Last time we were discussing, shape is emphasis on the abnormality of our life here and now, and I spoke about his emphasis or his speaking orbit as the five-pointed curse. In fact, if any of you want to listen to that tape, it's tape 223 that is in sound words numbering. Larry is producing a catalogue with our own numbering here, but on sound words catalogue it's tape 223, the five-pointed curse, or you could read the section in Genesis in space and time on the fall where you'll find the same emphasis spelt out in great detail. The other place you might look is a series of two lectures by Schafer called the problem of evil and the god of love, the problem of evil and the god of love. On sound words numbering those are 82.1 and 82.2. In fact, those two lectures are a review of the book by John Hick, John Hick, H-I-C-K, who in Britain is a very well-known, one might say liberal, theologian. He was also one of the authors of the myth of God incarnate some years later, but those three sources, the sermon, the five-pointed curse, Genesis in space and time, the book, and those lectures on the problem of evil and the god of love will give you more information on Schafer's view on the abnormality of our life here in the present. Another way he describes that abnormality is to speak about the three deaths, the three deaths which sinful human beings have to endure. This is from the Bible study on glorification of the Resurrection number 23. He says this, man's fallen to sin involved the complete man body and soul because man's sinned three deaths came upon him. The first death is spiritual death, that is separation from God, came immediately physical death, which we usually speak of as death, the death of the body, and eternal death at the final judgment. That was another way he used very frequently to describe our situation now, that we, as human beings, sinful human beings, are subject to three deaths, all of which of course Christ overcomes. Now, as we think about this issue of abnormality, it's such a very fundamental one, as I said the other day in terms of apologetics, and not just apologetics, but also in terms of any kind of care for people who are suffering, whether you're a pastor or just as a fellow believer, getting alongside somebody who is really struggling with some difficulty, it is tremendously important that you understand biblical teaching in this area, and it's the great loss of our ability to be able to help people if we don't understand it. We have very little to say to people who suffer unless we understand that or abnormality. That's why the scripture encourages us to weep with those who weep, because there really is something to weep about, rather than telling them that everything is fine, but rather to weep with those who weep, to mourn with those who mourn as well as rejoice with those who have something to rejoice about. Any other questions here before we move on to the next area? Okay, the third area I want to speak about here is Schaeffer's teaching on salvation and draw several points at from that. Now, in each of these issues about God himself, about human beings, and then about sin, and now about salvation, I'm not summarizing all that Schaeffer speaks about in these Bible studies. I'm just picking out some topics which are central to understanding all of his teaching and which became major themes in the rest of his work from this point onwards, and then particular
issues which he draws attention to perhaps in a slightly different way from usual. So now thirdly, salvation. And the first point I want to make here, point number one, is that in the work of Christ, when Christ dies for us, that God's holiness is not compromised. Let me read what he has to say. This is from the fourth study on God's grace. There are several studies on the grace of God and this is the first one study number four, page 22, and he says this, he's commenting on Philippians 2 7 and 8. How can the Holy God say whosoever to sinners? God cannot just overlook us in because he is holy? If he did that, no moral absolute would exist. We can come to God through grace because Christ worked for us. This finished work is his death upon the cross. And then again on Romans 3, 24 through 26, he writes this, because Christ died in substitution, God remains righteous. There is a moral absolute and yet we do not need to come under his judgment. Now, I don't know if you want to understand what he's getting at here. Actually, somebody asked me one of the students here. I guess a 30th student asked me this question the other day. Why was it necessary for Christ to die in order for us to be saved? Why was his death necessary? This is the issue that Schaefer is getting at here that there would be if God was simply to forgive our sin just to say, well that's fine, it doesn't matter what you've done. I'll overlook it. We'll pass it by. If God was simply to forgive our sin, then God's holiness, a Schaefer puts it here, would be compromised. God's holiness would be compromised. And as he expresses it, and this is the phrase that is slightly different here, there would be no moral absolute. His point is that one of the answers we have to the non-Christian in our generation is that a Christian worldview or biblical Christianity teaches that there is indeed a moral absolute in the universe. One of the problems our whole generation struggles with is is there a basis for distinguishing between good and evil? How can I say that good is good and that evil is evil? If it's just the decision of the individual, which is what so many people in our culture think that good and evil is just a matter of personal choice, as the whole abortion movement puts it, good and evil is a matter