Which largely deals with the divine roles of marriage in the ladder section. I would suggest that for summary purposes we concentrate on the verses that deal so effectively with this point.

15 Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. 18 And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, 19 addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, 20 giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 21 submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.

Here again Schaeffer's analysis holds true. While there are Biblical offices in the situation of marriage (a legal framework), there are also personal compassion and the honor of submitting to each other (v.21) in love in the marital relationship. There must be both or abuse will transpire in one form or another.

In The Church
Likewise, Dr. Schaeffer points us to passages of scripture that shows this same perscription for the church.

So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: 2 shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; 3 not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock. 4 And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory. 5 Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” 1 Peter 5:1-5

Note the usage of both a legal command to "exercise oversight" and the compassionate aspect warning not to "domineer over those in their charge." Yet further this is a command to all where the apostle says, "all of you, " but this is no arbitrary command. He commands them to "clothe themselves" in humility. Literally, he means, "Wear it!" It one thing to tell you to be humble in certain occasions but he specifically means all the time.

In Our Office (Our Station In Life)
"... when I use whatever office God gives me, whether it is in the State, the Church, or the home, or as an employer, it is to be for God's glory and for the other person's good." Francis Schaeffer, True Spirituality pg 156

When we must make judgments, especially those of right and wrong, we must:

"...consciously show that all I can do is let the Bible speak. I have no intrinsic authority in myself. I am an equal creature with the other person, and I too am a sinner" Francis Schaeffer, True Spirituality pg 156-157

Dr. Schaeffer reminds us how we must be different that the humanist.

"One of the problems with humanist is that they tend to "love" humanity as a whole —Man with a capital M, Man as an idea—but forget about man as an individual, as a person. Christianity is to be exactly the opposite. Christianity is not to be love in abstraction, but to love the individual who stands before me in a person-to-person relationship." Francis Schaeffer, True Spirituality pg 157

Reconciliation
In true personal relationship there must be reconciliation. It is impossible to be personal without addressing the hurts of others, especially when we ourselves are responsible.

"When I hurt the man, I sin against God. But let us never forget that this does not change the fact that because man has been made in the image of God, the man I have hurt has real value. And this must be important to me, not only as a concept but in my practice and demonstation. My fellowman is not unimportant: he is God's image-bearer. That is true of the non-Christian man as well as of the Christian. " Francis Schaeffer, True Spirituality pg 157

We must be, "...willing to admit our equality with the one we have hurt. Being his equal it is perfectly right that I should want to say, "I am sorry." Only a desire to be superior makes me afraid to confess and apologize." Francis Schaeffer, True Spirituality pg 158

"Of course, confession to God must always come first. It is confession to God and bringing sin under the shed blood of Christ that cleanses us—not confession to man. We must always stress that, over and over again, because men get confused. But this does not change the fact that after there has been confession to God, then there must be real communication in a man-to-man, personal relationship with the person I have hurt." Francis Schaeffer, True Spirituality pg 158

Not to do it to merely be seen by men.
It may mean going back many years.
Just as Christ crucifixion was real and public, so must our confession of sin to others (used with patient discretion in the situation).

The Bridge
In the closing parts of the chapter Dr. Schaeffer uses the topic of marriage and relationships to clarify the false integration in relationships and the Biblical answer.

"Modern multiple divorce is rooted in the fact that many are seeking in human relationships what human relationships can never give. Why do they have multiple divorce, instead of merely promiscuous affairs? Because they are seeking more than merely the sexual relationship. But they can never find it, because what they are seeking does not exist in a purely finite relationship. It is like trying to quench thirst by swallowing sand.
If man tries to find everything in a man-woman or a friend-to-friend relationship, he destroys the very thing he wants and destroys the ones he loves. He sucks them dry, he eats them up... " Francis Schaeffer, True Spirituality pg 161

By doing this we have overloaded the bridge. Schaeffer uses the illustration of "The Bridge" elsewhere, such as in How Shall We Then Live. The concept is that when a meaningful pathway is forced to carrying a weight it was not intended to bare it will collapse. In relationships when we put unrealistic expectations on another we will find them wanting and destroy "the bridge" of personal communication, and thus the relationship. Being personal requires that we are understanding of the imperfections of ourselves and others and respond with grace and patience through our relationship with God. The body is an instrument, but it was never intended to be fulfill a demand for perfection, which only God can fulfill.

I have strung together several of the passages where Schaeffer clarifies relationship using the intimate marriage analogy.

"Love is the interplay of the whole personality. The relationship of the personal, and the whole personality of man is the unit of the soul and the body... The emphasis in Scripture is upon the unity of the man, the unity of the soul and the body. And with communication—substantial, though not perfect—the body is the instrument. Actually there is no other way to have communication, except through the body. But in marriage this becomes a very special thing to understand. Sexual love and romantic love are both equally out of place if they are extramarital and therefore outside the proper legal circle... but if the couple stand as personalities— personality facing personality—within that which is the proper legal circle, then both the romantic and the sexual has its fulfillment in the full circle fo what we are, in thinking, acting, and feeling... There is to be joy and beuty in the interplay of the total personalities." Francis Schaeffer, True Spirituality pg 162

Dr. Schaeffer is bringing us now to the understanding of living out both the legal aspect of our relationships (truth) and fulfilling the personal aspects of our relationships (love). This sort of love is the love that is spoken of in 1 Cor. 13.

4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

8 Love never ends. 1 Cor 13:4-8a

I have personally come to see these passages as the most convicting passages in scripture and I believe they are exactly what Schaeffer is talking about. How often to we try to live out love imperfectly? We love but we are envious. We love and yet we boast in ourselves. We love but we are arrogant and rude to those we love. We love but we insist on our own way. We love but we are irritable or resentful. We love but we ignore wrongdoing and do not stand for the truth. We love but we do not bear all things or endure all things. We love but we do not hope all things, we do not love enough to not covet against God and man. We come full circle now back to the law of love in chapter 1. True love, which is steadfast and immovable is beautiful and fulfilling.

"How beautiful Christianity is! First because of the sparkling quality of its intellectual answers, but secondly because of the beautiful quality of its human personal answers. And these are to be rich and beautiful." Francis Schaeffer, True Spirituality pg 164

Dr. Schaeffer summarizes and concludes the chapter by stating this is fun. There is a joy to be had in the Christian life as we experience beauty of Christ centered personal relationships.

"They [the answers] come only on the level of what God made us to be in the first place, and that is personal. There is no other way to have these beautiful answers. They cannot be achieved mechanically, or by only standing in the proper legal circle, as important as that is. They grow in the light of what wesay we believe as orthodoc Christians: that we are creatures, and that while we are not perfect in this life, even after becoming Christians, yet moment-by-moment faith in the finished work of Christ on the cross, beautiful human relationships can and do come forth. There must be orthodox doctrine, true. But there must also be orthodox practice of those doctrines, including orthodocy in the human relationships.
I hesitate to add, but I will, that this is fun. God means Christianity to be fun. There is to be a reality of love and communication in the Christian-to-Christian relationship, individually and corporately, which is completely and truly personal."

True Spirituality - Substantial Healing of the Total Person

2010-03-15T07:22:00.001-07:00

True Spirituality - Substantial Healing of the Total Person
Comments on Francis Schaeffer's Book True Spirituality
A Book Study By Dan Guinn

Chapter 11 - As we move forward through the areas of our conscience, thought life and psychology we begin to look at the impact on the total person. As brought out in our last study, Dr. Schaeffer hopes for us to understand that we are a unified being. We have both physical and spiritual qualities. When one any area of our existence is compromised the whole of our being is affected. However, Schaeffer points out that by saying "substantial healing" he wants us to understand that we will not be completely whole until Christ comes. We cannot be perfect in all areas of our being. We are still in a fallen world. Nevertheless, substantial healing can be significant in the life of a believer in this life.

False Expectations
Likewise, Dr. Schaeffer warns very plainly of pitfalls in our human expectations that can ensnare us and produce all kinds of damage.

Self Centeredness - This of course is a violation of the Law of Love.

"...even the Christian may want to be God; that is, he may consciously or unconsciously set a standard of superiority, based on the unusual value he puts on himself." Francis Schaeffer, True Spirituality pg 135

Knowing what is right may produce pride in us and allow various forms of legalism. We need to constantly be guarded against assuming superiority.

Behaviorism (Not dealing with the deeper problem)

On the flip side, following the advice of modernist psychology to treat spiritual problems with current behaviorist methods is an accident waiting to happen.

Dr. Schaeffer uses the story of Pavlov's Bell (often called "Pavlov's Dog" today) to address behaviorism. Ivan Pavlov was a Russian/Soviet psychologist, physiologist, and physician who was an early "behaviorist." He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1904 for research on the human digestive system. However, he is most remembered for his experiments regarding "conditioning." Pavlov proved that you could train a dog to salivate when a bell was rung. It was not long before "conditioning" would later be applied to humans as well. The concept would later evolve into the concept of behavior modification.

"This is perfectly correct concerning dogs, for that is what dogs are and what God made them to be. But woe to the man who begins to act as though this is all there is to man, because we have not been made in this circle of creation." Francis Schaeffer, True Spirituality pg 136

Remember the chart from the last lesson?

Pavlov's experiments, as well as many others of the time were heavily influenced by Darwinistic doctrine. Pavlov and his team would go on to perform more sinister experiments such as trans-marginal inhibition (TMI). Such experiments tested the limits of the human body and its shut down when exposed to electric shock. His research in this area would later be picked up by Carl Jung. While this might seem like something of barbarism of the early 19th century, the practice that resulted out of this line of experimentation is still in underway. Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT) or electro-shoch therapy, is currently used to treat severe major depression, mania, bi-polar disorder and catatonia. While the modern psychiatric treatment generally induces electrical convulsion under sedation. As mentioned in our last study it is estimated that over a million people receive ECT treatments each year. At some point we must admit that a line has been crossed.

It is important that in this point in time the church realizes the need to embrace those struggling in these areas rather than attack them as sinful. We must maintain a balance of truth and love. True Spirituality provides real answer for most if not all of the problems of depression. While their are exceptions in areas of brain injury, the Bible still teaches compassion and ministry to these areas. We as a church, must live this healing out in our lives. We must be the light to the darkness of the this epidemic.

Trying to Be What We Are Not
We've talked about the circles of existence. At the root, the problems man experiences in the circle of his existence is trying to be what he is not. He carries too much and he becomes less than he was intended to be.

"The basic psychological problem is trying to be what we are not, and trying to carry what we cannot carry. Most of all the basic problem is not being willing to be the creatures we are before the Creator." Francis Schaeffer, True Spirituality pg 137

"Man is trying to be the center of the universe and refuses to be the creature he is." Francis Schaeffer, True Spirituality pg 137

"Christian doctrine speaks first in relational answers, and then in practice, to the psychological results of man's revolt since the fall. In other words it is not necessary to search for psychological healing outside the total structure of Christian doctrine. The gospel is the answer not only theoretical but also in practice within the unity of the Biblical teaching" Francis Schaeffer, True Spirituality pg 137, 138

Results of Man's Rebellion

There are psychological results of man's refusal to be who he has been created to be that affect the total person. Schaeffer advises that there are other types of fear but many that man deals with fall under these headings.

Fear of the Impersonal
"...the more they become aware of humanity the more they realize its facelessness. Out of this springs a real fear of the impersonal, and they are right to be afraid." Francis Schaeffer, True Spirituality pg 138

Dr. Schaeffer is pinpointing something that we might not grasp if we don't dwell on it for a moment. When we live life beneath what we are created to be, when we live as an animal or a machine, the natural implication is that we become less than human. Becoming less than human means that we become just another face. We are unimportant, lost in the sea of many others.

Likewise, machines and animals lack the human level of personality. They often seem cold or uncaring because they exist by a different set of rules. The animal lives by laws of nature. Nature is both cruel and non-cruel. The sun can shine on you one day and burn you the next. The machine functions in many respects to natural laws and logic. A mathematical equation lacks the ability to improvise to the infinite answers needed by man. Even the most complex computers can be thrown off by the needs of a child. While some of the most recent developments in AI (Artificial Intelligence) are impressive, systems which can learn and re-program itself based on new contingencies, the most basic concepts of human love and spirituality will always be out of their reach. They will ever be synthetic.

Fear of Non-Being
Dr. Schaeffer also highlights the fear of "non-being." While this is related to the fear of death, he is talking about fear of the lack of origin, existence and meaning. We must understand that the non-Christian is really completely in the dark on this.

"...modern man does not have any idea where he came from, and not having and answer to Being, is eventually locked up in the sequence of pure chance." Francis Schaeffer, True Spirituality pg 139

If mankind would be honest about this they would admit to some deep feelings about not knowing who they are, where they are, and what their purpose for being here is. While one can claim to be content with this state, in reality the psychological subconscience level of fear of being literally "lost" has many hidden implications.

Fear of Death
We need to remember the impact that death has on the non-Christian. Without Christ there is no eternal destiny. The natural end of this line of thinking for man is a naturalist nihilism, whereby he just vanishes into nothingness.

All of these fears are the characteristics of the Negative Existentialist doctrine of Nihilism who assert that life is without objective meaning or purpose and does not contain any moral value. While the Negative Existentialist is skeptical and pessimistic about life, the Optimistic Existentialist takes a leap of faith in the dark. He realizes that without hope man is lost, but having nothing to base his hope on he improvises and creates his own insufficient hope through experience. His own experiences are finite lacking the infinite answers he truly needs.

Knowing that we are competing with varying degrees of these notions as well as blatant contradictions in ourself and our relationships is an eye opening experience. From here we must begin to know undertake what is needed.

"what is needed in a time of psychological disturbance, whether temporary or prolonged, is that we should help each other to act upon the total unified Christian teaching. This is entirely different from trying to work by jumping into the dark without a rational framework." Francis Schaeffer, True Spirituality pg 140

Finding Validity
Dr. Schaeffer spends time on the subject of validity first in the area of superiority and inferiority. Let's examine Dr. Schaeffer's explanation for our source of validity.

"For the Christian, status, and validity do not rest upon relative relationships to other men. As a Christian I do not have to find my validity in my status, or by thinking myself above other men. My validity and my status are found in being before the God who is there. My basic validity and my basic status do not depend upon what men think of me." Francis Schaeffer, True Spirituality pg 141

All of this requires realization that man is not the measure of all things, because "all things" is infinite. Schaeffer's concept of Christian Validity here is really a point of contact between ourselves and God, who is our infinite personal reference. The word validity is affirming what is valid, what is ultimate truth for our lives. We are conforming to the truth of the one who is "the way, the truth, and the life" (Jn 14:6).

