Forsaken

My article from this week's Algona Upper Des Moines about Jesus' words, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?"

Q: What does it mean when it says that Jesus was “forsaken” on the cross? If Jesus was God, how could He be forsaken by God? Why would God do this?

The Bible records this event for us in Mark 15:34 and Matthew 27:46. While Jesus was being crucified, He cried out “My God, My God, Why have you forsaken me?” These words are also seen in Psalm 22 as King David predicts the death of Jesus.

The word that Jesus used when He said this, and which most of our Bibles translate as “forsaken” literally means that God the Father abandoned or deserted Jesus as He was dying on the cross. There are some who propose that Jesus merely felt abandoned or thought He was abandoned, but the historic teaching of the Church has always been that Jesus literally was abandoned by God while He was being crucified.

One of the simplest statements that a Christian makes about what they believe, and that is often one of the first taught to young children is that “Jesus died for my sins.” The event of Jesus being forsaken by God the Father is an essential factor in making Jesus’ death sufficient to pay for the sins of humanity.

Contrary to what is sometimes taught today, God does take sin seriously, no matter how big or small the sin is according to human estimation. Because God is holy and righteous, He cannot just leave sin unpunished, and if He did leave sin unpunished, He would no longer be holy or righteous. Therefore, in order for us to escape paying the well-deserved punishment for our sins—namely death, followed by eternal torment—someone had to be punished.

This is one of the most important doctrines of Christianity, which is called the Substitutionary Atonement. This means that Jesus first perfectly obeyed God’s law in our place, then, even though He had not sinned against God or committed any crime, He was executed by crucifixion. However, if he had merely died, it would be insufficient to save humanity from punishment. In order for Jesus to be the substitute for humanity, He had to suffer the full, unbridled wrath of God in His death. So, as Jesus died, God abandoned Him, pouring out the punishment for the sin of all people of all times on Jesus. This is also predicted beforehand in Isaiah 52-53.

When Jesus was forsaken by God the Father, He suffered the penalty for the world’s sin. God the Father punished God the Son for the sin of the world. Therefore God Himself actually suffered the penalty for our sin in order to save us. Jesus death was not merely an example of sacrificial love. Instead, it was a real sacrifice where God gave Himself up to be killed to suffer punishment for the sins of humanity. This was even seen in nature, as at the moment of Jesus’ death, the sky was darkened and the earth shook.

As King David predicted these events in Psalm 16, He also said, “You will not abandon my soul to the grave, nor let your Holy One see decay.” This was fulfilled when Jesus rose from death on the third day after His crucifixion. Because He had not sinned, death had no claim on Him, and because the penalty for the world’s sin had already been paid, there is now no longer any condemnation for the sins of those who trust that Jesus has suffered God’s wrath on their behalf and been punished for their sins. As a result, those who die trusting in Jesus and have been Baptized into His death, will also rise on the last day, just as He rose on the third day, and live eternally in a new creation freed from the disaster, pain, sickness, sorrow, and suffering that our sin has brought upon the present world.

The Problem of Evil

My article from this week's Algona Upper Des Moines about the Problem of Evil:

(This article is an excerpt from my sermon for the funeral of Vicky Bowman-Hall.)

Q: If God is good and God has power over all things, then why are tragedies allowed to happen? How could God allow evil things to happen to people who seem good?

This is a question that has been asked by people in our area repeatedly in light of recent events. As we look for answers, we must first realize that we cannot fully comprehend spiritual things during out life in this world, because our understanding is obscured by sin. We cannot find answers by looking within ourselves or continually rehashing our own thoughts. Events like those two weeks ago force us to admit that speculation and philosophizing are completely inadequate to answer the spiritual questions of this world. Instead of relying on our own thoughts about the hidden things of God, we rely on what He has revealed to us as certain in Scripture, and submit our thoughts to it.

