The Lutheran Path the Gospel...

Unity in the Spirit

Imagine a man in a far-off, war-torn country who is given the opportunity to take asylum in a prosperous foreign nation. A room is prepared for him by a kind emissary, complete with all of the refreshments native to his homeland, neatly arranged in the refrigerator alongside the local foods. The TV is set to the channels he would frequently watch, and even the clothes hanging in the closet are in the style of his people. Every last detail has been prepared to make him feel at home as his citizenship in this land of peace is being worked out.

“Love your neighbor as yourself” is the prime principle of this new nation he finds himself in, and he can’t help but feel grateful for the great care he receives as they help him transition into a citizen of his new home.

Now, let’s ask ourselves an important question:

What does the Lord think of all the denominations we have splintered ourselves into?

It’s a question I believe all of us should ask, as it no longer seems obvious what the true “holy catholic church”, the one founded by Christ and built by the apostles, really is.

Pentecostalism, Methodism, the Greek Orthodox Church… the list goes on. Yet I suspect we in the modern day are merely doing what the Lord warned the Pharisees of in Matthew 23:24 “straining out gnats and swallowing camels.”

Believer’s baptism, infant baptism, submersion, sprinkling, regeneration preceding faith, faith preceding regeneration, postmillennialism, amillennialism—the list continues. But what would our Lord think of the constant bickerings among His Methodist and Lutheran children?

Does He approve of the Reformed talking down to the Arminians? Does He approve of Provisionists being mocked by their fellow soldiers in the Great Commission?

“Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.

There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called;

one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.”

Ephesians 4:3–6

Consider two giants of the faith with polar opposite theologies—George Whitefield (a Calvinist) and John Wesley (an Arminian)—and their views toward one another despite their great theological differences.

John Wesley on George Whitefield

“Dear Mr. Wesley, may I ask you a question?”

“Yes, of course, madam, by all means.”

“But, dear Mr. Wesley, I am very much afraid what the answer will be.”

“Well, madam, let me hear your question, and then you will know my reply.”

After some hesitation, the inquirer tremblingly asked, “Dear Mr. Wesley, do you expect to see dear Mr. Whitefield in heaven?”

A lengthy pause followed, after which John Wesley replied with great seriousness, “No, madam.”

His inquirer at once exclaimed, “Ah, I was afraid you would say so.”

To which Wesley added, with intense earnestness, “Do not misunderstand me, madam; George Whitefield was so bright a star in the firmament of God’s glory, and will stand so near the throne, that one like me, who am less than the least, will never catch a glimpse of him.”

George Whitefield on John Wesley

“The good Mr. John Wesley has done in America is inexpressible. His name is very precious among the people; and he has laid a foundation that I hope neither men nor devils will ever be able to shake.”

This example, I believe, is one of the truest demonstrations of Ephesians 4:3–6, and it is an attitude the Lord would have us all imitate toward our brothers and sisters in Christ.

The true Church has children of God in Baptist churches, Methodist churches, Pentecostal churches, non-denominational churches, and beyond. We all have many reasons for our beliefs. Some hold a high view of the sovereignty of God because they are uneasy with the idea of anything being outside His perfect plan, finding safety more than scriptural certainty. Others resist a monergistic view of salvation because their moral intuition cannot reconcile love without choice.

The point is, none of our beliefs are formed in a vacuum. Countless influences, sometimes beyond our control, shape our readings and interpretations of Scripture. Yet do you not see the Lord’s mercy even in this diversity of thought?

If we find genuine believers across denominational lines, which cannot all be perfectly correct, it proves that the Lord overlooks our small errors and welcomes all who come to Him in humble repentance and faith, regardless of the particular branch of Christianity they inhabit, for all share the same Root.

Now, return to our story at the beginning.

Suppose we find a man in a Roman Catholic church being drawn by the Spirit to the Lord Jesus Christ. Troubled in his heart, he no longer feels he can continue in endless Hail Marys and repetitious prayers. Downtrodden, he decides to take the matter to the Lord in prayer. One afternoon, as he walks the streets of his town, he hears beautiful hymns, familiar melodies from his youth echoing from a nearby church. Drawn to it, he walks in. Everything feels familiar: the priestly collar, the confessional, the murals, the communion table, and the reverence for Mary. Yet something is different.

