I intended to put a lot more time into this post then I have. I was also hoping for some dialog with others pre-writing to get my thoughts stirring, but neither of those two things happened, and I promised you readers I’d get something up, so here goes (how’s that for a lame preface)

Last week, I suggested listening to this sermon, Did Christ Die For Us or for God?, by John Piper. It was one of the foundational sermons in my early faith development and something I had not really gone back to reflect on in several years. Listening to it this past couple weeks I found I could still quote much of it verbatim, which gives you an idea of how much I’ve listened to it. So, for those who have and haven’t here is an ever so brief summary.

SPOILER ALERT: The answer to the sermon title is “for God.”

Summary:

• Secular Mindset: Man is at the center of the universe vs. Biblical Mindset: God is the most absolute reality.
• “Is the basic riddle of the universe how to preserve man’s rights and solve his problems (say, the problem of suffering)?” “How shall God be known in the fullness of his personhood and glory?”
• Jesus Christ was a sacrifice of atonement to show God’s righteousness, “because in his divine forbearance he had passed over the sins previously committed.” (Romans 3:25)
• “All sin is a preference for the fleeting pleasures of the world over the everlasting joy of God’s fellowship.”
• “God would be unrighteous if he passed over sins as though the value of his glory were nothing.”
• But, how can self-exaltation be an act of love? “God’s self-exaltation is loving, because it preserves for us and offers to us the only all-satisfying Object of desire in the universe – the all-glorious, all-righteous God.”

(quotes pulled from this transcript)

That is an ever so brief summary. Now let me breakdown a couple things that I think have really had an impact on me.

First of all, I really resonated with Piper’s explanation of mindsets, because I don’t think it has to assume you believe in the Bible (the catch 22 of many apologetic arguments). If a creator exist, then it would be fair to argue The Creator has the ultimate rights in the universe, not the creation. That does not, for me, have the terrible implications some people see in believing in God (that of an angry supreme being eager to wreck havoc on the earth for no reason). I think it simply settled in my mind that, if I believe in a Creator (which I do), then that creator should be considered in your worldview (rather bland explanation).

Two, and I think this is the main thing I’d like to get at, I think Christ’s death and sacrifice make sense as a “vindication of God’s righteousness.” The explanation used in the sermon is that say someone tried to assassinate the president, was stopped at the last second, apologized, and where then let go, scot free. What would that say about how much we value our president? God would not be a righteous God if there was not some sort of payment for the wrong doing we humans have done (and continue to do, myself included). See, God was already being a loving God by forgiving wrongdoings (like King David), but, unless there was some form of payment (like a sentence served in the above example), God would be unjust. Thus, Christ life and death was an act to vindicate God’s righteousness.

Now what does that all mean for me? Even after writing it, I’m not totally sure. I didn’t find in revisiting the sermon and the theological points or anything else, that I was uncomfortable with the theology or points put forward. Maybe there are things that should make me uncomfortable, maybe not. I do think my above two paragraph sound a lot more evangelistic and typical “gospel presentation” then I intended.

The reason for doing this though was to allow for dialog. So please, take a minute after reading to lend your insight as well. Push back if you have a thought. Lend an encouraging or corrective word if you have it. Add further insight you came across. I can’t find the second sermon tape, but I’ll do my best to talk about the next topic next week: Christian Hedonism. Peace.

In preparation for a post I intend to write next week, I’ve been listening to one of two John Piper sermons that have been quite foundational in my early formative faith/theology years (sophomore and junior year of high school). The sermons are from a Passion Conference, which was an annual college student conference focused around bringing students together toward a shared evangelistic and missional call (this is my own summary). I did not attend, but received the tapes from a leader in the youth group I was attending. The two Piper sermons resonated with me and I listened to them many times over the next several years. I’ve since lost my copies of the tapes and my search to recover audio from one of the two sermons has been futile. I do have the first sermon though, which I will link to below and ask that you try and find the time to listen to it before the weekend is over.

It’s a 40 minute sermon entitled: Did Christ Die For Us Or For God?

