515 results for tag: Brad Jersak

A More Christlike Job (the book) – Part 3 – The Gospel Sense of Job – Brad Jersak

Please review Part 1 (The Literal Sense of Job) and Part 2 (The Moral Sense of Job) Gospel Sense (not simply prophecy): The Gospel Sense is a bit more complex than saying, "Job is a prophecy about Jesus." Instead, we ask, "How does the story of Job prefigure Jesus?" What is the difference? Prophecy is a direct prediction or revelation of future events, while prefigurement is a symbolic foreshadowing or hint of future events. Don't worry, I'll explain. Understanding the difference helps us read the Bible in "the Emmaus Way" (Luke 24:13-27), where Jesus identifies how Moses, the Prophets, and ALL the Scriptures (verses 27, 44) prepare us to ...

A More Christlike Job (the book) – Part 2 – The Moral Sense of Job – Brad Jersak

Please review Part 1 (The Literal Sense of Job) and stay tuned for Part 3 (The Gospel Sense of Job) Moral Sense (not moralistic) For Christians, the Moral Sense of the book relates to 2 Timothy 3:16, which says, "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work." In other words, the Poetry of Job is more than just a morality play that reinforces the Law, especially if we reduce the heart of the Law to prohibitions and punishments (which is to misread it badly). Instead, the moral sense ...

A More Christlike JOB (the book) – Part 1 – The Literal Sense of Job – Brad Jersak

Question: I think I had a revelation reading the Book of Job this week. I wondered why the book bothers with so many conversations that are just wrong anyway and why God needed to correct Job. But what if Job is prophetic? For example, chapters 14-16 are nearly a direct match for the suffering of Jesus. Is Job actually a messianic prophecy? Response: I believe you are on to something, but as with any Christian reading of the Old Testament with the illumination of the Holy Spirit, there are layers of meaning to be considered. Among these, I would include (1) a literal sense that asks, "What does the author mean to convey to his readers?" ...

October 2023

CLICK HERE to read now (PDF Format) Greg Albrecht: For Those Who Are a Little Banged Up – pg. 2 Richard Rohr: Adopting a Beginner’s Mind – pg. 6 Brad Jersak "What is God Teaching Me?" – pg. 7

“Go and sin no more”? Brad Jersak

Art by John Martin Borg - johnmartinborg.com Reading John 8 through Genesis 2-3 and the Prodigal Sons: Throughout Scripture, we see “sin” identified in a variety of ways, including moral failure, law-breaking, poor spiritual hygiene, character flaws, a fatal disease and a sinister slave-driver. And where sin is defined as “missing the mark,” Scripture implies the mark we’re aiming at may be morality, holiness, faith and faithfulness, love of God and each other, or the glory of God. In my blog post, Sin? Missing what mark? I suggested another mark: our love union with God—or RE-union (reconciliation) with God. In that case, ...

Moralism, Cheap Grace vs Cruciform Love – Bradley Jersak

Dietrich Bonhoeffer What is Moralism? Moralism is NOT merely the desire to live a moral life. Moralism is a compulsion to justify oneself and to judge others.  Moralism replaces living faith and a desire for God with an emphasis on who is included in or excluded from one’s in-group. It prohibits and requires behaviors based on the moral judgments of my religious community or ideological brand.  Moralism often pits holiness against love, pretending that an ethic shaped by love, mercy and grace compromises holiness, truth and justice. However, Jesus taught no such division. He described being “perfect as ...

Doctrine & Revelation (the Book) – Brad Jersak

Question: I think I once heard you say something like, "At the council of (something), they concluded that Revelations should not be used for determining theology. It was to be used for worship, etc." Where can find resources to back up that statement?  Response: Not exactly, but something like that. The idea was the dogma (non-negotiable doctrine) of the ancient church was finalized before Revelation was formally included in the canon of the New Testament. In other words, since Revelation wasn't officially included as Scripture, it wasn't a building block of our creedal theology. That's not to say Revelation shouldn't be in the ...

The Wideness of Mercy – Brad Jersak

"Mercy is every manifestation of God's goodness." Mercy Mistaken: A friend of mine was asking whether "mercy" is a worthwhile word (1) if it presupposes divine punishment and (2) if we've left behind our image of God as a punisher. My friend's question is legitimate if we define mercy narrowly as "withholding punishment"... as if "Lord, have mercy" means nothing beyond, "Lord, please don't punish me." If that were the case, I'd probably ditch the word in a heartbeat. BUT... "mercy" reduced to evading retribution misdefines mercy... a classic error I made when I used to say, "Mercy is not getting what you do deserve. Grace is getting what ...

CWR video – Angry, Retributive Images of God

Short video on the images of God.

Are You “Christian”? Brad Jersak

Are You “Christian”? Having firmly identified as an “Ex-vangelical,” a friend of mine was asked whether she would still call herself a Christian. Her answer was necessarily complex since the question involves defining “Christian,” who gets to define it and whether we should preserve the word or put it to rest. Frankly, identifying as “Christian” has always been a bit risky, whether because it incited persecution or was co-opted for domination. So, are you a Christian? How do you feel about that word? What if we were to come at the question from a different angle? The following is a thought experiment that may prove productive: What ...

Walking the Jericho Road – by Brad Jersak

  Epistle Reading: Ephesians 4  - Walk as Children of Light:   8 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light 9 (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth), 10 finding out what is acceptable to the Lord. 11 And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them. 12 For it is shameful even to speak of those things that are done by them in secret. 13 But all things that are exposed are made manifest by the light, for whatever makes manifest is light. 14 Therefore, He says: “Awake, you who sleep, Arise from the dead, And ...

