Often we hear that God's truth is timeless, and that's true. Timeless as in going beyond just the time in which it is written. For example in any time and place, I would think that John 3:16 is pretty straightforward, and requires little or no new special nuancing, to be understood.
But truth needs to also be spoken of as timely. In other words, truth is communicated to us in our contexts in ways that not only resonate with us in helping us understand, but which also moves us towards God's goal of the kingdom in the new creation in Jesus. For example not only are masters told to do well to their slaves in Scripture, but also within Scripture we believe there are powerful seeds planted which in the end do away with all slavery.
Truth doesn't change, so in that sense it's timeless. We need the entire will of God given to us in Scripture, but it takes on different emphases and can be shared and lived out in fresh creative ways depending on the context where we live. Although all of Scripture is the word of God, there are times when certain things in it will jump out at us as needed as a word aptly/fittingly spoken for the occasion, time and place.
Timeless truth in Jesus remains. How it is lived out must ever be subject to new and fresh ways of both speaking of it and living it out. In other words we need to be timely and fitting in our ways of expressing and applying it. I think Scot McKnight is right, that we must not read Scripture through Tradition (whether Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholic or Protestant Reformation) but with Tradition, always open to new ways God may be giving us both to see and express the truth given to us in Scripture and in Jesus.
I get a sense this is a bit fuzzy, so I'll keep working on it. Maybe it's just this early hour in which I'm up. But what would you like to add to this, or what questions might you have here?
Showing posts with label contextualization. Show all posts
Showing posts with label contextualization. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 01, 2008
Monday, September 29, 2008
moving along
In Scripture God speaks to each person (e.g., Jeremiah) in their ways for their day. This continues for us today. Not only is it true that God's word would speak into John Wesley's day in a different way than today's, but it's likewise true it would speak differently into any number of different cultures today than our own.
The truth in Jesus remains the same. It's our task to see how it is to be lived out in every culture beginning with our own. This is part of the genius (not human genius) of Scripture: the truth as it is in Jesus will be the same truth but will be expressed according to each culture that receives it, both in terms of judging what is wrong and sinful and redeeming what is of the image of God in each culture. And this towards the goal of fulfilling the kingdom of God in the new creation in Jesus, which begins now (tried to link 2 Corinthians 5:17 to "now" but unable to this morning, either from the TNIV site or from Bible Gateway).
I'm guessing this is what can help us in reading challenging thinkers such as Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who was trying to grapple with what it meant to live out the truth of Scripture which for him included the heart of the message of the Reformation, in his day in Nazi Germany. His was a stark message against nationalism, at least in warning that it can be an idol to Christians and the church, to lead them astray from truly following Christ, and therefore truly being Christians.
There is timeless truth in Scripture, but it must be shared in timely fashion. Of course how God's word is lived out in one generation or place differs from another generation or place. Not because God's word changes, but partly because God's word has within it a goal to which we must be moving along towards. We must seek to understand God's will in creation and in new creation in Jesus, and then find how we're to fulfill that in at least moving towards it in our own day and in whatever culture we're seeking to reach with the gospel of Jesus. This must be sensitive to each time and place.
Of course we all need to hear the same message of reconciliation through Jesus. That he is the Messiah fulfilling God's promises in the old covenant, and thus being a light to all nations, to the world. Beginning with each of us in bearing our sins in his body on the Tree, that we might die to sins and live to righteousness, that by his stripes we are healed (1 Peter 2:24).
God's word must speak in fresh ways and it's meant to. The gospel is about each of us in Jesus, being reconciled to God through his death. But it goes beyond that to include all of creation. Therefore it has application to all of life. This must be searched out and lived out in the church for the world. With hopefully an impact on the world in transforming culture. God's kingdom in Jesus is not from this world (John 18:36; NRSV). But it's in the world to change the world. This is meant from top to bottom beginning now, even in a fallen world, and to be completed when Jesus returns.
This is why for me both a constant intake of God's word, and a study of the culture we live in and what is taking place, are both important. Only then can God help us know how we should live in our time and place. Of course always subject to correction and continued change as we continue to move along with God in his unfolding Story and work in Jesus.
What thoughts do you have here?
The truth in Jesus remains the same. It's our task to see how it is to be lived out in every culture beginning with our own. This is part of the genius (not human genius) of Scripture: the truth as it is in Jesus will be the same truth but will be expressed according to each culture that receives it, both in terms of judging what is wrong and sinful and redeeming what is of the image of God in each culture. And this towards the goal of fulfilling the kingdom of God in the new creation in Jesus, which begins now (tried to link 2 Corinthians 5:17 to "now" but unable to this morning, either from the TNIV site or from Bible Gateway).
I'm guessing this is what can help us in reading challenging thinkers such as Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who was trying to grapple with what it meant to live out the truth of Scripture which for him included the heart of the message of the Reformation, in his day in Nazi Germany. His was a stark message against nationalism, at least in warning that it can be an idol to Christians and the church, to lead them astray from truly following Christ, and therefore truly being Christians.
There is timeless truth in Scripture, but it must be shared in timely fashion. Of course how God's word is lived out in one generation or place differs from another generation or place. Not because God's word changes, but partly because God's word has within it a goal to which we must be moving along towards. We must seek to understand God's will in creation and in new creation in Jesus, and then find how we're to fulfill that in at least moving towards it in our own day and in whatever culture we're seeking to reach with the gospel of Jesus. This must be sensitive to each time and place.
Of course we all need to hear the same message of reconciliation through Jesus. That he is the Messiah fulfilling God's promises in the old covenant, and thus being a light to all nations, to the world. Beginning with each of us in bearing our sins in his body on the Tree, that we might die to sins and live to righteousness, that by his stripes we are healed (1 Peter 2:24).
God's word must speak in fresh ways and it's meant to. The gospel is about each of us in Jesus, being reconciled to God through his death. But it goes beyond that to include all of creation. Therefore it has application to all of life. This must be searched out and lived out in the church for the world. With hopefully an impact on the world in transforming culture. God's kingdom in Jesus is not from this world (John 18:36; NRSV). But it's in the world to change the world. This is meant from top to bottom beginning now, even in a fallen world, and to be completed when Jesus returns.
This is why for me both a constant intake of God's word, and a study of the culture we live in and what is taking place, are both important. Only then can God help us know how we should live in our time and place. Of course always subject to correction and continued change as we continue to move along with God in his unfolding Story and work in Jesus.
What thoughts do you have here?
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