When Christians struggle with doubts about whether they’re truly saved, they often turn to 1 John 5:13 for assurance. It points to the confidence we can have about our eternity if we’ve put our trust in Jesus. But if we want to understand that promise correctly, we need to read it alongside the tests that precede it.
Christianity makes the remarkable claim that God completely pardons sinners solely on the basis of their faith, not as a result of anything they have done to deserve it. But doesn’t God care how a person lives? Two equations help explain Christianity’s most misunderstood truth.
Many people assume that because they believe in God, attend church, or try to live a decent life, their faith must be genuine. But throughout the Gospels, Jesus regularly challenged people who looked spiritually healthy on the outside while holding fatal blind spots under the surface. Considering them helps us evaluate the condition of our own faith.
Plenty of people say they believe in Jesus, but there’s something missing. Jesus pictures them in Matthew 7:21-23 as those pleading to get into heaven but being denied entrance. It seems that they come close to salvation, but not close enough. They lack what so many “almost Christians” lack today: repentance and relationship.
When someone begins to understand what the Bible calls “good news,” the first reaction is often hesitation. The message that Jesus bore the consequences of our sins at the cross sounds like good news, but almost too good to be true. Part of the reason is that they don’t hear or fully understand what it means to confess, “Jesus is Lord.”
Like most people, I have spent the last week trying to process my anger and frustration at the murder of George Floyd. Feelings often point to questions but seldom give the answers. And the lack of answers has only compounded the frustration. Why does this keep happening? When will we change? Why can’t we do better? It would be a lot easier if this was just a police problem or an American problem, but viewing another senseless death through those lenses won’t likely get us any closer to an answer. I have to come to terms with the fact that this is my problem.
Numb from the news coverage that fuels more despair than it resolves, last night we watched, The Eye of the Storm, as a family. It’s a 1970s documentary about a third-grade teacher named Jane Elliott who, in the wake of the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr, tried to help her class of white students feel the impact of racism. Then we listened to accounts of people of African descent tell their stories of discrimination. And we prayed. I’m not qualified to speak to all of the changes that need to take place in our society if we are to deal with racism and take Jesus’ command seriously to love our neighbour. But I offer up the following as a sample prayer that I hope will guide our family’s response in the days to come.
It’s easy to keep doing the same things without thinking about what you’re doing. That’s not a recipe for personal growth, though. This week, I’m taking a course called “Preaching the Narratives of Scripture.” There were a couple of books that I had to read in preparation as well as papers to write, summarizing their contents and my reflection on them. On Wednesday and Thursday, I’ll take in day-long lectures with the instructor, Kent Edwards, who will come to us from California by Zoom video call. On Friday, I’ll preach to my computer screen and then have the professor, and fellow pastor-students analyze and critique everything I’ve said and done. Pray for me! In the follow-up to the course, I’ll submit another three sermons for written feedback from the others and in turn, evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the other participants. Having gone through the same process for the course I took in the winter, “Preaching Old Testament Poetry,” I know the value (and the stress!) of the feedback and reflection. You can’t grow in the echo chamber. Let me share some of the lessons I’ve learned so far.
While a lot of attention has rightly been focused on the physical dangers of the COVID-19 virus and the economic impact of social distancing, more and more people are discussing its influence on our mental health. Anxiety, stress, fatigue and depression are a reality for many people in the midst of this pandemic. Perhaps you’re feeling some of these symptoms for the first time or maybe you’re finding that COVID-19 has exasperated what you were already feeling. I’d like to share where I believe the Bible intersects with COVID-19 and our mental health.
What if a classic novel could help you see the message of the Bible more clearly? One unforgettable story by Charles Dickens opened my eyes to understand Jesus in a way I didn’t expect.
We all have things we know we should think about but keep putting off. Some of them don’t matter much in the long run, but others have lasting consequences. What if the thing you’re avoiding now is the most important of all?
