June 2011 Newsletter Article

“For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”

2 Corinthians 4:6

Brothers and sisters in Christ, warnings about false teachers are prevalent these days. Two months ago there was a lot to be said about Grand Rapids pastor Rob Bell, whose book, Love Wins, teaches a Christian universalism that basically includes all people in God’s salvation, whether they believe that Jesus Christ died for their sins or not. In the last month, Bell’s form of universalism gave way to Harold Camping’s prediction that Jesus would return May 21st, taking all the true believers to heaven with him, and instituting a 153 day time of tribulation, which would basically be God’s judgment upon all that are left behind on the earth. Sure enough, the sun still rose Sunday May 22nd and we rejoiced in the Lord at worship, hearing God’s Word of Law and Gospel and receiving his forgiveness in Word and Sacrament.

In a strange twist, Camping has since come out with yet another date with a new prediction. He still believes that Jesus came back on May 21st, but he twisted his own teaching now, saying that this recent return and accompanying judgment were actually invisible to all. So invisible, in fact, that no one noticed Jesus coming back, nor did anyone feel any retribution for sin or unbelief! According to Camping we now have until October 21st of this year before the end of all existence. That is a Friday this fall, and let me say that I look forward to seeing all of you in church with me on Sunday, October 23rd!

False teaching and the prominence it is receiving in the media of late gives us reason to pause – how is the average Lutheran supposed to understand and interpret every religious thing that we see or hear on the internet, TV, radio, or newspaper? We certainly do not blindly accept as true every single thing that claims to be Christian, but we likewise must be careful before dismissing everything out of hand. The sure and certain measure of truth for us is always the testimony of Holy Scripture. Still, there are as many different ways to read and understand Scripture as there are churches and sects in the world. How many church bodies distinguish themselves from one another over important differences in how they interpret Scripture? Are all readings equally true, or is there a right way and a wrong way to understand Scripture?

Irenaeus of Lyons, a 2nd Century pastor and theologian faced this dilemma in an ongoing debate within the church. To put it simply, there were two main factions – those who held that the God who created the heavens and the earth is different from the Father of Jesus, and that Jesus Christ is not truly incarnate, but rather solely a spiritual being (the Gnostics); and those who held that Jesus’ Father is the very same God who created all things, and that Jesus Christ is true God and true Man. Both camps argued for their positions using the verses of Holy Scripture, but Irenaeus recognized that opposing positions about the very nature of God cannot both be correct.

In response to the Gnostics, Irenaeus could not discredit or undermine the very Scriptures to which he himself appealed for support. Instead, he focused his attention and argument on the way the Gnostics interpreted the Scriptures. It is difficult to encapsulate the nuances of Irenaeus’ arguments, but here is one example that I find extremely helpful. To begin, Irenaeus understood Scripture as having one fundamental plot line – the creation and salvation of humanity through Jesus Christ. All of Scripture supports this plot, and any deviation from this plot is not only a misrepresentation of the Scripture, but a distortion in the understanding of Jesus Christ. He likens it to a mosaic:

[The Gnostic’s] manner of acting is just as if one, when a beautiful image of a king has been constructed by some skilful artist out of precious jewels, should then take this likeness of the man all to pieces, should rearrange the gems, and so fit them together as to make them into the form of a dog or a fox, and a poorly executed one at that; and should then maintain and declare that this was the beautiful image of the king which the skilful artist constructed, pointing to the jewels which had been admirably fitted together by the first artist to form the image of the king, but have been with bad effect transferred by the latter one to the shape of a dog, and by thus exhibiting the jewels, should deceive the ignorant who had no conception what a king’s form was like, and persuade them that the miserable likeness of the fox was, in fact, the beautiful image of the king.

When the passages of Scripture are taken from their rightful spot in the plot line, and reassembled in another fashion, they tell a different story. Each verse may be intact, but taken out of proper context, they tell and different story, and, ultimately, proclaim a different Jesus.

This, finally, is the serious danger of false teachers – they promote a different Christ, and those unprepared or unaware of the difference can be led astray without knowing it until much later. St. Paul says the same thing at the top of this article; the knowledge of the glory of God is in the face of Jesus Christ. I exhort you to continue to increase in faith and knowledge of that glory of God that is in the face of Jesus Christ. Study that face by studying Scripture; get to know it as well as you know your own face; in doing so you will protect yourself from those who teach falsely and from their false teachings. Those who do so will not be sorry; when a false teaching is presented to them, it will be as Irenaeus says, ‘although he will acknowledge the gems, he will certainly not receive the fox instead of the likeness of the king.’ God grant that you always know and love the true King of Kings and Lord of Lords, your Savior, Jesus Christ!

To Christ alone be all the glory, forever and ever, amen.

Pastor Bakker