Mystical Religion

Jesus proves it’s possible to reject religion without rejecting God. In fact, Jesus hates religion. It grieves him and offends him—and not because he’s touchy. Jesus hates religion because it reverses the good news that he proclaimed in his life and in his death: You don’t have to figure God out on your own, and you don’t have to earn God’s acceptance through obedience. (Which is very good news indeed, since history has shown that we are incapable of doing either of these anyway.) Instead of requiring us to climb up to God, Jesus moved into our neighborhood. He lived and died as one of us in order to reconcile us to the God we are created for, who alone is the source of our ultimate joy and satisfaction.

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During this week’s sermon (10/23/2011) we saw that Jesus hates Mystical Religion. [Download]
The Scripture passage for this sermon is Matthew 12:38-42.

Main Idea: The word “mystical” and the word “mysterious” come from the same root (‘myst’). “Mystery” refers to something that is unknown, while the word “mystical” refers to something that is unknowable. The difference is huge. Lots of things that are unknown to us can become known. For example, you may not have known that the processed meat found in foods like hot dogs can increase your risk of colorectal cancer by 21%—the same cancer risk increase as smoking cigarettes. (Now you now, and knowing is half the battle.) But you would never say that such facts are “unknowable.” They were just unknown to you. What mystical religion does is focus on things that are unknowable instead of focusing on the things that God has clearly revealed to us in Jesus and in the Scriptures. The clearest example of mystical religion in our culture today is our strange obsession with trying to figure out “the will of God” in specific situations. It seems that some people are so mystical they pray about what kind of cereal to eat in the morning. Of course, God can give “signs” when he chooses. That is not the point. The point is that even when that happens, how can you correctly know whether something is really a sign from God or not? Only through a deep understanding of God’s character and purposes in the world could you ever hope to discern what is “from God” and what actually is self-delusion, demonic deception, or mere coincidence. Furthermore, in most—perhaps we should say the vastly overwhelming—number of circumstances we find ourselves in, we don’t need a special sign from God to discern what is better for our lives. Only mystical religion says that. The good news of Jesus is not that we must pray super hard to find out what he wants, but that he has already told us. Jesus says, “This is who I am. This is what I’m doing in the world. You were made for me. You were redeemed by me. Go and live like the doubly-God-owned person that you are.”

What does this mean for me?  Mystical religion is not just wrong, it’s harmful. It teaches us to look for the will God in our circumstances instead of looking for the will of God in the life and teachings of Jesus. What this means practically is that if we want to know what we should do in a certain situation, we must become the kind of people who know the identity and mission of Jesus by heart. Now, this doesn’t rule out the need for prayer. There will be times when we’re still unsure about two things that seem equally good to us. Even still, in these moments we should take comfort in the fact that if both options enable us to fulfill the mission of Jesus in our lives, then either is OK. God doesn’t have an invisible tight-rope he wants to you walk that he’s not telling you about. According to God, his will is for you to know him and make him known. If every decision you make facilitates that, then you’re in his will. (Of course, you’ll find that knowing the will of God isn’t the hard part, unlike what mystical religion says. It’s actually doing the will of God that is difficult, for apart from grace changing our hearts daily it would be impossible.)

Questions for Reflection 

1. Every form of religion we’ve looked at in this series emphasizes what people must do for God instead of what God has done for us in Christ. How is mystical religion guilty the same kind of error?

2. Instead of asking God for a sign showing you “the right thing to do,” how do you think that followers of Jesus should make decisions in their lives?

3. Do you find it freeing or intimidating to realize that God’s will for your life is simply that you become like Jesus and live on mission with him? How might it be both freeing and intimidating at the same time?

4. What are some practical things you might do or say to help a close friend avoid the trap of mystical religion when they are struggling with an important decision in their life?