Avoiding False Integration
Schaeffer moves on to a concept he calls "Integration." For Schaeffer, integration is the "final point of rest." Simply put, these are things which we put at the center of our hearts. While we may find a point of rest in many things, when we make this point of rest absolute we cause damage to the total person.

"They are made to be the point of rest, and as such they can be beautiful, but as our final point of rest they are destructive." Francis Schaeffer, True Spirituality pg 144

Take time to discuss the obvious damage of falsely integrating the following items as our final point of peace.

Superiority/Inferiority
Pyschological Hygene
Personality
Excess
False Peace
Material Things
Music/Art - Beauty
Sex
Eating
Intellectual Pursuits

The Garbage Can
Dr. Schaeffer uses a humorous illustration to describe the futility of false integration points.

"I picture false integration as being like a garbage can into which we try to push a man. But it is not big enough. and so we jam him down, but his head sticks out. So we lift him out and and then jam him down in a different way, but this time his legs stick out. So we lift him out and jam him down again, but now his arm sticks out. We never get the whole man in. It is simply not big enough." Francis Schaeffer, True Spirituality pg 145

The weakness of false integration points is really that they can never be applied to the total man. They are never sufficient for the whole of life.

Healing At Last
The Bible has had the answers all along and moreover they have been commonly taught.

"Find me the faithful pastor in the old village, and I will find you a man dealing with psychological problems on the basis of the teaching of the Word of God." Francis Schaeffer, True Spirituality pg 145

Such victory through the Word of God comes through surrender of the misplaced burden.

"casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you." 1 Peter 5:7

"Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." Matt 11:28

"As I bow in my will in practive in this present life, it ends with communion with God as Abba, Father. Communion with God requires bowing in the area of Knowledge. But communion with God also requires bowing in my will...bowing in both the intellect and the will. Without bowing in the intellect, in thinking after God; without acting upon the finished work of Christ in my present life; and without bowing in the will in practice, as the waves of the present life break over me, there is no sufficient communion with God." Francis Schaeffer, True Spirituality pg 147

"The Creator, as Abba, Father, will even now dry my tears and there will be joy. this is the meaning of true spirituality in my relationship with myself." Francis Schaeffer, True Spirituality pg 147

True Spirituality - Substantial Healing of Psychological Problems

2010-03-10T17:39:00.001-08:00

True Spirituality - Substantial Healing of Psychological Problems
Comments on Francis Schaeffer's Book True Spirituality
A Book Study By Dan Guinn

Chapter 10 - Psychology is study of the mental processes and behavior. Building off of what we have discovered of the conscience and the thought world, we must begin to see how these define our psychological existence. Since we cannot exist without creating into the world which God created we must seek healing in our mental processes and behavior. As we will see this can only be achieved through Truth based on content defined by our creator.

Dr. Schaeffer hopes for us to understand how the world of thought produces psychological problems and the healing that is available in the life of the believer.

A Unified Being
Firstly we need to see man as a unified being. Although we can recognize the spiritual and physical differences and we know there are different roles in thought, actions, and emotions, man is affected as a whole being by corruption in any part of his being.

"Anything that hurts that unity is destructive of the very basic thing that man is and what man needs to be." Francis Schaeffer, True Spirituality pg 123

Infinite-Personal Reference
Yet the answers man seeks must be from and infinite and personal reference that makes sense of time and space. Truths with relative content that can only come from God.

"There is no answer without and infinite reference point of a personal nature." Francis Schaeffer, True Spirituality page 124

The Cocoon
Dr. Schaeffer uses the analogy of the cocoon. Sinful man lives in a circle of existence that is closed, and moreover closed off to a section of himself. He was created to be a rational, relational, physical and spiritual being. Yet he lives below his existence.

"... when as a Christian I bow before this God who is there, then I can move out of the only logical position which the non-Christian can hold, and that is he must dwell consciously but silently in the cocoon of his being, without knowing anything outside of himself." Francis Schaeffer, True Spirituality page 124

Answers For The Unified Being
The Christian life provides an every moment building of faith. God provides real answers that are unified with his creation by His own design.

"God has spoken, and what he so teaches is a unity with what He has made." Francis Schaeffer, True Spirituality page 125

"... these answers do not end simply with an abstract, bare scholastic understanding of Being... They end in communion with the infinite-personal reference point who is there, God himself. And that is tremendous. Then you can worship." Francis Schaeffer, True Spirituality page 125

The Misuse of Finite Answers For Infinite
When man misuses his own finite reasoning "beginning with himself," he fails to find absolutes and universal answers. Man cannot be God.

"... beginning with himself he [man] cannot bring forth absolute standards and cannot even keep the poor relative ones he has set up." Francis Schaeffer, True Spirituality page 127

"I cannot be God in action and practice. So again I fall to the earth, crushed with natural tensions in myself, and I lie there like a butterfly that someone has touched, with all the lovely things gone from the wings." Francis Schaeffer, True Spirituality page 127

Circles of Rebellion
Schaeffer utilizes the symbol of the circle to illustrate worlds of existence and thought. Consider the damage done to man by his attempts to formulate the basis of a world view by misusing concepts of the created order.

"Thus, in rebellion, not staying within the circle of what man is but trying to move into the circle of existence of God, man falls crushed within himself at every turn. At that point he has two possibilities, and just two, if he is going to stay in the circle of rationality. He can return to his place before the personal Creator, a personal creature before a personal Creator. Or else he can go lower than his place." Francis Schaeffer, True Spirituality page 128

"So sinful man takes his place amoung the lower circles of existence; he moves down from being man into the lower existence of the animals and machines. Man is thus divided against and from himself in every part of his nature." Francis Schaeffer, True Spirituality page 128

All Unhealthy
"Since the fall there is no truly healthy person in his body, and there is no completely balanced person psychologically. The result of the fall spoils us as a unit and in all of our parts." Francis Schaeffer, True Spirituality page 129

With this knowledge we can see that we are all in an unhealthy state, yet we are being sanctified and our psychological existence is being transformed by the Spirit of God.

Psychological Integration
Attempts to heal the problem by naturalistic means can only provide a band-aid. It does not address the whole of the problem.

"As a result, the integration will be an attempt to relate what is broken in the person to the animals and the machines of it will ask for a romantic leap. Now this does not mean that there are no details which we can learn from these psychologist; there is much to lear from the insights, because they are brilliant men and good observers, but the whole does not meet the need, for it treats man as that which he is not." Francis Schaeffer, True Spirituality page 129

Real Guilt & The Real Answer
"When a man is broken in these areas, he is confused, because he has the feelings of real guilt within himself, and yet he is told by modern thinkers that these are only guilt feelings" Francis Schaeffer, True Spirituality page 131

On a counseling level we need to always be mindful of the indirect problem, which is sin. That sin produces real guilt and not just conditioned feelings. We also need to call those who profess such things on these misguided notions. At no point is a murder for example to be told that the guilt he/she feels is just a meaningless emotion he/she has been conditioned to feel. Nor is that person's malice or lack of guilt to be chalked up to mere events in one's life. Doing so is only to convey half truths.

"With all rationality in place, and consciously in place (on the basis of the existence of God and the finished, substitutionary work of Jesus Christ) my real guilt now is not overlooked, but is accepted as my responsibility because of my own deliberately doing what I know to be wrong. Then it is reasonably, truly and objectively dealt with in Christ's infinite substitutionary work. Now I can say to my conscience, be still!" Francis Schaeffer, True Spirituality page 131

True Spirituality - Freedom in the Thought-Life

2010-02-13T18:17:00.001-08:00

True Spirituality - Freedom in the Thought Life
Comments on Francis Schaeffer's Book True Spirituality
A Book Study By Dan Guinn

Chapter 9-In this chapter we move on "to discuss true spirituality in relation to separation from ourselves in the internal world of thought" (Francis Schaeffer, True Spirituality pg 106).

From our last study we realized that there is a "false tyranny of conscience." This tyranny can touch the whole of our life because, as Schaeffer clarifies in this chapter, these are internal things that have outward consequences. What I believe, directly relates to how I think and what I think directly relates to what I do. To achieve freedom in the though-life, we must address both the conscience and the results of the conscience (our thoughts).

The separation from ourselves is in affect the results of the corruption in conscience. Without Christ, we are cut off from the ability to "know" rightly. We should be clear that our rebellion in the "internal world of thought, " as Schaeffer calls it, it is a product of sin. Schaeffer uses the classic passage on this from Romans 1 to explain.

Read Rom 1:18-32

In this passage, man suppresses the truth and thus reaps the results of sin:

18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.

Vain in Their Reasoning

21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Rom. 1:21

Schaeffer points out the order that is established in this verse (Inward to external result):

Knew God

Did not Glorify or Thank God

Vain Reasoning

Foolish hearts were darkened

Likewise in verses 22 & 24 also repeat this concept.

22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools

24 Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves

False wisdom -> lust and impurity

This concept is repeated several times in the passage:

25 because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.

26 For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions.

Exchanged truth for a lie->dishonorable passions

28 And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done.

Did not acknowledge God->debased mind

This is the natural consequences of sin in the lives of mankind in the supernatural world in time and space.

The Post-Christian World
Dr. Schaeffer mentions in passing that we live in a post-Christian world in his remarks on the passage Rom. 1:21, "For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him," we must put this into perspective. Nearly 500 years ago, the entire western world was engaged in turmoil over the importance of bringing the Biblical message to the writ of the common man. This was the world war before WW I. Yet now, the ideas established by the Reformation are barely recollected by a world driven by a secularized consciousness. It is always important to keep in mind that the ideas of the Reformation have not gone out of date, they have merely been discarded. There is a big difference. Let's take a moment to examine the results of sin on the post-Christian world.

System	View of Creation	View of the Fall (View of Man & Sin)	View of Redemption (Hope of Mankind)
Existential Naturalism (Lower Story)	Evolution (Or Aliens?)	Biological Machine ----------- Psychology Sociology Behaviorism	I define my own existence ---------------- Science will one day triumph
Existential Mysticism (Upper Story)	Evolution (Circle of Life)	Man is basically good ---------- Good Animal Noble Savage	Free Your Mind! Experience! ---------------- Lawlessness Anarchy
Consequences	Loss of Meaning & Purpose ------------ (Separation from Creator and created purpose)	Loss of Ethics (Cannot judge right and wrong; discern sin) Loss of Humanity (mere animal or machine)	Loss of Hope (futile pursuits; nihilism) Loss of Identity (Invalid worth)
Effects on the Human Conscience	Diminished level of the value of life	"A mind void of judgment"	Elevation of self worth
Various Effects on the Human World of Thought	arbitrary judgments on human lives (abortion, genocide)	ethical relativism religious pluralism Inability to belong or identify	false optimism "man is the measure of all things" or absolute pessimism "life is meaningless" disillusionment with world systems

Renewing the Mind
Understanding the mental results demand that we embrace the Biblical answer. We ought to constantly, in our moment-by-moment relationship with God, seek the renewing of our minds and thoughts. This is not some sort of "brain washing" in the derogatory sense, which is against our will, but a washing willingly to find mental healing and to be who God created us to be.

"17 Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds." Eph. 4:17

"1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect."
Rom. 12:1-1

Truth is Content - Read Eph. 4:17-31, Eph. 5

We cannot merely renew our mind with some meditation to void it of content, rather we must replace the futility with Truth. "Truth is content, truth has something to do with reason. Truth has something to do with the rational creature that God has made us. The dilemma here in the internal world is not just some sort of grey fog, it is in relationship to content" Francis Schaeffer, True Spirituality pg 108

"24 and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness." Eph 4:24

Schaeffer identifies here that a more literal translation would be "holiness of truth."

"This is not just an emotional holiness but holiness in relationship to content, holiness in relation to thought and a set of things that can be stated as true, in contrast to that which is false." Francis Schaeffer, True Spirituality pg 109

..and from Ephesians 5.

"15 Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is." Eph 5:15-17

"The word "wise" here conveys the same message. It has to do with the thought-world, but in contact with that which can be stated as true..." Francis Schaeffer, True Spirituality pg 109

" ... be filled with the Spirit, 19 addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, 20 giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 21 submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ." Eph 5:18b-21

From the Heart

"34 You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks." Matt 12:34

"18 But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. 19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. 20 These are what defile a person. But to eat with unwashed hands does not defile anyone.” Matt 15:18-20

With this recognition, we must admit that our entire life is being lived out in our thoughts as rational creatures. These thoughts are real, and have real consequences.

"Man lives in his head; this... is the uniqueness of man." Francis Schaeffer, True Spirituality pg 112

Origins of Sin

Dr. Schaeffer points out some important thoughts relating to the fall of Eve and Satan. Here also we see the condition of the heart as the key player. Eve saw the fruit and desired it (internally) and sinned (Gen 3:6), Satan decided "in his heart" and desired to exalt himself above God (Isa. 14:13-14).

He then further clarifies in very plain terms the condition of the fall is "without prior conditioning" in order to explain the creative aspect of the event. It is the origin of evil, from the father of lies and the man Adam, who as our Federal Representative introduced by imputation, sin into the created order.

From Thought to Creation
In a very real sense our thoughts create. When we think we create and construct in our mind and then actualize our thoughts by our actions, we create. Some such as the "Word of Faith" movement have abused this idea in our time claiming we can create ex nihilo ("out of nothing"), but the concept is scripturally sound. While God thought and created the world, we also think, but create into His created world, Schaeffer is quick to point out that we are limited in this respect.

"We are finite, so we cannot create out of nothing; only God creates out of nothing, I am limited..." Francis Schaeffer, True Spirituality pg 117

"God's creation and mine differ, of course. God can create out of nothing, by fiat. I cannot, because only He is infinite. In creation He is limited only by his own character. I am limited not only by my character, but by my finiteness. Whie I create, I bring forth in the external universe that he created." Francis Schaeffer, True Spirituality pg 117

The word fiat here is a Latin word that means to "create out of nothing". Dr. Schaeffer clarifies that this is not an Eastern concept, where a deity is said to create a reality out of itself, but that God's essence does not overlap His creative consistence. We are created in this same model also. While we create into the world, we are distinct from the world itself.

The value of this knowledge is understanding that what we think has real consequences in our world, and sometimes even create lasting results related to even a single moment of sin in our lives.

Thought Test
Perform this test for me. At this moment I would like you each to think an independent thought not contingent upon anything else. Ready? Go!

