Tim Costello defined sin as anything that cripples the ‘image of God’. This includes not only personal transgressions, but structural and institutional oppression, injustice, violence, manipulation and coercion. On the other hand ‘Salvation’ is anything that restores the image (character) of God.
As humans we inherit a certain history. We inherit sin caused by decisions made in previous years. We inherit a sort of sin ‘frozen’ into the institutions and society and culture within which they were birthed.

Duane Clinker noted John Wesley’s awareness of the centrality of dealing with fallen society and its institutions when applying the Gospel. He claimed that ‘the Gospel of Christ knows of no religion but a faith expressed in a social context; no holiness but social holiness (being different than the fallen world i.e. set apart). He responded to claims that slavery was an economic necessity by saying ‘Better is honest poverty than all the riches brought though tears, sweat and blood of our fellow creatures.’ He went on to point out that our guilt lies in the complicit actions that support the sin of such structures and organisations that enable us to enjoy benefits at the serious price of others’ suffering.

Today, we often find Holiness has shrunk to being a matter of personal rule keeping or piety. David L Watin & Doug Marks point out the lack of insight of this view. “Only a fraction of our sin is personal. By far the greater part are sins of neglect, of default, our social sin, our systemic sin, our economic sin. As long as evangelism focuses on the need for personal salvation (and basically leaves it at that), individuals will acquire a faith that focuses on maximum benefits with minimal obligations – making Christ’s sacrifice a pragmatic transaction of salvific contract. The sanctifying grace of God in Jesus is meant not just for the sinner but also for a society beset by structural sin.” As members of God’s Kingdom, his call on us is to dispense His grace and to participate in His will and work for the redemption of his good creation, structures and all.

Jacques Ellul pointed out that ‘A major fact of our present civilisation is that more and more sin becomes collective and individuals are forced to participate in collective sin. Individualistic theology has not trained the spiritual intelligence of Christian men and women to recognise and observe spiritual entities beyond the individual.’ If they do, then it is apportioned to some atmospheric, personalised ‘evil spirit’ that is somewhat mysterious and scary.

Walter Rauschenbusch stated that ‘We have in many ways responded to the big global crises of our day with an incredible shrinking gospel. Apathy will enable ‘collective sin’ to visit vast destruction on us all.’ Some have decided that this is all God’s will and there is nothing they can do except pull anyone who wants ‘salvation’ into their ‘life boat’ before it is too late and ignore the fallen world which God has charged us to redeem (Rom 8:18-25 & Col:19-20).

However, as Edmund Burke observed, ‘All that is necessary for our contemporary global crisis to destroy us because we have allowed social/systemic sin to flourish, is for ‘good’ people to do nothing.’

Matthew Maury declared that a true Christian perspective must acknowledge that, ‘Every decision we make, everything we do imparts transformation toward a more just or unjust world, whether it is in what we buy, eat, who we vote for, how we invest, how we travel, what institutions we access etc. Our transformed lives are what set Christians apart. Keep in mind that if a Christian is neutral in any situation of injustice, then they have by default chosen the side of the oppressor. Where the kingdom values are contravened then injustice is seeded. Justice is what Love looks like in public (Cornet West).

Written by Sweis Meijers

Jesus came to inaugurate God’s Kingdom here on earth. Until this happened, the ‘present age’ of sin and death reigned under the control of the Ruler of the World, the Prince of Lies, Satan the accuser. With Jesus’ death and resurrection, sin and death were defeated. Jesus had disarmed the powers and authorities (fallen systems of the then dominant powers) making a public spectacle of them, revealing clearly what they truly were; evil. (Col 2:15). Now, Satan could not accuse his followers and had absolutely nothing to say. Sin had been dealt with and death could not be imposed.

There was now a choice: the Kingdom of Light or the Kingdom of Darkness. You had to die to one to be born again into the other. You had to choose, for you could only serve one master.

In Matthew 935 Jesus observed the consequences of these powers and authorities on the powerless and called us to work amongst the system’s victims and demonstrate in loving actions what Heaven’s Kingdom looked like on earth.

Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness.36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. 38 Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”

Why were these people harassed and helpless? Where and who were their shepherds? They felt powerless and lost. They had been marginalised and oppressed by the dominant culture who regarded themselves as the righteous authorities. The authorities had become numb to the humanity of people who didn’t fit their mould or observe their rules and had abandoned them to be outsiders and judged them to be sinners. Jesus, through his teaching and life of loving acceptance had restored their humanity. His compassion for them shone as a light of hope with His promise that they would be accepted into an alternative loving community, which he called the Kingdom of Heaven. This was indeed good news to the poor.
Jesus described these people as God’s harvest field and directed his disciples to follow him there to work (Matt 25:31-46). Earlier, in Matthew 9, he had been condemned for his behaviour with these people. Jesus pointed out that he had come to those who recognised their ‘sickness’ and wanted to be healed. Those that didn’t recognise their own ‘illness’ (the hard -hearted and numb), wouldn’t recognise what he was doing. He said that the antidote to this numbness was to learn to be merciful and in so doing, recognise their own need for mercy and healing and give up their personal efforts to heal themselves through rule keeping and ritual. His disciples would be marked by their merciful compassion and those that responded to the ‘harvesters’ were the ones who recognised their own shortcomings and failings and sought healing through salvation.

Therefore, compassion which involves solidarity with the marginalised will constitute a radical criticism of the dominant culture that caused their rejection. Hurt and suffering is not to be ignored, accepted as normal and unavoidable, or a consequence of the sufferer’s own actions, but as abnormal and an unacceptable condition for true humanness. It certainly was not to be found in His Kingdom.
As disciples, we should recognise that often the norms (the values and thus social control) of the dominant culture are not primarily for the benefit of the people, but to accommodate and reinforce the norms of the dominant culture which is fallen and is controlled by the Prince of Lies, Satan. Otherwise these false norms would collapse and with it the power arrangement of the dominant culture.

Therefore compassion is not just an emotional response, but a public criticism that calls into question the assumptions and the numbness that the dominant culture promotes. Examples of these assumptions include the assertion that there must be winners and losers, insiders and outsiders, legal and illegal asylum seekers, the rich deserve their wealth but the poor bring it on themselves. Compassion makes visible the inequality and oppression of dominant culture’s ‘business as usual’ mode. For example, many of the huge corporations of today expect and promote numbness to the injustice they create that enables them to maximise their profits and power, but in so doing generate insecurity, unsafe conditions, exploitation, unfair pay, manipulation and lies, resulting in poverty, sickness, broken communities, environmental degradation, inequality, alienation and even wars.

Compassion is not just ‘good will’ but when acted upon challenges the systems, forces and ideologies that have produced division and suffering. This sort of compassionate action can provoke a violent reaction. Jesus embodied the suffering of the marginalised (the poor in spirit) by taking it onto his own person. In so doing, it was declared outside of the realm of ‘normal and acceptable’ and he was killed for it. (John 11:45-53).

The two most well know parables focus on the central role of compassion and acceptance in discipleship. The Good Samaritan and the Prodigal Son both reject the dominant culture’s rules as to who should be ‘in’ or ‘out’. Both show the compassionate and the gracious heart of the rescuer.

Jesus told his disciples to love one another like he had loved them in John 13:34. He said if we loved him, then we would obey what he taught; when we do, then God will demonstrate His love for us by dwelling in us and He and Jesus would make their home in us (John 14:23). Living compassionately is the expression of God’s command to love our neighbour as ourselves; love is a verb. If we are to truly reflect God’s love, it can only be by living by the values Jesus taught us. (Matt 5-7). So if we claim that Jesus lives in us then we must walk in the way Jesus did; 1 John 1:6. This means to live justly and do what is right, love mercy and compassion and walk humbly and faithfully with God; Micah 6:8 & Matt 23:23. Living this way is a social and thus political act that will challenge those systems that fail to reflect God’s values and character.