Related Quote:  “Expecting God to reveal some hidden will of direction is an invitation to disappointment and indecision. Trusting in God’s will of decree [God’s sovereignty] is good. Folowing his will of desire [God’s Word] is obedient. Waiting for God’s will of direction is a mess. It is bad for your life, harmful to your sanctification, and allows too many Christians to be passive tinkerers who strangely feel more spirit-ual the less they actually do. God is not a Magic 8-Ball we shake up and peer into whenever we have a decision to make. He is a good God who gives us brains, shows us the way of obedience, and invites us to take risks for Him. . . . We feel like we can know—and need to know—what God wants every step of the way. But such preoccupation with finding God’s will, as well-intentioned as the desire may be, is more folly than freedom.” (Kevin DeYoung, Just Do Something: A Liberating Approach to Finding God’s Will, or: How to Make a Decision Without Dreams, Visions, Fleeces, Open Doors, Random Bible Verses, Casting Lots, Liver Shivers, Writing in the Sky, etc.)

Work and Cultural Renewal – by Dr. Timothy Keller

I am often asked: “Should Christians be involved in shaping culture?” My answer is that we can’t not be involved in shaping culture. To illustrate this, I offer a very sad example. In the years leading up to the Civil War many southerners resented the interference of the abolitionists, who were calling on Christians to stamp out the sin of slavery. In response, some churches began to assert that it was not the church’s (nor Christians’) job to try to “change culture” but only to preach the gospel and see souls saved. The tragic irony was that these churches were shaping culture. Their very insistence that Christians should not be changing culture meant that those churches were supporting the social status quo. They were defacto endorsing the cultural arrangements of the Old South. (For more on this chapter in American history, see Mark Noll, The Civil War as a Theological Crisis.)

This is an extreme example, but it makes the point that when Christians work in the world, they will either assimilate into their culture and support the status quo or they will be agents of change. This is especially true in the area of work. Every culture works on the basis of a ‘map’ of what is considered most important. If God and his grace are not at the center of a culture, then other things will be substituted as ultimate values. So every vocational field is distorted by idolatry.

Christian medical professionals will soon see that some practices make money for them but don’t add value to patients’ lives. Christians in marketing and business will discern accepted patterns of communication that distort reality or which play to and stir up the worst aspects of the human heart. Christians in business will often see among their colleagues’ behavior that which seeks short-term financial profit at the expense of the company’s long-term health, or practices that put financial profit ahead of the good of the employees, customers, or others in the community. Christians in the arts live and work in a culture in which self-expression is an end in itself. And in most vocational fields, believers face work-worlds in which ruthless, competitive behavior is the norm.

There are two opposite mistakes that a Christian can make in addressing the idols of their vocational field. On the one hand they can seal off their faith from their work, laboring according to the same values and practices that everyone else uses. Or they may loudly and clumsily declare their Christian faith to their co-workers, often without showing any grace and wisdom in the way they relate to people on the job.

At Redeemer, especially through the Center for Faith & Work, we seek to help believers think out the implications of the gospel for art, business, government, media, entertainment, scholarship. We teach that excellence in work is a crucial means to gain credibility for our faith. If our work is shoddy, our verbal witness only leads listeners to despise our beliefs. If Christians live in major cultural centers and simply do their work in an excellent but distinctive manner it will ultimately produce a different kind of culture than the one in which we live now.

But I like the term “cultural renewal” better than “culture shaping” or “culture changing/transforming.” The most powerful way to show people the truth of Christianity is to serve the common good. The monks in the Middle Ages moved out through pagan Europe, inventing and establishing academies, universities, and hospitals. They transformed local economies and cared for the weak through these new institutions. They didn’t set out to ‘get control’ of a pagan culture. They let the gospel change how they did their work and that meant they worked for others rather than for themselves. Christians today should be aiming for the same thing.

As Roman society was collapsing, St. Augustine wrote The City of God to remind believers that in the world there are always two ‘cities,’ two alternate ‘kingdoms.’ One is a human society based on selfishness and gaining power. God’s kingdom is the human society based on giving up power in order to serve. Christians live in both kingdoms, and although that is the reason for much conflict and it also is our hope and assurance. The kingdom of God is the permanent reality, while the kingdom of this world will eventually fade away.

