Response to “The Great Dance” (by C. Baxter Kruger)

The author begins the book with a wonderful description of the relational engagement between the Trinity and humanity, which affects every aspect of life. He wrote of his own transformation from viewing God in a detached, intellectual sort of way to the realization of joy and glory of life enveloped in the Trinity:

“All along I had been thinking about God the wrong way. All along I had misjudged the very being of God. I had been a blind idiot. God is not some faceless, all-powerful abstraction. God is Father, Son and Spirit, existing in a passionate and joyous fellowship. The Trinity is not three highly committed religious types sitting around some room in heaven. The Trinity is a circle of shared life, and the life shared is full, not empty, abounding and rich and beautiful, not lonely and sad and boring.” (p22)

I believe that many people today struggle along in the sad state of cultural Christianity, embracing an intellectual belief about God, but never experiencing the profound reality of the abundant life in Christ. I have heard it said that we go through multiple “conversions” in our life, and what Kruger describes in these first pages was his conversion from an intellectual faith to a relational faith.

My concern with his work is rooted in his belief in what it means to be “in Christ.” I believe that the position that he teaches in this book teeters on the precipice of universalism. On page 49, he writes,

“When this Son went down, we went down. And when this Son came forth from the grave, the human race came forth with him, quickened with new life, born again in the Spirit into a living hope. And when this Son ascended to the Father, he took the whole human race with him. And there and then the human race was welcomed by the Father, accepted, embraced, included in the great dance.”

The implication of this statement is that every human being has already been born again, and everyone is already seated in heavenly places “in Christ.” I believe that on careful examination of the following Scriptures, one must conclude that we are placed “in Christ” at the moment of our salvation, and that those who do not believe in Christ are not “in Christ” and thus are separated from him and face condemnation.

Romans 8:1-11: verse 1 states clearly that whoever is “in Christ” is not condemned, nor will be condemned: “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” (ESV) Verse 4 goes on to describe those who are “in Christ” as those “who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.” Verses 5-8 describe the contrast between those who live by the flesh and those who live by the Spirit. Verse 9 puts the nail in the coffin by stating “Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.”

In contrast to this, Kruger says that “Lost is defined not in terms of whether or not we belong to the Trinity, for that has been settled once and for all in Jesus Christ… We belong to the Father, Son and Spirit.” (p106) Taking this statement alongside his comments on “the whole human race” being born again and ascended to the Father in Christ, Kruger is clearly stating that everyone is “in Christ” and not separated from him.

2 Corinthians 5:17 “…if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.” – note the conditional statement here, introduced with the word “if”. The following statement would therefore be true as well, “if anyone is not in Christ, he is not a new creation.” And then examine the words of Jesus in his conversation with Nicodemus found in John 3:16, “whoever believes in him should not perish…” In these words Jesus describes the reality of conditional inclusion in Christ – and stated negatively it becomes “whoever does not believe in him will perish.” Two verses later he states it clearly, “whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.”

Taken together with Romans 8:1 that states those “in Christ” are not condemned, the way that someone is placed in Christ is by believing. Some do not and will not believe and therefore are not in Christ.

Earlier in John 3, in the discussion about being “born again,” Jesus makes the following assertions:

• Being born again is a requirement for seeing (v3) and entering (v5) the Kingdom of God
• Being born again is being born of the Spirit (v5-6)
• Those who believe in Jesus may have eternal life (v15)

Given the context it is safe to assume that “having eternal life” is synonymous with entering the Kingdom of God. Thus,

Believing in Jesus --> being born again --> entering the Kingdom of God = eternal life = being in Christ.

Based on the above Scriptures, and in contrast to what Kruger writes, I do not believe that the whole human race was born again and placed in Christ at the cross. His thinking leads to a re-writing of the gospel, from telling people that they are separated from God by their sin to telling them they need to change their thinking to believe that they are already in Christ (Kruger p102-103).

Scriptures on Judgment:

Hebrews 10:26-27 “For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries.”

2 Thessalonians 1:5-10 “This is evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are also suffering— since indeed God considers it just to repay with affliction those who afflict you, and to grant relief to you who are afflicted as well as to us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might, when he comes on that day to be glorified in his saints, and to be marveled at among all who have believed, because our testimony to you was believed.”

Does Character Really Matter?

No Longer a Hero!

It seems that every couple of months another leader or celebrity athlete is disavowed because of a lack of character.  When the recent scandal with Lance Armstrong began, I didn’t believe it because he seemed like such a “good guy” and an example for overcoming adversity.  But when the truth came out and his character was exposed, another hero was taken off the pedestal.

Perhaps the most troubling is when it’s a Christian leader. Every time a pastor or TV evangelist falls into sin, the media has a field day, and there are so many negative comments about the church and Christians. Upstanding character isn’t just for leaders or public figures though; God has designed for every Christian to grow to become more Christ-like in their attitudes, motivations, and behaviors. One of the realities is that many people base their perceptions of God on our character! When they observe a lack of integrity or an attitude of always complaining, we misrepresent what it means to live a life of faith in our amazing God.

Jesus put it this way: “…let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”         Matthew 5:16 (NIV)

What kind of light have you been shining before others lately?

There’s a great passage about our growth in godliness that at first glance seems like a paradox, but as you dig deeper, you’ll see that there is a divine partnership between God and us.  Take a few minutes today to read 2 Peter 1:3-9. 

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2%20peter%201:3-9&version=NIV

To dig a little deeper, grab your journal to record your thoughts on these questions:

1. Read 2 Peter 1:3-4: What do these two verses promise? What is God’s role in our growing in godly character?
2. Read 2 Peter 1:5-9: What is our role in growing in godly character? What might hinder you from that growth?

Verse 8 gives a promise that I think every Christian wants a piece of:

For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

In other words, growing in the character qualities listed in that passage will give you an effective and productive Christian life. That’s the kind of life that I want to live! Let’s make every effort to grow in the godly character qualities that Peter listed, and let’s give God thanks for being at work in us, giving us EVERYTHING that we need for life and godliness!