Between the sacred and the secular

One of the largest problems in contemporary American Christianity today is that self proclaiming Christians are not acting like Jesus. There could be a lot of unpacking done with that statement, but I would rather be broad in saying that, in general, American Christianity is more focused on things like politics, institutionalizing, media, and culture than it is on its founder, who is Christ. I've been (slowly) reading Alan Hirsch's book The Forgotten Ways which talks about this idea of returning to the roots of what he calls the "Apostolic Genius" in both living and proclaiming a missional style of Christianity. I've found it rather intriguing that in his chapter on the heart of Christianity how he talks about this split between a Christian's understanding of the sacred and the secular, and how that split in a Christian's mind and thus lifestyle can be disastrous to the name by which we claim. Here are a couple interesting quotations on this topic:

"By setting up a place that we call 'sacred' because of the lighting, the incense, and the religious feel, what are we thereby saying about the rest of life? Is it not sacred? We cannot escape the conclusion that by setting up so called sacred spaces we , by implication, make all else 'not-sacred,' thereby assigning large aspect of life in a non-God, or secular, area." (p. 95)

"It is left to the believer to live one way in the sacred sphere and to have to live otherwise in the secular." (p. 96)

Whether you are a long-time devoted Christian or an occasional church go-er, this statement can speak volumes to you. This question begs to be asked: Is God only God on Sunday, in a church building, and under certain predetermined conditions, or is he God everywhere in the lives of everyone whether they choose to acknowledge him or not? I believe that the latter far outweighs the former. I mean come on, we're talking about God here, and yet how many times is there this mental and behavioral split between the sacred and the secular in our lives? Hirsch continues on about this subject by bringing attention to a pretty current event where this split is happening: the Rwandan genocide in Africa. He quotes Lee Camp who said:

"In fact, the Rwandan genocide highlights a recurrent failure of much historic Christianity. The proclamation of the 'gospel' has often failed to emphasize a fundamental element of the teaching of Jesus, and indeed, of orthodox Christian doctrine: 'Jesus is Lord' is a radical claim, one that is ultimately rooted in questions of allegiance, of ultimate authority, of the ultimate norm and standard for human life. Instead, Christianity has often sought to ally itself comfortably with allegiance to other authorities, be they political, economic, cultural, or ethic. Could it be that 'Jesus is Lord' has become one of the most widespread Christian lies? Have Christians claimed the lordship of Jesus, but systematically set aside the call to obedience to this Lord? At least in Rwanda, with 'Christian Hutus' slaughtering 'Christian Tutsis' (and vice versa), 'Christian' apparently served as a brand name - a 'spirituality,' or a 'religion' - but not a commitment to a common Lord" (p. 99)

Hirsch interpets this by saying:

"What does all this practically mean for those seeking to recover the Apostolic Genius in the life of the community of God? For one, it will involve (re)engaging directly the central confession of 'Jesus is Lord' and attempting to reorient the church around this life-orienting claim"

"...we need to constantly go back to our Founder and reset our faith and communal life on him." (p. 99)

"The first step in the recovery of Apostolic Genius is thus the recovery of the Lordship of Jesus in all its utter simplicity"

(p. 100)

The subtraction of the sacred away from all aspects of one's life can be highly damaging, whether one is a practicing Christian or not. Obviously the consequences can be deadly, and it's not just been in Rwanda, but in any injustice or genocide caused by Christians throughout history. A Christian needs to understand that their allegiance is to be to Christ, and his agenda, not ours, needs to come first and be promoted. Christians need to act the way Jesus wanted them to act. The sacred and the secular cannot be two but must be one. Jesus' lordship is the foundation to the Gospel moving forward effectively.

Acquaint thyself with God

A great end to The Knowledge of the Holy entitled "The Open Secret" which brings to a head all of the things discussed in the book and what to do with them. Everything that is in here is useless unless it is put into practice. I hope you enjoy the end to this wonderful work and consider reading it.

"When viewed from the perspective of eternity, the most critical need of this hour may well be that the Church should be brought back from her long Babylonian captivity and the name of God be glorified in her again as of old. Yet we must not think of the Church as an anonymous body, a mystical religious abstraction. We Christians are the Church and whatever we do is what the Church is doing. The matter, therefore, is for each of us a personal one. Any forward step in the Church must begin with the individual."