First among these is that death by any means was not God’s desire for humanity. When God created the world, death was not part of the design. All things worked as they were intended. None of the suffering, sorrow, and tragedy we experience had come upon the world, but when our first ancestors disobeyed God’s command, they brought disaster both upon the world and upon all of those who would be their offspring. Because of their actions, the world is broken, and as all people follow in their ways, we contribute to its brokenness.

We ordinarily see evidence of this brokenness in natural disasters, illness, accidents, and other seemingly unavoidable tragedies that result in death. We commonly witness its existence through our broken relationships and personal conflicts, and on rare occasions, we see evil tangibly demonstrated through the deliberate and senseless actions of a human agent as we have had the misfortune to experience in our community in recent days. In spite of our best efforts to do what is right, things still come apart and our efforts fail.

The second thing we can know with certainty is that God has acted on our behalf to correct the situation so that death and evil are not the final word. God intervened by becoming human as Jesus of Nazareth. Even though we repeatedly disobey His commands, He fulfilled each of them completely as our substitute. He suffered every hardship and sorrow that we suffer in this life—the early death of his step-father and earthly guardian, and even that of being murdered Himself. Even though He had neither sinned against God nor broken any earthly law, he was put to death by crucifixion. In the midst of that death, He experienced a punishment in our place, which no other person has experienced during their earthly life as He was abandoned by God while He died. He suffered all of these things willingly for the purpose of enduring punishment as our substitute so that He could give to us every good thing which He had earned by His perfect life, among which are the forgiveness of our sins, and eternal life in a new creation which does not know the trials we experience in this world. Since God has gone to these lengths to save and provide for our deepest need, then we trust him to bring us also through all other earthly trials, even when we do not fully understand how or why they occur.

The third thing to which we can turn when facing the tragedies of this life is that on the third day after He was crucified, Jesus rose from death, giving evidence that He had, in fact, defeated death by His death. And, just as He is risen from the dead, all who trust in Him to forgive their sins and save them from death also will rise on the last day when He returns to judge the living and the dead. Even in the face of earthly tragedy, we have the hope that He will restore all things when He comes again and give those who trust in Him eternal life in a world without the sorrow and tragedy we know in this life.

Twelve Disciples

My article from this week's Algona Upper Des Moines about Jesus' Twelve Disciples:

Q: The Bible says that Jesus had twelve disciples, but as I read the Gospels, there seems to be a much larger group, as well as more than twelve men named as disciples. How can this be reconciled? Also, in what order did Jesus call the Twelve disciples?

In the four Gospels, there are several different ways that the word “disciples” is used. The broadest of these, is that any person who believes the message that Jesus teaches and follows Him is a disciple. There is also a group of 72 men, who Jesus sends out to preach and perform miracles who are called disciples. The narrowest sense in which the word disciple is used is in reference to the inner circle of Jesus’ twelve closest followers. The Bible also refers to this group as “the twelve” (or “the eleven” after Judas betrayed Jesus). The context in which the word is used tells us which group is word is intended to refer to.

The reason that there seem to be more than twelve names listed for Jesus’ closest disciples is that it was not uncommon in those days for men to have both a Hebrew name and a Greek or Roman name, so sometimes the Gospels use one name, while a different Gospel may use another. Lists of the Twelve are found in Matthew 10:2-4, Mark 3:16-19, and Luke 6:14-16.

The list of Jesus twelve disciples below uses the names by which they are traditionally commemorated in the Church. Names in parentheses are additional names by which they are known in the four Gospels.

· Peter (Simon son of Jonah, Cephas)

· Andrew

· James the Elder (James Son of Zebedee, James the Greater)

· John

· Philip

· Bartholomew (Nathaniel)

· Thomas

· Matthew (Levi)

· James the Lesser (James Son of Alphaeus, James the Younger)

· Jude (Thaddaeus, Judas Son of James)

· Simon ( Simon the Zealot, Simon the Canaanean)

· Judas Iscariot

In Acts, chapter 1, we read that Matthias was chosen as replacement for Judas Iscariot, who committed suicide after betraying Jesus.

