No doubt you have heard the phrase: “if you had been the only person on earth Jesus would have still died for you”.  If you want you can discuss the validity of this claim.  However, I would prefer that you answer two questions:

1) How is such a statement helpful?

2) How might such a statement be harmful?

Thanks.  I am working on something and really need your help with answering this .

This is a very interesting post by Tony Kummer.  Last week Thom Rainer conducted a “straw poll” where he sent out this question on Twitter:  “What do you think when you hear Southern Baptist?”  Tony put together a Wordle to capture the answers:

Read more at SBC Voices, Timmy Brister’s blog, or Thom Rainer’s original post. 

In case you are not familiar with Wordle, the size of the word indicates its frequency.  A few things leap out at me. 

1) Southern Baptist are seen as legalistic.  This could legitimately be legalism or it could be perceived legalism by those that are repulsed by holiness.  Sadly, I think it is legitimately legalism.  If it were perceived legalism then I don’t think you would see “Disney, boycott, tradition, and controlling as big (or bigger) than Jesus. 

2) Jesus is smaller than Pharisees.  And I think, sadly, this could be a tad accurate.  Remember what Jesus said to the Pharisees, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  For you travel across sea and land to make a single proselyte, and when becomes a proselyte, you make him twice as much a child of hell as yourselves”.  If we had some of their sermons and Wordled them I think missions would be large…right alongside Law.  Perhaps Southern Baptist are still very big on missions—lets just hope that it is to proclaim the grace and redemption of Jesus. 

3) Maybe…just maybe…the reason why Jesus is not bigger is because denominationalism is more in line with a fallen world than a redeemed one.  Maybe …just maybe…Jesus is not bigger because our mission is to create more Southern Baptists and our goal is to preserve a Baptist Identity more than passionate followers of Jesus.  Maybe…just maybe…Jesus is not bigger because our fellowship is more centered around Fried Chicken than the Gospel. 

Author: Christopher J.H. Wright

Pages: 224 pages

Publisher: Zondervan

Price: 15.59

Genre: Biblical Studies, Theology, General

Quick Summary:

This book is exactly as it is subtitled: Reflections on Tough Questions of Faith. If you are looking for a detailed theodicy then you will not find it here. If you are looking for a manual on engaging in apologetics concerning the problem of evil this book might be helpful but it is not the author’s main purpose. Wright tackles four very difficult subjects: the problem of evil, the Canaanites, the cross, and the end of the world.

I agree with Gary M. Burge’s endorsement of the book when he says, “Wright uses his long experience as a theologian/teacher to skillfully and winsomely bring us through the dead-end solutions we often hear and lead us in fruitful and promising directions”. That is very aptly put. Wright’s purpose is not to put a period on these discussions but to steer them in a proper direction; even if that means at the end of the day we are left shrugging our shoulders.

What I Liked:

I have only recently begun reading the writings of Christopher Wright; what I have read thus far I absolutely love. He informs with scholarly precision but communicates pastorally. This book is honest and transparent. When he is confident about something our author shares it as truth. When he is unsure about something he is refreshingly honest. If every believer engaged in these questions with this type of attitude I am convinced we would go a long way in accurately representing the greatness of God.

I also must mention that, in my opinion, the introduction and last chapter are worth the price of the book.

What I Disliked:

Have you ever had a really pretty picture or beautiful piece of furniture but it has to sit in your closet because you cannot find a place that it rightly fits? This book is like that. It is packaged for the average consumer but deals with issues birthed in academia. It would easily fit in my library next to all of the books dealing with the cross. But then again it would also fit in an eschatology section…or perhaps it would fit in my Old Testament section…maybe it will go in my apologetics section.

Should You Buy It?

That depends. To use a baseball metaphor: are you looking for a solid multi-position player that excels in nothing but is dependable in many or are you looking for a single position guy that knocks the ball out of the park but can’t hit for average? If you need a utility infielder then this book is for you. The truth is I think all of us need to read this book, because it outlines for us how to engage in tough questions of faith. Don’t read this book to answer your questions; rather, read this book to learn how to effectively ask them

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

It is possible to be the winning pitcher in a baseball game without ever throwing a pitch.  How?

No Google or asking your Uncle Marty who lives on baseball and beer. 

I am convinced that my preaching on idolatry in the past has been missing something.  Let’s consider Psalm 115:1-8:

115:1 Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory,
for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness!

2 Why should the nations say,
“Where is their God?”
3 Our God is in the heavens;
he does all that he pleases.

4 Their idols are silver and gold,
the work of human hands.
5 They have mouths, but do not speak;
eyes, but do not see.
6 They have ears, but do not hear;
noses, but do not smell.
7 They have hands, but do not feel;
feet, but do not walk;
and they do not make a sound in their throat.
8 Those who make them become like them;
so do all who trust in them.

In preaching on idolatry in the past I have mentioned such “idols” that we bow down to in our day: television, computers, iPhone’s, XBox’s, etc.  It seems like a major chasm exist between our obsession with television and God’s warning against bowing to an idol.  (Granted television can be, and is, a major vice).  What I mean is that the harlotry I engage in is far deeper than just sitting before a television screen or making too much out of a human relationship.  My idolatry—and I think the idolatry of those I minister to—goes far deeper. 

I really like the way Christopher Wright explains idolatry in his excellent work, The Mission of God.  There he considers four broad categories in which we often manufacture our gods from: things that entice us, things we fear, things that we trust, things we need.  (p.166-169)  By using such broad categories Wright helps us to see the vast array of things that entice us to idolatry.  And these categories also help me to understand where the fundamental problem for idolatry lies; my own prideful God-rebelling heart. 

The specific idol is not the issue—the wayward heart is.  It does not matter if it is a piece of wood, stone, plastic, or even a fictional image we have yet to make visible.  Therefore, we must not address the idols but rather the prideful God-rebelling heart that is bowing to them.  A heart that engages in idolatry is a heart that is not satisfied in God.  The only reason to engage in idolatry is that your God is not big enough to entice you, He is not big enough to protect you, He is not faithful enough to come through for you, and He is not sufficient enough to provide for all of your needs. 

Again I turn to Christopher Wright, “In worshipping [idols], we give them allegiance, we attribute power and authority, we submit ourselves to something that we have created…Whether addressing the piece of wood he has carved for himself as if it were actually a god or calling out to the invisible state gods…the worshiper is engaged in an exercise in futility.  The one is as much a produce of collective human imagination as the other is the work of individual human hands.  There is no salvation in either” (Wright, 153). 

So, the next time I preach a text dealing with idolatry I will address the wayward heart and let the Holy Spirit convict on the specific idols. 

There is so much more I want to say about this…

Just thought you should know.