Spiritual Formation and Christ's Resurrection pt4

Preface:

The age of the text is a different topic then textual variance.  The age of the text has direct implications on the Resurrection, whereas variance could only have at most secondary implications.  All variances in New Testament manuscripts have been documented at Instituts für Neutestamentliche Textforschung in Munster Germany.  Therefore, this blog will focus on information regarding the age of New Testament texts.

How old are our New Testament (NT) texts?  When were they originally written?

            I think that we can, with some level of accuracy, limit the timeframe in which they were written by what they contain [One could say this is an argument from silence, and it is, but it’s at least a pregnant argument from silence]:

1.     Who is the emperor?  Augustus is mentioned in Luke 2:1 and Tiberius is mentioned in 3:1. Caligula is not mentioned, but Claudius is mentioned twice in Acts, specifically 18:2 relates an edict that he issued.  Nero is not mentioned, which is odd because under him is when the first state sponsored Christian persecutions began.  But none of the other first-century Roman emperors are ever mentioned.  That includes Vespasian and it was under him that the temple was destroyed and Domitian, who also sponsored Christian persecutions.

2.     Which of the disciples are dead?  The NT only recounts the deaths of two of the original twelve disciples, Judas (Matt. 27:5, Acts 1:18) and James the brother of John (Acts 12:2).  According to Eusebius (c. AD 260-5 – 339/340) both Peter and Paul were martyred under Nero; ergo, they are dead before AD 68.  According to Josephus, the high priest Ananus ben Ananus ordered the execution of James the brother of Jesus in 62. 

3.     The Jewish revolt began in 66 and the temple was destroyed in 70.  Yet, there is no reason from the NT to think either of those events have happened.  Note especially the appearance of the Jerusalem Temple in Revelation 11.  There is no indication in the text that this is not Herod’s Temple, nor is there any surprise by anyone that there is a Temple in Jerusalem. 

     a. If the destruction of the Temple had happened before the writing of any NT texts, there are good reasons to expect it to be mentioned.  To begin with early Jesus followers were 1^st century Jews and as can be seen in the book of Acts, very early in the existence of the church the temple was still relevant in their minds.

     b. Second, by the second half of the first century, the division between Jew and Christian was becoming more and more clear.  If the Temple had been destroyed, it would be well within expectations for a report in the NT leaning towards God’s judgment on the Nation of Israel or the like.  Its absence should be suspect if the event had happened.

     c. In Matt. 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21, Jesus is recorded as predicting the destruction of Jerusalem, and we know that happened in 70.  However, no NT uses its destruction as evidence for Jesus’ claims.  If someone says those were written after the event, note that in all four Gospels, landmarks and locations in Jerusalem and its area are mentioned as if they were still standing; therefore, there is no indication in the texts that those events had already happened.

4.     In part 1 of this series, I pointed out that the canonical Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John get both political and religious rulers correct.  We can compare that track record to texts written later, such as the ‘Gospel of the Birth of Mary’.  In its first chapter there is a Jewish High Priest named Issachar.  That, however, is demonstrably false because the Jewish records of their High Priests show there was never a High Priest named Issachar.  If the canonical Gospels were late 1^st-century or early 2^nd-century, then we’d find errors such as mentioned above.

5.    The Didache, which can be dated to the later part of the 1^st-century or early 2^nd-century, quotes the Gospels.  Both Pseudo Barnabas (late 1^st-century or early 2^nd-century) and the Shepherd of Hermas (2^nd-century) quote the NT including the Gospels.  Finally, early Church fathers including Clement I allude to or quote the Gospels by the end of the 1^st- century.

6.     There is little doubt that Paul is the author of 1^st Corinthians and we know that he was in Corinth when Gallio became proconsul of Achaia in AD 51 (Delphi Inscription).  After Paul left Corinth, he was in Ephesus for a few years and there he wrote 1^st Corinthians around AD 54.  It specifically mentions that Jesus died, was buried, rose on the third day and had several post-resurrection appearances.  This is within 35 years of the event, within the lifetime of eyewitnesses and confirms details reported in the Gospels.

7.     Gallio’s response to Paul being brought before him by the Jews reveals that Rome did not yet notice a difference between Judaism and Christianity.

8.     The Synoptic Gospels all contain the ‘Beelzebul controversy’ (Matt. 12:24, Mark 3:22 and Luke. 11:15).  Two points about this can be made, first if you were going to invent a story, would you include an episode like this?  Second, Beelzebul is present in some 2^nd-temple Jewish literature; however, it would be unlikely for late first-century Gentiles to know about this and make reference to it; therefore, these two facts point to this being an accurate charge made against Jesus and the earliness of this report.

9.     I can understand why a skeptic would be doubtful if I cited a conservative Evangelic source, so I’ll quote liberal Biblical Scholar, William F. Albright, “In my opinion, every book of the New Testament was written by a baptized Jew between the forties and eighty of the first century…” (Albright 1963).

