Dealing with Forgiveness

Many people, who profess faith in Jesus, operate under a Christianity that is functionally moral, but is actually devoid of Jesus and devoid of transforming power. I recognized this, yet again, at a conference last week when a speaker, professing faith in Christ gave a great moral definition of forgiveness, but not a gospel, Jesus-centered definition. What he shared could have been said, by Oprah, or anyone whose main goal is to simply get along and be "nice." The people listening responded with obvious emotion, including tears, proving the scenario a desperate one.

The man's definition of forgiveness was this, "Forgiveness is the releasing of your right to seek revenge when wronged." Morally, this sounds good. If we're going to operate in a world broken and ravaged by sin and sinners, then we're going to encounter constant situations where we must forgive the wrong-doing of others and hope that they will extend the same grace in kind.

While me must forgive, I can think of at least three reasons why this moral definition is weak and problematic:

1. This form of moral forgiveness, while it allows you continue in a lifestyle of niceness, does not release you from being a perpetual victim. When wronged, you have nowhere to carry your grief, no one hear your case, no real sense of justice. You simply release your right to demand justice. The result is a culture of pretenders who put on plastic smiles in the midst of devastating grief, whose only hope is that enough time will pass so that the pain that can only be ignored will eventually go away and history will be re-written to have never included that episode of misery. It does not offer the true freedom that Gospel-forgiveness promises.

2. This view perverts the Biblical portrait of Justice and challenges God's holiness. If forgiveness amounts to "letting it go," then God is cruel for demanding justice and taking vengence upon evil and not a God who hears the cries of the upright in heart and moves on behalf of the oppressed. But the Scriptures teach that He is (Deut. 32:4, II Sam. 22:7, Psalm 18:4). He does not simply release the right for revenge. Over and over in the OT, we witness God making the promise to put an end to all wrong doing. In the response of God to the wickedness of the serpent and Adam and his wife Eve, we have the promise that this will be put to an end (Gen. 3:15).

We must refrain from attempting to change God so that He is a cosmic Santa Claus who strictly withholds reward from those who are "naughty." The Scriptures paint a picture of a God whose justice demands payment and who desires His people to do the same (Ex. 34:7, Lev. 16:16 & Gen. 18:19, Ex. 23:2, Deut. 16:19-20, etc.).

3. Most devastatingly, this view of forgiveness, when professed as a Christian view actually changes the very Gospel that we count on to be reconciled and see the world made right, because it removes the centrality of the cross for forgiveness.

Paul reminds the church at Corinth of the primary points of the Gospel in I Cor. 15. He points out that Christ died for sinners. That he was buried, that he raised and appeared. These things are of utmost importance to the Christian Faith and it is eternally dangerous to change that message (Gal. 1:6-9). The death of Jesus is the very act that makes forgiveness possible. The debt for wrong doing is not "let go," but paid. It is condemned in Jesus and sets the guilty free (Rom. 8:1-3). It was not a simple release, but the brutal murder of the guiltless, eternal son of God.

The Passion of the Christ 20th Century Fox and Icon Productions 2004

Gospel forgiveness would be defined as "releasing the right for personal wrath in recognition that the injustice has been dealt with." As my friend Mike pointed out, the axiom goes from "Eye for an eye" to "Jesus for an eye."

There is power in realizing that justice has been served. The condemnation that you rightly wish to execute has not simply been arbitrarily let go, it has been carried out. The Gospel changes EVERYTHING. In the resurrection, there is newness to life and the promise that the death of innocence and safety is overcome by the mercy and grace of God. Realizing this grants freedom to see the relationship renewed with a foundation other than brokenness. May we learn to apply a forgiveness in keeping with the Gospel.

New Series - Rethinking Church

Our next series is a five part topical series aiming at a working definition of the Church.

In his book, Vintage Church, Mark Driscoll rightly points out that "for much of the history of the church the definition of church has simply been assumed" (p. 35).

We will work through the following topics:
1. What is the Christian Life?
2. What is the Christian Community?
3. What is the Mission for Individuals?
4. What is the Mission for Local Culture?
5. What is the Mission for Global Culture?

We'll follow this up by having my friend David Speights from Thailand come and share what he's been doing and how we can get involved.

This series will begin on Sunday, Aug. 9 at 10:00 am at our building in downtown Asheville.

Ministry Structure at Missio Dei Part 1

Missio Dei Church began with a general dissatisfaction with the many and varied forms by which church was being done. It seemed as though the grand story of God’s Gospel and Kingdom were at best forgotten and at worst, being ignored, minimized or changed.

While it’s very easy to deconstruct church paradigms, it takes heavy reliance on the Spirit through prayer and Scriptural study to “reconstruct” what the church should be. Many are asking good questions, but not digging into the Bible and thus are coming up with creative and new ways of being disobedient to God and the Gospel.

