Category: Theology

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Theology

A Christian View of Academic Freedom

Christian colleges and universities face the challenge of being, at the same time, both academic institutions and Christian communities.  Due to this duality, the necessity arises for a distinctively Christian view of the concept of academic freedom.

Academic freedom, as commonly understood in secular institutions can be expressed by the following statement of two primary principles from the AFAF (Academics for Academic Freedom)

“We, the undersigned, believe the following two principles to be the foundation of academic freedom: 

  1. that academics, both inside and outside the classroom, have unrestricted liberty to question and test received wisdom and to put forward controversial and unpopular opinions, whether or not these are deemed offensive, and
  2. that academic institutions have no right to curb the exercise of this freedom by members of their staff, or to use it as grounds for disciplinary action or dismissal.”

Notice that the stated foundation of academic freedom isn’t really a foundation at all.  A careful reading of the two items shows that there is no real basis given for academic freedom, simply a bare assertion of its existence.

That freedom is understood as a right that the individual academic retains to be the ultimate authority to evaluate (“question and test”) the “received wisdom,” passing judgement on whether this wisdom is truly “wise” or not.  Should he choose to reject that wisdom, he is free to do so, in favor of any other “wisdom claim” that he should choose to adopt.

It is instructive that the statement does not explicitly mention “truth”, and here is where the Christian institution diverges from the secular academic institution.  Within the Christian faith, we believe in absolute truth that is knowable through the revelation that we have received from the Creator.  Furthermore, we believe that this truth is embodied in the One who declared himself to be “The Truth,” our Lord Jesus Christ.

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me (John 14:6)

The ultimate authority within the Christian community is not the individual, no matter what his academic qualifications or role, but rather the revealed truth that we have from God in the Bible.  Thus we have a firm foundation for freedom, but not the freedom that is described by the AFAF above.

Christian freedom is not the freedom to believe and teach whatever we want, rather it is the freedom to know Jesus Christ as he is revealed in inspired Scripture.  Jesus himself said in John 8:32,

“If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

For Christian academics, academic freedom is the freedom that we find in our communal submission to the Lord Jesus Christ and his Word.  Together we commit ourselves to bringing every opinion and every “wisdom claim” or “truth claim” to the bar of Scripture.  We are thus free from the limitations that arise from making each individual an arbiter of absolute truth.  We are free from the tyranny of conventional wisdom or understanding of truth that goes against the authority of God’s Word.  

It was such freedom that allowed, even required, Martin Luther to take his famous stand:  “Here I stand; I can do no other. God help me. Amen,” even when he was alone in his conviction and labeled a heretic.

But how do we reconcile the apparent contradiction between denying the autonomy that the secular academic takes for himself, and the autonomy that Luther appears to take for himself when taking his stand against the established church?  How do we allow ourselves as Christian academics Luther’s freedom while denying the “unrestricted liberty” that the AFAF proposes?

The answer is that we mutually commit ourselves to submit our ideas and opinions, our instruction and our teaching, to the Word of God.  Luther was forced to take his stand because the community of which he was a part did not grant him the liberty of submission to the Word of God.

To experience this liberty within the Christian institution, there must be a mutual commitment to the Bible’s authority by every individual within the community.  This is a mutual commitment to foundational scriptural truths that are stated in the institution’s statement of faith.  The statement of faith represents the common agreement of the essentials upon which we base our unity.  Hopefully, the statement of faith reflects not only the agreement of those within the institution, but also an agreement with our spiritual fathers, who have gone before us, clarifying for us the  content of the orthodox Christian faith.

When an individual joins the Christian academic community operating under this view of academic freedom, he agrees not to violate the freedom of the community by teaching or espousing any truth claim that violates the common understanding of what is the orthodox Christian faith.  Notice that in this view of academic freedom, any divergence from the statement of faith is a violation of the freedom that the community has found together in mutual submission to the Word of God.

When an individual member of the community finds himself with a view of truth that falls outside the statement of faith, the community grants that individual the freedom to leave his position with the institution in order to pursue a community with like convictions.