10.     The atheist Bart D. Ehrman, distinguished professor of Religious Studies at Chapel Hill and NT critic wrote in his book The Triumph of Christianity, that the Christians believed in the bodily resurrection of Jesus before Saul of Tarsus’ conversion (Ehrman, 46).  Moreover, Ehrman also wrote that within Jewish communities the message of Jesus’ resurrection could have been being spread within a year or two of the crucifixion (Ibid.)

     a. The fact that this comes from an atheist NT critic and scholar makes this powerful enemy attestation.

     b. If Jewish converts are speaking the news of Jesus’ resurrection within a year or two of the event there is no reason to reason that it’s a later invention of late 1^st century or 2^nd century Christianity.

Taken collectively, these arguments show, there is good reason to regard the belief in Christ’s resurrection very early and that NT documents including the Gospels were written within a few decades of the crucifixion.

Next week, what did 2^nd temple Judaism believe about resurrection.

Written by Pastor Ozzy

For more information, visit our website

http://ccvmontrose.org

Follow us on Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/ccvmontrose

Or on Twitter

https://twitter.com/ccvmontroseco

Works Cited

Albright, W.F. 1963. "Toward a More Conservative View." Christianity Today, Jan. 18: 4.

Ehrman, Bart D. 2018. The Triumph of Christianity: How a Forbidden Religion Swept the World. New York City: Simon and Schuster.

Spiritual Formation and Christ's Resurrection pt3

            A skeptic may say of my blogs so far, “You’re using the Bible and we don’t know that what we have today is what was written back then.  The Bible has been manipulated and changed over the years.”

How did we get the Bible?

            How do you imagine we got the Bible?  Does it involve a room with monks and one big book?  Perhaps one monk is at the front of the room dictating from the big book to all the other monks who are writing what the first monk is reading?  Is that how we got our Bible?  If it was, then you can see how the church could have manipulated the text.  They could have changed it here or there and made it say whatever they wanted it to say, right?

            Well, if there was one ancient Bible, controlled by the church, then this would be possible; however, this is a very inaccurate picture of the Bible’s origins.  You must know that in the first century, the Jesus movement moved from a Jewish sect, and began to include Samaritans and Gentiles.  It also stopped requiring Jewish observances such as circumcision and kosher dietary laws.  During Jesus’s life, some synagogues could put you out if they discovered you were a Jesus follower.  During the first century in Antioch, Jesus followers were first called Christians and eventually the Jesus movement becomes Christianity.

            If you remember from the first blog in this series, Rome is in control and under Rome, second-temple Judaism was tolerated, and Jews did not have to participate in Emperor worship.  However, at some point both Judaism and Rome realized that the Jesus movement was no longer Judaism.  The first official Roman persecution of Christians was under Emperor Nero (c. AD 37-68) who ruled from AD 54-68.  Prior to that, any persecutions were only local and not state ordered.  With Christianity diverging from Judaism, they lost any toleration that Judaism enjoyed and eventually became an illegal religion in the Roman empire.  It remained an illegal religion until the Edict of Milan in 313.  Therefore, you can’t think of Christians as having political power or influence during that first 280 odd years of its existence.

An anachronism is something that belongs to one time period being attributed to a time period where it didn’t exist.  So, if I told you that my great grandpa loved to play Nintendo when he was a kid, you could know that statement was demonstratively false.  Nintendo wasn’t available in the US until the 1980s and my great grandpa was a kid in the 1850s.  In the same way, during that 280 years and even afterwards, to think of monks copying the Bible inside of church buildings and controlling what the text says is an example of anachronistic thinking.

No church controlled all the texts.

            Sometime prior to AD 200 there were Latin copies of most of our New Testament (NT) texts and those copies were used in the western part of the Roman Empire; however, in the eastern part, the church, used Syriac copies.  The Latin copies did not contain Hebrews, James and 1& 2 Peter, whereas the Syriac copies did.  Why?  Because those books were written to churches on the eastern side of the Empire.

            Perhaps you’re confused, wasn’t the NT written in Greek?  So why are these collections of the NT in Latin and Syriac?  Yes, as far as we know, the original NT writings were all in Greek with a few Aramaic words.  As Christianity spread through the Roman world, there was need to translate the NT texts into other languages and these are helpful today as secondary sources in demonstrating the integrity of the NT text.

            So, think about this: I have written these blogs on a computer, the originals are saved on my computer.  I have copied and pasted them to the blog and you are reading them there.  You can copy and paste them, and we know they will still be the same (exceptions being spacing and font sizes).  However, that’s not how a book in the ancient world could be copied.  They were copied by hand, which took time and effort, but once they were copied, if you wanted to change the text, then you’d need to control the original and the copies.  But as I pointed out above, the western churches didn’t have copies of certain books.  In order to change things, you are going to need to have control of all the books and all the copies of those books.  But you’re also going to need to control all the translations of all those copies as well.

            Let’s think of a more recent document, the Declaration of Independence.  If I wanted to change the wording of the Declaration of Independence, what would I need to do?  I need to have access to the original, I’d also need to have access to all the copies and today, all the photographs, digital copies, translations and quotations.  So, would it be possible to change the wording of the Declaration of Independence?

