Beginning of Wisdom (Torah Club) lesson #46: Venerating false Messiahs as men who pleased God

 

Would you expect a Christian ministry to include a story in one of their publications about the purity and righteousness of Joseph Smith?  How about one that speaks of the actions of Charles Russell (founder of the Jehovah's Witnesses) as an illustration of what the Apostle John was trying to teach about the love of God?  If that sort of veneration of false teachers was found in any publication of any reputable Christian ministry or denomination, the uproar would be loud, widespread, and entirely justified.  I could have chosen Buddha or Confucius to make this point, Gandhi or the Dalai Lama, or any number of people that are admired by many, even millions of people, but who did not have a relationship with Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.  We can admire someone, we can be fascinated by their life story or what they accomplished, but only God sets the standard for who is righteous in his sight, and that status is only possible through his Son.  To venerate anyone as a righteous person who pleased God WIHTOUT Jesus is an anathema to the Gospel, it is blasphemy.  

That's exactly what First Fruits of Zion has done in Lesson 46 of the Beginning of Wisdom, they just did so by using 18th century European mystics that are not as familiar as my examples are to an American.  To be clear, this objection is not an indictment of the life of either of the two Jewish leaders that FFOZ chose to venerate, nor is it an indictment of Judaism, or even Hasidic Judaism, the branch of Judaism the two of them were instrumental in founding / shaping, in particular.  They may have been good men, they may have been wise in their area of study, they may have been loving and kind, even exceptionally so.  They may be worthy of veneration within the religious movement they helped give direction to.  What they are not, what they cannot be, no matter what, is an example of someone whose righteousness pleased God.

To a universalist, that's an absurd statement.  If we set aside the bedrock truth of God's Word that, "all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God" because, "There is no one righteous, not even one." (Isaiah 64:6, Romans 3:10 & 3:23), and we set aside the bedrock truth spoken by Jesus, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life," (John 14:6), we would find ourselves in a world where people who are decent, good, even righteous in human eyes who should be lauded and praised for rising above the evil in this world.  BUT, we don't live in that world.  The reality is that there are none who are righteous in God's sight, all have sinned, and "the wages of sin is death." (Romans 6:23).  Without Jesus Christ, without faith in him to save us from our sins, we are entirely and irrevocably lost, period.  Whether this Truth is palatable or not, it is the Gospel given to us by God.  There is no other path, no Plan B or consolation prize, "Salvation is found in no one else, for there is not other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved." (Acts 4:12).

Unless you are a universalist of some kind, someone who doesn't believe that Jesus is necessary for salvation, at least for some people...

Lesson 46, page 15
"A similar story is told about the Baal Shem Tov.  It happened once that the Ball Shem Tov realized a heavenly decree had been issued against the Jewish community.  He determined to persuade God to reverse the decree.  Like Moses praying to enter the promised land, he threw himself into prayer and fasting, wrestling with God, so to speak.  He refused to relent until hie managed to reverse the decree and save the Jewish community.  However, the victory came at a great personal price.  A heavenly voice informed him that he had forfeited his own place in the World to Come.  Rather than grow despondent over the prospect, the Baal Shem Tov rejoiced.  He said, 'At last, I will know that my service of God is born purely out of a heart of love for Him and devotion to Him and not out of any hope for reward or fear of punishment.'"

Before we look at what FFOZ said about him, the Reader's Digest version of who Baal Shem Tov was: Baal Shem Tov, or "Master of the Good Name," is how Israel ben Eliezer (1700-1760) is known.  Israel was a Polish Jewish mystic who is regarded as the founder of Hasidic Judaism (a segment of ultra-Orthodox Judaism originating in Eastern Europe, most followers of it today live in the USA or Israel).  Today his life is surrounded by legends of miracles, so much so that the apostate Bart Ehrman has used him as an example to discredit the eyewitness account in the Gospels of the miracles of Jesus Christ by saying that eyewitnesses believed Baal Shem Tov to be a miracle worker too.  

From the Jewish Encyclopedia article on his life: {Besht is an abbreviation of Baal Shem Tov}

"The foundation-stone of Ḥasidism as laid by Besht is a strongly marked pantheistic conception of God. He declared the whole universe, mind and matter, to be a manifestation of the Divine Being; that this manifestation is not an emanation from God, as is the conception of the Cabala, for nothing can be separated from God: all things are rather forms in which He reveals Himself. When man speaks, said Besht, he should remember that his speech is an element of life, and that life itself is a manifestation of God. Even evil exists in God. This seeming contradiction is explained on the ground that evil is not bad in itself, but only in its relation to man."