Summarizing, the Christian view of academic freedom may be stated like this,

We, the undersigned, believe the following two principles to be the foundation of Christian academic freedom: 

  1. that Christian academics find true freedom in a mutual submission to the absolute truth given to us in God’s self-revelation in the Bible.
  2. that Christian academic institutions, as Christian communities, have no right to curb the exercise of this freedom by allowing individual members of their faculty to teach in such a manner that mutually agreed upon foundational Christian truths are denied.

Practical steps

Should a Christian academic institution wish to implement fully the preceding understanding of academic freedom, I would suggest the following.

Establishing and maintaining a statement of faith that expresses the community’s understanding of orthodox Christian faith.  This statement of faith should, of course, be open to challenge and revision as individual members bring to the community clear Biblical rationale for such changes.

Defining spiritual authority structures within the institution.  Christian colleges and universities should have not only an academic structure, but also a spiritual structure that is based on the Bible’s clear teachings on elder authority that is given to the church to protect it from error.  There should be a clear definition of where the “elder authority” lies within the Christian institution.  Such authority should meet the Biblical qualifications for spiritual authorities as mutually understood within the community.  This may be defined in various ways, but it is essential that it be defined, so that there are those within the institution with the responsibility to guard and defend the community’s freedom found in its mutual submission to foundational Christian truths.

Clear, community-wide understanding of the differences between a secular view of academic freedom and the Christian view.  Such understanding is the goal of this post, and should be pursued by the institution’s leadership through constant reminder to existing members of the community and clear presentation to new members of the community.

In closing, it should be stated that the freedom I have been describing springs from a mutual commitment to foundational Scriptural truths about Jesus Christ and his Word.  The above is not a warrant to try to bring about uniformity of thought in all areas on the Christian college campus.  In the words of an unknown Christian academic, “in essentials, unity; in doubtful matters, liberty; in all things, charity.”

Categories
Bible Study Cross-Centered Life Sermons Theology

Luke 7:36-50 Forgiveness and worship (part 2)

In an earlier post, I made some observations on Luke 7:36-50, which tells the story of a sinful woman who worshiped Jesus by anointing his feet while he was eating at the home of Simon the pharisee.  In that post, I focused on the fact that an experience of forgiveness is key to having a right heart in worship.  

Now you may be thinking, If I need to have an experience of forgiveness in order to worship with a right heart, how does that happen?  Do I need to go out and do something wrong so that I can come to Jesus for forgiveness in order to be a true worshiper?  Or do I just keep looking back to that day when I became a Christian and received the forgiveness of my sins?  

Well, lets examine the case of this sinful woman.  How did she experience the forgiveness of Jesus that filled her with such love and enabled her to be a true worshiper.

I think the answer is in v. 48.  After speaking to Simon, Jesus turns to the woman and simply says, “Your sins are forgiven.” The woman experienced forgiveness as she came into Jesus’ presence and worshiped him.  If she had not been there at his feet worshiping, she would not have heard him turn to her and say:  Your sins are forgiven.

Now think about this:  Jesus has just explained to Simon that the reason this woman has honored him so beautifully is because she has had a deep experience of his forgiveness.  And then he turns to her and says, “your sins are forgiven.”  

Doesn’t that seem strange and out of place to you?  Aren’t we caught in some circular reasoning here?  If she had already been forgiven and this was the source of her worshipful heart, why does Jesus say, “Your sins are forgiven.”

It may sound convoluted, but not only is an experience of forgiveness the  SOURCE of a right heart in worship, it is also the RESULT of a right heart in worship.  We can only worship the Lord with a right heart as we experience his forgiveness, causing us to overflow with gratitude and worship.  And it is when we worship the Lord and focus on the forgiveness that he has objectively given us that we experience subjectively that forgiveness.

Here is what I believe is happening:  The woman had come to Jesus to worship him, to honor him and to show her love to him.  She came because she knew who he was.  She knew he was the friend of sinners.  We don’t have any details of how she knew who Jesus was, but she knew that she was forgiven.

Her actions go beyond just repentance and seeking forgiveness.  They are the actions (as Jesus himself pointed out) of someone who had been forgiven much.  And yet it is as she worships him that she experiences that forgiveness. 

You and I as Christians have been forgiven by the Lord Jesus.  We know what it is to be forgiven.  I’m sure that if I were to ask any solid christian he or she would say, “I know that my sins are forgiven”  We know that Jesus died as our substitute.  He was punished for our sins.  He paid the price for our sins out of his great love for us.  