-Tim Keller is the Pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Manhattan New York.  This is an article that he wrote and is posted through Redeemer’s Center for Faith and Work.  The link to the article is below:

http://www.faithandwork.org/workandculturalrenewal

Carytown Graffiti Abatement: Reflections

Here we are, two months, seven workdays, and six blocks into Carytown Clean-Up, an effort to remove graffiti in Carytown.  Attendance through the summer has been a wonderful testimony to our members’ dedication to Jesus and his mission.  Reflecting back on Carytown Clean-Up, there are two major reflections that I wish to mention in this first part of this series.

Aesthetic Restoration of Carytown

One of the main goals of Carytown Clean-Up was actually to clean up Carytown.  We set out with the intention of removing all of the graffiti in Carytown.  There are several benefits to this project.  A cleaner Carytown will naturally result in a more desirable Carytown bringing more business and even new business to the merchants.  We are left now with only a few workdays to go and still plenty of work.  Although there is still work to be done, there has been great success in our mission to clean up all of the graffiti in Carytown.  Much of the graffiti on storefronts, sidewalks, roofs, and walls that face West Cary Street have been erased or painted over, leaving a more aesthetically pleasing place to shop, eat, and hang out.  In addition to graffiti abatement, we picked up trash and cleaned stickers off of poles, mailboxes, newsstands, phone booths.  Carytown has seen much change since the beginning of summer.

The cleaning of graffiti this summer has resulted in more than just better looking buildings; the gospel has been lived out as many of our members have come out to serve the City.  The gospel lived out naturally creates a better place to live; a place that attracts people with its beauty and promotes a better standard of living.  The aesthetic restoration of Carytown is a glimpse of the gospel being lived out.  Carytown Clean-Up has served as a great jumping point in Remnant Church’s overall desire to be a blessing to Richmond and to see it flourish.

Gospel Relationships Have Been Built

Always accompanying the living out of the gospel in deed should be the speaking of the gospel in word.  Through Carytown Clean-Up we have had the opportunity to meet the merchants, the customers, and the residents of Carytown.  Meeting these people has provided our people the opportunity to build relationships and share the gospel.  Our service to the area of Carytown has sparked the interest of people throughout the area that want to know what we are doing and why we are doing it.  People have stopped by our tent as they walk down the street as well as coming out of their homes for the purpose of asking what we are doing.  This has afforded us many opportunities to share with people why we are serving the city and tell them about the person and work of Jesus.

Our prayer is that as Carytown Clean-Up enters its last phases that people would see a glimpse of the type of culture the gospel creates and that we would be able to continue building relationships and sharing the gospel.

For more updates and photos of Carytown Clean-Up, visit http://www.facebook.com/serverichmond?ref=ts

Carytown Clean-Up

Remnant Church, in Richmond, genuinely desires to serve the city and be an agent for the overall good of the city.  We believe that Richmond is a city of natural beauty that has much to offer to its residents and visitors.   It is for the overall good of the city and its residents that Serve Richmond exists.   Serve Richmond is our way of promoting the aesthetic beauty of the city and assisting in the overall urban revitalization of Richmond.

The first stage of Serve Richmond will be graffiti removal throughout Carytown.   Listed below are some of the benefits of Serve Richmond:

• Aesthetic Beauty - Cleaning the city will draw attention to the natural beauty of Richmond.  We desire to promote Richmond’s love for art while eliminating any nuisance that detracts from the overall beauty of the city.
• Decreased Crime – The way people perceive the city influences the way people treat the city.  Therefore, if people perceive the city as clean and well kept, they will be less apt to commit various crimes.
• Increased Commerce – The nicer the city looks, the more people will want to spend time shopping and dining.  This is a win/win for business owners.  Businesses will receive care for their buildings and as the city is cleaned, more people will desire to spend time shopping and dining, thus stimulating the local economy.
• Community Collaboration – Serve Richmond will bring people of the city together to care for their city and build relationships.  As relationships are built, a sense of community will be established.
• Overall Love and Care for Richmond – As the city is cleaned, residents will naturally be proud to live in Richmond and will work diligently to care for their city.

Richmond is a city that we have all come to know and love.  We hope that we can come alongside your business and make our city even better than it already is.