With that brief consideration of the life of Baal Shem Tov (Israel ben Eliezer) in mind, how does FFOZ choose to connect this mystic to its lesson?  By praising a bold assertion of heresy.  In the story related to the Torah Club members by Lancaster and FFOZ, God rewards Baal Shem Tov by answering his prayer, but at the cost of condemning his soul.  This supposed "bargain" with God not only elevates Baal Shem Tov to a messianic level (he supposedly saved his entire people from destruction by sacrificing himself), it also portrays God in a blasphemous way as a God who would trade the soul of one he loves simply to change his own mind.  God has never condemned a soul unjustly as he is portrayed as doing in the story FFOZ cites.  Such a God is unworthy of worship and praise, that's who God would be if he let Abraham go through with sacrificing Isaac, such a God is NOT the God of the Bible.  

To recap the dangerous errors of using this example of Baal Shem Tov in the lesson: (1) It venerates a false Messiah-figure, (2) it treats the actions of a non-believer as righteous before God without reference to faith in Christ, (3) and by extension it puts an implicit stamp of approval on Baal Shem Tov's heretical pantheism.

Lesson 46, page 15
"Once, it happened that the disciples of Schneur Zalman (1745-1812), the first Lubavitcher Rebbe, overheard their rabbi in ecstatic prayer, crying out, 'I don't want your Paradise, I don't want your World to Come, I want only You.'  These stories illustrate the Apostle John's words, 'There is not fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love.  We love, because He first loved us.'"(1 John 4:18-19)."

Before we look at what FFOZ said about him, the Reader's Digest version of who Schneur Zalman was: Schneur was a Russian Jewish rabbi commonly known as the Alter Rebbe who was the founder and first Rebbe (spiritual leader) of Chabad (a dynasty with chosen successors), which is a branch of Hasidic Ultra-Orthodox Judaism.  The 7th Rebbe Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson (d. 1994) taught that Baal Shem Tov was a divine manifestation (known as Sephirot) of infinite faith, and that Schneur Zalman was a divine manifestation of infinite wisdom.  By many of his followers in the movement, Schneerson is believed to have been the Messiah; that's the movement that Zalman founded, and the one that FFOZ is linking its teaching to.  

In case you are wondering, linking to the Lubavitch Movement and its messianic claims is the kind of thing that would shock both liberal and conservative rabbis within Messianic Judaism.  FFOZ isn't building bridges here, they're lighting them on fire.

With that brief introduction into Schneur Zalman in mind, how does FFOZ choose to connect this mystical rabbi to the lesson?  By making him an example of what the Apostle John was teaching about perfect love.  This use is beyond the ordinary false teaching of FFOZ into the realm of outright blasphemy as it is telling Torah Club followers that the Apostle John, the very disciple whom Jesus loved, was talking about someone like Schneur Zalman in 1 John.  What's the problem with this connection?  The answer is simple, and it doesn't have anything to do with Zalman's life except one fact about it.  John's entire contextual (the part FFOZ likes to ignore) thesis in 1 John is that any true and genuine believer must have 3 things to prove they have the genuine faith that pleases God: (1) walking in the light / obeying God's commands, (2) love for our fellow brothers and sisters in the faith, and (3) affirmation that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God.  Take away one of them and the whole thing falls apart.  

1 John repeats these 3 factors over and over, fifty-two times to be exact {I know because I wrote a book on the subject: Christianity's Big Tent: The Ecumenism of 1 John}, with thirty-one positive statements on how to demonstrate you are part of God's family, and twenty-one negative statements that show who is not.  Of these, seventeen are about what we believe, eleven times John says we must affirm Jesus (as the Christ, the Son of God, who came in the flesh) and six times we are told we cannot deny Jesus and be in God's family.  In case you're curious now, there are fourteen statements in John about our need to love each other, which leaves twelve about our need to follow God's commands.  That is what John is actually teaching, in context.

