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Frank Viola | Beyond Evangelical
Official Blog of Author & Speaker Frank Viola. Digging below the surface and moving beyond the shallows in today's Christianity.
Two Christian Tracts Worth Examining
Frank Viola | Beyond Evangelical
Official Blog of Author & Speaker Frank Viola. Digging below the surface and moving beyond the shallows in today's Christianity.
This post has moved here.
What’s Wrong With Our Gospel?
Did anyone else notice no mention of the resurrection? Without that, we have no way of living by the indwelling Christ. I think the whole obit as a tract rather silly, anyway (forgive me if you don’t). But as long as we’re pointing out omissions or errors…
I’m currently reading the chapter called “What’s wrong with our gospel?” in “Revise Us Again” and the first point made has to do with the reality of the Indwelling Lord. I so agree that this is a neglected reality. As individuals and as a community, we suffer greatly when we neglect this awesome reality.
There was also no mention of his brothers. Quite an omission in an obit.
I couldn’t agree with you more. Living out wwjd is exhausting and full of failure….. Letting Christ live through me, as I die…. Very different experience
That second tract is baaaaaaaad. I need to be found IN Christ, not found trying to imitate Christ!
Just a few thoughts for your consideration: As we inwardly participate in Christ’s life by His Spirit, Romans 12: 2 still applies: “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind …”
As part of the transformation process, we will become “little Christs” as St. John of the Hope said and not “imitation Christs as Jerrad Holloway wrote. As we participate in Christ’s life, we show Him how much we love Him and want to be like Him, inwardly as well as outwardly. This is the First Commandment.
We will imitate or model Him to those in the highways and byways of this world. Yes, we “pray for those who despitefully use us (Matthew 5:44), but we also observe Romans 12: 20, which says “Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink.
Not only our personal relations would be much improved, but also our societal…
This is where the Second Commandment comes in: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
Last thought: As we participate in the divine life, it is Christ who lives in us and through us. Galatians 2: 20 says “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life that I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me.”
and the title line, jerusalem’s spelled wrong.
Good catch!
I’m still having trouble with all the word play. Doesn’t Ephesians call us to be imitators of Christ? And Paul says follow me how I follow Christ?
I don’t take them as literal or trying to do everything Jesus did. I believe in allowing Him to live through me, but I think there is value in “imitating” Him. No?
Not word play. Did you not read my response to Jerrad? The imitation is in HOW He lived His life. The external examples confirm if we in fact are being led by Him. More details on this whole question in “Jesus Manifesto” and “Revise Us Again.” You can also listen to the message, “Epic Jesus” which is a free download.
I love the first one because it seems more like it could serve as satire intended to make one think, though I doubt its composers originally intended it as such. It would be a great “demotivator” to counter the health/wealth “gospel” message (like on http://www.despair.com).
As for the final paragraph, I would counter both sentences. Frank, I concur with your statement regarding living with the indwelt Christ, or the Spirit-filled walk. When Christ was making the I AM (ego eimi) statements in John, those statements essentially stated that Christ himself was the Shepherd, Way/Truth/Life, Light, Creator, Resurrection, etc. Kingdom living means living as what the term “Christian” really means: little Christs in the restored image of God by his grace and in his Holy Spirit.
Moreover, living in the Spirit means giving as the Spirit calls us. Therefore, I disagree with the final statement, where we are to give to “anyone in need.” We are to give as the Lord leads us to give, according to his Spirit. This means that someone who is in need might remain that way if God so desires. At the same time, if the Lord calls us to give to someone, we should give as the Spirit so desires (this is the picture we get in Acts, where they lived and gave in common, nobody said that their stuff was their own); we are God’s stewards.
Thank you for posting these, Frank! It has provided good food for thought and heart!
There seems to be an awful lot of buzz of late regarding Christ as our example and imitation. But I don’t think that the key passages in scripture which mention imitation have been dealt with in a manner which would negate the validity of the concept as a whole.
1. “Brothers, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us.” – Philippians 3:7
This has both “imitation” and example as worthy concepts connected with the invitation “Join in” or better translated, “You must be Fellow imitators with me” (imperative) in the Greek. Who is Paul imitating? Christ We are strongly urged to join him in imitating Christ.
2. “I urge you, then, be imitators of me.” 1 Corinthians 4:16 Again the imperative verb form is used for “be”
and everyone’s favorite
3. “Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ.” One more time, Paul uses the imperative of thee verb “be” and says “You (Plural) must become” imitators.
I suppose it is a valid concern that imitation can result in mimicry devoid of the true life of Christ, but imitation fruit is immediately identified by those who reach out to take a bite.
Indeed, the critical but overlooked question is “how” does one imitate and what does that mean exactly. I discuss this in “Epic Jesus” . . . etc.
It seems to me the question is what is Paul asking us to imitate? It’s easy for us to think he is asking us to imitate the fruit of Jesus. That’s what we naturally focus on. But, I think what he is really asking to imitate is that he has died and Christ lives in him. This is how he is imitating that the Father lived in and through Christ. And, it’s how we should imitate Christ. We should not try to imitate Christ’s actions. Rather we should imitate how He lived His life – by the indwelling of the Father.
Exactly. Thanks for “getting it.”
All disciples deep desire is to become like their Rabbi. That is what defines a disciple. No we can’t be a carbon copy of Him, but still we “imitate Him” – But I think I get Frank’s point. Maybe a different way to say it would be — We ought to imitate Christ, but we should never be “imitation – Christs”
Thanks for interacting, Jerrad. That really wasn’t my point. Here’s what I said to someone else earlier that asked me about this:
There are two kinds of examples that Jesus set. The first one is almost unknown to many Christians:
1.) The Internal Example – the Gospels (especially John) give us insight into HOW Jesus lived His life and how the passage moved from Him living by an indwelling Father to us living by an indwelling Christ. John 6 is a summary of that, “As the living Father sent me and I live by the Father, so He who partakes of me shall live by Me.” Therein is the source of the Christian life. We can now “go and do likewise”, a la, Paul’s words “not I, but Christ lives in me” and “Christ our life” and “to live is Christ.”John is full of how Christ lived by His Father’s life and presence which indwelt Him
2.) The External Example – the question should be asked: “What does it look like when a human being is living by Divine life?” That’s one of the questions the Gospels answer (among other things). A person or ekklesia that’s living by Christ will reveal Him visibly in measure … and we understand what that looks like when we look at Him in the Gospels. This brings us back to “the Spirit and the (written) Word” and how they work together. Also, the Gospels are a source of our beholding the Lord, for Scripture is inspired and His words are “spirit and life.”
Len Sweet and I explain this in more depth in “Jesus Manifesto,” and I give attention to it in its larger framework in “From Eternity to Here.” So both the internal example (how He lived His peerless life) and the external example (what it looks like) are important, I believe. Your question and invitation is interesting timing because I brought these two themes together in a talk I gave this past weekend – http://ptmin.podbean.com/e/epic-jesus-the-christ-you-never-knew — How it all works out practically is another (much more involved) discussion, and not one fit for a FB wall, IMHO. Anyways, that’s my 13 cents to your question.