Did you do it? Where you successful? Well, the very fact that I asked you to do this proves a point. Your thought was contingent on my request! Schaeffer discusses this:

"It can be said that it is impossible for men not to create things constantly and truly. Even if I wished to stop I could not. It is impossible not to be creating things truly and constantly out of my thought-world into the external world and giving them permanent expression." Francis Schaeffer, True Spirituality pg 117, 118

Even the choice not to create is a choice which still creates in time and space. Becoming aware of the fact that we cannot stop creating helps us to see the value of every single moment. We must seek to create, every moment to the glory of God and His kingdom. We create after Him, and the results have eternal consequences. What a sobering wonder and mystery!

A Review
Dr. Schaeffer closes this chapter with a review to clarify what this chapter means to what we have learned so far. Note how Dr. Schaeffer shows us the implications of the concepts learned in this chapter on the previous studies.

True Spirituality

Death to all things good and bad/Alive to God
Inward Commitment
Raised from death to the external world.

The Strength of the Indwelling Holy Spirit

The fruit of the crucified, risen. glorified Lord
Flows into the external world through my body and work.

Love is Inward

Love God enough to be content
Love man enough not to envy
Internal flowing to external world

Blows of Battle

Many ways
These blows impact me internally (unlike a machine)
In our response we either thank God or rebel

Active Passivity

We do not respond with, "I want" or "I demand my own will"
In the example of Christ we say, "Thy Will Be Done"
In the example of Marry we say, "Be it unto me according to thy will"
We are finite and limited in creation after the image of God.
We can bring forth into the external world either:

that with leads to life
that which produces death

Conclusions on Man

Communication with God is inward
The real battle for men is in the world of ideas.
True Spirituality begins in our thought-world. The spiritual battle, the loss or victory, is always in the thought-world.

True Epistemology Presentation

2010-02-06T23:42:00.000-08:00

The Reality of Truth & Freedom of Conscience

Epistemological Crisis

2010-02-06T18:36:00.000-08:00

This presentation will help to educate about the general Epistemological Crisis that prompted the writing of True Spirituality by Dr. Francis Schaeffer.

Note: Use the "open in new window" option to display the presentation full screen.

Need The Book? True Spirituality - Francis Schaeffer

2010-02-06T15:04:00.000-08:00

If you are in a class at Redeemer Presbyterian Church (Overland Park, KS), please feel free to contact me for a book. The Redeemer Book Table is providing them for $10. If it is not convenient to purchase the book at this time one can be provided for you. For those visiting the blog, here are some good sources online:

Ordering A Book, Excerpts
Read excerpts and see listings of multiple locations to buy online at Google Books

Audio Version

Get An Audio Version @ ChristianAudio.com

True Spirituality - Freedom From Conscience

2010-02-06T14:43:00.001-08:00

True Spirituality - Freedom from Conscience
Comments on Francis Schaeffer's Book True Spirituality
A Book Study By Dan Guinn

Chapter 8- With Chapter 8 we begin the second section of True Spirituality called "Freedom Now from the Results of Sin". Until now we have discussed the freedom from sin itself. Now we move forward to focus on the results. It is possible to live the Christian life and deal with overcoming sins but never fully address the results of sin in our lives. You might wonder how this is possible, especially if we are doing what has already been prescribed in the previous chapters. Yet the truth is... sin is pervasive. It is not enough to just stop sinning, and allow the enemy to retain victory over us in our conscience and thought life. Nor is it desirous to have inner change but not let that touch the relationships in our lives. There is a need to understand the depth of the internal war that rages in hidden corners of our being.

As the subsection title states "Man's Separation from Himself, " Dr Schaeffer identifies the core of the problem. We are separated from ourselves! Separated, from the creatures we were created to be. We struggle with areas of depth in our lives, that seem out of our reach. Hidden emotions, isolated idols, and unwarranted misguided fears. It is here that Schaeffer wishes us to place a spiritual microscope, to explore the dark regions of our hearts and minds.

In order to make the appropriate discovery Dr. Schaeffer impresses upon us the need to take everything that we have learned so far as foundational moving forward. We have learned the tools to our freedom from sin and in this liberty there is a need to set our goal toward lifelong examination. An examination into the effects of sin moment-by-moment, relying wholly on the aid of the power of the Holy Spirit for guidance and sanctification.

From Sin Comes Bondage & the Results
The Psychological Trick
Classic Reformed Perspective

Freedom from Conscience

Errors of Perfectionism

Second Blessing

Moments of Perfection

The Deeper Person

Man Separated from Himself
Unconscious/subconscious

False Attitudes

Looking lightly on sin (viewing sin in the abstract)
Believing we must follow through on temptation

Restoration & Realism (Removing the false tyranny of conscience.)

Christ Blood
Confession
Chastening
Discipline
Fatherly Reverence
Christ our advocate

Rightly Judging Ourselves

From Sin Comes Bondage & the Results
We must first begin by making sure we understand the order of the problem. As Schaeffer says very plainly, "Sin causes the bondage and the results." (Francis Schaeffer, True Spirituality pg 91) According to Schaeffer, we must both understand that we are truly Christians and secondly be acting on the Biblical teaching of how to be free from the bonds of sin. Then finally we can begin to identify the results of sin in our life and begin to prayerfully deal with them.

The Psychological Trick
The modern outlook on meaning is "a cruel illusion" unless we hold to objective or propositional truths. These words, objective and propositional, are used in philosophy and theology to denote absolute or final truth. Dr. Schaeffer hopes to establish here the impact that the loss of meaning has upon the conscience.

Classic Reformed Perspective

The answers to the problem of conscience rest in three points that Dr. Schaeffer puts at the center of the discussion. Here they are:

"Objective Reality of a Supernatural view of the universe." (Elsewhere called "The Universe and it's Forms")
"The existence of a personal infinite God in whose image man is made [and fallen] (Elsewhere Schaeffer calls this the "manishness of man").
"The truth about the human dilemma [and the Biblical answer]." (Elsewhere called "presuppositional")

In these three points Schaeffer hints at the formulation of a general system of knowledge (Epistemology). While this is nothing new really, as the concept is native to Reformed Theology for some time in the triad of "creation, fall, redemption" These three points of theology are the backbone of Redemptive History. This system is similar to portions of what more recent students of Van Til, John Frame and Vern Poythress called Multiperspectivalism or Triperspectivalism. However one breaks it down the core concept, at least as it relates directly to Epistemology is at the core of what Dr. Schaeffer had formulated. Here are the three views shown tog

Creation                  -> Fall                         -> Redemption

Supernatural Universe    -> Manishness of Man    -> Presuppositional

Situational                   -> Existential                -> Normative

Here are the questions that each column ask:

What is the global/universal situation? What is reality?
How do you account for man and his problems? What is sin?
What is the norm/presupposition that will best deliver, free, or help mankind?

Just for comparison, I would like us to consider also how Dr. Ravi Zacharias' four
most important questions of life fit into this model. Meaning and Morality fall into the middle column.

Origin -> Meaning, Morality -> Destiny

When non-Christian world views are asked these same questions is becomes quite interesting. Take a look at Existentialism/Post Modernism for example. We can easily see the bankruptcy of these systems.

Naturalism                    -> Biological Machine    -> Supremacy of Science
                                         (Behaviorism)

Mysticism                     -> Noble Savage          -> Mother Earth

Also, consider this quote from Niche in light of these comparisons. What Niche states is takes the bankrupcy to an all time low. Although he does not understand the significance of the Bible, there is still something to be learned here. Not only is the non-Christian view of reality mere illusion, if they were honest with themselves they would realize that without revelation they have no hope of proper perspective. They could know nothing of real meaning or truth.

"no
particular point of view is privileged in the sense that it
affords those who occupy it a better picture of the world as it
realy is than all the others" Fredrick Niche, Nehamas 49 (http://www.eoneill.com/library/ericlevin/i.htm)

Freedom from Conscience

Here Schaeffer begins to help us put these proofs into practice.

Errors of Perfectionism - Dr Schaeffer identifies the following two culprits that the Bible and Church history warn us of.

Second Blessing - Somewhat fallen out of favor in our day. However, it is still alive in some Wesleyan, Nazarene, Pentecostal and Holiness type churches.

Moments of Perfection - Less spoken of, but some churches teach doctrinal perfection relying on the "work" of staying in the "Spirit."

"Hence if there is any real victory in my life, it must not be thought
of as mi victory or my perfection...It is not my victory, it is always
Christ's victory" Francis Schaeffer, True Spirituality pg 96

The Deeper Person - It is extremely important to pursue the deeper aspects of one's being. "The more the Holy Spirit puts his finger on my life and goes down deep into my life, the more I understand that there are deep wells to my nature." Francis Schaeffer, True Spirituality pg 95

Man Separated from Himself - Dr. Schaeffer uses these words to describe the consequences of the Fall.

Unconscious/subconscious - He describes man as the proverbial iceberg one-tenth above and nine-tenths below the surface.

False Attitudes - it is so important that we be on guard against all sorts of mental pitfalls in the Christian walk. Here are two we need to be mindful of concerning sin.

Looking lightly on sin (viewing sin in the abstract) - "As we teach our children that we sin daily in thought, word, and deed, we must be very careful to warn them of the danger of thinking that we can look lightly or abstractly at sin in their lives. If I count on Christ's victory for my entrance into heaven, will I deny him the glory He would gain in victories won, in me and through me, in my present life?" Francis Schaeffer, True Spirituality pg 96

Believing we must follow through on temptation - Likewise, we can decide that since we so regularly fall to temptation that we can just cannot resist it. This is surrender.

"No
temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is
faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but
with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you
may be able to endure it." 1 Cor 10:13

Restoration & Realism

"And then sin reenters. For some reason my moment-by-moment belief in
God faulters; a fondness for some specific sin has caused me at that
point not to draw in faith uping the fact of a restored relationship
with the Trinity. The reality of the practice of true spirituality
suddenly slips from me. I look up some morning, some afternoon, some
night-- and something is gone, something I have known: my quietness and
my peace is gone. It is not that I am lost again, because justification
is once for all. But as far as man can see, or even I myself, at this
point there is no exhibition of the victory of Christ upon the cross.
Looking at me at this point, men would see no demonstration that God's
creation of moral rational creatures is not a complete failure, or even
that God exist. [However,] Because God still holds me fast I do not have the
separation of lostness..."

"5 This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 6 If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 7 But
if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with
one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. 8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." 1 John 1:5-9

Christ Blood - It begins with remembering His sacrafice, His Blood (v.7).

Confession - We must acknowledge our sin (v.9).

"5 And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons?

“My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord,

nor be weary when reproved by him.

6 For the Lord disciplines the one he loves,

and chastises every son whom he receives.”

7 It
is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons.
For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? 8 If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. 9 Besides
this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected
them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and
live? 10 For they
disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he
disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. 11 For
the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later
it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been
trained by it." Heb 12:5-11

Chastening - Recieve correction (v.5).

Discipline - Remember that Discipleship is Discipline. Our correction is for guiding us to greater growth (v.7).

Fatherly Reverence - Our Soverign Caring Heavenly Father (v.9).

"My little
children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But
if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ
the righteous." 1 John 2:1

Christ our Advocate - What other assurance could be so great as knowing that the
Son of God stands as our Advocate? When we do sin we should rush to the throne of grace, for He is faithful and just!

Rightly Judging Ourselves - Dr. Schaeffer clarifies for us that our punishment was dealt with on the cross. Our chastening "is correction to bring us back to fellowship with himself. and we do not need to wait to be chastened before our fellowship can be restored." Francis Schaeffer, True Spirituality pg 105 So through the aid of the Holy Spirit who convicts us, and our Advocate who represents us, we can seek right fellowship immediately.

"31 But if we judged ourselves truly, we would not be judged. 32 But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world."
1 Cor 11:31-32

"God means us to have, as one of the gifts in this life, freedom from a false tyranny of conscience." Francis Schaeffer, True Spirituality pg 106

"Man is first of all separated from God, then from himself, and finally from his fellow men and from nature. The blood of the Lord Jesus Christ will give an absolute and perfect restoration of all these things when Jesus comes. But in the present life there is to be a substantial healing, including the results of the separation between a man and himself. This is the first step towards freedom in the present life from the results of the bonds of sin." Francis Schaeffer, True Spirituality pg 105

True Spirituality - The Fruitful Bride

2010-02-06T14:37:00.001-08:00

True Spirituality - The Fruitful Bride
Comments on Francis Schaeffer's Book True Spirituality
A Book Study By Dan Guinn

Chapter 7 - The concept of the "Fruitful Bride" combines two significant themes in scripture; The concept of "bearing fruit" and the "bride". Both of which are rich in symbolism and meaning in the relationship of the life of the believer and their Savior. Dr. Schaeffer directs our attention to a passage where these two concepts are unified.

"Likewise, my brothers, you also have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead, in order that we may bear fruit for God." Rom 7:4

As the Bride of Christ (Matt. 22:1-14,25:1-13, Rev. 19:6-10) we are to bear fruit in that relationship. Bearing fruit embodies imagery utilized in scripture such as the "vine" and the "fig tree." In essence these symbols are indicative of the product or end result of the Christian life.

The Bride's Calling
Dr. Schaeffer points out that this is our high calling in life.

"..our high calling, to put ourselves by choice in the arms of our rightful lover, our bridegroom, in order to bring forth fruit in the external world." Francis Schaeffer, True Spirituality pg 81

Faithfulness
This commitment involves faithfulness on our part. Dr. Schaeffer uses the illustration of the illegitimate foreign child born through (the fruit of) adultery. Are we unfaithful toward God?

"13 Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. 14 For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.

15 What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! 16 Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? 17 But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, 18 and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness. 19 I am speaking in human terms, because of your natural limitations. For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification.

20 For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. 21 But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death." Rom 6:13-21

We Are to Honor the Divine Guest

"The Holy Spirit is the agent of the whole Trinity. He is the agent of the crucified, the raised, the glorified, Christ. If I am bringing forth something other than the fruit of the Spirit, the only reason is that I have grieved the Holy Spirit who is our Divine Guest. Dr. Charles Hodge expresses it like this:'The great distinction of a true Christian is the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. How careful should he be, lest anything in his thoughts of feelins would be offensive to this divine Guest!' The Holy Spirit is a Person, but knowing that he is a Person should remind us that he can be greived...'" Francis Schaeffer, True Spirituality pg 82

"And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption." Eph 4:30

"Do not quench the Spirit." 1 Thess 5:19

The Empty Hand of Faith

"...For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin." Rom 14:23b

"The sin here is not raising the empty hands of faith. Anything that is not brought forth from faith is sin. When I am not allowing this fruit, which has been purchased at such a price, to flow forth through me I am unfaithful, in the deep sense of not believing in God." Francis Schaeffer, True Spirituality pg 83

Reasons Why We May Not Be Bringing Forth the Fruit We Should

The following outline is intended to convey as a quick reference the problems and pitfalls Christians can easily fall into which prevent them from bearing fruit. Notice that each of these are areas where an unbalanced emphasis is placed on one portion of the gospel message. Without applying the whole gospel, to the whole of life we may very well be misdirected and not produce fruit or find the healing in this life that it provides.