of choice, that it's a matter of personal privacy. Then we can't talk about moral absolutes. We cannot say that there is indeed a moral absolute in the universe anywhere. All there is is all these individual choices. They don't tell us what is truly good, what is truly evil. They just tell us what individuals happen to think this particular moment. The other alternative that our culture puts forward is what Schaefer used to call a sociological law or the rule by the 51 percent that the majority tell us what is right and what is wrong. You've heard me before probably quoting William Golding when I was speaking about humanism at which the contemporary culture saying, and this is a quote from William Golding the novelist, if God is dead good and evil is decided by majority vote. That's what Schaefer meant by sociological law, that is the law and in a democracy the law really comes down in the end to what the majority think in a democracy like ours in terms of its present understanding of what democracy is and whatever the majority of the people think that will be right. So good and evil is decided by majority vote. The third alternative is that those in power will tell us what is right, might is right, we might summarize it by saying. But none of these give us a moral absolute, none of these give us a sure foundation for being able to say yes murder is always everywhere wrong adultery rape homosexuality is always in everywhere wrong lying stealing etc is wrong that there is on any of these views once God is removed from our understanding of reality there is no basis on which to say there are moral absolutes there are moral certainties in this universe and that's why Schaefer is stressing this here it's because God is indeed holy because God is righteous because his righteousness is never compromised because he never looks on sin and excuses it he is light and in him there is no darkness at all as the scripture puts it he dwells in unapproachable light he's never tempted by evil nor does he tempt anyone else his character is perfect that perfection of God's character which enables us to say this is a moral universe this is a universe in which there really is a difference between good and evil means that God cannot without being false to himself simply excuse pass by overlook forgive sin and say that's the right it doesn't matter Christ comes and bears the judgment for our sin so God's character is not compromised and yet we are forgiven yet we may be saved there is still a moral absolute God is still the holy and righteous God he is both just because sin is always punished as Paul puts it he is both just and the justify of the person who believes in Jesus now anyone any questions here you see always what shaffer is is trying to do this is the way he thinks because he's got so many contacts with unbelievers all the time he's always thinking about presenting the Christian message to the unbeliever and he sees the great strength that Christianity has at this point that it provides us with a solid foundation to be able to say this is good and that is wrong and it will never change so here when he's thinking about the work of Christ he relates it to that issue yeah there is still a moral absolute yeah any questions okay that brings us to point number two if you don't understand why this is important you tell me as we as we're going along point number two I would just say on that again that I don't know how many times I heard Shafer say that a thousand times I would say more making that point about the work of Christ John down the poet sums it up in a really beautiful way in one of his poems where he says King's pardon but he bore our punishment King's pardon but he bore our punishment now point number two is his emphasis on history his emphasis on history let me just read one little section here this is some page 24 it's the same study a study one on God's grace the fourth study altogether here he's commenting on Genesis 22 1 through 18 the account of Abraham's offering of Isaac which was one of his favorite parts of scripture he says here we have a clear picture in space time history of the coming Messiah and his substitutionary work that's one the first times I think I've I've found him using that particular expression space time history which became one of his favorite expressions he would speak about Christ coming in space and time and history and this was a central emphasis in in all of his teaching but in a day like hours where people think of Christianity as simply something religious this is your religion that you happen to have and somebody else has their religion I have my religion I'm a Buddhist I'm your Hindu he's a Muslim that person is a Christian and it's all the matter simply of personal faith and personal choice and personal need and where there is a complete loss of any sense of truth of objective truth Shaffer saw the need to constantly be emphasizing that what the Bible tells us took place in history or as he expresses it in space and in time and in history now I would say for all of you again if you are ever going to speak about the incarnation to somebody about the birth of Christ or about the resurrection or about any event in Jesus life or in fact about any part of scripture that you need to say this you don't have to use the words that Shaffer used space and time and history but you've got to get across to people because they don't expect it and it doesn't even touch them unless you emphasize it unless you draw attention to it that what we are talking about is historical truth it took it took place in this reality here that's what he means by space here on this world in this earth in this world which we are living in day by day