The dream at Missio Dei was that we would not come up with new ways of doing church. Our intention has been to always “contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 3), so that things such as virgin birth of Messiah, inspiration, infallibility, inerrancy, authority of Scripture, necessity of faith in Christ alone, etc. were not up for debate. Missio Dei, to be a faithful, Christ honoring church would have to remain committed to an unchanging Gospel, contextualized to a changing culture. The Gospel would be the foundation of our community.

The Gospel, as presented in Scripture is not simply a way into the Kingdom. It is the way of the Kingdom of God. The Gospel expressed in the Scriptures teaches us that human beings were created to be perfect reflections of God, husbands and wives, parents, developers of culture, etc. (Gen. 1:26-28). In essence, humans were to be a people who rule over creation by living according to God’s truth, in communion with God and one another. Adam, our first father, failed and since the fall of our father Adam, by nature and by choice, we are fallen in our capacities and abilities from being what we were created to be. And because of this, God Himself curses us (Gen. 3:17-19, Rom. 8:19-22). Albert Wolters describes it precisely saying, “Whether we look at societal structures such as the state or family, or cultural pursuits such as art or technology, or bodily functions such as sexuality or eating, or anything within the wide scope of creation, we discover that the good handiwork of God has been drawn into the sphere of human mutiny against God” (Creation Regained, p. 54).

The good news is that there is One who would perfectly rule over creation, live according to God’s truth and commune with God and man. Jesus was the perfect image of God and came to rescue (John 6:38-40). Jesus form of rescue was not simply an example of a better way to live (though it was that), but He was condemned in humanity’s place. Three days after his unjust murder on a Roman cross, He rose from the dead and ascended to the Father (Rom. 5:6-11). The aim of Jesus is to bring new life and vitality to the fallen, broken creation; to restore creation’s original purpose (Col. 1:15-20).

Jesus is working to restore creation through the church, whose call is to promote renewal in every area of creation (John 20:21, II Cor. 5:17-21). This authoritative sending activity of God is not simply propositional (Matt. 28:18-20). The goal of making disciples takes place in the context of relationships. This means that, in everything we do, we are to be engaged in building friendships and showing the beauty of the gospel (the hope of redemption) to the world around us. We attempt, though imperfectly, to spell out personal and corporate (group) beliefs and behavior patterns that show the larger society what the Kingdom of God is all about.

With this Gospel-centered vision for the church community, and a desire to organize in simple and honest ways, I began reflecting on how we would express the body of Christ (I Cor. 12:27)and mobilize the church to effectively go into the city with the Gospel. The convictions that formed our ministry design included the commitment to facilitate environments where the Gospel is preached for clarity, applied to life among fellows on the journey, and shared with our culture through service. These environments lined up neatly with the offices Christ came to fulfill and the areas in which he succeeded where Adam failed.

The offices are Prophet (declaring the truth of God), Priest (communion with God and people), and King (ruling over creation). They shape our environments of gathering for explanation/proclamation of the Gospel, community groups for exploration of the Gospel, and lifestyle service for expression of the Gospel.

In future articles, I’ll unpack how these environments are played out in the context of Asheville, a creative urban hub for the spiritually and morally disenfranchised of the Southeast.

Missio Dei Praxis: Faith Worth Sharing

Our Spring Membership class is underway and next Wednesday, May 6, we'll kick off our practical theology (Praxis) class. Theology that doesn't connect to and challenge the way we do life, so we're going to do our best to connect the mind to the heart to the hands. We hope to inform your thinking, motivate your heart, and process the tools to make sharing the gospel a reality (without being sales pitchy).

Week 1, we'll look at the tension of the absolute control of God in all things and the responsibility of people to respond to God. Week 2, we'll explore the reasons that we're not fully engaged in sharing the Gospel (lack of information, opportunity, trust, concern, relationship, etc.).
Week 3, we'll coach through some ways to develop a lifestyle that communicates trust in the Gospel.

You can sign up by filling out a connect card at Sunday's worship gathering or emailing Pastor Kurt (kurt@LivingUncommon.org).

Exposed: The Naked Truth...

Title and graphic for our series on roles, relationships and sexuality. The series starts this Sunday, Jan. 11 at a new time 10 am.



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Plant & Thrive

I cannot express enough gratitude for the influence and sharpening that I get personally and Missio Dei recieves through the Acts 29 Network. Their concern for the clear preaching of the Gospel and the attention and care for the men preaching the Gospel is top notch.

In February, Vintage 21 in Raleigh will host the Acts 29 bootcamp Plant & Thrive.

This bootcamp is required for all Acts 29 applicants and is helpful for anyone thinking about church planting, no matter your denominational affiliation.

Main sessions include speakers, Mark Driscoll (Mars Hill Church, Seattle), Tyler Jones (Vintage 21, Raleigh), Daniel Montgomery (Sojourn Community Church, Louisville), Dr. Wayne Grudem, and Dr. Andreas Kostenberger among others.

You can get more information including registration on the Acts 29 Network website.

I'll be there assisting with assessments and if you're thinking about going, would love to get a chance to dialogue about your plant.