Wild Boar in the Vinyard!

For a little while I may be in a kind of "rapid fire" mode.  My intention is to post about once per week, but I actually have a few things that I'll probably post just to get 'em out of my system.  The title of this post is a reference to what Martin Luther was called in the early stages of the Reformation.  Pope Leo X slapped that moniker on Dr. Luther in a papal bull issued June 15, 1520.  I'm definitely not the caliber of Martin Luther, but I hope I carry the commitment to good theology that he did.  He was so committed that he took on the whole of the organized Christian faith, such that it was at the time.  I hope I'm capable of the same commitment.  The whole "pig" reference is a little nasty, but the idea of barreling through a first rate vineyard like an out of control freight train has a sort of Harley-Davidson "cool" element to it.

Reformed theology is really out of fashion in our day and age.  I have a hard time gauging if it's gaining a foothold again in the church at large, but my best guess is probably not.  Due in large part to the modern perception that many people have of the Puritans and John Calvin, and also in some part to the romantic notions of post-modern thinking, the general consideration of the doctrines of the reformation and the puritans are something like considering a caveman putting on a tux.  Quaint, but outdated.

I've just finished reading the 1689 London Baptist Confession (I'm a Baptist).  I'd heard it mentioned three times in the past two weeks, and never knew it existed (I've just been using white-out on a couple of sections of the Westminster Confession for the last few years).  And I started musing about why such rich, time tested theology is virtually unknown to most church goers in our day.

I'll admit that I can understand (to some degree, anyway) why people believe the teachings are outdated.  I struggle with a few of the doctrines, but am very compelled by scripture.

Where I think most people miss it though, is that they don't pursue it enough.  For example, many Christians of our day would say that Jonathan Edwards' sermon "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" is counter-productive to a complete understanding of the "God of Love" that we find in the New Testament.  Our romantic predisposition screams, "No, no, no.  Jesus loves me.  He's not an angry God.  He's the nice God."

I find though, that most people who feel that way haven't read any further than the title of the sermon.  Certainly Edwards' lays it on the line.  One portion of the sermon reads, "The God that holds you over the pit of hell, much as one holds a spider, or loathsome insect over a fire, abhors you, and is dreadfully provoked:  His wrath toward you burns like fire; He looks upon you as worthy of nothing else, but to be cast into the fire; He is of purer eyes than to bear to have you in His sight; you are ten thousand times more abominable in his eyes, than the most hateful venomous serpent is in ours."  Okay, so that line lays it out there a bit - Joel Osteen didn't use that in his book.  But by the end of this sermon Edwards makes an appeal.  He practically begs the listener to answer the call of Christ.  In fact, his plea at the end of the sermon is so urgent that an honest reading of his sermon still evokes a desire to see the lost proclaim Christ.

Before you disregard the cold puritanical traditions, and replace them with the warm, inviting and relevant innovations in the church, pick up a few of the old books.  Dust off a copy of the Valley of Vision, or Gospel Worship (Jeremiah Burroughs) and give it a read.  The writings are nearly poetic, almost romantic.  It's truly inspiring.  And the theology is like wrestling a gorilla - even if you win you're gonna' be bruised up some.  And God really works through those bruises.  Go back and read the story of Jacob wrestling with God in Genesis.  God let's Jacob win the match (see the line above about wrestling a gorilla), but when He tells Jacob to let Him go, Jacob renews his efforts and says, "I'm not letting go until You bless me."

That wasn't a temper tantrum, or even extortion.  That was Jacob realizing that he needed to understand God more than he already did.  Jacob knew what type of guy he was, and he knew that God could use that.  Jacob began to understand his place in the world, as a servant of the Most High God (remember he was on his way to patch things up with Esau - his brother he'd sinned against by stealing his inheritance and birthright).  The old doctrines are fantastic collaborations on biblical theology.  They are uncommon in their understanding of scripture and application of abstract ideas.  Wrestle with 'em.  Ask God to bless you through them.  Don't substitute the Bible with them, rather let them turn some of the lights on.