Paradox Lost – Part II

Many argue do not discount how God is using the contemporary church to impact the age. No doubt! Often, though, the arrogance of those engaged in the contemporary sees revolution when what is at work is disillusion, confusion, and many contusions among the body of Christ. Those who dismiss the church as irrelevant forget their own souls have been forged on the anvil of the very altar they wish to discard. Postmodernism is not the final word. Jesus said he would build the church to a triumphant conclusion. That is why an additional corrective to some strident voices of the contemporary church needs to be offered to all leaders. The church will always be relevant. It is not our task to make the church relevant but to be the church period. We live in a paradox where the ancient words of the Ancient of Days are as living as the day God breathed them forth, and yet those words must be lived out. This is the test of every movement. It is not ultimately about form but function. It is not a pragmatic measurement of what works but of God’s workmanship. The seductive sirens of prepackaged publications offer a new and improved solution for every problem that plagues the programs of our day.
I, for one, am a recovering addict of a need for a new fix of a therapeutic philosophy for what ails my church. From The Purpose Driven Life to Wild at Heart we are captive not to the Word of God but to the prevailing trends of the temporary. This is not to say God cannot use Rick Warren or others to communicate afresh the unfading truth. Still, many such programs use a ton of therapeutic language rather than biblical admonition. Psychology 101 is more in play than John 1:1.

When truth is denied, therapy remains. The critical questions shift from “What is true?” to “What makes me feel good?” This cultural trend has been developing throughout the century, but now reaches epic proportions. The culture we confront is almost completely under submission to what Philip Reiff called the “triumph of the therapeutic.” In a postmodern world, all issues eventually revolve around the self. Thus, enhanced self-esteem is all that remains as the goal of many educational and theological approaches. Categories such as “sin” are rejected as oppressive and harmful to self-esteem. Therapeutic approaches are dominant in a postmodern culture made up of individuals uncertain that truth even exists–but assured that our self-esteem must remain intact. Right and wrong are discarded as out-of-date reminders of an oppressive past. In the name of our own “authenticity” we will reject all inconvenient moral standards and replace concern for right and wrong with the assertion of our rights.

In the end, language matters. Sin is still sin not vulnerabilities, wounds, or weakness. Repentance is still a necessity not apologies or self-discovery. Hell is always a destination and not just a metaphor. Propitiation needs to be discussed more than personal fulfillment. Evangelism is not a marketing strategy. Lost people are not consumers. Churches are not corporations. It remains a paradox that to fix what ails us we need to discover how tragically tainted we are by the ravages of sin. The discovery of our true inner self brings dismay not a parade. In the end it is the recognition of our depravity that brings us to the end of ourselves and the beginning of the fear of the Lord. This is when we can really become wild at heart as we adopt the paradox of grace and truth. They are paradoxical in the sense that truth frees us and grace teaches us.

DNA’s double helix is perfect balance at life’s core. Two strands of DNA wrap around each other, an axis of symmetry. The two strands run opposite directions, providing perfect correction for each other. Grace and truth are spiritual DNA, the building blocks of Christ-centered living. These complementary strands create flawless spiritual balance and stability. Though the strands run opposite directions, they correspond perfectly. Without both strands we cannot properly function.

This is the positive aspect of postmodern thought among the contemporary leaders: they do try to engage us in a discussion of the DNA of culture. They are very good at differentiating the strands that shape our society. The challenge comes in dissecting the DNA of society without intersecting it with the demands of Scripture. True contextualization utilizes the demographics of today without discarding the relevance of the revelation of God’s Word and His Son.
The bottom line for pastors and leaders is that our greatest goal should not be to find the newest paradigms of “doing church”. Instead we should beg God that He would empower us to be the church. If we do not die to self on the altar of humility, our churches will die on self-built altars of pragmatism, relativism, and narcissism. Pragmatists ask will it work. Relativists reason what is in it for me. Narcissists demand it bring self-fulfillment. Men and women who seek after changing what is into what can be beg God will you move! Dissatisfaction with the moral and spiritual climate should send us to our knees before we head to the latest lamentations of self-appointed arbiters of authenticity. Listen to Donald Miller’s conclusion in one of the latest tomes that trendsetters are turning to: Blue Like Jazz .

I think loving Jesus is something you feel. I think it is something very difficult to get on paper. But it is no less real, no less meaningful, and no less beautiful. The first generation out of slavery invented jazz music. It is a music birthed out of freedom. And that is the closest thing to Christian spirituality. A music birthed out of freedom. Everyone sings their song the way they feel it, everybody closes their eyes and lifts up their hands.

Herein is the challenge. God has got this down on paper with a faith once and for all delivered to the saints. Truth is not defined by feelings but by the fact that the incarnate God crept down the back steps of heaven to ultimately die on a bloody cross not a neon one. All I know about Jesus Christ is revealed not in private interpretation but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God (2 Peter 1:21). Spirituality can make us feel good and lead us straight to hell. The truth is only Jesus Christ is the way, truth, and life (John 14:6) as difficult as that is for Americans and even evangelicals to swallow. God is inclusive by the way of the cross but not by the way of the world. As much as we attempt to tailor truth to fit our own preferences, truth never goes out of style. We must preach the word in season and out of season (2 Timothy 4:2).
Many will think I have stopped short of grace. Do not misunderstand, grace is still amazing. The grace and truth paradox is not a conundrum to be solved but a life to be lived. Some pastors and churches often pickpockets grace by robbing it of the context of truth. I love rabbits unless they reproduce ad infinitum. It is this reality that makes the mangy coyote a necessity. I embrace the mercy and love of God but without the peg of wrath hammered down they both lose substance and have only image. Grace is not amazing without the alternative that God must to stoop to love me. Grace is so attractive because I am so vacant. Grace must be showcased but truth cannot be suitcased. Paul knows we have a tendency through diversion and distraction to stuff and suppress the truth of God’s wrath against godlessness and wickedness to the point we are without excuse (Romans 1:18-20). The implication for all of us as leaders is display grace without suppressing truth. The beauty of grace is enhanced by the veracity of truth. Teach the scriptures as a prism of paradox and as a continuum of total truth and absolute authenticity.
In a sense, God is the ultimate paradox. He is wrath and grace at Golgotha. He is transcendent and yet immanent. He is God of the supernovas and quarks, and He offers His name as simply I AM. He reveals Himself and is yet unexplainable and uncontainable. He is absolute and authentic. He is the Word and the Image of God. He is holy and wholly mercy. He is not either or but both and. He is both of the world and separate from it. He is grace and truth.

D. A. Carson, Becoming Conversant with the Emerging Church: Understanding a Movement and Its Implications (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 2005) 125-127.

Alcorn, The Grace and Truth Paradox, 23.

Donald Miller, Blue Like Jazz: Nonreligious thoughts on Christian Spirituality (Nashville, Tn.: Thomas Nelson, 2003).
ibid, p. 239.