The pastor approaches the altar and begins preaching the cross of Christ, but in a way the man has never heard before! The message carries power. He hears that salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. His heart burns within him, and for the first time in his life, he feels strangely warmed. His relationship with God will never be the same. After speaking with the pastor, he eagerly joins a Lutheran church and begins a new life, no longer crushed by guilt but free in grace.

Now, as unlikely as this story may seem (for few Catholics are unaware of Martin Luther or the Reformation), don’t miss the crucial point.

I personally believe that the Lord Jesus, in His kindness and mercy, is not concerned with which church a person attends so long as that church truly knows Him as Savior and Lord. Traditions are not inherently bad, provided they do not contradict the Word of God, and can even help build a strong faith.

As for my inspiration: I have a friend who recently came to the Lord in saving faith. His mother, a devout Roman Catholic, does not yet appear to know Christ personally. He is seeking a home church, and we have considered inviting her along. Yet she seems deeply rooted in Catholic tradition and unlikely to attend a less formal, non-denominational church like mine.

Because my friend is new to the faith, I worried it might be unwise for him to attend Mass with her, lest he be confused or misled. So, considering the Lord’s heart for unity and truth, I suggested he visit a Lutheran church instead.

Perhaps, in His infinite wisdom, the Lord raised up Luther for this very purpose to prepare a bridge for those like my friend’s mother. Like a kind emissary preparing a room for a foreign refugee, perhaps Lutheranism is the room God prepared for Catholics leaving the war-torn land of deception, leading them gently back to the purity of the gospel.

Honestly, as someone not deeply versed in all these theologies (as may be obvious to those who are), I admit that for the first thirty minutes of a service, I might struggle to tell whether I was in a Lutheran or Catholic church, but perhaps that’s the point.

Maybe Lutheranism is the room God has prepared for returning hearts—complete with confession, reverence, sacraments, and beauty to make them feel at home as they discover grace anew.

In the end, the denomination is not what matters most. What matters is whether one knows Christ as Savior and Lord. All other matters take a backseat.

Remember the words of our Lord Jesus Christ:

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.

By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

John 13:34–35

Let us look beyond denominational differences and focus on loving one another, as the God who took on flesh commands us, so that the world may know we belong to Him. 

Evolution and Genesis

Why do we assume some ideas are inherently contradictory and may never be reconciled when it may be possible they do not contradict at all, but rather it is our limitations in knowledge that blind us to the pathway that would connect those ideas? 

Some ideas are inherently irreconcilable. No married bachelors, no square triangles etc. There is no logic that may connect those ideas, but as for evolution and the Biblical account of Genesis, why does the skeptic assume one must discount the other? 

If Christ is more concerned with spiritual truths than scientific explanations of natural phenomena, why would we expect Genesis to focus on zoology? 

If common sense tells us snakes do not talk and if the Word of God reveals the serpent in the garden to be Satan, if Christ calls His followers His sheep and those who reject the goats, it does not seem implausible to my mind that perhaps, He being the Author of Scripture would compare Satan to a snake as He does His followers to sheep. 

Would it not be possible for God to choose a culture who told stories imbued with metaphor in their historical accounts, precisely because it fit His preferred way to communicate spiritual truths to all cultures across time?  

Do we explain to children action potentials, synaptic clefts and the somatosensory cortex to prevent them from touching hot stoves? Or do we communicate the danger in a way they understand? 

Was God intending scientific truth in the Genesis account? Do snakes talk? 

And so I believe it possible that God may have simply been trying to communicate the fall of humanity in such a way that the ancients would have understood it in their cultural context, keeping in mind modern man reading such a text baffled, but understanding His purpose through the historical record of His life recorded in the gospels through His use of metaphor. 

How would one reconcile Genesis and evolution? I'll share my thoughts eventually, even though currently I do not accept the theory of evolution wholesale as I tinker with this idea. 

For now, I charge the reader, just because the connection isn't obvious to you, does not mean one does not exist. 

Perhaps it's the limitation of our knowledge. Did Christ rise from the dead? 

If He did then, it's enough to be a Christian, regardless of how you view Genesis... 

Eve's Room and the Knowledge of Good and Evil

Setting the framework… 

Imagine a brilliant neuroscientist named Mary who has been trapped in a room her entire life and only has seen the colors black and white (just assume this is the case for sake of argument). Now imagine she is given time to study and she learns everything there is to know about how visual processes in the brain operate, how the brain perceives color and all of the mechanisms associated with perceiving color, achieving perfect knowledge of what it is like to see color. Now suppose she is freed from her captivity and sees red for the first time. Will she learn anything new? 

