Wright Recently

Yes, it's been a while since I've posted. Yes, I have been busy with new family growth, getting into the swing of things at the library, getting some research done, and gearing up for the Revitalization consultation 'Pentecost and the New Humanity' coming up in mid-October. No, I am not sorry for not having posted anything in a month because these (esp. the first one) have been much more important than rambling on here.

But 'I was born a ramblin' man' so it's time for a few thoughts, centred on the recent books I've completed by N. T. (Tom) Wright: Surprised by Hope (SBH) and Justification.

SBH - Although I gained more insights from Justification, especially considering it pertains more closely to my research topic, I think that SBH is the most important book I have read in quite a long time. In my estimation, SBH needs to be read by every preacher of the gospel, or at least the concepts need to be presented to them. We have all too often been presented with an incomplete (at best) or just flat out wrong picture of what happens after we die. Many evangelistic efforts are driven toward asking the question, "Are you going to heaven when you die?" Indeed, the definition of salvation embedded behind these sorts of efforts is "going to heaven when you die." Somewhere along the way, a significant part of the Church lost touch with a clear belief in the 'resurrection of the body.'

Many churches without a 'creed' containing that statement are in danger of guiding its parishioners astray regarding our future hope. Still, that doesn't necessarily safeguard the churches that DO have the statement of belief in the resurrection of our bodies in their creed. The truth is that it is often ignored, most likely because we don't understand the future resurrection, its relation to the bodily resurrection of Jesus, or the significance of both for our livelihood today. Here are a couple of videos pertaining to what he says about 1. The historic resurrection of Jesus; and 2. The future resurrection of our own bodies:





Justification - This work was brilliant! NTW points out very convincingly that the doctrine of 'justification' is not the whole picture of salvation, though it is indeed a very important part of it (see video below for a 'steering wheel and car' metaphor). His point (also seen in video below) is that the Reformers' understanding of 'justification' was the 'right answer to the wrong question' because when Paul uses 'righteousness' he is not specifically referring to some moral quality (i.e., how can I get righteous enough to be saved) but is referring to a status as belonging to the people of God. It is a verdict offered by the court, but is not an imputed morality to us.

More importantly, however, I gleaned from this book the significance of the place of Abraham in the Christian faith, especially when it comes to God's plan of rescuing the world. Wright's strong covenantal approach to the New Testament makes the most sense and is helpful in avoiding the pitfalls of replacement theology, so common in Reformed circles, on the one hand, and dispensational theology, on the other. In other words, his perspective on Paul (which is correct, in my view) is that God sticks with his one plan to rescue the world, first promised to Abraham in Genesis 15. It is NOT as though the Torah was established so that Israel could 'earn' their salvation, but they failed so God had to come up with another plan (i.e., Jesus). Remember, Israel was set free from the bondage of slavery BEFORE the Law was given. Therefore, for instance, we could refer to the Decalogue (i.e., the Ten Commandments) as the Ten Expectations of the community ALREADY redeemed by God! This helps us connect the rescue operation put into action by Jesus with the Passover.

The plan, from Genesis 15, was that through Abraham's seed there would come a day when the whole world would be rescued, through Israel's covenantal faithfulness, to where there would be ONE family of God. The problem was that Israel failed in their part of that mission (and needed to be rescued, too), so God sent Jesus as the fulfillment of the original plan. He is the Israel-representative who would bring God's mission and promise to Abraham into fruition. More importantly than about 'getting people into heaven' (after all, that is NOT at the heart of God's promise to Abraham or of Christ's mission to save the world...this connects this book with SBH, I hope you can see), the Church needs to find her mission along these lines...expanding the ONE family of God under the Christ, who in his death and resurrection has inaugurated the coming kingdom, though we have yet to see its full manifestation. We build for it by the power of the Holy Spirit. This kingdom which will be fully revealed in the resurrection of our bodies...i.e, the new creation so envisaged in Revelation 21-22!