"The secret is an open one which the wayfaring man may read. It is simply the old and ever-new counsel: Acquaint thyself with God. To regain her lost power the Church must see heaven opened and have a transforming vision of God"

-Tozer busts into a list of six things that one may do to make this "return" happen-

"First, we must forsake our sins."

"Second, there must be an utter committal of the whole life to Christ in faith."

"Third, there must be a reckoning of ourselves to have died unto sin and to be alive unto God in Christ Jesus, followed by a throwing open of the entire personality to the inflow of the Holy Spirit."

"Fourth, we must boldly repudiate the cheap values of the fallen world and become completely detached in spirit from everything that unbelieving men set their hearts upon, allowing ourselves only the simplest enjoyments of nature which God has bestowed alike upon the just and unjust."

"Fifth, we must practice the art of long and loving meditation upon the majesty of God. This will take some effort, for the concept of majesty has all but disappeared from the human race. The focal point of man's interest is now himself."

"Sixth, as the knowledge of God becomes more wonderful, greater service to our fellow men will become for us imperative."

"There is a glorified Man on the right hand of the Majesty in heaven faithfully representing us there. We are left for a season among men; let us faithfully represent Him here."

A.W. Tozer The Knowledge of the Holy p.114-117

Man's will is free because God is sovereign

Compatiblism at its best. I always feel the need to err on the side of God's sovereignty over man's choice, yet one cannot ignore that man does have a choice just as much as we are to believe that God is in complete control. Although this whole chapter was a great read (and I recommend doing so if you have five extra minutes), here are some interesting insights. I tend to side with Tozer here.

"Here is my view: God sovereignly decreed that man should be free to exercise moral choice, and man from the beginning has fulfilled that decree by making his choice between good and evil. When he chooses to do evil, he does not thereby countervail the sovereign will of God but fulfills it, inasmuch as the eternal decree decided not which choice the man should make but that he should be free to make it. If in His absolute freedom God has willed to give man limited freedom, who is there to stay His hand or say, "What doest though?" Man's will is free because God is sovereign. A God less than sovereign would not bestow moral freedom upon His creatures. He would be afraid to do so." (italics added)

"The whole matter of moral choice centers around Jesus Christ. Christ stated it plainly: "He that is not with me is against me," and "No man cometh unto the Father, but by me." The gospel message embodies three distinct elements: an announcement, a command, and a call. It announced the good news of redemption accomplished in mercy; it commands all men everywhere to repent and it calls all men to surrender to the terms of grace by believing on Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour.

We must all chose whether we will obey the gospel or turn away in unbelief and reject its authority. Our choice is our own, but the consequences of the choice have already been determined by the sovereign will of God, and from this there is no appeal."

A.W Tozer The Knowledge of the Holy p. 110-113

Be holy, for I am holy

This is a lot of text, however as I kept reading I couldn't help but want to post it here; it's just that good, I hope you enjoy it and are not only marveled by our great God, but also take it to heart and let it change you.

"Until we have seen ourselves as God see us, we are not likely to be much disturbed over conditions around us as long as they do not get so far out of hand as to threaten our comfortable way of life"

"Neither the writer nor the reader of these words is qualified to appreciate the holiness of God. Quite literally a new channel must be cut through the desert of our minds to allow the sweet waters of truth that will heal our great sickness to flow in. We cannot grasp the true meaning of the divine holiness by thinking of someone or something very pure and then raising the concept to the highest degree we are capable of. God's holiness is not simply the best we know infinitely bettered. We know nothing like the divine holiness. It stands apart, unique, unapproachable, incomprehensible and unattainable. The natural man is blind to it. He may fear God's power and admire His wisdom, but His holiness he cannot even imagine."