            Let me give you one last example.  What are the sources for translating the Old Testament?  The Septuagint (LLX), Greek copies of the Hebrew texts translated in the 2^nd century BC.  The Dead Sea Scrolls (DSS), collections of Hebrew texts found in caves near the Dead Sea beginning in 1946, many dating to before the time of Christ.  The Masoretic texts (MT), Hebrew and Aramaic texts that come down to us from the Masoretes, most dating from between AD 600-900.  Finally, the Samaritan Pentateuch (SP), which existed in at least the 3^rd-century BC but was not available to western Christianity until 1616.  As well as Latin copies.  Note that the Christian church has had access to all these sources only within the last century.  Had the church wanted to manipulate the documents within its control, those differences would be evident today by comparing the LXX and Latin texts with the DSS, MT and SP.  The bottom line is, no one in church history controlled all the NT texts or their copies.  If there were manipulations, those would be evident today by comparing them to the older texts.

Next week, we’ll explore when the NT was written.  Please join us.

Written by Pastor Ozzy

For more information, visit our website

http://ccvmontrose.org

Follow us on Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/ccvmontrose

Or on Twitter

https://twitter.com/ccvmontroseco

Spiritual Formation and Christ's Resurrection pt2

At its core, the New Testament (NT) is 27 documents about Jesus of Nazareth, documents that claim He died and rose again.  Therefore, the reality of that event is pivotal to the authority of those documents; if it did not happen, then they are just made up stories, but if it did happen, then their message is nothing short of God breaking into our time, space, matter universe.

The Stage is set II:

The Passion narratives are found towards the end of each of the canonical gospels; in Matthew (Matt.) chapters 26 & 27, Mark chapters 14 & 15, Luke chapters 22 & 23 and finally John chapters 18 & 19.  Each of these gospel sections recounts how during the Jewish feast of Passover, Jesus was betrayed by one of His disciples, arrested, put on trial and eventually executed by crucifixion outside of Jerusalem on Golgotha.  The first three gospels, Matt., Mark, and Luke are known as the synoptic gospels because they contain many of the same narratives and have similar structures.  Each of these gospels, begin the Passion narrative by telling us that it was the first day of unleavened bread (Matt. 26:17, Mark 14:12 and Luke 22:1), which is the 15th day of the first month in the Jewish calendar, Nisan.

Why would this be important?

There are popular theories about shared universes, such as in Disney or Pixar movies.  For example, in the Disney film, Tarzan, his parents died at sea (1999).  There is the theory that his parents were also the parents of Anna and Elsa because their parents died at sea (2013).  Along those lines, people have claimed that Jesus’ resurrection is borrowed from ancient myths that explain the agricultural cycle and involve characters dying or going to the land of the dead and then returning.  However, the gospels ground the resurrection within the story of ancient Israel and second temple Judaism.  In other words, the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus are told with the Jewish Passover as its setting; therefore, that is the proper framework for understanding it.

Why is the framework of understanding important?

Above I wrote that there is a theory that in the shared universe of the Disney movies, the events of Tarzan and Frozen are related, but that refers only to their Disney presentations.  Edgar Rice Burroughs’ 1920 novel Tarzan of the Apes is unrelated to Hans Christian Andersen’s 1844 fairy tale the Snow Queen.  Therefore, it makes no sense to interpret Tarzan of the Apes through the story of the Snow Queen.

In a similar manner, Jesus’ death burial and resurrection need to be interpreted with the Jewish celebration of Passover as its setting.  A Greek myth such as Hades and Persephone, which is an explanation of the seasonal change from winter to spring [i.e., Hades takes Persephone to the underworld and during that time her mother Demeter the goddess of agriculture won’t let things grow, and so the earth has winter.  When Persephone is returned, Demeter again allows things to grow, and the earth has spring.] is the wrong background to understand a second-temple Jewish messianic figure, such as Jesus of Nazareth.

Imagine a stage performance like Peter Pan.  In the first act, Peter is with the Darling children in the nursery (1904).  Pause the actors and change the background to the Ape City from the 1968 movie Planet of the Apes (1968).  How much since would the Peter Pan story make if you attempted this?  That is precisely what happens when these gospel narratives are read with Greek, Roman or other mythology backgrounds.  The celebration of the Passover in Roman occupied Judea, more specifically Jerusalem and its vicinity is the backdrop for the Passion narratives.

What are the real-world locations mentioned in the text?

Two of the synoptic gospels identify the location of Jesus’ betrayal and arrest as the garden of Gethsemane (Matt. 26:36 and Mark, 14:32), Luke identifies it as having been on the Mount of Olives, and lastly, John identifies the location as being across the Kidron valley.  The Mount of Olives is a mountain that is east of Jerusalem, it’s separated from the Temple Mount by the Kidron Valley.  The precise location of Gethsemane remains debated, although some claim a specific place; however, the word means olive press and fits the known agriculture of Israel and the area around Jerusalem from the 1st-century AD.  Therefore, the gospels site a real-world location.  A place that existed in 1st-century Judea and an area that we can identify now.  Although we cannot with all certainty identify each specific location in and around Jerusalem mentioned in the Passion narratives, the point remains that it happened in a real-world location.  Places that did exist in the 1st century and involved religious and political figures that also existed in history.

Join us again next week as we continue to look at the historical nature of Jesus’ resurrection.

Works Cited

1999. Tarzan. Directed by Kevin Lima and Chris Buck. Performed by Tony Goldwyn .

James, Barrie. 1904. Peter Pan. London: n/a.

2013. Frozen. Directed by Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee. Performed by Idina Menzel and Kristen Bell.

