538 results for tag: Brad Jersak

Why I Don’t Think I’ll Claim To Be Christian – Brad Jersak

21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’ (Matthew 7:21-23) 2 It is required in stewards that one be found faithful. 3 But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by a human court. In fact, I do not even judge myself. 4 For I know of nothing against myself, yet I am not ...

“What is God teaching me?” – Brad Jersak

"What is God teaching me in this?" I hear this question frequently, most often through the trials and tragedies of life. When something goes wrong and life grinds our nose in the dust, we might wonder what lesson we're to learn. It's almost as if once you learn the lesson, you can move forward. Honestly, while the question is an expression of genuine humility, I think the question itself smuggles in extra painful assumptions that we would do well to discard. IF we think that God imparts wisdom through any circumstance, no problem. But if we view our painful circumstances and afflictions as a lesson sent by God, then God becomes the first cause of ...

Q&R with Brad – Romans 8:37-39 – “Nothing can separate WHO from God’s love”?

Question: I have just finished reading your book A More Christlike God, and I have a question. In chapter 13, you quote Rom. 8:35-39. Do these verses apply to all of humanity or just Christians? 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?... 36 As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long;    we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” 37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, ...

The Cruciform Gospel – Brad Jersak – Interview with Corey Jolin and Josh Hawkins

The Cruciform Gospel – Brad Jersak.Interview with Corey Jolin and Josh Hawkins  (Fremont Community Church). Brad: In preparation for a weekend seminar (back in 2019) with Fremont Community Church in Indiana, the pastors ran the following questions by me: St. Thomas style cross - India Question: Discuss the word cruciform. What does the word simply mean? What are you wanting to portray when using it in your book? Brad: Simply put, “cruciform” literally means “cross-shaped.”  When we speak of a “cruciform God” or a “cruciform gospel” or “cruciform love,” we’re reflecting on the meaning of 1 John 3:16 ...

Q&R – Are the Gospel Narrators Reliable? Brad Jersak

Question: Are the stories and words of Jesus 'narrated' to us, like the Old Testament stories? How does that affect our reading of the four gospels and our understanding of God? Response: Thanks for the excellent question. It's very important and specifically, the style of narration is important. Here's how I would approach it: 1. First the Gospels ARE narratives. A narrative means that we have a story-line told from a particular perspective... hence, a narrator. Who the narrator is, how the narrator relates to the protagonist, who the narrator's audience is, and what agendas he'd like to put forward all impact the narration. And ...

Q&R – Does Christ ‘deny us’? with Brad Jersak

Question: I have a question about Matthew 10:33 and 2 Timothy 2:11-12. Both passages describe Jesus denying us. This seems to be contrary to his nature and contrary to most of the theologians I find myself reading. Yet, I see these statements (among others) that seem to paint Jesus has relatively severe. My task has been to try and see the self-giving God revealed in Jesus and yet not neglect the hard sayings of Jesus. I’ve actually found the task of Christology to be more difficult than I had imagined. Response: Let's start with our shared assumptions, (1) that the God revealed in Jesus Christ is radically inclusive, unfailing Love whose mercy ...

Q&R: “Let there be light!” Brad Jersak

Question I have had this nagging question. God said, "Let there be light." But it wasn't the physical light. Somehow, the world was already in a state of darkness & needed Light. I know Light can mean Truth, but what is your understanding?  I just want to grasp a God who Loves versus the god I learned through my church, who hates me for imperfection.  Response What an excellent question! Let's start with verse 1 - "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth." John 1:1 reads this verse through the gospel. IN CHRIST, God created... We read in John 1 and Colossians 1 that all of creation came to be ...

Under Reconstruction: Crazy Characters, Unreliable Narrators and the Divine Architect – Brad Jersak

    After Deconstruction The last years have seen a grand deconstruction of Scripture reading and interpretation—some would say of Scripture itself. Of course, this has been an ongoing centuries-long project, but two unique elements dominate the past decade: first, the ‘New Atheists’ are actually reading the Bible—carefully and, unlike liberal scholars, they have read it literally with a view to destroying faith. “The Bible says it; I reject it; and that settles it.” And second, their dance partners in this deconstruction have been evangelicals who are finally questioning the modernist lingo of ...

October 2022

CLICK HERE to read now (PDF Format) Greg Albrecht: HELP! The Future Has Arrived – pg. 2 Ed Dunn: Today Is a Gift – pg. 5 Brad Jersak: Christianity Without JESUS? – pg. 7

“Why are Christians so …?” – Brad Jersak

Watch the video! Ouch, eh?   I guess the most positive answer is that Christ has sought out, found and gathered the worst of the worst into his family of grace. If the family of God is truly open to the those most in need of grace, then don't be surprised if those most in need of grace (the angry, the annoying, the arrogant) show up.   I guess the most negative answer is that having experienced that radical grace, we (the angry, annoying and arrogant) have not yet been transformed by it into gracious people. Why is this? Because we are an "already and not yet" people. Still ...   How is it that Jesus could say, ...

