Tag Archives: Gospel

Why Should I Care About Contextualization?

September 24, 2014 philipmt Leave a comment

There are plenty of academic topics that honestly aren’t worth much of your time. They aren’t valuable because they don’t affect your daily life; they won’t really impact your understanding of the core doctrines of the faith. So most of us can get by without thinking about these abstractions. But this issue of contextualization isn’t one of those issues. It’s central to a number of practical Christian life issues as well as your understanding of certain Christian doctrines. I’ll survey several of these areas below.

Evangelism

If you’re like me, evangelism is something that you want to grow in. You want to build more relationships with people who need Jesus; you want to share the impact that your Christian faith has had on your life. But you may not know how to explain that faith to someone else. Contextualization is a study in how to communicate with others that you may struggle to relate with. In contemporary American culture, although adoption rates of technology and adaptation rates for new trends are narrowing, the overall stratification of subcultures makes contextualization necessary for evangelism. Making the Gospel meaningful to other subcultures means that we need to humble ourselves and ask some preliminary questions that will help us communicate better with people in these cultures. In the upcoming articles, I’ll be sharing some essential contextualization questions that Christians can ask in order to understand the culture of the person they’re speaking with.

Contextualization says that we can reject the extremes of syncretistic assimilation, that the community never recognizes as truth, and non-communicative withdrawal, whereby the community never comes in contact with the truth. Ultimately salt isn’t salt if it doesn’t function as salt (losing its taste), and it doesn’t function as salt if it doesn’t end up placed on something else (in the world). Both proximity and potency are essential. Some of the most potent applications of contextualization come to bear on the way we enter into evangelistic dialogue with people in our community.

Discipleship

“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28.19a)

Contextualization doesn’t stop once a person believes the Gospel. If you’re involved in Gospel proclamation or one-on-one discipleship, you’re tasked with the privilege of diving deep into the lives of others and getting to know how they think and what cultural roadblocks they have in their experience that keep them from applying the Gospel to their Christian lives. Every Christian is a part of a culture and sub-culture that shapes us in incalculable ways. So as we engage in the process of discipling others, we’ll need to continue this process of asking questions in order to understand where they’re coming from, and continuing to communicate the message in an understandable and actionable way.

“For disciple-making to be effective, it must be grounded in the appropriate context in which people live. It is the context that allows us to understand the needs and issues of the new believers. Only after these needs and issues are properly identified and understood, can we then begin to design a curriculum that will help people to follow Jesus faithfully in their context. In short, borrowing discipleship materials or approaches used in another context ought to be resisted. Instead, national leadership must be encouraged and empowered to design their own curricula and approaches to disciple the new believers.” (Minho Song, “Contextualization and Discipleship: Closing the Gap between Theory and Practice”, 5)

Ultimately, contextualized discipleship steers away from the clone-model of discipleship, but focuses, instead, on understanding what discipleship looks like in ones’ present context. It means that we have to invest the time in understanding the challenges and aids to discipleship in your target culture, and don’t be surprised if those challenges and aids are vastly different than your own.

Worship

Worship has two focuses. It faces upward “to God” and also faces outward toward “one another” (Col. 3.16). Contextualization influences how we worship in this latter facet. Contextualization in our worship means that we the “teaching” and “admonishing” that occurs in the context of worship must be contextualized in order to communicate. And this contextualization moves beyond ensuring that the worship just communicates to the Christians in the congregation; we also contextualize when we take into account unbelievers that may observe the worship of the church (1 Cor. 14.23). We want to be cognizant that our worship doesn’t obscure the Gospel, but, rather, clearly points to the entrusted message.

Christians who resist the idea of contextualization in worship tend to focus exclusively on the doxological aspect of worship while leaving out the ecclesiological dimension of worship. As we take both of those dimensions into account, we’ll see that contextualization doesn’t mean simply keeping up with the “cool church” culture or simply trying to make people “comfortable” in the worship service of the church. It means that we need to make our worship understandable and meaningful for those who express it, rather than trying to replicate traditional or contemporary models that we’re familiar with.

