It’s kind of ironic that what finally got me over the hump of deciding “should I start a blog?” was reading N. T. Wright, since I’m not an amateur theologian, have never read The Resurrection of the Son of God etc., and have to ask my brother to remind me every so often what the New Perspective is. This is from a book of his sermons, Following Jesus: Reflections on Discipleship (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1994).
In his sermon/chapter on Temptation (pp. 83-89), close to the beginning he says what he won’t do: “I don’t simply want to say things which run along the surface, and which well-taught Christians have heard many times before (83).”
- Thank you, N.T.! He put his finger on a problem which has been bothering me for years, ever since I began (not finished) seminary. And I always feel guilty and superficial when I think “I’ve heard it all before.” To be begin with, I’m reminded of the quote of Margaret Thatcher I’ve always loved (though I’m not a Thatcherite): “Of course it’s the same old story. Truth usually is the same old story.” After all, what do I expect, a freak show? One could say the same thing about the Bible – “I’ve read it all before, I know what it says.” Second, it’s not as though all those repeated hearings have actually sunk into my heart – it’s not as if I’ve really learned the lesson to the point of living a changed life. And third, I know that sometimes the issue is my mood and the way I’ve been living life lately. The most trite or manipulative sermon in the world can still do a person good who’s in the right place to hear it.
I used to fear that, once a person has gone to seminary, they can never again hope to be edified by sermons more than once in a blue moon. But now I think that’s a load of crap. A) Because there are so many different traditions and types of preaching, which I think is really cool. (In fact, sometimes I think it’d be neat to be a sermonologist, if that’s even a discipline/word). Manny Ortiz’s preaching at Spirit and Truth was totally different from Phil Ryken’s at 10th Presbyterian in Philly (thank goodness), both were totally different from the preaching at the Episcopalian churches I’ve gone to…to give just a few examples. B) Even if I were to go to theologically conservative presbyterian churches for the rest of my life (my seminary was presbyterian), I still think the potential should be there for me to be surprised and edified and convicted through the years. Happily, I know of two really good examples of this kind of preaching: my brother’s, and my own pastor’s (but again, I rarely get all that much out of his sermons, for involved personal reasons I may go into later).
Anyway, I’ve felt guilty for being tired of the sermons I hear for all those reason – yet also thinking that there are different ways to preach a sermon (though should I expect one preacher to master more than one way? don’t know, probably not – I think I write all my papers the same way), and that maybe some of the sameness could be mitigated if pastors were willing to not end with the “gospel” (you can’t do it but Christ has done if for you) every time (heresy? is there anything so terrible about a sermon every once in a while just ending with: Do it!), and more importantly, if they put more effort into preaching to where they think their particular congregation really is, rather than preaching to a general audience, or just expounding the timeless, unchanging truths of the renascent reformation.
And sometimes I fear that I’ve sinned knowingly too many times, I’ve hardened my heart against the truth and now the normal, basic truths leave me cold.
So it’s really good to hear a preacher saying he doesn’t want to say the things that well-taught Xians have heard before! I know preaching is hard, but some preachers honestly seem like they’re on autopilot (to be fair, this is more Episcopalian preachers than the presbyterian ones I’ve been bashing).
He goes on to say what a typical sermon on temptation will probably look like:
- either we’ll hear about Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness, that he succeeded where Adam and Eve failed [my addition: or, in reformed circles, that he succeeded where you and I fail - I know that's true but hearing over again that I have his record doesn't free me from the very real and painful grip of sin], and where Israel failed, or Gen. 3 will be unpacked (Eve trusted to her own decision-making power; Jesus stuck with Scripture).
“And I suspect you would feel sad at a sermon like that. Most of my readers have been there, done that, and don’t feel satisfied with it. Good advice might conceivably help, but it hasn’t helped all that much in the past. Xians seem to me to divide into two groups these days: the first lot don’t think that sin matters very much anyway, and the second know perfectly well that it does, but still can’t kick the habit.” Yesss!!!
“Preachers, in fact, often follow St. Paul and appeal to an innate sporting instinct: there’s a race to be run — and you want to win, don’t you? That’s fine when you’re young and strong and there’s an apparent chance that you might win. But what about when you’re middle-aged and overweight and the very idea of running for anything except the odd bus fills you with a deep foreboding? … It all seemed so bright and hopeful when we were in Sunday school, but the clear morning sky has clouded over now, and the choice seems to be between pretending it’s still all clear and bright and shining, on the one hand, and settling in for a long grey afternoon, on the other.” Yes. I look back to college (which wasn’t sin or problem free), the year between college and seminary (ditto), and seminary (ditto), and think, where did my joy, my enthusiasm, my belief that the Gospel was real and that it mattered go?
So what’s the solution? I have to admit, I’ve heard all three of his points before, many times (mostly Tim Keller sermons). So this is a moment where the saying applies that the truth usually is the same old story — not that there are only these three ways to break out of the cycle, but still, these ways are legitimate, and they’re worth repeating. Maybe all I’m really looking for is a fresh illustration or way to apply stuff. So his three points are:
1. Realize that “temptation always takes as its starting point something which is in itself good.” My first thought is, most reformed people I know don’t need to be reminded of that – they are
all about Christian liberty. Still, if I think about this enough, I realize there may be a sense in which I believe with my head that romance, for example, is good, and yet I’m so filled with wrong thoughts and images and examples of it, that I have very little notion of what a God-given romantic relationship would look like.
2. “the flesh”, as Paul uses it, refers not to the body, but to human beings in rebellion in against God. This isn’t new, of course, but I like how he fleshes that out: The temptation that we think we have to give into to be happy is “starting from something which is good, and suggesting that you elevate that out of its proper and God-given context into a different setting where it will give you a thrill, rather than the God-designed satisfaction; a shot in the arm, rather than sustenance for the long journey.”
3. “…the answer to temptation is to find out, perhaps painfully and over a long period, what it is about you that is at the moment out of shape, distorted, in pain. Then one may begin to find out, again often painfully, how it is that God longs to help you get what is distorted back into focus; to get what is crooked back into shape; to get what is bruised and hurt back into health.” This will take time, prayer, possibly fasting, and definitely help, i.e. spiritual guidance.
“In the meantime, while you’re working on the long-term project, what about the temptation which will creep up on you before you’re even started? The first thing to do is thank God for making you human; for giving you life and all that it means, for giving you responsibility to think and choose. The second is to pray for grace to use that responsibility wisely. The third is to recognize that every moment, every second of your life, is a moment when the gracious God longs to give you the good gift of his presence and his love, and has some specific response from you which he longs to evoke, which will enrich and enhance your humanness in the way that rebellion never can. If you don’t follow Jesus in this precise moment, you are going to miss out.”