How Fail to "possess our possessions" as Christians.

Ignorance or Confusion

Taught We Are Justified - But never taught the present meaning of Christ work in our lives right now.
Taught Faith - But are left trying to live life in own strength.
Taught Faith - Antinomianism (literally "against law") : We believe but either believe there is no spiritual law or that God's law is not applicable. People in this area may not necessarily believe they are anarchist, but in many ways can be living in lawlessness.
Taught Second Blessing - Lives on basis of personal holiness practice. There are several groups that have taught this. This can further lapse into legalism.
Taught Faith & Justification - Never taught that faith needed to be acted upon. Much like the first covered in this area, I believe that Schaeffer is identifying those who understand faith and justification clearly and even understand the present meaning of Christ in our lives but are yet ignorant of the conscious action needed to grow after coming to faith.

Avoiding Mere Intellectual Ascent - Later Schaeffer goes on to mention "mere intellectual ascent. This may in some ways be a summary of the areas just covered. However, these may be areas of the process of sanctification in our lives as well. We all can probably identify when we were in one state or another in our understanding. We must be careful to merely rest on our knowledge of our current state of spirituality as we all have much further to go before we are comformed to the likeness of Christ. We need to be constantly moving and learning so that we may mature. The moment we stop this action is the moment we falter. "Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall." 1 Cor. 10:12 Here are some points which Schaeffer suggest.

Doctrine Appropriated
"In the last analysis it is never doctrine alone that is important. It is always doctrine appropriated that counts." Francis Schaeffer, True Spirituality pg 84

Justification/Sanctification Parallel

"In justification we must see, acknowledge and act upon the fact that we cannon save ourselves. In sanctification we must see, acknowledge, and act upon the fact that we cannot live the Christian life in our own strength, or in our own goodness." Francis Schaeffer, True Spirituality pg 85

One Difference

Justification - Deals with the guilt (legality) of my sin.

Sanctification - Deals with the power of sin in my life.

Let us be sure to grasp the above bullet points. Unless we are to understand how to apply the gospel to the whole of life, we must grasp the difference between justification and sanctification and begin to live them out.

Moment-by-Moment Relationship
Finally, as the bride or Christ, we are to live a life in moment-by-moment relationship. Unlike human relationships where separation or failure of devotion can transpire. The Spirit of God is there in moment-by-moment relationship with us. His love is steadfast and unmoved. While it is possible to offend Him, He is gentle and long-suffering with us, ever teaching, ever guiding.

This is the conclusion of the first section of the "Freedom Now From the Bonds of Sin." Schaeffer ends with this section with many remarks that help to summarize this relationship.

"When we say 'moment-by-moment' we are dealing in practice with a succession of single historical moments. No one lives his whole life at a time."
Francis Schaeffer, True Spirituality pg 86

"This morning's faith will never do for this noon. The faith of this noon will never do for the supper time. The faith of supper time will never do for the time of going to bed. The faith of midnight will never do for the next morning. Thank God for the reality for which we were created, a moment-by-moment communication with God himself."
Francis Schaeffer, True Spirituality pg 87

"... the Christian life, true spirituality, can never have a mechanical solution. The real solution is being cast up into the moment-by-moment communion, personal communion, with God himself, and letting Christ's truth flow through me through the agency of the Holy Spirit." Francis Schaeffer, True Spirituality pg 88

"We live in a personal universe, and not in an impersonal one. God exist, God is personal; we are personal, as we have been made in the image of God, and out relationship to God is to be personal, not mechanical... When we were created, we were created for a purpose. And the purpose of our creation, in which all our subsidiary purposes fit, is to be in a personal relationship to God, in communion with hime, in love, by choice, the creature before the Creator." Francis Schaeffer, True Spirituality pg 88

"Modern man is struggling properly when his is struggling with the basic question, as to the problem of personaliotly and communication... The Bible's answer to the problem is the central communication, which makes all the other communications meaningful, is the communication of the Creator and the creature." Francis Schaeffer, True Spirituality pg 88

personality (identity) ----> Christ
communication (meaning/truth) ----> Word
creature ----> Creator

"... mankind in revolt doubts God. To believe him, not just when I accept Christ as Savior, but every moment, one moment at a time: this is the Christian life, and this is true spirituality." Francis Schaeffer, True Spirituality pg 89

TS Study - Salvation: Paste-Future-Present

2010-01-10T02:13:00.001-08:00

True Spirituality - True Spirituality Salvation: Paste-Future-Present
Comments on Francis Schaeffer's Book True Spirituality
A Book Study By Dan Guinn

Chapter 6 - Salvation: Paste-Future-Present seeks to unify the concepts of redemptive history with the life of the Christian. Dr. Schaeffer adds to what he has previously clarified in the last chapter, that we live in a supernatural universe, and that the central event in that universe is the cross of Christ. Thus it is the calling of the Christian to understand the implications of the cross for us.

The Fall - Man fell in history

God's answer in history (The cross of victory).

The Christian Calling

Evidence of The Victory of The Cross
Right doctrine

Live a supernatural life now.
Demonstrate the character of God.
The unity of what salvation is.

Adoption
Mystical union
Relationship with the Holy Spirit
The empty hand of faith

The Fall - Man Fell In History
Dr. Schaeffer is very intentional to emphasize that the fall of man is an historical event. Yet more than that, the event is one that also involved the specific redemptive reaction of God (anthropomorphic) to this event in time and space.

God's Answer
"... when Christ came, died, and rose - also in history"..." the necessary victory was won." Francis Schaeffer, True Spirituality pg 71

The Christian Calling
The core of ascertaining True Spirituality is understanding our position and understanding our duty. In the last chapter we learned our position is rooted in a spiritual universe that is relational with time and space. Understanding our duty and calling comes through grasping our relationship with the core truth of that spirituality, the truth of the cross.

Evidence of The Victory
Dr. Schaeffer hopes to point out that the intention of the sacrifice of Christ was to produce evidence of His victory in history through the work of the cross. This evidence is us, His people.

"9 But you are a chosen
race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own
possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called
you out of darkness into his marvelous light." 1 Peter 2:9,10

"God has always intended that Christians should be the evidence, the demonstration, of Christ's victory on the cross."c

Right Doctrine
Ever an activist for the cause of truth, Dr. Schaeffer is emphatic that the truth of our faith is not separated from our experience or our practice. We are called to believe right doctrine.

There are some even today who would speak of doctrine as a non-essential aspect of the Christian faith. Yet Schaeffer wishes us to understand doctrine as, "true doctrine, the doctrine of scripture." The word doctrine means "teaching" or "law". The Christian without teaching is impotent and unprepared. The Christian without law is lawless and ungoverned by the truth of Christ teachings. Some also teach that the Christian is no longer under the law without proper clarification. We are no longer under the law, in that we are no longer under it's curse, yet we are not lawless. We are under the law of the new convenant, the Law of Christ.

Here are some verses I have added to assist in this important discussion. (Note: These are not in True Spirituality.)

“If you love me, you will keep my commandments." John 14:15

"Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.” John 14;21

"If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love." John 15:10

So we can see that believing that we are without doctrine and law is a serious mistake.

For Schaeffer, right doctrine is living the calling of the Christian life as evidence of Christ victory. He clarifies this idea by breaking it out into the following points.

Live a supernatural life now.
"Christians are called upon to be the demonstration at our point in history that the supernatural, the normally unseen world, does exist; and beyond that, that God exist." Francis Schaeffer, True Spirituality pg 72

Demonstrate the character of God
"Christians are to demonstrate God's character, which is a moral demonstration, but it is not only to be a demonstration of moral principles; it is a demonstration of his being, his existence. What a calling, and how overwhelming!" Francis Schaeffer, True Spirituality pg 72

The unity of what salvation is.
Schaeffer here wants us to grasp that we need to see the whole gospel message. Salvation is not merely the conversion alone but the whole of our redemption.

"The word 'salvation' encompasses the whole: justification, sanctification, glorification" Francis Schaeffer, True Spirituality pg 72

So this plays out in the following ways.

Adoption
"But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God." John 1:12

Mystical Union With Christ
"Second, when I accept Christ as my Savior. I immediately come int a new relationship with God the Son." Francis Schaeffer, True Spirituality pg 76

Verses: Rom 7:4, John 15

Relationship With The Holy Spirit
"And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper (advocate, counselor), to be with you forever, 17 even
the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither
sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will
be in you." John 14:16-18

The Empty Hand Of Faith
"Let me stress it again: salvation is all one piece. All salvation, past, present, and future, has one base. That base is not our faith. If we are confused here, we are confused completely. A man can never be justified on the basis of his own faith. Through all of salvation the only base is the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross in history. Faith is the empty hand, the instrument by which we accept God's free gift. Faith is simply believing in God." Francis Schaeffer, True Spirituality pg 78

"On the basis of the finished work of Christ, a moment-by-moment life of faith is 'the victory.' Not our victory, but Christ victory, purchased for us on Calvary's cross, laid hold of moment by moment in faith." Francis Schaeffer, True Spirituality pg 79

"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so
that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope." Romans 15 :13

"This is our calling, through the agancy of the Holy Spirit. we are not called to serve God just any way but to know joy and peace in believing." Francis Schaeffer, True Spirituality pg 80

So finally we can see the implications of the cross. The life of faith living in the moment-by-moment victory of Christ our savior.

True Spirituality - The Supernatural ...

2010-01-02T15:00:00.001-08:00

True Spirituality - The Supernatural Universe
Comments on Francis Schaeffer's Book True Spirituality
A Book Study By Dan Guinn

Chapter 5 - Chapter 5 begins a subsection which Dr. Schaeffer calls Biblical Unity and True Spirituality. Here he wishes to further clarify the unity of the Bible and it's practical connection with the spirituality of the Christian in time and space. He begins by further elaborating on the "reality" of the spiritual universe and challenges the notions of Naturalism.

Against Naturalism
His first words are, "Our Generation is overwhelmingly naturalistic". It is important to realize what Dr. Schaeffer means to teach us in this chapter that is different from the previous chapters. It is simply this... if the spiritual world and the natural world are linked as he has already established, then when one removes the spiritual perspective, spiritual words no longer have meaning. Logic as a whole breaks down and this has happened on a global scale. Yet there is truth found through living by the agency of the Holy Spirit.

"For example, we have said that we are to love God enough to say, 'Thank You' even for the difficult things. We must immediately understand, as we say this, that this has no meaning whatsoever unless we live in a personal universe in which there is a personal God who objectively exist." Francis Schaeffer, pg. 60 (1971), pg. 54 (2001) True Spirituality

"We also have considered Christ's redemptive death, which has no meaning whatsoever outside the relationship of a supernatural world. The only reason the words 'redemptive death' have any meaning is that there is a personal God who exist and, more than that has a character. He is not morally neutral. When man sins against that character, which is the law of the universe, he is guilty, and God will judge that man on the basis of true moral guilt. In such a setting the words 'redemptive death of Christ' have meaning, otherwise they cannot." Francis Schaeffer, pg. 61 (1971), pg. 55 (2001) True Spirituality

Face to Face Relationship
Likewise, Dr. Schaeffer wishes the reader to grasp a "face to face" relationship with the supernatural world. This is not unlike the view of the Reformers, "Coram Deo : Before the face of God". Schaeffer elaborates that this prescription requires a complete view of the supernatural concept. He puts special emphasis on our role as the bride of Christ .

"The Bible insist that we live in reality in a supernatural universe. But if we remove the objective reality of the supernatural universe in any area, this great reality of Christ the bridegroom bringing forth fruit through us immediately falls to the floor, and all that Christianity is at such a point is a psychological and sociological aid, a mere tool." Francis Schaeffer, pg. 62 (1971), pg. 56 (2001) True Spirituality

Dr. Schaeffer here takes a moment to contrast this view with that of Aldrous Huxley. For the uninitiated, Aldrous Huxley was a writer that heavily influences the 60s drug culture and advocated the use of LSD and other drugs to aid in spiritual experience. Huxley viewed religion as a mere psychological mechanism. Schaeffer makes a rather significant reply at the end of this chapter addressing this Huxleyian notion.

The Supernatural is Not Remote
It also need to be clarified that scripture affirms that the spiritual world is not remote or abstract as some like Huxley have proposed, but rather very close.

"And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And he vanished from their sight." Luke 24:31

"Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God met him. 2 And when Jacob saw them he said, “This is God's camp!” So he called the name of that place Mahanaim [meaning "two camps]. Genesis 32:1

"15 When the servant of the man of God rose early in the morning and went out, behold, an army with horses and chariots was all around the city. And the servant said, “Alas, my master! What shall we do?” 16 He said, “Do not be afraid, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” 17 Then Elisha prayed and said, “O Lord, please open his eyes that he may see.” So the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw, and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. "
2 Kings 15-17

The Two Chairs
Dr. Schaeffer here uses an illustration called "the chair" ( Schaeffer also further elaborated on this concept in his book "Death in the City"). The imagery of the chair was common in the philosophy of Plato, where he contemplates ultimate ideals and realities. In a different sense, Schaeffer here in a rather poetic manner uses the imagery of "the chair" to ask us to examine what ultimate reality we embrace by sitting in one of two chairs of thought. Like the Socrates quote, “The unexamined life is not worth living.” we not only need to examine our life but our perceptions of ultimate realities as foundational truth for life in time and space.

"I suggest that this may be illustrated by two chairs. The men who sit in these chairs look at the universe in two different ways. We are all sitting in one or other of these chairs at every single moment of our loves. The first man sits in his chair and faces this total reality of the univers, the seen part and the normally unseen part, and consistently sees truth against this background [the Christian] ."..."The unbeliever however, is the man who sits in the other chair, intellectually. He sees only the natural part of the universe, and interprets truth against that background. Let us see that these two positions cannot both be true. One is true: one is false." Francis Schaeffer, pg. 63 (1971), pg. 57 (2001) True Spirituality

Furthermore, the question is made even more personal.