“As is too often the case in missions, church planting resembles church franchising” (Keesee, Dispatches from the Front, 19)

Sometimes by considering what contextualization looks like in other nations and cultures, we can look more objectively (with less controversy) at its results and then draw applications to our own culture more effectively. It reminds us that the Gospel doesn’t just get contextualized when it enters the boundaries of a foreign country, but it is contextual when it enters our neighbor’s front yard. Even missiologists from staunchly conservative groups recognize this reality. So one example we could use to give us this international perspective on our own culture comes from believers in Japan. They’ve spent time writing a statement on worship in order to help them contextualize worship appropriately. And others have followed up by suggesting a number of Japanese characteristics that churches should integrate in order to contextualize to their culture. If you get a moment to read how the Japanese churches are contextualizing, I would recommend that you take a few minutes to consider: (1) Are there biblical issues with the sorts of cultural elements that they are drawing into their corporate worship? (2) What would it look like if my church in my city took a similar approach to our worship and the culture that surrounds it?

Interpretation of Scripture

The text of Scripture must be interpreted and applied if it is to be handled properly. Simply having the true message doesn’t help if we don’t connect that message to life. The work of interpretation is essentially an effort to understand the author’s meaning; this process often requires the work of decontextualization, where the interpreter strives to arrive at the overarching transcendent principles of the text. Then, in the process of application, the text is contextualized and connected to the ever-changing culture that surrounds us. Ultimately, the contextualized meaning must align with a faithful reading of the text.

“The adequacy of an attempted contextualisation must be measured by the degree to which it faithfully reflects the meaning of the biblical text” (Hesselgrave & Rommen, Contextualization, 201).

“The biblical teaching on culture and hermeneutics provides the basic elements for an approach to contextualization. Applying biblically mandated behavior in a new context involves interpretation and application…. Contextualization of biblical thought involves three major concerns…avoidance of syncretism…constructive engagement with the cultural world-view…calling for personal change” (Larkin, Culture and Biblical Hermeneutics, 319-321).

For a deep but accessible foray into this issue see articles 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 of “Where is Theological Continuity Found? Text or Context?”

Translation of Scripture

Translation is a process that requires more than just taking one word in the original language and matching it with the corresponding word in the target language. Sometimes translators opt for a strict formal equivalency, where the exact structure is maintained along denotative lines. But, at times, formal equivalency can undermine the connotative meaning of Scripture (whether in its context or in ours). Some interpreters use a more dynamic approach that connects thought-for-thought. In a sense, every translation is culturally and linguistically dynamic, but the degree to which the translation flexes toward meaning over form differentiates some versions from others. Contextualization touches on this issue by reminding us that, while form is important, we can’t ignore meaning. Translations that clearly and effectively communicate the meaning of the original text to the target audience in a way that those readers can understand and apply can be said to be contextualized translations. Some cultures demand a heavier hand of contextualization than others (e.g., cultures that don’t have sheep, but only pigs, or peoples who have never seen snow). But every translation is, in essence, a contextual document because it takes the language of particular cultures (Biblical Hebrew/Aramaic and Koine Greek) and transmits it with some degree of meaning into another culture’s language (e.g., modern English).

The Gospel

Ultimately, this whole issue of contextualization is, at its core, a Gospel issue. The Gospel is the “good news.” It is, at its heart, a message — communication. The Gospel is God’s speaking into the world. It started at creation, continued with the Patriarchs, expanded with the people of Israel, and culminated in the coming of Jesus. I love how John the Evangelist puts it; Jesus is “the Word of God.” Jesus is the message of the Father. And what did that message look like? Was Jesus look like an angel, an alien, a blinding light, or an American? No! Jesus took upon himself the form of a servant. He came as a Jew in a Jewish culture. He was born like a normal baby and developed like a an average human being. There was no special beauty or look that he had that drew attention to him. He spoke as one of their people to their people, but with great authority.

And this is the job of the contextual Christian. Sometimes, in a pursuit of speaking to people on their level, we syncretize and lose the authority of the Gospel. Other times, we avoid speaking to people on their level at all, and fail to communicate the Gospel in the manner in which we’ve received it. Jesus communicated and communicated with authority. Biblical contextualization seeks to maintain this Gospel tension of incarnational communication along with authoritative proclamation.

“Mission, in fact, begins with identification and communication with God made possible because He has identified and communicated with us. Apart from this vertical relationship resulting from His Incarnation and Self-disclosure, and the proper response of repentance and faith on our part, there can be no mission. Apart from that we may become philosophers and rhetoricians, but missionaries we are not. Missionary communication begins with a knowledge of God in Christ or it does not begin at all” (Hesselgrave, Communicating Christ Cross-Culturally, 90).

