These are certain questions that deserve on-going consideration. For instance what exactly is the Christian message? And, what does it mean for Christians to share this message?
On the surface, of course, these are easily answered inquiries. As an evangelical, it is clear enough that the Christian message is the good news of Jesus–that he lived, died, and was raised on our behalf, and that we can find life in him. Our duty, therefore, is relatively easy to understand; we are to tell others about this good news. So far, so good.
But, things are not always as easy as they first appear. For instance what exactly must a person believe about Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection in order to truly know him? Indeed, what identity must we ascribe to him, what must we believe about him, in order to say that we truly know him? These are difficult questions, and–in my opinion, at least–a distinction must be made between a number of things:
1. First, there is what we might call propositional knowledge.
These are not mere addendums to our faith, irrelevant labels that we attach to the object of faith. Rather, they are divinely given insights into the nature and purposes of the one in whom we are to place our trust. Of course knowing facts about a person is not the same as actually knowing that individual. However, proper knowledge about a person can (and should) facilitate a better relationship with him or her. Any time you get to know anyone, it helps to know things about that person. What is so-and-so like, and what makes him/her tick? Does he/she have any ethical standards? These and related issues are important. Indeed, having prior knowledge of these matters can greatly aid us in choosing our friends. While facts can be abused, and though they are never enough, they are still necessary. At some point, we simply have to know something about the people with whom we want to have a relationship. When it comes to a relationship with God, we will want to understand at least some things about him.
2. Next, there is what might be termed personal knowledge.
In many ways, this is the type of knowledge that matters most. When we get to know others, we also learn about them, their hobbies, likes, dislikes, etc. Often, though, it is simply by spending time with others that we acquire knowledge of them. So it is with God.
Let’s be clear. We are clearly responsible for laying the groundwork for a relationship with God. This includes informing others of God’s requirements, character, and promises (# 1 above). At the same time, we must never forget that God is a person and not a mere concept. Just like in other relationships, therefore, it is certainly the case that we can know him truly without knowing very much about him. This is not to minimize the helpfulness of information, especially when that information is disclosed by God in Scripture. Still, we cannot reduce God to our best doctrinal articulations of him. Indeed, “the doctrine that is according to godliness,” which is one way that Paul terms it, is that teaching that draws us not to formulations or statements of faith, per se, but to a Person.
The point here, then, is that we must treat God as the ever-present person that he is. In the final analysis, our hope is that people, ourselves included, are connected to him.
3. Another type of knowledge, which in many ways creates the context for other knowledge claims, involves narrative.
While propositions provide facts about a given topic, stories provide the narrative framework by which we understand and interpret those propositions. As postmoderns have reminded us, a good deal of what we believe and how we think and live is related to the stories we accept. Today, there has been an increased appreciation for stories–both ours and those of others.
Too often in the past, the church has specialized in abstract ideas about God; these were often separated from the stories from which they were originally embedded. As a result, many believers tended to emphasize a formulaic brand of Christianity, a bunch of memorized theories about God that we were supposed to memorize, meditate upon, and share with others.
But, even a cursory look at Scripture reveals that much of it is narrative in focus. From old testament accounts of the nation of Israel to the story of Jesus and the early church, the bible is very much oriented to the story. Thus, the biblical documents are intended to convey not only thoughts about God (facts about him) but the stories within which these facts take shape and make sense. Of course stories contain facts, too. But, they also convey the flow of historical situations in which God and his people relate. As such, they provide the context for knowledge. They reveal to us the real-life historical situations within which we can connect with our Maker. It is in this sense that narrative is a type of knowledge. In any case the notion of story is an important aspect of what it means to know in general and to know God in particular.
4. While facts matters, it is difficult (if not impossible) to ascertain exactly how facts are translated into relationship.
Facts can be, and often are, pathways into a relationship with God. We know something about him, and so we go to him in faith. Still, there are many things we don’t completely understand. For instance how much knowledge is enough to constitute saving faith? How much error can be mixed in with our faith and yet that faith remain true? What happens when we doubt or when we aren’t sure about certain tenets of the faith? To these and other issues, there are no simple answers. No one has complete knowledge of God. Everyone’s belief system contains some measure of error. And many good people are plagued with doubt. At the same time, there is clearly a distinction in Scripture between the true God and false gods, between genuine knowledge of God (which leads to life) and error (which leads to death).