“Sin”? Missing What Mark? Brad Jersak

Periodically, I hear sin defined as “missing the mark,” as if this grand discovery will repair our misunderstandings about sin, the gospel or God himself. The imagery of a bulls-eye is recycled with each telling. And fair enough. But truly, nearly everyone accepts this definition, from Southern Baptists to Christian Orthodox, or divergent theologies ranging from the “hyper-grace” camp to hellfire fundamentalists. Some crucial clarifications are in order if “missing the mark” is to serve a Christ-centered perspective on sin. The first question can’t be, “What is sin?” but rather, “What is the mark?” Christians generally ...

Q&R: If God is non-violent, why is nature violent?

QUESTION:   "If God is non-violent ... then why is there evidence of violence in nature, i.e. between animals and also in weather, such as hurricanes/typhoons, volcanic eruptions, etc.?"   RESPONSE:   At the most basic level, I often boil things down to these ideas, which most folks can understand if we provide examples:   1. God created the conditions for life and love, which are the laws of nature and human freedom. This is very good. 2. But nature and humans also cause a lot of suffering. Nature and people can become violent of their own accord. 3. But in his great love for us, God became human to ...

Q & R: “Narrow Way, Narrow Gate” Brad Jersak

Q: If Christ has made possible the salvation of all, why does he say "the gate is narrow and few will find it?" R: Context is so important! Take a moment to ask yourself in which context you first heard this message. Whenever I have heard these words, composed by Jesus Christ himself, almost without exception, they were embedded in the context of an evangelistic sermon describing the way of salvation that leads to eternal life. In contrast, the way of destruction was identified as the road to hell.  In that context, Jesus' warning sounds unequivocal: 1. Only Christians go to heaven; 2. very few will become Christians; 3. therefore, only a ...

Q&R: Does God literally send blessings & curses? – Brad Jersak

QUESTION: I am currently on my fourth read of A More Christlike God and each time I read it, I am getting to know God more and more. Regarding your notion that wrath is a metaphor for God's consent, I wonder how to interpret God's blessings and curses, which God seemed to bring about directly. Can this be reconciled? RESPONSE:  Re: God's blessings and curses, I think a good way to approach that question would be to take a walk through the Bible as follows: 1. OLD COVENANT PROMISES: First, notice how the old covenant (Deut. 28 for example) seems to say that IF you are good, God will directly bless your crops with sun and rain, but if you disobey ...

Q&R with Brad Jersak “Is faith a requirement?”

Question: I’ve been on a journey today trying to process. Faith in Christ still requires me. There is something wrong with this wording or something wrong with my understanding. It can’t be dependent on me. How can it be that God has covered our side of the covenant, yet it is our faith that somehow magically leverages God into some action? “Your faith has healed you.” Then I have to ask, “Who is God, us or him if our faith is the working component? I get the need for participation. But what is the secret sauce to the inherent conflict of surrender and participation? How does one reconcile the two? Response: B...

Calvary: Crucifixion as Torture, Cross as Hope – Brad Jersak

Trite or true, we're each and all on a journey, not quite sure whether any given year, week or moment is really ascent or descent -- the calm before a storm or the dark before dawn. I see this tension in the biblical story of Calvary, at once a crucifixion and a Cross, the intersection of goodness and affliction, of torture and hope. At Calvary, we see the violence of religious fanaticism married to national security ... and we see the humility, forgiveness and self-giving love of God. I hear this tension in Augustine, who is quoted in the movie, Calvary, as saying, "Do not despair; one of the thieves was saved. Do not presume; one of the thieves ...

Free Will, the Nous and Divine Judgment: A Critical Analysis of Three Visions of Universalism — by Brad Jersak

  I’ll say it again at the outset. I’m not a universalist.But some of my friends are … some of my evangelical friends, some of my Orthodox friends. So I ask them questions about that. This is not flirting (as Lewis and Barth were accused of), but simply being fair. In the name of ‘discernment,’ I’ve encountered a LOT of name-calling, dismissiveness, intentional misrepresentation and caricaturing. “Earth to Matilda!” – that’s not discernment. We can and must do better than that. Surely we could at least build bridges (from both ends of the chasm!) long enough so that listening could displace lobbing.  &n...

I’ve Not Been Forgotten – Brad Jersak

THE EXPERIENCE OF ALONENESS: It is inevitable. At some point, grief or loss knocks on our door. Life happens, tragedies strike, death overtakes us or sometimes worse, those we love most. When the ache of emptiness does invade our lives, even the most faithful Jesus-followers may experience the "felt absence" of God. Even if by faith we can cling to the promise, "I will never leave you nor forsake you" (Heb. 13:5), the feeling of suffocating aloneness can leave us crying out, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me!?" (Psalm 22:1). This can be truly troubling. Where is God when it hurts? Has God really left? If not, why can't I feel God's ...

“To the Merciful, You Show Yourself Merciful” – Brad Jersak

  Jeff Turner is a blogger who leads 'Sound of Awakening Ministries' and the author of Saints in the Arms of a Happy God. His provocative zingers are also really quotable. When I saw the above summary online, it triggered further thoughts for meditation.   My first reaction to the above quote was, I suppose to the red faced, angry preacher, God shows himself (or more technically, allows himself to be seen) as a red face, angry preacher. I was reminded of these lines from Psalm 18.   Psalm 18 (AKJV) 25 With the merciful you will show yourself merciful; with an upright man you will show yourself ...