Gospel of John

Belief in the Gospel of John

September 16, 2014 philipmt Leave a comment

The topic of belief in the Gospel of John is broad-ranging and difficult to construct a comprehensive approach to. What seems to be the best approach is to begin lexically, by defining the words that John uses to describe belief. After addressing the meaning of the words and their general Johannine usage, an attempt will be made to categorize the usage of the word and to explain the significance of these categories. Finally, a brief application regarding the application of the concept to the life of the modern Christian will be offered.

Lexical

John uses three words for belief in his Gospel. The primary word that John uses it the word πιστεύω. This word is a verb and denotes the action of “consider[ing] something to be true and therefore worthy of one’s trust.”[1] The word has a deep Hellenistic background and is used rather extensively in the LXX. This usage was very precise and reliable, according to Kittel, who notes that “as the OT understands it, faith is always man’s reaction to God’s primary action.”[2] And the Evangelist connects deeply with this Jewish background as he uses this word. John pictures God as acting in the person of Jesus, and the required secondary action as that of belief. The fact that John sees belief as action more than mere intellectual assent, shows up in his overwhelming use of the verbal form of the word to the utter neglect of the noun form.[3]

John does still us the adjectival and alpha privative adjectival forms of the word as well. The words ἄπιστος and ἄπιστος only occur once each, and both of these occurrences appear within the same verse, 20.27. This particular passage contains some interpretational challenges,[4] but serves to highlight Jesus’ call to His disciples to take their faith to the final level prior to His departure. Throughout the Gospel, Jesus has been taking His disciples up a ramp of belief,[5] and in this final moment with Thomas, Jesus is perhaps calling on him, in this unique language, to persevere and cross the threshold of faith for himself.[6]

Contextual

Three particular factors should be noted in terms of the contextual usage of belief in John’s Gospel. First, the word carries with it both positive and negative uses in various contexts. While most of the negative contexts inherently include negative adverbs, some do not. Of the 92 occurrences of the word, approximately 30% are in negative contexts, where individuals are refusing to respond in faith to the action of God through Jesus. The other 70% are in positive contexts.

Second, the subject of the verb as used by John is worth considering. There are six basic categories that the subjects of belief fall within. First, there is Jesus himself in the anomaly of 2.24. His trust in people is significant in His ministry approach. Second, there is the first-person personal response of belief (I, we). Third, there is the predominant second-person address either in indicative or imperative uses of the verb (you). Fourth, there are universal subjects called to believe (all, the world, many, whoever, everyone). This category is the second largest outside the second-person usage. Fifth, there are large but defined groups (town, those who, they, the Jews). Sixth, there are smaller defined groups or individuals (disciples, some, he, woman, the man, brothers, Pharisees, authorities).

Finally, the object or complement of the verb bears some consideration. While a substantial percentage of the occurrences do not include an object or complement (23x or 25%), the remainder fall basically within six categories. First, belief is to be placed in the person of Jesus with assent to who He is (him, in him, in the light, in Jesus, in his name, in the name, in me, in the Son, you, me, the one whom he has sent, that you sent me, that I am he, that you are the Christ, that Jesus is the Christ). Second, belief is to be placed in the message of Jesus and the Scriptures (what he heard from us, the Scripture, the word, Moses, his [Moses’] writings, my words, this). Third, belief must be placed in the signs of Jesus (the works, that the blind man had received sight). Fourth, belief must be placed in the relationship between Jesus and the Father (in God, him who sent me, that you [the Father] sent me [Jesus], that I am in the Father, that the Father is in me, that I came from God, that you [Jesus] came from God). Fifth, belief is caused or prevented by a number of realities (because you have seen me, because you are not my sheep, because we heard, because of his word, through him [John the Baptist]). Sixth, belief of Jesus in the people shaped His earthly ministry (2.24 – them).

Practical

In conclusion, it is worth considering how this theme of belief impacts the Christian today. Three main conclusions can be drawn when looking at this theme in John’s Gospel. First, belief is important. This is seen both in the repetition of the idea and the positive as well as negative contexts of the word. Jesus is not merely suggesting that people should believe in him, but warns about condemnation if they do not (3.18). Second, belief is a process. Many are said to have faith who then later do not believe throughout the Gospel. John is emphasizing the value of faith that endures.[7] Third, belief is objective. As seen in the objects of belief, above, belief involves trusting in some very specific things. It is more than recognizing Christ as a good teacher, but it involves belief in His relationship with the Father, His message, signs, and character.

[1] Walter Bauer, Frederick William Danker, and William Arndt, eds., A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 3rd ed. (Chicago: University Of Chicago Press, 2001), 816.

