Beyond Civilization

Introduction:  Do you often have religious feelings? Do you consider yourself religious?  If someone asked you what your religion was, would you answer Christianity?  Years ago I collected survey cards for the Chaplain, when I was in the Army.  It was sometimes amusing to see how people identified their religion.  On one card, a young recruit had written the word “Perspiration” in answer to the question about his religion.  When I showed my Southern Baptist Chaplain, he observed that it was obviously one of my people no doubt worried about the fires of hell!  I countered, that he must be some type of Baptist, because Presbyterians could spell better than that, (pulling out my dog tags to prove the point where “Presbyterian” was properly engraved).  There began a couple weeks of friendly office argument!  Our beloved Catholic Chaplain even got into the discussion to suggest that a period of time in Purgatory for non-spellers would be much in order.  Humorous religious banter to say the least, a banter that papered over more serious cultural and theological issues of course.

Back to my original question – how would you answer a question regarding your own religion?  Reformed, Presbyterian, Orthodox or even Evangelical – they are all religious terms and if you answered in any form of those cultural definitions – you are wrong because you have fallen into a common cultural trap.  By that I mean – in agreeing that Christianity is only just another religion – you have accidentally demeaned “the way, the truth and the life” defined by Jesus in the awesome fourteenth chapter of the Gospel of John.  Those words by Jesus are in response to a question by the Disciple Thomas:  “Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?”

You see Christianity is not just another cultural religious phenomenon.  The way through Christ is absolute in its technical theological austerity:  “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”  As Reformed Christians, we are religious only in the confessional stance of our Westminster Confession in the eyes of the worldly.  Christianity in and of itself is not a religion, as the worldly would define one:  “a particular system of faith and worship”, as the Oxford American Dictionary has it.  The Christian religion specifically is not a system – but a person.  The Triune God of heaven and earth who has made Himself known to His chosen people since the dawn of time.  Worldly religions are primarily concerned with manipulating any possible deities to gain benefits, rewards and encouragement in this life and in the next!

By comparison, the awesome, absolute Divine Being who has revealed Himself through Scripture, Son and Spirit is beyond any petty religious manipulation on the part of fallen humanity!  Mortimer Adler, who just went to his reward this last week, came to faith later in life because in studying the Great Books of Western Civilization, he became convinced that the Creator God was above and beyond and human religious understanding.  In Him, Mortimer found a God who was not only above but also beyond Creation – a Being total in and of Himself.  Here was a God above all the religious figures known to History; here he once said was a Being worthy of worship.  Mortimer Adler spent his life studying culture and civilization, and in gathering written samples of authors who rose above the common superstitions of worldly cultures to contribute to the civilization of mankind. 

Let you give you my short definition of the difference of culture and civilization.  Culture is those aspects of our daily life that we choose because they are comfortable, enjoyable and traditional.  Civilization by contrast brings out our better selves, whereby we leave behind the merely comfortable, enjoyable and traditional to say and do what we know we ought to do to prove that we know right from wrong and that we measure the world and all its charms by a higher revealed standard for behavior.   For the Greek and Roman civilizations, cultural superstitions fell into disuse as their study of the humanities lead them onwards and upwards.  When the divine revelations to the Hebrew people became more commonly available – the institutions of the Greeks and Romans were thereby improved as the civilizing statutes, regulations and laws of our own God and King, affected their developing cultures.

Development:  The whole point of my discourse thus far, is to set you looking beyond the mere cultural definitions of civilized religiosity and to set your minds on the person of Christ alone.  In today’s increasing paganism, we do not speak any more of the way, the truth and the life because they are biblical phrases.  And the biblical phrases and concepts are neither known nor loved in our time and place.  Yes, by God’s eternal providence we have known them, but mere civilized academic knowledge is not enough.

God's word must be near and dear to us.  In some cultures the spoken word is primary, in others the written.  Missionaries in foreign fields must quickly discern the cultural pattern so as not to loose the gospel in the habits and details of life.  Personally, I am conditioned more by the written word and am always quick to tell Sherry to write something down if she wants it done.  Now, if I hardly try at all, I can still forget written instructions, but verbal instructions are rarely remembered.  That is why I often tell you to email me something if you really want it done!  However, I believe that my focus on the written word is becoming quite rare.  Is that why tapes, radio and telephone are so popular in our day and time?  Well does our psalmist observe in verse thirteen the essential methodology of passing along knowledge of the Holy One of Israel.

With my lips I recount

      all the ordinances that come from Your mouth.

