|
|
|
“Do not wait for leaders; do it alone, person to person.” – Mother Teresa October, 2022 A
couple of weeks ago, a local
(St. Louis, MO) news anchor
reported that it wasn’t
known if a bright object
above Moscow Mills, MO was a
meteor or a shooting star.
If you follow my occasional
Facebook posts, you already
know my reaction but in case
you don’t, I’ll repeat it
now: “They’re the same
thing!” There was no
mystery. It would be like
wondering if an animal were
a dachshund or a wiener dog.
I learned what a “shooting
star” was in grade school
and my suspicion is that
most of my generation did
too. And if the anchor had
meant that no one knew
whether the object had
burned up in the atmosphere
or had reached the ground,
then she should have said
that.
In a similar vein, I believe that, as persons of faith, we should know what we believe, and be able to articulate it. I’m grateful that the United Methodist Church doesn’t ask you to check your brain at the door. John Wesley’s “Wesleyan Quadrilateral,” of Scripture, tradition, experience, and reason, forms a large part of our faith tradition. (I should note that Wesley didn’t invent it but simply added “experience” to what the Anglican Church already taught.) In some translations, 2 Timothy 2:15 says something like, “Study to show yourself approved to God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” (American King James Version). Most modern translations render it as something more like, “Do your best to present yourself to God as one Our church offers Bible and other studies various times a year, and I find them helpful. In fact, there’s one going on now and if you attend, I encourage you to take part (and how’s that for a plug?) But there’s more to it than simply learning for our own edification. Knowing and understanding the foundations of our faith also makes us better equipped to defend and explain it. There are Christians who have a strong focus on “apologetics,” which means they can explain what they believe, that they can somehow “prove” the truth of their beliefs. Frankly, I don’t take that approach. There are things about the Christian faith—or at least my personal brand of Christian faith—that simply aren’t subject to proof. If they were, we wouldn’t need faith. Peter told his readers, “But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.” (1 Pet. 3:15a NIV). I can explain the difference between an apostle and an epistle (one is a servant of Christ; the other is a letter). But more importantly, I can explain who I believe Jesus was, and why that matters to me. Some evangelicals say they can explain the “plan of salvation” beginning with Genesis 1:1, and while it does matter that you can put the various parts of the Bible into context, there are other approaches. I like to begin with Romans 3:23, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” (NIV). Without sin, there’s no need for salvation. There’s no need for a savior, no need for a cross. But it doesn’t take much observation to realize that humans are, at times, selfish, cantankerous, destructive, just plain sinful. But fortunately, the story doesn’t end with our sin. The passage from Romans continues, “and all are justified freely by his grace . . .” It doesn’t end with us in a state of sin. That’s the “good news.” That’s the message we have to share. Even if you don’t share your faith when the opportunity arises—but I hope you do—a fuller understanding of Scripture is important for our own edification and spiritual life. “There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith.” (Rom. 3:22b-25a ESV.) Copyright © 2022
by David Phelps
|