Spiritual Formation and The Law (pt. 1 Introduction)

Feel free to click the follow button here on the right and get notified when ➜   each new blog is posted.  (this button many not appear on cellphones or tablets)

But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law. (Holy Bible: New American Standard Bible, Galatians 5:18)

“Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. (Ibid. Matthew 5:17-19)

For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all. (Ibid. James 2:10)

            Spiritual Formation is intentional engagement with practices such as reading scriptures, prayer and others, to renew our minds and be transformed (Rom. 12:2) from the habits and patterns of fallen man.  It has as its goal, Christ being formed in us (Gal. 4:19), so for example, our attitudes being formed into the same attitude that was in Jesus (Phil 2:5).  What then is the relationship between the Old Testament (OT) Law and this New Testament (NT) concept of formation?

            Before we answer that question, perhaps we should answer a few other questions first.  What is the relationship between the OT Law and the NT Christian?  Are Christians obligated to follow some of the OT Laws, but not all?  Can the OT Law be broken into different categories and we are obligated to follow some of those categories but not others?  Is a Christian following the Law and keeping the 4^th commandment by going to Church on Sunday?  If so, then is the opposite true, if you miss Church, you’re breaking the 4^th commandment? 

A lot of Christians know that tattoos[1] are forbidden in Leviticus, but do they realize the verse prior says not to shave your sideburns (19:27-28)?  Is it then sinful to get a tattoo, but ok to shave your sideburns?  Along the same lines, many Christians know, the NT does away with the OT Law’s dietary codes (Lev. 11, Mk. 7:19, Acts 10:9-15).  Also, the NT does away with the religious rite of circumcision (Gen. 17, Lev. 12:3, Acts 15, 1 Cor. 7:19).  Moreover, the NT does away with the OT sacrificial system for forgiveness (Lev. 4, Heb. 10).  What about a law like in the year of Jubilee, returning to your land and land being returned to a family (Lev. 25:10)?  Does that only apply to some, but not to others?  Does this mean the whole OT law is done away with?  Does it mean only parts of the OT Law are obsolete, but laws not explicitly repealed by the NT are still obligatory?

It should be clear, this is a complicated subject.  Therefore, we are going to take some time and examined this topic.  Please join us. (Click here for Part 2)

Written by Pastor Ozzy

For more information, visit our website

http://ccvmontrose.org

Follow us on Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/ccvmontrose

Or on Twitter

https://twitter.com/ccvmontroseco

Works Cited

1995. Holy Bible: New American Standard Bible. LaHabra: The Lockman Foundation.

---

[1] Is our modern tattoo the best translation of the Hebrew, kĕthobeth in Lev. 19:28?  There were some forms of body lacerations in the cults of the Canaanites (1 Ki. 18:28) and the verse specificities some sort of mourning practice [Strongs 3793, Goodrick/Kohlemberger4182]

Spiritual Formation (Prayer Life Part 5 Unanswered)

Feel free to click the follow button here on the right and get notified when ➜   each new blog is posted.

[Jesus said] “Therefore I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted you” (Holy Bible: New American Standard Bible, Mark 11:24)

          Some passages in the New Testament, like the one cited above, can make prayer sound like carte blanche; however, the context of this passage explains its meaning.  Jesus makes this statement on the Tuesday morning after the Triumphal Entry.  On Monday morning, Jesus and the disciples were walking from Bethany to Jerusalem and on the way, Jesus cursed a fig tree that He found to be without fruit.  When they arrived in Jerusalem, Jesus saw the corruption of the religious system and in reaction, He drove out the people selling animals inside the temple.  In His zeal, He shouted passages from the prophets, saying that the temple was meant to be a ministry to all the nations, but the ruling religious system had changed it into a den of robbers.  It is the next day, when Jesus and the disciples are making the journey again, that Peter notices the fig tree had withered.

           These events have led to this scene, and Jesus’s statement is made in that context.  The religious system, that had been instituted by God, had failed to reach out to the nations.  John the Baptist had cried out to Israel to make ready the path of the Lord, fill in the ravines and lower the hills and mountains (Luke 3:4 & 5).  The religious system had become a mountain in the path of the Lord.  Because of that, Jesus tells the disciples that by prayer, mountains can be moved.  The disciples, 12 men from the middle of nowhere, with no political connections and no money, cannot undo the religious system.  It’s possible that 11 of the men Jesus is talking to are under 20 years old [only Jesus and Peter paid the temple tax in Matthew 17:27] and the Pharisees/Sadducees have been ruling in second-temple Judaism since late Hasmonean period.  In other words, this mountain is well established, and the disciples are nobodies, with no power to move a mountain themselves.

           In that context, Jesus is telling them that prayer can move mountains standing in God’s way.  This mountain needed to be moved.  It was blocking the Abrahamic promise of blessing to all nations (Genesis 12:3c).  Therefore, prayers offered in accordance with God’s purposes can be prayed with confidence[1].  This understanding is in harmony with John’s explanation, “This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.  And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him” (Holy Bible: New American Standard Bible, 1 John 5:14-15).

Growth through unanswered prayers 

Written by Pastor Ozzy

For more information, visit our website

http://ccvmontrose.org

Follow us on Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/ccvmontrose

Or on Twitter

https://twitter.com/ccvmontroseco

Works Cited

1995. Holy Bible: New American Standard Bible. LaHabra: The Lockman Foundation.

---

[1] Mark 11:25-26 goes on to discuss a person’s prayer and their relationship to forgiving others.