What this means, practically, is that it is important for us to do what we can to know what we can about God so that we can accurately communicate knowledge of him to one another and to others. On the other hand, it is equally relevant that we don’t assume that we know the hearts of individuals, for only God can see the heart. Thus, while we don’t want to be naive in our assumptions about the spiritual status of others, we can (and should, in my view) retain hope that a merciful God is able to access and rejuvenate the hearts and lives of individuals who possess less-than-ideal knowledge about him. Hmm, I wonder if we ever fall into that category.
5. True faith produces fruit, but we need to be very cautious about the judgments we make about others.
You can tell a tree by its fruit. In fact this fruit is delineated for us in Scripture and includes such virtues as faith, hope, and love. But, and this is important, it can be difficult to measure what these and other traits should actually look like. Don’t believe me? Just read the Gospels, for there you will observe the very epitome of faith, hope, and love being consistently misunderstood and misrepresented. Be careful, therefore. While we must not reduce holiness to a gushy feeling or some sentimental nonsense, we also be cautious about the judgments we make about people. Indeed, I have sometimes noticed that certain people who don’t look “Christian” by certain “church” standards (they curse, drink, smoke, or whatever) are the ones who must often give expression to traits that matter most (love, joy, peace). We must be humble, hopeful, and wise about these matters.
Concluding Thoughts
It is important to treat others with generosity and grace, hoping for the best, expecting and searching for signs of the Spirit, and acting in ways that mirror the love of our compassionate Savior. He not only opposed the pride displayed by those in his day who were (supposedly) “in the know,” but he consistently interacted with and shared the surprising grace of God with those whom the religious establishment relegated to a place outside the community of God. May we learn to follow him, always pondering the meaning and application of knowledge and truth, never knowingly compromising what God has evidently revealed, and forever looking with gratefulness and humility to the one who is our life.
On the surface, of course, these are easily answered inquiries. As an evangelical, it is clear enough that the Christian message is the good news of Jesus–that he lived, died, and was raised on our behalf, and that we can find life in him. Our duty, therefore, is relatively easy to understand; we are to tell others about this good news. So far, so good.
But, things are not always as easy as they first appear. For instance what exactly must a person believe about Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection in order to truly know him? Indeed, what identity must we ascribe to him, what must we believe about him, in order to say that we truly know him? These are difficult questions, and–in my opinion, at least–a distinction must be made between a number of things:
1. First, there is what we might call propositional knowledge.
These are not mere addendums to our faith, irrelevant labels that we attach to the object of faith. Rather, they are divinely given insights into the nature and purposes of the one in whom we are to place our trust. Of course knowing facts about a person is not the same as actually knowing that individual. However, proper knowledge about a person can (and should) facilitate a better relationship with him or her. Any time you get to know anyone, it helps to know things about that person. What is so-and-so like, and what makes him/her tick? Does he/she have any ethical standards? These and related issues are important. Indeed, having prior knowledge of these matters can greatly aid us in choosing our friends. While facts can be abused, and though they are never enough, they are still necessary. At some point, we simply have to know something about the people with whom we want to have a relationship. When it comes to a relationship with God, we will want to understand at least some things about him.
2. Next, there is what might be termed personal knowledge.
In many ways, this is the type of knowledge that matters most. When we get to know others, we also learn about them, their hobbies, likes, dislikes, etc. Often, though, it is simply by spending time with others that we acquire knowledge of them. So it is with God.
Let’s be clear. We are clearly responsible for laying the groundwork for a relationship with God. This includes informing others of God’s requirements, character, and promises (# 1 above). At the same time, we must never forget that God is a person and not a mere concept. Just like in other relationships, therefore, it is certainly the case that we can know him truly without knowing very much about him. This is not to minimize the helpfulness of information, especially when that information is disclosed by God in Scripture. Still, we cannot reduce God to our best doctrinal articulations of him. Indeed, “the doctrine that is according to godliness,” which is one way that Paul terms it, is that teaching that draws us not to formulations or statements of faith, per se, but to a Person.
