Vince Deagler

hi out there.  we made a short video to explain last weeks boating accident leading to broken ribs.  granted, it’s a little over the top…but i think very funny.

anyway, on to more serious stuff.  do you ever have doubts about christianity?  do you find it confusing at times?  do you ever wonder if we really have the truth…as in the bible…and can it be relied on?  if we are honest, i think most, if not all of us have had those kind of thoughts at different times in our spiritual journey.  is that ok?  is that compatible with faith?  should the guilty parties be thrown out of the church?  i don’t think so, and i sure hope not.  i think those kind of thoughts, doubts, confusion are a part of the journey.  do you remember john the baptist asking jesus whether he was the “one” or should he be looking for someone else?  apparently even john had some uncertainty.  i call that normal.  and it is not something new to christianity.  it was a problem in the ancient church too.

we have started a study of I john.  this letter was written because a splinter group with distorted doctrinal beliefs had broken from the church and caused quite a bit of controversy in the region.  most see this group as the earliest roots of gnosticism, an ancient error that shows up in the 2nd and 3rd century.  gnostics had a distorted view of salvation.  salvation was not by grace through faith in christ, it was connected to a special enlightenment or insight that only a special group of people were worthy to receive(the gnostics themselves), everyone else was on the outside looking in.  they had a weird view of relating to the material world.  they tended toward 2 extremes.  because they felt the material universe was evil, some tended toward asceticism.  extreme self denial, self discipline, total separation from the material world.  others, because they felt it didn’t matter since only the spirit is able to relate to god, tended toward antinomianism.  live any old way you please, indulge yourself, the flesh, our physical being and it’s activity has no connection to our relating to god.  and as most cults do (if not all), they had a confused view of jesus.  he was not the eternal creator god come in human form to be our savior.  no he just appeared to be.  the spirit of christ came on jesus at his baptism and left during the crucifiction, so jesus was not god just a man.

this splinter group was causing all kinds of problems for the church.  the doubts, the confusion, the what if’s were all in play.  so you come to john’s letter, and wow, all the confusion is clarified.  the message comes through loud and clear.  john doesn’t condemn these believers for their doubts and fears, he boldly presents the truth…because as he said in his gospel (john 8:32) the truth sets us free.  he presents jesus as the eternal creator god that he had heard, seen, touched.  he presents him as life and the giver of life.  he presents jesus so that they could share in the life of god with him and all other believers.  the result would be complete joy…similar to life to its full (john 10:10).  he then launches into a discussion of what god is like (light) and what it means to share in the life he offers (walking in the light).  to deny the existence of a sinful nature, or a lifestyle of sin is to reject the truth of god, and exist in a self deluded state, totally detached from reality.  but to acknowledge our sin by agreeing with god about it results in a continuing forgiveness/cleansing where we are everyday made to be a bit more like jesus. 

with that first chapter john completely undercuts gnostic belief.  and it was that distorted belief system that was causing all the trouble in these churches.  what i see in that is a great example of how we are to address our doubts, fears, uncertainties.  we are not to deny they exist, we are not to explain them away.  we are to look to the truth.  it is the truth that will clear up the confusion and stabilize our doubt.  to me that is what faith is all about.  it is not a blind leap detached from any basis.  no it is firmly planted in god’s truth in such a way that the truth answers my doubts and fears.

so question, doubt, conjecture.  but take all of that to the scripture.  after all our faith grows by hearing…hearing the word of god.  if you give god a chance to convince you of his truth…he will.  thanks for reading.  drop me a line if you have any questions.  until next time…be blessed.  peace.  vince