In living as Jesus did, we will always be aware of the needs of others, avoid the numbness to the needs of others this fallen world promotes and humbly serve them and in so doing demonstrate our love for our father. (Matt 7:12; Hos 6:6; Isa 1:15-17 & all of Isa 58; & Matt 25:31-46).

Written by Sweis Meijers

Over the last few months I’ve had this realisation: I don’t like reality. Now when I say that, what I’m really saying is my body doesn’t seem to like it. In theory, who wouldn’t want to live in the moment every day, relishing every experience and squeezing every bit out that life has to offer?

The truth of it is, not me. This is what I’ve noticed about myself.

Look, I’ve always been a fairly optimistic person in life. I have been blessed enough to have a minimally traumatic run. Obviously, I’ve had my share of rubbish and issues, but don’t we all? Most of the time, I get quite excited over life. It wasn’t until about a year ago that I began to notice a change.

Do you remember getting all excited over Santa delivering presents at Christmas, until that year you realise it’s just your mum and dad? The magic of butterflies in your tummy with your first kiss and ten years later, you’re still kissing, but there’s no butterflies. The excitement of driving your car by yourself the very first time you get your licence, then getting into the seat of the car for the fifth time that day years later to run your kids somewhere. The moments seem the same but the emotion that goes with them creates memories that last a lifetime. Good or bad.

It’s like the older you get, the more it takes to evoke an emotion to link to moments you’d like to have, or even the moments you couldn’t care less about, like some advertisement on TV that made you cry because something sad happened (I know the girls will understand).

I’ve realised I’ve ended up on this road of life, feeling like my heart’s going down a different road. My experience and my reality are not the same.

I’m just hoping I can make the two meet up again down the track and not check out of the reality of my life.

It’s like Peter Pan, the boy who never wanted to grow up. Part of me can identify with this. Who wouldn’t want to live having all the fun and no responsibility? Part of my ability to cope with life is to try to relax and separate myself from the reality of the situation that needs my attention, as much as I can. I’m sure I’m not alone in this.

I believe there is a God and I try to do the best I can to know Him. I do spend time praying and reading my bible, so why can’t I deal with this obvious problem, emotional disconnect from reality? Maybe because when it comes down to it, I don’t really want to deal with heart stuff. I don’t want to really hear what God has to say about it. What if it is painful to hear? What if I have to get a bit of discipline and responsibility in my life?

Living in reality means wounds and wounds hurt. I can even name a few and am aware that I need to deal with them, but somehow by naming them I’ve used that as an excuse, for actually going deeper and dealing with it.

It’s like saying “wow, my leg’s broken,” and then not doing anything about it. To fix it, you decide you can just sit down and not walk on it. This may seem an answer to the issue in the moment, and truthfully, in the long term it will most likely heal. Just not how it should. You won’t feel the immediate pain anymore, but when you walk, you walk with a limo.

The passage that comes to mind is Proverbs 4: 20-27.
My child, pay attention to what I say.
Listen carefully to my words.
Don’t lose sight of them.
Let them penetrate deep into your heart,
for they bring life to those who find them,
and healing to their whole body.
Guard your heart above all else,
for it determines the course of your life.
Avoid all perverse talk;
stay away from corrupt speech.
Look straight ahead,
and fix your eyes on what lies before you.
Mark out a straight path for your feet;
stay on the safe path.
Don’t get sidetracked;
keep your feet from following evil.

It’s all about paying attention to God and His word and keeping it in your Heart. I note that the most important message of wisdom was to “Above all else Guard your heart, for everything flows from it.”
Right – everything flows from it. So I needed some serious change of heart.

I’ve always looked at that verse and assumed that it was about protecting it from others, bad situations or issues that happen. However, on reflection, I think guarding your heart has more to do with how you think, feel or respond to situations. You’re the keeper of your heart and you, and only you, can allow what stays in there to colour it. You absolutely cannot stop what life throws at you, but you absolutely can decide how you’re going to process and move through it, allowing what will go, and what will stay to shape your life. So annoying, honestly, right there, is a reality of life I don’t feel like doing. Even as I write this it seems hard.