"If a man sits in one chair, and denies the existence of the supernatural portion of the world, we say he is an unbeliever. What shall we call ourselves when we sit in the other chair but live as though the supernatural is not there? Should not an attitude be given the name 'unfaith?'" Francis Schaeffer, pg. 63 (1971), pg. 57 (2001) True Spirituality

Schaeffer goes on to say that those who are living in this way are only 'playing at it'. It's really that simple isn't it? It's not real, it's unfaith!

Not A Mere Dialectic Or Good Philosopy
There have been so many who have wished to borrow from the Christian faith with kind words and yet not give it full credence. These are those who set in the second chair of unfaith.

"Christianity is a good philisophy. I think it is the best philosophy that ever has existed. More than this, it is the only philosophy that is consistent with itself and answers the questions. It is a good philosophy precisely because it deals with problems and gives us answers to them. Nevertheless, it is not only a good philosophy. The Bible does not speak in abstractions; it does not tell about a religious idea far away. It tells about man as man. It tells about each individual, as each man is an individual. And it tells us how to live in the real universe as it is now. Remove this factor, and it becomes only a dialectic." Francis Schaeffer, pg. 64 (1971), pg. 58 (2001), True Spirituality

Our Experience Is Not A Bare Supernaturalism
While our faith is not merely intellectual, it is also not merely experiential.

"We do not need a dark room; we do not need to be under the influence of a hallucinatory drug; we do not need to be listening to a certain kind of music; we can know the reality of the supernatural here and now.

The experiential result, however is not just an experience of 'bare' supernaturalism, without content, without our being able to describe or communicate with it. It is much more. It is a momemnt-by-moment, increasing, experiential relationship with the whole Trinity. The doors are open now: the intellectual doors, and also the doors to reality."
Francis Schaeffer, pg 70 (1970), pg. 62 (2001) True Spirituality

Dr. Schaeffer's mention of the concept of the "intellectual doors" is by no mistake here. It is a vivid reply to the ideas of secular mysticism and Aldrous Huxley. One of Huxley's books in fact was entitled "The Doors of Perception & Heaven and Hell" based off of a quote from William Blake.

"If the doors of perception were cleansed every thing would appear to man as it is, infinite. For man has closed himself up, till he sees all things through narrow chinks of his cavern." William Blake, The Marriage of Heaven and Hell

Interestingly enough this concept would later be the influence of the naming of the psychedelic rock band, The Doors. Schaeffer was mindful of these sort of connections and the perils of the 60s drug culture. He even visited Berkeley during this time and not only observed but was well versed in much of the music of the day. Biographer Colin Duriez documents that he even went to a Jefferson Airplane concert. Here are Edith's remarks.

"In Berkeley... we not only sat and talked about the problems of the '60s, but after the discussion one night, went to Fillmore West. There we mulled around with the hippies and druggies... We watched the light show, breathed the heavy air, and sorrowed over... the glassy-eyed young people... Our brains whirled not only with the music, which threatened in volume to break the ear drums, and the dizzying effect of the light show, but with the lostness of humanity in search of 'peace' where there is no peace.... A time of listening is needed--listening to what the next generation is saying, listening to the words of the music they are listening to, listening to the meaning behind the words. If true communication is to continue, there is a language to be learned" Edith Schaeffer, Duriez, Francis Schaeffer An Authentic Life, pg 99 - Original Quote from Edith Schaeffer, The Tapestry, 527-528

Dr. Schaeffer closes the chapter with the statement that this is the "how" to live and exhibit true reality and true spirituality. The "how" is being consistent with our faith in the crucified and risen Christ, living by the aid if the holy spirit by faith.

A few interesting historical notes in regard to Huxley:

It is rumored that Aldrous Huxley was introduced to peyote by occultist Aleister Crowly in October of 1930. Aleister Crowly also influenced such occultist as Anton Lavey, the founder of the so-called "Church of Satan" and author of the satanic bible.

Apparently Aldrous Huxley and C.S. Lewis both passed away on the same day that J. F. Kennedy was shot and died.

True Spirituality - In the Spirit's Power

2009-12-28T11:43:00.001-08:00

True Spirituality - In the Spirit's Power
Comments on Francis Schaeffer's Book True Spirituality
A Book Study By Dan Guinn

Chapter 4 - In Chapter 4 Dr. Schaeffer picks up again on with the concept of the transfiguration and hopes for us to further comprehend our resurrection with Christ in time and space. Schaeffer is intent on establishing that the keys to understanding reality rest in comprehending Biblical truths in this manner. The understanding of these truths eventually point us to the the need for a helper who is with us in time and space.

It is because the death of Christ is real, that we understand our need for a savior who would suffer. The resurrection and the concept of resurrection is real. Schaeffer sites that the idea is very old and that it was understood somewhere around 2000 BC or earlier by Job (Job 14:12-14) and later by Abraham according to Heb 11:17-19 and Daniel in Daniel 12:2. So finally Schaeffer points out that Paul "hangs everything" on the resurrection principal.

12 Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. 14 And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. 15 We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. 16 For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. 17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. 18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19 If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied. 1 Cor 15:12-19

"The argument is very simple. If the Christian dead are not raised up; and if Christ is not raised up, everything falls to the ground." Schaeffer, pg. 46, True Spirituality

Schaeffer points out that in interpreting Biblical truths in time and space that there are "two strands" to time and space they are both parallel in the concepts of truth.

"This is the Biblical view of truth: there are two streams, two strands, a space-time reality—one in the seen, and one in the unseen." Schaeffer, pg. 52, True Spirituality

It's important to note the Schaeffer is not suggesting a completely unified view of human temporality and the spiritual realm when he calls then "two equal lines of reality" (Schaeffer, pg. 52, True Spirituality). He realizes there is some discontinuity between the two realms. Rather, he is pointing out the continuity of them as they relate to time and space. He is hoping to point out that God has purposed a connection between them. Other theories abound about time and the spiritual realm in Christian history. Aquinas for one, suggested that angelic beings might live in a quasi-temporal existence. Augustine conceived that God, at least, experienced time as an "ever present now". It is significant to realize that Schaeffer is not debating either of these points. Schaeffer is purely concerned with time and space as it relates to the spiritual facts of our redemption which scripture reveals quite plainly without conjecture.

It is more important to realize that Schaeffer is addressing the "mystical union of the church" as and evidential truth, which is a very brilliant observation. For earlier he had said the following:

"The new liberal theology would take the after-life and either deny it, or make it such an uncertain quality that it has no meaning to us. But this is not true of the Bible. Standing on the Mount of Transfiguration, we see Elijah, who was translated, yet has a body. There is no reason to think it is otherwise. He is holding a conversation with Moses and Christ. But here is Moses as well-Moses who died and was buried. And yet he can share in the conversation and he can be seen. He can be recognized and there can be communication." Schaeffer, pg. 52, True Spirituality

By stating this, in this manner he establishes that the transfiguration is a foundational event displaying the mystical church union. Here what he says on this point.

"I am not here thinking of it [mystical union of the church] as a 'doctrine.' I am thinking of the reality: that God ties us in at the present time to the reality of those who are already in this other situation. They are there, they see Christ face to face, they are dead, and we have the earnest of the Holy Spirit." Schaeffer, pg. 54, True Spirituality

Schaeffer here identifies this as "Christian Mysticism." The result of this line of thinking. Don't be frightened by the term. He intends to contrast this view against secular forms of mysticism. Here he gives us an understanding of the apologetic value of understanding this concept.

"Here is true Christian mysticism. Christian mysticism is not the same as non-Christian mysticism, but I would insist that it is not a lesser mysticism. Indeed, eventually it is a deeper mysticism, for it is not based merely on contentless experience, but historic space-time reality - on propositional truth. One is not asked to deny reason, the intellect, in true Christian mysticism. And there is to be no loss of personality, no loss of individual man. In Eastern mysticism - for which the West is searching so madly now, that it has lost the sense of history, of content, and the truth of Biblical facts- there is always finally a loss of personality" Schaeffer, pg. 54, True Spirituality

If you did not catch it, Schaeffer has just given us the formulation of the apologetic against mysticism by way of explaining the unification of the church through the Holy Spirit. It is so foundational that we probably might have missed it. True Spirituality does not come by the pure denial of self through countless rituals as this leaves one empty and hopeless when it evolves to it's natural end. True Spirituality comes by the denial of self and the acceptance of a reasonable faith in time and space, connected and supported by the Holy Spirit unifying us with the kingdom church through the work of Christ. This is the communion of the Holy Spirit (John 14:18, 2 Cor 13:14).

Schaeffer gives us three points to help us make sense of the practical way that we are connected on page 56.

Judicially we are already dead and raised (Romans 6:11, Romans 5:1, Romans 7:24,25).

We rely on the agency of the Holy Spirit (Romans 5:5).

This is not to be merely passive on our part (Luke 1:38).

So as we focus on the life in the spirit, we are to be motivated to action on our part, but not on our own action alone but what Schaeffer calls, "active passivity." Dr. Schaeffer found the words of Marry quite beautiful when she said, "Be it unto me according to thy will." She was active in her confession and actions in response to the angel that spoke to her but passive in submitting to the will of God for her life.

"True Spirituality is not achieved in our own energy. The 'how' of the kind of life we have spoken of, the true Christian life, true spirituality, is Romans 6:11: 'Reckon ye also yourselves' (there is faith) then the negative aspect: 'but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.' This is the 'how,' and there is no other. It is the power of the crucified, risen, and glorified Christ, through the agancy of the Holy Spirit, by faith."

True Spirituality - Through Death to Resurrection

2009-12-28T11:28:00.001-08:00

True Spirituality - Through Death to Resurrection
Comments on Francis Schaeffer's Book True Spirituality
A Book Study By Dan Guinn

Chapter 3 - In Chapter 3 Dr. Schaeffer speaks to the reality of Christ resurrection in relation to our own spirituality. We have already explored what Schaeffer calls the "Law of Love" and the "Centrality of Death". We have learned thus far that true spirituality starts with Christ plus nothing and moves toward actions motivated out of love for God and others (not coveting but giving). The love of God in the life of a believer involves an inward change, not merely an outward one, producing contentment, thankfulness and longing. Yet all of these actions are motivated out of a transformation rooted in the centrality of the death of Christ. Our own personal death to self is connected in the sacrifice of Christ. So in this chapter we move forward to an understanding that our victory does not end in Christ sacrifice, but in His resurrection and the glorification.

Schaeffer ends the last chapter dealing with the circumstances surrounding the Transfiguration. He picks this topic up again here.

"Now let me emphasize that these things happened in history. This is important, especially today, when religious things are constantly being pushed away into a non-historic realm of 'other.' But here in the account of the transfiguration, we have an emphasis on time and space. Luke, for example, records that 'on the next day, when they were come down from the hill, much people met them" (Luke 9:37). Christ and the disciples at a certain point in time went up the mountain, and at another point came down. As they went up the hillside, they did not move into a non-spatial philosophical or religious 'other.' They were still connected in space with the foot of the mountain, and down there in the plain the normal activities of life were going on." Schaeffer, pg. 30 (1971), pg 27, 28 (2001), True Spirituality

Schaeffer also emphasized that Jesus' words following the event, "The Son of man must suffer" (Luke 9:34), which speak of the hardships of real life that Christ must endure further emphatically clarifies that these are events happened in time and space. The son of man would be rejected, slain and raised in history.

Historical Fulfillment of the Prophets
25 And he said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” 27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself. Luke 24:25-27

Actual Hands and Feet ("In the Flesh")
39 See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” Luke 24:39

Appearance to Disciples in Time and Space
19 On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” 20 When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord.

The Physical Ascension in Time and Space

4 And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me; 5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”

9 And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight.

Likewise, the gospel is revealed in time and space as well. There are multiple instances of special acts of revelation "intruding" upon or speaking into time and space. For example the point of Paul's conversion and the giving of the Revelation of John.

Speaking in time and space in an earthly language.

13 At midday, O king, I saw on the way a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, that shone around me and those who journeyed with me. 14 And when we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew language,‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’ 15 And I said, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ And the Lord said, ‘I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. Acts 26:13-15

In the Spirit on the Lord's day... write what you see in a (physical) book.

10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet 11 saying, “Write what you see in a book and send it to the seven churches, to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamum and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea.” Rev 1:10-11

Moreover, scripture indicates clearly that the second advent will be a literal event in time and space highlighting our final glorification and unification with the real physical-spiritual kingdom of Christ.

7 Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen.
Rev. 1:7

"... the day will come when both saved and unsaved will look upon the glorified Christ. They will see him. Every man will see him, not as a religious idea, but glorified, in a real space-time situation" Schaeffer, pg. 37 (1971), pg. 33 (2001), True Spirituality

Finally our resurrection and glorification likewise transpire in time and space.

16 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore encourage one another with these words. 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18

A resurrection and glorification that is linked with Christ.

5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. Romans 6:5

8 Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him.

Romans 6:8

Schaeffer clarifies that we are called to be glorified. This calling brings meaning to man's existence much higher than being a mere animal as science teaches us. It is much more than merely making a mental assent to a religious maxim.

"I am a creature, it is true, but I have a calling to be the creature glorified. I must be the creature...I am called to be a creature by choice, on the basis of Christ's finished work, by faith: The creature glorified.
Now I am ready for war, now there can be spirituality of a Biblical sort: Now there can be a Christian life. Rejected, slain, raised: now we are ready to be used. But not only ready to be used in this present space-time world, but ready to enjoy it" Schaeffer, pg. 45, True Spirituality

"...this is not once for all. This is a moment-by-moment thing a moment-by-moment being dead to all else and alive to God." Schaeffer, pg. 45 (1971), pg. 40 (2001) True Spirituality

This is what it means to live the victorious Christian life.

True Spirituality - The Centrality of Death

2009-12-20T06:32:00.001-08:00

Note: This differs from my previous article "The Centrality of Death, Death & Redemption in the Heart of God" which was inspired by this chapter in Schaeffer's book and some other studies I was doing at the time.
Read Here

True Spirituality - The Centrality of Death
Comments Francis Schaeffer's Book True Spirituality
A Book Study By Dan Guinn

Chapter 2 - Chapter 2 moves from learning the Law of Love to explaining the central means by which we begin to live it out. It is not possible to live in love, not coveting against God and our neighbor, without sacrifice on our part. Moreover, he begins to explain the connection between our own personal sacrifice and that of our savior from which we receive our strength.