Spiritual Formation (Prayer Life Introduction)

Feel free to click the follow button here on the right and get notified when ➜   each new blog is posted.

“When you pray…”  Matthew 6:9 [emphases added]

… devoted to prayer…” (Rom. 12:12)

Stop and think about prayer.  How would you define prayer or how would you explain praying?  In the above passage from Matthew, Jesus said, “When you pray,” which seems to imply that prayer is a part of the Christian walk.  Moreover, Paul instructed Roman Christians to be devoted to prayer.  It bears repeating that this blog is not intended to be a guilt trip; however, like going to the doctor, it is best, to be honest about your diet, exercise level, and other activities that may affect your health.  Therefore, ask yourself and answer only yourself, how is your prayer life?  Does “devoted to prayer” describe you?

Years ago, there was a movie, a line of Union troops and Confederate troops were in a stalemate.  Near the battlefield was a hill and on top were commanders of the Union army.  From their position, they could view the entire battlefield, something that was impossible from behind each sides line.  Imagine if one side had today’s technology, such as cell phones and Bluetooth earpieces.  The commanders could speak directly to the troops and tell them what they see, and the soldiers could reply.  It’s important to remember that we are in a battle here on earth, though it is not against other people (Eph. 6:12).  However, we genuinely have an enemy (John 10:10), and he does seek to make you ineffective or attack you (1 Pet. 5:8).  Therefore, using the battlefield and communication, as an illustration, is an appropriate way to think about prayer.

Going back to your answer above, how is your prayer life?  If you can honestly say, it’s great, nothing could be better; then perhaps this series is not for you.  However, if your prayer life is not in the shape you’d like it to be in, then this could be a very fitting series.  What is one of the greatest hindrances to a vibrant and active prayer life?  Could it be, prayers that go unanswered?

Before going further, let us be honest.  To say that, “All prayers are answered, but perhaps God said no or wait,” is at best a pious attempt to explain unanswered prayers and at worst is skirting the issue.  Reality is, sometimes we’ve prayed for people to get better and they’ve died.  We’ve prayed for one thing, and the opposite has happened.  Perhaps the helpless optimist tells us, we pray for God to heal them and now they are at peace and healed; however, you must admit, sounds more like sleight of hand, than actually answered prayers.

Therefore, we are now going to press on and look for a sufficient answer to why our prayers go unanswered.  Join us.

Is God obligated to answer prayers?

Written by Pastor Ozzy

For more information, visit our website

http://ccvmontrose.org

Follow us on Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/ccvmontrose

Or on Twitter

https://twitter.com/ccvmontroseco

Spiritual Formation (Relationship with God part 2)

Feel free to click the follow button here on the right and get notified when ➜  each new blog is posted.

“… [Simon Peter] fell down at Jesus’s feet, saying, “Go away from me Lord, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!” (Holy Bible: New American Standard Bible, Luke 5:8)

“… [A] man ran up to Him and knelt before [Jesus], and asked Him, “Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” … Looking at him, Jesus felt a love for him and said to him, “… go and sell all you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.”  But at these words he was saddened, and he went away grieving, for he was one who owned much property. (Mark 10:17-22 NASB)

            

          Our last blog mentioned that new, old, steady, strained, and broken relationships are a universal experience of the human condition.  Perhaps we remember a childhood friend that we’ve not seen or heard from in decades.  Those kinds of relationships are relationships in name only, with no actual current association.  In the above scriptures, we meet Simon Peter and a nameless man, both of whom it’s safe to assume are second-temple Jews[i].  Peter’s story happens before he is designated an apostle (Mt. 10:2) and after he, Andrew, James and John had fished all night, but caught nothing.  Then by listening to Jesus, they catch so many fish their boat begins to sink (Lk. 5:7).  This makes Peter aware that Jesus is someone important.  Based on his confession, it is likely he understood Jesus to be a holy person, possibly a prophet of God.

          On the other hand, the anonymous man comes to Jesus seeking eternal life.  This story appears in all three of the Synoptic Gospels.  We can see that he is a religious person, saying that since his youth he has obeyed the commandments (Lk. 18:20-21).  However, he is not able to part with his riches and turns away, not following Jesus.  The man’s question regarding eternal life reveals that he was influenced more by Pharisaic Judaism than Sadduceeic Judaism, since they didn't believe in life after death (Mt. 22:23).  All of this to make it clear, that this is a person who knows there is a God and even has some right beliefs about Him.

          It could be stated then, that since their infancy, both Peter and this man had a covenantal relationship with the God of Israel.  It seems that both had a genuine belief in God through their religion.  Both were called from an old relationship into a deeper relationship, but what kept the man from answering yes?  Perhaps we could all reflect on our relationship with God and ask, is it an old relationship, or even a relationship in name only?

          We could continue surveying types of relationships with God from the scriptures. Samuel or Enoch could be examples of a steady relationship.  Moses or Elijah could be examples of strained.  The kingdom periods of both Israel and Judah could be examples of broken, and to examine these would give us great insight. However, starting next week, we’ll begin exploring how we have relationship with God through communication, starting first with hearing from God through His word. 