But what a difference between having your sins forgiven, and being in Jesus’ presence, worshiping him, and hearing him say (and say often), “I paid for your sins because I love you.  Your sins are forgiven, Bryan!” If we are never in his presence in worship, we’ll never hear those words.  If this woman had not come to Jesus in worship, her heart filled with love because of his forgiveness, she would have never heard, “Your sins are forgiven!” 

When we experience Jesus and his forgiveness for the first time, that should cause us to want to get back in his presence again.  And when we are back in his presence again, we will be in the presence of the Holy Son of God.  As we meditate on him and who he is and his holiness, we will experience all over again that forgiveness that he is constantly pouring out on us because of his cross.

It is when you are in his presence in true worship that you experience his forgiveness.  You are already forgiven, but to be a true worshiper, you must experience that forgiveness in his presence.

Why do we struggle with being true worshipers?  It isn’t because we haven’t been forgiven. And it isn’t because we haven’t been forgiven a great enough debt.  Our sin debt is every bit as great as this woman’s.

I believe we struggle with being true worshipers of Jesus because unlike this woman, we do not come often enough into the presence of the friend of sinners.  We are so busy with other things, we have no time for worship.  Or we come as Simon did, trying to impress him with who we are or what we’ve done.  We try to come across as such great worshipers.  Instead of just waiting in his presence, meditating on the tremendous privilege that is ours to even be there at all.

Categories
Bible Study Cross-Centered Life Sermons Theology

Romans 1:18-25 The blessing of giving thanks

This post is based on a SERMON that is available by clicking here.

In a previous post, I talked about why thanklessness is a sin.  You can read that post for more detail, but here is a summary:   My starting point was the following definition of thankfulness…

We give thanks when we acknowledge the goodness of another

as it is expressed to us in real benefits.

The reason thanklessness is such a sin is that the real benefit we have all received from God is everything pertaining to our existence.  He is our creator, and everything we have, even our very life-breath comes from him. Not only have we failed to thank God for these real benefits, we have also failed to acknowledge the goodness of God in giving them to us.

Everything around us in the creation proclaims the infinite goodness of God!  To reject that and to scorn the Giver of life and existence is to scorn his infinite goodness.  Scorning an infinite God is an infinite sin, and a sin that is worthy of infinite condemnation!  That is why Romans 1:21 says that God’s wrath is being revealed against men for their failure to give thanks!

For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened

As I thought about this verse, I began to wonder:   If God’s wrath comes when we fail to give thanks, then is it possible that there is a tremendous blessing that comes when we do give thanks?

I think there is a blessing that comes from thankfulness.  Giving thanks is a blessing because the joy and gratitude and happiness that we feel when we are thankful isn’t primarily from the benefit that we have received, but from the goodness of the one who gives us that benefit.

This is the real blessing: We are able to consciously experience the goodness of God.  Ultimately, BEING THANKFUL is a blessing in and of itself!  There is the joy and happiness and satisfaction of witnessing daily the goodness of our wonderful God and Savior, the Lord Jesus.

So the question is, how can I begin to walk daily in the blessing of thankfulness?  How can I experience the joy and satisfaction of being thankful?  Do I just walk outside and look up at the stars, or at the beautiful autumn leaves, or at the glories of creation and thank God for my existence?

The problem is that just as those pagan gentiles in Romans 1, you and I (and the religious jews in Romans 2), are ALREADY under the condemnation of God for our FAILURE to give thanks.  If the only thing you do to try to remedy this problem of not giving thanks is walk outside and look up at the stars and be grateful for your existence, you will be looking at the revelation of a holy and just God who says that he will not leave the guilty unpunished.

Because of the wrath of God that we deserve, we cannot become thankful people just by making a list of the blessings that God has given us:  like your family, your job, the turkey you ate this past Thanksgiving Day, etc., 

There is only one way that we can become thankful people, and that is through the cross of Jesus, our Savior.  Jesus took upon himself at the cross the wrath of God that we deserve for our thanklessness.  Think about this, God himself took on human flesh and suffered the just penalty for our rejection of him.