The point here, then, is that we must treat God as the ever-present person that he is. In the final analysis, our hope is that people, ourselves included, are connected to him.
3. Another type of knowledge, which in many ways creates the context for other knowledge claims, involves narrative.
While propositions provide facts about a given topic, stories provide the narrative framework by which we understand and interpret those propositions. As postmoderns have reminded us, a good deal of what we believe and how we think and live is related to the stories we accept. Today, there has been an increased appreciation for stories–both ours and those of others.
Too often in the past, the church has specialized in abstract ideas about God; these were often separated from the stories from which they were originally embedded. As a result, many believers tended to emphasize a formulaic brand of Christianity, a bunch of memorized theories about God that we were supposed to memorize, meditate upon, and share with others.
But, even a cursory look at Scripture reveals that much of it is narrative in focus. From old testament accounts of the nation of Israel to the story of Jesus and the early church, the bible is very much oriented to the story. Thus, the biblical documents are intended to convey not only thoughts about God (facts about him) but the stories within which these facts take shape and make sense. Of course stories contain facts, too. But, they also convey the flow of historical situations in which God and his people relate. As such, they provide the context for knowledge. They reveal to us the real-life historical situations within which we can connect with our Maker. It is in this sense that narrative is a type of knowledge. In any case the notion of story is an important aspect of what it means to know in general and to know God in particular.
4. While facts matters, it is difficult (if not impossible) to ascertain exactly how facts are translated into relationship.
Facts can be, and often are, pathways into a relationship with God. We know something about him, and so we go to him in faith. Still, there are many things we don’t completely understand. For instance how much knowledge is enough to constitute saving faith? How much error can be mixed in with our faith and yet that faith remain true? What happens when we doubt or when we aren’t sure about certain tenets of the faith? To these and other issues, there are no simple answers. No one has complete knowledge of God. Everyone’s belief system contains some measure of error. And many good people are plagued with doubt. At the same time, there is clearly a distinction in Scripture between the true God and false gods, between genuine knowledge of God (which leads to life) and error (which leads to death).
What this means, practically, is that it is important for us to do what we can to know what we can about God so that we can accurately communicate knowledge of him to one another and to others. On the other hand, it is equally relevant that we don’t assume that we know the hearts of individuals, for only God can see the heart. Thus, while we don’t want to be naive in our assumptions about the spiritual status of others, we can (and should, in my view) retain hope that a merciful God is able to access and rejuvenate the hearts and lives of individuals who possess less-than-ideal knowledge about him. Hmm, I wonder if we ever fall into that category.
5. True faith produces fruit, but we need to be very cautious about the judgments we make about others.
You can tell a tree by its fruit. In fact this fruit is delineated for us in Scripture and includes such virtues as faith, hope, and love. But, and this is important, it can be difficult to measure what these and other traits should actually look like. Don’t believe me? Just read the Gospels, for there you will observe the very epitome of faith, hope, and love being consistently misunderstood and misrepresented. Be careful, therefore. While we must not reduce holiness to a gushy feeling or some sentimental nonsense, we also be cautious about the judgments we make about people. Indeed, I have sometimes noticed that certain people who don’t look “Christian” by certain “church” standards (they curse, drink, smoke, or whatever) are the ones who must often give expression to traits that matter most (love, joy, peace). We must be humble, hopeful, and wise about these matters.
Concluding Thoughts
It is important to treat others with generosity and grace, hoping for the best, expecting and searching for signs of the Spirit, and acting in ways that mirror the love of our compassionate Savior. He not only opposed the pride displayed by those in his day who were (supposedly) “in the know,” but he consistently interacted with and shared the surprising grace of God with those whom the religious establishment relegated to a place outside the community of God. May we learn to follow him, always pondering the meaning and application of knowledge and truth, never knowingly compromising what God has evidently revealed, and forever looking with gratefulness and humility to the one who is our life.
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