Podcast

Gospel Centered Life and Theology

Do not forsake wisdom, she will protect; love her. She will watch over you

/ Al Ngu, MDiv / Leave a comment

“Get wisdom, get understanding, do not forget my words or turn away from me”. Do not forsakewisdom, she will protect; love her. She will watch over you. (Proverbs 4:5-6)


I think this is a huge concept and idea of how to treat God’s word or Wisdom as a person. God’s Word or Wisdom as revealed in the Bible gives us a tremendous insight. The personal touch of  God is so powerful. 

 

As a John 1: 1 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God”.

 

You see the personification of the Word logos is God so if you love the Word of God, you love God because they are the same. The Word of God, the scripture is revelation of who God is and what he does. There’s no other things shows that, although I know the nature, shouting screams and the glory of God, only because of God. 

 

The real deal is not to forsake and she will protect you, love her and she will watch you. Love is powerful. Love that “love” the word. Love her because you are really treating the word of God is a person now and it’s not just a person but very personable person, a person whose emotion and attributes, characteristics,like you fall in love with a girl, you fall in love with a woman,you fall in love with a man. You love your wife, you love your husband, your boyfriend, girlfriend. This is how God wants us to understand and treat the word of God. Now if you love the Word, you have no problem to obey the word because you love her. It’s no more duty. It’s a delight from duty to delight. You don’t obey the word of God because you have to. You obey the word of God because you love her. Hallelujah it’s like you want to care for your husband or wife because you love him or her.

V 7 “:The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding. Cherish her, and she will exalt you; embrace her, and she will honor you”.

 

Cherish her and she was you and her and she would honor you. What a powerful profound statement right here even though it costs all you have. Christianity is all or nothing. And that’s why Jesus said the first commandment is “Love the Lord of God with all your heart, all your mind and all your soul”. Its all and notlove as much as you can. 

 

The problem is we don’t understand that loving God with all hearts is organic even if you love gotten only 10% for now, but you know your heart is towards that direction. It’s no problem even if you screwed up big time, but the Lord, God will forgive you and restore. Amazing look at David. David is the greatest king over Israel ever. But he made the most grievous sin that I’ve known of and its sick to the heart because he killed one of his own soldiers to get his wife because his wife is beautiful and she bathed half naked in her backyard, and David saw her her from his balcony in Palace. After that he go her to sleep with him, that Dave slept with her and God judged severely. The baby that was born died. And David was severely punished, and all his concubines were slept by his son Absalom as God judged David. He was doomed. His son Absalom went after him, trying to kill him and take his throne, that is a judgment form God. But on the incredible side, he was so shaken in his heart because God confronted him. His conscience pricked him so badly so hardand the Spirit of God convicted him so badly, and that he fell down and pleaded with God for forgiveness. He cried. Like he prayed in the book of Psalms. He wrote, he prayed that, “Take not your Holy Spirit from me”. –He loves the Lord. You see, love covers a thousand sins. 

 

1 Peter 4 8 Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.

 

Psalm 51

 Create in me a clean heart, O God,
    and renew a right[b] spirit within me.
11 Cast me not away from your presence,
    and take not your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
    and uphold me with a willing spirit.

 

Against the Lord, have I sinned. Of course, he sinned against other guys, but he’s always talking with God. He’s so focused with God and loving the Lord passionately. God is the most important person in his life. There’s no other comparison. No one comes near. The Lord eventually restored him, forgive him. He moved on to become the greatest king of Israel ever known. Because he loves the Lord. A lot of things can be forgiven, and God looks over the wrongs and the sins of done, and God forgives you, and moves on. But don’t do it again and indeed David never did that again. In fact, never 300 concubines after that shamed by his son and he never went near them anymore. 

 

The power of love in the Lord. Amen.

“The heart of Christianity is a myth which is also a fact.”

/ Al Ngu, MDiv / Leave a comment

Lewis writes, “Myth transcends thought, incarnation transcends myth. The heart of Christianity is a myth which is also a fact. The old myth of the dying God, without ceasing to be myth, comes down from the heaven of legend and imagination to the earth of history. It happens- at a particular date, in a particular place, followed by a definable historical consequence. We passed from history to our historical person crucified under Pontius Pilot. By becoming fact, it does not cease to be myth; That’s a miracle. I suspect the men have sometimes derived more spiritual sustenance from myths they did not believe then from the religion they’re professed”. That’s a huge insight to the call not to stop at Easter resurrection, but truly dwell on the mystery of a resurrected Christ bodily, I see Lewis’s exhortation of dwelling in the myth of Christ must be grasped by Christians today to be able to truly walking in the Spirit.