"The feeling for mystery, even the Great Mystery, is basic in human nature and indispensable to religious faith, but it is not enough, Because of it men may whisper, "That awful Thing," but they do not cry, "My Holy One!" In the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures God carries forward His self-revelation and gives it personality and moral content. This awful Presence is shown to be not a Thing but a moral Being with all the warm qualities of genuine personality. More than this, He is the absolute quintessence of moral excellence, infinitely perfect in righteousness, purity, rectitude and incomprehensible holiness. And in all this He is uncreated, self sufficient and beyond the power of human thought to conceive or human speech to utter"

"God is holy and He has made holiness the moral condition necessary to the health of His universe. Sin's temporary presence in the world only accents this. Whatever is holy is healthy; evil is a moral sickness that must end ultimately in death"

"Since God's first concern for His universe is its moral health, that is, its holiness, whatever is contrary to this is necessarily under His eternal displeasure. To preserve His creation God must destroy whatever would destroy it. When He arises to put down iniquity and save the world from irreparable moral collapse, He is said to be angry. Every wrathful judgment in the history of the world has been a holy act of preservation. The holiness of God, the wrath of God, and the health of the creation are inseparable united. God's wrath is His utter intolerance of whatever degrades and destroys. He hates iniquity as a mother hates the polio that takes the life of her child."

"Above all we must believe that God sees us perfect in His Son while he disciplines and chastens and purges us that we may be partakers of His holiness.

By faith and obedience, by constant meditation on the holiness of God, by loving righteousness and hating iniquity, by a growing acquaintance with the Spirit of holiness, we can acclimate ourselves to the fellowship of the saints on earth and prepare ourselves for the eternal companionship of God and the saints above. Thus, as they say when humble believers meet, we will have a heaven to go to heaven in. "

-A.W. Tozer The Knowledge of the Holy p. 103-107

God is love

"The words 'God is love' mean that love is an essential attribute of God. Love is something true of God but it is not God. It expresses the way God is in His unitary being, as do the words holiness, justice, faithfulness and truth. Because God is immutable He always acts like Himself, and because He is a unity He never suspends one of His attributes in order to exercise another."

"The Lord takes peculiar pleasure in His saints. Many think of God as far removed, gloomy and mightily displeased with everything, gazing down in a mood of fixed apathy upon a world in which He has long ago lost interest; but this is to think erroneously. True, God hates sin and can never look with pleasure upon iniquity, but where men seek to do God's will He responds in genuine affection. Christ in His atonement has removed the bar to the divine fellowship. Now in Christ all believing souls are objects of God's delight. 'The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing.'"

"The love of God is one of the great realities of the universe, a pillar upon which the hope of the world rests. But it is a personal, intimate thing, too. God does not love populations, He loves people. He loves not masses, but men. He loves us all with a mighty love that has no beginning and can have no end.

In Christian experience there is a highly satisfying love content that distinguishes it from all other religions and elevates it to heights far beyond even the purest and noblest philosophy. This love content is more than a thing; it is God Himself in the midst of His Church singing over his people. True Christian joy is the heart's harmonious response to the Lord's song of love. "

--A.W. Tozer The Knowledge of the Holy p. 98, 100-101, 102

Everlasting Grace

"No one was ever saved other than by grace, from Abel to the present moment. Since mankind was banished from the eastward Garden, none has ever returned to the divine favor except through the sheer goodness of God. And wherever grace found any man it was always by Jesus Christ. Grace indeed came by Jesus Christ, but it did not wait for His birth in the manger or His death on the cross before it became operative. Christ is the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. The first man in human history to be reinstated in the fellowship of God came through faith in Christ. In olden times men looked forward to Christ's redeeming work; in later times they gaze back upon it, but always they came and they come by grace, through faith."

"We who feel ourselves alienated from the fellowship of God can now raise our discouraged heads and look up. Through the virtues of Christ's atoning death the cause of our banishment has been removed. We may return as the Prodigal returned, and be welcome. As we approach the Garden, our home before the Fall, the flaming sword is withdrawn. The keepers of the tree of life stand aside when they see a son of grace approaching."

-A.W. Tozer, The Knowledge of the Holy p. 95-96

The Banquet Hall of Mercy

I've been reading A.W. Tozer's The Knowledge of the Holy as a devotional part of my day. I highly recommend it as such. I would definitely put this into the top 10 works I've read while being at college. I hope you enjoy this metaphor on the mercy of God:

"We may plead for mercy for a lifetime in unbelief, and at the end of our days be still no more than sadly hopeful that we shall somewhere, sometime, receive it. This is to starve to death just outside the banquet hall in which we have been warmly invited. Or we may, if we will, lay hold on the mercy of God by faith, enter the hall, and sit down with the bold and avid souls who will not allow diffidence and unbelief to keep them from the feast of fat things prepared for them." - A.W. Tozer