HOW could Zalman know the "perfect love" that "casts out fear" if he didn't know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior?  If he had confidence before God, it was a false confidence because it was based upon his own work not that of Jesus Christ.  If he did not feel fear when contemplating standing before Almighty God in judgment, he should have, because all who will stand before God without the being clothed in the righteousness of Christ will be condemned.  Being good, kind, loving, smart, zealous, none of it matters.  Our faith is in Christ, and Christ alone.  Faith alone, in Christ alone, by grace alone.  As a reminder, FFOZ utterly rejects the Five Solae of the Reformation: Rethinking the Five Solae

The stories of Baal Shem Tov and Schneur Zalman are NOT stories that illustrate what the Apostle John was teaching in 1 John.  To claim this, as FFOZ has done, is to deny the necessity of the saving Blood of Jesus Christ because John's entire point is that our connection to the love of God must be through Jesus.  We already know from Aaron Eby's, "What Replaces Replacement Theology?" that FFOZ is willing to hint that the Jewish people don't need Jesus to be saved.  This lesson is a much bolder assertion, it proclaims that men who have been elevated to the status of prophets, or even that of a Messiah, by their followers, who have thus led many astray away from God's salvation, should be venerated as wise and righteous despite having no connection to Jesus Christ.

The average American sitting in a Torah Club hearing this lesson won't know who either of the Jewish mystics are that FFOZ chooses to proclaim as heroes of the faith.  Most will assume that both were Messianic Jews, that they shared with them a belief in Jesus.  Ignorance is not bliss.  What FFOZ is doing in this lesson is heretical (an implicit statement that Jews don't need Jesus since these men who rejected him are elevated to saint-like status), blasphemous (ascribing "perfect love" to someone who doesn't know Jesus, thus equating human effort with divine grace), and grossly cynical as it depends upon their followers being unwilling to examine what they're being taught.

For the sake of those who are being led astray by FFOZ, I wish I was only able to find small errors or follies, but the opposite is true.  The dangers of FFOZ are very, very real.

Sermon Video: Saved by Grace - Ephesians 2:8-9

The essence of the Gospel is our salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ.  This is a simple message, but also the most powerful one that ever has been.  It challenges human pride and it rests upon the love of God.  Attempts have been made to supplement God's grace with human effort, these have all ended in the failure that such folly deserves.  In the end we are left with this joyous message: By grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, to the glory of God alone.

Because of His Great Love for Us - Ephesians 2:4-5, Sermon Video

The Apostle Paul offers us hope with a well placed "But."  Immediately after proclaiming that humanity is spiritually "dead" Paul continues by telling us that God didn't leave us in that woeful state, but did something about it "because of his great love for us."  Love was the answer to humanity's turmoil, God's love.  God worked with mercy to provide salvation through Jesus Christ.

Beginning of Wisdom (Torah Club) lesson #16: Explaining salvation through the lens of Hasidic Judaism

There is much that we, as disciples of Jesus gathered together in the Church can learn from both ancient and modern Judaism.  The scriptures themselves contain many of these truths and lessons, but when and where other sources connected to Judaism contain Truth, we should not allow pride or prejudice to stand in the way of embracing it.  To an extent, this same principle applies to every other philosophy and religion on the basis of the general revelation that the Apostle Paul describes in Romans 1.  Truth is Truth even when those who hold it have only a small piece of the whole.  With respect to Judaism there is an added layer because the descendants of Abraham were chosen by God to be his covenantal people and given ongoing insight through special revelation from the time of Moses through the time of their greatest prophet, Jesus of Nazareth.  It is useful, then, for Christians to consider Truth when it is found in the Talmud (for example), for many of its rabbinic sources were men of faith looking forward to the Messiah (Hebrews 11).  Given that these oral traditions were not codified until the 4th century (Jerusalem Talmud) or the 5th century (Babylonian Talmud), the influence of the editors/compilers who rejected Jesus as the Messiah is also to be expected.  Nevertheless, texts like these retain some value for the Christian study of the Hebrew Scriptures in particular, offering us insights into how the text was interpreted in ancient times by the Jewish people.  

All this is what the First Fruits of Zion purports to be doing, and if this was all there was to it, I'd be supportive of their work as it would mirror my own educational efforts with respect to the original authors and audience of God's Word.  But that's not where it ends.

When utilizing sources from those who do not believe in Jesus, if they are those who believed in the God of Abraham, as is the case here, or those who did not, like the Greek philosophers that have influenced Church history, it is necessary that we proceed with caution especially when the topic at hand relates to the message of the Gospel.

For example, what the Talmud says about Isaiah 53 is of interest to the Church {For a useful discussion: Isaiah 53: The Forbidden Chapter - by R.L. Solberg} but ultimately this prophecy is about Jesus of Nazareth and those voices within Judaism which point in a different direction (that Israel itself is the Suffering Servant) have historical but not theological authority for Christians.  Let us treat these voices within Judaism, both ancient and modern, with respect and dignity, but they have no authority over those who claim Jesus as Lord and Savior.

