Does not wisdom call?
Does not understanding raise her voice?
On the heights beside the way,
at the crossroads she takes her stand;
beside the gates in front of the town,
at the entrance of the portals she cries aloud:
“To you, O men, I call,
and my cry is to the children of man.
O simple ones, learn prudence;
O fools, learn sense. | Proverbs 8:1–5
On Sunday, I pressed in on the idea that Jesus is the center of all creation and should be at the center of our understanding of the world. What this means is: we accept the definitions and explanations that the Bible gives us as the starting point for building our worldview. This isn’t to say that the Bible addresses every topic or has an answer for every question, but it does provide for us the foundational truths from which to discern and establish prudence.
In order to attain wisdom or learn sense, there must be a standard from which we operate. In the sermon, I made the argument that this standard is not primarily a set of facts, but comes in the form of a story. A story of who we are and why we exist and where this whole world is going.
For Christians, this story is given to us in the Bible. The Bible tells us that the eternal God created a good world that existed perfectly, in unison with Him. Sin entered the world when human beings decided that they would be better off doing things on their own, apart from Him. This created two issues. One was that sin is an act of war against God’s glory and deserves to be punished. The second is that through sin, people disconnected themselves from the wise guidance of God and continually perpetuate more sin. The world was cast into destruction.
Because of God’s loving mercy, He has chosen to act to reverse the negative effects of sin and to bring His world back to glory. He has done this by taking on the full punishment that sin deserves and gifting a people with His victory over sin’s destruction. Those who have been given His grace are called to both conform themselves into the worshippers they were created to be, but also to fight against the sinful destruction of God’s creation. God will use these efforts to move forward His plan of restoring all things.
To take hold of this story provides an answer as to why we exist, what our identity is, and where our problems arise from. It defines the human problem as sin and gives us a solution for this: the gospel of Jesus Christ. In this, we receive both a way to free ourselves from the guilt and shame of sin along with the means to repent and turn away from sin, through obedience to God’s law. The Biblical story gives us a robust framework to fit in all of the facts we find and the experiences we have. It also diagnoses the issue and gives us a cure. It gives us hope for the future and the reason to live full lives with compassion and love.
As we interact with the larger world, we run into different stories. Often, the disconnect between Christians and non is not that we simply diverge on what is good and what is bad, but that we are working with a completely different concept of what it means to be human.
To be created is different than evolving.
To have a purpose is different than creating a purpose.
To be a sinner is different than being inherently good.
To be saved is different from needing to prove yourself.
To be eternally secure is different than hoping things will work out in the future.
I point this out because it is common for Christians to offer Jesus as a Savior to those who don’t think they’re lost. To teach morality to people who don’t believe in a moral standard. To offer eternal promises to people who believe that we come from dust and to dust we shall return. It isn’t that I think we should stop talking about Jesus, but what we need to do is tell the whole story. Just as the Law and Prophets were given to point forward to the cross, we must show how the Bible provides the foundation to answer all of life’s questions.
With this, we must live out our part of the story faithfully. God is showing the world who He is, through us. We are invited into His story and then become a part of it. To see life in this way is to be caught up in a grand adventure that started long before us and will continue on into beyond us. Let’s tell this exciting story and whether people accept it or not, may they hear it for what it is. I leave you with Dorothy sayers thoughts on the matter:
Official Christianity, of late years, has been having what is known as a bad press. We are constantly assured that the churches are empty because preachers insist too much upon doctrine—dull dogma as people call it. The fact is the precise opposite. It is the neglect of dogma that makes for dullness. The Christian faith is the most exciting drama that ever staggered the imagination of man—and the dogma is the drama.
Dorothy Sayers, Creed or Chaos
It is the dogma that is the drama—not beautiful phrases, nor comforting sentiments, nor vague aspirations to loving-kindness and uplift, nor the promise of something nice after death—but the terrifying assertion that the same God who made the world, lived in the world and passed through the grave and gate of death. Show that to the heathen, and they may not believe it; but at least they may realize that here is something that man might be glad to believe.