Saturday 23 March 2013

JESUS IS LORD

For many of you who might read this blog, your world has fundamentally changed.    The world you knew as child - the world of your teen years - and the world of much of your adult life no longer exists.

The world is constantly changing for all of us.    But if you’re over 40 you have experienced the most significant seismic shift in 600 years.    Indeed it is the most important cultural change in the history of North America.    As important as it is for older people to understand the world in which younger people live, it is important for younger people to understand the trauma happening in the lives of older people.    Many of them don’t understand what’s happening to them.    Their world has changed.

Older people, you have to understand something.   The world you knew, no longer exist. Judeo-Christian values no long drive the culture. We live in what is called a "Post-Christian World."    There is no longer a Christian baseline that directs our culture.    The rules have changed.    The sad thing is that many of us don’t even know it.
 

SEISMIC SHIFTS THAT ROCK OUR WORLD
There are at least three huge seismic shifts that are rocking our world.

1. Changing Demographics

People from all over the world with non-Christian view have immigrated to North America. Our school systems have systematically eliminated Christian values and replaced them with secular humanism.

In our lifetime the centre of Christianity has shifted from North America to the "Global South" (Latin America; Sub-Sahara Africa; Pacific Rim).    Canada and the United States are becoming increasingly less Christian friendly (Canada more so than the United States).    Not only have we shown great tolerance, as we should, of others to worship whoever and however they wish and to believe and live however they want; our culture has actually become and will increasingly become more hostile to the followers of Jesus.

2. Changing Culture
There are profound changes in the underlying values of our culture. The fundamental principles of our culture are no longer Christian. In his book, "The Trouble With Jesus." Joseph Stowell discusses the rise of what he calls a "New Paganism" that embraces a "wide-open spirituality, with a multiplicity of gods and no central moral authority."

I am amazed at the similarities of the pagan world of the 1st century and the paganism of the 21st century.    Claims about Jesus being the only way to salvation are as unwelcome in the 21st century just as they were in the first.    Our culture has a lot of trouble with Jesus.    By the way, the claim that our culture doesn’t have trouble with Jesus but with His church is essentially false.    The trouble is with Jesus precisely because He claims to be the only way.    Therefore, those who are followers of Jesus are going to find themselves increasingly at odds with our culture.

The third seismic shift is a:

3. Changing World View

In my life time there has been a profound transformation in the way people view the world. We call it "World View."     This new view of the world most generally comes under the heading of "Post-modernism."    It’s a hard thing to define but basically it’s a philosophy that affirms there is no objective or absolute truth, especially in matters of religion and spirituality.    Post-modernism is a reaction to modernism’s failed promise of using human reason alone to make the world a better place.

Because one of modernism’s beliefs was that absolutes did exist, postmodernism seeks to ‘correct’ things by eliminating absolute truth and making everything, including the empirical sciences and religion, relative to an individual’s internal beliefs and desires.    That which once was considered good is now considered bad.   Those who were once considered good are now considered evil

The difficulty for followers of Jesus is that if our culture rejects absolute truth then the natural outcome is some kind of religious pluralism that says no faith or religion is necessarily true and therefore no one can claim that his or her religion is true and another is false.

Those of us who claim to be followers of Jesus, and claim that He and He alone is the way to God, that He is "the way" "the truth" and "the life," come into direct conflict with the prevailing pagan world view of our culture.    May I add, just as the 1st century Christians came into direct conflict with the prevailing pagan world view of their day. Stowell said, "The premier example of success in the midst of a hostile paganism is the story of faithful followers of Jesus in the first three centuries. In fact it is uncanny how the issues they faced are so parallel to ours .   It was clear to everyone who paid attention that Jesus and His Father did not fit among the gods of the empire."
2

The Early Christians Lived In A Hostile Pagan Culture Much Like Ours.    These courageous followers of Jesus, in the face of a very vicious culture, made the bold and unequivocal proclamation " JESUS CHRIST IS LORD."
 

"Jesus Is Lord" became the confession of the early church.    It was what you had to believe to be a Christian.    This is born out in the confessions of the church.    The thing that is common to all,
3 the great Christian Confession of the early church, is the universal declaration that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and Lord of all.

"Jesus Is Lord" summarizes the early church’s understanding of the gospel message.    It is the bedrock of what it means to be a follower of Christ.   "Jesus is Lord" and there is no other.   It was not popular in the 1st Century to make such a claim.    It is not popular in our neo-pagan culture where "Tolerance Is Lord" to boldly proclaim "Jesus Is Lord."    It may not be popular but "Truth is absolute."    Our Witness is that there are truths to be believed and obeyed.    "Jesus is Lord" is the fundamental truth.   We must not shrink from believing it and proclaiming it even in a hostile environment.

 
1. "The Trouble With Jesus", Joseph Stowell, Pg 34-35

2   Ibid pg 36

3. 
Kerygma (Earliest Apostolic Preaching) 1st century
Rule of Faith - 2nd century - standard of faith by the early church fathers

Old Roman Symbol - based on the Rule of Faith to ORS - like an earlier and shorter version on the Apostles Creed

Apostles Creed - 8th Century

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