[2] Gerhard Kittel, Gerhard Friedrich, and Geoffrey W. Bromiley, eds., Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, vol. 6 (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1964), 182.

[3] Merrill C Tenney, John: The Gospel of Belief (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1997), 304–305.

[4] D. A. Carson, The Gospel According to John (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1990), 657. The basic issue is whether the phase should understand the adjectives adjectivally (“do not be faithless, but believing”) or substantivally (“do not be an unbeliever, but a believer”).

[5] Andreas J. Köstenberger, A Theology of John’s Gospel and Letters: The Word, the Christ, the Son of God (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2009), 292.

[6] Andreas J. Köstenberger, John (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 2004), 579.

[7] Köstenberger, A Theology of John’s Gospel and Letters, 292.

Meditations

Boredom vs. Gospel Joy

September 9, 2014 philipmt Leave a comment

[For the visual presentation, click here.]

College students will tell you that certain professors bore them out of their minds. Many professionals in the midst of their careers find themselves bored with being monotonously stuck in a position they’re unhappy with. Even those who are retired can find themselves bored without the busyness of their former careers. This overly common issue is worth considering from a Christian perspective in order to understand how we need to respond to boredom. First, let’s define boredom.

Definition of Boredom

Boredom is:

“feeling weary because one is unoccupied or lacks interest in one’s current activity.”

In other words, it is an admission of inadequacy and a need for greater satisfaction, a raging restlessness, and the idealization of something else as interesting and exciting at the expense of something we have in front of us.

C.S. Lewis once made the analogy of chasing worldly pleasure as that of a boy making mudpies in the slums and missing out on the value of a holiday at the beach. I would suggest that boredom is like building a sandcastle on the beach, all the while feeling like you’re making mudpies in the slums.

As we begin to consider Scripture in relation to this definition, let’s start by looking at the students’ favorite verse, Ecc. 12.12:

“And further, by these, my son, be admonished: of making many books there is no end; and much study is a weariness of the flesh.”

“weariness of the flesh” is a very close parallel to boredom. Here the flesh is worn out not by physical labor but due to being overwhelmed and uninterested
Solomon states this simply and factually. It is something that just happens. Repetitive work that demands close attention often leads to boredom!
This passage highlights the curse on Adamic work (Ecc. 2.24-26). In verse 26, the sinner experiences “travail” in his gathering. His work is empty and vexes his spirit. Literally “a vapor and chasing after the wind.”

This is one of the few occasions where Scripture alludes to this challenge. Yet this issue seems to be an experience that many of us experience on a daily or weekly basis! Take a look at how this issue has overcome modern society…

This graph shows how boredom has overtaken modern society.

But you don’t have to just see it in books. Take a stretch on an airplane. On a recent trip to Brazil, I was amazed by all of the distractions that Americans used to make the flight less boring; however, the Brazilians were content to sit contemplatively or in casual conversation throughout the flight.

Think of how, in a momentary flash of boredom, we’re quick to reach for our smartphone or the TV remote!

And all of this is where Christianity pushes up against one of the norms and values of our culture. Boredom is the result of a productivity-oriented society, which values a lack of waste and a high return on investment. This is why the high-pressure CEO who spends every waking moment on the run feels far more bored than someone seemingly less productive. When he’s taking a break between meetings, or on a vacation, he can’t really disconnect. He’s bored with time spent relaxing. This stands in stark contrast to people several hundred years ago who remained in the same vocation as their parents and didn’t experience as substantial opportunities to shape their futures. Yet they knew how to rejoice both in the monotony as well as in times of relaxation.

Kierkegaard: “boredom is the root of all evil”

The Bible and Boredom

So what does the Bible have to say about boredom?

Hebrews 5.11-14

The writer is using this plea as a “goad” towards activity. The assumption is that the readers want to move on…they want to be teachers. They want to be mature people. But they’re actually not progressing in that direction.
The readers are no longer listening because what the writer wants to teach them builds upon simple, well-versed beliefs that they’ve grown tired of hearing.
“when for the time” – seems to indicate that a long duration of time has elapsed. Their boredom has kept them from progressing on pace. Rather than continuing with the repetition and then progressing, they’ve become bored and tapped out.
“have need…again” – that which they’ve grown bored of will need to be repeated in order for them to be ready to handle what God has for them.
“first principles” – the ABC’s. Do you remember the boring and repetitive monotony of learning to write your ABC’s or beginning to write in cursive (I know, I’m probably dating myself here…)?
“word of righteousness” – This probably refers to the Scriptures. Joyful constancy in the Bible leads believers to skillful handling of the Word. Bored avoidance of the Bible leaves believers unready to discern the teachings of Scripture.
“by reason of use” – continual practice. Think of playing scales on the piano.
“exercised” – This comes from the Greek word gymnazo. Do you think that the Olympic gymnasts are performing those floor routines for the first time when they step out on the Olympic stage?

