Vietnam, My Deliverance; Traumatic Stress, My Salvation

Two Crucial Concepts What are at least two concepts separating Christianity from all other world religions, either ancient or contemporary? Let me give you a few biblical hints about what I believe they are as we proceed through this series of studies. I have underlined them in the verses below, limiting the number of verses below because what sets Christianity apart from every other faith permeates the Bible. Num. 5:3 You shall send away both male and female; you shall send them outside the camp so that they do not defile their camp where I dwell in their midst.” Jer. 31:33-34 33 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Ezek. 36:26-27, 32 And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.[a] 28 You shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers, and you shall be my people, and I will be your God. 29 And I will deliver you from all your uncleannesses. . . . 32 It is not for your sake that I will act, declares the Lord God; let that be known to you. Be ashamed and confounded for your ways, O house of Israel. a. Ezek. 36:27 Or my just decrees. Inside Out If you haven’t guessed, it is Christ and the Spirit dwelling in the believer and the midst of the Church of every age, and the believer dwelling in union with Christ. Growth in Christ is an inside job. Christianity works because it begins with the Spirit of Christ in us, working the faith outward. My question has so much significance for me because of what I hear congregants say. On the one hand, they believe transformation is totally from God, except the part where we let God do things in us. That’s almost verbatim. John Frame states this idea a little differently. Still, he makes the same point when he writes, “Person-revelation manifests God's lordship attribute of covenant presence. . . . In person-revelation, God himself comes into our midst and makes human persons into media of his revelation.” Our professors gave me large quantities of Bible knowledge, stuffing four years of intellectual facts into my brain housing group. So much so that I didn’t know what I knew or understood. Knowledge overload means that I spoke more to the congregation's minds than their hearts. Our Presbytery was more concerned that its pastors mastered all the historical dates and names, specific biblical content, the Shorter Catechism, and Reformed doctrine. My ordination exam lasted six hours! But knowing theological truth doesn't necessarily guarantee spiritual growth, and knowledge puffs up, as Paul stated. Correct doctrinal preaching doesn't promise a pastor's flock will unlearn its man-centered theology, exchanging it for Reformational truth. We are born Pelagians, fully convinced we can keep God's law with divine help and say not to sinful behavior. Having observed false understanding numerous times as a pastor forces me to revisit the Augustine-Pelagian of the fifth century A.D. debates over Free-will. Those hard-fought battles over truth, man's will, and original sin have yet to conclude. How much ability does it take from any believer to love God with every fiber of their being? That's what God is after in us. If we possess enough ability to love God completely, we should have no difficulty obeying Him. So, I double-dog dare you to love God as Jesus did with every ounce of your ability for two full seconds. You have to start this test when someone runs into the back of your car and speeds off, never seen again, and your insurance company just canceled your policy that morning. Go ahead. As an example, Peter's first letter has five chapters. In those chapters, Peter makes several critical statements about how our obedience works so that we glorify God. In Peter's day, believers often endured persecution and trials in a God-honoring way. How did they do that? In Chapter one, Peter gives us the first key to spiritual growth when he writes; God has "caused us to be born again," 1:3. Peter tells us by what means the prophets prophesied: "the Spirit of Christ in them." In 1:12, Good News came to you "by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven." In 1:22, we are to "love one another from a pure heart." In 2:2, "long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation. In 2:3, "if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good." In 2:11, "Beloved, I urge you as foreigners and strangers to abstain from fleshly lusts, which wage war against the soul. In 3:4, "but it should be the hidden person of the heart." In 3:15, "but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy.” Two Crucial Concepts What are at least two concepts separating Christianity from all other world religions, either ancient or contemporary? Let me give you a few biblical hints about what I believe they are as we proceed through this series of studies. I have underlined them in the verses below, limiting the number of verses below because what sets Christianity apart from every other faith permeates the Bible. Num. 5:3 You shall send away both male and female; you shall send them outside the camp so that they do not defile their camp where I dwell in their midst.” Jer. 31:33-34 33 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Ezek. 36:26-27, 32 And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.[a] 28 You shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers, and you shall be my people, and I will be your God. 29 And I will deliver you from all your uncleannesses. . . . 32 It is not for your sake that I will act, declares the Lord God; let that be known to you. Be ashamed and confounded for your ways, O house of Israel. a. Ezek. 36:27 Or my just decrees Inside Out If you haven’t guessed, it is Christ and the Spirit dwelling in the believer and the midst of the Church of every age, and the believer dwelling in union with Christ. Growth in Christ is an inside job. Christianity works because it begins with the Spirit of Christ in us, working the faith outward. My question has so much significance for me because of what I hear congregants say. On the one hand, they believe transformation is totally from God, except the part where we let God do things in us. That’s almost verbatim. John Frame states this idea a little differently. Still, he makes the same point when he writes, “Person-revelation manifests God's lordship attribute of covenant presence. . . . In person-revelation, God himself comes into our midst and makes human persons into media of his revelation.” Our professors gave me large quantities of Bible knowledge, stuffing four years of intellectual facts into my brain housing group. So much so that I didn’t know what I knew or understood. Knowledge overload means that I spoke more to the congregation's minds than their hearts. Our Presbytery was more concerned that its pastors mastered all the historical dates and names, specific biblical content, the Shorter Catechism, and Reformed doctrine. My ordination exam lasted six hours! But knowing theological truth doesn't necessarily guarantee spiritual growth, and knowledge puffs up, as Paul stated. Correct doctrinal preaching doesn't promise a pastor's flock will unlearn its man-centered theology, exchanging it for Reformational truth.