This is known as the knowledge argument, a thought experiment developed by Frank Jackson and although I believe he abandoned this argument, I still think it's thought provoking and helps to unravel the problems with physicalism (the idea that only physical matter exists) by highlighting qualia of experience (your subjective experience of the world). If Mary obtained all knowledge of color perception, then it follows she shouldn't learn anything new when she sees red for the first time, however it seems pretty self-evident upon reflection that she will indeed obtain some new knowledge… that is the experience of seeing red. 

Now, it's not my goal to argue for or against physicalism in this particular article, but more so to reflect on what exactly the tree of the knowledge of good and evil is in Genesis 2:16-17. Personally, I tend to see a lot of metaphors in Genesis and I'm sure this would be highly displeasing to the young Earth creationist crowd, however for those that choose to continue reading, they will quickly realize that my view of the tree is compatible with all age of the earth models (I'm dealing with what appears to be a fusion of the Chromosome 2 in the human genome presently, so I haven't really landed anywhere other than an Old Earth creationist). If you need to believe in a literal fruit that imbues the knowledge of good and evil I am fine with that and wish you well as you attempt to have a conversation with snakes and put in requests for  surgeon's to begin to sew husbands and wives together so they can become one flesh to fulfill the biblical command of Genesis 2:24.

Facetiousness aside, I think we can clearly see that Genesis forces us to adopt spiritual and symbolic meanings behind what it teaches… I believe the tree of the knowledge of good and evil is symbolic for something real and is describing an event that really happened, so for now, hold on to the idea that experiencing something does seem to give us a new type of knowledge we can't otherwise have through simple studying or theoroesizing. 

God is the standard of good… 

All morality flows from the nature of God and thus whatever He commands, must be good. Think of a world where no one lies, no one steals, no one commits adultery and no one murders. Everyone is content with what they have and does not desire that which belongs to another. Neighbor is loved as self and forgiveness is extended to everyone with merciful love. Is this a world you would want to live in? Regardless of your answer, we know by the moral law that Christ has imprinted onto our consciences that we should love our neighbors as ourselves, that lying is wrong, murder is a horrendous evil, spouses should be faithful to one another, we should be content and thankful for what we have and never take another person's belongings. We are all made in the image of God and since He is good, the metric from which we judge all other actions is from His nature. All of His commands flow from His nature and so now, I’d like us to do a simple thought experiment. 

Suppose we create a realistic human robot that does not have the ability to lie and another that can never tell the truth. Let's also make them sentient with the conscious awareness on par with a human being. Given these constraints would the first robot ever be able to know what it is like to tell a lie? Would the second robot ever be able to know what it is like to tell the truth? The answer in both cases is clearly no, so what do we think of on Eve? 

18 A certain ruler asked him, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

19 “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone.

Luke 18:18-19

58 “Very truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I am!”

John 8:58 

14 God said to Moses, “I am who I am.[a] This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I am has sent me to you.’”

Exodus 3:14 

This is the message [of God’s promised revelation] which we have heard from Him and now announce to you, that God is Light [He is holy, His message is truthful, He is perfect in righteousness], and in Him there is no darkness at all [no sin, no wickedness, no imperfection].

1 John 1:5 

The Lord Jesus is God and is the standard of goodness from which we judge all actions. Since God can not command anyone to do evil, then all that He commands is going to always be good. God tells us not to lie, not to steal, not to murder, not to hate and to not commit adultery or fornication. If someone only followed those commandments and did not even realize they could do otherwise, then all that they could do would be only good. They would essentially be like a robot and until they have the ability to do otherwise, they will only do what they could not do otherwise. 

Now, I believe the scriptures are clear that we have free will (Ezekiel 33:11, Deuteronomy 30:15-29, John 3:16) and that Eve had a choice in whether she chose to obey or disobey God. Did she, however, even have an awareness that she could disobey God? 

[1] Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?” [2] And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; [3] but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’ ” [4] Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. [5] For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” [6] So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. [7] Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings.

Genesis 3:1-7 

It doesn't seem so to me, so let's think through this taking the insight from Mary’s room and our understanding of God being the source of all moral goodness.

Eve’s room. 