Regarding the order of the disciples’ calling, there are two possibilities. According to John 1:35-51, the first disciples were probably Andrew and John. Peter was brought to Jesus by his brother, Andrew, followed by Philip and Nathaniel (Bartholomew). The other three Gospels also briefly mention the calling of Peter, Andrew, James, and John. Since James and John are called together in these other accounts, it is likely that James was called either immediately before or after Peter, but before Philip and Nathaniel. There is no information given on the calling of Thomas, James, Jude, Simon the Zealot, or Judas Iscariot. Matthew appears to be the final disciple called, but this is not conclusively stated the text. The lists given in Matthew, Mark, and Luke appear in a very similar order to this, but not identical, because they are listed there according to rank (Peter first, Judas Iscariot last) rather than Chronology. We know this because Andrew precedes Peter in John's account of their calling, but Peter is listed first in the three lists.

Another reasonable conclusion regarding the order of their calling is that the twelve disciples had been individually called to the larger group of 72 or more disciples which followed Jesus, following which He called them all simultaneously, at a later time, to the inner circle of twelve with which we are familiar and who are listed in Matthew, Mark, and Luke. The calling accounts that are found in the four Gospels, then, would be their calling to the larger group rather than the inner circle.

Two Kingdoms

My article from this week's Algona Upper Des Moines about the Two Kingdoms:

Q: What is a Christian to do when the laws of the state and the laws of the Bible do not match up? Must a Christian obey laws which go against Biblical commands? Can a Christian still support and participate in a government which rejects and sins against God by its laws and actions?

This is a question which has been in play for the majority of Church history. In fact, this is the scenario into which the Church was originally born nearly 2000 years ago. During the first three centuries of Christianity, it was an illegal religion, and Christians faced the death penalty if they refused to worship Caesar or other idols as God alongside Jesus. At the time of the Reformation, Christians who left the Roman Catholic Church or opposed the ideas of its leaders faced persecution and sometimes death for their stand. Even today, in many parts of the world, especially Muslim or Communist nations, Christians are still killed and imprisoned for their faith.

In the book of Romans, Paul writes to Christians who are facing just such a scenario where their religion has been outlawed, and their lives are in danger for their faith. In chapter 13, he reminds them that all authorities, even those who rule contrary to God’s commands, are placed in authority by Him and should be obeyed. He even calls these authorities “servants of God” in spite of their opposition to His Church. Hebrews 13:17 and Ephesians 6:9 reveal an additional detail, that rulers, even non-Christian ones, are responsible for ruling in a God-pleasing way, or they will answer to him for their actions at the last judgment.

When describing this teaching of the Bible, Martin Luther describes God as ruling two kingdoms with His two hands. With His right hand, He rules the Church, and with His left hand, He rules the kingdoms of the world. It is not only within the sphere of the Church that the Christian lives under God’s authority, but also in the sphere of the earthly estates of employment, family, and government. Accordingly, a Christian ought to obey their earthly rulers as if rendering obedience to God.

However, there is one instance when this is not the case. If an earthly ruler would command a Christian to do anything that is not a sin, it is the Christian’s duty to obey, but if a Christian is ever commanded, whether by parents, masters, or government officials, to renounce Christ or to sin against God, it is their duty to disobey that command and obey God instead. The apostle Peter clearly expresses this in Acts 5:29 when he disobeys a sinful command and says, “We must obey God rather than men.”

As American Christians, today, we also live in a situation where there is tension between our faith and the laws of our land. At times, these laws allow actions and behaviors which Scripture clearly forbids. In other cases, regulations and judicial rulings attempt to restrict the rights of Christians to practice their faith in the public square. In the past, it was often assumed that the United States was a Christian nation. Each day, fewer and fewer people would defend that assumption and many mourn the loss of Christian influence on the laws of the land.