I took place in our time that is in this history which we are living through moment by moment it took place in in in real history just think for example about what happens at Christmas almost every store you go into is playing Christmas carols everybody knows the tunes everybody knows the words the great majority of people don't have any notion that it's got anything to do with space and time and history these nice comfortable songs nice comfortable music which give you a good feeling at Christmas and the shops pay them because it helps you to spend more money because it makes you feel good Christmas is a time to be kind and thoughtful and of course that that's fine it's a wonderful essay about by C.S. Lewis on this in God in the dark some of you may be familiar with it he's called Christmas or Xmas the difference between a Christian Christmas and the secular Xmas I'd encourage you to read it but of course fundamental to what C.S. Lewis is saying they're just like Shaper here's the emphasis on what we are celebrating is something that happened in history it's not a fairy story it's not a legend so Shaper would emphasize this over and over again and he emphasized it particularly because in the orthodox theology there is no emphasis on history at all there are many churches you could go to this Christmas or you could go to next Easter and you would hear wonderful sermons on the birth of Christ and the events surrounding his birth on the angels on the wise men on the shepherds and then at Easter wonderful sermons on the death of Christ and even the resurrection of Christ given by people who don't believe that those things actually happened in history for one second and you think what a wonderful message but what you need to ask well what did they not said what they will not emphasize many of them is the fact that these things took place in space and time and history some of you probably heard this one before but Carl Henry tells it this was during the time when he was editor I guess he was the first editor of Christianity today when that magazine started I suppose back in the 50s or whenever it was and on one occasion he with a group of other reporters was interviewing Carl Bart and he asked Bart the question if there had been a camera at the empty tomb would it have recorded anything what would it have recorded in other words he was trying to get across to ask the question do you really believe Mr. Bart Professor Bart that the resurrection is an event which took place in real history which could be recorded and shown on the evening news on our television stations the day and Carl Bart's response to him was intriguing he said what did you say did you say you were the editor of Christianity yesterday he didn't answer the question now he's and Carl Bart replied Christianity yesterday today and forever which was also a very clever response but he wasn't prepared to address the question directly did the resurrection take place in real history which could be recorded on a camera presented on the evening news as an actual fact which has occurred in this reality now if you have grown up in a in a Christian context you may think that I'm laboring an unnecessary point here but if you haven't you will understand that people outside the church do not think of these things the story of Christmas the story of Easter as true historically now my parents were were non-believers I grew up going to church every Sunday as a child and to Sunday school every week but nobody ever suggested to me that these things were true events in history I was a completely new idea when as a university student I came face to face with genuine Christianity for the first time to hear that this was actually history we were talking about was radically new and there are lots of people out there that way who don't know that that's what we are speaking about so you always need to be emphasizing this what we're talking about is something that happened in real history there are all sorts of different ways to express it again you don't have to use shape as words space-time history that was his little favorite expression but you need to communicate it and I would say to you if you in your own church here's somebody preaching a Christmas or a Easter or another event from the from the life of Christ or from the Bible and they don't emphasize this historical they haven't preached the gospel today it's like Shafersen he was constantly quoting Luther's statement if I preach the word of God with the loudest voice in the clearest way at every point except that where it's under attack I haven't preached it faithfully you don't emphasize that it's real history you haven't preached the gospel today you just offering people another contentless religious experience a Shafer would have called it and that's not many people are having in many churches contentless religious experiences which have no relationship to something that God has actually done in the past and any questions here before we move on to the next point now you'll find this emphasis throughout Shafers writing through all of his tapes even when somebody was baptized he had five questions that he would ask people and one of those questions was questions that summarized the gospel one of those questions was do you believe that Jesus Christ was the son of God the second person the Trinity who was born into this world in space time history and became a man and then died in space and time in history and rose again in history that was more or less how he'd asked that question he saw it is absolutely fundamental to communicate to that so people not just once but over and over and over again if you watch the film whatever happened to the human race