While for the purposes of our study we must take each section by itself, it is important to realize that each chapter is connected and is building upon the previous concepts established. It would not be beneficial or honest for example to take chapter 1 as the lone precept for spirituality, as chapter 2-4 describe by what power the Christian may live out these concepts. A quote from Calvin that Schaeffer quoted at different times was that, "Man's heart is a idol making factory". Therefore we must be constantly mindful and diligent not to elevate any system, by any man above Christ.

Negative & Positive Aspects

Dead to Ourselves / Made Alive in Christ

Negative: Saying "No!"

To the dominance of things / To self

Obstacles To Self Sacrifice

Success Mentality
"Mentality of Abundance"

Death to Self And The Death of Christ

The Profession of Faith Required His Sacrifice and Our Own

Changing Perspective: The Transfiguration
The Prophesy of Our Redemption

Negative & Positive Aspects

Dead to Ourselves / Made Alive in Christ - It is always important to note the negative and positive aspects of the truths of Christianity. The events of our spirituality are connected in "time and space" with the physical aspects of our lives. There are actions and reactions. In order to live in the positive aspects and benefits of love we must die to self. Yet when we live in Christ we find that the negative 'death' we experience makes us alive in Christ and brings joy and contentment and moreover, a longing for God and His will being done in our lives.

"4 We were buried
therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ
was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk
in newness of life." Romans 6:4

Negative: Saying "No!"

To the dominance of things/To self - "We are to be willing to say "no" to ourselves, we are to be willing to say "no" to things, in order that the command to love God and men may have real meaning. Even in things which are lawful to me, things which do not break the Ten Commandments, I am not to seek my own. but I am to seek another man's good." pg. 19 True Spirituality

Dr. Schaeffer, here teaches us that the principle of saying "no" ought to be observed in such a way that it transcends the law. It is a higher moral principal that does good not for the sake of obedience alone but for the sake of love. This is the example given by Jesus in his sacrifice for us. An example of obedience unto death, Love beyond personal interest and self preservation.

“Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.” Luke 22:42

"2 And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God." Ephesians 5:2

Obstacles To Self Sacrifice

Success Mentality- "We are surrounded by a world that says "no" to nothing. When we are surrounded with this sort of mentality, in which every thing is judged by bigness and by success, then suddenly to be told that in the Christian life there is to be this strong negative aspect of saying "no" to self, it must seem hard. And if it does not feel hard to us, we are not really letting it speak to us." pg. 19 True Spirituality

For Dr. Schaeffer, this self sacrifice was not to be taken lightly. It is real sacrifice, it is painful. At times everything that is in us will speak against this and against this change. Our world often teaches us that the only way to be fulfilled is to satisfy your personal longings. Yet, Dr. Schaeffer reminds us that scripture teaches that the satisfying of these longings only gratify the sinful nature ("the flesh") and that we have a higher calling to satisfy a new nature in Christ that brings true fulfillment. This is truly the basis for nearly all of Francis Schaeffer's cultural criticism.

"Mentality of Abundance - "We have produced a mentality of abundance, wherein everything is to be judged on the basis of whether it leads to abundance. Everything else must give in to this. Absolutes of any kind, ethical principles, everything must give in to affluence and selfish personal peace." pg. 20 True Spirituality

This concept in Dr. Schaeffer's other work was sometimes expressed as "the idol of personal peace and affluence". Here he is directly addressing the concept of hedonism ("whatever feels good is good"), in our society. It is important to note that Schaeffer believed that when abundance is made the rule for judging what is "good" thought and ethics begin to break down. So we can see that this not only affects doctrines of philosophy and theology but the practical way that we live out these philosophies and theologies.

Death to Self And The Death of Christ

The Profession of Faith Required His Sacrifice and Our Own - Schaeffer spends a good deal of time exploring the way that Christ communicates the connection between the profession of who He was, in Peter's words, "The Christ of God", and the sacrifice He would make. In the mind of Jesus, the profession (v.20) that He is the Christ implies He must die (v.22). Yet it also implies something more. It implies that we must die also (v.23, 24). Jesus knows without a doubt what His death would represent both for himself and for us.

18 Now it happened that as he was praying alone, the disciples were with him. And he asked them, “Who do the crowds say that I am?” 19 And they answered, “John the Baptist. But others say, Elijah, and others, that one of the prophets of old has risen.” 20 Then he said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” And Peter answered, “The Christ of God. 21 And he strictly charged and commanded them to tell this to no one, 22 saying, “The
Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and
chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be
raised.”

23 And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. 24 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. 25 For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself? 26 For
whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be
ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of
the holy angels.
Luke 9:18-26

Changing Perspective: The Transfiguration - Dr. Schaeffer pinpoints the Transfiguration (the events that followed after the verses above) as a critical point in scripture pre-figuring the resurrection of Christ. The topic surrounding the event speaks directly of Jesus death. Yet, Dr. Schaeffer is also careful to point out that it was in fact an historical event. Not believing in the transfiguration is to call the apostles liars, yet believing in this event demands that we place it in time and history. This was significant as it replies to post-modern thought and Dr. Schaeffer knew it.

As it applies to us as believers, the Transfiguration speaks not only to our absolute death in Christ but also our glorification in resurrection with Him.

The Prophesy of Our Redemption - Schaeffer also wished for us to realize the that not only was the event in time and space but also that ourselves and the world are witnesses to the event. The prophets prior to the event foretold it from the beginning. The apostles directly witnessed it in time and space. We behold the steadfast preservation of the Word of God and His church in time.

We will talk about some of these prophetic verses (Gen. 3:15; Gen. 15, Isaiah 53) in class and I will provide several papers on areas that can be studied for greater depth in the near future.

True Spirituality - The Law of Love

2009-12-12T14:33:00.001-08:00

True Spirituality - The Law and The Law of Love
Lecture Notes On Francis Schaeffer's Book True Spirituality
A Book Study By Dan Guinn

Chapter 1 - As we begin, we need to mention that Dr. Schaeffer starts the chapter with two important questions for us. Firstly, "What is True Spirituality?" , and secondly, "How can it be lived out in a twentieth-century setting?" To clarify, the "twentieth century setting" that Schaeffer is referring to is the time in which we live, yet also the culture in which we live. Our challenge in living out true spirituality today is that our culture has been changed over time from a culture that once largely esteemed the Christian message to one that has mistakenly rejected it in many respects and is now far less accommodating. These changes have been brought about by many forces in concert, yet primarily by the influence of religious and philosophical Liberalism. It is important to note that much of Schaeffer's aim throughout the book is to speak to, and give answers to the problems the Christian faces in living in that particular setting. Thus, I think you will find out as we study through the book that the answers both instruct us, as well as equip us with answers for the watching world.

Now, in chapter 1, The Law and The Law of Love, we are given a framework for learning the nature of true spirituality. It is helpful to analyze the system presented to understand it's value. However, we should understand that while it is systematic, it is not a mechanism. Schaeffer explains in a later chapter that, "It is not possible to say, read so many chapters of the Bible every day, and you will get this much sanctification." Francis Schaeffer, True Spirituality pg 87 (1971), pg 78 (2001) Just as in our earthly relationships we can follow guidelines but there are always other factors involved. If we are just going through the motions alone or proceeding with the wrong motives we will soon be off the course and not achieve the desired end.

You Must Be A Christian
While it might seem like "a given" to many of the people listening to this lecture that you must be a Christian in order to practice true spirituality, there are many in our culture that think otherwise. Likewise, some may even think that it is arrogant for the Christian to claim such a thing. However, our basis for teaching this is what Christianity and the Bible teaches.

Scripture is clear that there is an obstacle for the non-Christian in understanding. Unless his eyes are opened then he cannot see God.

"For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God." 1 Corinthians 1:18

21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Romans 1:21

In our day the exclusivity of Christianity is often mistakenly categorized as "hate". This unfair evaluation is the natural result of religious pluralism and liberalism in our culture. It believes that all religious ideas are equal and should be tolerated as equal opinion. This is a naive treatment of religion which naturally breaks down religion and logic itself. If we believe that "all religious ideas are equally true" then there really is no basis for determining if any religions are true. Moreover, we are at this point not far removed from the opinion of some who teach that all religions teach basically the same thing.

While non-Christians may exhibit spiritual behavior it is only that. Behavior without the heart change only brings a simple surface level fix alone.

Christ Plus Nothing
If we assume we can add anything to the work of Christ for our redemption we are in fact saying that Christ work was insufficient. We must believe that Christ's death accomplished our redemption entirely. The gift of faith and a changed heart produce the outward action rooted in Christ's love. If we strive to do good works outwardly without the inward change we are only honoring ourselves.

Having said this, there are times in our Christian life when we must "do" out of obedience to Christ alone without inward confirmation. This is because the inward spirituality is not based upon inward feeling but an inward transformation.

The Law of Love
As Dr. Schaeffer explains, the Law of Love is not outward but inward. It begins with learning not to covet. Now Schaeffer wishes us to understand that coveting as a command is deeper than the "thou shalt not" aspect. Rather, we should not only not envy, but we should also give. We should seek the good of God and man, which is really the basis of the entire law.

Positive and Negative Aspects
To understand how Schaeffer arrives at this we need to understand that in the ten commandments each command also implies and opposite. "Thou Shalt Not Murder" also implies "Thou Shalt Preserve Life." Therefore in that same way, "Thou Shalt Not Covet" also implies, "Thou Shalt Seek the Good of God and Others." Let's read the commandment with this in mind.

“You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor's.” Exod 20:17

In referring to Christ words on the greatest commandment, Schaeffer says, "Coveting is the negative side of the positive commands" - Francis Schaeffer, True Spirituality pg 8 (1971), pg 78 (2001)

37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.” Matt 22:37-29

It is easy to see Christ position here. He gives us the positive side of the commandment. The negative is by default implied.

Not Outward But Inward
Living in the Law of Love through grace and through Christ, brings about a "heart change" that changes us from the inside out. Sin falls away because the changed heart begins to desire God.

1 John 3:9 "No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God's seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God."

Rom 6:1-2 "What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?"

Even though we are free from the curse of the Mosaic Law we are not lawless. Since we are under a new covenant, we are under the law of it's priesthood. Christ law is a law of faith and love full of grace written on our hearts. It is a law within us. I have added a few verses here not mentioned by Schaeffer to assist us in this.

"But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people." Jeremiah 31:33

34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. 35 By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” John 13:34-35

1 Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him. 2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. 3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome.

1 John 5:1-3

So now we desire to follow our new covenant priest, Jesus, who desires us to keep His commandments.

John 14:15 "If you love me, you will keep my commandments."

John 14:21 "Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him."

Contentment & Thankfulness

In practice, the life of love without coveting produces contentment and thankfulness. For Schaeffer this is "reality."

"6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God." Phil 4:6

"20 giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ" Eph 5:20

"28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose." Rom 8:28

So those who do not live in thankfulness corrupt their own heart.

"21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened." Rom 1:21

Longing in Love

This further produces "Longing in Love" for the good of God and others in the Christian life.

Transformation - Death/Life

Finally, this process is what it means to die to oneself (negative aspect) and live in Christ (positive aspect).

"4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life." Rom 6:4

"20 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." Gal 2:20

Dr. Schaeffer notes that "crucified with Christ" is a negative, but it rolls over to a positive.

"So although there is a negative, it sweeps over to a positive, and to stop at the negative is to miss the whole point. The true Christian life is not hating life, in the way that we are apt to do when we get into despondency or other psychological problems. The Christian negative is not a nihilist negative; there is a true Biblical negative; but the Christian life does not stop with a negative There is a true life in the present as well as the future." Schaeffer, True Spirituality pg 15 (1971), pg 13 (2001).

Book Study "True Spirituality" Dr. Fr...

2009-12-12T14:30:00.001-08:00

True Spirituality
Dr. Francis Schaeffer

INTRODUCTION
A Book Study by Dan Guinn
Edited by Laura Muckerman

Author: Dr. Francis Schaeffer
It is possible that most people taking this class have a general familiarity with Francis Schaeffer and his work. If, however, you have not yet been introduced to Francis Schaeffer, perhaps the best place to begin is with a brief survey of his life struggles just prior writing True Spirituality. Out of these struggles would come one of his most important works. This is not just my opinion, but the opinion of Francis Schaeffer himself.

While most who are familiar with Francis Schaeffer are acquainted with his powerful social apologetic work in the How Shall We Then Live video series and book, some might have missed True Spirituality. Perhaps you have already read one of Schaeffer's earlier hallmark books, such as The God Who Is There, Escape from Reason, or He Is There and He Is Not Silent, which now form his famous Trilogy. Yet it might surprise you to know that Dr. Schaeffer viewed True Spirituality to be his most important and foundational work. It can be argued that if you don't know True Spirituality, you really might not know Schaeffer. I have to admit that I have read and utilized many of Schaeffer's books as a springboard for my studies in philosophy and theology but have only recently read True Spirituality. I believe the spirituality Francis Schaeffer suggests in True Spirituality may have more weight than all of these books. For True Spirituality is the intersection of Dr. Schaeffer's belief system and the true heart of Christian apologetics, the result of which is a changed human heart immersed with the heart of God. In True Spirituality Schaeffer walks us through the concept of redemption in such a way that, if we are honest, will move us to take a valid inventory of our relationship with the sovereign God who is there--who has spoken into our lives from all eternity.

The Crisis

The catalyst for this book was a crisis of epic proportions in Schaeffer's life, a crisis encountered after he had already served for over ten years in the ministry, and served with some distinction. He had pastored. He and his wife, Edith, had founded "Children for Christ." He had previously been appointed American Secretary, Foreign Relations Department of the American Council of Christian Churches, and he had toured Europe after WW II, later speaking throughout America on the state of the church in Europe and the dangers of liberalism and modernism. So Schaeffer was neither untried in his faith, nor lacking in his understanding of his faith: but He needed something more.

Many notable experiences factored into Francis Schaeffer's crisis, all of which happened in the context of the highs and lows and strains of his life prior to the time. He had toured Europe relentlessly in the summer of 1948, a time which he recounted as "the great spiritual experience of my life."¹ At the end of the three-month tour, Schaeffer experienced a life-threatening crisis when the aircraft on which he was traveling nearly plummeted into the sea. He was spared by the grace of God, but the demands of the tour and the strain of his brush with death were extensive. Upon his return home, he suffered a physical collapse; he was "mentally and bodily exhausted."² At times thereafter he struggled with depression. When he recovered, his position as moderator of the Bible Presbyterian Church placed extensive demands on his time. He was also still serving as a pastor and board member, the latter a position from which he would soon resign. He then continued an aggressive six-month speaking schedule that took him away from his family. Finally, he moved his family abroad as missionaries during that same year. They would live temporarily in Holland before finally settling in Switzerland. However, the family moved yet again during their time in Switzerland.

