Theology of Glory, Theology of the Cross. (a bit long...)
Martin Luther wrote extensively on the concept called 'theology of
glory'. (Especially in his Heidelberg Disputation). This is the idea that
when WE are obedient and give our best to God - then God will automatically
bless us with career progress, economic success, good crops, lots of fame,
perfect health, and the like. It takes our Introit Psalm 37 or Jeremiah
15:19 and twists it from a confession of sin into a genie in a lamp: say
nice things and God will be forced to bless you. "Name your blessing and
claim your blessing." The sad reality was it took the Babylonian Exile and
harsh conditions for most people in Jeremiah's day to confess they had
sinned against God. And even then, most Israelites did not repent and
believe God.
This theology of glory thinking comes naturally from your sinful heart
and mine: and from Peter's heart, too. A moment earlier, he confessed
Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the Living God. After this, Jesus told
Peter (and tells us) the purpose of His first coming: to be betrayed by
people who considered themselves holy and should have known all about Him
since they had the Scriptures. They would murder Him. Then, as Scriptures
foretold, Jesus would rise from the dead.
Once the Father gave the Holy Spirit to Peter to confess Jesus as the
Christ, the Son of the Living God, the very next thing Jesus says is that He
MUST go to the cross. Not that He "might" go, or it was "Plan B." The
blameless and holy Christ had to die for unrighteous sinners. God, Who
controls ALL creation in heaven and earth, was not going to allow so-called
random chance to roll the dice. The disciples needed to hear God's dice
were VERY loaded and it was a sure thing. All history was coming into
focus.
When unbelief reads the Old Testament, all that is seen is a bunch of
random events. They are not random. Each event has purpose, just as your
life has purpose. God's Word was written so you would believe Jesus is the
Christ, the Son of the Living God, and by believing have eternal life in His
Name. The story of Adam and Eve in Paradise and the Fall into sin is not a
cute myth to tell us why things keep going downhill (entropy) or how good
people sometimes make poor choices. It is God's actual history of
salvation. Every book of the Bible is filled with the history of God's
compassion, providing, protection, and care for what He created and sustains
in His fatherly, divine goodness and mercy. God's Word is filled with clear
references to the Messiah coming to die for us, to be the Lamb of God, the
one and only sacrifice for our sin.
But Peter, and often we, are infested with a theology of glory. We
want to believe we have the strength to reach up to God and be with Him.
All the religions of the world are based on this idea: (as an old TV
commercial went) we want to 'reach out and touch Someone' (God, Allah, gods,
nirvana, you name it). Not just to seek God, which is good, but feel we can
find Him by our own efforts. We want to build a tower of good works or
feelings to reach up into the heavens (Genesis 11).
Theologies of glory are all lies of Satan. They say "God loves
everyone, so there is no hell." "God does not want people to suffer on
earth, because God is love and only blessings," Satan will hiss. "'God will
repay each person for what he has done' as Jesus says in verse 27, so as
long as you do good you can expect an easy life," Satan lies and goes on:
"just DO all the Laws in Romans 12:9-23 and glory is yours. God owes you."
(Job 41:11).
Theologies of glory are all centered in us: they are all about us.
They are about establishing or maintaining fellowship with God by OUR
actions. They want us to believe we can easily gain the whole world without
losing our soul. Or if God loves you enough, they lie, He will give you the
world on a silver platter. They may admit God contributes to our
relationship (Arminianism, semi-Pelagiansim, etc.), but it is really your
efforts that are the most important thing in your life.
But the most important thing in your life did not happen during your
life. It happened at Calvary on the cross when Jesus died in your place to
declare you right with God. Put another way, the cross of Jesus Christ must
not merely be IN our theology or talk-about-God, God's Word says the cross
IS our theology (heart and soul and center).
God reveals Himself in the opposites of what our eyes see. The death of
Christ? To our eyes it seems like shame, weakness, failure, and great
injustice. The actuality of the cross is God acting in honor to preserve
His holiness; God acting in strength shouldering the sins of the world;
victory rather than failure; and perfect justice on a more than cosmic
scale. Rather than One death, God is giving billions life - and eternal
life at that!
God in fact uses the cross to achieve the defeat of evil for us. God
is most clearly seen in the suffering and shame of Christ.