Which brings us to this example from the Torah Club lesson The Beginning of Wisdom #16 published in 2022 by FFOZ.  It is of historic significance for the Church to understand how various voices within the diverse opinions that constitute Judaism through the centuries have discussed the issue of salvation.  This is a worthwhile topic of study.  What did they believe that mankind needed to be saved from?  What did they think God's role in this salvation was and what was the role of human beings?  What is the role of faith, works, and grace in their view?  Answers to these questions have value and are worthy of study by Christian writers, theologians, and teachers.  But at the same time, we must recognize that if the source we're studying doesn't accept Jesus as the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, neither the foundation nor the conclusions offered by that source can have any theological authority for followers of Jesus.

If Jesus isn't the heart and soul of your explanation of God's offer of salvation to humanity, what you have to say at best is helpful so that I might properly share the Gospel with those who believe as you do, but at worst your ideas are, to use Paul's term, a "stumbling block."  Again, this is true whether that source comes from Judaism, Greek Philosophy, Islam, Rationalism, Hinduism, or any other.  As Acts 4:12 makes abundantly clear, "Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”

So when FFOZ shares one of the ways in which Hasidic Judaism (they spell it Chasidic) defines the cause of the human condition and God's response to it, it has historic value, but it cannot be presented by any orthodox understanding of Christianity as divine Truth.  On page 10, Daniel Lancaster prefaces this forthcoming tale of the preexistent soul's journey by saying, "Its an incredible journey."  On page 11, there is an attempt to connect this idea of the preexistent human soul to the Gospel message of repentance, Christ's atonement, faith, and forgiveness, which is a good thing, but the yeast has already been mixed in with the dough.  If FFOZ wanted to present this material as something to take note of, but not something it expects Torah Club members to believe, they would need to say so loud and clear, but they fail in this particular case and reinforce that failure by using the study questions #2 and #3 (see picture above) to reinforce the teaching that they took from Paul Philip Levertoff whom they say borrowed the ideas from Hasidic Judaism.  This is not a one-off bit of sloppiness where admiration for an early Messianic Jewish leader got the better of Lancaster who has taught over and over again in this series that he believes that accepting that our souls existed in paradise with God before we were born is a foundational teaching, one that has come up in roughly every other lesson, each time with a stamp of approval.

And this ultimately is the danger of not exercising discernment about the sources that are trusted to teach Christians about theology.  It isn't that FFOZ doesn't teach the Truth at all, at times they sound like an evangelical organization, but this Truth is always mixed with a wide variety of errors that were condemned by the Early Church (such as Subordinationism and Modalism), or as is the case here, come from modern Jewish mysticism.  The resulting mish-mash is something that neither Judaism nor Christianity can stomach as it attempts to shoe-horn Jesus into categories and concepts that were made by those who rejected Jesus as Messiah, all the while telling Gentile Christians who don't know better that this is the "authentic" and "original" belief of those who first followed Jesus.  The end result isn't pretty.

Local Torah Club leader contends that Paul's Damascus Road experience was an "adjustment", hear how Paul actually describes his encounter with Jesus Christ.

The following was part of a series of comments on my YouTube channel, specifically the video introducing our objections as a ministerium to the Torah Clubs back in February of 2023.  Heather Mohnkern is the leading local Torah Club leader and their primary spokesperson in Venango County, she and her husband Keith were given an award by the First Fruits of Zion organization for outstanding service at the 2022 Malchut Conference.

To also add to the conversation…a recurring theme of the Gospels is Jesus pointing out the ‘religious hierarchies need to be theologically right’ took a secondary role  to ‘being in relationship and trusting the one walking with them’ and correcting established theology that had been misapplied.  Even Saul of Tarsus needed to have an ‘adjustment’ via his Damascus Road experience. He did not have to throw out his theology he just had to have an encounter with His G-d that bound the two together into something that would change the nations….relationship then theology.  And Paul never taught contradictory to Torah if you can remove supersessionism from hundreds of years of interpretations of his writings.  There is a whole academic explosion happening in the world right now to correct that which has  negatively impacted the greater Christian orthodoxy. - Heather Mohnkern, Franklin area Torah Club leader, 1/3/23

This then is the heart of the matter, did Saul of Tarsus only need an "adjustment" by encountering God, one that left his theology intact (or at least mostly intact)?  Was Saul of Tarsus on the right track in life, only missing that Jesus was indeed the Messiah, or did the roots of his murderous hatred toward the followers of Jesus run much deeper?  To be honest, I've never heard anyone downplay the Damascus Road experience before, but thinking about it, this is a necessary contention for First Fruits of Zion to make given that they believe (and teach) that Jesus was only a reformer of Judaism and that neither he nor Paul, nor any of Jesus early followers, intended to found the Church or Christianity.  From that viewpoint, Saul of Tarsus must have been one of the most excellent men of his day, for he was a follower of the Law of Moses with which few could compare.  Let's let Paul explain what really happened in his own words...

