The Surprising God

This post was contributed by worship leader Mike Hale. Preaching to inmates in a prison chapel service, the elderly guest preacher began with what may seem a puzzling verse from the Bible. “God has made all men prisoners of disobedience, so that he may have mercy on all.” It was fifty-five years ago this month (September,1957), and the guest speaker who based his sermon on Romans 11:32 that day was the great Swiss theologian Karl Barth, arguably one of the most important voices in theology since the Protestant Reformation. Barth was invited to speak at the prison in Basil, Switzerland from time to time, and 18 of his sermons were published in Deliverance to the Captives (1961, Harper & Brothers). Admitting the verse is not easy to understand, Barth began by saying it is best understood when starting from the second phrase—with the affirmation ‘that he may have mercy upon all’ .  Barth said that those who know Jesus  “...know it is imperative to begin at all times in our t...

Rather than taking a "shoot from the hip," sloganeering approach toward Christian ethics, we need a biblically-faithful approach that carefully considers which of the Bible's commands (ethical imperatives) are culturally limited (applicable only within certain cultural contexts) and which are trans-cultural (applicable universally). At times, such considerations are not difficult. For example, it is fairly obvious that some of the Old Testament's purity laws are applicable only within the context of Israel's Temple worship system. However, there are instances when such considerations are not so obvious. Divorce Consider the issue of divorce. When asked about it, Jesus noted that the Law of Moses permitted divorce, but only as a concession to human weakness ( Mat 19:1-9 ). God's ultimate will for marriage is that it be permanent "one flesh" union broken only by death. That being so, we are left asking, should remarriage following divorce be all...

[Updated 5/10/19] This is part 3 of a 3-part series reviewing Karl Barth's 1929 lecture reproduced in the book  The Holy Spirit and the Christian Life, the Theological Basis of Ethics .  For part 1, click here . For part 2,  click here . We looked last time at the Spirit as Reconciler. Now we'll look at the Spirit as Redeemer . Descent of the Holy Spirit (public domain via Wikimedia Commons) As Redeemer, the Holy Spirit helps us to experience now our redemption in Christ, though its fullness will not be ours until our resurrection in glory. Thus the Holy Spirit's work as Redeemer is as  the Spirit of the Promise. And so we come to the subject of eschatology (last things). Barth comments on the Spirit's role in revealing to us the future fullness of the redemption that is ours in Christ: In his revelation [of our redemption] he promises ...a future that is a starting point... Characteristic of this promise is its reference to the reality of dea...

[Updated 5/10/19] This is part 2 of a 3-part series reviewing Karl Barth's 1929 lecture reproduced in the book  The Holy Spirit and the Christian Life, the Theological Basis of Ethics . For part 1,  click here . For part 3,  click here . We looked  last time  at what Barth says about the Spirit as Creator. Now we'll see what he says about the Holy Spirit as Reconciler, working to make us "fit for God" (p. 20). Descent of the Holy Spirit (public domain via Wikimedia Commons) The Holy Spirit does this work by coming against the evil that keeps humanity from being open to God. In particular he comes against our greatest sin, which is unbelief. According to Barth, our unbelief flows from an innate "hostility toward grace" (p20)--a sinful disposition toward God himself, which the Apostle John refers to as "lawlessness" ( 1 John 3:4 ). Barth comments: We must understand the Holy Spirit...as not simply some sort of spirit like the ...

[Updated 5/10/19] This is part 1 in a 3-part review of Karl Barth's 1929 lecture reproduced in the book  The Holy Spirit and the Christian Life, The Theological Basis of Ethics . For part 2, click here . For part 3, click here . Descent of the Holy Spirit (public domain via Wikimedia Commons) In the lecture, Barth grounded Christian ethics (the Christian life) not in human reasoning concerning what is right or wrong (even when that reasoning references Scripture), but in the life and love of the tri-personal God, and specifically in what the Holy Spirit is doing to unite us to the life of the incarnate Son of God, Jesus Christ. Thus, for Barth, ethics is first and foremost about who God is and what he is doing. Then, and only then, is it about our understanding of the human situation. Barth divided his lecture into three parts coinciding with the Holy Spirit's three ministry emphases: as  Creator , as  Reconciler and as  Redeemer . Concerning th...