All of these event--combined with the new intense formulation of ideas about life, art and culture spawned during this time in Schaeffer's life--created an overwhelming need in his spirit and intellect.

Although Dr. Schaeffer writes in True Spirituality that the crisis was in 1951 and 52, his wife, Edith, wrote that Schaeffer was actually referring to 1948 - 1950.³ According to Colin Duriez, author of Francis Schaeffer an Authentic Life, "Both sets of dates, the original and Edith's amendment, point to the period of crisis being extensive, It strongly seems that the onset of their exposure to the life in Europe, leaving behind the 'parochialism' (Edith's words) of their prior American experience, is a major context of the crisis."

This onslaught of change in Schaeffer's life was increased by his involvement in the very core of discussion on Karl Barth's New Modernism (Neo-Orthodoxy) and in August of 1950 Schaeffer and four others would meet with Barth personally. Although the meeting was cordial, Schaeffer's resulting address to the Second Plenary Congress of the International Council of Christian Churches was met with a negative letter from Barth. [Interestingly enough, in this letter Barth accused Schaeffer of responding to Barth's views with the "same kind" of critical response as that of Cornelius VanTil (Schaeffer's former professor at Westminster Theological Seminary.)]⁴

As the final trigger of the deeper crisis, Edith came to believe that a significant article Dr. Schaeffer wrote marked a point of "radical self-questioning."⁵ While she sites a specific article at the beginning of this period, there were likely other influencing non-public writings he also produced at this time. In my personal correspondence with Francis Schaeffer's nephew Dr. Richard Krejcir, Krejcir recalled that Dr. Schaeffer mentioned he had written numerous letters to an agnostic doctor in Switzerland. In an effort to evangelize this man, Schaeffer found himself challenged again as a former agnostic. The notes generated from these discussions apparently later became the source of the Bible studies given in a Bible Camp Barn in 1952 (mentioned in the preface). These of course became True Spirituality 15 years later.

Dr. Schaeffer begins the book's preface with these words:

"This book is being published after a number of others, but in a certain sense it should have been my first. Without the material in this book there would be no L'Abri."

Considering that L'Abri is the spiritual community for thought and study in which much of Schaeffer's work grew and flourished, this statement is rather fantastic. Yet this viewpoint is echoed in other accounts as well.

"Schaeffer always believed that without this deep struggle to find reality in the Christian and thus human life, the work of L'Abri would have never started."⁶

In the preface of True Spirituality, Schaeffer goes on to recount how his spiritual crisis stemmed from the problem of "reality." For Schaeffer the struggle with "reality" embodied a disconnect between his personal life and the truth: It was not enough simply to believe in the truth, Schaeffer desired to have the truth permeate the whole of his life. His autobiographer Duriez comments on Schaeffer's "Unshakable Realism."

Defining True Spirituality

"He is concerned" wrote Duriez, "with living authentically as the key to effective Christian apologetics, which meets people both in their need and at the point of the inconsistency--whether this involves their large scale 'cheating,' as he bluntly calls it, or being willing to be consistent enough to contemplate suicide as a consequence of their non-Christian worldview. Placing this authenticity at the center of apologetics soon led Schaeffer into his own crisis period, when he felt forced to lay his own faith on the table in a necessarily reckless realism. Unknown to him, he was halfway through his life--it seems now, as we look at the whole of his life, that this was a very appropriate moment for him to reflect upon his faith in this radical way. He was familiar with Plato's dictum, 'Know thyself, ' and the opening of the Shorter Westminster Confession, 'The chief end of man is to glorify God, and to enjoy Him forever.' He was following Calvin's footsteps in associating the knowledge of oneself with knowing God."⁷

In an interview with Colin Duriez, Schaeffer said that there are many misconceptions about true spirituality. In the same interview he commented, "I would say if Christianity is truth, it ought to touch on the whole of life. The modern drift in some evangelical circles toward being emotionally and experientially based is really very, very weak. The other side of the coin, though, is that Christianity must never be reduced to an intellectual system."⁸

Lastly, this introduction would not be complete without Dr. Schaeffer's own definition of this concept.

"To believe Him not just when I accept Christ as savior, but every moment, one moment at a time: this is the Christian life, and this is True Spirituality" --Schaeffer, True Spirituality, pg 98

This summary statement might seem like a spoiler to the book, but it is not. Rather, it is but a wonderful signpost. For as you read and understand how Schaeffer describes this concept, and discover the path to your own true spirituality, you will see that "moment-by-moment" is a journey on a road of consistency and faith. The way is fraught with hardship, and few travel there, but our reward is all-sufficient and glorious.

Dan Guinn
http://aseculartruth.blogspot.com

Footnotes from Francis Schaeffer an Authentic Life by Colin Duriez, pages 70 (1), 71 (2), 89 (3), 99 (4), 90 (5), 105 (6), 89 (7), and 106 (8).

The Centrality of Death Death & Redemption in the Heart of God

2009-10-27T23:44:00.000-07:00

Introduction

Each fall amidst the beauty and wonder of the changing season; as parts of nature fade and change, I find that I occasionally contemplate the brevity of life and even the nature of death itself. As the sun sets earlier and the wind catches a chill, the world around also takes on a tone of darkness as the earth is purged of its flourishing overgrowth. Thankfully, this is not the end for nature, this purging although a form of death, is also a process whereby the world is prepared and changed for winter preservation. We know, because we have seen this over and over. We know that nature will once again be renewed.

However death as a subject, when thought of more vividly is not at all pleasant or inviting, for it embodies the ultimate end of all human fears. If you have ever lost a loved one or had a near death experience, you might have tasted this fear yourself. It is truly devastating and from the human eye, seemingly uncaring, absolutely and ultimate. Without God speaking His Truth into these situations, the change can be overwhelming and entirely devoid of meaning.

However scripture also speaks of an extremely vivid death, one that has ultimate meaning beyond all others, one that transcends all tragedy. However, more than this, it is a death central to the heart of God. Of course I am speaking of the death of Jesus, God the Father's only son.

You see, every day we might see daily symbols that remind us of death, we might feel pains in our own bodies that might remind us yet again how brief life is. Yet we must ponder whether this is to our detriment or meant to bring us to the feet of our Lord moment by moment. Thus moreover, we must further evaluate whether we ought not to view these as our friend and rejoice in them!

YHWY - A Name of Sacred Death

What is so moving to me is the fact the very nature of our life sustenance is rooted in this central message. You see God has put at the very heart of His message to mankind the "centrality of death". It is so intimate to Him, that you might be surprised how close it really is!

Take for example the name that God gives for himself in the Old Testament, YHWY. It was so sacred that it was rarely written and in a lot of text it was replaced with other word Adonai. What some people don't know is that each of these letters have a meaning.

The name YHWY is in fact made up of four letters from left to right:
"Yod Hey Vav Hey" or Yahweh.

- Hey - Vav -Hey - Yod
- Behold - Nail -Behold - Hand
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When read in English from left to right, it says:

"BEHOLD THE NAIL, BEHOLD THE HAND!" Or, "Behold the nailed hand."

All of Redemptive History starts with His name, "In the Beginning God..." it is a name of sacred death, the death of His Son. Moreover, there is no more clear statement of God's Sovereignty than His very name!

Just as was spoken by the prophetic voices! Messiah!

"And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn." (Zechariah 12:10)

"Dogs have surrounded me; a band of evil men has encircled me, they have pierced my hands and my feet." (Psalm 22:16)

Jesus - The Son of Death

The Hebrew name for Jesus, "Yeshua" means "YHWH is salvation." Thus his name would literally mean "BEHOLD THE NAIL, BEHOLD THE HAND IS SALVATION".

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See Also: http://jeffjenkinsocala.blogspot.com/2008/06/yahweh.html

Scriptures - The Word of Death

One might say that the letter Vav used in the name of God above is just a clever coincidence however consider how that the Biblical scholars utilized the letter Vav.

"The word Vav is used in Exodus 27:9-10 to refer to the hooks of silver fastened to posts (called amudim) that were used to hold the curtain (yeriah) that encloses the tabernacle:

Just as the tabernacle was the habitation of God while the Israelites traveled in the wilderness, so the Torah is the habitation of His word today. Therefore, the scribes developed the idea that the Torah Scroll was to be constructed in the manner of the tabernacle. They called each parchment sheet of a scroll a yeriah, named for the curtain of the tabernacle (there are roughly 50 yeriot per scroll) and each column of text an amud, named for the post of the tabernacle’s court.

Now since each curtain of the tabernacle was fastened to its post by means of a silver hook (vav), the scribes made each column of text to begin with a letter Vav, thereby “hooking” the text to the parchment:"

"An oversized Vav marks the “center” of the entire Torah (Leviticus 11:42): Appropriately enough, the word in which this Vav occurs is gachon, meaning 'belly.'"

Now, just as the scriptural "word" was fashioned after the tabernacle. When Jesus, "The Word", came into the world He in turn desired to "tabernacle with us". Scholars point out that the words "dwelt amoung us" in John 1:14 actually means "to tabernacle".

John 1:14

14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

Parts of this portion were taken from:
http://www.hebrew4christians.com/Grammar/Unit_One/Aleph-Bet/Vav/vav.html

The Biblical Covenant Valley Of The Shadow of Death

One illustration of death that has comforted many Christian throughout the years is the 23rd Psalm. Yet, there is more to it than we have soften been taught.

Psalm 23:
1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters.
3 He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Yet it has long been held by some scholars that this passage is using an idiomatic phrase. The words "Valley Of The Shadow of Death" are in fact symbolic language utilized in ancient covenant treaty. In such treaties a greater king ("suzeran king") would make a unilateral covenant treaty with a lesser king ("vassal king"), which in many cases had been conquered by the suzeran king. The two kings would participate in a vivid ritual whereby animals would be sacrificed and layed open in such a way as to form a valley. In fact the very Hebrew word for covenant is "berith" which means "to cut". Hereby they would "cut" a covenant. The suzeran king would then declare the stipulations of His covenant(the terms or "Words"). These would embody both blessing and curse. Blessings to the lesser king if he obeyed and curse if he did not, which was often a depiction of very elaborate penalty. Such a covenant breaker who received the penalty of the covenant would be termed as having been "cut off" from the covenant. One notable violation of covenant recounted by Herodotus' in his History of the Greek and Persian Wars documents Darius marching his entire army amidst the separated body of a captain who broke covenant with him. Herein we can see that the symbol was not only real and vivid but it could be exacted in judgment at the suzeran king's discretion.

One such illustration of this type of treaty in scripture is the depiction in Gen 15 where Abram is told of God to prepare the sacrifice. Yet upon doing so God instead puts Abram to sleep. He then brings down a smoking furnace and burning flame which cooks the sacrifice in Abrams presence, signifying that he alone would bare the full weight of the covenant. So then it is no mistake that Dan 9:26 declares that the "anointed one will be cut off". He will be "cut off" on our behalf.

You see even the stipulations or "Words of the Covenant" are symbolic. The Ten Commandments are in fact the "Ten Words" (Decalogue) of the Mosaic Covenant. So it is no mistake when John refers to Christ as THE WORD.

John 1:1

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."

He is the ultimate fulfillment of all Covenants and the granter of a better covenant (New Covenant/Covenant of Christ/Christolic Covenant).

Exod 34:27-28

27 And the Lord said to Moses, “Write these words, for in accordance with these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel.” 28 So he was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights. He neither ate bread nor drank water. And he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the Ten Commandments (literally "ten words").

We Know that the Victor has Overcome Death.

Ps. 16:9-10
9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices; my flesh also dwells secure.
10 For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption.

1 Corinthians 15:55
55 "O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?"

Romans 5:10
"For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life."

Our Response to Death

The title of this article is the title "The Centrality of Death" of a chapter in Francis Schaeffer's "True Spirituality". In this chapter he identifies what the Death of Christ means to the Christian. We do not merely believe that Christ died for us but that the result of His death affects is our own mortification. We die to self in response to all that God has done for us in His wonderful and exhaustive plan of redemption.

Halloween & Christian Superstition

2009-10-21T18:11:00.000-07:00

Every year I am faced with some concern over the issue of explaining my observance of Halloween. You see I personally participate in Halloween, while many Christians abstain. This might seem like a blatant contradiction since Halloween is often portrayed as a "night of Satan" or as glorifying evil. Each year my concern is over my desire that my Christian friends understand my views on Halloween while my non-Christian friends understand my limitations with it. So here is an paper I wrote several years ago, revised for this blog, my take on Halloween observance.

Halloween Observance

Halloween, is a day that truly lives in infamy yet so many people have a fascination with the night and it's dark reputation. However, despite what some Christians think in practice it is usually a night of fun, excitement, good will toward children and kindness. Yet the context that Halloween is often portrayed in, with the back drop of paganism and the occult often proves too much for some Christians.

While I would never criticize anyone for abstaining from the holiday, I am always shamed as a Christian over the attacks on Halloween by other Christian believers. Especially those who claim it glorifies the devil and is purely a night belonging to the occult. I believe that it is in response to Christian objections that many actual pagans such as the modern Wiccans claim the day for their own, citing Celtic origins and such. To me it's all a little absurd when you go back and look at the actual history of Halloween. Neither side of this argument are really correct.

You see, my core objections to Anti-Halloween Groups is that they often do nothing but further propagate more and more superstition. Some have gone so far as to produce books and even an anti-Halloween video series or two. Many of these are pure conjecture associating the evil deeds of small counter cultural groups with the night itself. These are largely unfounded as these are merely isolated groups and not the whole of Halloween observance or our culture. Logically, it does not necessitate that Halloween is evil if a bunch of goofy or warped people decide they want to burn candles and do weird rituals. We must ask ourselves what actually does. So Christians, let's shed some the superstition shall we?

Halloween History Revisions

In reality harvest festivals have gone on all the way back to the beginning of agrarian societies, each lending their own credence and interpretation to the time of the year. Depictions of times of plenty and the stories of death and mystery that seems somewhat natural in the shortened days of fall. Further some have celebrated even dawning mask and such symbolizing various things both fun and sinister, an act that we see in multiple holidays in ancient culture and not just Halloween.

