Puzzled Grace

http://charliewear.next-wave.org/2005/03/13#a1006

Here is a quick blurb about a topic brought up in message at a "Soularize" event by a speaker named Todd Hunter on grace. Below is the link to a short video that sums up a powerful message.

Video link:

http://desertpastor.typepad.com/paradoxology/files/
todd_hunter_on_grace.WMV

Though there isn't an entire message available for viewing or transcript, here's my take on Paul and grace.

In Wear's discussion, Conversion is this idea today (as it is often popularly defined) that we become Christian merely to escape the fires of Hell. We do it as insurance, as Charlie Wear says. Of course, people *may* learn after the fact that there is much more to being a Christian than going to "paradise" and escaping eternal damnation. Chris underlined the point that eternity starts now, and we are able to  take part in God's favor now as opposed to only after judgement day in his teaching on 1 Corinthians on Sunday.

We've all seen and chuckled or perhaps worn shirts that say "Hell is for losers," or "To get to heaven, you need the hell knocked out of you." Now, while perhaps true ultimately, this isn't speaking the language of most people today, frankly. It is a very modernistic trend that peaked in the 70s-80s and can be problematic when trying to enter dialogue with common unchurched folk today with a shirt on with an image like the one below.

Back to subject, conversion in this discussion has a tendency to be a one-stop shop fix to the "problem of hell," and often leaves non-christians and christians alike with an incomplete view of grace, and more importantly, an incomplete picture of who Jesus is and what he did, which leads to the other side of the story.

Kingdom is the idea, in Hunter's discussion, that paints a picture of Christians as followers in a larger picture of God's grace. God's grace is not just the forgiveness of sins and the saving of one's soul from hell, but a conscious and progressive journey of one's soul that actively seeks God and is active in being set apart like the church depicted in Paul's Letters and the book of Acts. Unfortunately, the former, "Conversion," reflects much of today's American Evangelical Christians. The tension between the two needn't be mutually exclusive, but actually melded together to get a more complete picture of grace.

Comments

[chad]

It's ironic when you think about this fact. The Bible, on the whole, doesn't really spend a great length of time talking about hell. Nor did Jesus use hell as a main focal point in delivering His message to people. This is not to say that the Bible doesn't have much to say about hell because it does. However, after I finished reading the Bible for the first time I was somewhat startled by the fact that I wasn't overwhelmed with all this hell and Satan talk. The Bible left me with several impressions and one of the biggest was a picture of grace but nowhere was I impressed to view faith as the fear of hell. It's both interesting and somewhat sad that a common theme in evangelism for a long time has been fear, Satan, and the looming threat of hell. Whatever happened to grace, love and compassion. Josh makes such a great point here. Faith isn't about just not going to hell. Yet I know that one of the reasons that I personally first accepted Christ into my life was because I was afraid of hell. However, now I see with different eyes because Jesus no longer seems like an insurance policy to me. Instead He's become the very fabric of my existence because I find myself so humbled by the towering love of His grace. Thanks for the thoughts Josh.

[Des]

Well said Josh. It's really a shame that so many people look at salvation as a means of escaping hell, as opposed to the wonderful life it gives us NOW. There are probably many people who are "saved" in the sense that they have accepted Christ as savior, but they are not really enjoying the journey. We have an abundant life now. We just need to spend time with Jesus, learning at his feet. I have to give "the world" credit, in the sense that people are looking for something REAL. A good portion of the evangelical teachers are still trying to beat people over the head with HELL, and they are pushing people away, instead of drawing them to Christ. Jesus should be so evident in our lives that people can see God in us, and want what we have. Good article Josh.

[chris]

Welcome to the "bethechurch" blogging community Josh. Great thoughts.

For those who are wondering... this past weekend I invited Josh Lynch to participate in the ongoing discussion called "bethechurch.com". Josh is an incredible thinker, theologian, and friend. Like many of us, he needs a place to be an outlet for all of the things rolling around in his heart and mind on a regualr basis. This web site is for just such a person.

I know you will enjoy reading what Josh has to offer. My desire is that we will be a blessing to him, as I am sure he will bless and edify us.

Keep posting, Josh!