Galatians 1:13  New International Version

For you have heard of my previous way of life in Judaism, how intensely I persecuted the church of God and tried to destroy it.

Before meeting Jesus on the road to Damascus, Saul of Tarsus was entirely opposed to the teaching and message of Jesus Christ, he wanted to destroy everything that Jesus had created.

Galatians 1:14  New International Version

I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people and was extremely zealous for the traditions of my fathers.

Saul was both full of zeal and following the dictates of the Law of Moses as understood by his rabbinic teachers to the fullest, few if any could compare with his accomplishments within that system.  And yet, looking back on this life, how did the now Apostle Paul think of it, how close to God was he in that previous life?

Philippians 3:4b-11  New International Version

If someone else thinks they have reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for righteousness based on the law, faultless.7 But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. 8 What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. 10 I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.

When Saul got up off the ground on the way to Damascus, having seen the risen Lord Jesus Christ, his entire understanding of what it meant to be in a relationship with God had changed.  His entire understanding of what God required of his people had shifted radically.  Faith, not works was the key.  Love, not precision in obedience to the minutia of the Law was its engine.  The man who wandered blind into Damascus to find Ananias was seeing things clearly for the first time in his life.  Prior to this he had known all about the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, but he had not known him at all.  Saul of Tarsus could not have been in relationship with God because he had not faith, only self-righteousness.

"He did not have to throw out his theology" is a claim that fits well with the teachings of TC/FFOZ, for they would love to hold up Saul the Pharisee and just add faith in Jesus to that foundation, but that's not what happened, that's not how Paul himself felt about it.  In fact, what Saul thought he knew about God needed to change dramatically before he emerged as the Apostle Paul, the champion of grace and faith.

An adjustment??  When God knocks you off a horse because you're on your way to murder his people, he's got more than an adjustment in mind.

Sermon Video: The threefold office of the Messiah: Priest - Psalm 110:4

The second of the threefold offices of the Messiah (Prophet, Priest, and King), prophet, is expounded by King David himself in Psalm 110 where he writes that God's Messiah will combine his kingly duties with that of the priesthood.  At first this makes no sense, the Law of Moses requires that only those descended from Aaron and the tribe of Levi can be priest and serve at the Temple, so what gives?  David answers the question by explaining that this future priest will be, "in the order of Melchizedek."  The name Melchizedek harkens back to a priest of the LORD who served in what would become Jerusalem during Abraham's lifetime.  He is brought into Abraham's story in Genesis only briefly, but the precedent is understood by David as an exception to the rule of the Law (since it preceded it).  The book of Hebrews expounds upon this topic (chapters 5-7), but we ought to be able to reason out that the God who wrote the Law is capable of setting it aside (abrogating, expanding, modifying, take your pick) to fulfill his purpose.  His purpose in this case?  That Jesus Christ might not only be the priest who makes the once-for-all offering to bring salvation, but the Lamb of God being sacrificed as well.

Sermon Video: Believe in Jesus, and you will be saved - Romans 10:5-13

How simple is it to receive the Good News of the Gospel?

Amazingly simple.  The intellectual hurdle is minimal, one only need acknowledge that Jesus has risen from the dead and he is Lord.  The crux of the matter is the willingness of the heart to accept the need for salvation in Jesus.

For everyone who does so, seeking salvation in Jesus, they will find it.

Sermon Video: Salvation depends upon God's mercy, not human effort - Romans 9:10-18

It is all about the mercy.  Salvation depends utterly upon the mercy of God, thanks be to God for that.  The Apostle Paul uses the example of Jacob and Esau (twin brothers) to demonstrate that God's mercy does not depend upon our character or effort, he gives it to whom he chooses.

Why is this a conclusion to be praised rather than a cause for alarm about freewill?   Because God's love, mercy, and grace will always be greater, more reliable, and more effective than any human effort.

Sermon Video: The Gospel in a nutshell - Romans 6:23

The Gospel in one sentence.  Think about that for a moment.  God's plan to redeem humanity from sin and death, to turn humanity history from a tragedy into a triumph, can be summed up in one sentence.  Romans 6:23 does this beautifully, and in it virtually word is worth our pondering.