Halloween has only in recent times been doctrinalized by some occult groups and made to symbolize more than it really has ever been. This has been more a move on their part to run counter-culture to Christianity than based on any real validity. Therefore as well, Christians have further dramatized and gladly endorsed these claims. Moreover in some cases even exaggerating the verbiage of these groups to make the day more emphatically evil in the American culture than even earlier has been held. I mean lets face it, if the early English settlements truly thought the night was more evil, there would have been far more than a few witch trials folks. Although it seems to be the historic record that the New England Puritans rejected celebrations such as Halloween, there is ample evidence to conclude that other Protestant groups migrating to the colonies did not. When we look back to the colonial period we find both Christian and non-Christian alike practicing Halloween in fun, and enjoying myth and story which was no more evil than a mere campfire ghost story. Simple parties and simple games, that is all.

Considering the Macabre As Holy

Now, consider the season. The sky darkens earlier and the wind catches a chill, the world around takes on a tone of darkness as the earth is purged of its flourishing overgrowth. It seems that God has designed the world to display a tone of death each year. Imagine that? Why do you suppose?

Well it might surprise you that God himself seems to have a flare for the macabre.

"Clouds and thick darkness are all around him;

righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne." Psalm 97:2

Is it not that the fall season itself is designed by our creator to remind us of our mortality and the brevity of life?

"24 for "All flesh is like grass
and all its glory like the flower of grass.
The grass withers,
and the flower falls,
25 but the word of the Lord remains forever."
And this word is the good news that was preached to you. 1 Peter 1:24

Would you hang this Christian art in your home?

Why is it that the macabre that is such a part of life ordained by our creator is often withheld from the Christian experience in our day. No symbols of death adorn our home (unlike the dark pictures of Reformation artist like Durer. See Picture.), no reminders of our mortality, and moreover no humor or making lite of death, because of the victory that God has accomplished for us. No, we cherish rosy things without a hint of black. So then we leave the witches and such to conjure all sorts of imaginations, their cause merely endorsed by Christian superstitions.

We must ask ourselves, are we guilty of cowering in fear? Could it be that we ourselves have given the devil too much imagined power over this holiday? Could it be that we have glorified the devil more than those who are walking their children around to collect candy? Finally, could it be that we hold more superstitions about the holiday than the people who are actually observing it do?

Halloween Rant: Well, let me rant for just one second!

It is always so troublesome to me to see Christians handing out tracts at haunted houses when there are so many other houses of ill repute. Why do they not stop by the strip club and hand out tracts about respecting women and the dangers of lust? Why not more tracts and production videos against the abuse of drunkenness and womanizing at bars? Why not tracts against liberalist churches who preach a warped view of the Bible and don't believe it? Better yet, why don't we drop the tracts and just talk to people and show them something real!

It's humorous to me that the more obvious culprits are ever before our eyes throughout the year while we like to attack Halloween because it's supposedly "blatantly evil". How shallow we are.

So What of Evil?

Right away some will so readily voice that I am ignoring evil and spiritual forces. For them let me give a brief reply. Personally I feel that Christian's have given too much credence to the power of the devil and that this is in fact MORE glorifying of evil than participating in Halloween. One of the reasons I do not fear such things real or imagined is that I believe Christ life and death mattered. It mattered so much that it bound (limited) Satan and his works in the world for the purpose of the spreading of the kingdom message. Some Christian's forget this. Christ coming and sacrifice removed the level of deception that Satan was capable of in the world before Christ. Here is what scripture says.

"Or how can someone enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? Then indeed he may plunder his house." Matt. 12:29

You see Jesus bound the strongman. The fallen angels knew of their punishment:

"And behold, they cried out, 'What have you to do with us, O Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?'" (Matthew 8: 29)

Moreover, they know that hell awaits them, a place "prepared for the devil and his angels" (Matthew 25: 41).

However finally, they are unable to stop the work of his true church.

"...I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." Matt 16:8b

Death has no power.

"O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?" 1 Cor. 15:5

Conclusion

So now let us think clearly. What is really being celebrated? Candy? Dressing up in costumes? Scaring each other? Making lighthearted fun of scary things? In fact there is nothing here that is sinful. But in fact some of it might be good for us so that we are less superstitious and more mindful of the real evil that lurks within ourselves without the work of Christ in our lives.

This is merely my opinion. I invite your comments.

Providence!

The Zealous Sovereign Lord God Who Loves Us

2009-10-20T22:12:00.000-07:00

In the Decalogue (Ten Commandments) the first commandment exhibits a definitive monotheistic pronouncement implying, "I am... your God" and you will have no other. It is hard to believe that some do not take this passage at it's word. Please read below the passage, noting the italic words with this in mind.

From Exodus 20

1 And God spoke all these words, saying,

2 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

3 “You shall have no other gods before [1] me.

4 “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. 5 You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing steadfast love to thousands [2] of those who love me and keep my commandments.

Covenant Stipulation

Firstly we should note before anything else that the commandment is a covenant stipulation spelling out the obligations of treaty between God and man. He is the Sovereign Suzeran (the greater king) and we are the lesser obligator (historically the vassal/servant king) who must embrace His law. Yet He doesn't just give merely commands for observance and duty but commands for our ultimate care.

Verse 2 explains this well. "I am the Lord your God" is spoken in the same breath with the greatest work of God, our deliverance. The illustration of Him, "who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery" is the both immediate and local to the hearers of the passage (the Hebrew people) as well as symbolic throughout scripture. It stands as a depiction throughout redemptive history carrying over from the Mosaic/Davidic Covenants to the Christolic.

The Prophesy:
Hosea 11.1
When Israel was a child, I loved him,
and out of Egypt I called my son.

The Fulfillment in Christ (add to this His death for sins):
Mt 2:14-15
14 And he rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed to Egypt 15 and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, “Out of Egypt I called my son.”

A Jealous God

It is perhaps foreign to some that the word jealous is used in verse 5 as usually jealously is often robed in so many non-sacred scenarios in our day. Yet when we begin to dig through the Old English and Latin versions of the word we finally come to the Latin word "zelus" which is the origin of the word "zeal". So in reality jealous is very close to the word "zealous" here. Therefore in context, God is both zealous of His Lordship (v.1) as well as His name (v. 7 , the second commandment), but He defines His worthiness of both of these by the sacrifice for the deliverance He has provided for us.

It is not that God waits like a discontented lover weeping in the dark and begging for the assurance of our service and love. This is truly a contemptuous depiction of God, for herein He is reduced to a covetous, tormented soul not worthy of praise but pity. No, rather God sits as sovereign lord and creator, steadfast and immovable. He is demanding our exclusive affection and loyalty with a steadfast love willing to sacrifice of Himself on our behalf to bring us into His holy court. He is thus more than worthy of our love and worship in return.

So now finally, "You shall have no other gods before me" (v3) does not mean that we can have many gods as long as we place Him in front, but rather this is a further statement of this grand kingly court. It is a statement that the Reformers knew well. "Coram Deo: Before the face of God."

The Zealous Sovereign Lord God Who Loves Us will have no other gods in His presence and He desires us before Him.

Is the Cross Offensive? What if I said yes?

2009-10-20T20:25:00.001-07:00

For Christian the cross represents something beautiful; God's ultimate sacrifice for the sins of humanity. Yet to others the concept is truly offensive. You might site that so many people wear crosses as jewelry around their necks and say... "who's offended?" However, I would clarify that they often have no real connection with the cross that Jesus bore. Think for a moment of what it might mean if people took the symbol of the cross seriously. Imagine people wearing an electric chair (a devise of arguable torture and capitol punishment) around their necks, what might that be like? Imagine people wearing a slaughtered bloody animal sacrifice on a pendant. Ponder just for a moment wearing the most grotesque symbol of death and maybe you might get close to what the cross actually means. Although many so-called "enlightened" people are offended by the concept of the barbarism of the cross, many on the other hand simply choose to ignore it or never go deep enough to discover what it truly means. Nevertheless, if they actually considered the full weight of the Cross of Christ I guarantee you that many would rip the symbol from their neck in hatred.

So why would I say such a thing? Well, it is because in truth the Cross stands in contrast to every fiber of the human being. Many do not admit that they have committed any fault in life, and even less believe that they need any forgiveness of sin. Yet these are at the very heart of the need of the Cross of Christ. However, perhaps the most emphatic teaching of the Cross of Christ is the most offensive yet. You will be hard pressed to deny you are not offended.

You see, just this past Sunday my pastor spoke on this very same matter. As I listened my mind wandered a moment to one of the most moving paintings I have ever seen. It was a painting by Rembrandt. In this painting the famous artist with all his skill did something so surprising and humiliating that any modern person would have to gasp. I personally recall my first emotions upon seeing the painting. It was a startling mix of surprise, anger and then finally an overwhelming astonishment at the wisdom in what he did.

So just what did he do? Rembrandt painted a dark scene of pain and anguish depicting the savior Jesus Christ being crucified with tones and colors so realistic for the time that anyone would be overwhelmed by the humanity of the act being portrayed. Yet more than this he did something else... he painted himself into the picture participating in the act of crucifying Christ. He literally depicts himself assisting in raising the Cross of Christ high toward heaven to where it will slide down with a muscle tearing thud into it's stone rock pedestal. Rembrandt was very vividly saying in his painting, "I killed him! I killed him! It was my sin, I killed him! Yet, he willingly died for me."

So now with this we move to the most offensive claims of the Cross of Christ. You see if God sent His Only Son into the world to die for mankind then it should not be surprising that He would be the only way to cleanse the sins of mankind. What other option would God give if He gave the most precious thing that He had?

You see Christianity is an absolute belief system. It teaches One God, One Faith, One Savior and Him Alone. Jesus as the founder of our faith exclusively proclaimed, ...“I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." John 14:6 There are many who seek to revise this idea, dismissing the exclusive claims of Jesus, yet this is not the Jesus of the Bible.

While many of these people try to depict this sort of religious belief as "hate", the ironic thing is that Jesus "first loved us" and we first hated him (verse 30 "haters of God").

"but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

So now finally is the Cross of Christ truly offensive? Scripture states this quite clearly as well. While we desire that people will see the beauty of the Cross of Christ and the love of God for them, unfortunately many will not understand and will perceive it as foolish. Thankfully, it is God alone who is Lord over the harvest of souls.

"For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God."

For more on this read my pastor's blog here

The Law of Love & Coveting

2009-10-20T20:24:00.000-07:00

Recently I am sort of going through a Francis Schaeffer reading spell. In his book entitled True Spirituality he paints some wonderful insights on the first elements of the Christian walk. One that struck me in the first chapters was talk about the inward struggle with the elements of following and loving God. He says,

"When we talk of the Christian life, or true spirituality, when we talk about freedoms from the bonds of sin, we must wrestle with the inward problems of not coveting against God and men, of loving God and men, and not merely some set of externals [rules]."

He establishes that the command "Thou Shalt Not Covet" also implies thou shalt share, give, and seek the good of others (see 1 Cor. 10:13, 14). This is because each commandment taken in it's fullest sense also enjoins it's opposite. For instance "Thou Shalt Not Kill" also implies "Thou Shalt Preserve Life".

Now consider this in context of the famous love chapter (1 Cor. 13).

13:1 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, [1] but have not love, I gain nothing.

4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; [2] 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

8 Love never ends.

In essence, when we see that coveting is intrinsically tied to our confession of love for God and how we live it we find that the love chapter, which is often viewed as a flowery passage, becomes perhaps the most convicting passage in all of scripture.

The Asecularist

2009-10-16T19:13:00.000-07:00

The word "secular" means "this worldly" or "temporal." So when we speak of "asecular" we mean "not of this world."

This blog will attempt to deal with the subject of Truth based in an "aworldly" (not worldly) and "atemporal" (non-time or above time) mindset. This requires some explanation, so bare with me.

For some the thought of speaking of things outside this world and outside this time might sound too mystical, and some on the other hand, might find this inviting. Yet in reality the Asecularist must learn both to explain one's natural world as well as the hidden meta-seculum (other world that is over our own) of existence which we call the "spiritual world." While I am speaking of spiritual things, I am not speaking of some paranormal world that is completely separate from our own, a teaching that is popular in many cultures and belief systems, but rather the spiritual world that actually touches the here and now. While it is distinctly different, it is not far removed from our own. It is a spirituality that still holds relevant the concept of verifiable Truth.

When I speak of an "atemporal perspective," I mean to imply that we begin to see things in the "upper story," to begin to make sense of how God sees things. This is intended to be in direct contrast to naturalism, which seeks to close the door on rationality when it involves anything in the upper story of spiritualism. The perspective becomes atemporal as it is based on the belief that God is not subject to time. Yet it does not divorce God from time, as the belief maintains that God created all of time for His purposes. Furthermore, He cares very much for it and is actively involved in what He has made.

Unlike the mystic, the Asecularist seeks not to utterly abandon this world, although he/she must be content not to harmonize with it, as it is broken. Moreover, an Asecularist can never embrace this world but must be able to live in contradiction to it in relative peace though it may harm him. Unlike the paranomalist, who deals with the perception of phenomena of this world that are often considered to be contrary to known science. The Asecularist deals with the validity of spiritual truths in the whole of existence. While the Asecularist believes that truth can be perceived from many sources and that even otherwise counter-intellectual voices can convey limited and partial truths, the Asecularist ultimately believes in Absolute Truth.

So finally, if you have not figured it out already an Asecularist is a Christian. Not just any "christian" as the word is thrown around today, but a Christian... a follower of Christ with a capitol "C" that believes in the words of the founder of the faith, namely Jesus. The Asecularist sees the natural world as Jesus sees it. Read His words below on this:

From John 17:13-16

"But now I am coming to you, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves. 14 I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 15 I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. [1] 16 They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.

Yet He does not just leave us in the world aimless as some suppose, He leaves us with His Word (the Bible) which is truth, to be sanctified (set apart in holiness) in truth.

John 17:17-19

17 Sanctify them [2] in the truth; your word is truth. 18 As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. 19 And for their sake I consecrate myself, [3] that they also may be sanctified [4] in truth."

Jesus further teaches elsewhere that He is this truth and it is absolute, there is no other. Jesus Christ, Absolute Truth:

John 14:6 - Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Jesus said these things in time and space and they transpired at a particular point in time. They were not mystical observations disconnected from reality. They are real truth, for life right now.

So to further clarify, the Asecularist is a Christian who believes that there are real and valid answers for the world today, and that spiritual realities have earthly implications. They are not separate in some fashion of spiritual dualism. In fact, the Asecularist believes that God has not divorced spirituality from reason. Rather, that reason and intellect are very much engaged in spirituality.

So now ask yourself, are you a Asecularist?

Read more about how this concept takes shape in my blog post here:
Spirituality Engaging The Heart & Mind