However, whether our government embraces or rejects orthodox Christianity, the Church will still remain. Even if she is persecuted and marked for death, she shall remain. An old hymn puts it this way:

Built on the Rock the Church shall stand

Even when steeples are falling.

Crumbled have spires in ev’ry land;

Bells still are chiming and calling,

Calling the young and old to rest,

But above all the souls distressed,

Longing for rest everlasting.

Christ’s people will remain faithful to Him, and the Church shall still remain until the last day, regardless of the opposition of kings, presidents, or any other authority. As Christians in America, we have the privilege to influence our government in lawful ways: through free speech and protest, through military or civil service, by running for elected office and by our vote. We ought to make use of these means whenever possible, but even if our influence does not prevail, Christ remains our foundation, and we follow Him above any man-made law or human authority, regardless of the cost, for He is our Lord.

Women as Pastors

My article from this week's Algona Upper Des Moines on Women as Pastors:

Q: Why is it that some churches have women as pastors and others do not? What reasons do they give for their position?

The ordination of women to the office of pastor is a topic that has been the center of a great deal of controversy in many denominations for several decades now. The Bible certainly honors the important roles which women have played in Church during its time and throughout History. In the earliest years of the Church, the Bible frequently mentioned women who were church leaders either as deaconesses or as the hosts and financial sponsors of the congregations which worshipped in their homes, but without reference to them as an elder, bishop, or pastor.

During the Middle Ages, the church became heavily dominated by male leadership and the only role which remained for women was as a nun. Even after the Reformation, women’s role in the churches advanced little, if at all, because the society of the time gave a very low place to women. From the time of the Enlightenment forward, women’s role in the Church began to grow along with their position in society, until the idea of women as pastors was first proposed around 150 years ago, and began to become commonplace among mainline denominations around 50 years ago. However, it is an unfortunate fact of history that the many beneficial contributions of women to church life were often suppressed in the church. Even in the present day, I have visited congregations which do not allow women to serve the church in any position other than teaching young children.

However, this is not to say that the reasons of churches which do not ordain women as pastors are merely cultural. For example, in the years when the Apostle Paul was writing the New Testament Epistles, which contain the several Biblical commands that pastors be men, the presence of female clergy in the various non-Christian religions of that region was extremely common, meaning that Paul’s instructions were actually in opposition to the culture of his time rather than influenced by it.

Today’s churches which permit only male pastors cite several verses from the New Testament as the basis of their position. These include the end of 1 Corinthians 14, 1 Timothy 2-3, and Titus 1. When referring to pastoral qualifications in two of these passages, Paul specifically uses the Greek word “andra” which can only refer to a male, rather than choosing the Greek word “anthropos” which could be translated either as “man” or as “person.”

In another, it says that women may not “speak in the church.” In the original language of the Bible, there are three possible words to refer to speaking. One refers to all speaking, and another refers specifically to the act of preaching. The third, which is the one Paul uses, refers to public speaking, such as what is done while preaching, leading worship, and administering Sacraments. Additionally, “in the Church” an important phrase, because it refers specifically to the worship gathering, and does not include the organizational leadership of the congregation, or even the teaching of theology as an academic subject. Another verse prohibits women from occupying church leadership positions which place them in spiritual authority over men.

With the exception of churches within the Pentecostal/Charismatic segment of Christianity, whether a church has female clergy largely depends on how they view the Bible, specifically the verses mentioned above. Denominations which ordain only men as pastors typically view the Bible as being completely and literally given by God through the pen of human authors, and therefore correct in all it says. Denominations which do ordain women as pastors typically view the Bible as having been writing by humans, about God, possibly under divine guidance, but with the result that the Bible contains God’s Word rather than being God’s Word.