and we're in the process of getting those films right now he said hopefully looking at Larry the fifth film in whatever happened to the human race has as its central theme that the biblical message is a historical message you see him wandering around different parts of the land of Israel speaking about Abraham speaking about Moses speaking about Christ speaking about Paul he keeps making this point over and over again okay the third issue here is his emphasis on what he called the empty hands of faith that we come to Christ with the empty hands of faith now it's not a new expression with him it was just one of his favorite expressions when he is describing what faith is in our response to the work that Christ has accomplished on our behalf here he's commenting on John 3 15 and 16 in study 4 again if we accept Jesus as our Savior then on the basis of Christ's finished work which we accept by faith alone we have God's promise of an eternal life faith is the empty hand which accepts the gift he would constantly use that particular expression the other expression that he would use is what he called faith plus nothing faith plus nothing if you start listening to any of his sermons you'll hear him using that expression over and over again this is some less than 12 page 51 in these now not 51 let's see page 49 in these studies he says salvation is attained by faith in Christ plus nothing faith in Christ plus nothing and again here the instrument by which we accept the free gift this is page 51 study 12 is faith faith has a double significance it is believing God's promises and it is the empty hand which accepts the gift so faith plus nothing but then he goes on to add the empty hand which accepts the gift without trying to add humanistic religious or moral good works to it and I want to draw attention to that as well these were three expressions that he would use over and over again when talking about faith as we come to God to believe in what Christ has accomplished for us by his perfect life by his death as our substitute and by his resurrection the empty hands of faith that we come before God with nothing to offer him whatsoever except simply to receive what he gives us faith is saying in other words another way he would express it to say many times would to say wind it we don't have faith in faith it's not our faith which justifies us faith is an empty hand which accepts the gift of justification through Christ so I'm not it's not the power of my faith the strength of my faith faith itself which is the issue but faith which is an empty hand receiving the gift that God gives the other expression the second expression I mentioned was faith plus nothing and the third is this about humanistic works the empty hand which accepts the gift without trying to add humanistic religious or moral good works to it over and over again he would say that thinking that I have to earn a relationship with God thinking that I have something to offer God that that was humanistic his point is that it is just as humanistic to believe in God even to believe that Christ is the Son of God the second person the Trinity to believe that he died in history and rose again for us it is just as humanistic to go through all that and then still think you are offering something to God for your salvation as is the humanist who doesn't believe in God at all that's what he's trying to get across here it is just as much an offence to God to think you can offer him something for your salvation as it is to reject him altogether to be a humanist in that secular sense of humanism let me draw attention to this in a couple of other places as well here he's commenting this is in lesson number five page 24 which is the second study on God's grace on Adam and Eve and God's provision of the animal skins to cover them after the fall he says this was an immediate picture that the way man could come to God now that he had sinned was not by the humanistic works of his own righteousness but by that which God would provide through the death of the coming Messiah and again over on page 26 he's commenting on Romans 4 6 through 8 about David he says David is clearly said to have been saved not of works but by faith no man has ever been saved by his own humanistic works he was constantly adding that expression he would speak of Roman Catholicism as a form of humanism because of this that Roman Catholicism was a form of humanism because of its emphasis on the work of Mary and of the saints in addition to the work of Christ Mary being called redemptrix commediator and so on the press the saints the emphasis on good works he would often in discussions call Catholicism a form of humanism you'll see that in some of his writings as well or if you listen to some of his tapes because it is an affront to God to say we can earn in any way our relationship with you any questions before we move on fourthly the fourth emphasis I wish to draw attention to is his emphasis that sanctification is also by faith this was one of the issues which he if you like or rediscovered for himself during that time of his spiritual crisis when he was re questioning everything in the Christian faith starting all over again that sanctification is not by human effort it is by faith just as is justification and let me read a couple of passages where he draws attention to this he says that this is commenting on first John 5 verses 3 through 5 the victory that overcomes the world is our faith