Sermon Video: "While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." - Romans 5:6-8

What is the value of one human life?  What would you be willing to risk, or lose, to save it?  God answers this question definitively from his point of view in that Jesus Christ was willing to die on behalf of the ungodly.  That is, Jesus came to die, not for family or friends, not for the good or the righteous, but for those who were powerless to change their own hopelessly sinful state, a group that happens to include all of humanity.

What did God prove by putting forth and accomplishing this plan of redemption?  How powerful, how effective, and just how amazing his love is, no wonder John would later write that "God is love".  Stand in awe of God's love for lost sinners.

Sermon Video: Even Abraham was saved by grace through faith, Romans 4:1-12

Having established the theological position that salvation can only come by grace through faith in Jesus, the Apostle Paul now turns to the ultimate example of this truth in action: the Patriarch Abraham.  If even Abraham was justified by faith, surely the rest of us would be fools to trust in ourselves.  By quoting Genesis 15:6 Paul demonstrates his point, heaven doesn't have a superhero exception to the rules, even the best among us needs grace.

Sermon Video: The Gospel is incompatible with boasting - Romans 3:27-31

Concluding his section on the triumph of faith in Christ, being both our means to justification and forgiveness, the Apostle Paul asks what room is left for boasting?  The answer, clearly, is none.  All who come to God by faith do so because they realize they are not self-sufficient, that they don't measure up on their own.  

Along with this thought, Paul points out that God is the God of both his covenant people (Jews and Church) and the rest of the world (Gentile and un-Churched).  That being said, faith is the solution for both even though one group has the advantage of knowing more about God, both need Christ's salvation, both need grace.

Pride?  We don't have room for it.

Sermon Video: "justified freely by his grace" - Romans 3:21-24

After establishing that the Law is incapable of saving those who have broken it, as all of humanity has, Paul then begins to explain HOW the righteousness of God, as revealed through the Incarnation, can be applied to humanity.  How can the righteousness of Jesus save us?  The answer is faith.  Faith, belief, trust, hope, in Jesus...From here the Good News gets better, everyone who believes in Jesus can be "justified freely by his grace."  What does this mean?  It means that God, as the judge of the living and the dead, will declare sinners 'innocent', not because of anything we have done, but because we have faith in what Jesus has done for us, taking our sins upon his shoulders while on the Cross.

Sermon Video: The Death of Jesus - Mark 15:27-39

Six hours upon the Cross, three of them in darkness, culminating in a cry of "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" What did it all mean? What did Jesus accomplish? How? While hanging on the Cross, Jesus was mocked by those around him, his love was stronger. Everything that was necessary to complete the redemption of humanity was carried out that day by Jesus, and when he set his life down, giving it up willingly, it was not defeat but victory that he ensured.

Ronald Reagan was wrong, America is not a "city on a hill", it never could be.

When you ignore the context of the Bible to apply it in a way that works for you, bad things happen.  I liked Ronald Reagan as a President, and as a young man would have cheered on his nationalistic blending of American patriotism and Christian imagery.  But the truth is, his use of John Winthrop's use of Jesus' imagery from the Sermon on the Mount is wrong, and dangerous.

Matthew 5:13-16  New International Version

13 “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.

14 “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

The 'you' that Jesus is addressing in his sermon are his followers, in other words those who seek God, living by faith and doing righteousness.  Shockingly to his contemporaries who thought otherwise, the people of God don't belong to either an earthly kingdom or a specific ethnicity.  In fact, the Kingdom that Jesus established transcended both political kingdoms and racial barriers, becoming a spiritual kingdom both more widespread and more powerful than any kingdom of men that ever was or will be.

I appreciate that Ronald Reagan loved America, I do too.  But America is not, indeed cannot, be the 'city on a hill' to which all men should aspire.  Is America the ideal destination for millions, if not billions, in our world today?  Absolutely, and we can be proud of that distinction.  Yet America is NOT the salvation of anyone's soul.  It may be the world's best place for political and economic freedom, but it offers nobody freedom from sin and death.  It cannot, it is a country, not the Kingdom of God.  The purpose of God in our world is not political freedom or economic prosperity (although both are certainly a blessing), but instead the moving of the Spirit throughout the world to bring men, women, and children to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ and lives transformed by the Spirit to selfless discipleship.

When we conflate America and the Kingdom of God in our overzealous patriotism (leading to Christian Nationalism), we do a disservice to not only the true meaning and purpose of the Church, but that of America too.  We ask too much of our country, expect it to represent too much, achieve too much, and we ask far too little of the Church.  No earthly kingdom was ever supposed to be to us what the Church must be.