Q&R: What do you mean by “transactional” or “retributive” salvation? Brad Jersak

Question I’ve started reading your book A More Christlike God. I’m fully with you. I do get a bit stuck with some of your theological language though. On Facebook, you used the term “transactional retribution.” Can you tell me what you mean by that? Response Yes, on Facebook, I posted this statement: The great "Father’s Heart" revelation continues to face resistance from many of its own esteemed teachers, where it has not yet penetrated their commitment to transactional retribution in their constructs of God, expressed in dogmatic systems of original sin, penal substitution, and eternal conscious torment. So long as these ...

Cracked Jars and Golden Scars — by Brad Jersak

Ring the bells that still can ring Forget your perfect offering There's a crack, a crack in everything That's how the light gets in       The religious ego -- our 'inner Pharisee' -- demands perfection, is embarrassed by our failings and punishes us for them with self-loathing. Co-opting the God-given conscience, it ascends to the judgment seat reserved for Christ alone and points the accusing finger of condemnation. The fruit is anxiety, shame and an intense desire to shrink back, to burrow into the mud and hide out our years. It reminds us of our inadequacy and sets up this ordinance of hypocrisy: "Your ...

“The Good Deed” Brad Jersak

artwork by: https://www.facebook.com/RichYoungRule The Rich Young Ruler (Matthew 19:16-26 NLT) 16 Someone came to Jesus with this question: “Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?”17 “Why ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. But to answer your question—if you want to receive eternal life, keep the commandments.”18 “Which ones?” the man asked.And Jesus replied: “‘You must not murder. You must not commit adultery. You must not steal. You must not testify falsely. 19 Honor your father and mother. Love your neighbor as ...

Self-will vs Surrender: Gospel Language for Postmoderns – Brad Jersak with Laurence Singlehurst

“For if Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore, all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again” (2 Corinthians 5:14-15).   I had the great privilege of chatting with Laurence Singlehurst, a seasoned British missiologist who has thought deeply about the language we use to share the Good News in our postmodern era. He’s addressed the problem of our lingo for years, in such books as The Gospel Message Today: Language That Connects in Communicating the Gospel.   What follows are ...

Q&R with Brad Jersak – “You yourselves cast out” (Luke 13:28)

Question: In Luke 13 and the "narrow door" parable, Jesus says in verse 28, "but you yourselves cast out." What is He getting at? Is it what Jesus sees in the questioner verse 23? Passage - Luke 13 22 Then Jesus went through the towns and villages, teaching as he made his way to Jerusalem. 23 Someone asked him, “Lord, are only a few people going to be saved?” He said to them, 24 “Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to. 25 Once the owner of the house gets up and closes the door, you will stand outside ...

When “Every Eye Shall See Him…” The Salvation of the Human Will – Brad Jersak

Question Christ's death saves humanity from hell as a place of eternal torment, but many people don’t realize it and live apart from God. When they cross over in death, I believe all deception will be removed, and they will know the truth. But they can still have the option to accept the gift or not. Then the purification begins. Is that generally right? Response I would personally tweak these thoughts a little bit: 1. You said, "Christ's death saved all humanity from hell as a place of eternal torment." I don't believe Christ saved us from a non-existence place conceived in human imaginations by literalizing biblical imagery ...

Q & R with Brad: Doesn’t Isaiah 59 teach “separation” from God?

Question: Hi Brad,I love the article you wrote on separation/alienation but I am having problems understanding the separation verses in scripture. The specific scripture I had trouble interpreting in light of your article on “separation” was Isaiah 59:1-2. Behold, the Lord’s hand is not so short That it cannot save; Nor is His ear so dull That it cannot hear. But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, And your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear. Response: Thanks for your question. In general, "separation" references are best interpreted ...

Q&R with Brad: What is joy?

Question: Could you please describe or define the concept of joy as you've understood, witnessed, or experienced it? Response: Happiness At first glance, that's a difficult question. As I thought about it, I began by contrasting it to the word "happiness." Bear in mind that there are a host of personal, traditional and dictionary definitions of happiness and joy. But I'll offer my own thoughts here. First, I tend to associate happiness with a fleeting emotional reaction to the fulfillment of external pleasures. When I see a sunset or hear my grandchildren giggle or savor a delicious meal, there's a happy pleasure to it that I ...

More on Inviting our Everywhere-Present God – Brad Jersak

Awhile back, I wrote a post on why we ask Abba for gifts already given. In that article, I distinguished between problematic assumptions about our need to ask (e.g. needing to beg a stingy God) and healthier reasons why we Christ instructed us to ask (e.g. God honors our permission). In this post, I will pick up on the important difference between alienation, separation and space as we conceive our relationship with God. Alienation vs Separation This weekend, I was thinking about the Prodigal Son's real experience of alienation from his father. That is, he felt the pain of turning from his father's love. Out of this alienation, he ...

Praying the Lord’s Prayer in Violent Times – Brad Jersak

You've noticed that we're living in very violent times. At home, abroad ... to the point of exhaustion, hopelessness and/or numbness. I see no reprieve in sight and every reason to expect further escalation. I find myself in daily need of prayers that guard my heart and mind from both despair and the vengeance fantasies of repressed rage.    In that context, I have begun to pray the Lord's Prayer in a focused way on a daily basis with some new (to me) understanding about Christ's strategy in ordering the phrases in series as he does. Here is the part that seems super-relevant to us all right now:   Forgive us our ...