If you’ve listened or read much of John Piper’s theological stances, you might know some of what he talks about in the sermon. Maybe you’ll just need to skim it to get the main points. Anyways, my hope is that you’ll listen to it and provide your input and feedback in the comment section below. My hope is that regardless of how you feel about Piper, you’ll put that aside to simply listen to the sermon and converse with me about it.

I will be posting some of my thoughts and reflections next week, but I want to open up the discussion in hopes of bringing further thoughts out to help me reflect on it and what about this sermons I’ve found so shaping. Please, chime in with questions or comments.

(P.S. This is not an endorsement of John Piper or his theology. This is part of a series of posts of mine reflecting on those sermons, books, etc that were foundational in my early theology and my attempt to revisit those tenants. For better or worse, I credit Piper for impacting much of my foundational theology, I’ve also harshly criticized him on this blog.)

If I did musical intros to my blog posts, the one for this post would be Bob Dylan’s, Gotta Serve Somebody. I’m not quite sure when I chose this title for my blog or mantra for my life, but as time goes on I find myself more and more comfortable with it. I think the question that it immediately evokes is: who? Who am I trying to follow?

Several years ago, that answer would have been staunchly black and white. I am following Jesus, the God of the Bible and no one and nothing else. “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus…and run with perseverance…” Back then though, I probably wouldn’t have used the word “trying”, it’s too wishy-washy, too uncommitted. The songs sung in church never have the ambiguity of “trying” they are steadfast commitments, battle cries and no compromise allegiances. Most of that’s not bad, positive self-talk certainly has it’s place, but somewhere along the way I found it fairly disingenuous to be singing those types of words. I wasn’t really following Jesus, not most of the time anyways.

Nowadays, I’m quite happy with just trying to follow. I don’t have aspirations to be a leader, I’m going to just stick with doing my best at following. And, I’m going to be honest about my lack of resolve and commitment, I’m gonna “try” that’s the most I can offer and I’m okay with that.

As to the who, I still use this line sometimes:  “I once read the words of a man who said, “Follow me,” and I’ve been on that journey ever since.” That is definitely a reference to Jesus and his teachings, which I’d still consider the primary path I’m trying to follow. I’ve found nothing more fascinating and life-changingly radical then the philosophies and teachings I’ve seen in Jesus’ words, that’s just the honest truth. At the same time, along my journey there have been other mentors whose wisdom and lives I’ve found inspiring, Gandhi, Mother Teresa, MLK, Dorothy Day. I’ve also found I don’t need to completely agree with someone to find wisdom and encouragement in their teachings. Greg Boyd and John Piper have both been largely influential in my theology and yet they appear to be each others archnemesis.

Trying to follow means taking this humble journey one step at a time. Being okay with making mistakes, being wrong, needing to turn around, or seeking further wisdom on the path. It means no one person might have all the answers, that maybe there is kernels of truth lying in many. And it means not being too stubborn to think your going to lead the way on your own. We all know, you’ve gotta serve somebody.

A series of occurrences recently have caused me to really want to revisit some of my basic beliefs that probably formed sometime in high school and beginning of college. It’s interesting that much of my spiritual growth and understanding of my faith came about over 10 years ago when I was in high school. And it was during that time that I think I formed some of the sort of root theological views that I had and have continued to hold or ascribe to for several years. What’s interesting is that much of it hasn’t been called into question or changed despite many of my changing beliefs on social issues, politics, daily lifestyle choices, etc.

So, I’d like to start writing about these things and share them with you here. I’m not sure if these old beliefs I’ll dig up from the back of my brain have simply line dormant and unused or if they silently serve as the very foundation upon which much of my other thoughts are formed. We’ll find out. I might even get around to writing a post explaining the long held title of this blog.

I ask this of you in return, if you are going to come back and read what I write. Be gracious, but feel free to critique or call out what you see as off or misguided. I might very well share things I believe, that I’ll decide shortly after I don’t really believe at all, please give me room to grow and change and make mistakes. And I ask if you do read, please don’t be a silent participant. Dialog with me, be willing to share your own thoughts, be open to your own mistakes. Not sure this final disclaimer was necessary, my post might end up being underwhelming, but at least we prepared for something potentially bigger.