The Fork in the Road: The Man or the Plan, Part 8 (Why Faith and Love?)

Well, I’m back from the Smokies. I’m scared to weigh, because I’ve probably gained a mountain’s worth of weight, as the trip was mainly about enjoying East Tennessee cuisine — breakfast especially. Oh, and to watch the UT football game. (Impressive stadium. Great crowd. Very enjoyable fans to hang around with. Tough first half.)

I’ve not had but a moment here or there to log in and check the site and comments. By and large, the discussion has been great. Thanks for the excellent comments — especially in my absence.

I need to dig a bit more into the faith-works issue and the baptism issue, but it’s not time yet. You see, we have to discover a few deep things about the scriptures and God’s redemptive plan so that we’re better equipped to have those discussions. Let me just state what ought to be obvious —

* I’ve read the many passages that speak of the importance of Christian good works. They are inspired, true, and ought to be obeyed. That’s not in dispute. Rather, the hard question is fitting them into a theology that keeps us from building a humanistic, self-centered religion on them. We’re heading there.

* I’ve read the many passages that speak of the importance of Christian baptism. They are inspired, true, and ought to be obeyed. That’s not in dispute. Rather, the hard question is fitting them into a theology that keeps us from building a humanistic, self-centered religion on them. We’re heading there.

But not yet. You can’t put the roof on the house until you lay the foundation and put up some walls. We’re building up to those questions.

Now, I want to focus on the question of why God has chosen to focus Christianity on faith in Jesus and love for our neighbors. The temptation is to just figure God makes the rules and our obligation is simply to obey — which is true but overlooks the understanding part. To understand what “faith” and “love” truly mean we need to know why these are commanded.

For example, when my oldest child has just learned to walk, I had to teach him not to walk into the street without holding my hand. I tried to explain to him about what cars traveling at high speeds do to a 2-year old’s body, the shift in momentum, the inertia of a two-ton vehicle, and all that, but as bright as he is, at age two, that approach didn’t work. I just had to discipline him so he learned that bad things happened if he tried to wrestle out of my grip to dash into the oncoming traffic.

But as he grew older, it became necessary to teach him the why. After all, he might have children of his own one day. And I certainly won’t be able to hold his hand forever. At some point, he has to deeply comprehend the rationale behind the command so that he can apply it on his own — and distinguish between safe street crossing and unsafe crossing. The why matters even if the command is very, very clear.

You see, the last thing I’d want is to create some neurotic child who’s afraid to cross the street even when it’s safe. Or a neurotically rule-bound child who won’t cross the street except at a crosswalk with a crossing light — because most streets don’t have these things. He needs to understand the purpose of the rule and how cars and streets work so he can go beyond the command to the understanding — because only then can he truly obey.

It’s not about getting around the rules or avoiding obedience. It’s about obeying the best way possible!

So faith and love are commanded. Why? I think the answer is found — as is so often true — in the Old Testament —

(Gen 1:26-27 ESV) 26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.”

The original plan was for mankind to be in the image and likeness of God. Of course, we fell because of sin, as described in Gen 3, resulting in the Fall of Man and a curse on all Creation. God’s redemptive mission has been to reverse that outcome — so that his people will become like God. Really.

(Eph 4:20-24 ESV) 20 But that is not the way you learned Christ! — 21 assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, 22 to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, 23 and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, 24 and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.

When we were saved, we were re-created to be like God. Now, notice that Paul uses the word “create” to emphasize that this “new self” is made by God in a parallel sense to God’s creation in Genesis 1. We aren’t just saved from damnation. We are, of course, saved, but much more happens than salvation. We are re-created.

(Eph 5:1-2 ESV) Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. 2 And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

Because we’ve been re-created into the likeness of God, we should imitate God. We should act like God. After all, children emulate their parents, and God is our father. (It’s a relational truth!)

How do we imitate God? Well, by walking in love, he tells us in v. 2. How do we know that walking in love is like God? Well, because Jesus is also like God and Jesus “gave himself up for us.” Therefore, we love others by giving ourselves up for them.

You see, it’s not just love in the abstract. It’s love like God’s love, revealed in Jesus’ love. It’s self-sacrificial love.

(Eph 5:17-21 ESV) 17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. 18 And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, 19 addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, 20 giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 21 submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.

Now, the Spirit is the Spirit of God. Being filled with the Spirit is to be like God — so 5:17-21 is an example of how to “put on the new self, created after the likeness of God” and how to “be imitators of God.” We submit to the Spirit’s work in us so that God himself, through his Spirit, shapes us to be like him.

We see the same thought anticipated in earlier passages in Ephesians —

(Eph 1:22-23 ESV) 22 And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.

The church is Christ’s body (and therefore in the likeness of Christ) and the fullness of Christ (and therefore very much like Christ because the church is filled with Christ).

(Eph 2:4-7 ESV) 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ — by grace you have been saved — 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

We are seated with Christ (on his throne!) because, like Christ and God, we will be kings and judges. (The link will provide additional support for this view.)

Also, to similar effect are —

(Mat 5:48 ESV) You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

(Luk 6:36 ESV) Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.

(Rom 8:29 ESV) For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.

(2Co 3:18 ESV) 18 And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.

(2Co 5:17 ESV) Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

(Eph 4:32 ESV)Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

(Col 3:9-10 ESV) 9 Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.

(1Pe 1:14-16 ESV) 14 As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, 15 but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, 16 since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”

Being like God is a major theme of the NT that we routinely overlook. When was the last time you heard a sermon on being like God? It seems presumptuous, impossible, even incomprehensible. But it’s quite plainly what the Bible teaches.

And so, why does Paul teach that —

(Gal 5:6 ESV) 6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.

Why did God inspire Paul to pick faith and love as the two necessary elements of Christianity? What makes them special? Well, I suspect that it’s because faith and love are two words that very powerfully summarize what God is like.

Okay — I’ll admit that while it’s easy enough to see God as love, faith is a little harder. But that’s because of our misunderstanding of the meaning of “faith.” Define “faith” correctly, and it works remarkably well. We’ll get there.

But, of course, it’s also true that while we know we’re supposed to see God as love, we struggle to do so. We are afraid of God and sometimes see him harsh and unfair. Sometimes I think we say “God is love” is mainly because we’re afraid of going to hell if we don’t say the words. But we don’t feel them.

And this is one key reason why we struggle to be loving people. We don’t see God as all that loving. We sure don’t see him as having faith. Therefore, these seem like arbitrary commands. They are not. As K. C. Moser wisely wrote,

The “plan” theory regards any method of salvation as arbitrary with God. The writer has argued against this point many times. One speaker said: “God could have saved the world through Moses had he seen fit.” Others have confidently affirmed that God was not bound to save the world by the “present plan.”

It’s not arbitrary. Rather, our salvation is all about the nature of God — who is he is. If we knew him, we’ll understand. We don’t know him very well, and so we don’t understand very well. It’s a relational truth.