Guard the good deposit

“What you heard from me, keep as the pattern of sound teaching, with faith and love in Christ Jesus.  Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you–guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us.” – 2 Timothy 1:13-14 (NIV)

What was that “good deposit”?  It was not a retirement nest egg, but it was the gospel of Jesus Christ.  The teaching had a sound pattern to it and was based on fact.  The pattern was in God’s redeeming grace throughout history.  Paul and the Apostles beared witness to Jesus Christ as the Messiah who died and rose from the dead.  They met strong resistance and even imprisonment, stonings, and beatings.  The commitment to the spread of the gospel came at a cost.  While basic fact of salvation rests on the person and work of Christ, it requires us to take up our cross and follow Him.  The response was to repent and acknowledge His Lordship over every area of life.

I fear that the culture of “name it, claim it” is in essence cashing in on His Lordship.  In that way, it’s a “defame it” consumerism that plagues the materialistic gospel.  Rather, we should seek to serve Him by using the gifts He gives us.  God’s blessings on this earth far pail in comparison to what lies in store for those who find heavenly treasure.

Our claim to the gospel comes from knowing Him.  As our Creator, it is He who can lay full claim on our lives.  It is also presumptious to think that we should seek earthly riches from God when He knows all of our needs.  If He takes care of the little things, isn’t He sufficient to take care of the big things in our lives?  God speaks to us in a variety of ways, but it is often when we have little and are weak that we trust in Him a little more.

So, guarding the good deposit involves laying up treasure in heaven and taking a stand for His Lordship over all creation.  Like the apostles did in times of old, we need to bear witness to Him as the only way of salvation.  Our postmodern culture needs an authentic and deeply convicting absolute standard by which we live our lives.  Outside of God’s grace and mercy, our lives are as meaningless as it says in Ecclesiastes.  You can’t live on both sides of the fence.  It’s an all-or-nothing principle.  Seek the truth and it will set you free.

Moral Relativism

One of the key features to postmodern thought is moral relativism.  However, the framework is a bit confusing.  It comes from the idea that truth is subject to its cultural context.  So, what does that mean?  It means that society’s norms determine truth for each culture.  Truth is not universal for all. 

If it’s all relative, then what value has religion?  Religion answers universal questions of why we’re here and where we’re headed.  If each person can determine that for themselves based on their experience (context), then religion becomes irrelevant.

The very nature of truth is at stake here.  Without an absolute framework, truth does not exist and all becomes irrelevant.  The foundations of society fall apart and all is lost.  Fortunately, an omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent God has interceded on our behalf.  He is the true relevancy of all creation.  He makes morals relative to mankind.

Without God as our supreme authority, there really is no such thing as moral relativism.  There are repeated warnings in Scripture when God’s people substitute His authority with their own.  “Everyone did as they saw fit” always led to God’s judgment on Israel.  God will judge the wayward church.  We need to return to Him the authority He rightfully deserves.

When the apostles started spreading the gospel outside Judea, they didn’t tell the Gentiles that it was ok to continue living in sin.  They were told to first repent from sin and believe upon the Lord Jesus Christ.  Then they would be baptized and receive the Holy Spirit. 

We live in a society that is afraid to make claims on your life for fear of intolerance.  This is a weak faith and is as good as no faith at all.  If we do not challenge people with the truth of the gospel, then we are doing them a disservice.  The real problem is that other gods have crept into our “christianity” and we’ve sold out to the idea that we can have it both ways.  We can cling to the sins in our lives that we’ve grown to love while claiming the freedom we have in Christ.  The apostle Paul warned us that we are slaves to that which we obey.

Liberty came at a cost.  We will still have to give an account.  No cultural context can escape this.  God the Father has revealed Himself in His Word through Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit.  He seeks a personal relationship with those He redeemed out of His love and mercy.  It is not of ourselves to determine this truth of the Gospel.