Lewis writes, “ A man who disbelieved the Christian story is fact but continually fed on it as myth would, perhaps, be more spiritually alive than one who assented” and did not think much about it”. There is so much truth to that because there are many people who just intellectually assented to the story of salvation and even believed in it but did not think much about it and which means it never changes their lives much at all. Compared to a person who disbelieve the Christian story but believe in the myth that came with it is, definitely potentially more spiritually alive person in a spiritual sense.

Lewis rightly says that those who do not know this great myth became fact when the virgin conceived or, indeed, to be pitied. I think America today is awash with people who don’t believe in the myth of Christianity but merely assented to it intellectually on a superficial level and that’s why we have this Easter bunnies overwhelming the resurrection of Christ. To the point that even White House refused any religious themes to Easter celebration this year.

Lewis writes, “Christians need to be reminded that what became fact was a myth, that it carries with it into the world of fact all the properties of a myth. God is more than a god, not less; Christ is more than Balder, not less. We must not be ashamed of the mythical radiance resting on our theology. We must not, in false spirituality, withhold our imaginative welcome. If God chooses to be mythopoeic- and it’s not the sky itself a myth- shall we refuse to be myopathic? For this is the marriage of heaven and earth; Perfect myth and perfect fact; Claiming not only our love and our obedience, but also our wonder in delight, addressed to the savage, the child, and the poet in each one of us no less than to the moralist, the scholar, and the philosopher”.—I think Lewis just make Christianity so much more alive and personal, something not only to be obeyed and followed in obedience, and with love, but indeed with wonder and delight. That’s a huge contribution to humanity understanding of Christianity because no one, even though rejecting Christianity or just being ignorant, will reject delight and wonder in a religion. To deprive Christianity of wonder and delight is to make the God of miracles and love and passion into a stoic idle that doesn’t speak or move.

(Lewis, God in Dock, “Myth Became Fact.”)

Christian & Culture Engagement

/ Al Ngu, MDiv / Leave a comment

I am most sympathetic and liking towards the Transformationalist model of Christian and culture engagement, because it is active in influencing culture. It has the Kuyperian touch of Neo Calvinism, which spreads the influence of Christ over all aspects of culture. This model looks at the secular work in the world as important way to serve Christ and his Kingdom, and calls for the importance for Christians excelling in the work, and their spheres of influence. Christians must bring their distinctive Christian commitment to Public Square. And make them as part of the identity. I do have reservation of their triumphalism, self-righteousness, and overconfidence, which comes from the lack of theological understanding of the common grace outside the church. And their politically active in wanting to change politics is attractive, and compelling as Kuyper’s view on Christ rules overall including politics. However, excessive confidence in politics as a means of changing culture may be backfiring, though it’s the right direction as part of the overall package.

The Countercultures model is the saddest because they withdraw or separatist from the world, with a dispensationalist mentality. Saying that the return of culture is imminent, so no point in saving the culture. Basically, leaving the world to rot, and the spiritual darkness takes over the governments, and implement whatever godless culture to our kids and families and society. And they downplay penal substitutional redemption because they don’t believe God will endorse a violent atonement. The other problem is this philosophy undermines communication with the fallen world as Christians are so separated from the world, the culture.

The Two Kingdom Model places high value on secular vocations, like teacher, lawyer, etc. They believes in a strong doctrine of common grace in the public sphere. Christians and non-Christians can work together well. I do not like the low expectations for cultural reformation prior to the eschaton, in the Amillennialism viewpoint, resulting in the mindset that Church is going to be a minority. And it’s not big for cultural transformation and will not have a great deal of influence and power in the world. This is problematic in my view.

They tend to accept secularism. They encourage the church not to take action against society’s ills. Church only does gospel ministry and not meant to get involved in politics, social issues. Not to speak out on social political. And not act to organize on social issues. All these are problematic. In my view.

The Relevance model. They have such great optimism about cultural trends. Instead of influencing the culture, they’re bringing the culture into the Christian life. They emphasize on the common good and human flourishing. That Christians needs to promote the common good, and not just the welfare for the Church, but all of society and seeking to rectify injustices, which is a very good. Mindset of this model is to treat Christian and church as synonymous. There are groups like Liberation Theology, Black, Liberation Theology, Feminine Theology. And seeker sensitive movement like Willow Creek and Emerging Church Movement.

The biggest problem of this model is they have a low view of theological precision or orthodoxy and Christian tradition. And this another huge problem is this supplanted evangelism and conversion by emphasis on social action. There’s not much preaching of the gospel and asking for repentance, but move to social action and social gospel, false gospel. There is an erosion of the biblical distinction between the church and the world. And they regard any distinction will be problematic by them. They have a lack of enthusiasm for membership and discipline under authority of eldership. To me, this doesn’t sound like they’re even a born again group of Christians.

Tim Keller., Loving the City., Zondervan,  2016.

H Richard Niebuhr,  Christ and Culture, Harper one,  2001.