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Are Christians called to testify to a historical event or a personal faith
This Sunday, Pat Oja, one of our members brought up an interesting point in the Sunday Bible Class, in regards to the faith we share. Seems that most of the people living in our society today are not able to find a connection to God. Modern times technology and scientific advances in large have replaced the need that God supplied in the lives of those living in the 1st Century and yet majority of the Christians have memorized and repeat a 2,000 old story, that besides being a historical fact, has no relevancy to most people today.
Are we as Christians supposed to only share the story as found in the Bible? or are we to live out our relationship with Christ as the Apostle did? What I mean by that is that most Christians seem to be well equipped to speak about the Christ in the Bible but not so well equipped to speak about the Christ in their life.
Thoughts?
This is from J.B. Phillips, written in 1952: “Where people have been ‘conditioned’ by a Christian upbringing the worship of the average church may to some extent satisfy. In all probability they are, through long practice, 'translating' as they go along. But to the average young person of today, brought up without such background, conventional Christian worship will appear reactionary and old-fashioned, and such ideas of God as may be stimulated in his mind will be of the Grand-Old-Man type. His pressing, though inarticulate, need is not for the God of the ancient Hebrews, nor the God of the early church, nor the God of Victorian England, but the God of the Atomic Age – the God of Energy and Wisdom and Love today. Clever people often scathingly criticize the youth of today for having 'no historic sense.' But surely that is hardly to be wondered at. So great and far-reaching have been the changes in modern life that the young man of today cannot see any but the slenderest connection between what appears to him the slow simple and secure life of a bygone generation and the highly-complex fast-moving life of the world today.”
I think for the most part the struggle Christians have is to establish a personal relationship with Jesus that is real beyond the head knowledge of the Bible. What I mean by that is the fact that many Christians only believe because the Bible says so, but have not really experienced it on their skin so to speak. Nothing wrong with that, of course, I actually think greater faith is required to believe in something without the experience than after the experience. However, where there is no personal experience, the only thing left to talk about and worship is the ancient text.
To preach and teach the Gospel is to teach and preach a historical Jesus and the events surrounding his life and death. Mark's account of the great commission commands that we preach the gospel. But our effectiveness or influence is affected by how much we have allowed the Holy Spirit to change our lives so that people get a glimpse of Jesus when they see us. Personal experience is not about miracles or gifts from the Spirit because not everyone had these gifts in the first century. Personal experience comes about by living and practicing the teachings of Jesus and "being His hands and feet" in this world.
What rock are people building their houses upon - science and technology or Christ? Do we want to bring the world into the church by being relevant to wordly values, or do we want to bring the Christian souls out of the world? Are we to have mostly philosophical discussions, or do we show people the Way to live and have life? We forget that a big part of our living the Christian life is studying the Word. John 20:28-30 (NKJV) 28 And Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!” 29 Jesus said to him, “Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." 30 And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book. A beatitude that is very seldom mentioned. We won't see or touch the Christ of our bible, but we have the hearing of the Word and the examples of fellow Christians. When we are weak, our greatest strength will then come from the Lord. The spiritual warfare of the last of the last days will require His great strength, and we should all seriously polish our armor. Christ said we will be blessed because we have not seen and yet believe. A single soul saved is a pearl beyond price, just keep searching for them and pointing out the Way. We are the church, it's not the building.
Thank you for all your insighftul comments! We do learn and confess a historical Jesus, a task in itself proving difficult at times because we are so far removed from the culture of His country and culture of His time. I often ask myself this question when I read through the OT as well as when I look around in life today: "If Christ was to come now. How would He be? Where would He live? How would He speak? How would He dress while going to the synagogue or a christian gathering? Would He go at all?" I am convinced that although the core of Jesus' message today would be the same as His message delivered then, I believe that His delivery method as well as His life style would be different. Why? Simply because if Jesus were to act the exactly same way He did 2000 years ago He would be discredited as disturbed. In His time He was a heretic, a blasphemer, a rebel, a Rabbi but never a psychological case, which tells me that He came to be relevant to the generation in which He lived. As Jesus' body today we have to bear the same message while as relevant to the times and culture we live in and may they consider us heretics, blasphemers, rebels or Rabbi's but never give enough fuel for an insanity verdict. No one would listen to the Gospel message from the lips or life of an insane person....
Unfortunately, a lot of them would not listen then; and a lot will probably not listen now. 2 Timothy 3:12-14 (NKJV) 12 Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. 13 But evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived. 14 But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them. John 15:17-19 (NKJV) 17 These things I command you, that you love one another. 18 “If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. 19 If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. John 17:13-15 (NKJV) 13 But now I come to You, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have My joy fulfilled in themselves. 14 I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 15 I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one.
Very true and ideally a follower of Christ is prepared for this, but the hating comes from the faith based living which in itself exposes the evil in the world. Kind of like the Christian artists walking out of the Grammys because of the content of the show and yet REFUSING to talk in degrading terms about their secular colleagues. No one would think them insane and yet their action may attract the hate of some...
What prompts most of the claims of insanity? Can we avoid some of them.? If it's from doing what the Lord said to do, then we will have to bare that burden. He said that His load is easy, and the burden light; but there is a load and a burden.