As a result, denominations with this view of Scripture have a practice, in this and other areas, which more closely reflects the values of their culture, because their method of interpretation allows the option to conclude that certain portions of the Bible are the opinion of their author rather than the command of God. Others may reason that it was God’s command then, but that His position has since changed. Still others may even propose that the specific books of the Bible which contain these verses may have been forged or corrupted over time rather than being authentic.

Ultimately, the question of “may women be pastors?” is inseparably tied with the question, “Did God really say…?”

Unforgivable Sin

My article from this week's Algona Upper Des Moines about the Unforgivable Sin:

Q:  What is the “sin against the Holy Spirit,” found in Matthew 12:31-32, that God will not forgive?

In Matthew 12:31-32, Jesus says, ”Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven people, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven.  And whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.” (ESV)

These words of Jesus have been the source of a great deal of speculation on the part of Bible teachers as well as a source of fear and guilt for many Christians over the years since they were spoken.  Many people fear that they may have committed this “unforgivable sin,” and therefore are eternally lost.  Other people live their lives in fear of committing this sin, and Bible teachers throughout the ages have either tried to explain it away or magnify its importance.  However, a closer look at these words of Jesus, as well as the context in which they were spoken reveals the true nature of Jesus’ warning. 

In the Bible, the words “blaspheme” and “blasphemy” are a reference to the act of speaking evil about God.  This occurs elsewhere in Scripture when people portray God falsely, either by their words or their actions.  In the context of these verses, Jesus is responding to an accusation from the Pharisees that when He casts out demons, He is not casting them out by the power of the Holy Spirit, but instead by satanic power. 

It does seem unusual that Jesus does not address their accusations against Him, but instead responds by criticizing their treatment of the Holy Spirit.  In the Scriptures, though, the work of Jesus and the Holy Spirit always go together.  When Jesus was Baptized by John, the Bible tells us that the Holy Spirit descended upon Him and remained there (Matthew 3).  All of the work that Jesus did in the Gospels was done along with the Holy Spirit.  Likewise, Jesus instructs His disciples (John 14-16) that after He ascends into heaven, the Holy Spirit’s work will focus on reminding people of Jesus’ words and actions during His earthly life. 

Since the work of Jesus and the Holy Spirit are so closely tied together, to blaspheme one is to blaspheme the other.  Especially in this case, when they accuse Jesus of working miracles by powers that are spiritually evil, to speak evil about Jesus is also a direct accusation against the Holy Spirit who works with Him. 

While in Matthew, we see the chain of events during which Jesus said these words, Luke includes these words in a list of other sayings of Jesus rather than within the story during which they were originally spoken.  The preceding sayings in Luke 12 deal with unbelief and rejecting Jesus, giving us a clue that this saying is likely to be dealing with the same theme. 

The rest of the Bible continually speaks of the fact that every sin can be forgiven by those who trust in Jesus.  In fact, the only sin that the remainder of the New Testament ever mentions as the cause of a person being condemned to eternal punishment is that of rejecting Jesus death as the payment for sin. 

When we take all of this evidence into account, it appears that the sin against the Holy Spirit that is unforgivable is that of being confronted with the truth about Jesus and rejecting Him in spite of the evidence.  This unforgivable sin is not simple unbelief by one who is uninformed or unfamiliar with the truth about Jesus.  Instead, it is the willful rejection of Jesus when one has been confronted with the truth of who He is and what He claims about Himself. 

In commenting on these verses, Martin Luther summarizes their meaning by saying, “This is the great and unforgivable sin, when someone resists God’s Word and work.  Other sins are easily recognized and have a form, but this one, with which one dashes against God, is not recognized and is therefore unforgivable.”  “There is no grater sin than not to believe this article of ‘the forgiveness of sins’ which we pray daily in the Creed.  And this sin is called the sin against the Holy Spirit.  It strengthens all other sins and makes them forever unforgivable.” 

The consistent testimony of the Bible is that for those who trust in Jesus all sins are forgiven, but for those who reject Him, no sin is forgiven.