it is not that the ground of our victory is our faith in sanctification as in justification the only ground is the perfect finished work of Christ true spirituality as a book is and all the the tapes that went with it covering the same material have that as the emphasis the theme of the book really is what is the finished work of Christ mean for my life today not just what does it mean for when I became a Christian in justification but what does it mean now what does the work of Christ mean for the present life and the whole of that book is a study on that issue really of the effect of Christ's work on my life in the present so the victory that overcomes the world day by day for the question is our faith he says I'm carrying on here for my daily walk as a Christian I must by God's grace rest in faith upon my present relationship with God every moment of my life I must see that I cannot keep God's law on my own strength for my justification I must have rested in faith in Christ as my Savior in sanctification moment by moment I must throw myself upon the fact of my present relationship with Father Son and Spirit through faith I lay hold of this relationship for this one moment and all of life is only a succession of moments one moment at a time thus by God's grace his commandments are not grievous and by God's grace I may have spiritual power and the Lord will be my son his point is simply we cannot grow as Christians just by deciding that we're going to grow by our efforts at obedience but we will only grow as we rest we put out the empty hands of faith not just in conversion but in sanctification every moment of our life it's another way of expressing what Paul's emphasis is in second Corinthians and he says when I am weak then I will then I am strong I will all the more gladly boast of my weaknesses that the power of Christ my rest upon me it's when we realize how weak we are how totally in cable we are of doing what God wants us to do of being truly righteous of taking care of the people he sends our way of fulfilling the calling that he gives us only when we realize we simply cannot do it well that we learn to cry out and trust in him and ask for his power and for his help and for his grace now this was a very important point to Shaffer because he saw in so much of his own background personally but also the whole movement from which he came a tremendous emphasis on what he would call active activity or activism as somebody else might call it just Christians running around working for God doing their thing for God it's something we can all easily fall into we run around thinking we're pleasing God that we have something to offer him now and he is speaking against that and saying if you do that it's just another form of legalism it's just another form of legalism a term which he would use over and over again later on is what he called active passivity active passivity as opposed to active activity that is just working in your own strength just getting on and pulling up your bootstraps and living the Christian life by active passivity he meant offering ourselves to God in faith and the image which he would use over and over again is that of Mary when the angel came to her and told her that she had been chosen to bear the Lord's Messiah and she says Lord you know I am the handmade of the Lord let it be according to your will and he used that illustration for the whole of the Christian life that that is what we have to do every moment of our lives offer ourselves to God that's what he meant by active passivity passive in the sense but I'm dependent upon what God can do through me that I need his power to work in me I need the power of the spirit I need the righteousness of Christ active in the sense of actively moment by moment putting faith in God he distinguishes it very carefully from the kind of resignation that you see let's say in a writer-like watchman knee there are two sermons where he talks about this and let me mention them both they're both from true spirituality in the book true spirituality one is called in the spirit's power and the other is called the fruit for bride again just as with Mary offering herself to God he loved to use that image of the bride of course a thoroughly biblical image but that God can produce his work through us as we yield ourselves to him as a bride yields herself to her husband and without that yielding not just ones but every moment of our lives moment by moment as he stresses it here in this passage I read every moment of our lives not just ones but over and over and over again every day of our life we are to offer ourselves to God to yield ourselves to him for him to do his work in us let me refer to another passage to where he makes the same point this is page 59 from lesson 15 the new relationship he's commenting on flippians 111 the fruit we should bring forth after we are Christians must be by Christ working in them through us it's the same point there only in by abiding in him by trusting in him by yielding ourselves to him will there be a qualitatively different life for the Christian otherwise there's just activism again any questions there and some people found that emphasis in his teaching really difficult when he came over here to the states after that period of crisis and gave those sermons for the first time all over the country the sermons that later made up true spirituality some people found it wonderfully refreshing this emphasis yeah other people didn't like it very much it caused quite a division in terms of in terms of of response to to what he was saying but i would say for all of you you will realize the truth of this when you find and sit yourself in situations which are too big for you to handle i was talking to a student today who's who as well as the studies has now got a job in one of the churches and is also starting a family and he said to me i remember you saying this in church government last semester but he said now for