The only true ideal that shines forth and draws all people to its light is the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  It alone can set people free, it alone can transform the hearts and minds of the Lost and save souls by the power of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  That was the city that Jesus was talking about.

America has no monopoly on the Light of Christ, no monopoly on God's blessings, let's not pretend otherwise, doing so leads not toward the light but in the other direction.

Related writings of mine:

The blasphemous "One Nation Under God" painting by Jon McNaughton

A profoundly biblical and powerful book: The Myth of a Christian Nation - by Gregory Boyd: a summary and response

Sermon Video: What is the Kingdom of God like? - Mark 4:26-34

An unhealthy overemphasis on politics

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Manifest (TV show), Romans 8:28, and contextual interpretation of Scripture

 

Romans 8:28  New International Version

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

Ok, so I'm behind the times a bit.  Manifest aired on NBC in the fall of 2018, but I had never heard of it until it appreared in my Netflix suggestions a couple weeks ago.  Given my affinity for shows with a mysterious premise, like Lost in the early seasons, Stranger Things, or The Man in the High Castle, I started watching.  A few episodes in it became clear that the foundational premise of the show is built upon Romans 8:28, a fact the creators make clear with repeated referances to the number 828 and one episode where a character opens a Bible to Romans and reads the verse in question (but no more).  As the series unfolds, God (presumably) sends a 'calling', that's the term the characters use, to various people who were on flight 828 through voices, visions, and general intuitive insights that enable them to solve crimes, protect the innocent, and battle against a sinister secret plot.  While it makes for good drama, none of these manifestations of the hand of God have much of anything to do with what Romans 8:28 is talking about as both characters in the show, and viewers watching, are left asking, "What exactly is God's purpose in all this?  Why is this happening?"

As a pastor, I've run into non-contextual interpretations of Scripture many times, Philippians 4:13 probably leads the pack on that score, but Romans 8:28 is right there alongside it.  What is the common mis-interpretation of Romans 8:28, and what is the proper contextual interpretation?

Context free interpretation: On its own, without the verses that precede or follow it, one might assume that Romans 8:28 is promising that God is a generic force for good in the world.  That he molds and shapes people and events to make things work out for the better, resulting in a world that is less evil and more beneficial to us than it would be otherwise.  In this interpretation, God isn't much different than Superman.  He has power that he uses to help people, here and there, saving the day unexpectedly, but not fixing the root problems that cause there to be people in need of saving in the first place.  While this view of God is fairly common, and fits fairly well with ideas of an impersonal Force that controls the universe (like in Star Wars), in the end it leaves much to be desired.  Why, if God has power, is he using it in such a limited way?  Why helps some and not others, why prevent a tragedy here and there but let the others happen?  Superman can only be in one place at a time, we know why he's more likely to save Louis than anyone else, but God can do more than this can't he?  Without context, 'the good', and 'his purpose' are left nebulous, can we identify them, help them along, or is this just some mystery?

A contextual interpretation: First, let us broaden the view a bit.

Romans 8:18-39  New International Version

18 I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. 19 For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. 20 For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.

22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23 Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? 25 But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.

26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. 27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.

28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. 29 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. 30 And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.

31 What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? 33 Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. 34 Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36 As it is written:

“For your sake we face death all day long;

    we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”

37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

This isn't bumper sticker theology.  You can't fit the deep wisdom of this passage (and Paul's overall themes in Romans) on a poster.  That may be while people prefer pithy but fruitless sayings like, "God helps those who help themselves" to what Scripture actually says, but non-contextual interpretation, and non-biblical aphorisms, are a dangerous game, we're much better off with the full medicine, kep the spoonful of sugar.

So, what is the larger point that Paul is making here that Romans 8:28 is integral to?  God has a master plan, a plan for all of creation and humanity, a plan that involves calling individuals by the Spirit to accept his Son by faith, and then leading those individuals forward toward Christ-likeness in a process that cannot be derailed by any power because it is emeshed in the Love of God, and a process that he helps along by weaving 'all things' toward that very specific purpose.  Something to that effect.  I could make that run-on sentence into a paragraph, page, or chapter while still trying to convey the essence of Paul's words, but the original that he wrote will remain the most profound way to say it.

God isn't in the business of making this world a better place.