But in all my dislike, I am grown up enough to know that in the long term this would do me well. Like eating healthy. Doing exercise… All sounds okay, until you have to do it and you don’t feel like it!

I have had this light bulb moment of realisation: if you don’t deal with your “heart stuff,” you won’t have the emotional energy or right frame of mind going on to appreciate the moment in the moment, which is reality, for what it is.

Frankly I’m tired of this mismatch. I think it time to take a look, and be willing to not feel so good, while I sort out my heart.

I turned on the radio this morning and there was an old Proclaimers song playing. The words “but I’d walk five hundred miles and Id walk five hundred more, just to to be the man that walked a thousand miles to be the man to fall at your door,” followed by that chorus that we all know so well. I remember walking from West Hobart to my girlfriend’s place in the cold dead of night to knock on her bedroom window because I hadn’t said goodnight. The memory is still deep within me and when I hear that song, I am taken back to that night. It wasn’t five hundred miles, but I was on top of the world. People walk great distances for a cause. Some people even walk continents.
I wonder how far we would walk in faith for something. Would it be five hundred miles?
In John’s gospel the evangelist records Jesus’ second miraculous sign in Galilee. It is the story of a government official who had heard that Jesus was in Cana. His son was sick and he begged Jesus to come to Capernaum to heal him. Today it is a 36 kilometre walk, a walk of about eight hours. Cana is in the mountains and Capernaum by the side of the lake. He probably walked round the lake and then up a step ridge behind Tiberias and then across the ridges to Cana, where Jesus had performed his first miraculous sign: turning water into wine.
His walk was a walk of faith. Faith starts with believing. He believed before he started out that Jesus might be able to help his son. He had no guarantees that Jesus would intervene, but he went to find Jesus. He left his family and headed in that direction. When we go, we are not always certain of the final destination, but we set out in that direction.
For Chuza it was a new direction. He was part of Herod’s household. This Herod was the son of Herod the Great, the Herod who had tried to kill Jesus by slaughtering the children under the age of two in Bethlehem. Seeking this Jesus for healing for his son was a decision towards change, stemming from his belief that Jesus was able to heal. That is a substantial change in direction, a complete one eighty from a household who had wanted to get rid of Jesus. What we believe sets our direction in life. What we believe about Jesus sets our approach to Him.
What do you believe about Jesus? How have you got him pegged? Who do you say Jesus is?
I’m sure that this man was not certain he would have had Jesus’s exact location. He had heard that Jesus was back in Galilee and so that was where he headed off for. So often in our lives, we are not certain of the final destination, but we know the general direction. We set our sights on a trip to Chicago or Bali. What we believe about that place and what we will do there gives us a perspective. In the same way what do you believe about Jesus? Is He able to heal? Is He able assist you? Is that something that you make your own?
He might have heard that Jesus had healed others. He took what he heard Jesus had done for others and made it his own. This man was willing to act on his belief. He appropriated what he heard about Jesus for himself and his situation. His faith was personal. It is easy to hear things about Jesus, but it is an entirely different thing to believe that Jesus will act on our behalf. I often find that hard; I can believe for others, but it is much harder when it is personal, when what I believe will affect others in my family. Unless we make our belief our own, they are just words in the air or words on a page.
Not only did he believe that Jesus could heal his son and not only did he make it personal, but he started to act on his belief. He gathered what he would need for the journey and set off. He didn’t set out on this journey lightly. A couple of days journey into the mountains was a serious undertaking. He would need appropriate clothing, footwear, food, money, a donkey or horse to carry things on and perhaps organise somewhere to stay. These are not the actions of someone who just believes with his mind. His belief becomes action. A challenge I constantly face is are my actions in line with what I believe and say I believe? I can say I love my partner and cherish our home, but if I don’t actually show it in a tangible way, then my words are empty. Faith is the same. What I believe must make me act. Are you putting into practice what you believe? Are there things you need to do rather than just ascribe to? If you believe you can make a difference in someone’s life, are you actually doing anything about it? Are you living proof of what you believe?
Another thing about this man was that he would have had to seek out Jesus on his journey. He went in the general direction of Cana and sought out the Master Healer. I’m sure he would have had to ask for assistance of others as he went on his journey. “Is he here? IS the Master here?” he would have asked on his way. In the same way I have people around me who help me find the master for myself. I have friends who can point me on the way. It is better to have others around us supporting us on our journey of faith. It may mean joining a life group and sharing your deepest needs with others. There are those around us all who will assist us in our journey of faith.
As he came before Jesus, he laid out his deepest desire: that his son would be healed. He had believed that Jesus could heal, he set a direction and came before the Master and said, “Lord, please come now, before my son dies.” He believed that Jesus would act immediately in response to his request. I sometimes find it hard to believe that God will act now. His immediate action, I often don’t ask for. This man believed that Jesus would act now, not later. I struggle with that at times. I believe in a God who will intervene, but am I bold enough to ask for him to act now?
The other thing I can learn from this man is that he rested in what Jesus said. He was told “go back home, your son will live.” Jesus said it, so he believed. We are told that he believed and started home. He had no evidence that his son was healed, but he believed.
So many things of faith are a certainty of things to come. So often I hear whispers: “God cannot forgive that”, or ”You are not good enough for God to act for you.” When I have doubts or fears, I need to rest in what Jesus has said about it. I have to look at what Jesus says and believe and act on it. This man’s actions showed what he believed. It doesn’t record any doubts from him. The human side of me thinks he may have had doubts on the way, but he stayed the course. He held onto what Jesus said. In the same way I need to hold on to what Jesus says about me. My beliefs must affect the way I live and what I do.
I’m sure he sang another proclaimers song on his way back.
I’m on my way from misery to happiness today
I’m on my way from misery to happiness today
I’m on my way to what I want from this world

