The supremacy of Christ

In our current Family Bible Study curriculum we are studying through the book of Hebrews. As someone who loves Old Testament, I enjoy teaching and studying through Hebrews, since much of the book draws on OT teaching and imagery. Teaching it to elementary students, however, can be a bit of a challenge. Going through the process of preparing lessons for younger learners forces you to think about the essence of what the Bible teaches, and to clarify your own thinking about BIblical passages.

The last several lessons have focused on the comparison between Christ and the OT sacrificial system. Often when adults study through the middle of Hebrews, we get hung up on Melchizedek, how Jesus fulfilled OT types and images, and just to whom Hebrews 6:4-8 is referring. The big picture can get lost in a sea of really interesting details.

What is that big picture? Jesus Christ is superior to all systems of religion. While Hebrews explicitly deals with the OT and with the Judaism of the first century, I think it is fair to take the author's teaching even further and state that Jesus is superior to all other religious systems. There is something genuinely unique about Jesus.

Religion teaches us how we ought to relate to whatever god or ultimate reality is "out there." We engage in a variety of rituals, prayers, sacrifices, and other elements in order to align ourselves with that god. This can even be true of Christians; we can easily fall into the pattern of thinking our standing with God depends on how well we play the religious game.

Despite our best intentions, though, we fail to do everything right, and we have to keep going back again and again hoping to appease our god and to regain a positive standing with him/her/it. Nothing we do can permanently assure us that we are indeed right, or that we have any guarantee of going to heaven or its equivalent.

Jesus is different. First, what He did had nothing to do with what we do. Jesus became both the perfect sacrifice and the perfect high priest, offering the one sacrifice that does have permanent effect. It doesn't matter how we act, what we do, or how religious we are; Jesus' work was done by Him and accepted by the Father apart from anything any one of us has ever done. Second, when we accept Jesus and His sacrifice, and make Him the Lord of our life and our ultimate concern, we are assured we are right with God, since that staus isn't dependent on us and our behavior.

This doesn't mean we live any old way we want to. Hebrews will go on to discuss how the change that Jesus brings to our lives should change the way we live. What it does mean is that I am always forgiven, because the penalty for my sin has been made "once for all." I'm not dependent on my religiosity or works to earn or pay for my salvation. I am dependent on what Jesus has already done, and I can neither add to nor subtract from that.

This fundamental reminder keeps us on the right track as we seek to live our lives for the Lord. It also makes us different from any religious viewpoint (including ones calling themselves Christian) that would tie us to keeping the Law, following rules, or trying to do more good than bad in order to be right with God. As Christians, we should want to do what Christ commands out of love and gratitude, but our relationship with God ultimately begins and ends with Jesus, not ourselves.

What's left of God's revelation?

I was listening to one of the excellent "Table Talk" podcasts from Theology Network this evening. (Yes, this is one of the things I do for fun, and it helps pass time while I'm cleaning the basement.) The subject was "Christianity and World Religions" with Dr. Dan Strange. In the course of the study, Dr. Strange talked about his view that world religions devolved from the high monotheism of Judaism and its antecedents. I am also a partisan of that viewpoint, so I found his discussion quite intriguing. (Perhaps someday I'll devote a post to some of the arguments for that position. Until then, I recommend going to the Theology Network and listening to "Table Talk 18." There's a link to TN on my list.)

Dr. Strange has coined a term for the elements of truth that remain in a devolved religion: "remnantal revelation." This term states that remnants of God's truth through His revelation remain in those religions. Thus, there are elements of truth in any religion, or any philosophy for that matter, but as time passes the portion of truth will become less and less as other teachings are added to it. This doesn't only affect non-Christian religions; Christians can also watch their beliefs devolve as they move away from God's revelation.

While this may have its main application in theology, I think we also see a devolution in the popular theology or philosophy of Western society. Most people still claim some faith in God, but the God they worship is generally far removed from the God revealed in the Bible, or even the God revealed in nature and conscience (what theologians call "natural revelation"). There is some understanding of God as a loving being who helps us, but an almost total loss of a majestic God to whom our devotion is due. People talk about good and evil, but most in our society (including many in our churches) define good and evil by their own standards. Our culture rejects any notion of an absolute truth that applies to all people.

The positive side of this view is that all people have some knowledge of the truth, no matter how small. This enables us to speak to anyone with at least a little bit of common ground. God does not leave Himself without a witness; everyone has the opportunity to know God in some way. Truth isn't always comfortable. (In fact, I'd argue that if your belief system is comfortable, there's probably something wrong with it!) Even more, in our culture truth isn't popular. If you claim to have truth you'll be called intolerant, narrow-minded, bigoted, and arrogant. The problem isn't with personal belief, but with stating that there is a truth that applies to everyone.

Our goal as Christians should be first of all to ensure that our beliefs haven't become "remnantal." We don't just go to church or recite creeds because it's a habit, but because we believe we are in touch with the God of all truth. Then we should stand for the truth, and help others find the truth of God and His revelation in their own lives, building from what they already have.

Ever since the earliest days of the church, those who oppose Christianity have understood that if they could prevent Christians from reading, studying, and meditating of the Bible they could wipe out the Christian faith. Even today, anti-Christian governments and organizations try to keep the Bible away from their people. The truth is powerful, however, and standing for God's truth and for God's revelation enables us to shine His light into our society.