the first time i really understand it because i am now finding myself every day in a situation where i simply can't handle what is in front of me and for the first time i'm really learning something about living by the grace and power of god living by faith moment by moment rather than living the cut with it on the basis of my abilities academically with regard to work as a husband as a father i'm simply inadequate again this was such a a fundamental emphasis for the shapers unless a grain of wheat is prepared to die and fall into the ground it won't bear fruit that's and they would use that over and over again as an image of the Christian life until you get the point of saying i can't do it we don't begin to understand anything about what god is able to accomplish in and through us that brings me to a fifth point is that right sixth fifth okay a fifth point is his emphasis on the present relationship we have with all three members of the Trinity i think when i heard him preach on this this is the first time i'd ever heard a Christian speaking about that and i can't ever recall hearing a sermon since i heard him speak about it on that subject i think it's something that would be affirmed in every theology book which we would all say yes to but this was a central part of his understanding of the Christian life that as believers we now have a relationship with all three members of the Trinity let me just read three little passages where he draws attention to it so this one is in the very first study study number one page 14 commenting on two quintines 13 14 which of course is the benediction the most common benediction says the work of each of the three persons is important to us Jesus died to save us the father draws us to himself and loves us and the Holy Spirit deals with us and then later on he says this this is on page 61 it lessons 16 on the new relationship with god says this new relationship with the triune god is then the second of the blessings of salvation justification being the first this new relationship we have with god is threefold god the father is the christian's father the only begotten son of god is our saviour and lord our profit priest and king we are identified and united with him the Holy Spirit lives in us and deals with us he communicates to us the manifold benefits of redemption and he is constantly emphasizing this point on the threefold relationship we have with the members of the Trinity every day of our lives he says this threefold relationship is a present fact he must refer to it more than a dozen times in these studies I have a present vital relationship with each of the three persons of the Trinity every moment of my life and that is what I rest upon as I grow as a believer this present vital relationship with my father with my redeemer and with the spirit who dwells within me okay any questions there Larry you mean does he draw a connection between them now the question is does shaffer in the great evangelical disaster has a section on the importance of the act of obedience of christ is there any connection between that and what I've been emphasizing here about active passivity exactly that your question when he emphasizes the act of obedience of christ he kept on drawing attention to that and if you listen to those sermons on from true spirituality or read the book you'll see that how important this came to him he felt that while this is acknowledged in our theology the christ lived a perfect life he was actively obedient to the father that the importance of this is is very frequently neglected in our teaching in the churches because all our emphasis is placed on the death of christ very often and that is why the what most Christians think they say how did God save me he saved me because his son bore his judgment and of course that's true but the point shape is making there where he talks about active obedience is that we are equally saved by the perfection of christ's life by his act of obedience as the son now there is a connection between this and what he calls active passivity because the fundamental part of the son's work was willingly offering himself to the father but by active obedience his primary his his references to both that element of of the son saying I delight to do your will not my will but yours be done that was offering himself up to the father for the father to do his work as he died on the cross and he did draw a parallel between that and the Christians what he called active passivity giving ourselves up to up to God for his will to be done but he's primarily emphasizing there the perfection of christ's life and that his death can't be understood without that because christ not only dies for us he's able to die for us because he is perfect and because everywhere where we have been disobedient he lived a perfect life in our place too so that his life is equally a substitution for hours not only his death that that's why he is emphasizing that so strongly and he then wanted to draw the and draw out of that the importance of that for our lives in the present but just as christ has once lived a perfect life in my place as I abide in him he's able to continue to do to do that in me now he lived for that once as my substitute was obedient every point where I'm disobedient resisted temptation at every point where I've given in was perfect in word in heart and thought and and indeed where I haven't been but now as I put my faith in him that obedience which he expressed so perfect in his life by his power by his spirit's power he will express in my life in my life now so he would have related the two yes and he did relate the two that's a good question we must stop as Brian is going to be coming in