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Craig L's Blog

Commonplace Holiness

Category: Theology

  • Failure as a Backdrop to Praise – Psalm 106:6

    Failure as a Backdrop to Praise – Psalm 106:6

    I’ve said something about my usual habits in reading the Psalms here: Praying the Psalms. Briefly stated, my usual procedure in reading, meditating and praying with the Psalms is to read consecutively and slowly. For this purpose I use an Interlinear (Hebrew with English below) edition of the Psalms.

    Usually this approach works very well. But, when I first got to Psalm 106 this didn’t work. With Psalm 106 it was necessary for me to see the opening verses of praise (vv. 1-5) in the light of their larger context. When I began to read and meditate on the Psalm, I was struck by the language of praise and worship in the opening verses (though they were similar to verses found elsewhere in the Psalms), but then I got “stuck” (from verse 6 onward) in a long section that recounts the sins of the nation of Israel (verses 6-46) and God’s unfailing commitment to them in spite of all that. This forced me to go back to the beginning and read it over again.

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  • The Way of Blessedness – Psalm 1:1-3

    The Way of Blessedness – Psalm 1:1-3

    First, a little recap. If Psalm 1 is the introduction to the whole book of Psalms, then I am here invited into a life of blessedness: the very first word of the whole book is the word “blessed” (אַ֥שְֽׁרֵי) The word signifies: “a heightened state of happiness and joy, implying very favorable circumstances, often resulting from the kind acts of God.”1

    And then this very first Psalm says (verse 1):

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  • On Peace, Love and Perfection – Matthew 5:38-48

    On Peace, Love and Perfection – Matthew 5:38-48

    In this passage Jesus is continuing the series of antithesis statements he began in verse 21. In these he fleshes out what he means by coming not to destroy the law but to fulfill it. He goes beyond the law — not relaxing it, but pushing it further — pushing it toward its spiritual fulfillment. Jesus challenges us to consider more than just outward fulfillment; he pushes us to examine our motivations and inner lives.

    In verses 21-37 the issues were: destructive anger, covetous sexual desire, divorce, and the swearing of oaths. Here the issues are vengefulness, enemies, peace, and universal love for all.  Here the issue is how we treat — and think about — each other. This passage can be seen as a unit because of its closely related themes.

    This is also one of those passages in the New Testament that uses the word τέλειος — often translated “perfect” — which gave rise to the phrase “Christian Perfection”— often used by John Wesley (and his followers) to talk about the spiritual life. The phrase has been misunderstood from the beginning and continues to be misunderstood today, and it’s easy to see why Looking at verse 48 in its context may help to sort out some of the confusion.

    My goal in looking at this passage is much larger than that one issue — it is to understand how Jesus interprets the Old Testament law and applies it to life.

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  • Launch Out Into the Deep – Luke 5:1-11

    Launch Out Into the Deep – Luke 5:1-11

    I love the way this passage in the Gospel of Luke combines the call of the first disciples with the story of a miraculous catch of fish. There is so much evocative symbolism in this account. For some reason this time, my mind is drawn to that image: launch out into the deep. It is an image which is distinctive to Luke’s Gospel.

    The parallel synoptic accounts are: Mark 1:16-20 and Matthew 4:18-22. They are both shorter and contain less detail. So, that makes Luke 5:1-11 distinctive enough that it’s a great text for preachers.

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  • How Jesus Fulfills the Law – Matthew 5:21-37

    How Jesus Fulfills the Law – Matthew 5:21-37

    Jesus has already stated that the purpose of his ministry was in no way to destroy the Law and the prophets (that is, the Old Testament) but to fulfill them.

    In this passage he begins to flesh out what that means. He seeks to bring the Old Testament law and teaching into its fulfillment by expounding its inner intent and purpose for the people of his own day. In “fulfilling” the law, he fills it up with meaning, demonstrating how it reveals to us the will and purpose of God.

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  • Wesleyan Perspectives on Faith

    Wesleyan Perspectives on Faith

    I recall attending a Bible Study group where the text being read was James 2:14-26. This led to a very interesting discussion. It is an interesting passage. Here we read things like this:

    • “What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but do not have works? Can faith save you?” [Implied answer: no.]
    • “So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead.”
    • “Show me your faith apart from your works, and I by my works will show you my faith.”
    • “Was not our ancestor Abraham justified by works when he offered his son Isaac on the altar?”
    • “You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.”
    • “For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is also dead.”

    And I was reminded again of the vital relationship between faith and works in the teachings of the Bible. Genuine faith must eventuate in good works — in obedience to God and service to others. While I am never in a position to judge the genuineness of another person’s faith — nonetheless, faith must always make a difference. And, this is one of the reasons I am thankful for the Wesleyan holiness tradition where my early faith was nurtured. Here are some themes that I especially appreciate in the Wesleyan perspective on faith:

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  • What are Methodists, Anyway?

    What are Methodists, Anyway?

    John Wesley

    Following in the tradition of John Wesley, the Methodist outlook on theology is thoroughly based on scripture, but also enlivened through tradition, experience, and reason.

    Methodists believe that “all Scripture is given by the inspiration of God.” They believe that the written Word of God is the only and sufficient rule both of Christian faith and practice in life.

    Methodists live in a vital faith relationship with God. They turn from sin, and turn to Christ in faith. It is faith in Christ alone that can reconcile us to God.

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  • Light, Salt, and Righteousness – Matthew 5:13-20

    Light, Salt, and Righteousness – Matthew 5:13-20

    I often speak or write — or think — about the mission of the Church. It is natural for religious professionals (or even former ones like me) to get in the habit of thinking that the mission of Christ is the mission of the Church. We start to think of the Church as the necessary mediator of the grace of God — as not just the ordinances of the Church but also its very activities as saving. I think it’s a false teaching, myself — but one easily fallen into — to restrict the activity of God to the activity of the Church — and to (unconsciously) fall into the falsehood of thinking the Church is the necessary mediator of grace.

    There is, in fact, a mission of God larger than the Church — out of which the Church was born as a response. The Church did not create this mission and the Church does not own it. It belongs to God. Jesus came into the world as the living expression of the mission of God in the world. The Spirit of God was given to empower the Church in its witness to Christ.

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  • N. T. Wright on “Literal” Interpretation

    N. T. Wright on “Literal” Interpretation

    This is a follow-up to my recent post about taking the Bible literally — whatever that means!

    I’m not the only one who wonders about the use of the word “literal” in relation to the Bible. Here is N. T. Wright discussing the use of this word in relation to our reading and interpretation of the Scripture.    

  • What Does It Mean to Take the Bible Literally?

    What Does It Mean to Take the Bible Literally?

    I keep hoping people will stop using the word “literal” to describe the Bible — as in: “take the Bible literally” “literal interpretation of the Bible” and so forth. It’s never going to happen, but I keep hoping.

    The reason I keep hoping for this is the fact that the term is over-used, wrongly used, and abused. What does it mean to take the Bible “literally“? What does the word “literal” mean in this context? It seems to be used rather loosely. I understand it to be the opposite of words like “symbolic” “figurative,” or “allegorical.” To take a thing literally is to take it at face value. It’s not that difficult a concept. Yet, the way the word is used would make you think otherwise.

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