We should note that this verse comes after the admonition to study and hide God’s Word in our hearts of verse eleven.  This is so we can see that not only are we to treasure God's word in our hearts, but we are to speak His word so that others may hear as well!  Yes, that means we are to witness with the abilities and gifts that have been given to you.  Now, what are we to say?  Psalm 37: 30 tells us: “The mouth of the righteous speaks wisdom, and his tongue talks of justice.”  Last Lord’s Day, Pastor Vanden Heuvel reminded me of a story about Francis Schaeffer.  On one occasion Pastor Schaeffer observed that if he only had an hour to share the gospel of Christ, he would spend the first three-quarters of an hour telling the person why they needed the Gospel.  Isn’t that necessary prelude to the Good News demonstrated in our thirteen verse here?  What should we tell people?  The Psalmist tells us to share “all the ordinances that come” from the very mouth of God!  And why is that?  Because in the ordinances, testimonies, precepts and statutes of God we may discover the precious need for the Grace so freely offered in Jesus Christ!  This necessity makes the joy found in the fourteenth verse possible.

I rejoice in following Your testimonies

      as one rejoices in great riches.

What would happen if by chance you had purchased a winning lottery ticket?  (Noting of course that this is not the way God would have you earn your living!)  But, what if you suddenly had a million dollars?  Wouldn't you call your friends and loved ones joyfully and exubertly?  This is what is catching from one person to another.  Salvation, your salvation should be just such a source of joy and comfort to you!  Do you rejoice in following God's statures in such a manner?  Jesus further clarifies this joy in two parables from the thirteenth chapter of Matthew, verse forty-four and forty-five:

“Again the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.”

“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it.”

This is the great joy celebrated in a popular Reformed book Putting Amazing Back into Grace.  Whenever you thumb through the hymnal and gaze over the precious verses of the hymns of your life, what phrases catch your attention – what words are most fond – what memories are conjured up in the context of tunes and titles.  If you are like me, there are tunes that bring back memories of special people who in loving the concepts between the lines showed their higher devotion and love for the Lord Himself.

And just as the pearl of great price and the hidden treasure may be gained and even exchanged for something better – so is the object of those treasures, hymns and testimony.  You see, all of scripture, all of our confession and every spiritual song, psalm and hymn has its focus.  And that focus is on Christ Jesus and Him crucified for you and for me.  There is no part of the Old and New Covenant Cannon that does not in some way center upon the very Son of God and His purpose in coming to earth to save us from our sins!  This is the joy of the scriptures, confessions, traditions and hymnology of the Church for the last two thousand years – knowing Him – Christ as Lord and King.  I know I have used this example more than once, but bear with me.  One reason that the story of Camelot is told over and over again is so that we learn unlike Queen Gwenivere that love must have a proper focus.  Certainly the queen loved the court, the knights, Lancelot and even Arthur after a fashion.  But unfortunately she was more in love with love and like a butterfly flitted from person to person without ever making a commitment.  “I love Thy Kingdom Lord”, runs an old hymn tune.  Yes, we do, and the law and the gospel and the confessions, but most of all we love the Lord of life for Himself.

If you have not found this joy yet, move on to the next two verses for the proper methodology for realizing what the Psalmist envisioned.

I meditate on Your precepts

      and consider Your ways.

I shall delight in Your statutes

     I will not neglect Your word. 

Now many people find Bible study and devotions to be a chore like digging a ditch or a well.  “A story was told of a Scotsman who wanted to dig up his yard and start over with a new planting of grass.  Not wanting to spend a fortune by hiring help, he allowed a rumor to be started while he was known to be out of town.  The rumor had something to do with a lost treasure bag of gold coins twenty years before.  When he came home he delightfully discovered that nary a weed was left unturned by shovel or pick.  All he had to do was level the ground and plant his seed.  His only point of irritation was the fact that someone had actually found a gold coin, which he thought, should have been returned to himself!” 

Little did he realize that labor often has its own reward.  And so he missed the buried treasure right under his very own nose!  I once fell head first off the back porch of the manse where we lived.  And as I focused my eyes and gathered my wits I saw in the gravel where my nose had hit – a silver 1914 Deutsch Mark.  Someone had turned it into a necklace charm, but the clasp had broken and the coin had waited many years for my untimely discovery.

Conclusion:  My two stores only illustrate that our methodology may vary.  Some accidentally discover a buried treasure, and others are too lazy to even look for it.  Let me assure you that if you dig in the Scriptures with no expectation of finding treasure you will most likely not find it!  There are far too many liberal scholars teaching religion in this country who are absolutely clueless of the contents of the material they study and ponder.

What should you do?  You will need to work and meditate, you will need to consider your ways and compare them to His precepts.  If you do this regularly in the right spirit, then in time you will find this delight in the law of God that allowed David the King to compose this spiritual treasure over the course of a lifetime in service to his greater Son, God and King: Jesus Christ.  In these written words you may hear the still small voice of the Spirit speak to your heart of hearts – whether read or heard!  But to go beyond the mere civility of living as if the Lord was physically present, you must make the calling of our last verse your daily habit.  “I will not neglect your word.”   May this be your calling and our reward to one another in Christ's own Church!  Amen.