Now, God's Saving Plan did not banish evil. It is most certainly true
that when people obey the Ten Commandments and live according to God's rules
that their lives are much better. God designed and created the universe
this way. It is like an engine designed to run on gasoline. As long as you
put in gasoline instead of deciding that you are smarter than the
Manufacturer and can fill 'er up with diesel every once in a while the
engine should run well. Even with the best gasoline, there may still be
engine problems in this broken world; but obeying the gasoline commandment
usually means a smoother journey on the road of life. But because of sin
and Satan, which will not be removed until the Final Judgment, there are
still breakdowns and hurts even among the most faithful of God's people.
But God uses those hurts, sorrows, and other events which look horrible
and He reveals them to be instead for our own good. Christ's cross did not
unexpectedly pop-up but it was rather clearly predicted hundreds of ways
over a dozen centuries thru the pens of dozens of people (16-36-66; 39 books
over 11 centuries). God's Day of Justice was coming. God Himself would pay
for this sins of the universe He created. That's God's justice. Good
Friday was when the Son of Man came in His Kingdom (verse 28). (See also
Psalm 118:24).
When we see history thru God's eyes, THAT is when we see things as they
truly are rather than some way folks wish it would be. When we look from
the cross, your life's suffering and mine look very different than if we
think God is mad at us for doing something bad or forgetting to do good.
Satan tempts us today, like Christ, to avoid suffering. When you obey
God's Commandments or remind others to obey, some people won't like that.
It is easier to get along and avoid hard things. If you are honest, you may
lose your job. If you don't gossip, you may lose your friends. If you don't
move in, you may lose that person you love. If you don't cuss, others may
avoid you. This list can go on a long while. But to be honest, these are
really fairly mild sufferings for Jesus, or true crosses of faith in the
United States of America.
A cross does NOT mean suffering for doing wrong. Taking up our cross
is when we are suffering for doing right, for believing in Christ.
But I think a really treacherous piece of this temptation puzzle is
that it came from a close friend who had just confessed Jesus as the Christ.
Peter went from hero to zero in an instant. He went from being moved by the
Spirit to an agent of Satan in a heartbeat. You and I can too; and so can
our brothers and sisters in Christ. No one is immune.
In fact, I think some of our toughest temptations come from Christians
who care for us. They don't want us to suffer. But by turning away from
God's path and avoiding suffering on earth, they are walking the broad and
easy road to hell.
We are fallen creatures living in a fallen world facing temptations to
avoid suffering and do things the easy way. Christian life is a life of
FAITH and spiritual warfare. We should remember events were orchestrated by
Satan to send Jesus to the cross. But God used Satan to bring about Satan's
defeat. Satan wars against you daily, but God uses these battles to test
and even strengthen your faith. By the gift of faith, you know in the cross
of Christ you already have the victory.
How easy it is to wrongly FEEL like Job, that if things are going badly
in our life and we are suffering, then these must be a signs that God is
greatly displeased with us and He is allowing these things to occur in our
lives to punish us and whip us back into shape. It is easy to start to go
down a theology of glory path. As a reader of Job, we have a God's eye view
of life. God and Satan struck a deal; but Job doesn't know that. Pain
comes. Friends try to tell Job he needs to shape up and God will quit
punishing him, but Job says "I know that my Redeemer lives." Finally Job is
dragged down in faith by His friends. Then God shows up in a whirlwind and
demands: "Who are YOU to question how God works?" Job NEVER learns why; or
who did it. The reader reads it. In that same way, WE don't usually learn
the ultimate why or the theological who in the crosses of daily life.
ONLY when we see life thru the lens of the cross can we see clearly.
Jesus was PERFECT and by human standards should have had no suffering at all
and never suffered even a splinter of God's wrath, yet He suffered not just
one splinter but the whole cross and all the suffering and wrath of God to
justify us.
We were joined to Christ on that cross. We participate in His
sufferings: He died to sin, so do we; suffering and afflictions were used
to complete the Father's purpose in Jesus, and also in us. Our faith fails
in temptation. But in the death and resurrection of the Son of Man, we have
been brought into His Kingdom.
God grant us the faith to genuinely follow Christ: to deny ourselves,
take up our own cross, and be willing to participate in His sufferings;
never ashamed of His cross, but to glory in it and live in the joy of His
salvation. Amen.
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