Hebrews 12.1-3

“run with patience” – The Christian life is not a sprint, but a marathon. It isn’t won by beating others, but by making it to the end.
“set before us” – the finish line has been assigned to us by the master of ceremonies. We don’t set the duration, but we’re called to stick with the race despite the hardness or terrain, injury, or weariness we experience. My brother who was preparing to join the Marines would run for hours at a time. I asked him how he did it. He told me that many times he just puts one foot in front of the other and looks ahead for a goal to reach. This leads us to the next point from the text:
“looking unto Jesus” – The Gospel frees us from the monotony, repetition, and weariness of our race.
“author and finisher” – He laid out the track and he’s already run it.
“joy…endured” – Jesus patiently put one foot in front of the other, carrying out the monotonous journey with “joy”!
“be wearied…faint in your minds” – boredom with pursuing the spiritual journey ahead of us results in a lack of nerve and paralysis in our spiritual lives. Boredom tells us that there’s no point in forging ahead. The Gospel tells us that there’s purpose in monotony, and we see that purpose fulfilled in the victory of the Son of God!

Danger Zones of Boredom

Like cholesterol, not all boredom is bad for the Christian. But there are several danger zones that we would do well to be aware of. Here are some questions to ask yourself:

Theological Boredom

Do the great truths of the Christian faith seem insignificant to me?
Has reading the Bible become a chore rather than a delight?
Is the challenge of receiving doctrinal truth off my radar?

Spiritual Boredom

Have the ups and downs of my spiritual journey become monotonous?
Am I longing for the “victorious Christian life” of other saints?
Do prayer, church, service, and fellowship seem less exciting than sports, entertainment, and vacation?

Vocational Boredom

Am I unable to focus and complete tasks?
Do I keep daydreaming about greener grass elsewhere?
Have I made the assumption that the work I do is beneath me or meaningless?
Do I consistently experience Monday dread?
Am I struggling to be thankful for my employment?

Conclusion: Gospel Joy

Zephaniah 3:17 portrays God’s ecstatic pleasure over his saved people on a daily basis. This verse uses multiple words for joy. Some of these imply clapping one’s hands and others imply dancing. It ends with God singing songs over his saved ones. Now you and I don’t often see that much to get excited about when we see other Christians. But apparently God does. And he never stops his eternal joyous dance over the ones whom he has redeemed.

This makes me think of my little daughter. When I get excited or sad, most people will never know. But we she gets upset or happy, everyone knows! She continually slaps the ground or claps her hands on her legs just to let us all know how thrilled she is. And in the Gospel, this sort of unrestrained mirth shows up in the character of God. There is no cure for boredom like looking at the joy of God in the Gospel. G.K. Chesterton writes:

The sun rises every morning. I do not rise every morning; but the variation is due not to my activity, but to my inaction. Now, to put the matter in a popular phrase, it might be true that the sun rises regularly because he never gets tired of rising. His routine might be due, not to a lifelessness, but to a rush of life.

The thing I mean can be seen, for instance, in children, when they find some game or joke that they specially enjoy. A child kicks his legs rhythmically through excess, not absence, of life. Because children have abounding vitality, because they are in spirit fierce and free, therefore they want things repeated and unchanged. They always say, “Do it again”; and the grown-up person does it again until he is nearly dead. For grown-up people are not strong enough to exult in monotony. But perhaps God is strong enough to exult in monotony.

It is possible that God says every morning, “Do it again” to the sun; and every evening, “Do it again” to the moon. It may not be automatic necessity that makes all daisies alike; it may be that God makes every daisy separately, but has never got tired of making them. It may be that He has the eternal appetite of infancy; for we have sinned and grown old, and our Father is younger than we. The repetition in Nature may not be a mere recurrence; it may be a theatrical encore.

Have you ever thought that our eternity will be spent over and over again in vocation, experiencing doctrine, and in spiritual duty? Do you exult in the monotony that is your future or do you despise it?