Written by Pastor Ozzy

1995. Holy Bible: New American Standard Bible. LaHabra: The Lockman Foundation.

---

[i] Second-temple Judaism is a designation for Jewish traditions between 538 BC and AD 70, this was the time of the second temple.  It was constructed after the Jews returned from exile and was destroyed by Titus Vespasian during the Jewish Roman wars.

For more information, visit our website
http://ccvmontrose.org
Follow us on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/ccvmontrose
Or on Twitter
https://twitter.com/ccvmontroseco

Spiritual Formation (From church to individual)

“…let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together…” (Heb. 10:24 -25a NASB).

“I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5 NASB).

           

            Perhaps you've heard of the blind men and the elephant parable from India.  In this parable one blind person touches the elephant’s trunk and concludes that an elephant is like a snake.  Another touches the elephant’s ear and concludes that an elephant is very thin and flimsy.  Another touches his leg and concludes that an elephant is very large and thick.  The point is that each is only understanding one part of an elephant but missing the bigger picture.  An elephant is more than a trunk, ears, tusks, legs, body and a tail; moreover, the whole is the sum of the parts.  In a similar way, we cannot be formed into Christ by only focusing on one part of our lives.  Also, we cannot keep beating the drum on why the Christian life is meant for community.  Hopefully, you've seen this truth from scripture and the witness of Christians that have gone before us.

            Paul’s illustration of the Church being a body in 1^st Corinthian 12, is an easy picture to understand.  The body is made of different parts, i.e. hands, eyes, ears, mouth, nose and so on.  The Church is made of people who are different and gifted in different areas for ministry.  An eye cannot say to a hand, I don’t need you and in the same way, one Christian cannot say to another, I don’t need you.  An eye cannot say that because they are not a hand, they are not part of the body, in the same way, a Christian cannot see another Christian using their gifts and conclude that since they are not gifted the same way, they are not part of the Church.  Therefore, it is not a complicated metaphor, the only question is, will you obey the scriptures?

            However, our formation is a personal and individual venture as well.  The prophet Hosea describes the people of his day as egocentric vines (10).  There they are said to produce the fruit themselves and when that fruit increased so did their faithlessness and idolatry (v. 1 & 2).  In contrast to that, Jesus describes Himself as the true vine and his followers as the branches.  It is only through His support and nurturing that we can produce fruit and apart from Him we can do nothing.

            Therefore, over the next several blogs, we’ll turn our attention to what it means for Christ to be our vine and for us to be His branches.  Reflecting on the example of the elephant parable, would it be correct to state that part of an elephant is similar to a snake?  However, that is only one part of many.  Similarly, the goal of spiritual formation is not just for one part of ourselves, but all of ourselves to be transformed into Christlikeness.

Written by Pastor Ozzy

1995. Holy Bible: New American Standard Bible. LaHabra: The Lockman Foundation.

For more information, visit our website

http://ccvmontrose.org

Follow us on Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/ccvmontrose

Or on Twitter

https://twitter.com/ccvmontroseco

Spiritual Formation (Church part 3)

Feel free to click the follow button here on the right and get notified when ➜  each new blog is posted.

“I don’t need to go to church [building/service] because I can worship God when I’m _____ (fill in the blank).”

Let us imagine that the earliest followers of Jesus had adopted this attitude towards Church.  Perhaps the book of Acts would have sounded more like this:

Jesus was lifted up as the apostles looked on and a cloud received Him.  After these things, Peter began to understand Jesus’ messiahship and mission as a suffering servant and drew away to himself Mark who is also called John.  Matthew however, understood Jesus to be King of the Jews, the fulfiller of Old Testament prophecies.  Luke does not exist in this alternate timeline, and that shall soon be explained.  Finally, the disciple whom Jesus loved believed that He would best be understood through Greek thought expressed in Jewish terms.  In a similar way, James, Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew, the other James, Simon and the other-other James all thought they had the best understanding of Jesus, this being only through a personal relationship with Him.  Soon thereafter, the disciples each went their separate ways, preaching their esoteric take on Jesus.  Therefore, there was no three thousand converts at Pentecost, but each disciple drew a small group to them.  They continually devoted themselves to their apostles teaching.  There was no lasting fellowship, breaking of bread or prayer.

Therefore, the Jesus movement splintered into several groups, and the Sanhedrin forgot about it, much like Judas the son of Hezekiah (a messianic claimant who you’ve never heard of, mentioned in Josephus).  Therefore, Saul wasn’t persecuting the Way, and he never joined it, which explains why there is no Luke in this timeline.

Perhaps this is how the alternate New Testament would have ended.

Someone once pointed out that Jesus said, “When you fast…” (Matt. 6:16) and not “If you fast…” the point being that a discipline like fasting should not be regarded as optional.  In the same way, why should the call to fellowship be disregarded?  Can a Christian or group of Christians worship on a weekend camping trip or a day at the lake?  Of course, but it should be asked what form does that worship take?  Is a Bible devotion given?  Did someone bring a guitar for some music worship or do they sing acapella?  Is there prayer time or communion?

Eventually, we will explore the subject of a personal relationship with the Lord; however, this Church subject cannot be overlooked.  Communal worship was part of the Mosaic form of worship, and clearly, New Testament authors saw that communal aspect as vital.  Reflect on Acts 2:42, continual devotion to the apostles teaching, fellowship, communion, and prayer.