When God did this, it was a far greater display of his goodness than the creation of the entire universe.  Through the creation, God’s eternal power and divine nature are clearly seen, but through the cross, God’s justice and his grace are clearly seen.  

We criticize these pagan gentiles for their failure to see God’s gracious benefits to them in creating them for his glory, and yet so often we fail to see God’s grace and love displayed to US when he REcreated us for his glory, at the cost of his own Son, Jesus.

So how can we experience the blessing of thankfulness?  We do it by living a cross-centered life.

 

Thank God every day for the Cross

I began a practice some time ago that should be second-nature to all of us as Christians, and that is to thank God every day for what he did for us at the cross.  I’m sad to say that I don’t yet have this godly habit ingrained in my life like I wish I did, but by his grace, I will!  May not a day go by that I don’t thank my Lord for his death for me on the cross.  

I need to keep this always before me, that I am a sinner, deserving of God’s condemnation, but instead receiving his mercy.  I deserve hell, but I get heaven.  I deserve separation from God, and instead he adopts me into his family and cherishes me as he does his only begotten Son!!! Imagine the difference it will make in your life if you are meditating EVERY DAY on the wonderful grace of Jesus expressed to you at the cross!

And as I thank him for my salvation, may it remind me not just of the fact that I am SAVED, but of what an infinitely GOOD God he is!  

 

Thank God for good gifts  

Every good gift that comes into your life is due to the cross of Christ!  When God blesses you as his child with ANYTHING, no matter how small, remember this.  If Jesus hadn’t died on the cross for you, he would not be blessing you now with that meal, or that car, or that relationship, or anything.  Let every good thing that comes into your life remind you of this.  It is all because of Jesus’ cross.

You may wonder, “But what about those who are NOT followers of Christ?  Where do the benefits in THEIR lives come from?”  The answer is the same, from the cross of Christ, and just like the pagan gentiles in Romans 1, those who are not followers of Christ will be held accountable for their failure to give thanks to God for everything that they have been given.

 

Thank God for difficulty

Not only are the good things that come into your life through the cross of Christ, so are the difficult things.  Peter said in 1 Pet. 4:13, Rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.  God has promised us that our sufferings are not without a point.  He promises in 2 Cor. 4:17, “For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison.

There is a pernicious lie in the church today that a life of obedience and submission to God means that everything will go well for you, you will never suffer.  But the promise of the gospel message of the cross is that we are blessed to share in Christ’s sufferings, and for that we can be thankful!  

Sometimes God removes his temporal blessings to show us that the greatest blessing we have is  HIMSELF!

 

Get rid of distractions from the cross

Finally, and probably most important of these four suggestions, is to rid your life of everything that is a distraction from the cross of Christ.  We fill our lives with so much activity, with so much entertainment, with so much busyness that we simply don’t have time to live a cross-centered life.  Even God’s good gifts can become idols in our lives if they keep us FROM God rather that directing us TO God.  

Don’t expect to become a thankful person just by adding these first three suggestions to a life that in all other respects shows no desire to know God as he has revealed himself at the cross of Christ.  The overall movement and direction of your life must be toward Jesus if you are to live a cross-centered life.  

When Jesus died on the cross he accomplished our RECONCILIATION with God.  That is the gift he has given us–the way is opened once again for us to have fellowship with God.

Would you not agree that the greatest thanklessness that a person could express would be to fail to appreciate and use and enjoy the gift that they have been given?  Which hurts more, kids?  When your brother or sister unwraps that toy that you spent all your allowance to buy and immediately begins playing with it, but forgets to say “thank you”?  Or when he opens it, and then casts it aside disinterested, looking for the next present?

Do you want to be a thankful person?  Enjoy the gift that God has given you–HIMSELF!

I heard about a missionary wife who had been without her husband for almost 10 weeks as he toured in the churches.  On the day he was to arrive home, a huge package arrived for this lady by delivery truck.  It was from her husband.  She was so disappointed.  She didn’t just want a present, she wanted HIM, and when she opened the box… out he popped!

That’s what God has done for us.  He has reconciled us to himself.  He has given himself to us!  What goodness he has shown us!  Let us thank him!

 

This post is based on a SERMON that is available by clicking here.