Imagine now that Mary’s room is now the mind of Eve and the only knowledge she has is of God's commandments. Every decision she makes is confined to the Word of God only, she does not even realize that she could do the opposite of what God commands and like an innocent child trusting that their parents have their best interest at heart and know best, she doesn't even think to question what the Lord tells her. When God tells her to go right, she does and does not even think that left is a possibility. She has no concept of what a lie is, what it is to hate or what it is to contradict God. When He tells her to not eat a particular fruit in the garden, she has no reason to question it and simply obeys. 

Now let's use a story to illustrate the point more clearly. 

Imagine a colony of people surviving in a bunker in a post apocalyptic world in the distant future where the science of cloning and DNA engineering have been mastered. A young woman named Eve has been cloned from the remains of one of the last pure blooded humans who refused to take an injection of what has been known as AE326 (Animal Enhancement 326). The environment outside is no longer as hospitable to human life, but with the passing of time since the war, the air is a bit clearer and with the genetic enhancements imbued into Eve’s genome, she should be able to survive, provided she wait for the mysterious figure she had began to develop a friendship with, known as, “the savior” to finish completing Serum316. There were a few missing chemical components in the bunker that were located in a facility far away that he went to retrieve, but it's been weeks since he left and Eve began to wonder if he was ever really going to come back and if she would be stuck in this high tech dome forever. 

Before the savior had left he specifically told her she must remain in the bunker until he comes back, that while her body was genetically pure, it would not be able to withstand the remaining pathogens in the air, but with this serum she would more than be able to withstand the conditions outside and a project known as, "Restoration Eden" could begin. There were only two rules given to her for her survival. 

“Stay in the bunker. Do not go outside.” 

Eve never thought to question such rules. After all, her mind was somewhat childlike and she was completely trusting of what the savior told her. Even though she had the physical form of a 20 year old woman, she was only a few months old and so many things were new to her. She enjoyed walking in the garden area of the facility and eating the fruit from the different trees. She met another clone there from time to time named Adam, but they didn't have a lot of interactions, just a few awkward smiles here and there accompanied by a small wave. Every now and then she would go to the outermost glass to peer out to see what felt like an endless sea of waste and debris and longed to go outside and explore the unknown world outside. Today however would be different. 

She sat down and after peering out into the endless void of sand and wind, a creature that seemed so it of pace slowly slithered to the glass and placed his hand on the wall, greeting Eve. 

“Hello there, have you happened to see the savior anywhere?” the humanoid serpent said with what seemed a fearful shake in his voice. 

Puzzled, Eve replied, “No. He's been gone for such a long time. I miss him, he used to walk in the garden with me telling me what the world was like before the war. He's been gone for weeks in search for components in another bunker for what he calls Serum316. He says it will give me the ability to go outside without dying.” 

The serpent seemed like he did not like that response but quickly removed the angry scowl from his face. “Why would the savior lie to you like that? You say he's a good man and yet here you are, able to walk out free if you would like, but yet stuck in here. Did he really say you would die if you left?” 

His form was odd to Eve.  He didn't look human but he seemed to at least act like one so she figured he was at least trustworthy. 

“I'm sorry.” Eve replied. “I never got your name and yes, he did say I would die.” 

“My apologies!” the serpent-like entity replied. “My name is Lucius, which means light. I’m very sorry to see you in this state Eve, but you are actually able to leave. You won't die, everything will be fine and I can see the jealousy in your eyes, but there is no need for it! You can be as I am and simply step outside.” 

Eve was taken back by Lucius's boldness and confidence in his contradiction to the savior. “I would die though! The savior said I would! You are trying to kill me aren't you?” 

Lucius smiled and he slowly whispered outside the glass…“The savior is just trying to trap you in this room my dear to control you, make you His slave, but you do not have to listen to him. You know you could simply go to the entrance and leave. It's unlocked…” 

Eve seemed puzzled. She wasn't aware that the door was unlocked, but somehow Lucius knew, as if he had been studying the bunker for some time. If the savior wanted to trap her in the bunker, surely he would have locked the door and made it impossible to leave. 

“Maybe he trusts me to stay here?” Eve said confusedly to Lucius. “Maybe he trusts me to willfully listen to him and not force me to? Otherwise, if he were trying to control me, why am I seemingly free to leave?” 

A sly smile came across Lucius’s face as his fork tongue flickered in and out with delight. “She is sharper than I realized”, he thought to himself. Lucius knew, however, that he was crafitier. He took a deep breath and said, “My dear Eve, you don't understand that the savior has successfully built a prison in your mind. He left the door unlocked to give you the illusion that you are free, when the reality is the prison he built for you is in your mind.” 