“Therefore, a Christian needs another Christian who speaks God’s Word to him.  He needs him again and again when he becomes uncertain and discouraged, for by himself he cannot help himself without belying the truth” (Bonhoeffer, Kindle Location 112).

Written by Pastor Ozzy

Bonhoeffer, Dietrich. 1949. Life Together. Munich: Chr. Kaiser.

For more information, visit our website
http://ccvmontrose.org
Follow us on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/ccvmontrose
Or on Twitter
https://twitter.com/ccvmontroseco

Spiritual Formation (Church part 1)

Feel free to click the follow button here on the right and get notified ➜  when each new blog is posted.

Imagine that a gym puts up a sign that reads, “Exercise is good for your health.”  Is that statement falsified because the gym benefits from you paying to join it?  Imagine a restaurant putting up a sign that reads, “We serve heart-healthy soups.”  Is that statement falsified because the restaurant stands to benefit from health-conscious customers buying their soups?  In both cases, the fact that there could be benefits to the sign owners does not negate the claim made by their sign.  Perhaps you will think, of course, a Church blog is going to write about the importance of Church attendance.   In the same way, a blog focused on Spiritual Formation and pointing out the value of participation in the local Church cannot be falsified only on the grounds that the local Church benefits from that participation.

Perhaps you will think, I have the Bible and I can read; therefore, I have no need to go somewhere and have someone tell me what the Bible says.  If that is the case, then we should consider what the Bible says about believers gathering together.  You may remember a Psalmist likened his seeking for God to a deer that pants for water.  When that Psalmist pondered the question, “Where is God,” it was answered by remembering their going with crowds of people up to the House of the Lord and being with the multitude celebrating the festivals (Ps. 42).

Consider these words attributed to the fourth-century Christian philosopher Ambrose, “To Thee our morning song of praise, to Thee our evening prayer we raise” (Farrar 1822).  Notice the plural pronoun ‘our’ as opposed to any singular pronoun.  Ambrose’s words fit with Paul’s words to the Church in Corinth; the body of Christ is made of several different people.  Those different people perform different functions, just as different body parts perform different functions, so the body works.  One part cannot say to another part, I do not need you (1 Cor. 12:14-26).

With that in mind, think about how many things you do in a week where you need another person.  You cannot go waterskiing alone.  Is it fun texting yourself?  We can see the need for other people in our daily lives; moreover, as shown above, God intended His people to be in community.

Written by Pastor Ozzy 

Farrar, D. D. 1822. "Sermon at Great St. Mary's." The Cambridge Review Vol. III. NO. 62. . Cambridge Review Committee, Feb 22.

For more information, visit our website
http://ccvmontrose.org
Follow us on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/ccvmontrose
Or on Twitter
https://twitter.com/ccvmontroseco

Spiritual Formation (Presence of God part 2)

Feel free to click the follow button here on the right and get notified ➜  when each new blog is posted.

[Preface: In this entry, we will look at Jesus as our example; when Paul writes regarding Christ being formed within a believer, he is talking about the same attitudes that were present in Jesus’ incarnation.  This entry will focus on Jesus’ relationship with the Father during the incarnation.  Therefore, it will not contain a full treatment of the relationship between the Father and the Son within the Trinity.]

In the days of His flesh, He [Jesus] offered up both prayers and supplications with loud crying and tears to the One able to save Him from death, and He was heard because of His piety.  Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from the things which He suffered” (Heb. 5:7-8 NASB).

Last week there was a challenge to be aware of the presence of God in every moment, with the hope of raising the awareness of His presence not only in “religious experience,” but in the ordinary and commonplace.  Within an average day’s routine, when waking from sleep, preparing for the day, commuting, working, resting, eating and everything else that happens.  Consider what David wrote regarding his daily life, that God knew his sitting and rising, his thinking, sleeping and all his activities (Ps. 139:2-3).  This could make us understand that all our life is for the Lord and not just parts of our lives.  Moreover, since the goal of Spiritual Formation is having Christ formed in us, then Jesus serves as an example for us regarding awareness of God’s presence.

    Although having a unique relationship with the Father, as quoted above Jesus still learned from his experiences.  In an episode from Luke, we see a twelve-year-old Jesus in the Temple, sitting with the teachers and possessing some incredible level of understanding. Yet that story ends with the statement that He continued to increase in wisdom (2:46-52).  I.e., He kept learning.  Whatever came with being God in human form, also came with being human.  This is something we must not miss.  What was Jesus doing in the wilderness before the temptation (Mt. 4:1-11, Mk. 1:12-13, Lk. 4:1-13)?  He was fasting in solitude, two disciplines that we’ll cover in future blogs.  The author of Hebrews writes of Jesus, “…who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin” (4:15 NASB).  Take note then of Jesus’ words from a few years later, “For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me” (John 6:38 NASB).  Jesus learned the importance of the presence of God and then could declare that He knew the will of the One who sent Him.  Therefore, our own practicing the presence of God is vital to Christ being formed within us.