Thought I'd leave that sentence by itself to let it sink in.  His redemptive actions in history will certainly have that effect, but that isn't the goal, but its treating the symptoms of the disease, not eradicating it.  The goal is fellowship with humanity under his rule as Lord.  God is working "all things together" in order to redeem out from humanity his chosen people, mold and shape them through discipleship toward Christ-likeness, and eventually present them before his throne holy and righteouss in his sight.  God's purpose is far higher, far nobler, and far more difficult than simply making this world a better place.  Jesus would not have taken upon himself humanity for such a lowly purpose, and certainly would not have needed to die upon the Cross, if making the world a better place was the goal.  If that was all God had in mind he could have used people like the prophets of old to accomplish it.  Moses, Elijah, Esther, even Jonah once he got straightened out, could 'make things better' with God's power.  No, Jesus came to this earth for a much bigger project, a project he alone as the God/Man could accomplish.  When Satan offered him rule over the kingdoms of this world, Jesus refused.  Jesus as King of the World would have resulted in a massive improvement in the lives of everyone on this planet.  Can you imagine a more wise and benevolent ruler?  But Jesus isn't tempted, he isn't here to work through the systems of this world, but to overcome them, and destroy Sin and Death in the process.  Jesus' sights are set much, much higher.

God's business is the making of a holy and righteous people

So, in the end, while Manifest has an interesting premise, and I'll finish watching the series, the God that it is portraying thus far isn't God enough, whatever the end game the series has for its characters, thus far none of them are actually living lives that reflect Romans 8:28, for none of them are being called to repentance, faith, and worship of Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, and God the Father.  Romans 8:28 is part of a powerful and profound promise to those whom God calls that whatever happens in this life, the hand of God will continue to work in us, and through us, to transform us to Christ-likeness.  Manifest, like so many non-contextual interpretations, falls short of this glorious promise.

Sermon Video: Greatness in God's kingdom: service & sacrifice - Mark 10:35-45

 After his third and final prediction of his upcoming death, while journeying to Jerusalem for that purpose, Jesus is asked by the brothers James and John to elevate them to the 2nd and 3rd place of honor in his upcoming kingdom. Aside from the incredible chutzpah this request demonstrates, it also shows that the disciples still haven't internalized that the spiritual kingdom that Jesus intends to establish will not be run by this world's rules. So, once again, Jesus enlightens them, once more emphasizing that greatness in his kingdom is a matter of service and sacrifice. Indeed, Jesus himself is the prime example of humilty, service, and sacrifice when necessary. That his sacrifice will have the power to be a 'ransom for many', i.e. the basis of our salvation, ought to encourage his Church to transform our world through the same means of acting as servants rather than the fool's errand of trying to bring about the will of God through politics, power, or violence.

Sermon Video: How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God - Mark 10:17-31

 "What must I do to inherit eternal life?" This is, indeed, THE question for all of humanity. Asked of Jesus, he responds by considering the Law of Moses which offers humanity understanding of the character (holiness, righteousness) of God, which we are commanded to imitate. Jesus then shows that God requires total commitment from human beings, a requirement that weights heavier upon the rich and powerful. If those with the most resources among us have no chance of earning eternity, what chance have any of us? None, but don't despair. God has already offered the answer to this question through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, which offers us forgiveness by grace through faith. In the end, our devotion to God is not akin to padding our resume or studying for a final exam, instead it is our thank you note to God, our response to what he has already done for us.

Sermon Video: Receive God like a child - Mark 10:13-16

 In the familiar episode where Jesus rebukes his disciples for trying to prevent parents from presenting their children to him to be blessed, Jesus offers one lesson by his action/attitude, and another by his words. By being indignant with his disciples and allowing the children to receive a blessing, Jesus warns us against the all too familiar folly of presuming to know the will of God (and acting, wrong, accordingly). By comparing entrance into the Kingdom of God to the something to be received 'like a little child', Jesus also warns against things such as pride, self-reliance, and closed mindedness. The attitude of children is the path toward acceptance of salvation by grace through faith because children have (1) a low position (humility), (2) accept authority (obedience), (3) open hears/minds, and (4) a willingness to belief beyond what their own senses tell them. For reasons such as these, Jesus holds the attitude/mindset of childen up as something to be emulated, not scorned.

Sermon Video: The Right to become Children of God - John 1:12-13

 In response to those to did not recognize or receive Jesus, John writes of the gift received by ALL who did receive him. Not only that, John emphasizes that those 'who believed in his name' will also be given the gift, reminding us that it is not our knowledge/wisdom that saves us, but the work of Jesus. What is this gift? The right to become a child of God. All of humanity are in one sense the children of God as image bearers, but in this much deeper and necessary sense, only those who receive (believe in/put their hope/trust in) Jesus will have a relationship with God and be able to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. This is the greatest gift every offered to humanity, it only need be accepted by faith to be applied.