Written by Pete Swift

My husband and I are wrestling with a very big decision at the moment and I have been really struggling to find a peace one way or another. Tonight, as I went to the Word, I discovered that lately, my spirituality hasn’t been all that spiritual; no wonder I can’t make my mind up. Essentially, when Paul wrote to Timothy, the first chapter of his letter addressed those members of the Ephesian Church who had gotten themselves caught up in false spirituality. Distinguishing between true and false spirituality really hasn’t been my strong point lately. Although I have spent a lot of time talking ABOUT God and church, ministry and ‘doing’ for God have absolutely dominated my schedule, I have found my spirit to be feeling tired and broken. I have neglected my true spirituality: time spent in the presence of my father. True and false spirituality can, I believe, be distinguished by whether one feels added unto, or detracted from, as a result.

Paul regards Timothy’s role to be to remain exactly where he is, through consistency and example, gently correct those who have been waylaid by false spirituality. Above all, Paul encourages his disciple to continue to demonstrate love and being real with people. The leaders in the Ephesian church have become obsessed with discovering what they regarded to be secret codes and patterns in the Old Testament, rather than sharing the Gospel. This reminds me of some of the long and complex debates around creation and evolution that some believers are prone to getting sucked into. These conversations may be very intriguing, but it is unlikely that you will ever argue someone to salvation without offering the Gospel (IMHO).

Paul is understanding of those who have become confused in their spiritual focus, probably because of his background. Before his dramatic conversion, Paul was an especially zealous Jew and great persecutor of Christians, whom he regarded to be deserters of the Jewish faith. So Paul understood what it meant to become obsessed with the teachings of the Law of the Old Testament and he knew that this obsession could blind one to the truth and urgency of the Gospel, much the same as I’ve been finding my busyness with the things of God to be crowding out time actually spent with God. Thankfully, even more so than Paul and Timothy, God is patient and graceful; always wanting the best for us and leading us back to the truth.

We live in a world where the theoretical and hypothetical are incredibly highly regarded. Ethical boundaries are seen as relative and seem to be constantly shifting. If our spirituality exists only as a theoretical framework and not as a practice and relationship, then we cannot rely on it to guide our conscience when the tough decisions come around. Only authentic relationship creates real trust.

Words by Jen Grubb