The serpent, examined Eve’s face and could see he was starting to work his way into her mind. Delighted, he continued. 

“The savior is simply testing His psychological control over you. Have you ever heard of what the circus owners in the old time used to do to elephants? When the animals are children they chain them to poles and they resist until they give up, not being strong enough when they are young to break the bonds. The elephant assumes it will never break free from its chains, but when it is an adult it could easily snap the chain and have its freedom. The only thing keeping the elephant in place is its own mind and the chains that were once physical have become mental. The savior is doing this to you Eve! You have the ability to leave anytime you wish, but you won't because you have been conditioned like an animal to blindly obey the divine circus master! All you have to do is open the door Eve and break free from the mental slavery imposed on you by your creators.” 

Eve was taken back by the serpent's response. She never had viewed her situation in this light before and wondered if there was any truth to Lucius’s statement. After all, because she is a clone, in a sense the savior is her creator. As she reflected on this she remembered how kind the savior had been to her walking in the garden… she still had her doubts. 

“You know”, she said to the serpent with a small scowl, “The savior said I would die if I left this room! I was right, you are trying to trick me so I will die!”  

Lucius quickly fired back, “A part of the mental prison my dear! Look at me! I am out here and am I dead?” 

Eve’s face sunk. Right in front of her was a direct observation based on empirical fact she could not deny. The serpent was not in the bunker and yet he was breathing and not dead. If he could be alive outside the room, perhaps she could be as well… 

Eve took time to ponder and began to wonder what it would be like to leave the room. In fact, with this new knowledge she began to realize it would in fact be possible to not listen to the savior at all. The choice was hers and she felt such freedom in the idea of leaving as she observed the serpent standing outside in the glory of his own self will, clearly not dead. She could barely contain herself as she opened the door to the entrance, rushed outside and began breathing in the air. 

She felt concerned as immediately she began to feel a pain in her chest with Lucius smiling wickedly as the savior shouted in the distance, weapon aimed at the mysterious serpent…

What Lucius failed to tell Eve was that the savior was working to recreate the environment to make it more suitable for humans with terraforming technology developed after years of research and all that was needed was Serun316 for humans to inhabit New Eden. Lucius, unknown to her, was a human spliced hybrid who could live in the harsh physical environment while she could not. The savior wasn't lying to Eve by any means, but it was too late… the pathogen was in her system but as the savior crushed Lucius head after a battle, suffering what seems to be a fatal wound on his heel, he smiled with love and compassion as he injected her with the serum. She would live he told her and he would die, but in her DNA now was the answer and the new life given to her through the serum would be the life of humanity. She returned the bunker feeling a sadness and shame she never felt before as the scientists shouted with joy at her safe return, Serum316 a success. 

Now the question is did Eve learn anything new when she left the room and knew what it was like to disobey the savior for the first time? At one point in our story, Eve only had theoretical knowledge of what it would be like to leave the bunker, just like Mary only had knowledge of how color perception works. Once Eve steps out of the room and sees what it is like to experience the outside for the first time, she gains new knowledge she did not have before prior to experience, just like Mary with the color red. 

This is like Eve in the garden of Eden. At one point, she only had theoretical knowledge of what it would be like to disobey God, it wasn't until she actually ate the fruit that she gained new knowledge, the experience of what it was like to disobey God, something she could not attain through mere theorizing. Think of it this way. 

You can imagine all day long what it is like to be shot, but you will never have the same level of knowledge as someone who actually experienced it. There is nothing magical about the bullet that gives such knowledge, but in a sense the bullet does give you the knowledge of what it's like to be shot. Could it not be the same with the fruit in the garden of Eden? Was the tree of the knowledge of good and evil imbued with special knowledge or was the knowledge imbued with the experience of disobeying God through an action? 

I personally believe the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was not a special tree that imbued the knowledge of good and evil through eating it, but rather it was obtaining the experiential knowledge of contradicting God that gave her the knowledge of good and evil. In Genesis 3:6, Eve was only theorizing what it would be like to disobey God and was like Mary, only gaining knowledge of what it would be like to see red. Only once Eve ate the fruit and only once Mary experienced red, were both of their eyes open to the conscious reality of what they only were able to learn about without experience. 

For Eve, what it is like to disobey God and do evil bringing feelings of shame she never experienced before. 

For Mary, what it is like to actually see and experience the beauty of red. 

What scriptural justification do I have to take this view however? With that first let's examine the tree of life…