Written by Pastor Ozzy 

1995. Holy Bible: New American Standard Bible. LaHabra: The Lockman Foundation.

For more information, visit our website
http://ccvmontrose.org
Follow us on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/ccvmontrose
Or on Twitter
https://twitter.com/ccvmontroseco

Spiritual Formation (Presence of God part 1)

Feel free to click the follow button here on the right and get notified ➜  when each new blog is posted.

“The presence of God is the concentration of the soul’s attention on God, remembering that He is always present” (The Practice of the Presence of God, Kindle Location 467).

            

            In a way, our modern 21^st-century American system has created a distinction between the sacred and the secular.  In other words, within reason, a person may have beliefs; however, strictly secular practices are required within our social order.  Beliefs are still allowed when they are restricted to the private life.  This dichotomy is a relatively new idea in history.  For instance, the earliest followers of Jesus were second-temple Jews, and their social life and their religion were principally one in the same.  God was a part of their everyday life.

In the pages of the Old Testament, there are examples of miraculous and unique encounters with the God of Israel.  The LORD appeared to Abram at Shechem (Gen. 12:7), also to Moses in a burning bush (Ex. 3).  Isaiah reports having seen the LORD in Solomon’s temple (Is. 6) and Ezekiel’s vision by the river Chebar (Ezek. 1) to name a few.  The narratives often express life-changing experiences, moments of calling or divine instruction.

This was the pattern in the Old Testament; however, in the pages of the New Testament, the message of God’s redemption and salvation through the death and resurrection of Jesus spread beyond ethnic Israel (Acts 8 & 10).  With that movement, the Apostle Paul expressed that God was not limited to temples built by men (17:24) and more than that, God is not far off, but in Him, we live and move (17:28).

Consider your life, every moment in the presence of God.  Your mornings, afternoons, evenings and nights.  Your work, social and family times.  When you’re awake and when you’re asleep.  Reflect that God is in both your religious and secular times.  Have you been aware of His presence?  Read these words from Brother Lawrence, “[To] know God, we must think about Him often.  Once we get to know Him, we will think about Him ever more often, because where our treasure is, there also is our heart!” (The Practice of the Presence of God, Kindle Location 327).

Perhaps in the next week, challenge yourself to be aware of God’s presence as often as you can and where ever you are.

Written by Pastor Ozzy

Lawrence, Brother. 1982. The Practice of the Presence of God. New Kensington: Whitaker House.

For more information, visit our website
http://ccvmontrose.org
Follow us on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/ccvmontrose
Or on Twitter
https://twitter.com/ccvmontroseco

Spiritual Formation (Intro)

Feel free to click the BLUE follow button here on the right and get notified when ➜ each new blog is posted.

“Be imitators of me [Paul], just as I also am of [Jesus] Christ.” 1 Cor. 11:1 NASB

It is likely that almost every modern American has heard the slogan, “What Would Jesus Do?”  Perhaps with good intentions, this is a reminder of how a person should behave. But is imitating Christ only about how a person should act in a given circumstance?  One may ask a serious question, how does a person living in Montrose Colorado in the 21st century imitate a 1st century Jewish Messiah?

Every year movie studios spend billions of dollars to create movies where audiences buy into an illusion.  We accept that Chris Hemsworth is not a mortal man, but is a superhero based on a Norse god.  We escape into fantasy from a long time ago and in a galaxy far, far away to learn how a scruffy-looking nerf-herder ended up in a Cantina on Tatooine.  Finally, we believe that Jim from The Office now lives in a Post-Apocalyptic world with monsters.  Could this be what Paul means by imitating?  To act?

It is unlikely that Paul intended his readers to perceive himself as merely playing a role, but wanted them to understand how he lived his life for God and to imitate him.  Paul wrote, “See that no one repays another with evil for evil, but always seek after that which is good for one another and for all people” (1 Thess. 5:15 NASB).  This is more than a course of action within circumstances and instead is a lifestyle principle.  Moreover, you can tell Jesus’ influence on Paul.  Jesus taught his followers, “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you...” (Matt. 5:43-44 NASB).

Perhaps, you have read these words of Jesus before and wondered if He is setting too high a standard.  Maybe He is setting forth an ideal concept, or these actions are only for uber-spiritual people.  After all, all of us have encountered people who, to be polite, are challenging to deal with.  Jesus could not have intended a rude neighbor, an ill-tempered co-worker or a hostile in-law, could He?  By way of analogy, have you ever met or seen a person incredibly gifted in a specific talent?

 If you witnessed a group of four people juggling bowling pins to each other, would you believe that they only started juggling an hour before, or do you think that each one spent hours learning the skill and then worked together to develop rhythm and pattern?  Again, if you saw a man about to balance on a tightrope when doing a handstand, would you think that you’re seeing his first attempt?  It is far more likely that he has practiced for years.

Therefore, if your immediate reaction is not to love your enemies, do you think that will simply change or will it take work and effort?  Exercises that are intended to produce Spiritual Formation will be the focus of several blogs.  Many Christians from the time of Paul through the 21st-century have shared their experience in Spiritual Formation and here will be an exploration of that process.

Written by Pastor Ozzy

1995. Holy Bible: New American Standard Bible. LaHabra: The Lockman Foundation.

For more information, visit our website
http://ccvmontrose.org
Follow us on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/ccvmontrose
Or on Twitter
https://twitter.com/ccvmontroseco