faith for faith

It is hard fact with which to come to grips, but it is such a fact nonetheless. Having grown up in the South where there is without a doubt a Christian religiosity that pervades the culture, one is hard-pressed to see where Christianity begins and where the culture ends. And though it is clear that it is not the entire culture that consists of this Christian influence, there is a strong subculture that calls itself Christian, speaks words that are Christian, and believes that it is Christian, though its Christianity is oftentimes in conflict with what seems to be the Christianity of the Bible.

And discerning this is terribly difficult task, especially when you have been brought up in such a culture. And to make things all the more difficult, there is not a black and white line that distinguishes the two, for there are within this Christian subculture many who are indeed in Christ and who serve him as best they know how in the mindset in which they have been raised. They, including myself, have been brought up hearing the name of Jesus Christ, the stories of his life, the teachings from his mouth, etc., and they follow these things according to the manner which their predecessors followed them, and their predecessors before them, and their predecessors before them.

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For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them. To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law. To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (not being outside the law of God but under the law of Christ) that I might win those outside the law. To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings (1Cor. 9:19-23).

It can be said of Christian history that one generation’s cultural adaptation is the following generation’s tradition-entrapped religion. It was true of the Jews who were in previous generations faithful to Yahweh in their cultural adaptation, but who were in a subsequent generation in Christ’s day so ensnared by the cultural adaptation of previous generations that they were unable to recognize Yahweh incarnate and crucified him. And the same it is true of American Christianity where previous generations adapted to the culture of their time, and subsequent generations were then ensnared by the cultural adaptations of the previous generation.

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The life of a Christian must be to the world an odd existence. For the Christian life, when lived properly, is a life that is lived backwards rather than forwards. For while the rest of the world attempts to live life to its fullest at the present time (or as the old Latin phrase puts it, carpe diem), the Christian lives his life in the light of his future Hope, namely that Day when his faith shall become sight and when he receives his glorified body and lives forever in the splendor and the joy of the glory of his God. It is what Mark Driscoll labeled it, reverse engineering, for our lives here on this earth are to be “engineered” in such a fashion that our blessed Hope is demonstrated and fulfilled by our lives.

The apostle Paul puts it this way: “In this hope [viz. the redemption of our bodies] we were saved” (Rm. 8:24). For the salvation of our Gospel is laid in store for us in Eternity, when we who bear the curse of Adam shall be ridden of our dead bodies and rise as Christ rose by the glory of the Father (cf. Rm. 6:4). This is the glorious Promise and Hope that our God has granted to us, and it is a Promise and Hope that transforms our lives here upon this planet.

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As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions. One person believes he may eat anything, while the weak person eats only vegetables. Let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains, and let not the one who abstains pass judgment on the one who eats, for God has welcomed him. Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand (Rm. 14:1-4).

What is an opinion? An opinion is a belief or conviction that does not have substantial support. When spoken of with regard to the church, it is a matter that is more often than not rooted in a particular culture and that has found its way into Christian practice but does not have Scriptural mandate. The examples of opinions are many, and it is opinions, not biblical doctrine, that has caused the most divisions within the church.

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